3 Tips for Mastering Time Management and Raising Revenues
All small businesses know this fundamental fact: you only get paid when you deliver services. Of course, in a small business, the same people who handle delivery of services often oversee the business's sales and marketing and general and administrative costs.
These three functions compete for the same time, and because very few people are expert at all business functions, most small businesses are not very efficient at all three tasks.
The internet has been a massive force for change, serving to democratize access and capability. With internet capability, everyone can be a publisher by using blogging systems, build a video channel thanks to YouTube, or sell to the world via e-commerce.
With this backdrop, you might expect the internet to solve the issues of better efficiency for sales and marketing or reduce general and administrative costs. However, internet technology's rate of change has been so rapid that most small businesses simply are not in a position to absorb the technology.
Plus, technology is generally built to be consumed by more sophisticated clients than a small business, allowing large firms to use internet technology for deep data mining and analytics or sophisticated targeted marketing. However, this capability is largely out of reach for most small businesses.
So, what's a small business to do?
Seek simplicity: To use a tax analogy, small businesses need to find the 1040EZ form of the internet -- something that provides maximum benefit with minimum complexity.
Find a low-cost model: Most major software systems are out of reach for small businesses, so there is a need for a "LinkedIn"-type business model to help them gain efficiency.
Get trained in new technology: Integrated training and support are critical for small businesses adopting new technologies.
After addressing these three factors, small businesses could increase their productivity dramatically and shift their focus to what drives revenue.
