It happens to most business owners. They start up a business, all guns blazing, motivation levels at an all time high. Then, without warning, at an undefined point down the line, things just…slow down. Motivation levels drop. Things just aren’t getting done as efficiently or as accurately as they once used to. This obviously puts a strain on the business, finances, and even clients. Why would your clients continue to work with you if your business is complacent? Maybe it’s just you that’s feeling it. Maybe your business partners are on the same page. Maybe the whole office is wondering what’s going on. Whatever the situation, there are likely a few reasons your business just isn’t productive anymore. Read on to find out what they are.
Something Needs To Change
There’s nothing worse than a business that needs to change and refuses to see it. Something may have worked for you for years and years, but if it’s no longer working, then you need to change it. Don’t just wait for the day when it finally starts to work again! You may need to change a marketing tactic, or introduce something new.
You may need to change something bigger, like your branding. Having an overhaul can work if you’ve been the same for years, and can inject your business with a new lease of life. In many cases, this means you don’t have to change anything about the things you do, you just make your business look more appealing to your target audience. But how can you know what needs to change?
This boils down to a few things. First of all, you should know exactly who your target audience are and what they want. Then, you need to make sure you ask them directly. What do they want you to do? What could you change? Were they happy with the service? What do they want to see more of? Give them an incentive for filling out an anonymous questionnaire, and you should get some useful answers that will help you to change and improve. Not only that, something called ‘split testing’ can help you figure out what to change online. It may be the case of simply changing a color, font, or word.
You could even redecorate your office. Perhaps a brighter color, more natural light, and a plant or two will be enough to perk everybody up and get them working again. It could be a good idea to look at some of the biggest entrepreneurs that are renowned for treating their employees well and having a great company culture.
Don’t get precious about your business. This can be so difficult as a business owner, but in some cases, changing is the only way you will see better results.
You’re Not Working With Other Complimentary Businesses
Working with other complimentary businesses is often an important part of business. This is why such a focus is put on creating strong business relationships! If you work on computers, for instance, it only makes sense to work with a technology consulting business that can get you back up and running when things stop working. What would you do without one?
Every second you spend offline is a customer lost! It’s a good idea to create great relationships with your suppliers and people too, as you’ll get the best service and the best deals. If you try to do everything yourself, e.g. marketing, fixing your computers, tidying your offices, you’re wasting precious resources that could be better used for your work.
Your Staff Have Lost Their Morale
If your staff lose their morale, you need to find a way to get it back. Better yet, don’t let them lose it in the first place! You need to treat your staff like the most important people in your business, because they are. They represent you. They deal directly with customers, and this affects your success and how your business comes across. Will you get better productivity and customer satisfaction from a happy employee, or an employee who doesn’t like their job?
Focus on staff training, team building, and finding ways to reward your staff. Even if this is just a Krispy Kreme donut on a Friday afternoon, it shows that you care! You should find that being consistent with treating your staff and taking an interest in them and their development greatly increases your company’s overall productivity.
Your Heart Just Isn’t In It
Maybe the fact is your heart isn’t in it anymore. If you’ve lost your passion for the business, you only have a few options. You could sell your share of the business for a fee and move on to your next venture, or you could change the direction of your company to do something that simply suits your better. There isn’t a lot you can do about this. Humans develop new interests and passions, and this means we often don’t want to do the same thing for too long.
When a person finds something they want to do for a long time, that’s considered rare. Why not figure out what you can do to make your business somewhere you want to work in the long term, and make others feel the same way?
You’re Behind When It Comes To Technology
Technology is super important, and if you’re behind, you’re also behind when it comes to your competitors. Rather than performing monotonous tasks each day, figure out how you can automate these tasks to get them done more efficiently. Automating tasks is something many apps focus on. You could be spending hours doing something that takes an app just minutes to do, wasting valuable time and resources.
Simply updating your computer to something new could speed up the process, give you more options when it comes to your job, and help you to get more done. These things may seem like unnecessary expenses, but your time should be considered valuable too.
Are you guilty of any of the above? Make sure you take note and your business should become productive once again!