Startups and SMEs face an uphill task right from their inception. In fact, the moment you have an idea that can make a difference in the market, you are bound to face difficulties in actually making that idea a reality. But once you have actually started a business, it is even more difficult to sustain as there are hundreds of examples that you can go through online. It’s a sad fact that most startups shut down within 3 years of their inception.

Productivity Hacks for Women Entrepreneurs 

via GIPHY

An important decision for businesses about whether to expand their current operations or not is a big dilemma for them the world over. For women-oriented business, it can be the most important decision for their future as it can mean they need a lot of extra cash and human resources to name a few factors. For many start-ups or SMEs, just to stay afloat in the market with few permanent customers can be enough. But in this way, they will always remain a startup and won’t get a chance to grow. That’s why eventually they need to step up.

Increased Productivity is not a Bad Thing at All

After a certain time, women running a small business need to think about growing up their business. To be productive in every aspect of their business is one factor that needs to be present if an owner wants to give himself any chance of improving his business prospects. If your business is not that well-established and you think if it lacks the productivity in the first place, then you can delay the expansion plans for some time. This post is all about making sure how to make your startup or SME productive so that you can take your business to the next level and be in the top league.

1. Leave your Comfort Zone for a Bright Future

First things first; it is imperative you have a long term strategy in order to take any step forward. A scalable and viable plan should be your target and don’t go for making your startup big just because you are not being able to do that for a number of years. You need to think about some scenarios that may not look menacing at present but can be threatening to your venture for some time to come. So being proactive is the first step in the right direction.

The scenario of taking calculating risks is one which some start-up owners tend to ignore or never use in the first place. In today’s competitive business environment, a business cannot flourish if you are not familiar with taking risks. Starting a venture is also a type of risk that you undertook by starting it. So why bother now? In this sense, it is, in fact, the most relevant aspect of conducting and managing any business.

Getting out of your comfort zone will help you see the bigger picture in order to grow. You won’t be productive enough to compete with the rival firms in the market if you do not follow their strategies and be one step ahead of them. Taking calculated risks is a norm for most successful startups and you need to act quickly otherwise you will lag behind. There are acceptable levels that of risk for any business or industry that you may follow.

Talking to your team well in advance about this critical step can be a good thing. If you are managing a remote team or having time-difference issues, use a task management tool to make sure the situation is handled in an efficient manner.

2. The relevance of your Brand as Compared to your Competitors

If your brand isn’t evolving with time, this means that you are not making enough effort in this regard. Rebranding is one aspect that can do the trick but it isn’t easy. Increase visibility and customer awareness are the benefits but the process of rebranding can be overwhelming for a small-time startup not familiar with this. Remember that your competition may be changing over time.

Rebranding your brand doesn’t mean that you will be stranded in marketing your product until the time you are finished. Determine your brand image when you are about to venture into a new market or add something to your product line. Don’t take these factors lightly as the overall identity of your business can be in jeopardy as you plan to roll out the changes in your brand to the customer’s attention.

Your brand image can help you to more easily relate to your target audience and can help you to own different attributes that your target audience will definitely relate to.

3. Invest in Technology

Technological changes in your industry is an indication that you should also embrace the changes wholeheartedly. Technology changes these days at a rapid pace and once a cool thing discards within a year or two. Take the example of Myspace which was a giant but was quickly eclipsed by Facebook within no time at all. Similarly, you need to research about what your rivals are doing so that you can also get into the groove. Otherwise, you will be lag behind in your quest to capture the market.

You need to make the decision about the transition period and the technology that you are about to adopt pretty seriously. Not all technologies are directly related to your business or cost-effective. So, you need to research comprehensively. Make sure you select the right technology at the right time for making your business go with the flow of the industry’s latest trends. Technology also offers several other benefits too! Like you can easily break into several other markets with the right tools and reach a far greater number of customers in the process.

4. Be Sure about when to Pull the Plug

With the exponential growth of a business, comes many different challenges. It becomes less feasible for you to handle all of the work. You will learn the hard way about to effectively delegate your valued employees or to reach out to contractors for assistance. In this scenario, you need to make sure that you focus more on guiding the growth efforts and your team should increasingly be relied upon.

Assigning tasks to individuals. who are dependable and have the skills or knowledge to handle the tasks, are the ones who can make a big difference to your overall performance. All your employees should feel empowered and properly trained to handle the work that you are asking them to do. But set your sight on the ultimate goal of making your company productive and have full confidence in the abilities of your team.

Final Word

Making a business grow is a very tiresome and difficult exercise, to say the least. But you are always required to make sure you are on top of your game in making getting to the point. Productivity in business is achievable only through rigorous efforts in this regard. The above  4 points are the hacks in this regard that are the need for owners of start-up and small businesses.

I hope you will benefit greatly from this post. Please give your valuable feedback in the form of comments in the section below.