Want to improve your business in 100 days? Follow 100 tips

This will be a great year for you and your business, and we want to make sure it is; That is why we have prepared 100 tips that will help you improve the performance of your business.

The objective of these trips is to give you ideas to improve your business through 5 key points: increasing the commitment and productivity of workers, applying more effective marketing strategies, improving the financial performance of the business, optimizing production processes, and achieving greater efficiency from the administration.

How to improve your business

It is not about taking these tips and applying them all diligently expecting immediate results. The idea is that from today you have a list of actions to implement in your business and achieve improvements in the coming years (100 non-consecutive days), so I recommend that you save this post and consult it whenever you need an idea. practice to continue growing with your company.

Human Talent Management Tips for your Business

01. Give all the people who work in your business training in customer service. All your collaborators are a key part of your business image and they must be prepared to give their best whenever they come across a potential client.

02. Identify your three best collaborators and each of them obséquiales dinner for two with all payment in a good restaurant so that they spend an unforgettable evening with their partner.

03. Give each of your employees a "dream notebook" and encourage them to capture their dreams and goals on a personal and professional level in that notebook. Remind them that your company is already part of their lives and that you hope that their passage through it will be a stepping stone that will bring them closer to achieving their dreams.

04. Gather all your staff and tell them the story of your business. Tell them how you started and tell them about the passion, dreams, and vision behind your business. Make them understand the mission and vision that got you started (why and what for). Make each of them feel in their own flesh all the passion you feel for your business and explain that each of them is contributing day by day with their work to achieve a purpose and that the more they give of themselves, the greater the impact they achieve in the lives of customers.

05. Hear ideas from all staff about how to improve your business. Organize a day in which you meet with all of them, drink coffee, and applying an innovation methodology (I recommend Design Thinking) to analyze problems that may exist and generate ideas that allow them to improve in different aspects. You can't imagine how much valuable information you can get by listening to your employees.

06. Install a "wall of problems, ideas, and opportunities" in which all members of your company can contribute. The objective is that if anyone identifies a problem, comes up with a great idea, or visualizes an interesting opportunity for the company, they can easily capture and share it (it can be with Post Its) with everyone else, so you will have an effective collection method of key information for your business.

07. Organize the day of "Putting myself in my partner's shoes". This dynamic consists of changing for a day the roles of the people who work in your business so that everyone learns to value the work of their partner. The goal is to strengthen relationships between staff and show them that each one does valuable work.

08. Celebrate victories with your entire team. Every time your company takes an important step or achieves a significant achievement, share that victory with everyone else and let them know that everyone is part of the achievement.

09. If an employee deserves a congratulation or recognition, do it in public. If you have to attract the attention of an employee, do it in private. "Leadership Rule: encouraged in public and corrected in private" -Lucas Leys

10. Establish a fair salary policy that rewards those who excel in their work. The effort must be recognized and rewarded.

11. Allow your employees the opportunity to grow professionally. Give them the chance to develop their potential and move up the hierarchical ladder.

12. Give your employees opportunities to expand their knowledge and improve their skills. Send them to training, education, and training programs.

13. Put on an honor roll with the most outstanding employees for the effort and commitment in their work. Encourage everyone to want to be part of that picture and with positive encouragement create healthy competition among your employees.

14, Surprise your best employees with completely unexpected details, for example, a day off, flowers, honorable mentions, a well with his name, a book, etc. The idea is that the person is surprised and never forgets that the company values their work.

15. Organize a day of dance, fun, and sport. At the end of the day, remind your employees of the importance of good nutrition and physical activity. You can also share some relaxation exercises for them to practice at work and maintain a healthy body and a healthy mind.

16. Make sure that the working conditions are the most suitable for your collaborators. Take a tour of the entire company and see the hygiene, safety, lighting, and other details that influence the work environment.

