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How to Keep Your Business Lean in 2023

How to Keep Your Business Lean in 2023

8 Mar 2023

A lean business model is an effective way to ensure success and longevity. Given the current state of the economy and business landscape, it is more important now than ever to keep your business lean.

A lean business is one that limits waste, reduces costs and maximises efficiency. This saves not only money, but time, too. It also makes it easier to adapt and pivot when necessary.

Let’s look at how you can keep your business lean for financial success in 2023.

1. Eliminate Waste

The first step to keeping your business lean is to evaluate current practices and look for areas of waste or inefficiency. This includes everything from physical products to process and procedures. Make sure you are only using the necessary resources for your operations, and look for opportunities to streamline operations, such as by automating processes.

2. Automate What You Can

Automation can help reduce labour costs and free up resources for other areas of the business. You can automate everything from payroll to customer service, invoices and even marketing activities. This not only reduces costs, but improves the customer experience and workflow.

3. Outsourcing Over Hiring

One of the most effective ways to keep your business lean is to outsource certain tasks rather than hiring new employees. This eliminates the costs associated with recruitment, training and onboarding new staff, as well as providing you with access to experienced professionals who can deliver high-quality results.

You also won’t have to worry about HR management such as pay, benefits or vacation time. Outsourcing can be a great way to remain competitive in the market without breaking the bank. It keeps your business structure agile and allows you to focus on core tasks while granting you greater flexibility and scalability.

4. Be Frugal – Not Cheap

There’s a big difference between being frugal and being cheap.

Being frugal means finding ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality, while being cheap means compromising on quality in order to save money.

One will benefit your bottom line, while the other can damage your reputation.

When looking for ways to save money, be sure to consider long-term impacts, not just short-term savings. Remember that investing in quality products and services can help save money in the long run by reducing maintenance costs and increasing efficiency.

5. Learn How to Say “No”

“No” is the most powerful word in business, and it’s important to learn how to say it.

Saying no can help you stay on track with your goals and objectives, prevent overspending and help you stay focused on what’s important.

It can also help you establish boundaries with partners and vendors, ensuring that you are only partnering with those who can deliver the results you need without compromising on quality.

It also means that you don’t get side-tracked by projects, requests or ideas that don’t align with your goals or add value to your business.

By learning how to say “no” and sticking to it, you can remain lean and focused on what’s truly important.

6. Know Where Your Profits are Coming From

We know, we know – you’ve probably heard the term “know your numbers” a thousand times by now. But it’s true. Knowing where your profits are coming from is key to understanding what works and what doesn’t in your business.

Look at your sales numbers and customer data to identify which products or services are your most (and least) profitable. This will help you focus on what works and eliminate what doesn’t.

By understanding which products and services are the most profitable, you can then focus on those areas and invest in them – while cutting back on products or services that don’t generate enough revenue.

Summary

By following these tips, you can ensure that your business remains lean and competitive in 2023.

Automate wherever you can, outsource any tasks that are not core to your operations, invest in quality without being cheap, learn how to say “no” and always know where your profits are coming from.

By doing so, you can keep your business lean and ensure that you remain profitable in the years ahead.

The challenge of keeping a business lean can be daunting, but with the right approach and strategy, it can be done. The key is to stay focused, remain strategic and have a long-term vision for success. The rewards are certainly worth it.

Book a free consultation here.

Creating a New Process – The Seven Steps to Follow

Creating a New Process – The Seven Steps to Follow

7 Jul 2021

New processes that aren’t yet proven within a company need to be handled with care. Documenting them is the best way to keep track of aspects that work right and those that don’t.

Process documentation can help you understand the effectiveness and if your processes require some adjusting. A functional business process should be easily repeatable and reduced to the smallest number of steps to benefit company efficiency. When it comes to automation, well-documented processes will be much easier to translate. However, documentation can take up significant time and effort, which is why the following steps will prove quite useful.

1. Define the Process

Naturally, the first step in documenting a process is precisely defining its purpose and the benefits it brings. You should have a clear idea of what the process will bring to the table, how it will be used, and when it will be necessary. Once you’ve defined those essential aspects, name the process so that its function is evident from the title.

2. Determine the Scope and Boundaries

There should be an outline of everything that falls under the process and what’s excluded. The lines that define the scope of a process are sometimes blurred, which is why it’s crucial to make them as well-defined as possible. Your process’s boundaries will further specify the details of the project’s scope. That’s why you should define the start and end points and signals according to the previously outlined aspects.

3. Define the Expected Results

It’s not enough to broadly determine what a process should do. You should also have particular results in mind and precisely explain what the process should produce. When it comes to expected results, being as exact as possible will be essential in future testing and provide valuable insight for adjusting and optimising.

4. Identify the Resources

Once you know what a process does, what it entails, and what results it should produce, describe every resource necessary to get the expected result. Make sure to note the primary and secondary resources and fill out the list with additional entries according to individual steps.

5. Plan and Organise the Steps

Discerning all necessary steps will require careful examination with a focus on functionality. Either start from the initial process trigger or the endpoint and work out the sequence step by step. Once the steps are clearly defined, re-examine if each step is indeed necessary and follow each other in the best possible order.

6. Determine the Responsible Personnel

Note which person will be responsible for what task, referring to them by job title. Make each individuals role clear and understandable, leaving no room for different interpretations.

7. Predict Exceptions

Note every conceivable situation that could deviate from the process and specific tasks and outline the steps to take in such cases. Of course, it might be impossible to think of everything. But the more exceptions you predict, the easier it will be to address them and adjust the process.

Make Your Process Well-Documented

With clear and detailed documentation, your processes will be understandable for everyone involved and easier to automate. While it’s necessary to devote time and attention to documenting each process, following these steps will make the task more straightforward and future revisions more accessible.