Archive for the ‘Business Management’ Category

Today, I want to share with you an excellent way to keep on top of the operations of your business.  Most small business owners have reached a level of disorganization in their business and regret it when they are under pressure to meet critical deadlines.   This state is not because they are necessarily disorganized people, but just very busy people, and perhaps think that some day they will sit down when they have time and document everything.

Do any of these situations sound familiar?  You dread performing a task because you cannot remember all the steps, so there is procrastination.  You spend precious time trying to find the log in information to get into the files.  Someone on your team is ill and they know everything there is about running your business.  You lose time and money because you are recreating documents because you cannot locate the last revised document.  You are spending money on tools that you hope will be the fix to all your problems.  By now you get the picture.   What I am leading up to is the creation of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for your business.

What is an SOP?

An SOP is an operations manual that provides a business with structure and efficiency.  Many of the day-to-day administrative processes in your business are repetitive and should be reviewed regularly.  SOP’s are a set of written instructions that document a routine or repetitive activity followed by a business or organization.  The development and use of SOP’s are an integral part of a successful quality systems as it provides individuals with the information to perform a job properly and facilitates consistently in the quality and integrity of a product or end-result.   An online business manager can add value to the company by challenging the efficiency and reliability of procedures that the company has been using or not been using.

Advantages of SOP?

Many business owners and their teams resist taking the time to create an SOP because of the perception that time and money can be better spent on the most immediate tasks and projects.  Team members may be resistant to the creation of the document because of the time consuming nature of capturing a company’s procedures and turning it into a document, as well as insecurity on the part of the team member.  In reality, there is little need for the team member to feel insecure because the smoother the operation of the company the more opportunities will open up.

Are you are a business owner who is serious about your business and implementing cost cutting and time saving measures?  Are you ready to grow your business to new levels? These are some important questions to ask yourself.

1. When was the last time I took a real vacation?
2. What would happen to my business if I needed to be away from it for an extended period of time, such as sudden illness or family issues?  I can’t sell what is in my head.
3. Would the business run seamlessly in my absence?
4. Would I still have a business to return to?
5. What would happen if the people that worked for me suddenly left?  Would I know exactly what to do to keep the business running and cut down on retraining time and cost?

Finally, some essential elements to make an SOP effective would be for it to be well written, easy to understand, used regularly and accessible to everyone in the business.   Creating and sharing documents in the online world has never been easier with wiki spaces and is a perfect online collaborative tool for creating online SOP’s.  A Wikispace, in simple terms, is a group of web pages with “edit” buttons on them. You can collaborate with anyone you choose on your wikispace. You may want a place to keep information about your organization, or to easily manage your team’s schedules. Wikispaces is simple enough for anyone to use, but has enough sophistication so that you can be creative and get things done.  Please feel free to click on the quick video below for the simplest and most fun explanation of how to use wiki spaces.

Who is your target market?

It is extremely important to do your research regarding this area of your business.  I know it’s not fun, but it is critical to your business success.  Too many times business owners will think and say to others that my products and services can be for anyone.  Believe it not the more narrow your target market the more successful you will be in your business.  You will waste precious energy and marketing dollars while trying to market to the whole world.  If you have a nothing to small marketing budget you will need to spend as wisely as possible.  Some questions you will want to ask yourself:

1. What skills/knowledge/expertise do I have to offer?
2. What professions are in need of what I have to offer?  How am I solving their problems with my services?
3. What type of industry would benefit and be willing to pay for my services?  If an industry does not need your expertise or are not willing to pay for it, you may be better off finding another industry that does.
4. What kind of clients do you want to work with?
5. Do you prefer to work with men or women? What age group?  Do you work best with people that are older or younger than you?

With a clearly defined target market you can speak and market directly to those you want to attract to your business.  Then your business will begin to grow.

