Running a business is definitely rewarding, but the truth is it can also feel like you’re trying to stay on top of a hundred things at once, including orders, emails, invoices, content, customer queries… and that’s before you even think about growing your business as well.
It’s only natural to look for ways to make everything a bit more manageable when it all gets chaotic, and the key is to make things work for you in a smoother, more streamlined way, without cutting corners or dropping your standards. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more about how to do it the right way.
Pause And Look Around
Before you change anything, it helps to actually pause and look at how things are running. The fact is that we get so used to our daily to-do list that it becomes automatic, and that doesn’t make it totally efficient. So think about your regular week – are you answering the same kinds of questions again and again? Is your inbox full of things that could have been avoided with clearer information on your website? Are you spending hours doing something a useful tool could do in minutes?
It’s really worth taking a little time to ask and answer these questions (and to do it honestly) because that’s how you’ll work out what’s slowing you down and causing problems. Once you have that info, you can do something about it, and that’s the first step to a more streamlined business.
Don’t Overcomplicate Things
There’s a big difference between simplifying your process and completely changing absolutely everything you do and what you’ve built so far, and you really don’t have to do the latter if you can make some small changes that work. It could just be a matter of creating an FAQ section on your website, so people don’t keep asking you the same thing over and over. Or maybe you look for a good scheduling tool so customers can book appointments without having to contact you first (which would save a lot of time).
Little changes can do more than big ones in the end, and at the very least they’ll usually be cheaper and reduce your stress levels, so why not make one change and see what happens? Go step by step, and you’ll find the progress is slow but steady, and that’s fantastic.
Payments Should Be Easy
If accepting payments still feels like a bit of a hassle, that’s definitely something worth fixing. No matter what you’re selling or how much it costs, your customers are going to want a smooth, simple, secure way to pay, and you’ll want something that saves you time on the admin side as well, so it’s a good idea to search for something that ticks all the boxes.
A lot of businesses stick with the same old systems just because they’re familiar, but if those systems are slowing things down or making things awkward for your customers, it might be time to look at alternatives. You don’t need a complicated solution, you just need one that fits what you do, and you might want to try this payment provider to see if it makes life a bit easier without confusing things or upsetting your customers.
Keep The Personal Touch
One of the biggest fears people have when streamlining a business is that things will start to feel impersonal, but making things easier doesn’t mean taking away all the personality you’ve got in the business – the fact is you can automate things like order confirmations, appointment reminders, and feedback requests, and still keep your tone warm and friendly (in fact, it’s a must). It’s all down to how you set things up, so spending a little time getting the tone and wording right will save you a few headaches in the future.
If you’re thoughtful about it, automation can actually give you more time to connect with your customers in ways that really matter, like personally replying to a message, getting in touch after a sale to make sure they’re happy, or just being more present when it comes to social media, and so on.
Revisit And Refresh
Streamlining doesn’t have to be something you do once and then forget about it – in fact, that would be a big mistake. As your business grows and changes, what worked once might become clunky and slow, or even hold you back, and that’s why checking in now and again will help you spot small problems that you can quickly fix before they become bigger ones.
