It seems like we are always counting down to something. The first day of a new adventure, the last day of a challenging class, our next vacation, the holidays. There are so many occasions that are “countdown worthy.” As a small business owner you may be counting down to the day that your operations are running so smoothly that you are able to able to tackle a new project or just take some time for yourself. The question is how do you get from here to there?
In a previous post we talked about process mapping. Actually putting your processes in writing is the first step towards making ‘someday’ today. Visit our post here for more details on how to use mapping to improve your business processes. Once you can see the bottlenecks you can work on ways to keep things moving.
As your processes become more streamlined you will start to realize the time and money saving benefits of process improvement. You probably have an idea (or ten) in mind that you would do if only you had the extra time or money. Now’s a great time to write out that list. Just like process mapping helps you focus on your problem areas, being able to see your goal list can really help you visualize the direction that you’d like for your business to take. Making those goals seem more tangible can help you stay focused as well.
Review your business goal “wish list” and choose one or two items that you are most excited about completing. Don’t be discouraged by the fact that it’s hard to pin an end date to this countdown. Having a finite goal can be just as motivating as having a hard date on the calendar to look forward to. Set your goal, give yourself incremental goals that you can easily reach along the way and start that next countdown to the day that your business processes start working for you.
If inventory is one of the ‘sticking points’ in your company, try Stockpile. Our inventory management solution is quick and easy to implement. You will have the ability to track inventory across locations from anywhere. Once you have that under control you can turn your attention to other matters and start working on that countdown.