17. Organize a social day in which your collaborators participate, sharing with those who need it most. Show all staff that your company has a commitment to society and that everyone's work contributes so that the benefits can impact many more lives.

18. Create elements that strengthen and promote the culture of your company. A personal greeting cap with the printed logo, company stickers, a particular way to start or end the workday, etc. These elements help your collaborators feel part of a tribe and commit themselves to the values and principles that are promoted in it.

19. Establish clear metrics to measure the performance of different jobs in your company. Explain these metrics to your employees and teach them to set goals based on them so that they can be self-critical in their work, in this way you can periodically perform performance evaluations while your own employees are in charge of constantly self-evaluating.

20. Reviews and optimizes the flow of communication within the organization. Make sure that all staff has the tools to optimally send and receive the information they need to do their jobs.

Marketing Tips for your Business

21. Install in the offices of your salespeople and commercial advisers a "goal board" so that each of them sets sales goals that motivate them in their day-to-day. Encourage them by creating a rewards plan in which they make a profit every time they reach a significant achievement, for example: when a seller achieves their first 10 sales they will get a medal, when they reach 100 sales they will get a clothing bonus when they reach 1,000 You will get a trip with all payment, etc.

22. Put yourself in the customer's shoes. Go to your business as a "Hidden Customer" (or ask someone you trust to do it for the favor) and evaluate your experience from the moment you enter to the moment you leave. Identify those times when you were frustrated and those when you were completely fascinated by the service. The information obtained with this exercise will allow you to improve the service in your business and offer pleasant experiences to your clients.

23. If you don't have a sales record yet, it's time to start. You can use excel or some business management software that we have shared here. If you do not control your sales, it will be difficult to know if you are growing or not and which strategies work and which do not.

24. Build a customer database. Worry about you know who your customers are, what their characteristics and needs are, get their emails, phones, etc. All this data can be very valuable for your marketing strategies.

25. Apply Merchandising techniques that drive the desire to buy in your customers. Make changes in the packaging of the products, decoration of the commercial premises, organization of the furniture in the establishment, etc.

26. Invest in advertising. Don't wait for your business to grow on its own. Establish a monthly budget to promote your company through the most convenient means. If your budget is limited, do not worry, it means that you must make a greater effort, but with a lot of creativity, you can make very cheap and high-impact advertising campaigns. Invest in Facebook Ads and Google Adwords, they are two very effective and profitable advertising systems.

27. Take advantage of Digital Marketing tools. Build your website, create your business profile on social networks, implement an email marketing system, and design an online marketing strategy that allows you to achieve your business goals.

28. Surprise your customers with a completely unexpected detail when entering or leaving your business. A customer never forgets how he was received and when he left a business. Make sure the customer's first impression is pleasant and the impression before leaving is memorable.

29. Create a blog and start publishing content about your product, benefits, tips to better use your product, explain why you are different from the competition, disprove myths that exist about the product you sell, and deliver useful information so that customers feel confident at the time of buying you. Remember that one of the fundamental objectives of marketing is to educate the customer, and a blog is an effective tool to achieve this.

30. Create a video in which you explain through a story (storytelling), what your business or your product consists of. The most recommended is to hire a designer, but you can also take advantage of the various online tools that allow us to create this type of video. With a good video, you will have a powerful tool to captivate and convince clients.

31. Analyze and optimize the purchase process. The fewer steps the customer must take to make the purchase decision and obtain their product, the more effective your sales will be. Make sure that the purchase process is as simple and effective as possible. Take care to ensure that your business really makes life easier for the customer when buying (transactions, means of payment, etc). Customers already have enough problems for you to complicate their lives during their purchases.

32. Train your sellers. It is important that your sales force is aware of consumer trends, and that they learn to master the techniques, tools, and strategies of modern marketing. Today's markets are extremely dynamic and require professionals who are constantly growing.

33. Establish a quality and guarantee policy that gives confidence to potential customers, especially if your product is more expensive than the competition.

