8 Small Business Management Tips That’ll Reduce 40 Headaches Everyday
When you’re just starting out in your business, selecting which priority to prioritize first and being aware of what needs to be done first can be a daunting task in itself.
No one is born with pre-programmed business skills or an entrepreneurial playbook in their head. We all must learn through experience, and many of us make costly mistakes along the way.
Particularly when we first start our businesses and lack years of experience to draw upon, business management tips and suggestions from other entrepreneurs can be immensely useful.
Today, we’ll cover management tips such as people management, time management, money management – you name it!
These tips can be invaluable to new small-business owners as they help manage their operations more effectively, so that you don’t have to stress over unneeded headaches and can focus on making progress towards the level of success desired.
1. Establish an LLC (or Other Form of Official Business Entity)
Setting up an LLC or Other Form of Formal Business Entity allows for two primary goals.
Even if you are self-employed and do not employ anyone else, but are 100% funded from your own resources, then it is still necessary to establish your business as a separate tax-exempt entity from day one.
Some professionals in the service industry, like writers or designers, feel it is safer not to do this as their client base continues to expand. However, the average cost for such coverage is usually around $900 or less and it almost immediately protects you and your assets against any legal issues that could arise as the business expands.
Although I cannot guarantee your company won’t get in trouble with the law, most small-sized businesses do.
However, if your company name has been copied righted by another state or you acquire an unreliable client that completely destroys your business despite having signed an agreement, one of the worst outcomes could be that your business dissolves.
That’s unfortunate, but at least you won’t need to foreclose on your home in order to pay what is owed…You know?
Headaches Averted:
- Financial issues at work may spillover into your personal situation, leading to stress and worry.
- The IRS breathes into your neck as they inspect you.
- Being sued on everything that you own
2. Establish a Clear Line of Separation Between Personal and Business Finances
This step should be taken when running any type of business venture, or when managing personal funds as well as business ones.
Let us suppose for some reason creating a legal entity is impossible.
Unfortunately, your company’s paperwork is behind schedule. Are you eager to start fresh with your company venture? No matter the cause of this situation, here’s how you can get back on track.
Please take a moment to note that under no circumstances should you accept payments from your personal business account or charge business expenses to your personal credit card.
Banks typically require official documents from your business in order to open accounts in your company’s name; however, you could always create separate accounts specifically for business transactions for yourself.
Even if filling out your LLC documents was straightforward and you don’t consider yourself a professional, the process must be completed.
Since you and your business are separate tax-paying entities, it is essential that you maintain separate financials. Otherwise, things could get messy and it could be tempting to assume that an audit will be necessary even if there are no assets to conceal.
Headaches Averted:
- There may be more IRS issues to deal with.
3. Finance Accounting Software
Many entrepreneurs, particularly those starting their own businesses, seek ways to reduce expenses.
That is why some individuals think they can handle bookkeeping and accounting on their own, or keeping track of money coming in and going out.
However, there’s no need to pay full price and hire an accountant on staff – it isn’t necessary at all.
There are so many great choices for reliable, user-friendly accounting software that it would be a shame not to take advantage of them.
At prices often cheaper than their actual costs, time saving services can often be repaid with savings in time.
Basic versions cost between $10 and $20 per month. If sending invoices is an essential aspect of your business, investing in an invoice generator will make the process look more professional and take less time than if you struggle with Excel and have to create them by hand.
Headaches Avoided:
- Forgetting Receipts
- It could be that you are overlooking an important expense.
- It would not be like a child “playing business” by sending an invoice for payment.
4. Invest in Your Education
It is never too early to start investing in your future.
At present, I’m having a conversation with my heart: the most successful money I’ve made in my business has been for my own education to further it.
If I don’t know how to accomplish something, it isn’t advisable for me to keep searching Google solutions and potentially waste days of trial-and-error before finding success.
Spending a few hundred or even several thousand dollars can be very beneficial when trying to learn from someone with experience, who’s done it and been successful, how to get things right from the beginning.
Even though the classes require money up front, they will more than cover themselves by helping me avoid mistakes and ultimately helping me earn more money from the lessons provided.
I have taken courses on setting up my company and managing clients. Additionally, I learned about colors and how to select them effectively as well as basic web design and networking concepts as well as creating information products.
Yes, there are free courses but they only scratch the surface. Spending money to truly comprehend a topic will only get you so far – that much I am certain.
Headaches Avoided:
- Time Spent Correcting Wrong Ideas
- Experiments that Fail
- Leave Sales Unrealized
- Headaches Averted
Can your eyes remain closed for 13 straight hours as if they are trying to escape? It sounds impossible!
5. Effectively Coach New Employees
It is essential for any new employee to receive proper orientation. 5. Utilizing Effective Coach-and-Trainee Methodologies
It can be very helpful when new hires have difficulty learning certain processes or technologies.
