Every business owner on the global market dreams of having a business or several large enterprises that allow them to earn more while doing less. And there are plenty of examples of businessmen, entrepreneurs, and investors that have been able to make that dream a reality. You may be asking yourself, how did they do it? They solved their problems using money instead of time. While this is a scary thought at first, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. Why? Because you can always make more money. You can never make more time.
If you are looking for best practices on how to get yourself one step closer to that goal, then look no further. Here are two cost-effective investments (and one freebie!) that will help our business become a market leader.
Improve your logistics
Logistics are the invisible powerhouse behind your business. Amazon began as a third-party logistics provider, and It was through logistics and supply chain order fulfillment that Amazon was able to become the global power that it is today. The blessing and the curse behind logistics are that they can always, always be improved. Now, maybe your business is not trying to become the next Amazon. Good, we don’t need another Amazon—we need more unique ecommerce sellers like you. In order to become the very best business that you can be, you should invest in 3PL companies with years of experience in third-party logistics and global logistics. ecommerce brands that invest in a white third-party logistics provider often find that it is a win-win-win business relationship for all parties involved.
Hire the right accountants
As real-estate mogul Robert Kiyosaki is quick to point out, “Cash flow is king”. As an ecommerce business, you’ve likely already noted how true that statement is, and how difficult it is to maintain a good knowledge of your cash flow. What at first seems like the simple task of keeping track of “cash in and cash out” becomes daunting when you’re forced to manage the tasks of daily bookkeeping, reconciliation of all your accounts, monthly forecasting and budgeting, month end management reporting, cash flow management, benchmarks and price-modeling, business growth planning, data entry, and financial reports. If you are trying to save a few dollars by handling these services in-house, then it’s time for a wake-up call. Why would you waste precious time taking focus away from your specialty when there are amazing ecommerce accountants available to you? It’s time, once again, to solve this problem with money instead of time.
Focus on effectiveness over efficiency
You’ll probably be happy to hear that this tip does not require any money. However, you’ll find more abstract changes in the philosophy of your business are difficult to implement. So, how does one focus on effectiveness over efficiency? The key is to realize that the term “efficient” is largely arbitrary. If your employees are able to complete all of their daily tasks in an eight-hour day, then they are technically being “efficient.” However, if all of those tasks could have easily been completed in two hours, then they haven’t been very effective, have they?
As an entrepreneur, rather than focusing on efficiency and daily checklists, it would behoove you to check back into the core functions and philosophies of your business and ask yourself: “Are we being effective as a business? Where can we improve? What are our blind spots as an organization?” These are difficult questions, but with a little digging, you will be able to find solutions that will save you money and (more importantly) time.
