The coronavirus pandemic left many businesses in an unpredictable situation. While big-box retailers and grocery stores thrived last year, as many as 100,000 small businesses cannot say the same, according to the Washington Post. Small businesses are the backbone of local economies. Without them, townships and cities wouldn’t be the same. Your loyal customers and neighbors count on your business to keep its doors open. But let’s be honest, it comes down to profitability. If your small business doesn’t make money, it’s difficult to justify staying in business. Whether your profit margins are already in the red or you want to get a higher return out of your hard work, here are savvy tips for business owners to increase profitability in 2021.
Hire Right
It starts with making the right hire. You may have lost an employee or two since the pandemic began due to layoffs or other reasons attributed to COVID. If you’re looking to replace those positions, hire right. There is a lot of talent out there. Even employees that didn’t get laid off may be searching for better opportunities, which means that your small business may have a chance to hire top talent that you wouldn’t have attracted before.
Amp Up Employee Training
According to the Society for Human Resources Management, it costs business, on average, about $4,129 to hire a new employee and up to 42 days to replace them. While spending money on employee training may not seem like the best way to use your money, it’s more costly to market for more job candidates and go through the entire hiring process again. Whether you have meaningful training for new hires or want to transform your current employee’s downtime to a chance to re-energize and learn, amp up your employee training so that your business can become stronger.
Re-Evaluate Your Business Plan
Inefficiencies could be costing your business a pretty penny. In actuality, inefficiencies cost the average business 20-30%. Add that to the percentage of lost profits from last year, and your accounting ledger isn’t going to reflect anything positive. It’s time to re-evaluate your business plan. Times have changed. People have changed. There are both short and long-term goals you can put in place to help your business become more profitable this year and beyond. Think of how your customers and your community have changed. Maybe it’s time to offer a new product or service or offer current services in a way that works in a post-COVID society.
Look For Ways to Reduce Costs
Evaluate your costs. Do you offer products or services that just aren’t jiving in a post-COVID world? Have certain aspects of your business slowed down or increased, yet you haven’t changed how you allocate your spending? These are specific items to consider. It may even be time to outsource if your business has shifted during the pandemic. For instance, if you can’t really afford a full-time employee to do your bookkeeping, consider hiring an accountant that you pay by the hour, as needed. This is just one example of how you could save money and cut costs while continuing to fulfill your business needs.
Focus on E-Commerce
Online shopping definitely flourished during the pandemic. Not that it was hurting before. If your business has an opportunity to maximize e-commerce, now is the best time to do it! Bryant Consultants can help by designing an attractive e-commerce website that helps your business transition from a brick and mortar storefront to a highly acclaimed online business.
Improve Website SEO
Whether or not your business sells any actual products, it needs a website. Not just any .com, but a website with SEO optimization. In a nutshell, this means that when people use a popular search engine, like Google, to find a product or service similar to what you offer, your business website ranks high on the results page. Not sure how your current business website is performing? Website designers and coders at Bryant Consultants can perform a health check to test your website analytics and SEO ranking. Want to find out right now? Hop on over to Google and type in something related to your services and see where your site ranks.
Give Your Business Website an Update
Even if your website ranks high in Google searches, how it looks and functions matters just as much. It’s estimated that most people will leave a website if it doesn’t load within seconds or if the website is difficult to use and information isn’t easily accessible. The problem these days is that many small business owners design and build their websites in an attempt to save money. Unfortunately, it could mean that you’re missing out on valuable customers and losing money. It’s difficult to critique your own work. But the truth is, your website may need an update or a refresh. Think of your website as your online storefront. Just as you would want to update your brick and mortar office and store, a website requires the same attention.
Want to learn more ways to increase profitability for your small business or need help refocusing your business plan for 2021? Contact Tyra, our top-ranked small business consultant in Kingsport, Tennessee. Working for a small business herself, Tyra understands what it means to work through everyday challenges that you are facing. Call Tyra at (877) 768-4799 or contact her directly.
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