business Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Virtual Productivity Solutions

Boost your business by creating effective systems

Any business owner will be able to tell you that a business built on effective systems is far more successful than one that is not.

The Business Directory defines a business system as a methodical procedure or process that is used as a delivery mechanism for providing specific goods or services to customers.

Creating effective business systems can be challenging for small business owners. You may not have the time or inclination to develop systems. However, if you are serious about business growth, you could consider outsourcing this function to someone that is knowledgeable in this area. Alternatively, if you have enough in-house staff, you can delegate it to someone that is detail oriented, analytical, persistent and creative, and who does not have a full-time work load.

What would outsourcing your systems management entail?

Your key performance indicators will be identified
Areas of reduced productivity will be identified
Opportunities for improvement will be suggested
Your process documentation will be created (checklists, flowcharts, etc) to support the opportunities for improvement
You as business owner will approve all processes before they are released
Your staff will have an opportunity to contribute to these systems, and also be trained on how to use these systems once they are approved
Data will be collected data to monitor your key performance indicators
You will receive a reporting scorecard each month on how your business measures up to these key performance indicators.

How to keep on top of your systems development and implementation once you outsource it

There needs to be open communication and trust between you and the person working on your system
While a lot of the development and detail of creating systems is outsourced, as the business owner you are still responsible and accountable for what happens with regard to systems and processes.
A weekly status meeting will go a long way in helping you to catch up with what has been achieved, what has gone well, or areas where challenges or issues have developed.

The results of outsourcing systems development and implementation

You will have more time
You will increase your competitiveness
You will reap the financial rewards of the working systems and procedures
Your staff will be happier because they know what they are supposed to be doing
Your customers will be more satisfied at your consistent service and output
Your business continuity is ensured, because anyone can do the urgent tasks according to the set out procedures if a key staff member is ill or on leave.
You will be able to take your business to the next level because your systems and procedures are working.

Next steps

If you would like to find out more about how to improve your business systems, or if you are interested in outsourcing this function, please contact Virtual Productivity Solutions. We will gladly assist you in this regard.

Your Top 5 Virtual Outsourcing Problems – Solved!

This blog post is written for small business owners who are convinced that virtual service outsourcing is the right route to follow as the next step towards their business success.

Although there are significant benefits to outsourcing (see The Top 8 Ways Small Business Owners can Benefit by Outsourcing), some problems may be experienced that you may not be prepared for.

1. Ineffective communication

This is the largest problem when it comes to outsourcing. The importance of effective communication cannot be overstated. There may be natural communication barriers such as language barriers or cultural differences which need to be considered. But even in the same culture and with the same mother tongue misunderstandings can occur.

Steps to avoid communication problems include:

State your expectations explicitly in the contract. You need to spell out your exactly what you envisage and how your virtual service provider will meet them. This is not a time to provide broad guidelines in an attempt to allow for flexibility. Be very specific.
Schedule a weekly Skype chat, or something similar based on your needs, in which detailed report-backs can be given by your virtual service provider. You can give immediate feedback and discuss problems experienced and potential solutions.
Expect daily contact either via phone, e-mail or web portals from your virtual service provider to keep you up to date on progress, any problems experienced, etc. A good idea is to have a project management platform on which all information is shared, so that all the relevant parties have access to it.

2. Outsourcing before you are really ready for it

You need to prepare and plan to outsource before actually doing it.

Make a list of what your needs are and how you envisage outsourcing will address these needs
Think about your small business’s strengths and weaknesses, and look for someone who will complement these.
Decide who will be responsible for managing the virtual service provider.
Do you have an outsourcing strategy? If not, this is a good time to compile one. It is difficult to succeed without a written plan.

3. Having unrealistic expectations

Outsourcing will not solve all your business problems overnight. You are ultimately responsible for your small business’s success. A few points to remember are:

Your virtual service provider does not know everything about your business that you do. They will function better as they gain more insights into how your business works, and how you like to operate. Be open about your business and share whatever information is necessary to achieve their optimum performance.
Although most virtual service providers are professionals who will hit the ground running, you may have to provide some training or guidelines in certain aspects of the work you expect them to do.

