How are you working smarter?

[MatthewSBN]

What tricks and techniques have you come up with to run a slicker business operation? What different steps have you taken to get things done in a simpler and more efficient way?

For example, has introducing flexible working within your organisation helped you free up office space or allowed you to bring in the expertise of talented new employees who live elsewhere? Or are you a freelancer who works remotely, teaming up with clients using a range of online digital collaborative tools?

You might have found it makes sense to outsource some of the admin tasks you aren't an expert at, leaving you free to concentrate on running your business. Or perhaps you've installed new technology which has helped you work faster and more efficiently.

Tell us your tips for smarter working and get ready to enter the next category of the Guardian's Small Business Showcase when it open on 13 January 2014. For more details, visit the website here.

 

[Uzair Kharawala]

Using Google Apps for Business has certainly helped us be more productive. We also outsource a lot of our work to Philippines, India, Pakistan & Ukraine which saves us a lot of time. We pretty much have a 24 working cycle where one person logs off and the other one takes over from a different time zone.

 

[ReviewsThatStick]

For me, these are some that I often do:

- Complete most important tasks first.
- Sleep at least 7-8 hours. I really need this to keep my mind fresh before I start work.
- Focus at the current task at hand.
- Creating some organizing system.

 

[GelatoChef]

Outsourcing

 

[ReviewsThatStick]

Outsourcing menial tasks is a good way. Lets you focus on the bigger tasks at hand.

 

[StevePoster]

As the members stated above, Outsourcing is the best way and hiring on some different nation will be more effective to target your potential clients in the business.

 

[CPSMedia Carl]

I outsource a lot of admin type tasks, also I have a few different sales funnels which collect leads and run automatcally with little management or maintanence, these are generally using paid traffic and in many cases were not profitable to begin with, but after putting the work in upfront they are pretty much running on autopilot now

 

[Philip Hoyle]

My way of working smarter is to really speed up admin systems and workflow. I've abandoned to-do lists and scheduling and just "do it" instead - saves sooo much time in not constantly updating systems and rewriting to do lists. Emails and correspondence is dealt with straight away. I never put anything to one side to read or do later - it's literally now or never.

 

[jdluckhurst]

I was always a bit apprehensive about outsourcing the menial admin tasks because I have been burnt before doing so, in fact it just created more work in the end. Having said that, it might just be trial and error thing (better if you get a recommendation) because I recently found a good outsourcer that although has increased costs has freed up a hell of a lot of time...and desk space. I just wished we had found the right one first time round.

Google Docs has helped as well, being able to share documents and update them in real time is great.

I would be interested to hear what people have to say about time management. It is all well and good saying that your employees should be responsible enough to manage their own time but through experience I have found that there are certain people that just don't get the concept. We have tried various software packages (like Toggl) but these have all tended to create more work than they saved!

 

[MASSEY]

I am looking to speed things up during 2014, primarily by embracing technology a bit more. There is an app for everything these days, including ordering materials for jobs. I am hoping to buy my self a jazzy smart phone and pretty much click and collect instead of spending half an hour to an hour looking through books to find the right products for the job and then having to wait for order pickers to pick it and bag it. Should free up lots of time. Plus i will have access to the internet everywhere i go which means that when we are considering making a purchase for materials or tools we can check to see what the average price ranges are, quickly, to avoid paying over the odds or use it as leverage to barter people down.

I also want to invest some money in more office stuff like folders for paperwork and letter trays to avoid having to hunt around for simple things that shouldn't take 10 minutes to dig up.

 

[libertas]

Trying to not do everything myself and outsourcing and relying on smart employees when possible. Too many businessmen try and do everything themselves and burn out after a few weeks/months of 16 hour days.

 

[naomi.beamish]

I am a huge fan of collaboration and believe it helps to make things simple and more efficient.

1. Collaborate with others: As Tom Rath said: "If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything.” This it why outsourcing is so important, make sure you outsource the right things though. This is usually anything that is not directly contributing to your value proposition. For example, many small businesses spend a lot of their time on their accounts and finances and not on actually doing what they need/want to be doing for the clients. Get someone else to do that (who let's face it will have more time to do a better job of it) leaving you with more time to do what you do best.

2. Collaborate with technology: Embrace technology! It is really changing the way we do so much of our business today and when used in the right way will improve efficiency tremendously. There are now loads of ways technology can help small businesses and time-saving is just one of them. For example, we use a technology which allows us to use smartphones to upload our expenses as soon as we get the receipt! Saving loads of time and hassle!

3. Collaborate with your employees: Make sure you are delegating and helping them to realise their full potential. Be constantly on the look out for the best people to work in your business. Not just recruiting when the pressure is on has helped us grow the business. Also not just looking for the right skills but instead at how the person will fit into the business culture. There are certain skills you can teach and some you cannot and this should always be kept in mind. We have found that getting the right people in really does help to simplify matters and saves a lot of time in the long-run.

 

[REVIDIUM]

Keyword for me would have to be automation, which has really helped us.

We look at every task and ask ourselves can it be automated and if not can a system be created to make it more efficient. We are constantly evaluating processes and systems and asking ourselves how can we do things better.

