Having recently reflected on the year just gone and planned for the year ahead made us think about how everyone would be feeling about their business – people in a similar position to us. What is the small business owner worried about, planning for and wanting to make a success of this year?
After some research and having a think about our own situation, please find below Scout’s ‘Top 3’ summary of what small business owners worry about, (many of our Clients fall into this category) and a few action plans to help get a better nights sleep!
- Hiring and retaining the best employees
- Now, we would say this wouldn’t we, but of all the articles I looked at, this really did come top of the list!
- The right Recruitment consultancy will really put your mind at rest. Outsource and take the stress off your plate and give it to the experts to deal with.
- Make sure your consultancy of choice spend time with you and get to know you better as they are not going to be able to help as well if they don’t know you properly.
- Keep your staff happy and give them a reason to stay – a good benefits package, training and progression opportunities, a pleasant working environment and even discretionary treats a few times a year will make a huge difference.
- Make sure you are clear with expectations of each staff member – It’s vital that your staff know what you expect of them and the company long-term objectives and where they fit in with this. Give them pride in the company they work for.
- Maintaining and growing your customer base
- Building strong and loyal customer base – the absolute key to a strong and successful business is retaining good Client’s. We all know, it is far more expensive and time consuming pitching for new Clients all the time, so treat your current Client’s well and they will form the bedrock of your company profit. Then look to grow with new Clients after that.
- Treat them well, take them out, listen to their concerns, offer genuine advice and always try to value add over and above the core skill or product they are paying for – it won’t go un-noticed.
- Properly identify your Client’s needs – the worst thing you can do as a business owner is become complacent and rest on your laurels. Arrange time to sit down with them face to face, get feedback and tweak your product or service if necessary.
- Maintaining a balance between work and home life
- Not the easiest one to solve as a small business generally needs a lot of attention and there are not hoards of people to do everything. But small business owners need to recognise their most important function is to manage.
- Learn how to delegate – other, more peripheral tasks can be outsourced, to ensure you are not focusing on the wrong thing.
- The smart phone – the best and the worst invention! Try very hard to be strict with yourself – unless you absolutely have to, try not to pick up your work phone or check your emails during your down time and set yourself a cut off time each evening in which you will down tools.
