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Growing your micro business will require artistic mentality where you are able to turn an item and view its beauty from different angles. You have always been thinking what will it take to grow your micro business. You don’t want to shout much but that is what it is.

Having a person work with you is a great thing. Someone committing their time for your business is incredible. Regardless whether you pay him or her.

This letter is to help you not to short change yourself by harnessing the least from the work force you have.

Achieving optimal return from your employees is the biggest gift ever to your micro business and yourself.

Your micro business is your livelihood. You need to anchor that strong point in your mind. Let us start this journey here.

Discovery

When you started your micro business, you had equipped yourself with very few things. Some mandatory items included some capital money to buy few things. Second in the list was your availability which is skill capital. If you are not the one who was there to run the business operation there was someone you brought in to provide energy and skills.

I have met many people who start at this point without thinking repercussion of their decision. This include picking people for sake of friendship or for being a relative to undertake running of the business. Without knowing, their business stagnation start from day one.

Choice of your capital investment in form of human capital will be almost the overall determinant of how your business will progress. This has contributed largely to the death of many micro business.

Yourself

Let’s start with yourself as the founder being the first human skill to run that micro business. Do you have what it takes to give the business the right value with your time. The fact you had cash capital and started the business does not necessarily mean you are fit to make the right decision or you have the right skills for the same.

Acknowledging this fact is very liberating towards business growth. This is where many people go overdrive and start thinking it’s like their businesses were never fit.

Employee Salary

Your investment in employees starts with the salary you give them. Have you taken time to set up a system that will guarantee that employee skills will benefit the business?

You find an employee drawing salary and cannot even manage to welcome a walk in customer and is expecting salary at the end of the month from this business.

Getting the right employee will not be an easy journey. It will require your in-depth skill in selecting the right person. However they are there ready to add huge value to your micro business growth

Who Is Employed in Your Small Business? Why Did You Employ Them?

When running a small business, it never becomes clear to the owner that the people you pick to run have any big impact because you feel you will be micro-managing them. Many times you pick employees out of just mere convenience including someone just being a relative.

At the initial years of the business the head of business must be able to account with pure certainty why is each and every person was given the role they are playing in the business.

Some employees will have negative energy which means that besides the salary you pay them, they will go ahead and draw energy from business and throw it away. Double loss

Do You Have Performance Targets For Each Employee? Is It Well Communicated?

Nothing makes sense if it is not measurable. The gold winner in an Olympic is known from the millisecond they surpassed the rest.

Don’t sit on a vehicle and put it on a neutral mode because it will not move. Working with employee without setting them targets will hold the business on stand still. Nothing will move.

Start with setting definite daily activities. How much sales do you want generated this month. How many hours someone expected to put in business.

Do You Have Review System To Help Get Feedback On Individual Performance?

Creating a system of reviewing your staff is a sure way to send a message of accountability. This will ensure that your staff commitment rises gradually towards optimal levels.

The support system also need to be very strong for ensuring those that are lagging behind are able to be assisted to catch up.

Just imagine a production machine line was set by manufacturer that it produces 300 pieces for every 8 hours time input. The machine is therefore profitable if you put it to maximum prodution as per specification. This is measurable. What about your employees working on it.

Have pre set system of review including specific timelines like weekly, fortnight, monthly, quarterly etc.

Do You Have Discipline System For Errant Staff

Staff need to know whatever they do, is accounted for. On the other hand, staff need to know that being indisciplined at work is something that is not allowed. Issues include failure to meet targets, time wastage, and many more.

Discipline may include just a mention to someone that your behavior is unbecoming up to salary reduction or suspension. This enhances the spirit of accountability. Make sure your discipline system is very objective and not mere harassment

How Do You Ensure Individual Effort Tie To Team Effort

This is a critical juncture in ensuring the work your team is performing creates a desirable return for business. After harnessing individual effort, it will be very powerful to tie this with overall team effort.

This creates efficiency, team spirit and work becomes enjoyable.

Some employees will push you and create system of individual performance where they can even derail other timid employees so that they look very skilled and the best of all time. Resist this spirit and instead enhance supportive system for everyone to perform

What is Your Management Style

Many owners of micro businesses have been stuck with the feeling that employees work for them as individuals instead of working for business.

They have created system where they can use employee without any plan. Pushing employees right left until there is not system at all.

How many times do you use your business employees on your personal errands. This is stealing business time. This also creates disharmony and employee not able to have clear coordination.

The main work of business owner is to create clear support system for the employees, ensuring flow of coordination.

Do You Have a Clear Remuneration System For Work Done

Many are times when micro businesses accommodate everything else but fail to have a system to ensure employees are paid accordingly. The truth is that if you don’t pay employees, they will pay themselves whichever is the case. No doubt.

They will pay themselves by stealing business time through refusing to work, mistreating customer leading to lost sales and many more.

Conclusion

Achieving operational excellence for your micro business is the most lucrative target for you as the leader. This will be enhanced first by the relationship you build between the business and employees.

Build pillar of a strong work force and realize the potential of such investment in such business.

Start figuring out what next. Thank you for reading this.

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