For example:

1. Emails have rules and workflows attached to them
2. Social Media (scheduling posts)
3. Smartphones (utilised if away from the desk - several good business apps)
4. Creation of a Digital Marketing Framework (a process and system that goes through everything digital for a client. We discovered that it wasn't just about a website, but how to integrate all of that with social media and the next big thing. We are working on putting together standard KPIs for certain elements)
5. System for onboarding clients (this has been the most challenging and requires continuous assessment)

SMEs can greatly benefit from automation. I think many believe it is for large corporate companies, but are missing an opportunity. Don't get me wrong, it is not easy, but we are definitely noticing huge benefits all round.

 

[amitaharij]

I always prepare a business plan for my small business. Having a business plan helps to stay on track as we start and run our business. One of the keys to success in business is developing a routine.

 

[Uzair Kharawala]

Some great answers & feedback here. My top tips are:

Evernote
This is without doubt a 'must-use' app for every small (or big) business. It really does make me/us very productive.

Google Apps for Business
Being able to use gmail as our company domain email, calendar, things to do. Keeping everything in 1 place and in sync.

Outsourcing
Using sites like oDesk, Elance has been a life saver. For outsourcing, we use Basecamp for all our project management.

 

[Will_Authentic_Style]

Agree with Uzair on Basecamp, Evernote and Google Apps for Business.

Evernote - is great for storing ideas / notes

Basecamp - for project management. We set up all our projects here and give clients access, so it keeps all project communication in one place.

Google - use this for all our emails and Google Drive and Google Cal for booking in / schedule work for my staff.

 

[simoncrabb]

Set deadlines, even small ones. We humans are a lot more productive when a deadline is looming. So set them continually, even if a 'real' one (eg external from a client) doesn't exist.

 

[rishisharma]

Ideas for working smartly in business is depend on size of business. ..I am agree all that take attention on big project..but don't under estimate the smaller one..if you go for outsourcing then check the project time ti time..and introducing technique in business it is very helpful in saving time and saving money. so if you find usable technique so just use it. ..marketing is also important phenomenon in success so use right platform . sometime people invest too much money in marketing but wrong way..so always use that platform by which you reach at your customer..innovation and practical is also important at business point of view.. .

 

[fisicx]

Don't do more than you need to do. If you can earn enough by only doing 4 hours a day then don't do 5. Take the rest of day off and enjoy yourself.

Bloke who cleans my bins does 4 days a week and finished at 1pm. That seems like a smart way to work.

 

[businessprintinglondon]

I spoke to an SEO company who wanted to change me £2000 to do 9 hour work a month, no wot me that is a huge rip off, my top tip to anyone who is starting out is to spend your time learning how to do online marketing yourself and save yourself a bomb

 

[DavidP2P]

Matthew, you have get some very good recommendations here. Automation and outsourcing are the ones that repeated themselves. Google, Basecamp and EverNote also ticked my box.

I have been overseas for the last 5 weeks, and it was the first time that I felt my business was fully automated whereby sales just kept up, and I could control everything all from my laptop with an internet connection. I also had an outsource worker developing all the viral online content from the video blogs that I created from my hotel room.

However, behind all of these tools, the automation and outsourcing efficiency were founded on identifying the right branding, message-to-market, spoken and unspoken objections, creating the sales funnel, market differentiation and lots of persistence, which all took time to get right.

 

[davehayes]

wow, some great ideas in this thread, It has to be said, I do a mix of all the organised things, first, then the less important stuff next, seems to work well.

 

[fisicx]

I'm still working smarter by working less. On a good week I don't have to do anything at all (except hang around here causeing trouble).

It's not about automation or using tools, it's about deciding what's more important in your life: having fun or doing some work.

 

[theBagShoppe]

I agree with Uzair for Google Apps for business smartness and for outsourcing Elance is better than Odesk (Although now both have merged but working as separate sites).

Regarding sleeping, I think if you didn't sleep 6-7 hours a day then you are just burning yourself. For more productivity I sleep that much.

I hire people who can sync with me, it saves time. I don't save money on hiring people because it will cost me more than saving!! Outsourcing is good but we can't outsource everything, some task you need to take care of in your office for sure!

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

Hi all,

Outsourcing and automation seem to be the big topics in recent years. However...

Everyone mentions outsourcing or outsourcing menial tasks. But what specific tasks are you outsourcing?

How do you decide which tasks gets outsourced and which doesn't?

Uzair mentioned that he outsources to Philippines, India, Pakistan & Ukraine. What are the best countries to outsource to for specific budgets and specific tasks?

And what kind of system or software are you using to keep track of all the outsourcing? Basecamp has been mentioned. Any other system, organisational structure or software?

Have a great day,
Uwe

 

[harper101]

I worked smarter by allotting only 5 days in a week for work. On weekends I spend it to church and other helpful activities with friends/family. And as much as possible, I try to get enough rest/sleep each day.

I am enjoying my life for good things,
because my work is not my everything.
So I try to balance my activities in life and pursue my priorities.

 

[MyEventBucket]

I run an events business you see and it is all project based so I set myself a daily to-do list based on what needs to be done per event per progress so that every project progresses and when an event gets nearer, I put all my energy into that.

