We are almost at the end of the financial year. When we are busy in the ‘trenches’ of work, it can be hard to see the overall picture, even though we know how important it is. End of the financial year is the perfect opportunity to stop and analyze. It’s a great time to take stock and ask some hard questions. Where do you want your business to be this time next year? How is your business tracking and is there room for improvement? Are there any major roadblocks getting in your way?
There are many big questions out there but at a guess, we’d say that the number one question for most small business owners is:
How To Make More Space To Work ON Your Business Rather Than Just IN Your Business
This is no easy feat, and there is no one size fits all solution. So in this article, we have come up with a few helpful tips to get you thinking and hopefully moving closer towards that overarching goal.
Tip #1 – Make a Plan
For your business and yourself
Start by investing some time really thinking about how you want your business to look by the end of FY2024.
For example, what does your business organizational chart look like? Where do you want to be investing your time? What are the next best steps you need to take to get you there?
Then take stock of where you are now and make a plan or a pathway for how you’re going to get there. Ask yourself, where am I stuck right now? How can I fix that?
Do you need to spend more time in certain areas of your business, do you need new skills, additional help, change in business model or just different clients? And map it out month by month.
Tip #2 – Delete or Delegate Tasks
Trying to find more space to work on your business is a challenge for most small business owners. One of the biggest areas of frustration for most business owners is time, or a feeling of a lack of it. If you constantly feel like you just don’t have enough time, maybe you can find a way to restructure your day.
A great way to go about this is to sit down and list all the areas that you spend the majority of your time on each day or week. Then highlight the items where you are not investing your time to your best use. Then decide whether you can delete or delegate those tasks to someone else.
Ask yourself 2 questions:
1- Is this task the best use of my time? Can I reduce the time or just get rid of the task altogether?
For example – spending hours on social media that’s not really giving you meaningful results.
2- Can this task be done by someone else? Is that person an existing team member, a new hire, or can I outsource it instead?
For example – 2D Drafting, Sketch Up Base Models or 3D Rendering.
Once you remove the tasks from your day that don’t get the results you are seeking, you suddenly have more time to invest in those more important areas of your business. Or the ones where you can add the most value such as building your business.
Tip # 3 – Streamline Processes
A streamlined workflow with efficient and repeatable processes that achieves consistent results is key to a more profitable business with a less stressed owner. It can also help you find more space to work on your business, rather than just in it.
So how do you achieve that? Start by mapping out your current processes and attaching names to each task. You’ll soon identify the problem or area where things are taking too long. Or you may find your name is attached to too many tasks. Once you can see the roadblock, then you can find alternative ways of solving that problem.
Ask yourself; Am I happy with our current processes? Where are the bottlenecks in our workflow? Can they be more streamlined? How can I change that?
Tip #4 – Are You Capitalizing On The Right Opportunities?
Cashflow and profitability are a major driver of the success of any business. Firstly, look to see if there are any areas where you can reduce costs or overheads? Then start identifying areas where there is opportunity to increase revenue that you may not already be taking advantage of.
For example: Are you charging for the majority of your time? This sounds obvious but in reality is actually quite hard to do. A lot of small design firms often face a situation where they are too fearful of charging their clients for additional work they have to do. It means they can spend hours of time without getting paid for it. That’s valuable time they could have been spending on designs which is chargeable, or working ON their business.
‘Consultants Creep’ is another time zapping situation in the design industry. This is when all those 10 minute phone calls or emails to other consultants such as engineers, surveyors, town planners etc. start to creep up on you. This can add up to hours each year. You either need to reduce that time, or find a way to charge for it.
To grow your business, you need to be investing most of your time in tasks that are either revenue generating or contributing to the business growth. How do you know if you’re winning? Start tracking everything you do in a day and code it to either ‘revenue’, ‘growth’ or ‘other’. If you have more time invested in ‘other’ you may need to change things up a bit.
Tip #5 – Track and Measure Performance
Once you put in place any new system or process, you need to track and measure it to see if it’s working. By checking in regularly and noticing your progress, you will either start to see results, or find areas that need more attention.
Summary
These tips are nothing new. We hope though, they are a timely reminder for you to make a great plan for the next financial year. To allow you to capture more space to work on your business rather than just IN your business.
About Pitch Box
Pitch Box is a Low Cost, Fast Solution, that delivers leading 2D Plans & 3D Visuals of your Designs when you need it.
Providing 2D Plans, 3D Images, fly-throughs and SketchUp Base Models, to residential Architects, Pool and Landscape Designers so you can provide that high end service or improve capacity without the need to hire in-house staff. Ultimately, allowing you to be more productive and more profitable.
The company prides itself on exceptional customer service, with a dedicated customer support team based in Brisbane, Australia. Delivering high quality products with a guaranteed project completion turnaround time of only 5 – 10 business days. Unlike many 3D external service providers, Pitch Box’s pricing is transparent and competitive. Our customers know exactly what they are getting, each and every time they place an order. Discover more about how Pitch Box can support your business and get in touch by visiting our website today!
