Every success story begins with a change. Make these five changes to your management and accelerate the success of your optical business…
The very fact that you are reading this means you understand the importance of positive changes in the lifecycle of a business. Every now and then, businesses tend to get into stagnant phases where progress looks like a far-fetched dream. In such situations, positive changes based on previous experiences could serve as the much-needed catalyst that can propel the business forward. Here are five such changes that you can make to the way you manage your optical business. In the long run, these could be the game changers.
Lead From The Front
If your staff is lacking the drive and vigor required to make a difference, then there might be a strong chance that you aren’t setting the right example for them. Everyone at your business is looking up to you for an example. Hence, it is crucial to remember that every business behavior that you exhibit might cascade down to your entire team. Always strive to set the right example with your ethics and evenhandedness. A just leader is not only followed; he is respected as well. And owing to this respect that your staff shares for you, they will always be willing to run that extra mile with you. Be the most enthusiastic member of your team and very soon all of your employees will latch onto your enthusiasm. This is one of the simplest yet most effective changes that you can make to improve the productivity of your optical business.
Train Your Workforce
Just imagine how differently your optical business would perform if everyone on your staff was best at whatever he/she did. Yes, you are right. Your sales would be shooting through the roof. Hence, investing in the development of your staff members would be one of the best investments that you can make for your business. Prepare a list of areas where each of your staff members needs to improve. Schedule one-on-one meetings with them and guide them through the changes that they need to make to excel in their work. Put your teaching hat on and train them on an everyday basis. You yourself taking the time out to train them would really urge them to pull up their socks and give their 110%. If some of the skills require an external trainer, then hiring one would be worth every penny you spend.
Follow A Daily Schedule
While the first two changes speak about managing your human resources, this one emphasises on efficiently managing your most important resource – time. Irrespective of what state your business is in, you will always have a limited amount of time. But what separates the highly effective opticians from the ones who are just making ends meet is how they manage this finite resource. If you feel that you are always short on time and are overwhelmed about it, then you might need to prioritise your tasks. Assign a priority to every task that you do throughout the day and you will be surprised to notice the number of urgent, unimportant tasks that you are indulged in. Additionally, make sure you have your days planned upfront with the highly important tasks. Remember that starting a day without a schedule is very much like entering an unknown territory without a map of it.
Keep Track Of Your Finances
If you are not hitting your profit margins on a consistent basis, then you might be focusing too much on sales without managing your cash flow appropriately. This could be detrimental as mismanaged finances are one of the top reasons why businesses get deprived of success. Hence, make sure you do not de-prioritise this important activity of financial planning. Plan a budget for every quarter and keep a diligent eye on both your expenses and revenues. Keeping track of your finances will give you a clear picture of how well your business is performing. If you are not good with finances, then hiring a professional would be a good idea as at the end of the day, your profits are the one metric you should be most interested in.
Practice Delegation
Undoubtedly, you are the most important person for your optical business, but if not having you around for as little as a week could throw your team into fits, then you might need to make a few minor tweaks to your management model. Empower people so that they will be able to perform their tasks without too much of your intervention. Delegate as much as possible and make sure to regularly emphasise on the fact that your staff members are the owners of their own tasks. In this way, you would be able to focus on the more important business tasks like keeping an eye on what your competition is up to and these are the tasks which require the most attention from your side. Finally, management changes might not be straightforward and hence, understanding the nature of change could be a major advantage while making these improvements. Being proactive is the best thing that you can do as it becomes much easier if you are the one driving the change, rather than being driven by it.
