It’s February. We can’t help but envision long-stemmed red roses, heart-shaped boxes filled with delicious chocolates, and, above all else, love. But when we think of love, it doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to the people who are most important in our lives. How about remembering what we believe in? Or what inspires us? How about falling back in love with our business?
When we start out in business, there is no doubt we’re in love – with our vision, with our mission, with our why. We’re inspired and feel like we can conquer the world. Then, it takes on a lifeform of its own – a living breathing thing that demands our attention and requires a seemingly endless amount of time and energy.
We push forward, understanding that there will always be ups and downs. And while we wholeheartedly embrace and celebrate the wins, often, those wins can only materialize after we examine and rectify the losses. Admittedly, this isn’t as fun, and before we know it, frustration begins to replace inspiration.
So, this month let’s take a look at what truly needs our attention and fix it, helping us fall back in love with our businesses as we do so.
What’s not working in your business?
A day in the life of a business owner will undoubtedly include many mishaps, where things don’t go quite as we had planned. In our experience, a few challenging, time-consuming issues stand out above the rest. The good news? They’re all resolvable.
Systems not talking to each other
As business owners, and a society overall, we have never been more reliant on technology. And it makes sense that the more technology we have, the more systems we utilize. But despite the promise of making life easier, they are more likely to cause headaches than provide solutions if they aren’t compatible. Simply, when systems don’t talk to each other, the results include tedious, time-consuming, and duplicative data entries.
This is especially problematic when companies have multiple, distinct systems, as well as their own in-house systems and spreadsheets. Additionally, when companies are growing quickly or have been acquired, they are faced with the increasing challenge of more potentially conflicting systems. In these circumstances, and countless others, integrations are key to provide the connection needed between multiple systems. Integrations will invariably speed up information flows, while reducing operational costs.
Entering data manually
How much time are you spending on repetitive accounting tasks, including manually entering data? How many mistakes are you finding in your reports due to the increased likelihood of human error in this process?
The answer to solving these issues can be found in automation. We hear it over and over again like a familiar fairy tale that ensures a happy ending. Yet are we doing what we need to do to automate our processes? Or do we remain stuck manually entering data, eating up time that could be better spent elsewhere?
Automation is not a fairy tale. In fact, it significantly helps maintain the uniformity and accuracy inherently lacking with manual data entry. Not only does it help your team be more successful, but it also reduces time and expenses, and consolidates important data. How’s that for a happily ever after?
Delegation
If you’re like most, you probably aren’t delegating as much as you should. There are likely many tasks you do that someone else could easily handle. It’s no secret that delegating these tasks frees up time to focus on higher-level, more strategy-focused activities. But it also builds up the trust and potential of your team. Delegating provides an opportunity for them to learn and develop new skills, which is especially important at a time when reskilling has been prioritized in many organizations.
Despite thoughts to the contrary, delegating is not the same as automating. Think of it like this – you automate processes, but delegate tasks. Their similarity is found in that they both free up your time to focus on more strategic thought processes and activities to benefit your company in the long term.
In business, we cannot simply “set it and forget it” – at least not if we want to be successful. This February, take some time to remember how much you love your business. If certain things aren’t going the way you want, don’t ignore them. Instead, make a steadfast effort to rectify them, so it’s even easier to be inspired and fall back in love.
At Agile Planners, we understand the issues that can plague business owners, and we can help. We can provide you with CFO, bookkeeping services, and training. As a one-stop shop to fill all types of accounting needs, we take over bookkeeping and accounting tasks, integrate technology systems for optimal performance, and provide consulting services to develop a strategic plan for your business to grow and reach its goals. We’ll take care of the nitty-gritty so that you can focus on the bigger picture: running your organization. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
