Maintaining a business is difficult enough on a tight budget. The financial struggles can often cause leaders to forget a small yet very important factor: employee motivation. Most business owners know by now that the happier the employees are in the workplace, the more productive they are. This ultimately reflects on all aspects of your business. Simply put, investing in your employees is investing in your business. But investing in your employees might seem overwhelming now amidst the COVID-19 crisis which has left small businesses struggling to survive. However, there are ways to achieve this without spending a lot of money. We bring you 5 ways to motivate your employees on a shoestring budget. Know Your Employees The first step towards increasing your employees’ motivation is knowing what they really want. What would help motivate them? Of course, fair compensation goes without saying, it’s what motivates many of us. However, money is not all they want. In fact, you’d be surprised how many employees would accept a lower-paying position if the job is fulfilling, flexible, and in a healthy environment. According to Forbes , permanent flexibility, a commitment to wellness, and a sense of purpose are among the essential needs and wants of employees nowadays. What does all this mean? It means that a tight budget should not be an obstacle to your efforts. You can offer different kinds of benefits and perks such as flexible hours, remote working, paid sick days, opportunity for advancement, etc. According to a survey on Glassdoor, 4 out of 5 employees prefer perks and benefits over a pay raise. Offering these benefits will help you motivate employees and retain talent. The first step should, therefore, be asking your employees about their wants, aspirations, and ambitions. Once you get a list of things they would find attractive, figure out which of these benefits you are able to offer them. Be Flexible Our needs and wants have evolved and so a 9 to 5 work scheme is no longer acceptable for many of us. For example, Millennials are concerned with the question of flexibility more than compensation, retirement, and finances in general. If you haven’t done that already, it’s time to offer your employees the possibility of remote working for at least one day per month or week, as well as flexible arrival and departure times. What many business owners still fail to understand is that employees have personal lives and kids, and forcing them to be at the office from 9 to 5 every single day is not possible for many of them. They are sacrificing many things for that and as a result, they are unhappy in the workplace. Trust your employees that they will get the job done even if they arrive at 11 a.m. or decide to work from home that day (remote working is not a code for watching TV all day, btw). Remote workers don’t have to commute, therefore, they save time and are well-rested. This reflects positively on your business as they have more energy to focus on work. Become a Good Listener Being receptive is very important as it shows employees that you listen and acknowledge their ideas, opinions, etc. Do your part to help them feel that they can come to you with their thoughts and needs. On the other hand, if employees are in fear of expressing their opinions and feel that they can’t speak freely with you, this will hinder their productivity. Good communication is the key to keeping employees happy and productive. Offer Discounts Another way you can motivate your employees is by offering them discounts on your products. You can go one step further and form partnerships with other businesses that will give them discounts on their products and services. Provide Feedback Complimenting an employee on a job well done will do wonders for their self-confidence in the office. What’s more, it will encourage them to keep going. You are not only their boss but their leader and you have the power to influence their growth and development. Feedback is very important when it comes to that. Give constructive feedback that will help them grow, not hinder their confidence and make them want to slack off in the future. Instead of vague, general comments, the key is in giving specific and useful feedback so that the employee knows what to work on. It’s all in the approach you choose. As you can see, motivating your employees on a shoestring budget may be challenging but it is feasible. More importantly, some of the above mentioned things mean so little to you but so much to them. Your employees will feel more relaxed and satisfied in the workplace and they will value what you did for them. All the effort you invested will pay off.

