In order to thrive in the current economic climate, businesses need to be smart with their resources and work towards being a ‘lean business’. But what does this mean exactly and how can we achieve it?

 

‘’ A lean business will focus on improving processes in order to eliminate waste and deliver optimized value to the customer, helping teams and organizations achieve their goals in smarter, more sustainable ways. ‘’ 

 

Focusing on core offerings, eliminating anything that isn’t absolutely essential and streamlining operations can help weather the storm of troubled economic times – something we are all facing right now. In this blog I’ll be talking about the main areas of business we can work on to create a leaner operation, specifically; having the right team and support in place, and how fine-tuning your systems and processes can save you precious time and money.

 

Do you have the right systems and processes in place?

Not having defined systems or processes can lead to confusion, chaos and inefficiency within your business. When things are disorganized, it’s simply harder to get work done. Morale suffers and staff turnover will be higher as a result. It’s no surprise that this is not good for your business.

 

By creating processes for operational tasks such as inventory, invoicing, and customer service, you can ensure that your business is running as efficiently as possible – the key to being a lean business. Having a set of clearly defined and managed processes will help to keep your business organized and running smoothly. If you’re ready to implement some standard operating procedures, check out this helpful article.

 

Robust processes are essential for any customer-facing part of your business, so make this your priority if you’re just getting started.

 

Your team (or lack thereof)

A massive part of running a lean business is about getting the most out of your team. In order to do that, you also need to create systems and processes that will help them manage projects and workflow efficiently. Task and project planning tools can be the backbone to productivity, so check out project management platforms such as ClickUp, Trello or Asana, or have a look at my past blog 5 Fee tools that will streamline the heck out of your business for some great advice on what could work best for your team.

 

Maybe you’re still doing everything yourself? If that’s the case and you’re struggling, you’ve likely reached your Operational Tipping Point®. It’s time to make some changes! One of the biggest mistakes that business owners make is trying to do everything themselves. They wear all of the hats, from sales and marketing to operations and customer service. This can be incredibly overwhelming, and it’s not sustainable for the long run.

 

When you delegate tasks, you free up your own time to focus on other areas of the business. But it’s important to give your team the proper resources before delegating so they can complete the task successfully. If you need more advice on getting started with this, read my blog, or drop me a message. I can advise you on how to be a lean business from the moment you hand over that first task.

 

My experience

Finally, if you want operate as a lean business it’s important that your team members know what’s expected of them to move the business forward. If they’re constantly having to ask you for help or direction, it’s going to be very difficult for you to get anything done. Make sure that your team understand what their roles and responsibilities are so that they can work independently.

 

In my team we use ClickUp as our day-to-day task management tool so we know who is doing what and when it will be delivered. We have ‘quick overview’ dashboards set up so we can see if any projects are running behind and it enables us to focus our efforts and resources on getting the project back on track.

 

If your team work face to face and you’re looking for a quick and easy way to focus your team try this… an in-person daily stand-up for 10/15mins with the whole team to review key priorities and set the intention for the day. A client of mine recently started doing this and said the buzz and enthusiasm had such a positive effect on productivity and morale they saw sales and customer satisfaction improve by 20%. By laser-focusing her team she had made them leaner and more effective.

 

By following these tips, you too can create a lean business. Implementing systems and processes may seem like a lot of work, but it will pay off in the long run. Your team will be more effective and your customers will be happier.

 

Book a review meeting with me so we can take a closer look at your business and see where we can save money without impacting your bottom line. Together, we can create a plan for streamlining your operations and making your business more efficient overall.

 

Do you have any tips for running a lean business? Share them in the comments below! Lastly, if you enjoyed this article, please share it! And if you want more great tips and resources delivered straight to your inbox each fortnight, sign up for my email list below.