The Value of Business Systems

Published on: 13 July 2021 Last Updated on: 10 January 2025

Creating a business is always exciting. The challenge of building an organization from the ground up is more than exhilarating.

Running the company, however, is another story. It can be a chore (and sometimes, even a big bore), especially when foolproof systems are not in place.

So if you’re looking to improve your business performance and spend more time outside the office, you need to recognize the value of business systems.

What are Business Systems?

Business systems are a series of procedures that help employees implement a specific type of service consistently.

These systems usually come with business processes, which many know as standard operating procedures. With this series of checklists, the team can follow a work step even without undergoing training.

Why Companies Need Business Systems and Processes

It goes without saying that these help you effectively manage day-to-day operations. Without this, your company will crumble.

Just think of it this way: it’s like losing a vital piece of the puzzle when one management worker resigns or calls in sick.

That said, the value of these systems are summarized into these five benefits:

A Business System Provides Consistency

Zak Frazer once said: “The key to success is consistency.”

With systems and processes, you deliver consistent services to your customers. After all, these procedures and checklists keep your efforts aligned.

When you have happy customers, they will keep coming back to your business. You generate the revenue you need because they keep spending money on your services over and over again.

Business Systems Improve Service Efficiency

Some companies fail to be consistent because they don’t have systems and processes to follow. The employees do one thing, while the management does another.

So if you don’t want to sow some business discord, you need to have a system in place. That way, everybody meets the objective because everyone follows the same written process.

Business Systems and Processes are Indispensable Assets

Say you want to sell your company’s stakes in the future. You have a bigger chance of getting investors if you have a business system in place.

It’s your way of telling them that you have an established work process, a solid customer base, and a steady stream of sales.

Businesses With Systems Scale Faster

When you have a system in place, you can focus on other things. You’re no longer bound to implementing any one program. Since the business process offers the support you need, you get to work on other strategies instead.

So if you want unprecedented business growth, you need to have system resources in place. That way, you can develop other products and services that appeal to other customers.

A Business System Can Bring Down Labor Costs

While no software can replace the human touch, there are some business operations that systems can efficiently complete. Many of them are mundane and repetitive, which is a waste of money on your part.

By giving these non-essential processes to business systems, you can make the most out of your team. For example, you can install software that helps them answer generic queries. That way, your workers can spend more time creating marketing strategies instead.

The Different Business Systems You Need to Have in Place

As mentioned, systems offer many benefits to businesses. So if you want to be as successful as every other owner, here are the four essential systems you need to have in place:

Marketing System

Marketing is all about promoting your products. It allows you to have a good flow of leads.

With this, you can market your items without putting in a lot of effort. Think of it as a passive way of generating customers for your business.

Sales System

With marketing systems bringing in leads, it’s up to the sales system to nurture them.

Such programs make customer follow-up easier. Your employees could work on another strategy since the business systems can do this repetitive thing for them.

Fulfillment Systems

Now that you have sold your products, you have to make sure that the delivery process is seamless.

You can please your customer with fulfillment programs that do everything for you. All you just need to do is wait for them to pick up the parcels at your place!

Administration Systems

If you’ve managed several workers, you know how stressful it is to do clerical activities. With administration systems, however, you don’t have to worry about this aspect of your business.

Such programs can help you with human resource management, customer accounts, and reception. Now, all you need to do is focus on business growth, just like other business owners do!

As you see in this article, quality business systems will benefit your organization and help you scale to greater heights. Grow your business right now by setting up these processes as soon as you can.

