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Two Time Management Concepts That Will Help Grow Your Small Business
| Guest post by: Mark Smiciklas |
Article Overview: Time management is an important tool for small business owners - organizing your time and understanding its value to your small business is a great way to become more focused and successful.
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Free Download - Managing Small Business Growth by Balancing Big + Small By Mark Smiciklas |
Two Time Management Concepts That Will Help Grow Your Small Business
Time management is an important tool for small business owners - organizing your time and understanding its value to your small business is a great way to become more focused and successful.
1. Time Allocation.
In order to grow and develop a small business brand, owners and managers need to allocate time to three key functional areas:
* Servicing existing customers.
* Searching for new business.
* Administration.
The time required to achieve a balance between the day-to-day and long term needs of a small business will vary from situation to situation - A good time allocation rule of thumb to start is:
Existing Customers – 60%.
Once you get a new customer make sure you keep them by allocating time to:
* Continuing to present your client base with the high level of quality products and services that gained their trust in the first place.
* Offering a superior level of ongoing customer service and support.
* Developing Incremental business by offering existing customers new products and services.
Business Development – 30%.
Allocate approximately three quarters of your business development time on marketing, advertising and sales. Some of the tasks you can set aside time for are:
* Preparing quotes and proposals.
* Marketing planning and execution which can include (but not be limited to) thinking about your target markets, researching advertising options, implementing ad campaigns such as Google Adwords, newsletter marketing, website content management, etc.
* Sales prospecting i.e. cold calling, etc.
* Researching potential clients, market segments, etc.
Allocate approximately one quarter of your business development time to networking and publishing. Set aside time for:
* Networking events put on by your local chamber of commerce or industry associations.
* Meeting with strategic allies, vendors, etc.
* Public speaking.
* Tradeshow marketing.
* Online social networking i.e. keeping your LinkedIn profile updated; commenting on blogs, etc.
* Writing content such as website articles, regular blog posts, etc.
* Writing press releases.
Administration – 10%.
Small business owners get caught up in the day-to-day and often sacrifice staying up to date on their “paperwork” because it’s not a revenue generator – but, if neglected for too long, administration can become costly. Dedicate some time each day, week or month to administration including:
* Bookkeeping and accounting (particularly paying bills and invoicing!).
* Staying up to date with any government documents, important registrations, etc.
2. Time Value.
Yes, we all know that "time is money"...but, besides direct payment for products/services, how can your small business use time to create value and build brand equity? Here's a hint: don't just think about your time when it's billable...view the time you spend as an investment in building your small business brand and creating trust and value over the long term. Some examples:
* Spend face-to-face time with customers...take time to learn about their business so you are able to better serve them in the future.
* Take time to really engage with clients and prospects...don't rush through situations that may not pay immediate dividends...listening builds respect.
* Take time to think...about your business, your strategies, your employees, your vendors...it's too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget the value of spending time developing ideas.
* Respect the value of other people's time...when you gain permission to share time with a prospect or client, don't risk eroding the goodwill: Don't be late for meetings; Don't overstay your welcome; Don't waste people's time.
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Related Forum Posts
No B.S. Time Management
- A great book I read on Time Management is No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy.
My entry
- 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read
- this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody.
2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto.
3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book
Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Your Intial Mistakes Business
- Hi,
When I started my business I had made a lot of mistakes initially. These helped me in learning the art of the trade and today when I look back, I feel that these mistakes were quite silly. I had made my learnings then and those
learnings have helped me time and again.
Some of the mistakes I made were -
i. Wrong Time Management
ii. Wasting money on glossy Brochures and Business cards
iii. Believing what they taught me at school was 100% correct
iv. Giving too much when it was not required......
I would like to find out what have been your faltering moments in Business when you had started and what/how did they help you grow.
Regards
Mission & Vision Statements
- Oops my bad. A mission statement is for employees as well.
Author of "Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases", Fred R. David says "The mission statement answers the question 'What is our business,'" while "the vision statement answers the question 'What do we want to become?'" (60). Furthermore, "A good mission statement reveals an organization's customers; products or services; markets; technology; concern for survival, growth, profitability; philosophy; self-concept; concern for public image; and concern for employees" (73).
These maybe the coldest franchises out there:
- Here are the worst 15 performing franchises in regards to having the highest Small Business Administration (SBA) loan failure rates. The list is dotted with sub sandwich shops, fitness centers and car shops.
WORST FRANCHISE LOAN FAILURES Failure %
1 OBEE'S SOUP SALAD SUBS 55.56%
2 LADY OF AMERICA 41.94%
3 COUNTRY CLUTTER (BED & BREAKFAST) 41.18%
4 COPY CLUB 36.36%
5 ALL TUNE AND LUBE 35.71%
6 PICKERMAN'S 35.71%
7 PHILLY CONNECTION 35.59%
8 ROLY POLY ROLLED SANDWICHES 34.78%
9 COTTMAN TRANSMISSION 34.48%
10 HAIR COLOR EXPRESS 33.33%
11 LEE MYLES AUTOMOTIVE TRANSMISSIONS 33.33%
12 GODFATHER'S PIZZA 33.33%
13 SMOOTHIE FACTORY 33.33%
14 BLIMPIE 31.39%
15 GOLF U.S.A. (RETAIL GOLF EQUIP.) 30.77%
Source: Small Business Administration, SBA Loan Performance Within Franchise Code for the Period of FY 2001 - 2005
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