Even though most of the entrepreneurs try hard to take their business to the next level, it's not uncommon for them to feel that it's stuck in a rut. The company may seem to be doing just fine – making a profit, paying the bills, and earning income. But there is no measurable growth, and whatever actions small business owners take, don't seem to be enough to move things forward. If you feel as if you're struggling to move past the business roadblocks, here are some of the most common reasons why your business is "stuck" and some useful advice on how to resolve them. You Lack Vision For the growth of your business, you need to have a clear vision where you're company is headed. Now, it may happen that a long time has passed since you've last done some serious planning. If that's the case, it's high time for you to sit down and either re-evaluate or create a strategic business plan . Working on your business plan will help you focus on the future and regain control. This will make it easier for you to set goals and plan your actions and timeframes. The goals you set should be specific, measurable, attainable, and relevant so that at any given moment, you can have an idea of how close you are to achieving them. Furthermore, you'll learn how to prioritize your resources so that you can increase your revenue and ROI and enable growth. You've Lost Touch With Your Customers Your customers are the backbone of your business. If you want it to grow, you need to establish smart and effective ways of acquiring new customers, as well as techniques to build loyalty with your customer base, preventing their churn. You can only achieve this if you're paying attention to your customers' needs, and doing your best to fulfill them. Evaluate how successful your marketing and sales messages are in addressing your customers' interests and issues. Is the product or the service you're providing helping your customers solve their pain points and making their lives easier? Also, make sure you assess your customer service regularly. Is it timely and adequate? If you don't know the answers to these questions, don't be afraid to ask your customers. Their answers may guide your way on how best to improve their experience. You Don't Have a Website One thing is certain – your business won't grow unless you invest in marketing. Even though traditional marketing still plays an important role, the first step is to build a strong online presence and make it easy for your target audience to get in touch with you. Not having a website in this day and age, in the minds of your customers, is like not having a professional and legitimate business at all. A website is a must-have for any business, and not just companies offering e-commerce services. It's like an upgraded digital business card, showing your target audience who you are and what you can do for them. However, without search engine optimization, your website will be like a needle in a haystack – impossible for your customers to find. SEO can help your website be visible to your customers in their queries, bring more traffic to your business, and at the same time, boost your reputation. A digital marketing consultant could help you develop an efficient marketing strategy that is tailored to fit the specific needs of your customers, helping you attract and keep them, thus kick-starting your growth. Evaluate Your Contribution Many small business owners can sometimes be an obstacle to the growth of their businesses, either by being too laid-back, or too involved. Keep track of how you spend your days at work, and assess whether you're engaging in the activities that are within your core expertise, and that can bring your company more revenue. If you find that you're investing too much of your working hours extinguishing fires, supervising other peoples' work, or performing tasks you are not skilled enough to do, consider changing your routine. You've maybe reached a point where you need to make new hires or outsource some of your tasks so that you can scale your business for growth. Evaluate Your Team Only after you've evaluated your actions and determined whether you're responsible for holding your business back can you move on to assessing the performance of your employees. For the growth of your business, every team member needs to play their role and contribute. If they are not engaged at work, their productivity will suffer, and so will the bottom line of your business. Try to keep the communication channels with your employees open, so that they can talk freely about the challenges they're facing. Only then will you be able to motivate the disengaged ones and guide them towards achieving common business goals. During the process, you may determine that you need to let some of your employees go, which is never easy. Unfortunately, sometimes it's the only choice you have. Feeling that your business is stuck may be unpleasant, but it's not a reason to despair. It's yet another challenge you'll face on the entrepreneurial journey that makes you question your current state, helps you clarify your vision, and in the long run, stimulates growth.

