Different fields of businesses have many different industry-specific tasks. However, there are certain areas every entrepreneur must focus on in order to function effectively on a day-to-day basis. Lots of effort can be wasted on such areas as they require a certain level of expertise. Tasks such as bookkeeping and social media marketing can be overwhelming, taking time and resources away from the main business goals.
For this reason, businesses need to focus on certain key areas in a way that increases productivity and efficiency. Luckily, nowadays, there are apps for practically everything – helping entrepreneurs breathe easier.
So, what areas can entrepreneurs focus on, and what can they outsource in order to maintain efficiency and effectiveness while running their business?
3 Areas Entrepreneurs Need to Focus on
1. Task Management
To be a successful entrepreneur, tasks must be added to your schedule the second they appear, in order to avoid procrastination or wasted time. All successful business owners note the importance of being productive while managing tasks. Obviously, you can merely use journals and pens. However, as almost all businesses are currently running digitally, using digital platforms can be advantageous. Such tools are mentioned below:
Managing the business
Trello is a digital Kanban table where you can visualize your tasks and, hence, boost productivity. Each table represents a list, and each list can have its own tasks which, in Trello, are defined as “cards.” However; what really sets this tool apart is the ability to add deadlines, attachments, and checklists to any task – and add members to it. The best part yet is the fact that Trello has many integrations, such as Calendar and Drive, which save time in the long run.
Scheduling your day
As an entrepreneur, you are running late shifts and usually surviving on a strong cup of coffee. In such cases, it can often get complicated to find time for everything you want and need to get done. That is why it is so important to sit down at the beginning of the week to define your goals and take a look at all the meetings you already have scheduled.
That’s where Google Calendar comes in handy. Not only can you create events and invite other people, but you can also set times for each of your tasks to stay on track. Moreover, it basically determines all time-zones for you, which is definitely beneficial to those working internationally. (Be sure to still look out for the Daylight Saving schedules of different countries, which could cause some confusion.)
2. Marketing Management
Marketing is essential to any and all businesses. It is the one area that can make or break a company. You need to give your product visibility, gain a user base, and collect feedback, all of which you can do through marketing and market analysis.
Most businesses nowadays establish marketing before their product is even launched. In most cases, you probably won’t have hired an assistant to set up marketing from day one. That’s why living in the digital era is so beneficial. There are an endless number of tools that can help you set up your marketing plan in a way that turns you into a one-person-MNC.
Batch time spent on social media posts
Buffer allows you to pre-schedule social media posts for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In this way, it removes the hassle of spending hours on each platform every day. You can batch social media tasks in one place, quickly and easily. While the free version of Buffer is fairly limited, it does help to initiate the visibility of the business on different platforms without utilizing a lot of time.
Email newsletter
If your business has a website, email marketing is almost impossible to ignore. That’s why Mailchimp is such an important tool for businesses. It helps you set up a mailing list in minutes. In the same breath, this is a well-established, older tool – meaning you can learn to use it by checking out videos on YouTube. So, MailChimp might just be your beacon of hope if you aren’t the tech-savviest person.
3. Administrative Management
One of the tasks that all entrepreneurs must endure is administration. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll run a successful business if its core lacks an administration setup. These tasks are most often procrastinated, however, they’re also the ones that can cost the most time and effort. Thankfully, there are tools that help entrepreneurs manage administration, like these listed below:
Accounting
You can always start accounting with an Excel sheet. To turn it up a notch, try a cloud-based solution like Google Sheets or Airtable. If you need even more, there are other options including an hourly-paid accountant, QuickBooks, Xero, among many other accounting software companies offering starter packages for new entrepreneurs.
Record-keeping
To get the most out of your accounting efforts and financial resources, you must keep good track of your expenses. In today’s online world, most of our invoices and payment receipts are sent via email. Instead of spending hours searching for, downloading, renaming, and organizing these on your own, you could try FindMyInvoice. This free product automatically recognizes, saves, renames, and organizes your expense documents from your emails. You can even set up email forwarding to your accountant or accounting service.
Conclusion
Just because you’re an entrepreneur, it doesn’t mean you have to do everything on your own. Online tools and services are there to streamline these areas of your business so you can keep your head in the game and focus on building a successful empire.