“Work smarter, not harder.” This is the mantra of many successful entrepreneurs. If you want to earn more money while working less, it should become your mantra as well.
How can you achieve that? How to optimize your online business? By optimizing your time and making the best out of it.
In the 21st century, there is no shortage of ways to optimize earnings while minimizing expenditure. There are many options available to online business owners, and today, I will reveal some of them, so you can also apply them in your business and benefit from them.
Automate Your Workload
How great would it be if you could set up something once and not worry about it anymore? In fact, you could do that, and it is called automation.
One of the best shortcuts to free up your time is to make use of automation tools.
You can automate almost everything for your business: your social media posting and reputation monitoring, link building and analysis, meetings and appointments, marketing efforts, email lists, sales, and customer support.
If you find yourself stressed out over the amount of work you have to do, consider that there is an automation tool available for almost anything today.
Just think about it: why spend your time writing each email repeatedly while you can write it once and schedule it to be sent to each person you want in the future?
Automations save your time and energy that could be used in other aspects of your business. A lot of companies have developed automation processes and are offering their services.
Some of them are even giving free plans to use them. For example, you could have the option to send up to 500 emails per month free of charge. And for additional emails, you could be asked to spend just a couple of bucks on a monthly plan.
One automation service I am using is SendPulse. They have a free plan for up to 2500 subscribers, and that can be suitable for beginners.
Outsource
Every person has unique strengths and weaknesses. There are some things you are going to hate doing and some things that you will enjoy. So naturally, you will tend to avoid or prolong things that you don’t like doing.
But, as you know, avoiding necessary things can hurt your business. That is why even things you don’t enjoy doing have to be done. And they have to be done on time.
So why not hire someone to do the things you don’t like? Yes, you can hire people to do what they love to do, but you hate. Even the things that you love to do are limited by the amount of time per day.
Freelancers and outsourcing agencies are available, and they can massively assist in reducing your workload.
Let’s say you love to read and research topics, but you don’t like to write. Whether it is because you think you are not good at it or don’t like it.
Well, when you find an interesting topic, all you have to do is hire someone to write you an article about it. That way, you will have more time to research additional topics while someone else writes them down for you.
I used to think that Fiverr is a great place to start at. I was wrong. DO NOT use that platform. There are many other platforms better than Fiverr, such as Freelancer.
Hire a Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant is a low-cost freelancer that completes various services from a remote location. Those can be all the jobs you need to get done, such as boring data entry, meeting scheduling, emails, and so on.
You can hire them on an hourly or daily basis to complete simple tasks for you.
Finding the right one might take a while, but it can definitely turn out to be a shortcut to success in the long-term. That way, you can focus your energy on what you want and what is more important to you.
Collaborations and Networking
Connecting with people in your field is a quick route to growing your business. You can promote each other’s products and services.
For example, you are in the fashion industry, and you sell clothes and make-up.
You can connect with a local hairstylist. If the customer buys a specific product from you, they will get a discount on the hairdresser. This works both ways.
By leveraging the power of multiple platforms, you will be able to grow far faster compared to doing it alone.
You can also network with people face to face.
There is a growing number of new online businesses worldwide, and you might find a group of them living near you. Work together for mutual benefit.
Schedule Some Down Time
Rest and relaxation are vital and are a necessity to ensure success. One of the reasons you are creating an online business is to enjoy the benefits that it has to offer, such as flexibility and enjoyment.
So make sure you take at least one day a week where you don’t do anything work-related.
You can then come back to work on Monday morning completely refreshed and see things from a clear perspective.
Working too hard will not benefit you or your brand, and eventually, you will burn out and start hating your work.
In the end, if you overburn yourself, it won’t do any good to no one, so do yourself and your clients a favor and take a day off.
Invest In Yourself
William S. Burroughs once said: “When you stop growing, you start dying.” There is no status quo. You are either moving forward or falling behind.
As a business owner, you are looking to developed your skills. No matter in which niche you are, online marketing is the most important thing to learn.
It doesn’t have to be you, of course, you could hire someone to do it for you. But that costs money, a lot of it.
So you can pick one of many platforms to learn from, like Udemy or Skillshare, where you can find many different courses to sharpen your skills.
Personally, I have used both platforms, and I learned a lot from courses bought there. However, if I would need to suggest one as ultimate, it would be Wealthy Affiliate.
This platform is hat down the best I have come across by far. Everything regarding marketing, SEO, writing and creating content I have learned there. I have even created this website, thanks to it!
So, if you are serious about learning and developing in that direction, I would highly recommend you read my Wealthy Affiliate review.
And in the end, I want to say no matter which direction you take, developing yourself, I really wish you success. And please drop me a message down below and tell me how your journey is so far.
Regards,
Dalibor.