34. It offers post-sale services, additional benefits, or added values: technical service, advice, free shipping, etc. These elements help the customer feel more confident when purchasing a product.

35. Take advantage of special seasons and dates. The school season, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Children's Day, Halloween, and many other dates are characterized by a great commercial movement where consumers do not measure their expenses.

36. Use psychological prices. Prices ending at 5.7 or 9 more easily capture consumer attention, make it is difficult to make comparisons, and lead one to believe that they are cheaper than round prices.

37. Respond to messages, doubts, claims, complaints, and requests from your customers on time. There is nothing more frustrating for a person than feeling ignored. If you decide to offer email, telephone, web, and social networks as a means of contact, make sure that someone is always attentive to respond in time, otherwise, you will lose sales and gain frustrated and dissatisfied customers.

38. Organize a sponsored event. Depending on the type of product you sell and the segment of clients you are interested in attracting, you can organize a soccer championship, social events, conferences, seminars, business dinners, etc. You can also hold the event as a strategy to reward and retain your current customers.

39. Send promotional gifts to your most loyal customers. With personalized USB memories, calendars, pens, key chains, bottle openers, etc. You will ensure that your best clients always take your company with them.

40. Constantly evaluate your marketing strategies to see which ones work and which don't. You must focus your energies and resources on the strategies that work and put aside those that do not have the greatest impact.

Finance Tips for your Business.

41. Organize the financial information of your business. Take advantage of different tools and applications designed to help you put your business numbers in order. You must be clear about where the money comes from to your company, how much is the income, how many are the expenses, what is the profit,

42. Eliminate unnecessary expenses. Once you have organized the financial information of your company, you will be able to see clearly what are those unnecessary expenses that month after month are affecting profits. "Take care of small expenses; a small hole sinks a ship. -Benjamin Franklin"

43. Separate your personal finances from company finances. Establish a salary for yourself as the manager of your company and avoid mixing your accounts with those of your company. A common mistake of entrepreneurs is to make money from their business to assume personal expenses or use personal credit cards to assume business costs (causing the cost of financing can be high), which is not at all recommended if you want to see your business prosper.

44. Think first of satisfying the needs of the business than fulfilling your own desires. You must be willing to make sacrifices in the short term or you will spend it spending the profits of the company on your own tastes. It's okay to have visions of a luxury car, a big house of your own, etc. But first, focus on making your business profitable and sustainable.

45. Minimize the use of paper in your company. Gone is the time when excessive paperwork was the daily bread in companies, today the trend is document management through digital tools. By implementing applications such as Dropbox and Google Drive, you can efficiently manage business documents without having to complicate your life. In addition to saving money, you will be contributing to the environment.

46. Avoid unnecessary purchases. It became fashionable among new companies (especially technology-based ones) to adopt the philosophy of companies like Google to the letter, so, they decide to spend their money buying foosball, video games, ping-pong, and other elements that are not fundamental to the execution of the business model. The financial resources of a growing company are quite limited, so, it is better to manage them wisely and invest wisely.

47. Prepare financial projections and budgets. The performance of your business is not something that should be left to chance, on the contrary, you must set financial goals, prepare budgets (and meet them), make financial projections, and monitor the achievement of goals.

48. Invest in the strategic areas of your business. Successful entrepreneurs invest in product development, human talent, training, marketing, corporate image, infrastructure, systematization of processes, and other areas directly related to business performance.

49. Do the analysis of the price elasticity of demand. Through this analysis, you can determine if it is in your best interest to increase or decrease the price of products to increase the profitability of your company.

50. Invest in your own premises. Make accounts and determine if it is more convenient for you to continue paying the rent or use the rent money to acquire your own premises. The properties become part of the assets of your company, and in the long term will allow you to increase profits.

51. Acquire insurance for your business. Risks are imminent in the business world, and it is best to have a backup in the case of accidents, theft, and unforeseen events.

