Did you know that 20% of small businesses in the USA fail within the first year? That 30% fail in the second year? Beyond that 50% fail after five and then finally, 70% of small businesses fail in their 10th year?
These facts aren’t meant to scare you or put you off from starting your own small business. Rather they are meant to highlight to you the seriousness with which you need to approach your small business venture to ensure it has the optimum chance of succeeding.
You might be thinking to yourself now, ‘how do I do that?’ Well, fortunately, we’ve collated some of the best tips to help you organize your business efficiently and set it up for long-term success. If you don’t want your small business to become another statistic, read on…
Digitize
You may well think that the quill is better than the key but when it comes to business organization that’s the wrong approach. If you want to make sure that your business runs as smoothly as possible ditch the pen and paper and digitize everything.
The time and money you will save in the long run from utilizing digital voucher check tools, cash flow spreadsheets and accounting software are phenomenal. Having everything in a digital format will also allow you to have a clearer and sharper understanding of your business’s financial health.
Another thing about digitizing your business is the convenience of sharing files, creating reports, and sending a fax is faster because digitized files are sent through a convenient online fax service.
Budget Frugally
When a person gets into a new hobby what is the first thing that most people do? They go online and start buying equipment and clothing.
What they should do though is spend half an hour researching their new hobby to find out what equipment and clothing is essential to their new passion.
Then they should spend another half an hour shopping around to get the best possible deal on the essentials. If you take the second approach you will save money and avoid shelling out on things that you don’t need.
You’d be amazed at how many small businesses take the first approach and splash the cash willy-nilly on set-up costs. Don’t fall into that trap, budget frugally and always keep cost-cutting at the forefront of your mind.
Catastrophize
Catastrophizing is one of the cognitive distortions that leads people into the path of stress. Individually this habit should be avoided or negated at all costs, but in terms of your small business, catastrophizing is actually very useful.
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best should be your business mantra. 82% of small businesses fail because of cash flow issues. Guard against this by putting away a nest egg of money to help you through fallow periods, even if it means living frugally for a few months.
Streamline Processes
A recent study found that companies in the USA were losing on average $1,800 per employee each year on unnecessary emails. If you’re Apple or Google this is a drop in the ocean compared to your revenues and profits.
If you’re a small business though that’s a crippling amount of money to be wasting. To reduce your waste, conduct an audit of your businesses’ processes.
Are there areas you could save time on? Are you doing things that are unnecessarily convoluted and expensive? Whatever the area or the issue is, streamline it. Don’t just do this every once in a while, do it regularly for the best outcomes.
Training
There’s no use expecting your staff to know what to do instinctively or criticizing them for not being as good at a task as you.
You have to train them and train them well. Informed, confident staff will keep your business running smoothly even when you’re not that. In the long term, this will prove invaluable.