There are a lot of different ways to make your business operate more efficiently. I am sure there are way more things than mentioned on this list, but I think this is a good way to start, to improve the efficiency of your company today.
1. Outsource
The first thing on my list is to outsource. Outsource things that are necessary, but don’t have a big impact on your business. One example of this might be accounting. Small businesses seldom need their own accounting division. This is one of the things that can easily be outsourced since accounting businesses are made for that purpose.
Some other things you can outsource are:
Research
Your business might require some research done monthly basis, for example. You could order a monthly report of your industry or whatever that is that you need, instead of doing it yourself or hiring another employee to do just that.
Customer service
Customer service can sometimes be outsourced as well. Keep in mind that customer service is often the face of your company, so be careful who you trust to do that right.
Shipping and order fulfillment
Shipping and order fulfillment can also be outsourced. One option for this is amazon or other service providers that offer that.
Video editing / Photoshop
If you need an ad, logo or whatever that is that needs some visual skills, you don’t have to learn them by yourself. Hiring someone from Fiverr or Upwork is often more time and money efficient way than learning it yourself or hiring person who can do that.
Marketing or marketing planning
Marketing can be outsourced as well. If you find a good provider, why not. Another option is to order marketing plan or customer survey from another company.
Manufacturing
You don’t have to build your own factory to make teddy bears. You can outsource this as well. There are options available all around the world, and you can order a good amount of teddy bears from China as an example for a fraction of the price if you did them by yourself.
IT support
Small businesses seldom need their own IT support. Having your own IT department can be a big spender on your budget, with very little work to do on a daily basis. Outsourcing your IT support to a company that offers that kind of a service can make your business more efficient and save money.
Hiring new employees / human resources
Hiring process can be time consuming for businesses. There are companies that do the interviewing part for you, and let you choose from the best candidates. This is a good way to save some money, with a little extra cost.
Don’t outsource everything
This doesn’t mean you have to outsource all of these. Some of the things mentioned above are more essential to one business than another. Outsourcing will make it harder for you to supervise the work done overall, but it also will give you more time to focus on more important tasks.
Outsourcing less important, but things that have to be done is a good way to load some weight off your back. You don’t have to learn how to Photoshop if you need one or two pictures per year, it might be better and easier to just hire someone to do that job. You can get people to do these kinds of one-time things from Fiverr or Upwork, for example.
2. Have a plan
Second on the list is to have a plan. Have a short-term plan and long-term plan. A short term plan should guide you towards your long-term goals. When you have a plan to execute, it will be much easier to continue building and expanding your business.
Having a plan in case something happens can be a good way to manage risks in your business. By thinking ahead of what could go wrong, and having a plan for that, will help your business get through tough times easier. I have a post about risk management as well; you can read it here.
3. New systems
Technology is making tasks easier to complete every day. By putting new, efficient systems to use, your business might become more efficient with very little effort.
One of these being working time tracking system. You don’t have to always check if your employees are working the hours they are supposed to. Let modern systems do that for you. This was just one example. Think about what could be done easier in your line of business.
4. Automate
Automating is another easy way to make your business more efficient, and not needing so many workers to worry about. This again varies a lot depending on the industry you are in, but you can find ways to automate something by just googling, for example, “how to automate cleaning business”.
Googling is a good way to get new ideas and improve your business. You just have to know what to google. If you don’t know what you want, it is hard to find it.
5. Bulk deals
Buying raw materials in bulk will lower prices and reduce the work needed to buy them. When you buy bigger lots, they will last longer with the same amount of time spent on ordering and picking up the orders.
Selling in bulk is also another option. You might get slightly lower prices for your products, but the work needed is also cut drastically.
6. Working from home
Working from home for yourself, or your employees might help to improve their work efficiency. When you have more time to sleep, not having to drive all the way up to work, you have more time to rest and focus on the tasks.
More about how to increase your efficiency when working from home can be found here.
7. Hire only superstars
The last thing to increase the efficiency of your business, is to hire efficient people. I have mentioned this in my earlier posts as well. Having superstar like employees will make your business better in every way.
When your employees are the best of the best, spending a little bit more time and money to find the best person for that position will pay itself back along the way. Don’t settle for the average worker if your business is small and depends a lot on every employee. Hire only the best.
Another thing to consider when hiring, is not to hire clones of you. Finding efficient people with different kinds of skill-sets can be a good diversification to your business. Employees are the most valuable assets of the company. Treat them that way.
Final words
No matter if you already have a business or are planning on starting one, I think these things can help you to make it a little bit more efficient. Efficient business in a nutshell can be achieved by cutting tasks and rules to a minimum with the help of the best possible employees.
Automate and outsource as much as you can, without sacrificing the quality your business provides. Even if you were running the business yourself, hopefully this can help you to be a little bit more efficient.
That’s about it, have a nice day.