Business is booming!
Although this a fantastic time for your company, with increased revenue and your marketing strategies paying off, the chaos of remaining busy can be stressful. Take a few minutes out of your day to breathe, congratulate yourself and then examine every aspect of your business. Are you utilizing all facets available?
There are some helpful resources that can really assist you in making the best of this exciting time.
Let’s explore these few tools:
- Scheduling
- Technology and Software
- Commercial Trucks: Lease or Buy
Scheduling
Planning ahead for a rainy day is always good advice. Contrarily, smart business owners should plan for sunny days as well.
As a business owner, you should be creating and executing growth plans when business is good. These plans identify and respond to new opportunities and trends. They ensure that enough employees are on hand or materials are ordered so that increased demands for products and services are met. A solid growth plan also identifies the areas of a business that are in decline. This allows resources to be redistributed.
From outgoing and receiving shipments, to making agendas for employees to creating a cooperative work environment, scheduling everything will improve business. To insure proper follow-through with schedule planning, try an online tool.
You don’t have to spend hours trying to coordinate everyone’s schedules, while still risking no-shows any longer. Spend your time helping your clients, not trying to reach them. Scheduling software is now the best way to do everything you need to do for business in a timely and accessible manner.
Technology and Software
Being tech-savvy can expand your business even further. Let’s assume you have a business that lays tile. Keeping track of materials needed, supply trucks and managing employees can create unnecessary hassle. Now, it is so easy to do everything from one place.
From automated marketing tools, to organizing your needs to all-in-one document control, the online options are at your fingertips. Some sites specialize in smaller businesses, while others focus on making advertising your brand more simple.
Your technology platforms should offer you and your customers ease of use and configurable choices. It can often be best to harness a single point of control for your customers when it comes to your technology selections. Utilizing the right technology to manage your shipments, marketing strategies, and connect to your customers will allow you to easily access and implement the best choices.
With all of the options available, it’s best to stick with what works best for you and your business. You could explore your previous investments and create an outline of eventual goals. With that outline, continue into the next step of deciding where to go with what you already have. Maybe you realize that there are two services you use that could be formed into one, therefore saving time and money. Affordable bundle packages for technology are available.
Going to the Cloud is an option as well. This is a convenient and cheaper way to organize everything you have, rather than buying a software license for each device. Should anything happen to your business, Cloud would be able to protect your data. There are software applications that can help optimize your cloud usage using cloud-based storage which is extremely accessible.
Commercial Trucks: Lease or Buy
If you need a truck for your business, you generally have two options: lease or buy. Buying usually requires a loan, so both choices will leave you paying monthly payments. While each one will get your business moving and on the road, there are a few key differences that might help your decision.
With a commercial truck lease, you have the right to use the truck as you see fit, within certain regulations, for the period that your commercial truck lease lasts. The person, or company, leasing the vehicle to you is responsible for most of the repairs and maintenance.
In most cases, the terms of a commercial truck lease are between three and five years. During this time, you would pay a monthly leasing fee. Sometimes, once the commercial truck lease is up, you will have the option to purchase the truck instead of returning it. The purchase price of the truck will be for its residual value, which is determined in the original paperwork of the commercial truck lease. The idea is that the purchase price of the truck would be less than buying it outright.
Cost-effective and flexible solutions are at your fingertips for truck rentals. If your business needs to haul anything, there are companies that specialize in customer assurance and delivery. Offering services that benefit the customer, you can expect up-to-date and affordable products.
The main difference between a lease and a loan is that you are making payments toward the actual value of the truck with a loan. Once the term of the loan has been completed, and all payments made, then you are the proud owner of that vehicle.
To consider while vehicle searching: mileage on vehicle, gas consumption, high-risk versus low-risk vehicles, regulatory requirements, operating conditions and tax options. While choosing a company for your vehicle needs, don’t forget to think about seasonal changes as well. It’s not unnatural for your needs to go up during certain months throughout the year.
With increased level of business, this may mean you need to lease or own ten trucks rather than only four. That being said, if you choose to rent, the company you lease from may also be going through peak season. If they can’t supply the trucks, you’ll have to find a new company quickly.
Planning these expectations out can save you hassle when the time approaches.
Back to the Grind!
You’ve come this far, now all you can do is go further. Having adequate scheduling in place, a decent presence on the Internet and know-how concerning vehicle needs is beneficial for you and the future of your company. No matter how small or how big, being prepared is worth every minute.
