Efficient time management is vital for small business success. A lack of planning, mismanagement and accompanying wasted opportunities can all be deciding factors when it comes to your ledger turning bright red.
Reflecting on how you and your staff handle the workday and thinking about how to make the most of everyone’s time is essential to running a profitable small business.
This includes all aspects of operating the establishment, from maintaining a sufficient stock of merchandise to successful staff management and investing in modern technology.
Employing staff in the process is a great tool for achieving optimal time management. Try holding brainstorming sessions with staff to receive their thoughts and input. Employees who have first-hand experience on the sales floor and at the register can provide insights that may not have crossed a small business owner’s mind.
In addition, demonstrating to your staff that their contributions are welcome and appreciated fosters high morale. Dedicated and loyal employees who take ownership of their work can help increase revenue and staff retention. Their enthusiasm will make shoppers feel welcome and win you new customers through positive word-of-mouth.
High spirits can mean the difference between employees pointing a shopper to the location of a product or walking the customer straight to what they need, suggesting complementary items and touting sales.
On the flipside, staff that are told to stop wasting time without further direction can lack the drive and desire needed to help your operation shine.
An example of productive time management is conveying to employees that the word downtime need not exist in their vocabulary. A period of slow foot traffic is no reason for staff to lounge around and talk amongst themselves. This scenario could lead to missed customer service opportunities and make shoppers feel ignored, leading them to seek out your competitors for a better experience.
Conversely, motivated employees are more likely to give their all to customers and build a strong work ethic by doing everything from stocking shelves and tidying sale displays to organizing the stockroom and updating inventory when time allows.
Establishing time management measures goes beyond the staff. Advanced technology is an excellent tool at a business owner’s fingertips. Perhaps consider replacing dated cash registers with modern, user-friendly models that keep lines moving and track sales.
Some high-tech instruments use artificial intelligence that analyzes sales data and produces charts and graphs showing which products sell best at which days, times, months and seasons. The proprietor can use the data to generate a host of revenue-generating strategies. Automated inventory management can also help prevent you from selling out of trending projects in high demand.
It is very likely that exploring ways to employ modern technology will cause sticker shock. Then there are the massive amounts of AI-based systems on the market. Merchants will need to perform extensive research to purchase the system that works best for them.
These are just some examples that scratch the surface of using time wisely. The takeaway: There is always room to increase profits by improving time management.
