subject: Clarify What Matters Most [print this page] Being in charge of your business, means that you are the business. Small business owners dont really have the ability to push responsibilities onto other departments like a corporation can. We often find that we are the sales, research and development, bookkeeping, and customer service departments of our company. We cant get caught up in just owning the business. We need to remember what is important to make a business
successful.
Make time to work
Its not just time to work, its time to make time to work. Sure, being the boss of your own company means that you get to choose when you work, but you cant push it off. You need to stay on top of it and find times when you are most productive.
On top of that, dont forget to work on your business, too. Long term goals are just as important as the daily necessities of the business function. Web design, new strategies, and preparing for future trends need to have their own agenda. This is vital for the continuing success of the business.
Responsibilities
To help yourself clarify what matters most in your business, you need to sort your responsibilities. Arrange and organize each department as though it had its own crew working it. Youll need to set an agenda for each so that you dont get them confused or forgotten (bookkeeping is notoriously put off, but is just as important). Here you will have to organize yourself and spread yourself amongst these departments.
Help, and help the help
Something small business owners push aside is the option of hiring help. Although it can be costly, consider the benefits of additional hands in your business workings. Consider your own weaknesses and strengths (mans gotta know his limitations). Address the need for help by using the extra hands to solidify your foundation. Perhaps youre not a very good sales person or customer service person, here you can hire out to strengthen this portion of your business. Dont think of assistance as a cost. Think of it as beneficial to your growth.
Here can arise a problem, though, as most small business owners have difficulty letting go of power that they give to their assistants. Micromanaging is not a quality that spurs growth. In the military, each member has a job to do. Others help that team member, but they rely on that person to do the job. They trust them. That is key here. Trust your workers to do a good job, so that you can focus on yours.
Customer friendly
Above all else, remember that the customer is your target. Without customers, business does not function. That is why you always need to keep them close to you. Even if you hire out to sales associates and customer
service, it is wise to keep in contact directly with your customers. Social media makes this easier than ever as you can converse with them when it is convenient for them. Whatever you do, dont let your customers add
up to mere numbers. People are people, and want to be treated as people. Keep them close, because they are what matters most to your business.
