Best Resources for Your Small Business

Small business owners have a lot on their plate. They must balance the major business functions while maintaining their niche within the industry. A Forbes survey found there are 28 million small businesses within the US, and they employ 50% of the population. In honor of National Small Business Week, here are a few beneficial resources to support the main functions of your business.

Finance/Operations

The financial side of a business manages and distributes funds to fuel operations. One of the largest costs for all businesses fall under time and labor. To better manage these expenses, many employers look to time and labor solutions to directly impact their production, growth, and profits. Check out this article for a free eBook on automated timekeeping and how proper management of this function can significantly impact your bottom line.

Once a business owner has successfully managed their finances in regards to employee time and labor, the next focus is to allocate funds to turn a profit. The Harvard Business Review found by increasing customer retention by five percent, profits are positively impacted by 25%-95%. In this article, the author highlights a few strategies to help retain more customers. Another great resource for finance and operations is making sure you’re measuring the right metrics for the success of your company. More information on different aspects to measure can be found here.

Marketing

After you get your finance and operations plans in order, marketing your product and/or services is the next focus. PQ Media did a study and found that the average digital media usage for a consumer each week is more than 15 hours. With this in mind, it is important to make sure you have a prevalent online presence through a website and social media sites. Here is a free guide on social media basics that your employees, friends, family, and colleagues can use to help support your efforts online.

One of the top complaints from small business owners relate to not being able to find enough customers. This in turn impacts your sales and profits. For the customer base that you already have, check out this article on how you can get more sales out of your existing customers. When you’re looking for new customers, it is important to keep in mind the buyer’s journey. This article provides free tools to plan for each of your buyers. These will help you understand the process the buyer goes through and how your business can impact their decisions.

Human Resources

We touched on this earlier when discussing the financial aspects of managing your employee’s time and labor. Yet there is more to employee management than just his/her time. This article highlights the 10 main factors associated with managing your human capital. When running a small business, there are many stresses associated with staying compliant. A recent article published by CGMA, notes the most common functions outsourced by businesses within the US are payroll and tax. This article offers a free eBook on the benefits of payroll outsourcing these business functions. Another area to stay compliant with in regards to HR is storing employee data. This article offers a free checklist to make sure your company is staying in compliance with the federal regulations when onboarding employees.

Whether your business is an auto repair shop, beauty salon, or dry cleaning service- they all must follow the basic business functions to survive. If you’re interested in ways your business can better manage day-to-day functions, email us at marketing@mpay.com or subscribe to our blog for more helpful tips.