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12 Productivity Hacks for Online Small Business Owners

Running a business is not an easy task. There is a need to be always ahead of your competitors. Even small tweaks to your operations can have a massive boost on your business. You need to manage your time well to stay productive.

These are some productive hacks for online small business owners that are easy and quick to implement.

Prioritise Tasks

The first thing to do is to prioritise your tasks. You can do this by creating lists of tasks to be done daily, weekly, and monthly.

After creating the list of tasks, you should prioritise them. This means organising them in order of most important or urgent to least important.

Include a list of critical tasks that must be done to move your business forward.

Delegate

If you have a team, you need to find what every member is good at and delegate. Determine the tasks to be delegated to your employees.

For instance, if you want to create content for your website, you should delegate it to your content writer. If you have employees who have a passion for writing, you can ask them to devote time for a few articles weekly.

Mute Device Notifications

It is time you do away with unnecessary distractions from your devices. The stream of chimes, flashing lights, and chirps can take your time and focus away from work. You can stop this by muting your notifications.

Studies have shown that stopping to check alerts on your phone can cost you a lot of time. Instead, create a schedule to check your messages and emails. Keep your devices out of sight. This prevents you from being tempted to use them frequently.

Take Real Breaks

Maybe you feel breaks are unnecessary luxuries. This explains why many business owners avoid them. Rather than taking time away from their computer and taking a break, they use their free time to read emails.

It is advisable to take a walk or get a cup of coffee. Although breaks seem frivolous, they provide a period of recuperation. As a result, you can get back to work with renewed energy and focus.

Meditate

Meditation can help take your productivity to another level. Start meditating when you wake up. This will help you clear your mind and bring the best out of you.

It helps you to become less stressed, more focused, and have a higher awareness. The awareness helps maximise productivity and minimise distractions.

Start Early

Create a habit of starting your work early. You can do a certain task before 8 AM. During this time, you should avoid receiving phone calls or emails. This is the time to focus on your to-do list.

You will find this to be a fail proof way of doing the most demanding tasks or those that require consistent attention. It does not matter unexpected interruptions that come your way, you can achieve your goals.

Write Down Your Goals

Writing down your goals can have a huge impact on your productivity. Make sure you write down your goals for each month. After this, you can break them down into small goals.

When you approach your work this way, you can free enough space and make your goals seem more achievable and less intimidating. Moreover, you can derive motivation to achieve your goals.

Create Templates

Make sure you have a template for everything you want to do. It is advisable to start creating templates as soon as you start your business. This means you will not need to create the same thing multiple times.

Also, templates make it easier for your employees to do their work with minimal supervision.

Avoid Social Media

Studies have revealed that social media is more distracting than phone and email. You may want to read a comment, but you end up wasting several minutes browsing aimlessly.

When you start to work, mute your social media notifications. Also, you can log out of your social media accounts to avoid being tempted to peek into the homepage.

Embrace Technology

Technology can help automate some tasks and free up your time. Some tasks like invoicing can be automated.

If you have certain repetitive tasks, technology must be having a solution to them. For instance, you can use software applications to manage your payroll and account reconciliation.

Avoid Multitasking

Many people have embraced multitasking. Unfortunately, multitasking can cause more harm than good. You should note that your brain is not configured to swiftly move from one task to another. Multitasking can make you more stressed out and less effective.

Have Essential Tools

Always plan ahead your work. This will ensure you have all the required tools to do the work efficiently and effectively.

Relevant Video:

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9 Steps to Start an Online Business

When starting an online business, there are certain steps you should follow to achieve success. There is a need to do due diligence the same way you would for a brick-and-mortar business.

The internet gives everyone an opportunity. It is easier to start an online business than an offline business. However, this does not mean you simply jump in and invest your money.

The following are 9 steps to follow when starting an online business.

Find a Business Idea

This might seem too obvious. However, studies have revealed that many potential entrepreneurs skip this step. They start with website creation and branding without having a solid business idea.

These are some questions you should ask yourself when coming up with a business idea:

Is there a need for this product or service?

What is your motivation behind this?

What problem does your business solve?

Can you leverage your strengths in this business?

These questions will help you determine whether your business will be successful. Remember you are on a mission and you need passion to push you forward.

Determine Market Viability

You need to have a solid understanding of your target market. Start by thinking about the people you serve and the value you offer.

If you are part of the target audience, then it can be easier for you.

For instance, if you have been hiking, you understand the challenges, desires, and problems you face. It would be easier for you to sell hiking products online. Also, you can easily communicate with other hikers.

Create a Business Plan

After determining the business idea and market gap, you should start developing a business plan. The business plan will help you seek funding and forecast your financials. You might need to revisit and revise it as your business grows.

A business plan will help you spot potential challenges down the road. In addition, it will help you plan for profitability and future growth.

An effective plan helps you clarify your objectives, identify the market gap, and in making decisions. It can mean the difference between a successful business and failure.

Build Your Website

Now you need to build your business website. Your website design does not have to be completed. Instead, make it simple and easy to navigate.

The website is your first point of contact with the customer. Therefore, it needs to grab the attention of the visitor. Avoid using too many graphics, videos, and audio. Use them only when it is necessary.

You can also hire website design and development companies. Outsourcing website creation has its share of benefits.

Make sure you write a copy that sells. High-quality content helps you build authority.

Analyse Your Competition

No matter your niche, you are not alone. Even if your product is unique, there are substitute products that can serve the same purpose.

Competitive analysis is important as it helps you to know your competitors and the strategies they use. Also, you can identify resources available at your disposal.

Drive Traffic

There are many ways you can drive traffic to your brand-new website. For instance, you can invest in PPC advertising.

PPC ads are instant and you can test multiple keywords, prices, selling approaches, and headlines. Other than getting immediate traffic, you can discover best performing keywords. You can then use these keywords in your website copy. This will boost your rankings in search engine results.

In the long term, you should invest in search engine optimisation. This will help your site rank higher in search engine results organically.

You can also drive traffic from social media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Build Authority

People search for information online. If you can provide the information for free, you will acquire more traffic and boost your search engine rankings.

The idea here is to create high-quality content and build backlinks. Create videos, articles, and infographics that your visitors find useful. You can then share this content on social media pages and article directories.

Ideally, you need to become an expert in your niche.

Invest in Email Marketing

During website creation, you need to build an opt-in list. The list is an important asset for your online business. This is because it permits you to send emails and newsletters to your subscribers and customers.

With email marketing, you can develop lifetime relationships with customers and offer them whatever they need. Also, you can easily measure the performance of your email marketing efforts.

Unlike other marketing methods, email marketing is cheaper.

Try Upselling

Upselling is an important online marketing strategy that can improve your revenue. Use it to encourage your customers to buy from you again.

Make sure you offer products or services that complement their purchase. Another option is to offer related products and send coupons periodically.

When you reward your loyal customers, you are likely to keep them for a lifetime.

Relevant Video:

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