Experienced business owners know that the quickest route to failure is to waste time and money, especially in the early days when the business is usually running on limited funds. Only entrepreneurs who treat time and money like precious resources will take their businesses forward quickly. Of course, it is all too easy for new business owners to take their eye off the ball when they are balancing so many different tasks and responsibilities.
If you have recently started or are hoping to start your own business, to help you avoid making the common mistakes that many businesses make, here are six ways that businesses waste time and money.
- Lazy bookkeeping
The biggest mistake that a business can make is to lose track of expenses. If you wait until you need to file a tax return to record your expenses, it is almost a certainty that you will have been losing money along the way. You need to have a clear understanding of every expense and how much cash you have available to you at every stage. Otherwise, you are likely to lose control of your budget and end up with more outgoing than incoming cash.
- Expensive and ineffective marketing strategies
There are a million ways to market your business, and many of them do not cost much at all if you are creative and savvy in your strategy. Rather than paying for social media or search engine advertising, try out some free digital marketing tactics such as content marketing and email marketing.
- Poor inventory management
Buying too much stock that you have to store and cannot sell is a big waste of money, and failing to buy enough stock to meet demand will hinder your sales. Look into inventory optimization software programs that will help you to maintain a healthy inventory.
- Overcomplicated recruitment processes
When you reach the point of hiring staff, you might be surprised how time-consuming and costly the recruitment and onboarding process can be. Many business owners waste months of time and resources hiring for a single role. While it is important to hire the right people, your screening and interviewing procedures should be as efficient as possible. This will also prevent the best candidates from getting a better offer while you are still considering them.
- Having lots of pointless meetings
There is no denying that meetings can be incredibly useful when managing a team and running a business, but unfortunately, many professional people waste too much time sitting in pointless meetings. Meetings should be structured to cover the key points of discussion as efficiently as possible, and they should never take more than one hour. Ideally, every meeting will result in a decision or action that benefits the business.
- Resisting automation
There are a huge number of tasks that can be automated, but some businesspeople insist on completing them manually. From posting content on social media to scheduling meetings, there are lots of free software programs that will prevent you from wasting time on mindless administration. You might also want to consider outsourcing some tasks that could be completed more effectively and efficiently by a more experienced freelancer or company.