subject: Do You Have Money Hiding In Your Business? [print this page] Hidden money in business is not about money laundering or any illegal practice; but rather, about the money that falls through the cracks that gets spent unnecessarily, or wasted within a company. Often, there is a hole that is filled with over priced or unnecessary supplies and people hours that aren't converting into sales.
In part, this can occur when there is a lack of clear operational procedures or systems within a company. Streamlining your company with systems and organization can increase your overall profitability just through the savings that result. Job responsibilities are one are to evaluate closely. Are there more people doing a job than are necessary? For example, you might have several people in the same role, but there is only work for one or two and not all.
Employees often or maybe almost always have ideas about how to streamline operations and make a business more profitable. The risk to employees is sharing their ideas and eliminating their position. As the business owner, you want these great ideas. The best way to really get the ideas is to ensure that people's positions aren't eliminated but are re-structured. Your business operations improve and your overall profitability improve. In addition, you also just increased your employee loyalty and commitment to your business and your vision for growth.
Restructuring your employee positions can give employees additional skills and responsibilities, and thus improve their job security and career marketability. They also can now jump into different roles when needed and fill gaps for other staff.
Another key area for savings is in supplies. Many tasks can now be done electronically, rather than with paper. You can save significant amounts of time and money by using computers and appropriate software programs. You are able to track inventory, process sales, coordinate schedules and calendars, keep meeting minutes and notes all via computers. Google has many resources for companies to utilize that can help in streamlining. On Google you can share calendars, documents, and stay up to date on projects. Central Desk Top is another program that facilitates teams working together. There are probably many off the shelf solutions that can meet your needs and of course you can have a customized solution built for your business. But right now, in a money saving article, the focus is on low cost, so Google is the first solution to look at.
Time tracking is another software solution that can give you vital information on projects, staff and overall profitability. You can have access to additional information that gives you the ability to evaluate projects and how your company is functioning.
Virtual Assistants are a great solution for many operations. A virtual assistant gives you the administrative assistance that your company may need, without the full time employee. A virtual assistant is billing you for hours worked, not for the hours present at your company. There is no time lost chit-chatting with co-workers. The work is accomplished more quickly and fills in the gaps that you are unable to accomplish on your own. If you are a small operation, you might not have the resources to hire a marketing staff member, but a marketing virtual assistant can accomplish the same tasks and more in less time.
As you evaluate your business operations, look at your systems, your organization and how you can streamline both operations and staff to increase your profits.
by: Donna Price
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