Running a small business is an extremely difficult feat. No matter what area of your business you decide to focus on, what industry you operate in, or what products or services you decide to sell, chances are, you’re going to have to spend a fair amount of time, money, and effort on any single aspect of keeping things afloat. When business owners first start out, they do tend to take the bulk of work on their own two shoulders, doing absolutely everything themselves.

But as you begin to experience success, chances are you’ll experience increased demand and you may find yourself struggling to keep up if you continue to do absolutely everything solo. Sure, you probably want to mull over every business decision yourself, maintaining complete control over things, but a point will come where you need to make some changes that will make running your business a whole lot easier for you. whittling them down and settling on the one that will best benefit your company and your brand. If you don’t, you’ll struggle, slip behind and your business may fail as a result. But where to start when it comes to making changes that will make running your business easier? Well, to help you along the way, here are a few different suggestions! 

Using Tech and Software to Your Advantage

There are a lot of stressed business owners out there who are actively seeking ways to make life a little easier for themselves. Where there’s demand, there will quickly become solutions. That’s why there are now countless different pieces of technology and software available that can make your day to day working life and managing general business operations a whole lot easier. Of course, the best type of software to suit your business will depend entirely on your business itself. But there are some more generalized services like https://solutionscout.com that could point you in the right direction and find the right help for you!

Running a business as a solopreneur is hard enough without having to deal with slow loading times and lagging internet connections. This type of issue can put a halt to your productivity and cause costly downtime when you’re trying to grow and scale your business. You may want to find the best internet near me to make sure you’re set up with the highest quality internet connection in your area. You will notice a huge difference in the way you work when you have a speedy connection that allows you to get all of your tasks done efficiently. There is nothing more frustrating than unstable or unreliable internet connections, so using high speed options will truly serve your business in the best possible way.

Outsourcing

If you find that you have too much work on your plate, but you don’t feel ready to commit to taking on full-time staff quite yet, you may want to consider outsourcing. Put simply, outsourcing is a commonly carried out business practice that involves handing overwork that your company needs to be completed to a third party. This third party will then ensure that the work is completed on your behalf. When you outsource your work, you are most likely to hand it over to either a freelancer or an agency.

But why outsource work in the first place? Well, there can be a number of reasons. Some people will outsource work because it’s just a one-off project that needs specialist knowledge, expertise, or skills to complete. Perhaps you need a new website made. This isn’t a position that you’d employ a team member for, as you won’t need a website designed every week. Instead, you need it designed once, and then the job is done.

By outsourcing, you can have that one job done without having to commit to providing the web designer with ongoing work for the foreseeable future. Another benefit of outsourcing is that the people completing the work bring their own expertise and equipment to the task. You don’t have to train anyone up. You don’t have to provide them with laptops or other essentials. They simply turn up, do the job, and invoice. This really is a great way to lift pressure from your own shoulders by getting one-off or short term projects completed to a high standard without the commitment to offering employee benefits. Some of the most commonly outsourced work tend to include:

• Graphic design

• Copywriting

• Product photography

• Accounting

• IT Support

• Manufacturing

Recruiting

If you find that you’re still struggling to manage all of your workloads while running your business, or that you’re not seeing the market expansion, sales, and profits that you want, it may be time to start considering hiring some permanent employees. Whether full-time or part-time, these individuals could help to lift a huge weight from your shoulders and drive your business forward with their individual levels of experience and expertise.

Now, no matter what position you're considering taking staff on for - whether that’s customer support, marketing, IT, supply chain, or anything else - you’re going to have to place a whole lot of focus and emphasis on the recruitment process to find the right candidate for the position. Sure, it may feel long, drawn-out, or expensive. But it will be worth it once you have your ideal team member on board. Here are some steps you need to undertake to experience success here!

Advertising Positions the Right Way

To bring staff in, you’re first going to have to make sure that people are aware that the vacancy exists. So, the first step you need to take is to advertise your company’s open positions. Unlike in the past where people simply stuck a notice up in their brick and mortar store or commercial premises, you’re going to have to advertise digitally. Why? Well, this is where most people in need of work or looking for a new role will be searching.

So, you can advertise positions on your own website, but you also need to make sure to advertise on popular online jobs boards. When advertising the position, make sure to detail the job title and location. Then write up a description detailing job responsibilities or what the role entails, what previous experience or qualifications you expect from applicants, and, finally, a means of applying. This could be a link to an application form on your site, a business email address, or a contact number. If you want portfolios or sample work submitted, you will also need to let applicants know this in the job advert.

Conducting Your Interviews

Once the job is listed, you're going to start getting resumes through. Go through these resumes and decide which applicants sound best for the position. Then, you can invite them to an interview. Now, it can feel daunting meeting applicants on a face to face (or video call) basis, but it is essential. The interview will give you the opportunity to get to know the candidate and to determine whether they are suitable for the position or not.

Not only will you be able to check whether they know what they’re talking about, but it’s also a good opportunity to determine whether they will be a good cultural fit for your company too. Make sure that you are fully prepared for your interview in advance. Know what you’re looking for. Make sure you have all the questions you need to ask ready. Have an idea of how you want the candidate to answer them. If you are bringing someone in who will be reporting to an existing employee who will be managing them, you may also want this manager in the interview too to ensure that they’re happy with the candidate too.

Offering the Position

By the time you’ve interviewed all appropriate candidates, chances are, you have a good idea of who you want to offer the position. Do not reject other candidates yet. You may find that your first choice doesn’t accept your offer and that you may have to opt for somebody else. Now, offering the position to the candidate you do want the most. Send the candidate a congratulatory email or make a phone call to offer them the position. This will serve as the perfect opportunity to come to final agreements about contracted hours, salary, and other terms and conditions of the individual’s employment. If they accept it, great! You have a new team member on board! If not, you should thank them for their time, then repeat this process with your second favorite option.

Rejecting Applicants

Of course, you’re also going to have to reject unsuccessful candidates when someone has accepted the position. This isn’t pleasant, but it’s necessary. You don’t want them checking their inboxes, hopeful for an offer, once the position is no longer available. Simply formulate a polite rejection email, or (even better) give rejected applicants a call to speak to them personally. Make sure that they are aware that you do genuinely appreciate their interest in the role and the time they have dedicated to you during the application process. Ask whether you can keep their details on file in case a suitable position for them does arise in the future.

Get Help from the Professionals

Running your own company or business requires you to work independently a lot of the time. After all, the success of the company itself lies on your shoulders - which means that you need to be the one leading the way for your employees. However, this does not mean that you have to do everything alone! 

In fact, there are plenty of professional services that you can (and should) rely on when your business is in its infancy so that you can give yourself the best possible head start. For example, if you’re managing a church or religious center, you can work with a church construction company to transform and modernize the space. While this may not seem crucial, you’d be surprised at how many people this can bring through the door.

Alternatively, you may wish to work with a business coach who has experience within your chosen industry. This can provide you with invaluable insight into how things work, allowing you to feel confident in the decision you make moving forward.

As you can see, there are a number of different ways to make running a business easier for yourself. The key? Accepting when you are in need of help and making the conscious effort to seek it. Hopefully, some of the suggestions we’ve outlined will help you to lift a weight from your shoulders and direct your attention to areas of your business that you need to focus on!