Secrets of growing your business from the kitchen

Secrets of growing your business from the kitchen

If you have a home business, how can you run it in an effective way, maximise your results and allow the enterprise to grow? Here are some tips on breaking through the barriers that could be holding your business back.

If you look at your business right now, who is involved in running it? What would happen if you took a day off, wanted a week away or were unexpectedly ill for several weeks? If you want to build a business income that your family can depend on it is important that the business does not just depend on you.

Do you ever feel the pressure of running your business is overwhelming? You can be required to cope with selecting new products or developing new services, pick and packing, promotion, marketing and accounts as well as being your own receptionist and tea lady.

There is a way to both make sure that your business can run without you AND ensure that the money continues to come in whether you are there or not:

Build a team for your business

Look at all the functions in your business. Make a list right now of all the things that you do. You might want to include:

• Website management
• Marketing through social media, blogging, newsletters
• Public relations
• Picking and packing
• Arranging couriers or taking parcels to the post office
• Customer services – answering queries by phone or email
• Bookkeeping and end of year accounts and tax return

When you’ve made your list, put a tick by the things that you like doing and feel that you are good at. Then look at the other areas. Which one would you be really pleased to get off your hands? Who could help you with this? You might need the help of a:

• Bookkeeper
• Accountant
• Lawyer
• Public relations specialist
• Marketer
• Website manager

A virtual assistant can do many things for your business and different assistants have different areas of expertise. Some may be able to create emails and newsletters for you and upload items to your website. Others may offer call handling and be able to answer simple customer queries for you.

Or you might need someone local who can come in on an occasional and part time basis to help with packing and dispatch.

Having got this far, is there a little voice inside your head saying: “But my business can’t afford more help”? If so, push it aside for a moment or two. Think how much more effectively you could work on the tasks that you have a natural talent for if this one task or area of work was taken off your hands. Could you do more work to generate sales that would then pay for the support? Are there tasks that just aren’t getting done that are holding the business back? Getting extra specialist support could help you take the business to a new level.

Think about this over the next few days. Work out how much you would have to increase sales in order to pay for help – and conversely estimate how much sales are being held back because of the things you aren’t able to do or can’t do quickly and efficiently.

Build your network of support for your business and it can really allow your business to take off. Network on and offline and ask for recommendations to help you find your essential support people.

Be clear about the tasks you want to delegate. If you are nervous start by passing on small tasks and build up as your confidence grows. Develop ongoing relationships and set up systems that work and you will get to the stage where your business can succeed even when you aren’t there.

Antonia Chitty of Family Friendly Working

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