Recently, John and Kate (the duo behind Entrepreneur on Fire (not to be confused with the reality show with 8 kids)) spoke on a talk show about how when you hire anyone, you should expect an immediate increase in their workload rather than being able to delegate tasks and take time off as desired. This mindset has given me hope for my dream life: having time off without worrying about work!
Even if you hire the brightest employees on earth, they won’t be able to fully comprehend and adapt to your company’s culture right away.
They will take some effort and time to learn the intricacies of the process, be mindful of your expectations, and consider connecting all the pieces to form a larger picture.
They won’t likely put your business on the right foot from day one, so don’t count on it.
Gain the skills to help them be successful at their job, even if they’ve held the same position five times in five different organizations and you believe it should be identical each time (it isn’t).
If you’re uncertain of how to create a training plan, Inc. has an article and deeper resources that can help.
Additionally, when someone feels more competent at their work they feel more secure and contented with what they have accomplished.
Headaches Averted:
- Harsh firing
- High turnover
- No need to spend time correcting employee mistakes
6. Neglect Your Inbox the First 4 Hours
Neglect Your Inbox the First 4 Hours of Every Day Ignoring your inbox is one of the best practices you can implement for improving productivity and efficiency in the workplace. It helps ensure that you do not miss any important messages or tasks during these crucial early hours of each day.
Some productivity experts may have recommended that you not check your email at the start of each day. If this is true for you, here’s why:
As advice that is often repeated by those who are just echoing each other, it can be easy to disregard.
However, it serves an essential purpose and does so admirably.
Constantly checking your email can cause your brain to get quite busy. But that is only temporary; what truly matters in life should take priority.
Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that decision fatigue occurs as the day wears on and our brains continue to think. It’s an all-too-common issue.
That means if you start your day by scanning through emails from SEO spammers, then you are using up valuable brain power on non-essential issues.
It means you have less cognitive capacity left to consider critical business decisions and scenarios which could increase your chances of success (unlike fraudulent SEOs).
Furthermore, if an “emergency situation” comes into your inbox but you don’t notice it until later on in the day, most of your list of tasks are already accomplished before having to deal with it.
Headaches avoided:
- Stay ahead of your to-do list by staying organized. Don’t neglect any tasks!
- Making decisions you regret
7. Invest in Marketing
A simple “Open for Business” sign at your front entrance or an online presence that’s gone live won’t attract customers. 7. Reinvesting in Customer Acquisition
A “Buy our services” sign will not do wonders when it comes to increasing foot traffic to your establishment.
Though it would be lovely, our world is far from ideal.
In today’s globalized environment, small business owners like us must work to gain people’s attention, provide them with something of value and ensure they take note of our message.
Without it, anyone could potentially be lured in by chance to purchase from us.
Before investing in marketing, it is necessary to do some research and determine what works best for your business and the market you are in:
- Are you interested in renting a booth at the festival?
- Online Content Marketing?
- Print Ads in the Paper?
- PPC ads in Google?
- Facebook advertisements?
- Referrals and marketing through networks?
Whatever it is you decide to pursue, you must begin taking action right away.
If you’re clever, you’ll leverage it to foster excitement, loyalty and enthusiasm from day one.
However, don’t just let things slide if you find your business isn’t performing as well as expected. After all, if marketing hasn’t been a major part of the equation from the beginning, don’t wait any longer until you decide it needs more attention.
Start now and you’ll be glad you did.
Headaches Avoided:
- Dry thumbs from too many wiggling motions
- No cash flow
- Being forced to take on debt due to lack of income
- There are no funds to pay you or your employees.
8. Plan Meetings With Yourself 8. Setting Meetings is Essential
As the owner of a business, you have many decisions to make.
Your business’ success or failure rests solely upon you. As the person employees look to for guidance and direction, it’s up to you to see the bigger picture of your brand so that you can determine how best to move forward.
Though running a business, even one that appears “small,” requires so much work and an exhaustive to-do list, we often become so caught up in getting everything done that we forget to keep track of the business owners themselves.
At some point, we become so immersed in the employee role that we forget what a boss actually looks like.
Every Friday morning, I plan my meetings. Spend 30 minutes to an hour with yourself as the principal planner of your company.
Before your initial meeting, take stock of the big goals you have and assess if what you are currently doing is helping make those objectives a reality.
If it is, congratulations.
However, if it isn’t, consider what can be done to make improvements for the better.
If there’s room for improvement, identify what that change will entail.
When I try this approach, I often discover that the things I have allowed myself to get focused on may need to be put aside for a few days or weeks until another priority can be addressed.
Although I may not make any progress on the project I set aside for a half-month, when I pick it back up again it always goes more efficiently and quickly due to these sessions with myself.
Headaches avoided:
- If you’re falling behind on your goals, here’s some help for the journey ahead.
- Are your business practices out of sync with market expectations or competitors?
- Imagine watching a portion of your business decline?