As business owners it is easy to simply declare personal calls, social networking, web surfing, and excessive water cooler talk as valuable time wasted by employees. While these are all valid concerns, did you know many of your processes, or lack thereof, may cause extra work at your expense? Process related time wasters include:

• Unclear work objectives.
• Absence of communications plan.
• Unstated mission, vision, and company purpose.
• Untrained employees.
• Disorganized information and poor document management.
• Micromanagement.

Eliminating theses deficiencies will often require a time or even financial investment but the long-term benefits will produce better results from your team, potentially increasing your bottom-line.

Presumably, as a manager or owner you know what your organization needs in day-to-day operations for continued growth. Therefore, it is essential that you take part in evaluating current methods to find ways to save time and money. Sometimes it is necessary to get in the daily grind to review your current processes.

If you have a receptionist, sit at the reception desk to listen in on how calls are answered, logged, and routed. You may discover that the receptionist is effective but lack decorum. Or, you may realize that time is wasted because your organization lacks a clear communications plan.

If your business relies on paper trails for billing purposes, try deploying a document management system that makes it easy for accounts receivable representatives to find what they need. A free service like Google Docs can act as a place to collaborate on projects or even store information.

They key to identifying time wasters is to know your business goals, stakeholders, and processes and to have a commitment to making the changes necessary. Take time to:

• Define work objectives.
• Develop a communication plan.
• Re-visit your mission, vision, and purpose to strengthen it and present it to your staff.
• Make a time or monetary investment in your employees.
• Organize information by deploying document management tools.
• Only micromanage when your staff needs it. If you have hired a good team and have communicated clear processes, micromanaging is not necessary.

If you need help reorganizing or even developing efficient business processes, contact us. We will help you increase your bottom line while decreasing overhead costs.

If you are here, you probably attended the I Want It All Conference.

Thanks for visiting Dorsey Group, LLCs home online. From writing to content development to internal/external communications strategies, we offer a variety of services. Because we know you want it all, we want to help you attain your goals.  Below are a few of the discounts we are currently offering to I Want It All Conference attendees only:

• Editing – 10% off packages
• Public Relations Books & Brands – 10 % off packages, up to a $480 savings
• Resume Writing – 20 % off plus LinkedIn profile evaluation & recommendations, up to a $30 savings
• Strategic Development/Personal Branding Coaching – 50% off the regular $85/hour rate with a 1-hour minimum. NOTE: We normally require a 2-hour session.

Thanks again for stopping by. We look forward to serving you. If you would like a representative to contact you, please complete the form below. Someone will contact you within 24 hours or by the next business day.

Over the past few months, several storms have devastated families and businesses across the country. In most cases, families have emergency kits to help them weather the storm and insurance to help them rebuild afterwards. However, outside of a fire evacuation plan, small business owners may not consider the need to have a disaster preparedness plan.

Below is a list of tasks to consider when developing your own plan:

• Determine what steps you need to do to protect your place of business. Even if you do not own the building, you still need to protect your assets.
• If you are a manufacturer or keep products in stock, consider the bare minimum you would need to re-open if your building is damaged. It may also be a good idea to keep extra supplies stored off-site so that you can still sell from a temporary location until your facility is up and running.
• Have a travel and communications plan in place for your employees; they are your most important assets. Decide at what point in the warning process you will evacuate, how you will communicate the need to evacuate, and how to check-in after the storm. Also make sure you have contact information for your venders, suppliers, and customers on hand.
• Make sure you understand your insurance policies. Did you know most policies do not cover flood damage?
• Business interruption insurance compensates you for the income lost if you have to close your company temporarily.
• Try to keep electronic copies of pertinent information such as payroll, accounting, taxes, etc, stored off-site. Many companies offer cloud storage for a nominal price.

Remember, your business meets the needs of your family, your employees, your customers, and the community in which you serve. Be proactive about protecting it.

You can visit the following websites for preparedness resources: Small Business Administration, Institute for Business and Home Safety, and Ready.gov.

AlexMax Publishing author, Clinton Bowman, Jr., will be interviewed by Orlando, Florida radio personality Pam Morris on July 28, 2010 at 9:45 am, EST. The interview will air on WOKB 1680 AM. If you are not in the Orlando area, please click the link below (on this page and the next) to listen via the internet.

Bowman will discuss his debut novel, The Overcomer.

AlexMax Publishing, the publisher of Clinton Bowman, Jr.’s book, was named as one of The Huffington Post’s reader’s picks for best independent publishers. To read the article, please click here.

Congrats Alex Roderick for making waves in the publishing industry!

It’s taking some time be we are close to bringing you a place to learn, connect, and grow your marketing efforts with others. We would love to work with you and look forwards to helping you reach your business goals.