 

[Ronita Neal]

In running a business right now, one should know how to delegate their tasks. Outsourcing would be one way. Also it would help a great deal to be able to set priorities and to manage your time well. Creating smaller goals that would support your business' main aim will also make things easier.

 

[fisicx]

How can a coaching psycologist outsource their work?

Come to that what is a coaching psycologist? Do you help nervous people get on the bus?

 

[Ronita Neal]

How can a coaching psycologist outsource their work?

Come to that what is a coaching psycologist? Do you help nervous people get on the bus?

In a sense yes. As a Coaching Psychologist I help people identify which bus they need to ride and when they should ride together or when they should not.

And I have an online business since I am offering virtual seminars and workshops to help small businesses which means I need someone to help me watch over it when I am working with clients.

 

[DavidWH]

Big change for us, is relying more and more on our quotation & management system, which has seen the implementation of a central file server, and doing away with any unnecessary paperwork.

Easier for me to deal with the change than my dad at the moment but he see's how it's going to help.

 

[Uzair Kharawala]

Hi all,


Everyone mentions outsourcing or outsourcing menial tasks. But what specific tasks are you outsourcing?

How do you decide which tasks gets outsourced and which doesn't?

Uzair mentioned that he outsources to Philippines, India, Pakistan & Ukraine. What are the best countries to outsource to for specific budgets and specific tasks?

And what kind of system or software are you using to keep track of all the outsourcing? Basecamp has been mentioned. Any other system, organisational structure or software?

Have a great day,
Uwe

Hi Uwe

• There are no specific countries which are best for outsourcing, however, some are strong in certain jobs like graphic design, website, etc.
• The kind of tasks we outsource is image retouching which is extremely time consuming and skilled profession, so we have hired full-time outsourcers who only work for us as we have enough work to give them.
• Video editing is also very time consuming, so we have guys working on this as well.
• Other members include graphic designer, SEO guys, web guys
• Small jobs like this can be easily outsourced: we needed to contact as many hair dressing salons in our local area. So we tasked an VA at $3/hr to go to Yell and put the name & telephone numbers of each salon in a spreadsheet and send it over. It cost I think about $30 for us to receive over 400 names & telephone numbers which is then passed on to our telesales person and who follows a script and gets appointments.
• Using Google Apps for Business & Basecamp, Highrise allows all of us to be in sync and stay updated at all times with our emails, diary & things to do.
• Another software which we are currently trialling is Trello for our workflow.

It's just a question of getting started, you will get things wrong but perfect as you go along and once you have your team & system in place, the workflow travels at lightning speed.

Hope this helps. If you need any further help, give me a call and happy to chat.

Oz

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

Thanks so much for the detailed information Oz!
I understand that you use some of your outsourcers on a regular or even exclusive basis. Much more like an employee, which means that you can build a relationship with them.

However, especially when trying to get started with the whole outsourcing world, are you still trying to use the same VAs on a regular basis (i.e. keep fluctuation rates low) ? I just can't imagine that someone who gets paid $3/hour will use a lot of my structure/software/organisation, including Basecamp, Highrise, etc.

Where do you normally find your VAs? Freelancer.com, Odesk or a company/agency specialised in outsourcing?

Best,
Uwe

 

[Uzair Kharawala]

Thanks so much for the detailed information Oz!
However, especially when trying to get started with the whole outsourcing world, are you still trying to use the same VAs on a regular basis (i.e. keep fluctuation rates low) ? I just can't imagine that someone who gets paid $3/hour will use a lot of my structure/software/organisation, including Basecamp, Highrise, etc.

Where do you normally find your VAs? Freelancer.com, Odesk or a company/agency specialised in outsourcing?

Best,
Uwe

I mostly use oDesk so my profile is updating all the time and the freelancers know that I am a serious employer who employs people on long term basis rather than just small one-off projects. I tend to use agencies / larger companies rather than individuals. The main reason being security and I need to make sure that my login info for various accounts are safe with them.

 

[EGrey]

Some of my favourite techniques:

Dropbox - for storing, sending and collaborating on files

Bookkeeping software - I use QuickFile, it's saves me hours a month on bookkeeping without needing to employ a bookkeeper.

Hootsuite/social media scheduling - and making sure apps are on my phone. Batching and being able to respond to queries asap make it a lot more productive as well as better for customers!

 

[Hillyer]

I have recently started using Asana - a fairly new website, but I love the feel of it and finding a comfortable tool is more important to me.

 

[EGrey]

Hillyer - Just went and looked at Asana - it seems pretty interesting. What is it about that you find particularly useful?

 

[zenobialewis87]

I think to me, adopting Quickbooks has turned out to be great decision as it has given me number of benefits associated with finance and accounting.

 

[RichardDave]

Outsourcing can be of great help at times. Sometimes you get multiple projects from the same customer and the customer might want to include something that you aren't an expert in, at that time you might outsource that specific work scope to someone who specializes in it.

 

[TransliveGlobal]

I now use video link a hell of a lot, so much so I've created a translation business around it. No more travelling to meetings, I do most things from home. I now have the weekends off!