4. Choosing a virtual service provider for the wrong reasons

Going for the cheapest option can lead to disaster. Although it makes sense to get a few quotations before choosing someone, keep the following in mind:

Ensure that the virtual service provider is able to meet your specific needs.
When comparing quotes, make sure that you are comparing apples with apples.
Evaluate the potential service providers’ responses to your queries. Are they enthusiastic? Do they follow up within a reasonable time?
More pointers to find the right service providers for your needs can be found in my article 6 Steps to Find the Best Online Workers.

5. Providing unclear specifications

Take time at the beginning of your working relationship to ensure that your specifications are thorough and accurate. This will save trouble later. For instance, if you realize only after starting a project that you need to change the scope, you will affect both your cost and the time it will take to complete it.

Start a positive outsourcing experience today, and see what a difference it can make to your business success. Whether you need to outsource administrative tasks or human resource related tasks, feel free to contact Virtual Productivity Solutions to make your outsourcing experience a positive and unforgettable one!

6 Reasons Why Things Go Wrong in a Small Business

It may seem discouragingly pessimistic to start the new year thinking about business failure.

However, being aware of potential pitfalls help you avoid them in future.

Areas where businesses seem to most often experience problems:

1. A bad idea from the start

Introducing a product or service for which there is neither need nor demand is the surest route to failure. A good idea must be commercially viable in order to succeed.

2. Unchartered waters

So many small business owners launch into their ventures without a plan or clearly defined goals. It is like starting a journey through unchartered territory, without a map or even a destination. How will you know when you are there?

3. Forgetting to budget

Very few small businesses yield a large profit from day one. You need to budget so that you don’t run out of money just before you make it big. Start-up costs often turn out to be much higher than expected.

Money is the life-blood of your business. A cash-flow squeeze is the single most common cause of small business failure.

Sentiment can compound the problem. Small business owners are often reluctant to charge people (especially family and friends) for the real worth of their products or services.

4. The human factor

Personalities play a crucial part in the success of failure of a small business. Business partnerships are comparable to marriages: tough times, long hours and constant contact can bring out the worst in the relationship.

Small business owners often cannot bring themselves to hire people to do the things they can’t or don’t have time for, or even to ask for help. Others make the mistake of hiring someone just because his/her labour is cheap. It is better to have someone who is competent working two hours a week than a full-time incompetent soul.

You are the driving force behind your business: progress will depend on how much energy and enthusiasm you put into it. If you’re prepared to do whatever it takes to succeed, you will succeed.

5. Falling off the rails

So many small businesses fail because their owners underestimate the importance of keeping up-to-date with simple day-to-day matters, picking up problems only when they have reached serious, even irremediable proportions.

One serious mistake can take you years to recover from.

Expanding too quickly when you don’t have the infrastructure to handle it can prove fatal.

Failure to keep up with what is happening in the marketplace can lead to major setbacks as you lose touch with customer requirements, new trends, and what your competitors are up to.

6. Marketing mishaps

Many small business owners assume that their wonderful product or service will sell itself – and they learn better, too late.

However, there is no surer way to learn a lesson than through your mistakes.

Staying a step ahead

Just because you are achieving what you set out to do doesn’t mean that you can sit back and relax. Some guiding points:

Retain your focus and stick with your original, researched concept. At all costs maintain your planned path, and stay with your market.
Be meticulous about keeping up to date with your financial management and accounting systems. Maintain stringent controls and don’t take too much money out of the business. Outsource this to a reliable VA if you don’t have the time to spend on it.
Customer service is paramount. Develop personal relationships with your clients. Extra special service is something people are prepared to pay even more for. Poor service is the quickest and most effective way of shedding customers and a good reputation.
Keep up to date: ensure that you are constantly aware of trends and take time out to establish what your competitors are doing.
Continuous marketing is a vital ingredient of growth. Never sit back and expect business to keep on flowing your way, even if things are going really well. Think constantly of new ways to improve your marketing strategy.
Take time often to reassess your goals, your direction and your strategies.

May this year be the year that you exceed your dreams for your small business!

