Six Ways to Help Small Business Owners Get More Accomplished

August, 22 2019

Small business owners are modern-day heroes. They've ventured out and created their own business — no easy feat, even with a partner. It doesn't get any less challenging after you establish your company, and it's a daily challenge to keep it operational. Your obligations and responsibilities can start to overwhelm you, but there's no reason to worry.

If you're feeling stuck in a state of low productivity, read on to learn six ways you can improve and move forward. With just a few of these tricks, you'll breathe new life into your business and push ahead.

1. Integrate New Technology

Companies of all sizes — across all industries — are looking for the latest and greatest technology to implement. Some of it's going to fall outside your price range, of course, but you still have options. Instead of overspending on advanced software or new computers, try downloading a few apps to get started.

Many business owners have seen the value in Microsoft OneNote. It's free to use and keeps track of online notebooks. Users can share these notebooks through their computers, tablets and smartphones.

If Microsoft OneNote isn't your speed, you can try Evernote. It's similar to OneNote with slightly different features. Evernote lets you create specific tags for their pages and notebooks with a cool web clipper. But to save more than five gigabytes of notes, you'll need to purchase a cloud plan.

2. Create Specific Goals

It's all too easy to lose track of what you're doing when you don't have specific goals. You might wake up and decide to publish a post for your business, but without setting parameters for what you want to write, it'll be difficult to start.

Instead of taking a spur-of-the-moment approach, set goals for your business. You can think of them as stepping stones that will help you eventually achieve your objective. A daily goal might be to sell X number of products, while a long-term goal may involve your revenue or growth.

You'll know you have a specific business goal when you can picture it in your mind, forming a plan to make it happen. It'll help you focus your efforts instead of wasting time on tasks that won't get you where you want to be.

3. Take Advantage of Trips

If you take frequent business trips, are they eating up your productivity? It's a logical question. After all, you have to spend hours in airports and planes to get where you need to go.

In truth, you can take advantage of your business trips and use them to finish more work. Trips are full of downtime where nothing is happening — moments that are perfect for completing low-energy tasks.

While you're waiting in the airport or looking out the window of a taxicab, catch up on emails or reading. Research your competitors to enhance your business goals. You should also schedule your future social media posts. Once you've arrived at your destination, try to network with other business owners. You never know who could help your business later on.

4. Don't Be Afraid to Delegate

If you employ even one person, don't be afraid to delegate. Just because it's your business doesn't mean you need to do everything on your own. Pass off administrative duties to people with more time, or ask an assistant to cover different responsibilities you don't have the energy for.

Admitting you can't do everything doesn't make you a failure. Accepting your limitations is a strength. You'll need to develop your ability to delegate if you're going to achieve success as a small business owner.

5. Focus on One Business

A number of small business owners work on their business while going to a full-time job every day. It's a lot to juggle, especially if those aspects of your life start to overlap. You may feel distracted by other obligations even when you sit down to focus on your small business. Try to separate the two by leaving unfinished work at work.

While you're at home, you should be able to focus on growing your small business. Chipping away at an unfinished assignment as you handle your other job only increases the risk of depression and reduces the quality of your work. That's why it's so important to set boundaries. Your small business will grow far more quickly when it's the only thing on your mind.

6. Form a Support Network

You need a helping hand if you're going to grow. Though you may feel that your business is a burden for you and you alone, you shouldn't operate solo.

You'll improve your productivity when you form a support network with other small business owners. In those moments when you need inspiration, guidance or just a little help, they'll be there to get you back on track. Without people to support, you could end up discouraged and stuck in a rut.

Think Strategically

Take a moment to really think about why you're not as productive as you'd like to be. Is it how you spend your time? Who you network with? The technology you currently use?

When you review those questions, you'll get a better sense of what's holding you back. Only then will you know how to move forward.