However, when should you hire help?

It is nice to save on expenses by doing everything yourself, but one person can only do so much. Sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and acquire the help you need to keep your business running smoothly, efficiently, and without clutter.

So here are 3 jobs you can outsource that will free up your time as a business owner:

Bookkeeping and tax returns

Business owners spend a surprising amount of time performing bookkeeping tasks and lodging tax returns. So, one of the best jobs to outsource can be bookkeeping because it is so time consuming. Business owners could save hours every week if they used an outsourced bookkeeping service instead and feel confident knowing that their financials are being handled by a trained professional.

Inbox and Calendar Management

If inbox zero is something dreams are made of or if your calendar fills up faster than you can handle, outsource your inbox, and calendar management. Instead of being the one to reply to every email, enlist your business support to reply on your behalf. You will be amazed at how little you need to touch your inbox. Equally important is your calendar. So often, entrepreneurs get busy with so many responsibilities that it is common to double book yourself. Avoid this by giving your business support control over your calendar. In doing so, they will be aware of your responsibilities and prevent you from needing to be in two places at once.

Database management

Database management involves updating existing customer info to keep it current and inputting new leads from meetings, or your own digital platforms like your website and social media handles. This is so important because keeping your data up to date is essential for good customer relationship management (CRM) and chasing hot leads.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

In case you aren’t aware, SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Therefore, a SMART goal incorporates all of these criteria to help focus your efforts and increase the chances of achieving your goal.

Often, individuals or businesses will set themselves up for failure by setting general and unrealistic goals at the beginning of January such as “I want to be the best at X.” This goal is vague, with no sense of direction, so will join the many goals that only last until the end of January.

To make this a SMART goal you might say “I want to be at the top of the Google search in Hertfordshire when people use the keyword bookkeeping by March”.

The SMART method simply helps push you further, gives you a sense of direction, and helps you organise and reach your goals in 2021, make your New Year goals a reality this year to give you a year to remember for the right reasons.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

Before you know it, it is back to work and the fun and festivities are over for another year.

Here, we share five ways to get yourself back into the old routine after the Christmas holidays

Be strategic with your return schedule 

Some people like to ease back into things with a low-key schedule, but I find the opposite works best for me. I arrange a couple of key meetings so that I must get back into a productive mode quickly. I do not welcome this on my first morning back, but by the end of the day, I am glad.

Resume your routines that work 

It can take some time to get back into productive habits when you first return. If you usually exercise regularly try to resume this on your first day back. Enable your healthy eating habits by building in time to visit the supermarket before you go back to work so you can set yourself up for a healthy week.

Set yourself a challenge

One of the main reasons why January is hard going is because the excitement of Christmas is over, and we no longer have anything to look forward to. You can rectify this easily by making a change or setting yourself a challenge.

Maybe there is a training course you have been thinking of attending, there is a project you have been putting off, you want to be more organised or even something as simple as clearing out your desk can give you a little boost.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

So, with that in mind here are 3 strategies for approaching business goals for your business in 2021:

Revisit your long-term goals and objectives

The first step is to review your progress in 2020. Spend some time taking a step back and re-assessing where you are heading, and why. It is important that you are realistic about the current status of your business and the future outlook.

That is not to say you need to change your long-term goals and objectives. The goals and objectives may not need to change, but the timescales might.

Review your outgoings

Are there ways you could reduce your outgoings for 2021, or perhaps there are places you really need to invest? It is important that you put your business in a position where you can be agile and adaptive to changes in the marketplace.

Establish short, medium and long term goals

Having looked at what you achieved in 2020, compared to your business goals at the start of the year, build the strategy and plan on how you will progress towards your long-term goals in 2021.

Break down the long-term goals into smaller, short term goals. Then, identify the work that will be needed to hit them.

What do your goals look like when broken down monthly, weekly, daily? What will you need to do to achieve your targets? What are the KPIs that will ensure you will be on track to hit short, medium and long term goals?

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

As many of you know, I am a big lover of Xero and talk about how amazing it can be for your business, but I just wanted to discuss why online accounting software’s are not a necessity for all business and that a simple Excel spreadsheet might do the trick.

Here are a few benefits of using Excel for your accounting if you are a small business:

Ease of use

Excel is a much simpler way of accounting, all you need is a template to follow and you are flying, all you have to do is simply input the relevant data.

Ready-to-Use Templates

While it is easy for you to customise templates, leading excel service providers like Microsoft provides you with an option to use invoice template from their vast library of an existing invoice, ledgers, reconciliation, budgeting, and other accounting trackers.

Compare datasets

Helps compare financial datasets such as total accounts payable versus receivable to calculate cash flow volume within a given period.

Affordable

For most businesses, spreadsheet software is readily available and often free. Whether your company uses Microsoft Office and can easily access Excel or runs on G-Suite where Google Sheets are readily available, most people with an internet connection can access a spreadsheet.

What-if analysis

Located in Excel’s “Data” menu, what-if analysis helps you forecast results by changing datasets in a formula. In other words, this feature lets users test new results by changing data without removing or changing the primary dataset.

If you are a small business owner that is unsure about whether you should move to the cloud, I would love to have a chat with you and discuss if this will help your business or if spreadsheets might be the better option for you.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.