We have all experienced it and we don’t like it – bad customer service.  For instance, you are receiving no attention or respect from the cashier at your local grocery store, you are patiently waiting for someone to call you back from a voice message you left days ago or you’re trying to make contact with someone regarding an online purchase that does not meet your satisfaction.  We are faced with what appears to be a new casual level of customer service; it makes no difference whether the transaction is online or offline.  We all complain about this lack and we usually don’t complain just to ourselves.  In comparison, when we experience great customer service, we rejoice and tell others.

A much overlooked marketing strategy for business owners striving to differentiate themselves from the rest of their market is this small but powerful concept – provide excellent customer service.  Develop the old, but tried and true mindset of dealing with present and potential customers – “the customer is always right”.

I pride myself on the fact that I strive to provide excellent customer service in everything I do from the initial phone call inquiring about services at VBS Virtual Assist to the extra mile taken when completing a customer’s project.

A successful business owner understands and accepts that change is necessary for growth of their business.  Therefore, constantly reviewing where you are in your business and making small course adjustments are essential to maximize your performance.  Ask yourself the following five questions with regularity and discipline and you will have a better perspective of your challenging and complex market.   READ MORE…

Do you and your business do “the right thing” when faced with a difficult decision? It’s a simple question, which many business owners struggle with. Conducting good business practices and being a good employer is more than your product or people, it is the guideline and foundation in which you do business. The bottom line is the impression your customer, client or business prospect received from their experience with you and your business.

Set a higher standard for yourself and your business.  Be ethical – keep your word and don’t venture into gray areas. Protect your personal and professional reputations – Have dignity and pride in your work.  The upside of good ethical business practices – You are already ahead of some of your competitors!

The next time you are faced with a difficult decision, “Do the Right Thing” and do it with extreme pleasure!  This will pay you and your business back ten-fold. Why? Each customer, employee, or client has the potential of telling at least 3-12 other “potential clients” how well you treated them.

Remember – Being ethical rewards your company with more business.  Thus, allowing for your business to grow and prosper.

Managing your business can be an overwhelming task if you do not have the most effective business strategies in place. Online business management can be a life line for your business and help revive your businesses growth potential. Many business owners are turning to Online Business Managers (OBM) to help manage their day-to-day business affairs. An effective support team will enable your business to achieve the next level of success. Online Business Managers make it possible for you to delegate your everyday tedious tasks to an experience qualified team of professionals. READ MORE

I am thrilled to announce that I am participating in the Online Business Management Certificate Program. I read “Becoming an Online Business Manager”, by Tina Forsyth last year. I love the book and I love the OBM Model. I have been working with a couple of clients on the OBM level and look forward to perfecting my OBM skills in this certification process.

Brenda M. Violette, Online Business Manager

VBS Virtual Assist, LLC

Last year I attended my annual Women of Faith conference and I was joined by several of my closest friends and traveling companions. We decided to drive to Boston and so our adventure began. One of my friends brought her new GPS (Global Positioning System) that she had received as a Christmas present. I was so impressed with the precise directions that this micro computer gave us. This GPS was wonderful; it gave us directions on where to turn and it even told us how many feet we needed to drive before reaching the turning lane. Better yet this little navigation device spoke to us in a gentle, soothing, and kind voice; which allowed us to stay focused on our destination. The GPS even informed us when we made a wrong turn. There was no condemnation, just a lovely voice informing me that there was a recalculation and now I will simply have to take another road to reach my desired destination. Wow! I like that kind of back seat driving! READ MORE…BUSINESS PLANNING AND GOALS

I am sure that most have heard the phrase, “Time is money.” As a business owner, I have come to understand that concept very clearly and good time management is crucial to my business and personal success. The following are a few things that I have learned over the years, which have been reinforced in me this year as I grow my client’s business, as well as mine to success every day.

• Goal Setting
• Good (no excellent) Organization
• Having a schedule
• Daily Planning
• Keeping a clean desk
• Delegating

Goal Setting – Write down your goals. Did you know that your dreams are more likely to come into existence if you write them down? Did you know that only 3% of adult Americans have specific, written goals? There is power in writing down those things that you desire to come into your life.