The Basics of a Business Continuity Plan

Any organization is at risk for the following:

Natural disasters (floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, fire)
Environmental disasters (like chemical spills)
Accidents
Sabotage
Losing key personnel
Cyber attacks and hacker activity
Theft
IT system crashes
Power and energy disruptions

Sadly, many small business owners never take the time to develop a plan to address disaster striking. It is only once they have experienced first-hand the devastating consequences that they wish that they had implemented a plan in advance. This is a great pity, because a Business Continuity Plan is the least expensive insurance for a small business. In fact, it gives your organization a competitive edge. Perhaps it may not seem so now, but when the time comes, it will be worth its weight in gold. A business continuity plan that works means that your company will survive a disaster and can continue its operations no matter what the circumstances.

What is a Business Continuity Plan?

A Business Continuity Plan is simply a proactive documented planning process that insures that critical services or products are delivered during a disruption. It stipulates how employees will communicate, where they will go, and how they will keep on doing their jobs in case of a disaster. It is important to identify the core operational systems and work processes so that the services and products can be delivered to your customers, no matter what happens.

What is included in a Business Continuity Plan?

Every business is different, and you will have to analyze what the bare minimum is for your business to survive. A few ideas of what to include are listed below:

Who your key personnel and backups are
External contacts
Critical equipment (eg. PC’s)
Critical documents (everything you would need to start your business again)
Responsibility list of who does what and how they should do it if disaster strikes

Who needs it?

Every organization and business should have a Business Continuity Plan. It is especially important for small businesses as they are far more vulnerable to external circumstances.

Why do they need it?

It ensures that a business has the resources and information needed to deal with disasters.
It safeguards the interests of its key stakeholders, its reputation and its value-creating activities.
It gives an organization the opportunity to identify the potential impacts of disasters that threaten it, and to develop a framework and system of responding to the disaster in a timely and appropriate manner.
It is becoming more and more common that potential customers want to see that there is a Business Continuity Plan in place to protect their interests in the company.
It safeguards your company’s reputation.

Conclusion

It is essential that once a Business Continuity Plan is in place, that all staff should be trained as to what their role is in case of disaster. To further streamline the implementation of the Business Continuity Plan, you should test it from time to time, making the necessary adjustments where hiccups are experienced. Most importantly, the Business Continuity Plan must be updated regularly as the business changes. It is not a document to be compiled and then forgotten about. A Business Continuity Plan is not just there to cover high profile disasters. It is about being ready for any incident that may cause disruption to your business. Rather be prepared than sorry.

The top 5 reasons why you cannot run your business alone

Sue started her own business 3 years ago. She is really pursuing her passion, and loves working with her clients. She considers her business as pretty successful. She is free to make her own decisions, and her income is reasonably steady. But over the past few months she has noticed that she is not so eager to start her work day. Somehow it’s harder to get up in the mornings, and to get things done. She cannot think why she feels this way. It’s as though even though she is putting in more hours, something is holding her back. Something is blocking her creativity and drive. And eventually the pleasure of running her own business is waning.

Why does Sue feel this way? The answer is quite simple.

Sue is trying to run her business without any support. She does everything associated with running the business herself. She answers phones, does her own bookkeeping, tries to keep up with orders, does her own admin, developed and maintains her own website, etc. Sue is a very talented individual, and no doubt can do all of the administration associated with her business excellently. But it leaves her no time to do what she loves: interacting with her clients, and thinking about new business ideas.

When you insist on doing everything in your business yourself, you are doing yourself and your business a disservice. Here are some reasons why:

1. You tend to procrastinate tasks you don’t enjoy doing

Some tasks you don’t enjoy doing are very essential to the survival of your business. When you procrastinate on those tasks, your business suffers in the long term.

You will be happier and more productive if you did only those tasks you are competent at and love doing.

2. You lose money

Why spend your valuable time and energy on tasks you struggle with? Instead of spending hours figuring out how to do certain things, like building a website or designing a logo for instance, you could have paid someone else to do it while you were increasing you income with tasks you excel at.

3. You lose your focus and creativity

When there are so many details in your business to take care of, it is easy to focus on these details and forget the big picture. You no longer have the time to take a break and see the big picture, part of why you enjoy having your own business.

4. Your “I-can-do-it-myself” attitude robs you of the expertise you could have access to

Yes, you may be able to do lot of things alone. You may have issues with trusting people to become part of your business. But in the end, while you are spending time doing all the things you feel you can, you are neglecting your core business strengths.

Nobody is an expert at all aspects of running their business. Why not partner with someone who runs certain aspects with more expertise than you do?