52. When you need external financing, evaluate the different alternatives, do accounts, and choose the most convenient option.

53. Think in the long-term, but act in the short term. Little ones live in an eternal dilemma. After all, they cannot fully focus on the long-term because they have to face day-to-day obligations, but they cannot focus entirely on the short term because they will spend generating income to meet the needs of the child. Day by day, and in this way they will hardly grow ... so what approach to take? The recommendation is to establish long-term plans that will achieve through daily actions, in this way the income will be on the one hand to meet the needs of the day today, and the other part must be saved to later invest and be able to achieve long-term goals that will allow business expansion. It is quite a challenge, but with patience, vision, and discipline you will see your company grow.

54. Create a payment schedule. Organize financial commitments according to the due date and pay first those that are close to maturity. Avoid having to pay interest on late payments. Make sure the business has money on hand to pay bills and short-term credits.

55. If you sell on credit, you must establish clear payment policies to avoid misunderstandings with your customers. Remember to plan collection dates, and manage accounts receivable on time. If you do not follow up on the debtor clients, they will end up becoming a headache and a drain on your business.

56. Explore investment opportunities and new sources of income. Remember that "whoever runs away from investment, runs away from profit". As an entrepreneur, you should be aware of opportunities to invest the profits of the business and in this way obtain greater profitability. You can, for example, invest in stocks, bonds, buy from new companies, buy patents, etc.

57. Stop investing in those projects that generate more wear and tear than profitability. As entrepreneurs, we sometimes make the decision to invest in certain projects for which we see great potential, but over time these projects become less attractive and become a tremendous drain on resources and time. If you feel that a project no longer has potential and the numbers are not encouraging, you should make the decision to stop investing in it. This decision is usually difficult to make Because, in most cases, there be passion, friends, and other factors that can affect our decision emotionally, but your role as an entrepreneur is to make decisions that maximize the value of the company.

58, Get advice from specialists and experts on the subject. It is not wronging to have the support of an accountant, a financial advisor, or people with experience in the world of investments, they can give you their professional vision about the figures of your company and the business opportunities that you are offered. Present so, you can make decisions more clearly.

59. Always have a cash reserve to face any emergency or unforeseen. Experts recommend having at least one reserve with the money equivalent to 3 months of business operating expenses.

60. Constantly analyze your company's financial information and make radical decisions if necessary. Finances are not a game, you must assume them responsibly. Do not neglect the finances of your business. It is good that you have the support of specialists in the financial field, but you as a manager must be aware of business performance and take a cool head about the decisions that allow your company to grow sustainably.

Production Tips for your Business.

61. Create strategic alliances with suppliers, in this way you can obtain special prices or benefits in the transportation and delivery of the supplies you need to buy constantly.

62. Take advantage of discounts by making volume purchases, but taking care that inventory costs do not affect the final profitability. A good strategy is to ally with other companies in your industry that require the same supplies as you and that all make the collective purchase to obtain better discounts from the supplier or reduce logistics costs.

63. Every time you need to make a purchase or send products, keep in mind the costs of storage, transportation, fuels, overtime, blackberries, and surcharges, so, you can determine the optimal amounts for each order or shipment.

64. Plan your production and purchases taking into account the times of the year when your business sales vary. If you don't produce enough when demand increases, you will lose valuable sales; And if you produce too much when demand is falling, you will have to bear the costs of unsold products.

65. Simplify the purchasing, and supplying processes in your company. The production area must have the autonomy to acquire the necessary inputs and guarantee efficient production. Eliminate bureaucracy, and excessive paperwork if you want your business to be more productive.

66. It designs monitoring and controlling mechanisms for production processes to guarantee that orders will arrive on time and in optimal conditions at the customer's hands. In addition, these mechanisms will allow you to make timely decisions in the event of any unforeseen event.

