As your business evolves it is important that you stay on task to grow your small business. Many small business owners get caught up in the day to day operations rather than focusing on big picture tasks. If your mentality is that only you can do every task correctly then you are going to hit a serious roadblock while growing your business. Some business owners believe that handling as much billable work as possible will result in the highest profit margin since there is no overhead. The difficulty with that mentality is you can only do so much. Non-billable time is extremely important and critical if you are serious about growing your business. Here are 15 non-billable tasks that will help your small business grow quickly.
Delegate - It is really important to become a good delegator of tasks as your business grows. You can't effectively handle every task that comes your way. Decide on what tasks you enjoy, as well as those you are good at and delegate other tasks to your team and professional service providers.
Help Someone - Give a helping hand to someone. Look to see if any customers or employees need help. Help out complete strangers by sharing useful content. We have a whole series of QuickBooks video tutorials designed to help anyone out that cares to look for it. Today's business leaders are truly here to help, not to sell.
Big Picture Planning - Spend some time on big picture items like a financial budget or an exit plan. Big picture planning is super easy to push to the back burner because it takes time and a lot of critical thinking. Block off a few hours each week at opportune times of the day and get it done.
Take A Day Off - Crazy thought to take a day off as a small business owner isn't it? I hear people say all the time, "I can't afford to take a day off." In my head I think you can't afford not to. Taking a day off can rejuvenate you and make you more productive.
Something Different - Do some sort of task out of your comfort zone. Find some sort of new task to take on and go for it. It will do you some good. No business ever stood out by doing the exact same things as the competition.
Blog - Many business owners don't understand the value of writing blogs. Blog articles are a great opportunity to educate prospects about what you do. However, don't get stuck only writing blogs. It is equally important to read and comment on other blogs as it is to write your own articles.
Network - Get out there and do some networking. Find some new networking events and attend them with openness and a readiness to give selflessly to others. I have a favorite saying in fishing; you can't catch anything if your line is not in the water.
Get Social On Social Media - The worst thing about social media is that for most people it is not social. In the world of social media it is important to share the content of others, ask questions, and start conversations. Just scrolling through your feeds on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter is not being social.
Analyze Financials - Many business owners don't look at their financial statements nearly enough. Some don't have access to updated information and others don't know what reports to look at. Doing some small business financial analysis is a great way to keep your business on track to having a banner year.
Meet With Your Internal Team - Having a regular meeting with your internal team can really help your business out. Getting in the habit of a recurring meeting can really help reduce internal emails and miscommunications. Even if you don't have much to go over every single week a recurring meeting is a good habit to get into that will also help with team building.
Define Pain Points - Do you avoid those things in your business that make you cringe? For some owners bookkeeping is a massive pain point. It is important to confront your pain points, not avoid them.
Detail Business Processes - You don't realize how important detailed processes are for your business until one fails. You should write down formal procedures for each of your critical business processes. This can be an overwhelming task so start with the processes that are your biggest pain points.
Legal and Human Resources - It is important to keep an eye on legal and human resource issues. The last thing you want is to fall out of compliance and have it ruin your business. This is an area that I highly recommend you outsource.
Reach Out To Three Customers - One great habit to get into on a regular basis is to reach out to three customers you haven't talked with in a while. When you are a small operation it is easy to keep in touch with all of your customers. However, as you grow it is easy to lose touch with customers, especially those valuable one's that you have had for a while. Take a look over your customer list and give a phone call to a few you haven't reached out to in a while.
Set Up Meetings - Take some time to set up some meetings that you have pushed back. Maybe that means meeting with your lawyer or CPA. Maybe there are a few prospects you just never connected with and you need to follow up. Don't let important meetings get pushed back further and further, just get them on your calendar and get them done.
Don't look at non-billable time as a waste of time, look at it as an opportunity to grow your business.
What non-billable tasks do you recommend to help fuel small business growth?
Photo Credit © Dollar Photo Club / andrewgenn