Digital technology redefined the way we do business. It not only changed the manner in which we communicate with our customers but also the way we interact with each other, while we’re working on our tasks. Digital has transformed our entire workflow, teamwork, and disrupted our entire concept of leadership. To be successful in the world of digital business, you need modern leaders, the ones that embrace the digital revolution and recognize its power. While many are still holding on to behaviors that are now redundant or obsolete, to be competitive in a digital economy, leaders need to upskill, keep up with the changes and take their organizations to the next level. Here are some of the essential traits and characteristics that this new Leadership 2.0 requires. Embracing the Tech Not all modern leaders need a degree in coding, but they need sufficient knowledge to be able to recognize the importance of current tech trends across different sectors and to have a vision of how to use them most effectively. The success of every business and its future growth can now completely depend on leaders' capability to recognize the possible applications of the latest technologies, such as automation, AI, big data and cloud computing. After they acknowledge the role digital technology plays in business, digital leaders should not fear or be reluctant when it comes to implementing it. If not tech-savvy themselves, they should also be able to accept the feedback of others who know more than they do regarding tech matters. Give a Sense of Purpose and Direction Even though technology is directly impacting our business practices, leadership in the digital age is much more than accepting and implementing the latest technology solutions. Leadership is all about giving a vision and direction to people who are so immersed in technology that they can hardly see the purpose of their tasks. Leadership is there to clarify goals and actions so that each member understands what the team is trying to achieve, as well as recognize their own role in the process. Encourage Participation and Accountability Emerging leaders nowadays see themselves as learners, and they don’t have a need to own and be responsible for everything – they’re willing to delegate and pick the best person for each task based on the experience and skillset. They are quite aware that they don’t (and can’t) know everything, so they empower their team members to take ownership of their own tasks and be accountable for fulfilling them. They believe in freedom, autonomy, and trust and are open to learning from team members at all levels. The Right Mindset According to the MIT Sloan Management Review, the primary challenge of leadership in the digital age isn’t adopting behaviors or skills, but developing a mindset – attitudes and beliefs that guide behaviors. During their leadership study, MIT SMR identified four specific mindsets reflecting the principles, values, and norms of digital economy trailblazing leaders. Producers are focused on solving customers’ problems, as well as on digital savviness, analytics and using all these resources to improve customer experience. Investors have higher purposes in their mind besides making a profit. They are dedicated to growth and development, but in a sustainable manner, looking for the best ways to benefit the community. Connectors are driven by a sense of belonging, and they aim at creating networks, developing meaningful relationships and creating trusted partnerships. Explorers are creative and curious, extremely open to change and flexibility. They are not afraid to experiment, fail and move on. These leaders have the power to create great workplace communities and motivate their team members to achieve some great results. Empowering People Modern leadership is a continuous management of change, and the will and the ability to evolve should be at the very core of every organization. However, all the team members should be empowered so that they don’t fear change. Many employees fear automation and the different changes digital transformation brings about . But the change gives them the position to upskill, progress, grow and learn. Leaders should improve their teams’ comfort levels regarding risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity. Only when they feel free to fail, employees will give their best to succeed, experiment and innovate. And that’s when some really great things start to happen. They Strive to Build Trust Trust is often underrated, but it is one of the most important aspects of business and leadership in the digital age. Especially when we know that it’s not something that can be built overnight, neither with your employees nor with your customers. To be successful, leaders need to be able to form meaningful connections with their followers, and trust is at the very essence of such relationships. The only way leaders can instill credibility in their followers is by doing the trustworthy thing all over again, until their followers are sure they are acting in a genuine manner. Data-Driven Decision-Making While traditional leaders usually rely on their intuition when it comes to decision-making, digital leaders tend to make data-driven decisions. With highly advanced predictive and analytical tools they now have at their disposal, doing it the old-fashioned way would be like a shot in the dark. Digital leaders make use of all the available resources so that they have enough relevant data to make an informed decision. They Are Hyperaware Emerging leaders are constantly scanning the world around them, looking for new opportunities and possible threats. Their perception is a source of valuable information and it helps them adapt faster to the current situation or any unexpected changes. As they are always actively engaged, nothing can surprise them, so they are able to remain level-headed and perform, always keeping their calm when there is an ongoing crisis. Leaders who rate higher on these traits and behaviors will outperform their peers when it comes to their efficiency in managing teams during transitions and disruptions. They will be able to identify and recognize good opportunities for improvements and lead the way through. Leaders of this new digital age are game-changers and they never put their subordinates down - they treat themselves as first among equals, and that’s their superpower.