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Business Tips below
Time is a small business owner’s most valuable resource. Between managing operations, serving clients, marketing your brand, and handling administration, there’s often little time left for strategic growth.
As a business marketing consultant, I’ve worked with countless entrepreneurs who feel overwhelmed by their daily workload. The challenge isn’t about working harder—it’s about working smarter. Small changes in how you organise tasks, streamline processes, and automate repetitive work can free up valuable time and boost efficiency. Below are 10 practical, time-saving business tips that will help you cut inefficiencies, reduce stress and focus on growth.
1. Automate Brand Consistency with Canva’s Brand Kit
Upload your brand colours, fonts, and logos into Canva’s Brand Kit. Every document, presentation, and social media post you create will automatically use the correct branding, eliminating hours of repetitive formatting.
A 30-minute setup will save you countless hours in future design work.
3. Use Email Filters to Prioritise Important Messages
Email overload slows down decision-making. Instead of spending hours sorting through non-essential emails, set up automatic filters in Gmail or Outlook.
✔ Move newsletters and non-urgent updates to a “Read Later” folder
✔ Flag and prioritise emails from clients and key partners
✔ Auto-route team emails to the correct department
This ensures that critical emails don’t get lost in your inbox, helping you focus on urgent tasks first.
5. Centralise Key Resources with a Master Link Hub
Searching for important links, documents, and software access points can be frustrating and inefficient. A centralised master document in Notion, Google Docs, or a shared bookmark folder ensures quick access to everything you and your team need.
Your Master Link Hub should include:
✔ Login pages for essential software and tools
✔ Client contracts, templates, and operational documents
✔ Marketing assets and brand guidelines
This eliminates unnecessary searches, ensuring key information is always at your fingertips.
2. Organise Web Pages with Chrome’s Tab Groups
Constantly reopening the same web pages wastes time and clutters your browser. Instead of searching for key resources every day, use Chrome’s Tab Groups to categorise and save essential pages.
Create custom tab groups such as:
✔ Finance (Banking, Accounting Software, Payroll)
✔ Marketing (Social Media, Google Ads, Email Campaigns)
✔ Operations (CRM, Project Management, Supplier Portals)
With a single click, all your tabs reopen exactly as you need them, saving minutes every morning.
4. Use Text Expansion for Common Responses
If you send the same messages regularly, manually typing them wastes valuable time. Instead, use text expander toolssuch as TextExpander or Microsoft AutoCorrect to create shortcuts for frequently used phrases.
For example, typing “tyresponse” could automatically expand to:
“Thanks for getting in touch! We’ll get back to you within one business day.”
This reduces manual typing while maintaining professional and consistent communication.
6. Batch-Record Videos for FAQs and Training
Are you answering the same questions from staff or customers repeatedly? Instead of spending time explaining processes over and over, create quick explainer videos. Use Loom, Zoom, or Vidyard to record step-by-step instructions for:
Customer FAQs Employee onboarding and training Common troubleshooting issues
Next time someone asks, send them the video link instead of re-explaining. This is particularly useful for training new employees, reducing the time spent on repetitive instruction.
7. Make Meetings More Efficient with AI Assistants
next steps. AI-powered tools like PLAUD.AI’s PLAUD NOTE and PLAUD NotePin can:
✔ Transcribe meetings in real time
✔ Summarise key discussion points and action items
✔ Send automatic meeting notes to all attendees
This eliminates the need for manual note-taking, allowing you to stay focused on the discussion rather than documentation.
9. Use Voice-to-Text for Faster Documentation
Typing long reports, emails, or notes takes time. Instead, use voice-to-text tools such as:
✔ Google Docs Voice Typing
✔ Microsoft Word Dictate
✔ Smartphone speech-to-text features
Dictating content instead of typing can be three times faster, making it an excellent option for:
✔ Capturing ideas on the go
✔ Writing long emails while multitasking
✔ Drafting proposals and blog content
8. Improve Speed with Keyboard Shortcuts
Manually clicking through menus slows down workflow. Learning keyboard shortcuts for frequently used programs can significantly speed up daily tasks.
Some useful shortcuts include: Screenshot on Mac: Cmd + Shift + 4 Screenshot on Windows: Win + Shift + S Quick search in Google Chrome: Ctrl + L, Ctrl + C (Copy URL)
These shortcuts eliminate unnecessary steps, helping you work faster and more efficiently.
10. Implement a Systematic File Naming Structure
Finding the correct version of a file can be frustrating, especially when multiple revisions exist. A clear naming convention prevents confusion.
Use a structured file naming system, such as:
✔ “Proposal_ClientName_2024_V2.docx”
✔ “MarketingPlan_Q3_2024_FINAL.docx”
This ensures that files are easy to locate and organised logically, reducing time wasted searching for the most recent version.
Improving Efficiency Leads
to Business Growth
Time management isn’t just about saving time—it’s about creating opportunities for other tasks – growth, innovation, and revenue generation.
By implementing these small business tips you can: Reduce time wasted on unnecessary tasks Improve focus on revenue-generating activities Increase productivity and workflow efficiency
At Goose in a Suit, we specialise in marketing consultancy for small businesses, offering tailored strategies that help businesses increase visibility and streamline operations.
If you want to improve your marketing efficiency and business growth, our Kickstarter package provides essential marketing foundations that deliver real impact.
Get in touch today to elevate your business efficiency and marketing strategy!
