Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. In any business enterprise, especially those that are younger and still growing, it’s critical to understand how to most efficiently increase its capacity. The following contributed post is thus entitled, How to Increase the Capacity of Your Business for Growth.
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If you are looking for a way to grow your business, chances are that you will have to invest time and money in redesigning the systems. The good news is that there are several cost-effective approaches that will allow you to measure your return on investment and help you achieve your goals no matter where you are looking for development areas. From staffing to reducing waiting times, there must be several rooms for improvement. Find out more below.
Outsource
If you simply cannot do everything alone, and your order volumes have increased, you will need to make a decision to use other people’s time and skills. In case you are not yet ready to employ people full time, or don’t have the office or workshop space to accommodate employees, you might decide to outsource and increase your capacity this way without having to make permanent investments.
Simplify
If you are dealing with complicated processes and services, it might be time to simplify some of them, so you can see the system working and get a snapshot of where your projects are heading and what the holdup is. You can utilize some advanced project management systems, as well as a CRM system that will save you time on keeping an eye on your leads and your customers.
Automate
There are several things you can automate in your business without having to opt for employing people or outsourcing. If your bookkeeping takes you a lot of time, you can get an app that will do all the jobs for you, and you can spend time on what really matters in your business. You can also automate communication and follow ups, so you don’t have to call every client back to see if they are happy.
Focus on Productivity
Image via Creative Commons Licensed images from Alpha Stock Images
One of the main reasons for business failure is low productivity. If you are running your one-man band, you need to make sure that you can pay yourself a decent salary and still have funds to grow your business. There are several ways you can improve your productivity, such as increasing your delivery capacity or reducing your turnaround times. If you own a warehouse, for example, you simply changing your Casters can make a huge difference in your business output.
Time Management and Bottlenecks
Image via Max Pixel
One of the main reasons why companies are unable to progress to the next stage is the lack of workflow management. If you are not familiar with lean organizations, it might be time to take on a course or employ an advisor. Chances are that there are some bottlenecks in your workflow processes that hold you back from improving your productivity and your profitability. Identifying your bottlenecks will help you improve your business long term.
There are several reasons companies stagnate in their growth and cannot move on to the next step. You will need to identify what is holding you back from progress and improving your productivity and capacity. Growing your business is challenging, and you might need professional advice to avoid the most common pitfalls.
