Do you struggle with this common business issue?
- Categories
As a virtual assistant and virtual business manager, I’ve been called in to help many businesses who are struggling in some area of their business. Over this time, I’ve noticed one particular issue that crops up more often than the rest, so I wanted to write a blog to help other businesses notice if this is affecting them so they can do something about it.
The issue
It boils down to time. Being time poor specifically.
The biggest issue we see in struggling businesses is that they ‘do what they’ve always done’ because they don’t have the time to review whether or not it’s working as efficiently as possible.
What they do works, otherwise they would have found another way, but generally speaking, business owners want to create more time for themselves. Because they are stuck in a routine of doing what they know, there’s no reviewing of the process to see how it could be done better.
A lot of small businesses start as a one-man-band before expanding and so ‘do what I’ve always done’ can be ingrained into the business culture.
The other issue is that people are cost-conscious, and the tasks that eat up so much time are things that are easy to do. Email, bookkeeping, calendar management – it’s all doable, so they do it. It’s quite common to see business owners spending time on non-revenue generating tasks at the expense of revenue-generating tasks, all because of ‘this is how it’s done/I can do this so why should I pay someone else to’.
This mindset of it saves money doing it themselves means that the consequences of not delegating are not considered fully. The problem is that it takes away time that could be better spent concentrating on areas of the business that lead to more revenue.
Generating income and developing the business should be the top priorities for the business owner, and the other stuff is what should be delegated. Learning to delegate is an essential part of being a business owner.
What it affects
While there are multiple areas that can be affected by this, the main area that suffers is the customer experience.
For example, having a manual onboarding process that is complicated and drawn out starts the relationship off on the wrong foot. It doesn’t instil confidence or make the customer feel comfortable with their buying decision.
When presales and after-sales customer support is inefficient, the customer feels let down. Processes that aren’t succinct or simple create bumps on the customer journey, which in turn affect your business reputation.
Summary
If you are in this situation, it is only because you’re doing it the only way you know-how. It doesn’t make it wrong or a mistake.
Awareness of the problem is the first step in finding the solution, so knowing where you spend your time in your business is key to creating a more efficient and productive workflow.
Look at the processes in your business and see if they are the best way to do things or just how they’ve always been done. It might be time to shake things up!
And if you need help to review your processes and create more time for yourself in your business, then give us a call.
For more tips on systems and processes that help grow your business, subscribe to our newsletter here.
Get a little superstar treatment by contacting us on:
Email: info@jaxstarsolutions.co.uk
Telephone: 020 3362 4436
Mobile: 07811 393520
Website: https://www.jaxstarsolutions.co.uk/
