Control your resources

It's simple common sense to control expenditure, but don't skimp on the important things. For example, in your marketing, ensure that you make good use of low-cost and no-cost marketing tools such as referrals, fusion marketing and testimonials, but don't have an unprofessional looking website done 'on the cheap' which could potentially damage your reputation and credibility.

Make sure you have a clear reason and justification for all expenditure, including your time. A great principle when it comes to how you spend your time is to do only

a. the tasks you alone in the business can do

b. the tasks you enjoy doing...

...and delegate everything else!

Always remember that your resources are finite, especially your time.
Before starting a new task, ask yourself: Is this the best (most enjoyable, efficient and profitable) use of my valuable time in my one and only life?

An excellent way of controlling your resources is to create systems for each aspect of your business. This might take a while to set up, but once it's done, it's a great time-preserver. Having systems in place also makes it easier to delegate specific activities as each step required to complete the task will be laid down in black and white, and in the right order.

One final point on the time-saving front - have a business data backup of everything required to run your business. This could include your systems, your internet passwords, banking information, customer database, website details, account information, key supplier contact details, etc. Having all this information in one place is a massive time-saver, and could also be a business-saver if you lose any critical business data stored on your PC or elsewhere.

Has reading this prompted any thoughts of actions you might want to take in your business?