How is your small business doing? Be honest, is it growing, idle or losing ground? There could many reasons why your business is not growing. For example it could be the result of a poor business idea or plan, a lack of advertising, or the mismanagement of your business’ resources and time.
Let’s face it. Running a successful small business can be very challenging on a small island like Dominica. Your struggles could be the result of factors beyond your own control or within your control – your own actions and decisions.
There are some helpful ideas on how you can manage your time and keep your business afloat. Written by Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy.
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Factors Outside Your Control
It doesn’t matter where in the world you have a business, if your business is stagnating or dying, there are several factors that could be the cause of your current financial failure.
- Your local economy could be suffering inactive or negative growth.
- Your competition might be fiercely competing for you customer base.
- You could be in a terrible location and trapped by the terms on your lease.
Factors Within Your Control
On the other side of the spectrum, there are several more factors that could be causing your business to fail that are well within your control.
- You are simply mismanaging your financial or human resources.
- You’re not spending enough time planning for the future of your business. That’s why it’s essential to develop a good business plan, with the business goals and future endeavors.
Failing To Understand The Value Of Your Time
The deadliest consequence in any business is the owner’s failure to understand the value of his or her own time. Even a thriving business can die under the weight of an owner who does not place the proper value on his or her own time.
Some owners work long hours for little return because they do not understand their own value. Some of these owners will
eventually quit their business for a job that could provide a higher living wage. Others, while thriving, may keep themselves
doing tasks that can be and should be done by others. Sometimes, the business owner wants to believe that he or she alone can do the task, or they want to do the things they most enjoy.
In the end, these people fail because the important tasks that should have been done for the purpose of growing the business or meeting the demands of the business have gone undone.
Planning, Goal Setting and Measuring
Planning – will permit you to see where you want to go and how you hope to get there.
Goal Setting – permits you to make certain specific determinations about your business. One such goal that should be set early and regularly is the level of income that you want to derive from your business.
Measuring – lets you see the true state of your business at any one point in time. Measuring at regular intervals lets you see a moving slide show that will deliver an honest picture of the continuing state of your business.
Additional measuring will permit you to see how much your time could be worth and how much you are really paying yourself.
Your measurements should also permit you to put a cost on the specific tasks and functions that are required in the operation of your business.
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Making The Right Decisions
Making good decisions, properly managing tasks, and delegating the work at hand can make or break your business. You will be treating yourself better than the average small businessperson. Good Luck!
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