Being a new business owner is both a scary and a satisfying experience. In the very beginning, just after quitting your 9 to 5 job, you feel like you are going to explode, trying to choose between business success and your mental well-being. Later, when you learn some tricks, everything is more relaxed and your busy office becomes your natural habitat. The road from a rookie business owner to a successful entrepreneur is long, and a few tips and hacks from experienced business wolves always come handy. In this article we will share 5 hacks that helped us the most while still living “in the trenches”.
Time Is More Valuable than Money
Most business people will tell you that time is money, but for entrepreneurs time is a more valuable asset. With good planning, everybody can make more money, but it’s impossible to make more time. That’s why you should use it wisely and plan every minute. Although this sounds difficult, it’s easy with some of the new organizing mobile apps, or even with a regular business planner. Since free time has such a high value, you shouldn’t let anybody mess with yours. Always stick to your schedule and ensure that other people know about you being obsessed with accuracy. If you let your employees woke you up one time for something less than total catastrophe, they will wake you up any time they please.
The same goes with other people’s time and schedules. Always be on time and don’t let people wait for you. This way you will show respect to your employees and business partners and they will return the same.
Invest in Marketing
In an age when thousands of small business are being opened and shut every day, marketing is the key to a company’s growth. There are plenty of consumers out there, but the digital age has enabled anybody with $200 worth of tech to own a company, and fight for his/her piece of pie. That’s why the most important thing today is to inform your target audience about the benefits of the products or services your company provides.
Fortunately, the latest tech also provides us with plenty of tools and apps that make marketing easier than before. Now you can pick your target audience, approach them through various digital channels, and inform them about your company’s offer. All this is much less expensive than a decade ago, when short commercials on prime-time TV were paid millions of dollars. Today, with a few thousand dollars, you can finance an elaborate social network campaign and reach thousands of new customers. That’s why this is the right time to invest in marketing and spread the word.
Hire Freelancers
The freelance market is constantly growing, and today 53 million Americans, which is 34% of the entire workforce, have done some freelance gigs. With companies outsourcing one business sector after the other, this number will grow even more. Freelancers can work at the same level as company employees, plus they don’t require all the benefits regular employees have. Today, when freelance work has became one of the most developed industries, it is easy to find plenty of skillful workers from all niches, with relevant portfolios, lots of recommendations and a much lower expected salary (especially if they come from developing countries).
Most companies search for freelancers on online freelance market places, like Upwork.com or Freelancer.com. There are also niche-specialized websites like Proz.com (for translators), 99Designs.com (for designers) and Bloggingpro.com (for bloggers).
Office Should Be another Company Brand
Many successful companies use their offices for marketing purposes and this has proven to be very useful for promoting the company’s products and services, as well as for attracting talent to join your company ranks. Both clients and employees like unusual office designs, because companies that invest in their employee’s comfort are always viewed as both responsible and successful (even if they are not).
Comfortable offices in company colors and big chill out spaces make employee’s more loyal to the company and more dedicated to the work they do. Since the company’s profits are shaped by employee’s attitudes, investing in office renovation is definitely money well spent.
Always Be Transparent With Money
Shady transactions can ruin the reputation of your company, and in some cases even get you behind bars. Transaction transparency is very important if you are running an online business (e-commerce websites for example). When even the smallest mistake can cost you lots of orders, it is important to introduce a trustworthy app with good UX. You can find plenty of paying apps online, but to be sure that those are as good as Promise Pay escrow, for example, you will need to read lots of reviews and search lots of different websites.
Although entrepreneurship sometimes seems hard, just a thought about coming back to your old 9 to 5 job will make you try more and learn fast. With these 5 great hacks you will be able to upgrade your business and make one more step towards success.