Daily Biz Solutions

As an entrepreneur you are the lifeline of your business. You handle everything yourself, from bringing in new customers to paying the bills and everything in between. But not every aspect of running a business comes naturally to everyone. There comes a time when you must outsource tasks to become more efficient.

Whether you don’t have the knowledge to perform a task on your own or you simply don’t have the time, outsourcing can be a huge relief. For example, you could take the time to learn everything you need to know about online marketing and perform the tasks yourself, but it would take away time from your customers and the overall management of your business. In addition, an expert can get you much better results than you could get on your own.

Another example of something that could be outsourced is IT management. Most small business owners have no clue how to install or develop new software, troubleshoot problems with a network or server, or set up and maintain a website. All of these tasks can be easily outsourced to one company or several individuals who are experts in their particular niche.

In addition, most small business owners have the ability to maintain daily bookkeeping of invoices and income, bills and payments to vendors. There are a number of easy to use software that are available for this purpose. However, the bigger aspects of accounting and tax preparation are beyond most entrepreneurs. Federal taxes must be filed and paid quarterly, with a return filed annually. Separating personal and business tax returns can be troublesome, especially if you run a business as a one man show. Outsourcing these tasks could not only save you time, but also save you hundreds of dollars in taxes.

Outsourcing may not be as difficult as you think. Online marketing and similar tasks can be outsourced to experts in the field using job boards like eLance or oDesk. IT tasks can be outsourced in a similar fashion, or by contacting local IT companies. Tax preparation and accounting tasks can be outsourced to an experienced accountant that operates locally or online. As long as the accountant is familiar with best practices for your state and community, it doesn’t really matter where they are located.

It may be scary to hand over the reins of a particular area of your business. However, in many cases it is in your best interests to do so.

Is it time to plan a business meeting or team building outing with your employees? There are many benefits associated with these types of outings. Planning a corporate retreat can be a great way to boost creativity and re-focus your team. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you get away from the demands of day to day life and take a time out to work toward your future.

Whether you plan your corporate retreat at a luxury wilderness resort, an island escape or at a business hotel in a major city, you’re sure to be pleasantly surprised by just how much work and progress you are able to accomplish, as well as the sense of cohesiveness and team unity that can develop as a result of such a trip.

Are you looking for ways to boost your productivity as a small business owner? Here are a few tools that you may find to be useful.

Three Technology-Based Productivity Tools for Small Business

• Google Docs – Are you tired of sending edited documents back and forth to your business partners, employees and customers? If keeping up with version revisions is wearing you out, consider using Google Docs when you need to share documents with other people to review. This free collaboration tool provides a great way to take the stress out of document sharing. Just go to Docs.Google.com to get started.
• USB Power Bank - After spending a busy day providing service to you clients, do you find that your cell phone battery just can’t quite keep up with your needs? Investing in a USB Power Bank is a low-cost way to help make sure that your phone’s battery can keep up with you.
• Toggl.com – Do you find it difficult to keep up with billable hours for the various projects you are working on for your clients? If so, consider opening an account with Toggl.com. This easy-to-use productivity application comes in a free version and you can use it to track time by project from your smartphone or computer.

Are you looking for a way to boost your productivity? As a small business owner, it’s only natural for you to search for new ways to manage your time more effectively. Take a close look at the tasks that you are spending too much time on and see what kinds of tools are available to help you take care of them faster and more efficiently.

A Few Productivity Tools

Outlook – Use Outlook to consolidate all of your email accounts in one place, as well as your calendar, contact list, tasks and more. Set up rules that will filter your email messages into appropriate folders so that you will be ahead of the game when it comes to keeping up with client and employee communications.

Online Bookkeeping – Use an online accounting system so that you aren’t limited by specific computer and location when it comes to keeping up with your financial records, expense management, budgeting, payroll processing, tax payments and other key financial tasks that you need to manage effectively.

Google Docs – Instead of emailing different versions of files back and forth to clients and employees with whom you are collaborating, set up a Google Docs account that lets you share these types of documents with collaborators on a view-only or edit basis. This free tool can be a great time saver and efficiency tool.

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