67. Avoid committing beyond your production capacity. Keep in mind that the resources related to the production area are limited and it is risky to commit to fulfilling more than the orders that you can deliver in a certain period. Some entrepreneurs make the mistake of committing to amounts and time beyond their means just to "ensure the customer", but in the end, they end up looking bad and even lose money because the customer feels unsatisfied by not receiving their product on time, and with the required specifications.

68. As sales and financial resources allow, take advantage of economies of scale. By expanding production plants and increasing the quantities produced, the unit cost of products is reduced, allowing your company to obtain greater profitability. But never sacrifice the quality of the product in exchange for producing larger quantities because your business will become unsustainable.

69. Production must be environmentally friendly and socially responsible. Always stay focused on finding strategies to minimize the negative environmental and social impact that your business may generate. Keep in mind that today's consumer is willing to stop buying from brands that put their environment at risk and, Additionally, there are increasingly stronger laws against bad production practice.

70. Make the quality of your production philosophy. Take care of even the smallest detail to ensure that your product meets the quality expectations of your client.

71. Make sure that everyone knows and understands their role in the production process, but that everyone is absolutely clearing that the responsibility belongs to everyone. It is recommended to prepare function manuals in which the tasks of each position are specified.

72. Identify and optimize bottlenecks. If you want to improve the productivity of your business, you must find and optimize the parts of the process where the production rate slows down. Remember that "a chain is as strong as its weakest link."

73. Invest in the preventive and corrective maintenance of your company's machinery and equipment. Any machine or equipment that stops operating arbitrarily can significantly affect production. In addition, if you carry out the corresponding maintenance on time, you extend the useful life of the resources and minimize occupational risks.

74. Create products by applying user-centered innovation methodologies (customer development, design thinking). Take advantage of co-creation to develop products according to the customer's real needs, wishes, and expectations.

75. A good product must be accompanied by an impeccable design. User experience and usability are essential in building successful products. Do not complicate the life of your clients. Keep it simple. Focus on the details. Small details make great products.

76. Understand the difference between "added costs" and "added values". If your product has several features that make it more expensive, but irrelevant to the customer, it means that you are giving customers what you want and not what they want. Aggregate values are precisely those characteristics of your product that are important to customers and for which they are willing to pay.

77. Create a premium line in your business. You will always find clients willing to pay more in exchange for benefits related to exclusivity, power, elegance, or comfort. For example, at an amusement park, some customers would pay more for special passports, so they didn't have to queue at attractions. Can your business offer premium benefits to customers with high purchasing power?

78. Make everyone in your company understand that a product is never perfect. Implement a culture of continuous improvement in your business in which everyone is constantly focused on giving their best, creating better products, and giving greater value to the customer.

79. Create in your company culture of timely compliance with commitments. If each person in your organization commits to fulfilling their responsibilities on time, productivity levels will be higher and customers will be more satisfied. When a company is in default, it puts relationships with allies, suppliers, and customers at risk.

80. Take advantage of technology. Investing in software, machinery, and technological equipment has a direct impact on business productivity. Identify which processes can be optimized through technological solutions and find the right tools according to your needs. In the market, you can find free software and tools for SMEs to technological solutions tailored to your business.

Management Tips and Strategy for your Business.

81. Define which growth strategy will help you take your company to the next level. There are different ways to expand a business: internationalization, mergers, franchises, new product development, new market development, diversification, acquisitions, strategic alliances, etc. What is the best strategy for your company?

82. Eliminate all unnecessary and meaningless meetings.

83. Focus on the essence of your business. Identify what makes your business unique and special, what is that characteristic by which your most loyal customers prefer you, and focus your strategies and resources on enhancing that element. Focus on your ideal target customer and create value for them rather than creating generic value propositions that seek to appeal to anyone. Also, focus on the product (or products) that have the greatest impact on the performance of your business. Learn to say NO to proposals that put your approach at risk.

