Top 7 Questions to Ask to Simplify your Business

Sometimes good enough is just that. In the search for perfection many businesses waste opportunities because they make things too complicated. So go for simple and make things easier for yourself and your business – and watch your profits grow.

1. What would a child do?
   
   At the height of the Space Race, the Russians and Americans were faced with the same dilemma – how to use a pen to write in zero gravity up in space. The Americans solved the problem by thousands developing a gravity proof pen. The Russians solved the problem in a very different way – by using a pencil. Sometimes the quickest route is the best.
   
   
2. If I had to do this in half the time, what would I do?
   
   Small businesses often spend time and money getting themselves ready to trade – they develop their website and stationery, and evaluate which finance system they should buy to manage their invoices - before they actually have an invoice that needs managing. If you had half the time to get things doing, how would you do it?
   
   
3. What is the risk of not doing it?
   
   These days, you have to comply with certain legislation and business rules. But, beyond that, take a sensible view of risk. If you don’t do it, what is the risk – and what impact will it have on the customer?
   
   
4. If I was working in another sector, how would I do it?
   
   People become stuck in the way things are done in a certain sector. Often the easiest way to solve a problem is to tackle it from a completely different angle. Look to another sector and think about how they handle things.
   
   
5. How does the customer feel?
   
   Stop looking at things internally and ask yourself what the customer experience is instead. Which steps of your processes actually make a difference to the customer? Which ones are duplicated and which actually add value to the process?
   
   
6. If my budget was taken away, could I still deliver?
   
   The reality is, if you did not have the money or budget, many things would get done anyway in a simpler way. The trouble with having the money sometimes is that it leads us to expensive and complicated solutions.
   
   
7. If I was Richard Branson, how would I do this?
   
   It might not be Richard Branson – but pick someone who you admire and who has a reputation for shaking things up. How would they approach this?

Want help improving your profits? FREE reports to help Small Business Owners stop falling for the myths and start understanding the real rules of profits. Download instantly for fast profit results! Kate Marsden is The Profit Mechanic and gives resources, tools and support to Small Business Owners to improve their profits. Read more about The Profit Mechanic here.