As a business leader, it is highly likely you wear many hats. You serve as the finance guru, the IT whizz, the HR honcho, the social media manager, marketing manager, as well as managing the day to day activities. This can be daunting, especially for those individuals looking to launch new ventures fresh from full-time employment. One aspect of any business that you cannot overlook is what some would call the boring stuff. The monotony of administration can lead to putting off paperwork, which can result in a lack of organization and disarray. It is the tedious tasks that really will make or break the success of your venture. Here are three critical business tasks you must get right.
The Payroll
While being hunched over a calculator number crunching for three days every month may seem like the height of tedium, it is a crucial responsibility. Do not take this business task lightly. You want to ensure your staff gets paid the correct amount and on time. If you try to cut corners or you do your payroll at the last minute, mistakes will be made. Your team members may get paid the wrong amount. You may miss a tax payment. Or, a pension contribution may go unaccounted for. If any of these or similar actions occur, it will result in a lack of morale within your team.
The team can view errors as a lack of respect. They may even come to believe you do not care about them. As a result, your business can experience high turnover rates and a lack of productivity that affects your profits. Instead, take the time to work out salaries correctly, or even outsource to ensure efficiency and accuracy is maintained.
The Accounts
It doesn’t matter whether you are a self-employed florist, a property developer, or whether you import ball bearings from China, you need to complete your accounts regularly. This means taking account of all of your income and expenditures and compiling this into an accounting software program or even a simple Excel spreadsheet.
When you have paper copy receipts that are bursting out of your drawers, you need to get them copied electronically. Utilize alternative scanner software that allows your receipts to be accessible on your hard drive rather than stored on a Cloud. This gives you greater control over your receipt process. Also, consider an online accounting based software package that will have the necessary formulas built-in to save you time and effort in your calculations.
The Business Plan
You need to create a business plan to craft the journey for your venture. So many people take this business task for granted. Your business plan should be well-thumbed and continually referred to. With a business plan bespoke to your startup, rather than a generic template, you will have the opportunity to hone your business vision and ethos. You need a unique selling proposition (USP) and a document that details your financial forecasts for at least the first few years. This will help you to access the all-important funding to empower your business to future successes.
While you might want to focus on your more exciting digital marketing strategy or your website design, don’t forget the more tedious business tasks you need to complete to succeed. The tasks may seem boring, but without them, you will not be able to have a thriving business. Here’s to YOUR success!
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Executive, and Leadership Coach. She is the President of Infinity Coaching, Inc., where she can help you up-level your skills so that you can up-level your income, career, business, or life. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides organizational training and one-on-one and group coaching. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services at https://infinitycoaching.net.