84. Evaluate your business model periodically. Analyze the different elements and determine if it is convenient to make any adjustments or design new strategies to enhance your business.

85. Delegate the operational part of the business so that you can focus on the strategic part. The operational part makes your business work, but it is the strategic part that makes it grow. Spend part of your time planning, organizing, managing, and designing strategies to grow your business.

86. Automate, standardize, and systematize processes. One of the greats challenges for entrepreneurs is to make their business work without their presence, in this way, the business will be ready to grow in a sustainable way

87. Get adequate rest and work smart. Running a business is not about how many hours you work, but what results you are achieving. Take your time to rest and recharge, so you can contribute more to your business than if you are stressed and tired.

88. Grow at your own pace, avoid making the mistake of following stereotypes, and striving to show quick results. Each company, each product, and each business model is unique and must follow its own path of business development.

89. Think big, be flexible, move fast, pay attention to market signals, and adapt to change. We are in a time of constant change in which the big fish is no longer the one that eats the little one; now it is the fast fish that eats the slow one. Maintain simple and flexible structures that allow you to move quickly to take advantage of the opportunities and challenges that emanate from the changes.

90. Implement a Quality Management System. This implementation brings two great benefits for your business: on the one hand, it helps you to standardize and systematize processes; On the other hand, quality systems and certifications are an important benchmark when it comes to doing business and creating alliances with other companies, so having them will open the way to a world of opportunities.

91. Prepare an Occupational Risk Prevention Plan. The objective of this tool is to ensure that your company ensures the safety of its employees and that it has the necessary measures to reduce potential occupational risks.

92. Do Networking. You as the leader of your company must build and develop professional relationships with other entrepreneurs, clients, investors, and others who may be key to the growth of your business. Remember that business is not about money, but about people.

93. Comply with your tax, commercial, and labor obligations. Failure to comply with the laws carries financial and criminal penalties that can end up with your company. If you made the decision to be an entrepreneur, you must assume all the obligations, commitments, and responsibilities that this entails.

94. Develop your Emotional Intelligence. Running a company requires a great command of our emotions. Leaders must be calm in difficult times and calm in the face of uncertainty. Successful entrepreneurs can make "cold-headed" decisions even when the situation is totally out of control.

95. Exercise your brain. Having a healthy and creative mind will allow you to be a better leader. Doing activities such as going for a walk, reading, writing, traveling, drawing, and solving puzzles will help you activate different brain areas responsible for creative processes.

96. Pay attention to the problems. Avoid falling into the error of "resting on your laurels". There is always something that can be improved, there is always one more goal to achieve, there is always one more problem to solve. Worry when in your company "everything is fine" because it means that something is wrong and you choose to ignore it. Have someone in your company who questions you, who detects these problems and tells you without penalty. Stimulate criticism and you will have many points to improve your business.

97. Identify and know your competition. Analyze their strengths and weaknesses so that you can contrast them with your own strengths and weaknesses. By knowing your competitors you will have valuable information to define your positioning strategies in the market. You can also create alliances with your competitors, remember that we are in the era of "Coopetencia". "If you know others and you know yourself, you will not be in danger in a hundred battles. -Sun Tzu"

98. Hire slowly and fire fast. Don't hesitate to do without toxic employees; those people who are lazy and just dedicate themselves to gossiping, hinder the work of colleagues and sow envy, you must keep them away from your company. Look for passion, talent, discipline, and determination in the people you are going to hire.

99. Make a blacklist of pending tasks, that is, a list of those activities that you must do but do not want to do, either because of fear or laziness. As long as you don't do these pending black chores, you'll have them all day spinning around in your head and filling you with stress. The recommendation is to do these activities first thing in the day, which is the time when our body is (usually) more rested and with a higher level of energy.

100. Learn all the time. As important as it is to train your collaborators, it is that you also train yourself. Attend seminars, read books, take courses, etc. The more you grow as a person and as a professional, the more you will be able to contribute to your business.