Advice for Small Businesses : 80/20 Rule of Time Management

Here at Sintel Systems we work with big and small businesses of all types. When it comes to differentiating the two, the 80/20 Rule that Perry Marshall speaks of on Entreprenuer.com comes into mind when noticing the differences between the small and big operations.
Marshall begins by discussing how small-business owners tend to waste their time on $10 an hour work, such as running to get office supplies, sorting out emails and such other menial tasks that are very well important, but in the end time wasters. You’re only one person and there’s only so much time in the day, once you start getting into the groove of what really needs to be done, you start to see that spending 20+ hours trying to figure out how to design your own website maybe slowing you down.
This fact is well known to us, which is why Sintel Systems found that not everyone has time to learn how to operate their POS systems. We specialize in POS so why not offer clients the support they need to give them more time to develop their business plans. Marshall speaks of the “I can do it myself” attitude that many small business owners can evoke, and while we know you are very competent enough to read a manual, we also know that it would be much easier if you just let us explain it to you. Plus it’s a given fact that you’ll probably learn better seeing, hearing and doing (as we guide you) rather than just reading alone.
Here are the 5 snippets of advice that Marshall gives in order to stop wasting time:
Hire a cleaner.
A clear space is a clear mind. There are a lot of people who would really appreciate a job right now and the less time you could spend organizing your things, the more time you could spend studying which flow of market to tackle and what kind of person to email.
Get rid of your $10 an hour stuff.
Ask yourself “What else am I doing that is so menial? What is really taking up all of my time?”
Hire a personal assistant.
With some effort you may be able to hire a perfectly competent person at minimum wage to $15 an hour. It’s definitely more interesting work that retail or fast food and you’re also really giving another individual the opportunity to get experience behind handling a business. You might want to seek out an assistant seeking to major in business or some similar line of work. They’ll be able to understand more personally what work needs to be done.
Don’t feel guilty about relaxing.
Downtime gives you the mental space you need to think. You can’t be a great strategist when you’re hustling from morning ’til night. Feed your brain instead, so you’re sharp when you’re negotiating the next sales contract.
Focus on your most productive time slot.
Everybody has a timeslot in their day when they do their finest work. Ernest Hemingway wrote first thing in the morning. Barack Obama is a night owl. Find your zone and take advantage of what times you produce the best work.
To read the full article go here.
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