Did you hear the joke about the interesting auditor? No? Me neither.
In all seriousness, though, while the word audit can scare even the savviest of entrepreneurs, conducting an internal operational, cultural, or marketing audit of your print business can be enormously beneficial.
Just take a look back on the global turbulence of this past year.
When the world unexpectedly goes all topsy-turvy, it’s essential that you re-find your True North. You have to refocus on what your business is doing well (so you can capitalize on it during the tough times) and what areas need improvement for you to secure sustainable growth.
Over the next five weeks, in this email series, you’ll learn:
- The importance and advantages of self-auditing your print business
- The types of internal business audits that will reap immediate results
- How to use a culture audit to become the most sought-after print business to work for
- How to create a worthwhile, internal audit of your own
- Tips for an effective audit with your complete audit checklist
Ready to learn more? This email series will give you the insights necessary to gain the internal knowledge needed to make informed decisions for continuous improvement.
Stay tuned to your inbox if you want great content meant to serve you and help you win at selling more printing!
From Dreaded Audit to Forward-Thinking Success
Business owners don’t wake up one morning and think to themselves, “You know what I’d love to do today? Audit my business!”
That’s because (let’s be real, here…) audit is one of those words that’s synonymous with other words like “taxes,” “root canal,” or “kale” (eww).
However, business owners do wake up and ask them questions, such as, “How do I create a forward-looking process to better my business?” or “How can I create ongoing business improvement, so my team, my customers, and my bottom line is all moving in the right direction?”
This is where conducting internal audits on your own can help pinpoint which areas in your print business need attention and how to avoid potential future risks.
5 Benefits of Self-Auditing Your Print Business
There are many benefits to self-auditing your print business, starting with the “who” it benefits.
Not only does your print business benefit from this type of scrutiny, but your team members will be able to do their jobs better, your print buyers will benefit from your improved, synchronous approach, and the print industry as a whole benefits when your business has a more sustainable future.
Plus, consider these other practical benefits of taking a fine-tooth comb to the inner workings of your print business:
1. Auditing Your Print Business Identifies Improvement Opportunities
Too often, business owners spend their time working “in” the business instead of “on” the business.
This short-sightedness leaves many scrambling to fix the urgent over the important. But, when you set aside the time to dissect and audit your print business from the inside out, you’re left with a knowledge-base for making improvements that will matter for the long-haul of your business.
2. Auditing Your Print Business Protects Your Company’s Integrity and Accountability
When you started your print company, where was your compass pointed?
Or, in other words, when you set out to purchase your little piece of the printing industry, what was your “why?” Were you hoping to change the world, retire early, or pass down a legacy to your children?
Whatever the reason, time, money, and stress tend to wear away at that initial vision, and it can become all too easy to find yourself veering left or right of where you thought your compass was pointed.
A self-audit gives you the headspace and permission to re-examine your path and direction, make sure you’re headed in the right direction, or change course if need be. After all, you’ll never know you’re off-track unless you stop and look up once in a while.
3. Auditing Your Print Business Ensures Things are Working as They Should Be
If an outsider came to inspect the inner workings of your printing firm today, what would they find?
Would they see actions, systems, and well-designed processes, implemented, and followed by all? Or, would they see a conglomerate of people employed by the same employer (you), but all rowing and working in different directions toward different goals?
When you take the time to self-audit your print business, you’ll be able to see these areas of discrepancy and make the subtle corrections needed to get everyone on the same page and happier because of it. The work you put in here will ultimately motivate your team members toward your existing or new goals. (Totally worth it!)
4. Auditing Your Print Business Fosters Efficiency, Saving You Both Time and Money
Having to repeat the same tasks over and over is an easy way to hinder your team’s progress and lower your overall business productivity.
Auditing your business forces you to spot the redundancies you might not have otherwise seen and look for new ways to streamline. These redundancies come in all shapes and sizes, such as new technology, economic recession, or simply restructuring job positions. The objective of eliminating these redundancies is always the same, however: to save you time and money.
5. Auditing Your Print Business Reduces Risk
Conducting an in-depth look at your print business will help you identify and mitigate risks that could interfere with your desired objectives.
You’ll also be able to gain insight for encouraging compliance, improving processes and performance, decreasing expenses, and increasing revenue.
The Self-Audit: Your Continuous Improvement Tool
As this past year has taught most business owners, companies have to continually reinvent how they do business.
If you’re looking for innovative ways to help your printing firm succeed, a self-audit might be just the place to start.
Next week, we’ll dive in a little further and look at some specific types of audits you can do that will benefit your print business. Stay tuned!
