People and businesses have very different needs

Work Smart Not Hard Tip No. 48 in a series written for Indie Cambs

One of the things that has always fascinated me about businesses is that they all run the same way:

You find something that people want or need.
You work out how to supply it legally and safely.
You figure out the price that allows you to make a profit.
You invite people to buy it.
You deliver.
You keep track of cashflow and make sure you stay in profit.

Of course there are other factors to take into account if you need to hire staff or premises but the basics are pretty much the same for every business that has ever existed, going right back to the oldest recorded business (a construction company specialising in Buddhist temples and was started in 578 AD and run by the same family for 1,400 years – just in case you were wondering!)

It doesn’t matter how much you love your business. It doesn’t care. All that matters is that you get the basics right and keep doing the things that make every business work.

What gets in the way is YOUR needs.

You want to be liked so you keep your prices low.
You don’t want to be pushy so you don’t make sales calls.
You want to stay friends so you let customers pay late.
You don’t like conflict so you don’t change staff or suppliers when you should.
You’re uncomfortable thinking about money so you don’t keep track of your cashflow.

The result of putting your feelings above managing your business is usually very messy and even more uncomfortable than doing the things you don’t like doing.

What you can do instead

If your feelings are making it hard for you to do the things you need to do, the easiest solution is to outsource those tasks.

Get a bookkeeper to keep track of cashflow, make sure accounts are paid on time and flag up when outgoings are exceeding revenue – the trigger to increase prices.

Employ someone to follow up on prospects, increase sales and build repeat business.

Delegate managing staff or dealing with suppliers.

Whatever it is you don’t like doing, find a way to get it done rather than try and ignore it.

Of course, these solutions increase your overheads so the increased costs have to be built into your pricing, but the result should be a much more stable business that doesn’t give you headaches!

Think about why you went into business in the first place … it wasn’t to spend every day doing things you don’t like, so make the changes you need to make. If you’re afraid that the business won’t support increased prices, I’ll happily talk that through with you so get in touch.

The full series of Work Smart Not Hard tips can be found at https://annhawkins.com/category/work-smart/