Everyone says time is money, but most businesses don’t actually really look at where they’re losing either of those things (and most of the time, they will be).
The truth is, although you might notice it when it’s one big thing that causes a lot of problems, most of the time it’s little things that you won’t notice so much (if at all), but it all adds up so that by the end of the day, week, month, and year, you’ve lost more time (and therefore potentially more money) that you’re really comfortable with. Then you wonder why it all feels rushed and margins are tighter than you planned. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more about where businesses lose both time and money.
Small Delays That Become Normal
A lot of time simply gets lost in quite normal ways that are so much part of everyday business life that no one actually realises or notices that they’re not helping. For example, you might always have to wait for someone to approve something, or maybe you spend a lot of time ordering (or reordering) parts, especially if there was a mistake the first time, or you might fix work that wasn’t done right or checked properly, or perhaps (and this is a big one), you attend a lot of meetings that didn’t need to happen at all.
Individually, these things are manageable, even if they’re annoying, but when they’re repeated over and over, they become very expensive. And the problem is that when inefficiency becomes routine, no one questions it anymore and it just becomes how you do things, even when it might really be holding you back.
Poor Planning Costs Twice
If you’re planning, you need to plan properly and not rush through it or just assume everyone’s going to understand what you mean. The fact is, when planning isn’t clear from the start, you usually end up paying for it later, even if you thought you were saving money in the here and now.
Projects can easily get out of hand when there’s no real plan, and deadlines can get missed, not to mention how much more it can all cost (or you might lose money because the project is taking longer). And when all that’s happening, staff end up reacting instead of moving forward, and they won’t be able to focus very well, so of course things are going to take longer.
Downtime Is Expensive
Downtime is where you can really leak money away, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s vehicles, machinery, specialist tools, or any other kind of equipment – the fact is, just because you can’t use whatever it is you need to use, the clock is still going to keep ticking. In the meantime, you’ll have frustrated customers, you’ll be paying staff, and other jobs will have to be pushed back too.
In businesses that rely on transport, delays sourcing reliable components for trucks and commercial vehicles can very quickly give you a load of knock-on problems, which is why it’s worth knowing how to fix things quickly and efficiently so you can just continue with your work and put things back on track without losing too much time and money.
Trying To Do Too Much
A lot of business owners lose time by trying to do everything themselves, whether that’s because they’re afraid of letting go and losing control, or their budgets are tight enough and outsourcing seems like it would cost too much.
However, if you’re the only one who can approve all the invoices, respond to every message, and fix every small issue personally, you’re going to be making more trouble for yourself and your business than you need to – and you’re going to be losing time and money. Your business isn’t going to be able to grow because everything has to go through you, and you’re only human – you can’t do it all at once (and sometimes you can’t do it all at all).
So when you think about it, trying to do it all yourself is costing you money, even if the reason for doing it is to save you money. You don’t have to delegate everything, but if you can choose a few tasks that someone else could do, you’ll suddenly free up a lot more time, and your business can improve as a result.
Ignoring Preventative Work
Maintenance is another thing that seems to cost a lot of money, and therefore it seems like another thing that can just be skipped, but it’s not worth it. Skipping routine checks and updates might feel like a good idea to save time, but what happens if something completely breaks or becomes dangerous to use because of it?
The issue is that in that situation, everything would have to stop, and you’d have a lot more lost time than a quick service would have cost you. Essentially, giving things a little bit of attention earlier usually saves time (and money) later on.
Poor Communication Slows Everything Down
Another place businesses lose time is when your communication isn’t clear enough, so if you don’t explain instructions properly, emails always have to go back and forth a few times before people get what you want, or teams work from different guides because no one’s updated them, then you’ve got some problems brewing.
The fact is, when communication is too vague, people aren’t going to get on with their work immediately because they need to clarify things and ask questions, and they’ll be double-checking and second-guessing rather than confidently working. It makes a lot more sense to give people clear guidance and expectations right from the start – it might take a little longer to do, but it’ll save a lot of time overall.
Final Thoughts
Most businesses are losing time all the time, slowly but surely, in little dribs and drabs every single day, and most of the time, it’s just not necessary, and since it’s eating away at your finances as well as your time, it’s definitely worth paying attention to and putting right – the difference will be impressive.
