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When you are running your own small business, you can feel a bit overwhelmed by all the nuts and bolts that make your business run well. There are many challenges to running a company and it can, at times, feel out of control if you do not get a handle on it. Achieving your business goals, professional development goals and improving your business all takes a lot of time. These are all great things but can so easily get pushed back by seemingly more urgent matters of the day-to-day operations. Below, four business owners and managers weigh in on explaining when you need to step back and evaluate how to execute the tasks at hand to make sure that you can complete your goals successfully. Time Management. "Keeping up with large companies can be tough, because a small business does not have the same resources as a large corporation,” said Tyler Hicks, spokesperson for an ecommerce beauty supply organization. "In most cases, within a small business, there is one employee that is in charge of a wide range of tasks that would be split up among many different departments in a large company." Having so many different tasks on the shoulders of one person can make it challenging to manage all of them properly. It is easy to let things slide if it does not seem crucial to daily business. This, for example, could be managing social networking sites for the business. "I would recommend creating a calendar and a schedule for each day that includes daily tasks of running the business as well as setting aside time for those small assignments that easily get pushed off," said Brett William, owner of a Minnesota carpeting company. "They may seem like small tasks, but the impact they have on the bottom line for future business is the only way that you will achieve your business goals." Improve Personal Development. "To improve the running of your own small business, learning will be an integral part of staying on top of your business market," recommended Barb Tresbesch, spokesperson for an commercial HVAC company. "Creating a personal development plan for each person in your business will not only improve the level of skills in the office; it will also prove to each employee that they are a valuable member of the team." Personal development creates a work environment that promotes improving oneself and in turn it will improve the services that your small business provides. Learn to Say "No." "Saying ‘no’ is probably the most unthought-of way to help to overcome the challenges of your small business. Sometimes there are people who to want utilize your services and it would be better for you at a company to just say, ‘no thank you,’" said Amy McElwain, spokesperson for the franchise-based senior care organization, AmeriCare. "When you are getting to know a potential client, there are some people who you simply do not want to do business with. Often times, you will have an instinct during your interactions with this potential client and you will know that working with them will cause more harm than good for your company. By being sensitive to each offer, you will be able to decipher which clients you want and which clients you do not. By only allowing your business to have clients that you actually want, both parties will benefit." When you are managing the many factors that go into running a small business, you have to be strategic with your time, goals and the clients with whom you work with. Take a step back from the demands of running the business to get yourself organized in all of your departments. Work with your team to strategize schedules and decide how to manage the smaller tasks that seem to get pushed back. Doing this you will have a clear idea of how to achieve your goals and grow your small business.
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