Manage your business more effectively in 5 easy steps

Are you a business owner or entrepreneur? Do you manage several people or even just a small team? Do you ever feel like your business could be run more effectively? Your initiatives carried out quicker, your goals reached more easily and your employees more productive?

Here’s a tip for you—it can happen, but it starts with you. The type of leader you are and examples you set will determine how efficient your company is. So, if you can’t take a day off and let your business run itself, you’re not doing something right. Check out these 5 ways to run your business more effectively.

Shove your ego aside

It can be hard to recognize you have a problem with your ego. The majority of people who let their ego get in the way don’t realize they’re doing it. So many small business owners and entrepreneurs get used to being independent. To managing everything themselves or running on a skeleton team. When the time comes that they have an extra pair of hands, it can be hard to rescind control.

If you’ve gotten to the point where you’re turning the profit and managing several people, I commend you! That’s an amazing feat that not many people achieve. So, you have every right to feel good about it. Buy yourself a new car. Make new deals, get some press – and then shove your ego aside.

Hire some new people and let them do their jobs. If you continue with the mindset that you’re the only one who knows how to do certain things, you’ll never let your business advance. You may be pretty amazing, but keep in mind, some people are better than others at certain skills. So, if you don’t want to spend all your time on Snapchat or learning about JavaScript when you should be focusing on your vision, shove your ego aside. Let other people manage the parts of your business they know best.

Nip your micromanaging habit

Micromanaging could be killing your business. Nip your habit of jumping into a project at the last minute, or needing to approve all initiatives before they go out. Taking jobs away from your employees at the last moment isn’t productive or healthy. When you get dragged down into every last detail of every day, you fail to see the bigger picture.

What’s the bigger picture? The environment in which you compete. If you’re too wrapped up in your company letterhead or social media campaigns, you may miss the fact that laws are changing, technology is advancing and customer preferences are shifting.

Give your employees space to do the jobs you hired them for. Source

In other words, work on your business, not in your business. Let your employees do the jobs you hired them for. After all, micromanaging is only encouraging bad performance. When your employees expect you to jump in and correct and finish every project, they’ll stop giving it their best. Which is not good for your business and certainly not for efficiency. It’s also incredibly tiring.

Try positive motivation

Everyone wants to do their jobs well and a little pressure goes a long way in improving performance. But, managing your business through scare tactics isn’t a good idea, unless you’re working on the stock market. Even then, the average stockbroker’s career only lasts about ten years.

If you want your employees to go the distance, to enjoy what they do and let it show in their work, try positive motivation. Set targets and define your goals. Let employees know what is expected of them. But instead of threatening them with losing their jobs, or naming and shaming, motivate through positivism.

You don’t always have to offer bonuses or more money when targets are met and exceeded. Sometimes simple gratitude, the chance to grow in their positions and a little recognition can be enough. You could even offer a promotion or the chance to see their own initiatives to fruition. That’s far more enticing than fearing for your job.

Listen to your therapist or read books on work/life balance

Listen to your therapist and take some time off. If you don’t have a therapist, read a few books or articles on the subject of work/life balance. If you’re proud of the fact that you haven’t had a vacation in over five years, or that you work all the hours there are in a day, then it’s time to take time off.

You’re more productive after a break, plain and simple. Taking some time off will do you good and your business good as well. If you’re constantly glued to the computer and never take the time to exercise, walk around outside, or take a day away, you’re never giving your brain a rest.

That means that you’ll never be able to give 100% to your company and your creativity and business effectiveness will suffer. If you can’t take a vacation (or won’t take a vacation), start with a lunch break at least. Every little helps.

Lead by example

Making your business more effective starts with you. So, set a good example. If you want your employees to get your business mentioned on the News at 10, show them that it can be done. If you ask them to capture the biggest clients, tell them how you did it. This is not to be confused with micromanagement. You should not do their jobs for them. But neither should you expect something unreasonable that has never been done before.

When it comes to your company culture, try to keep an open door. If you run your business online, having an open door is about letting your employees know that they can come to you with an idea, problem or challenge. Be positive, take breaks, encourage your team to be passionate about their work. If you’re constantly slouching over your keyboard and speaking down to your employees, expect them to follow your lead.

There are many ways to run your business more efficiently, from cost-cutting and automated technology to business consulting and artificial intelligence. But, if you really want your team to work together towards a common goal, you need to start with the little things. And the change needs to come from you.

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DISCLAIMER: This article expresses my own ideas and opinions. Any information I have shared are from sources that I believe to be reliable and accurate. I did not receive any financial compensation in writing this post, nor do I own any shares in any company I’ve mentioned. I encourage any reader to do their own diligent research first before making any investment decisions.