There are plenty highly trained professionals that work online. People who can do your website development, bookkeeping, SEO, social media, article writing, etc. If you are in doubt on how to choose the right people, you can read my blog post 6 Steps to Find the Best Online Workers.

5. You forget why you started your own business

People often go into business for themselves because they want to achieve a better work-life balance. Yet it is so easy to fall into the trap of being overworked, rushed, and stressed.

Would you not rather want to have the peace of mind that accompanies having competent people helping you grow your business?

About 56% of new businesses do not survive for at least 4 years. Many entrepreneurs that survive, work 60+ hour work weeks and cannot take time off, because if they are not working, they have no income.

Successful entrepreneurs outsource so that their business can grow and thrive.

When you outsource work, you start enjoying your business again, because you will remember why you started it in the first place.

Your success and freedom as a small business owner depends on your ability to focus on what you love and do best, and to eliminate or outsource everything else.

Ask yourself: What would it be like to be a successful business owner? What are the first steps I need to take?

Do you know what a wonderful feeling of freedom you have when your business runs like clockwork without you having to micromanage everything? This feeling could be yours within a month.

Contact Virtual Productivity Solutions and find out how we can help take the everyday burden of running your business off you and help you become more successful.

The importance of small business planning

Starting your own business is a lifelong dream of many. Whether the reason is not to work for a boss, doing what you are passionate about or claiming financial independence, the vision often does not extend beyond opening the doors of the business. Where should the growth of the business take it in the next few years?

No one gets rich without having a clear idea of how to accomplish it. Success in any field needs a structure. Yet the lack of planning in new businesses is ridiculously high. You can temporarily get away without a plan if you run the business on your own (even if research has shown that only 7% of unwritten goals reach fruition).

However, the moment you employ other people, you run into problems. You need to communicate to them what the business is trying to achieve, and how the jobs fit together into an integrated whole.

You also want to communicate clearly to potential clients that you have set up your business with the intention of growing it. You need to be able to demonstrate that your business with its current team can get the job done, and that policies and procedures are in place to ensure this.

What unfortunately often happens is that early business success makes us think we don’t need a plan.

If there is not a plan with a clearly defined direction and guidelines, you become so task orientated that you lose sight of your goals. There may be a vague goal that revolves around increasing productivity, but without actionable steps it does not mean much. You will not have significant growth in your business.

Ultimately, business failure comes down to one thing: lack of knowledge. Setting up a clear plan with actionable steps helps ensure that you and your employees know exactly where you are heading and how to achieve it.

A small business needs to be far more nimble and flexible than a big business. Create your plans keeping this in mind. If necessary, get outside help or hire people with the right knowledge to guide you in setting up a business plan.

Henry Ford said: Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success. What are you doing to get ready for your business to flourish?

Feel free to contact Virtual Productivity Solutions for advice and guidance in setting up a business plan.

Ensure excellent customer relations through thorough record-keeping

The other day, I visited the doctor for a routine check-up. On arrival, I was informed that my file had been lost, and I therefore had to fill in all the information again. Not only that, but the receptionist had the attitude that it was my fault the file was misplaced! All the information regarding previous visits was lost, and it took quite a while to sort out my medical history with my physician before the actual examination could begin. I was not impressed.

The next day, I had a query with my internet service provider. When I phoned and gave my name, the receptionist immediately had access to my file, and could respond quickly and appropriately to the query. The problem was sorted out professionally, increasing the company’s credibility in my sight, and I thus feel free to recommend them to others.

This got me thinking about how important good record-keeping is for a small business. Beside the legal obligations regarding documentation, your satisfied customers are one of your most crucial assets, as you cannot run your business without them. One way in which to ensure the most positive relationship with each customer is through taking extra care with good record-keeping and archiving.

As a small business owner, it is easy to overlook the value attached to good record-keeping. This job is often given to the lowest paid employee. It is far easier to shove documents into a file than to pay someone to index and sort them. In fact, most businesses do not know they don’t have their important documents until they need them!

This is a potentially dangerous situation, and could cost the company at best an inconvenient amount of lost revenue. For instance, if you have a proof of delivery document to the value of $500 and you lost it, technically the client does not have to pay.

