Finding The Time...

Once again I have neglected the company blog for an extended period of time. Not because of laziness, but more in finding the time to give proper attention to the written word. As the work day progresses, time fades away, before you know it exhaustion takes over and the last thing I want to do is type out something interesting and insightful.

These are of course excuses. I should be finding the time to get something down each and every day, whether it makes it to the blog or not. Something is changing with the company on a daily basis, so finding items to write about should not be something so difficult to find. 

The problem for me seems to be finding the best time to actually do the writing, not so much the content. I'm up at 5am to get ready so I can be at the shop by 7am to get the day going. As much as I would love to write in the morning, my body just hates those before dawn hours and my mind is usually flooded with what needs to be done at the fabrication shop.

Not the best recipe for quality writing. 

So you would think during the day or in the evening would be perfect. Unfortunately, the strain of the day keeps me away from the keys and all I want to do is relax. 

However, I do like writing the blog and will continue searching out the best time for writing and getting my thoughts down. Especially since the company is and will be changing for the better over the next few years.

As with anything in a small business, finding the time to do anything can be a challenge. All of us know there is only one way to run a successful company and that is to work your butt off day in and day out.

So I guess finding the time to blog will just have to go on my goals sheet as something I want to accomplish from week to week. I'm just gonna have to find the time.

Finding a Balance With Time Management

One of the hardest things we deal with as a two man small business is time management. Especially since the recent purchase of our new CNC plasma table, with the goal of growing the business, our time is split between many things. Learning a new system, a new way of doing what you've done for over twenty years can be daunting and many things will sadly be neglected in that ongoing process. For my father and I, especially me, it has been keeping up with many responsibilities in regards to the website and social media.

We have recently hired someone to take-on the marketing aspects of the business, but that also requires attention on a daily basis. With more traffic to the website and orders coming through the door, there is more that must be done to be available for our customers. We want to make sure that our customers are finding us online and that we accommodate them, no matter how small the order. Therefore dialing in our search results to make sure keywords etc. are up to date is on my mind constantly, creating more work and time to make sure things are running smooth.

Keeping up with Twitter and Google+ have become a challenge because of the extra work established by our new machinery. I have neglected much of these responsibilities for over a month, which does not help people engage you looking for your services. It's called social media for a specific reason....social reasons. Organizing myself down the road will help me to make sure I am on top of everything. At this point we can't afford to pay for more help, so it falls on my father and I to get things done.

No one said building a business was easy and I am learning quickly that time management will become one of the best things I can learn going forward. No matter how small your company is, look into time management and how it can help you balance your time and goals.