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How to Manage Multiple Accounts and Listings on Airbnb

Working with multiple accounts and listings on Airbnb is not easy. This requires the ability to solve several problems at the same time. Only specialists who are constantly working in this field have such skills. For ordinary citizens, following some rules makes it easier to work on effective business control. Why Managing Multiple Accounts and Listings on Airbnb Can Be a Problem for a Host? The use of multiple accounts is appropriate when working on the service on behalf of the company. The owner, who has decided to do so, may face the following problems: You risk losing all your accounts. Airbnb is able to recognize accounts that are included with a single IP address; Many owners lose potential customers. To keep many accounts active, you need to respond to guest messages right away. With many accounts, it's hard to keep track of everyone; Lack of experience and organizational skills leads to confusion and complicates business. In order not to have such problems, you should carefully study the service instruction for the region where you are. How to Improve Account Management: The company has gained a lot of experience in its segment. Over the years, the service has brought its work by customers and companions to perfection. The company has created conditions to facilitate the work of staff, to provide all assistance to holidaymakers and owners who are ready to provide them with temporary accommodation. If you work closely with the service, all problems can be solved. To do this, you have to meet several conditions. Using Only 1 Account: One of Airbnb's main requirements is that customers should use one account to address multiple issues. This condition may not apply to all regions. Customers of the company should carefully consider the requirements of the service to the place of residence. It happens that somewhere it is more effective to use more than one account. In such cases, the service attentively explains to the customers. Using Special Software: It's not easy to choose a company having much experience with Airbnb in managing a multi-listing business. The most appropriate option in this situation would be to choose automation. iGms free service will provide you with software for multiple accounts. Automatic mode will allow you to receive messages from guests without your intervention. This will give you the opportunity to respond quickly to guests and constantly be aware of things. All transactions will take place in a single mailbox. It will save you time because you don’t have to admit multiple accounts all the time. Another reliable assistant for effective listing management is Hosty software. It allows you to access all ads on the same panel. Hosty offers you several advantages: Increases productivity; Simplifies the work; Cleans up listings. An intelligent filter performs an important function. With it, you can: Filter ads in a specific account; Find lists from multiple accounts; See listings on other channels and services besides Airbnb. Custom tags will allow you to clarify details in lists: Parking features; Real estate location coordinates; Handicap availability. In Hosty, you can open the calendar of each property. Here you will see all the information you are interested in. A messenger is built into the calendar to communicate with guests. The best way to do things successfully is to use the automation of listings on Airbnb through Hosty. It includes some useful features that will improve your work. Automation in the software will help not only recreational lovers, owners of rental premises, and young businessmen, but also experienced real estate professionals. Follow the link for more information: https://www.hostyapp.com/airbnb-listing-management/. Hire an Airbnb Real Estate Management Company: Many hosts are unable to cope with their accounts. They are not able to communicate with multiple guests at the same time. It's hard for them to determine which account the conversation is on. Such situations lead to confusion. The best way to solve your problems is to hire Airbnb management. This will give you several advantages: Saving time and efforts; Guarantee against banning accounts; Professional salvation of the problems. You will have to pay only a small percentage of your income for the company's services. Using Airbnb Sharing: The service allows you to register jointly on the platform for one account. If a group is going on vacation nearby or booking one room, there is no need to have multiple accounts. How to Create a Functioning Calendar for your Airbnb Listing? Running an Airbnb involves everything from scheduling to making sure there are no double bookings. This is why you will need a calendar! A calendar keeps you organized and makes sure that potential guests know when your property is available to rent. Here’s how it works: 1. First thing first – sync your calendars If you are listing your property in multiple platforms like Booking.com, Vrbo, or any other rental site you use, you will need to sync all calendars to prevent double bookings. Airbnb makes it easy to sync with external calendars through iCal integration. How to sync: Go into your Airbnb calendar and click “Availability Settings." Scroll down until you see the import/export calendar. Find the calendar link from the external platform and paste it into the import calendar section. 2. Choose your Availability Choose which days in the year you would like to make your property available for bookings. You can also block dates if you want to make sure it’s not rented during specific times of the year. How to block dates: Go to your Airbnb calendar Click on the date (or start date of the range) Set it as unavailable. 3. Set Minimum and Maximum Stay Requirements To make sure guests who book is fit for your desired booking duration, you also can set minimum and maximum stay requirements. This way, you can maximize your time by accepting longer stays and reducing guest turnover and cleaning costs. Here's how to set stay requirements: Go to "Availability Settings" on Airbnb.com Update the number in either the minimum or maximum fields for trip length (nights). It is Not Easy! Maintaining multiple accounts is not an easy task. Don’t be overconfident about the Airbnb app. It is better to discuss all the details regarding the booking of accommodation with the management of the service. Otherwise, the period of preparation for rest can be spoiled by unpleasant problems. No one knows the nuances of the company’s activities better than its staff. Before you decide, you should consider Airbnb's rules. 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Top 3 Dropshipping Marketplaces: Pros And Cons Of Each

