December 24, 2010
The Importance Of Using Small Business Tools And Templates
Without access to small business tools, an owner would be required to reinvent the wheel hundreds of times every week. As it is, it’s hard work running an establishment, and without some framework, it would be impossible. For example, a businessman putting together a proposal without using small business templates would spend more time working on the aesthetics than the actual content.
The same thing applies to financial planning templates and website design. Not to mention other commonly used tools like spreadsheets designed and ready for various uses like financial statements or balancing checkbooks. There are sample documents, letters and formats available for various functions from B2B contracts to job application forms and independent contractor agreements.
Then there are the checklists. It may seem superficial, but entire businesses have collapsed because there wasn’t a checklist handy when needed. Collect checklists for everything from franchising to trademarks and dealing with the taxman, customer lawsuit or a subpoena. The only option to not having checklists is to keep an expert for each crucial issue close at hand and ready to offer advice, if the business can afford it.
This is all just one tiny part of the SB toolkit. The real value items are to be found in more complex applications in fields like sales and marketing, customer relations, performance analysis and HR management. Many of these tools are widely available for free, such as a survey organizing tool which can collect data from customers and file it all into reports and charts ready for analysis.
Whenever there’s something that needs to be done, make it a point to first check to see if there’s a handy tool to do the same thing easily. For instance, buying or selling companies is not something where one expects to use a simple tool. But there are many that can make the research far easier, like a valuation calculator.
The toolkit should be especially useful for HR functions, where there is a high degree of repetitiveness. Job application forms are required, and employees constantly fill up forms and documents for things like appraisals or satisfaction surveys. The biggest help comes in using tools to manage benefit programs, which are very difficult to manage while being important from a tax viewpoint.
Even more useful than HR toolkits are the ones used in sales and marketing. Metrics need to be collected and the analysis needs a bit of expertise. There are standard toolkits to help with this, such as a worksheet that can track the effectiveness of an ad campaign and provide customer acquisition costs. Also, a telemarketing tool used the right way can put sales on the fast track.
Let’s not get too caught up compiling a toolkit laundry list here, because it’s not possible to sum it all up in a single page. Just remember that when something looks like it has to done manually all the way, there’s always somebody who’s been there, done that and created a tool to do it easy and fast. This holds true for every business planning aspect of the business, bar none of the small business tools.
Grow your small business with the aid of advice, business taxes, and small business resources. Read some business blogs that can help you prepare for challenges facing your business.
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