Any small business owner will tell you that it’s not a life of long weekends and sleep-ins. A successful and growing business demands time and investment. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do in the workplace to free up your time and achieve a better work/life balance.
1. Hire good staff
Hiring good staff may seem like obvious choice for the number one spot, but a wrong hire is a reoccurring mistake made by business owners looking to quickly fill a position, or hiring solely on their CV. As well as the skills and experience necessary to perform the role, candidates must fit culturally and share the same values as the organisation. Cultural fit should not be passed over as contemporary buzz words – it will determine whether an employee performs and stays with a company. This will save your recruiting efforts a lot of time and money in the long run.
When you hire a candidate whose ideas and values are aligned with their colleagues’ and company values, they will feel accepted and motivated into achieving success for the business. Look beyond the skills on a CV and concentrate on questions during the interview stages that assess values and environmental work ethic.
Training and mentoring may seem time consuming, but time invested in your staff will pay dividends in the long run. When staff feel appreciated at work, tenure is likely to increase as well as motivation and productivity. Educated and confident staff will work autonomously without the need of your time and intervention in regular doses, thus freeing up your day to concentrate on driving the business
2. Take advantage of technology
Take advantage of software programmes designed to speed up and simplify processes. CashManager accounting software can streamline your book keeping saving you hours of accounting time. Features such as EziFeed will save you time and error by automating your transactions from your bank. That means no more manual entering when it comes to reconciling your statements.
Social media platforms can be controlled use collective programmes such as Sprout Social saving you valuable hours by submitting one post across multiple platforms
3. Stop procrastinating
If you regularly clock up a 60-hour week without denting the workload, work out how much time you actually spend applying yourself to tasks and compare it with the time you are in the office. Take a note of the start and finish time of each task and add them up at the end of the day. You will be surprised at how much time you waste checking emails, popping out for coffee breaks and being involved in pointless meetings.
4. Manage your cashflow and finances
A well organised financial forecast will allow you to prepare for any unforeseen expenses and have transparency over who owes you what. This will save you a lot of time chasing debt and lost invoices.
5. Learn to let go
Believe it or not, there are people out there who can do the job just as good as you, maybe even better. Your talent should be exclusive to taking your idea and turning it into a profitable business. You cannot achieve this by wanting control of all the menial tasks that can be delegated or outsourced. Save yourself the time and delegate your workload to your employees or hire a freelancer that is paid solely on output.
Freeing up time requires you to invest time. Spend a few hours each month reflecting on the previous month and setting goals. Success does not happen overnight, but with focus and determination, you will get those extended holidays…..eventually.
If you would like to take control of your finances to save you lost hours each month, talk to us about accounting software that's right for your business.