If you are an entrepreneur that started one of the 600,000 businesses that are formed yearly in the US, then you understand there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Especially if you are a sole proprietor, then you surely have found yourself exhausted with a mountain of work still to be done. Eventually, the success of a solopreneur who is trying to do it all alone will hit a ceiling. This is a good thing to hit, but a bad place to stay under. To keep growing you must learn to manage your resources, in order to set yourself up for success. One of the most important lessons to learn at this point is that you cannot do it all by yourself, if you desire significant growth, and the luxury of eventually being able to sit back and let the business run itself. Business solutions are how you get that done.
If you are completely new to the entrepreneurial journey then your next step should be to hire a business consulting service. They will help you optimize your current operations, and set up a strategy for improved performance. A consultant will also advise you on which business solutions to utilize.
Business solutions are exactly what the word sounds like- solutions to the various problems or challenges that a business must overcome or conquer in order to have continued success. Business solutions give you the means to grow by providing resources to improve, and streamline many aspects of your business, such as training, payroll, accounting, marketing, and market research. Solutions help you get back to doing what you love, instead of remaining overworked, and possibly stagnant. For more information, read our previous article, What are Business Solutions and How They Can Help Your Small Business.
It is always smart to reach out to a consultant to help you figure out which of these solutions are best for you. Different brands of each of these solutions types will offer different features that you can match with your specific needs. Cost vs. capabilities relating to the needs of your company, third party integration, customization and real time data are important aspects to consider before making a purchasing decision. Many of the most successful solutions companies have systems for multiple areas. For example: Freshbooks, Freshsales, Hubspot, and Hubspot CRM.
Here are some of the most important business solutions for small businesses.
- Accounting Software- Obviously, coming from a company that offers accounting and bookkeeping services, you must have known that we would say this one is the most important solution. The three reasons people start businesses are to do something that they love, create something new, or to simply make money. If you aren’t well acquainted with your business finances then the first two motives won’t get you very far alone. Accounting solutions are able to help you keep track of nearly all aspects of your business finances, including invoices, expenses, accounts payable, estimates, taxes, etc.
- Marketing Automation Software- As a sole-proprietor that is just getting started this is another one of the most important solutions for you. Marketing Automation Software can greatly reduce the amount of time spent creating marketing campaigns, sending out email campaigns, and other various marketing tasks. This type of software will also reduce the amount of time spent on social media- which let’s face it, is a very big part of marketing and advertising these days. Most of the best ones will have the ability to connect to multiple social accounts, set up various types of marketing campaigns; as well as keep track of your performance with analytics.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software- CRM systems handle all aspects of communication with clients, leads, and business partners. You may be thinking “why not just use Excel like we have for decades?” While a regular spreadsheet may be fine for companies with 100 or less contacts, a CRM system not only allows for the input of data, but automatically collects information and tracks data relating to your contact; such as what emails they’ve opened, and their purchasing decisions.
- Human Resource Management (HRM) Software- HRM systems are similar to CRM’s, except that it is a suite of applications that manage internal aspects of the company. This type of system will help you keep track of employee information such as payroll, employee benefits, evaluations, training, work schedules, vacation days, etc.
- Project Management Software- This type of solution is all about workflow. This software will help aid supervision of staff and projects, as well as encourage teamwork. Project management systems help you utilize tools for tracking employee hours, total time spent on the project, as well as task management tools and analytics for each task.
If you are burnt out because you don’t have time to do what you love anymore, then let us help you get back to your dream job. Contact us for more information on our business solutions and system implementation services so that we can streamline your day to day operations so that you can focus on your business!