Dropshipping is a trendy business model that has already attracted about 78% of retailers in the USA that implements some form of it; the market is going to reach $240 billion in 2023. The main difference to the standard sales model is that dropshipping is an e-commerce business model that shifts all production and delivery responsibilities to the Supplier or Manufacturer. At the same time, a Dropshipper is responsible only for the online store. After a drop shipper finds a trustworthy supplier, his main task is organizing an online store. The online store can be created on a relevant marketplace or a separate web resource. In each case, it should be prepared with all information, including pictures or videos of the sold goods and possibilities to make an order for Customers. This article is aimed at marketplaces, which one to choose for dropshipping for placing your online store. Marketplaces also can be used for searching for suppliers and manufacturers. Main Requirements For Dropshipping Marketplaces The main value of drop shipper work is an online store. Customers first choose the website for order and with high competition of Internet proposals, attracting customers to visit and stay on your website is essential. Marketplaces are perfect e-commerce platforms for beginners as they have many tutorials and advice on starting a dropshipping store. It is recommended to choose a dropshipping marketplace based on the following parameters. The fee for launching your website; User-friendly navigation with all required plugins; Customer traffic for your chosen niche; Possibility to use software for listing, design templates, order fulfillment, and delivery tracking; Integration with other marketplaces for easy creation of product descriptions; Integration with website builders or content management systems (CMS); 24/7 technical support. Top 3 Dropshipping Marketplaces Based on the described parameters, the top 3 dropshipping marketplaces are listed below. You can place your products on all three to find your audience or choose the one suiting your requirements. eBay eBay is one of the biggest marketplaces where you can buy everything except tobacco, alcohol, lottery tickets, and other goods. The most popular categories are face masks, smartphones, men's accessories, and video games. With dropshipping on eBay, you can access its massive auditory without effective marketing campaigns. Their auction site attracts thousands of customers. This marketplace is recommended for small dropshipping companies starting the business, as they propose fewer investments. All subscription plans are based on the insertion fee with a limitation of listings, a fee after the transaction based on the sale price, and a fee per order. The basic store fee with 250 listings is $21.95. You can find more detailed information regarding fees and requirements for setting up the store in this guide. Pros ● eBay does not require to have storage of goods for selling ● Plenty of applications are available for automatization and setting up the store ● Marketing campaigns are not required in the initial stage of setting up the online store ● Possibility for easy business expansion ● Easy to get started ● eBay has a lot of tools for marketing campaigns Cons ● Strict dropshipping rules ● Difficult to find a supplier fulfilling all eBay requirements ● To be rated as a reliable seller on eBay, you need to have already positive reviews and a proven sales record ● eBay does not allow to drop ship from other marketplaces ● Intensive competition Shopify Shopify is one of the most popular dropshipping platforms hosting 500.000 e-commerce stores worldwide. To start selling there, you need to pay a basic subscription for $29 for a domain name, the quantity of sold goods, and additional features (such as gift cards or reports). Plus, you must pay 30 cents per transaction for each tariff plan. For beginners, you can choose a 14-day free subscription. However, with growing your business, you need to change subscriptions to other plans to increase staff accounts and inventory locations. You should pay additional expenses for customization and automatization; most of the required applications are not free. But the paid money is worth it; numerous apps for setting up the online store with fully customizable themes exist. In addition, many marketing tools are available for Shopify to start selling as quickly as possible. Pros ● Availability of different tariff plans starting from $29 ● User-friendly interface with prefilled pages ● Integration with most dropshipping apps (Oberlo, MXED, Spocket) ● 24/7 email, phone, and chat support ● A large community of drop shippers using Shopify ● 14 days free trial ● Quick set up of an e-commerce store Cons ● The advanced package is expensive $229 ● High competition ● In addition to a subscription, you need to pay for each transaction WooCommerce Five million people already use this plugin, and you can also dropship there. It has a special WooCommerce Dropshipping application to manage all activities from there. You can quickly start your online store there, even alone. WooCommerce recommends using WordPress plugins and extensions for setting up the website. WooCommerce does not recommend dropshipping from eBay or Amazon, as you will meet massive competition with the same goods on this platform. The possible suppliers could be found on Amazon, SaleHoo, or simply in Google. The WooCommerce plugin is available for free, but you need to pay commissions for a domain, host, extensions, and security. Unfortunately, to set up the store, you need time from days to weeks, as you need to install all required applications and go through the delivery policy. Pros ● Many apps and plugins are available for website creation and automatization ● The WooCommerce fee depends on your business capabilities and needs ● WooCommerce supports all payment methods ● Market integration with all leading platforms ● The store design is executed through a WordPress plugin ● Open-source software and fully customizable Cons ● Tools are required to set up the store (WordPress, WooCommerce Dropshipping, WooCommerce Lead Time, etc.) ● Requires significant time for setting up the store ● You need to have skills Conclusion The marketplaces help to simplify the creation of an e-commerce store, but all work for its marketing and maintenance you should keep to yourself. Do not forget about SEO campaigns, advertisements in social networks, email campaigns, and other tools to attract your targeted audience. If you, in addition to the product description, add to your helpful website information, research, or comparisons of why your products are good, this will significantly increase the value of your goods. Proper supplier is another milestone for your business, but you must check the Supplier based on the desired marketplace requirements. Finally, marketplaces are significant helpers in setting up a business for newcomers, especially Shopify, WooCommerce, or eBay. They have all the tools for easy creation of the business process and start selling online. But you need to pay subscription fees and purchase applications for proper customization. Read Also: How To Get Product Ideas For Your Ecommerce Business Strategies For Running A Pet Supply E-commerce Store Recognizing How Important Inventory Management Is To Your E-commerce Store

