Running a small business is undoubtedly rewarding, but it comes with its fair share of challenges and navigating overwhelm is one of them. If you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, here’s a game-changer for you: implementing effective financial systems throughout your business not only helps reduce the overwhelm, but they give you valuable insights into your business and where you could take it.
At the core of every successful business lies a well-structured set of systems, and we are staunch advocates of this approach. Be believe the journey should begin with your financial systems. Putting these in place initially can provide invaluable insight and clarity about your business’s current state, allowing you to align it with your future goals.
For those unsure about how to navigate the world of business systemisation, consider this your lucky day! I’ve compiled a comprehensive guide in my book, “Wow I’m in Business – Your Journey from Overwhelmed to Organised.” It’s not just a read – it’s a practical resource hub designed to empower overwhelmed business owners like yourself.
Today let’s look at three things you can implement into your business straight away that can get you off the overwhelm train:
Surround Yourself With Other Business People
Running your own business can be isolating and limiting, even if you have a team around you. If you’ve only got your own skills, education and experience to go by, how will you know when to think a little differently?
If your team has the same experiences, skills and personality as you, they probably think along the same lines as you, so there’s little going outside the box there either. You can become so bogged down in the day to day of running the business that you can’t see the bigger picture.
The saying ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ is very true. Surround yourself with other business people, from all kinds of industries. Many business owners will have the same issues as you, regardless of the industry they’re in. Sometimes it takes a look from a different perspective to see an entirely different picture. Learn from them, and you’ll help each other with your business challenges.
Manage your time
As a business owner there’s always somebody or something demanding your time. There are never enough hours in the day and you may be feeling like you’re just keeping your head above water, getting the urgent stuff done and nothing else. This can lead to feelings of failure as you go around in circles rather than progress towards your goals.
Many of us are so busy these days, even with the vast amounts of technology available to help us. We’ve loaded up our schedules so much that we can be left feeling harried and pushed to breaking point. This is where a time management strategy comes in and this is key to navigating overwhelm. It’s not about creating more time – if that were the case, you’d just fill that extra time with other ‘stuff’ and be in the same situation as now. It’s more about making sure your time is well spent. There are going to be times in your life and business when you’re busier than other times. Developing tools to help you manage those extra busy times will alleviate much of the stress and frustration which can lead to fatigue and burnout.
Your time is a valuable resource and the first step in effective time management is not to develop a schedule, but instead to develop a time strategy. When you treat every task as a priority, it’s easy to slip into bad habits that eat into your time and don’t produce enough benefits to warrant the time spent.
One bad habit is not delegating tasks because of the effort it would take to set this up when you are already so busy. It’s a common scenario – you don’t have time to train staff or contractors, because you’ve got to get in there and get the most pressing things done. You may think that it would be quicker if you just did it yourself, and you would be correct if the task only needed to be done once. However once you’ve trained your team, the next time that job needs to be done you have already saved time because somebody else is doing it for you. You may need to provide some guidance but that will minimise as their confidence grows. You will then be free to do something else – you’ve just leveraged your time, and reduced your stress!
Without a good time management strategy, you’ll likely spend a lot of time ‘putting out fires’ and everything turns into an emergency. There’s little planning, and things don’t always get done to the high standards for which you strive.
Create effective systems
Whether there’s one of you or 15, systems are important. You will become more efficient, your office will run more smoothly, your clients will find dealing with you easier, your team will appreciate it, a future investor or buyer will value it – and your family will love that you’re getting your work done during work time and spending quality time with them.
Let’s start at the beginning – what is a system? A system is the documentation of what you do and how you do it; it’s the documentation of your business procedures. If you put the business procedures (why, what, when, where, who, how) on paper, everybody in the business knows what needs to be done and how it should be done. This document could be referred to as your Systems Manual, Operations Manual or Policies and Procedures Manual.
Having documented business systems is vital to your business and a cornerstone to navigating overwhelm. If you have a team, training them will be so much easier, and it’s important that everybody has the same understanding of how things are supposed to be done – consistency is crucial! It’s also great for expansion – if you plan to open offices in other locations, your business systems will ensure all locations are run using the same procedures. And if you intend to sell or franchise, or invite investors into your business, your documented systems will be invaluable to new business owners and savvy investors.
Even if you work alone, you still need documented procedures. There are times when you’re going to need to hand the reins over to somebody else for a little while. You might be going on holiday, having a baby, you or your family may become sick, or any other reason to take leave from the office. Without documented procedures, you’re leaving yourself and your business vulnerable.
What next?
Embrace the opportunity to revolutionise your business operations and take a proactive step toward sustainable success. Your journey to overcoming overwhelm starts with efficient financial systems.
PS. Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways we can help you eradicate financial stress in your accounting firm or professional services business – faster …
Sign up to our LinkedIn newsletter, published weekly. You can sign up here: Eradicating Financial Stress
Get our book “Wow – I’m in Business! Your journey from overwhelmed to organised.” It’s full of insights, solutions and downloadable resources you can implement into your business immediately. Click here for your copy: Wow … I’m in Business! – Miss Efficiency
Book a time with me privately and we’ll do a deep dive into your Xero file to help you optimise for cash flow, efficiency and growth. Click here to book: Book a time with Sarah
