Boost your productivity

Q: Hi Steve. When I visit the Microsoft Small Business Center I always find plenty of useful information. In fact, it is almost too much. I never seem to have enough time to implement all of the different ideas and strategies I learn about. How am I supposed to grow my business when I spend most of my time running it? Thanks in advance.

— Stephanie

A: Yours is a common lament. If the good news about being an entrepreneur is that work is full of creativity, freedom, passion and options, the bad news is that it also time-consuming and tiring. Wearing so many hats, as so many of us do, leaves little time to do the extra things that can make a difference.

To counteract this, I want to share two strategies that should be of use.

First, consider picking up the great book, The E-Myth by Michael Gerber. This small business classic tells the tale of a fictional baker who spends so much time baking and running her restaurant that she fails to do all of the other things necessary to have a successful, enjoyable business. Sound familiar?

In the book, Gerber shows the baker how to fix that problem. He suggests that she, and other entrepreneurs who feel similarly overwhelmed, look at the franchise industry as a model for how to run their business.

Take McDonald’s for example. Walk in and what do you see? Often, it is a bunch of kids who are operating the business – cooking, serving and so on. That is fairly amazing when you think about it. How did Ray Kroc invent a model that allowed kids to keep a multi-billion dollar business humming?

By standardizing it, that’s how. At McDonald’s, like at most franchises, the various duties are systematic, and a series of check-lists tell the employees what to do, when and how. This frees up the owners to concentrate on more important matters than simply operating the business all day, every day. (Even McDonald’s franchisees who do work in the store do so in more important capacities.)

The point is, by creating a system based upon how you want the business run, you can free yourself up to work on your business instead of in your business. Hired help does the “dirty work.” That is what The E-Myth teaches.

Second, if you want to start using your time more effectively, consider employing the 80-20 rule. You have heard of that, right? Many business people think that the 80-20 rule states that 80 percent of your profit comes from 20 percent of your customers, but actually it is more broadly applicable than that.

The rule was first “discovered” in 1906, when an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto realized that 20 percent of Italy’s population owned 80 percent of the country’s wealth. Since then, the 80-20 rule has been shown to hold true in a variety of situations. In many businesses, for example, 80 percent of inventory generally comes from 20 percent of the suppliers. And, most importantly, 80 percent of your results tend to come from 20 percent of your efforts.

So the basic idea is this: The vast amount of your results and profits comes from only a few sources and actions. Consider the implications: If you have ten things to do today, the 80-20 rules states that only two are likely to make a difference.

Do you see how this can free you up to be far more effective? Figuring out which of your actions yield the greatest results can go a long way to making you far more effective and productive.

For spectacular results, try applying the 80-20 rule in a variety of ways:

• If 80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your employees, then it is incumbent on you to identify those employees and reward them.
• If 80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your inventory, then, similarly, it would behoove you to know exactly which products those are.
• If 80 percent of your profit comes from 20 percent of your customers, you better know who those most valuable customers are and treat them right.
• If 80 percent of your visitors see only 20 percent of your web pages, then track those pages and monetize them accordingly.

You get the idea. The important thing is to begin to recognize which of your business activities are responsible for 80 percent of your success and then makes these actions your top priority.

By systematizing your operations and prioritizing your best efforts, you will free yourself up to be far more productive in your business.

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Steve Strauss is one of the country's leading small business experts, a columnist for USATODAY.com, and the author of the "Small Business Bible." If you would like to have Steve speak to your group, or to sign up for his free e-newsletter Small Business Success Secrets!, visit his Web site. Have a question for Steve? Send him an e-mail.