Developing An Effective Preventive Maintenance Program: Key Steps And Considerations

In today's industrial landscape, the role of preventive maintenance is often underestimated. Yet, a robust preventive maintenance program is vital to the overall productivity and efficiency of any plant or facility. It ensures equipment reliability and reduces the chance of costly downtime due to unexpected breakdowns. This article sheds light on the steps and considerations in developing an effective preventive maintenance program. So, read on! Understanding Preventive Maintenance Preventive maintenance can be seen as the cornerstone of maintenance management. It is the routine, scheduled maintenance of equipment to prevent potential failures before they occur. This practice leads to several significant benefits: Reduces sudden equipment breakdowns: Regular inspections and maintenance tasks enable you to identify and fix issues before they escalate to more serious problems. For instance, replacing worn-out parts during a scheduled service prevents more severe damage. Increases equipment longevity: By keeping the equipment in optimal condition, preventive maintenance extends the life of your machines. This means fewer replacements and lower investment in new equipment. Improves plant efficiency: With less unexpected downtime, your plant operations run more smoothly, improving the overall efficiency of your operations. Key Elements of a Preventive Maintenance Program Creating a preventive maintenance program involves several key elements. Understanding these components helps build a solid foundation for your program: Maintenance Management: Effective planning and scheduling are crucial in maintenance management. It ensures that maintenance tasks are organized and completed in a timely manner. For example, scheduling a maintenance check when the equipment is idle can prevent production interruptions. Maintenance of Equipment: Each piece of equipment requires different maintenance procedures. Understanding these specifics is vital to maintain the equipment's functionality. In a food processing plant, for example, certain machines might need daily cleaning, while others might require weekly lubrication. Plant Maintenance: Preventive maintenance should be a plant-wide strategy. This includes not only production equipment but also HVAC systems, power supplies, and even safety equipment. A holistic approach to plant maintenance ensures that all aspects of your facility are running efficiently. Steps in Developing a Preventive Maintenance Program A preventive maintenance program requires several phases. An overview: Identification of Equipment: The first step in developing a preventive maintenance program is identifying which machines require regular maintenance. This could range from complex production machinery to simple office equipment. Scheduling and Planning: This involves creating a maintenance schedule for each piece of equipment. For instance, certain machines may require weekly maintenance, while others need it quarterly. Proper scheduling minimizes disruptions to production processes. Executing Maintenance Tasks: After scheduling, do maintenance chores. Lubricating and replacing worn parts are examples. Tracking and Analysis: Lastly, it's important to keep track of all maintenance activities and periodically review the effectiveness of your preventive maintenance program. This could involve updating a maintenance log or using maintenance management software. Role of Reliability Assessment in Preventive Maintenance An essential aspect of a preventive maintenance program that is often overlooked is reliability assessment. In a well-managed maintenance environment, equipment reliability can make a significant difference in plant operations. A thorough reliability assessment can serve as a proactive measure to identify potential issues, ensuring