Regardless of your business’ size or product, there are certain beneficial practices that both improve your chances of success and, more importantly, allow you to survive tough times. As the current economical climate is demonstrating, these tough times may surprise us in their sudden and significant impact. This is why maintaining a robust business, one that is adaptable, is fundamental.
When it comes to smaller and newly found businesses, stability is even more crucial. There are a handful of success stories that might appeal to our personalities but, while some businesses do find massive success quickly, there are far more that fail.
The following habits have been collected are those from companies and managers who have long term experience within businesses. They are geared toward building a strong foundation, a business that is open to fortune but more focussed on dealing with difficult situations easily.
Neat and Accessible Data
Perhaps the most common feedback offered is the benefit of a well-organised filing system. Time and money are very quickly wasted when there is a delay in supplying documents. In more extreme cases, documents serve as evidence, which makes their accessibility crucial. The ability to recover information, such as an employee document or invoice, can very easily be the difference between a drawn-out process and a simple resolution. Restaurants have been closed because they cannot supply suitable health and safety documents and retailers have been challenged over missing invoices, each potentially resolved with improved, robust document organisation.
Many young businesses, especially those who find themselves in demand, will often neglect to build an efficacious storage system from the beginning, which then becomes more difficult to resolve as time goes on. It may seem like an arduous task but it is one conducive to longevity. Digitising files, detailing storage tags, and building accessible cloud storage for your company will not only save you time but, as events occur, will protect your business from compromise.
Delegate, Internally and Externally
For managers, it can be difficult to delegate work. Placing the responsibility of a task onto an employee may seem daunting. However, it is an incredibly fruitful endeavour. Offloading tasks to employees not only allows you to focus your time on more challenging tasks but it also allows for the development and training of staff, so that they can grow over time, becoming more valuable to the company.
Similarly, outsourcing certain tasks can relieve your business of time-consuming tasks, especially high-risk tasks, such as finances. Outsourcing financial management to payroll services is beneficial to your internal employees’ time as well as your finances. Since external companies are experienced, dedicated, and equipped with the most up-to-date software, there is far less chance of mishandling or mistakes being made.
Don’t Grow, Yet
Growth is so desirable for many businesses that it is often their downfall. Spreading your services and staff too thin or taking on a larger challenge than you are ready for is likely to be more costly than its potential payout. These opportunities may present themselves as ‘chances’, that they are the stepping stone to great success, however, they can easily compromise a service’s quality, exhaust staff, and incur sudden costs.
When faced with an opportunity to grow, don’t pursue it until you are absolutely sure that your business is able to handle the task while simultaneously managing your current operation to the same high standard. Opportunities may present themselves again over time, but failure only needs to happen once.