One of the biggest mistakes that most entrepreneurs make is trying to do too much of the work themselves. I can see why people make that mistake (and I've done it myself) because it helps to keep your expenses low, however if you keep doing it then you are ruining your business. Really once your business starts to bring in some money then you have to take a step back and find ways to get people in to do the more mundane tasks, or find ways to cut out unnecessary process and things like that. All of that means you will find yourself with more time to do the high level activities like think up new products to add to your range and come up with ideas to increase profitability.
Here are three ways you can start to leverage your time better:
Recruit some staff: This is probably the most obvious way to take some of the work off you, which is why I mentioned it first, but it is no easy task. For instance you need to make sure you are going to be able to comply with all the different employment laws that apply to you. Then you need to actually seek out and find the right member of staff who will work hard for you and drive the company forward, not someone who only adds to your problems. When you have chosen someone then you need to start thinking about how to pay them, and not only that but you need a payroll run each month so their taxes get paid and they don't get into trouble.
While you might not want the hassle of hiring full time staff then it is something you cannot avoid as your company grows, although there are some other things you can try first.
Implement systems: Take a good long look at the tasks you do and the processes you use, are they efficient, could they be automated? Getting new or improved software is an excellent way to make your processes more efficient, whether that is something as simple as an article spinner to help you generate content or a custom made backend system for taking sales then it all helps. Getting the perfect solution means having your own custom software usually, and that is expensive, but while not ideal, then the software that is readymade out there can still help you out a lot and it is significantly cheaper.
Hire a freelancer: Now that the internet is so commonplace then it is easy to get access to extremely talented freelancers from around the world. As little as 5 years ago pretty much your only option if you wanted something done that didn't require a full time member of staff to do it (like a one-time data merge or website design etc) was to hire a company to do it for you or get in agency staff to help out. Now if you need something doing which doesn't require them to actually be with you, like building and promoting your website, proofreading instruction manuals or creating logos etc ,then you can hire talented people from all around the world directly. There are a ton of websites out there now like Elance.com which give you easy access to these people, and you can post a job in minutes and start having people give you quotes for doing the work.
Here are three ways you can start to leverage your time better:
Recruit some staff: This is probably the most obvious way to take some of the work off you, which is why I mentioned it first, but it is no easy task. For instance you need to make sure you are going to be able to comply with all the different employment laws that apply to you. Then you need to actually seek out and find the right member of staff who will work hard for you and drive the company forward, not someone who only adds to your problems. When you have chosen someone then you need to start thinking about how to pay them, and not only that but you need a payroll run each month so their taxes get paid and they don't get into trouble.
While you might not want the hassle of hiring full time staff then it is something you cannot avoid as your company grows, although there are some other things you can try first.
Implement systems: Take a good long look at the tasks you do and the processes you use, are they efficient, could they be automated? Getting new or improved software is an excellent way to make your processes more efficient, whether that is something as simple as an article spinner to help you generate content or a custom made backend system for taking sales then it all helps. Getting the perfect solution means having your own custom software usually, and that is expensive, but while not ideal, then the software that is readymade out there can still help you out a lot and it is significantly cheaper.
Hire a freelancer: Now that the internet is so commonplace then it is easy to get access to extremely talented freelancers from around the world. As little as 5 years ago pretty much your only option if you wanted something done that didn't require a full time member of staff to do it (like a one-time data merge or website design etc) was to hire a company to do it for you or get in agency staff to help out. Now if you need something doing which doesn't require them to actually be with you, like building and promoting your website, proofreading instruction manuals or creating logos etc ,then you can hire talented people from all around the world directly. There are a ton of websites out there now like Elance.com which give you easy access to these people, and you can post a job in minutes and start having people give you quotes for doing the work.
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