optimal performance and minimizing unexpected breakdowns. Predictive analysis: Predictive analysis is a one-way reliability assessment that can be carried out. For example, by monitoring vibrations in a machine, anomalies that might indicate a future failure can be detected. By addressing these anomalies in advance, equipment downtime can be minimized, and the machine's reliability is enhanced. Regular equipment inspection: Regular inspection is another facet of reliability assessment. For instance, an operator might notice unusual noises from a piece of equipment. If left unchecked, this could lead to a catastrophic failure. However, noting this in a reliability assessment could lead to early intervention, boosting equipment reliability. Maintenance history review: Reviewing the maintenance history of equipment can provide insights into its reliability. Suppose a machine frequently requires a specific type of repair. This may signal a problem that has to be fixed to improve equipment reliability. For instance, frequent conveyor belt alignment modifications may indicate installation or operation difficulties. By integrating reliability assessment into your preventive maintenance program, you can make more informed decisions about maintenance planning and scheduling, ultimately improving equipment reliability and reducing operational disruptions. The Importance of Training and Communication in a Preventive Maintenance Program In the context of preventive maintenance, the importance of clear communication and comprehensive training cannot be overstated. An informed and trained maintenance team can perform tasks more effectively, minimizing the risk of errors or oversights that could compromise equipment reliability. This enhances industrial efficiency and safety. Training on Equipment Maintenance: Equipment-specific maintenance training should be delivered regularly. For example, if a new high-speed packaging machine is introduced, the maintenance team needs to be familiarized with its components, operational principles, and common issues that may require preventive maintenance. This enables them to identify potential problems early and conduct maintenance tasks accurately. Communication about Maintenance Schedules: A well-coordinated preventive maintenance program requires clear and regular communication about maintenance schedules. For instance, if a vital production line is due for a maintenance shutdown, all relevant parties, from production to logistics, need to be informed in advance. This facilitates smooth operation with minimal disruption to the overall workflow. Feedback Mechanisms: Open channels for feedback are also crucial. Maintenance personnel, being on the front line, often have valuable insights into potential issues or improvements. For instance, a technician might notice that a certain piece of equipment tends to fail more often just before scheduled maintenance, suggesting the need for more frequent servicing. Capturing and acting on such feedback can significantly enhance the effectiveness of the preventive maintenance program. By prioritizing training and communication, you can ensure your preventive maintenance program is not just a process, but a culture, where everyone understands their role and contributes to the program's success. Final Thoughts In summary, an effective preventive maintenance program plays a critical role in enhancing equipment reliability and plant efficiency. By implementing a systematic approach to maintenance management, scheduling, and execution, organizations can significantly reduce unexpected breakdowns and extend the life of their equipment. It is a strategic investment that pays off in the long run, promoting smoother operations and a healthier bottom line. 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The Value of Business Systems

What are Business Systems?