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” — Henry Ford

Good (no excellent) Organization – Get yourself organized. Add getting your office and desk organized for 2009 to your list of goals. Schedule a day on your calendar with the only purpose to clean up and organize your office and desk. I have excellent systems in place to carry out my day with minimal stress.

• First of all, I have operated for years with a system called my “Command Center”. My center is a rolling file storage unit. You can use a file drawer, if you like. In this command center are hanging file folders labeled, January through December and 1 through 31 for each day of the month. Each day when you process the paper that is in today’s folder, you move that folder to the back of next month. Behind that grouping I have ACTION FOLDERS for topics that I deal with every day, such as Calls, Notes, Accounts Payable, Minutes, Data Entry, Master Tasks List, etc. As paper flows into my office each day, I immediately file that information in the correct follow up folder. This way the paper is off my desk and placed in a folder with the appropriate so that I can follow up on that task in an efficient manner. There are no piles and I don’t deal with the paper again until it’s time.

• Another organization tip is that I have file folders for all reference information alphabetized in my filing cabinet. These are reference files that I don’t visit every day, but I need to keep. These include: Banking, Insurance, Instruction Manuals, etc.

• Deal with mail as soon as it comes in. Only keep what is necessary; throw away or shred the rest.

• Email management. No doubt, all of us have felt that “snowed under” feeling that comes when our email is getting out of control. Most things seem important that they should not be deleted, but we don’t have the time to deal with it right now. The result is email piling up. A trick that I use so that I am not overwhelmed every minute of the day is that I create folders in email and set up automatic rules so that when an email comes into my email box, the mail is routed automatically to the appropriate folders. An example would be monthly newsletters that I have requested. The information is accessible when I need it, but I don’t have to stare at it all day. Another thing is to set up automatic spam rules for those emails that always slip through our radar.

Create a schedule – Implement a schedule for your workday. When I first started my home-based business, I completely enjoyed the fact I could work all day in my pajamas, if I so desired. Before this time, I had worked nearly 30 years in the traditional office space, which of course was structured. Every day included dress-up and traffic jams. Oh, how free I felt to sleep in a little later! My commute to my home office was only 2 minutes, and I did not have to spend time dressing up for the day. “I could show up to work when I wanted,” I thought. Well, that did not last long. After my indulgences had been satisfied, I quickly came to the realization that serious business is built around treating my business seriously. Now my home-based business operates just like the big boys. I operate my business with standard business hours. I get up every morning and dress for the day, eat my breakfast, and then go to the office.

Daily Planning – Take time to plan out your day/week/month/year. I purposely schedule 1 hour on my calendar every morning before business hours begin to set up my day for success. I process my command center tasks (daily tickler file system), check my calendar for the week, and then go to the daily view and stay focused on the day at hand, clean up my email, consult my Master Things to Do List, and build my Things to Do Today list for the day. For me, I use Outlook. There is nothing more thrilling than hearing that click noise as I mark off yet another task completed.

Keep a Clean Desk – Clear your desk at the end of each workday. For me, and many others I know, to go into my office each morning and start work with a fresh, clean space is so empowering. It can be a creative and energy drain to start out your day already feeling that you are already behind. If you spend just 5 minutes at the end of each work day, putting files away (into their appropriate folders and spaces) and cleaning off your desk, it can add so much to the next day’s productivity.

Delegation – Reach out to get the help you need to succeed. I know this is a hard one to accept, because most of us have a tendency to think that we are the only ones that can do a job right. In some cases that may be true, but just because you can do a better job than someone else doesn’t make it a good use of your time. The rewards of delegating outweigh the risks, by giving you more time to focus on your business and balancing your personal life. In 2009, take a risk and clear some items off your plate. Sit down today and make a list of what is important to you and decide where you could free up time in your work and personal life by delegating certain tasks over to someone else. It may be as simple as hiring a housekeeper for a few hours every two weeks to take away the burden of staying on top of housekeeping or hiring a virtual assistant to take care of administrative tasks that are draining your energy. Doing this will give you valuable time to be more focused on your business and may be spend a little more time with family and friends.