Happy April! With some doses of warmer weather and stretches with real sunshine, I hope you are feeling positive as we move into the second quarter of 2021.
Our theme for April is “Minding the Rules” relative to compliance, which tackles a lot of the areas that as business owners, tend to be last on the list. If our ducks are supposed to be in a row, many of us have some herding to do!
Let’s be clear – this is true no matter how big or small your business is. While the word compliance may sound intimidating, it is easier to think about how every business needs proper systems in place to run well. To truly work effectively, you need systems in place for each bucket of your business.
When we started as CEOs, most of us felt we had to do it all. We feel responsible for making our businesses grow and often we don’t feel like we can afford to outsource services. I was no exception. Early on when I was responsible for my own bookkeeping, I made an error and it wasn’t a small one for me at the time. I quickly learned that the penalty for that mistake far exceeded what I would have spent paying someone who could do that work well for me. I have learned from that, and now one of the best compliments that I get about Metaphrasis is that we run like a big corporation, in all the best ways. We have established policies, and we outsource systems like IT and bookkeeping to smart professionals. This helps both our productivity and our scalability.
I have spoken with many entrepreneurs who experienced this pain point on a larger scale during the pandemic. Businesses who didn’t have payroll systems in place found themselves unable to apply for the payroll protection loans that could help retain staff and keep doors open. While 2020 is something none of us could have truly planned for, every business faces challenges over its lifespan so establishing proper protocols can help you be better prepared in the future.
As you perhaps tackle some “spring cleaning” this month, make a list of the areas of your business that require compliance of some kind: employment and payroll, insurance, licensing, privacy and even marketing. Then ask yourself: What am I good at? What do I have time to do? What are the opportunity costs of me keeping this work on my plate?
NAWBO is here to help you as you grow, with resources, events and a community of women who are also on similar journeys.
Stronger together.
Elizabeth Colón