Good record-keeping is not a stand-alone function but rather a support function to other aspects of running a business. Beside the legal requirements, good record-keeping is also good for PR. Customers are always impressed if you can draw a file easily or deal with any issues that require documentation to clear up.

Clients want to know that they are regarded as important by a company. They are far more likely to go back to a business that attended to their query or problem quickly and professionally.

These days, it is so easy for customers to complain about poor service via the internet. Good record-keeping can assist in keeping the bad word-of-mouth rumour mill at bay and even in gaining a few good references.

If you want to enhance customer satisfaction through correct documentation procedures, contact Virtual Productivity Solutions to help you develop an easy-to-use documentation system for your small business.

5 Key Benefits of a Standard Operating Procedures Manual

One of the most useful systems to streamline your business is having a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual. This manual lists the all the tasks that are essential for your business success, how to do these tasks, and who is responsible for the tasks listed.

This sounds useful, but are there specific measurable outcomes if you have a SOP manual in place? The answer is a very definite YES.

Your productivity improves, and as a small business owner, you need to be highly productive to succeed. Five benefits are listed below.

Reduced learning curve/training time for new employees

When someone is new on the job, your well-written and researched SOP can be a lifeline to them to be able to know how things work. For instance, you can ask your new employee to make all the arrangements for you to organize and attend a workshop in another city. By referring to the SOP, your new employee will know exactly which travel agency you use with their contact details, which type of car to hire/service to use, how many quotes to get regarding the venue, how to communicate with the workshop delegates, etc. without having to ask you about it all. It’s a great time-saver and confidence booster for the new employee.

Ensured business continuity

When a key staff member is on leave or not in the office for some reason, work does not have to stand still. By referring to the SOP someone else can take over the urgent tasks and do them correctly the first time.

Standardized processes

The SOP makes it easy to find out what policies and procedures are in place to handle repetitive situations/tasks.

Delegating tasks becomes a no-brainer

A good SOP will include the organogram of the business, as well as have a short job description and contact details for each staff member. If you need to delegate a certain task, you can see at a glance who will be able to help you or advise you. You can stop micromanaging, as it is clear who is responsible for what.

Ensure that your clients are getting the best possible experience with you

Because there is a standard way of dealing with client queries, refunds, promotions, follow-up etc., you can make sure that each client is treated fairly and equally, enhancing their interactions with you. You thus provide the best possible client service.

A SOP is a living document, which is subject to change. (It is good to review it quarterly). It is therefore useful to have it in electronic format on a web-based collaborative system so that all employees have access to the latest version.

Do you need to put together a clear and straightforward SOP, compiled in simple language to convey practical information? Please don’t hesitate to contact Virtual Productivity Solutions to help you put it together. Your business will thank you for it.

Avoid the major pitfalls that send 95% of small businesses into failure

Whether starting your current business is your first shot at being an entrepreneur or your tenth try at freeing yourself from a job you hate, you want to make sure that you fall into the roughly 5% of businesses that succeed…and perhaps you’ll even skyrocket your profits and find your way into the top 1% of income earners.

You can find many recommendations, in the form of different philosophies and ideas, on what it takes to become successful in what you are doing. However, you want to make sure that throughout the process, you are keeping yourself in check and avoiding the pitfalls that could cause you spiraling into business failure.

There are several mistakes that a beginning entrepreneur can make. Eventually, these can lead to complications in your business, or even a complete business failure. Most likely, you can expect the first year to two years to be the most difficult, simply because you will be working the hardest for lowest financial returns.

A lot of the work in these early years includes determining your organizational structure, developing basic business policies and identifying needs for success. If one of these areas is overlooked or missed, you may find yourself starting over again.

The major way to avoid pitfalls in your business is to make policies and then stick to them. The policies should include how you will build and maintain strong customer relationships. It also includes finding the best solutions for getting contracts signed, upholding your work ethic and keeping up the quality of products or services that will keep your customers happy.

At the heart of any successful business is a bold vision and strong policies. By defining your own policies now, you will be able to find the best customers and will avoid the downfall that many beginning businesses run into. The terms of service that you create are the ones that will stabilize your success for years.

Not sure where to start in creating your policies? Contact Virtual Productivity Solutions to find out how we can take your vision and translate it into solid policies that will serve as the foundation for your business success.