Time management can be a critical issue in the small business. As the owner has many different roles to be involved in at different levels it can be hard to organize things in a way that are more beneficial. There are a wide variety of planning programs, software, courses from organizational consultants that one can do but there are also some golden tips that assist in designing the future flow of your business success.
1. Design a weekly timeline that helps you develop a routine for each day of the week. This is a routine that would maximize your time. You need to plan out where are you going to be in terms of area of the city each day, what routes are best, how long appointments can be at the most and prioritize the events that are most important to you.
Also creating a routine schedule for each month is helpful in defining seasonal events that may be important to your business. Every business has a different cycle and some are more affected by seasonal changes than others. Retail, obviously is very busy in the months before Christmas. Some of the most effective retailers are already looking at buying just after this, in January.
Look back at your business from last year and see what parts worked well and what you would like to change. This will help you in designing and understanding your workforce and customers as well as competitors or industry changes that you will have to adapt to accordingly.
2. Create goals that stretch what you do in a period of time. As you get more used to your schedule you begin to organize tasks in a quicker more methodical level. The methods are usually different based on learning styles and organizational types. However, most business owners begin to group and focus on things they are comfortable with in their business, whether it be sales, marketing, HR, accounting, administration, management etc.
The most important thing to consider though, is how best to spend your time. Yes, you may be really good at accounting, but it is a priority to spend a lot of time in this week, or quarter, or is something else more pressing.
If you allocate time slots for each of these and delegate them to other business people, or business services, you may find time to do more essential tasks such as business development or company training.
3. Recognize priorities over tasks. Tasks are day to day items that are important but they may be reduced. Priorities are events or projects that have an immediate effective on your business sales and future business development.
These priorities keep the daily flow of business activities moving and business owners may change them due to changes in resources or the market. These are your most important assets or interests and will help develop your businesses future success.
A good book to read on this is Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He also has a new book out that is a most interesting read called The 8th Habit.
Daryl Des Marais is a Business Development Consultant that has helped several entrepreneurs in service businesses expand and develop their businesses revenues and/or locations. He is a private partner in http://www.businessgrowth.ca/businessconsultantalberta.html
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Time Management and Small Business Development Issues - To learn more about this author, visit Daryl Des Marais
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Daryl Des Marais
(Visit Daryl's Website)
Mr. Des Marais has operated small
businesses for over 20 years. He has been
a consultant and held positions in some of
the fastest growing companies in Canada.
He has held past management positions in
retail, tourism, hospitality and sales for
a variety of companies. He has increased
sales by 200% in 2 months for an herbal
doctor; increased sales by 30% in 4 months
for a major Canadian Big Box Retailer;
200% sales increase 3 times in a row for a
service-based small business and helped
several entrepreneurs develop and sell
their business. His expertise is in the
area of growth and business development.
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