Running a business is hard. Not only do you have to find a worthwhile product/service to sell, but your business has to be run on a solid foundation in order to stay in operation. If you’re struggling to stay competitive in your industry, or you feel like you’re always putting out fires in your organization, then it may be time to fix some of your business operations.

Here are some simple things you can do as a business owner to streamline your business processes:

1. Create a Business Plan

If you don’t already have a business plan (or haven’t looked at yours in some time), then it’s time to create one. A business plan isn’t just a pretty piece of paper to help attract investors and make it look like you know what you’re doing; rather, it’s a place to put your key goals, objectives and strategies into writing. Once you have this, you can assess if you’re doing things the right way to meet those goals.

After doing a thorough review of your goals and the current business processes you have, you’ll likely have some ideas as to where the issues lie in your business operations. Make a plan to fix one business process at a time and assess the improvements. While this approach can take some time, it can be crucial to staying in business for a long time.

If you have assessed your plan and can’t see how to fix it, it might be time to get the help of a professional. There are experienced consultants that you can hire to give counsel, or you can enlist the help of non-executive directors in your own company to get honest assessments and inspiration.

2. Get Feedback from Customers

Sometimes the answers to the business operations questions you have are hiding in plain sight. While not every customer will know the specifics of your operations, they’ll know the good/bad of their experience. For instance, if they bought a product from you, they’ll know if they enjoyed the experience of purchasing it, the length of time it took to get to them, the quality of the product, etc. 

Asking for feedback from customers is a great way to analyze what is or isn’t working in your business operations. When you know where the backlogs are in your processes, it’s easier to go and audit that department to make changes and improve profitability and ROI.