Being a small business owner in today's economy is already difficult. Throw in all the innovations in technology they must try to navigate and use to their benefit, and you will find overwhelmed, frustrated entrepreneurs. One of the biggest obstacles small business owners must face is the mass amount of information available about their firms and finding the best ways to harness the right data to make strategic decisions. An article for Fast Company provided a list of tips owners of small firms can use when attempting to deal with information overload.

Focus on the important stuff only
Sorting through the dearth of data about their enterprises can be a full-time job in itself, which is why small business owners should only pay attention to areas where they can have a direct impact. For example, if a firm owner is continuing to add to his or her merchant network and is having trouble managing the books, he or she can invest in budgeting software. If business owners want to have a strong presence on social media, they can looking into analytics programs. While it may be smart to ignore some information, small business owners should still assign a member of their team to look everything over in search of useful information.

Trust employees with important tasks
Many small business owners have a lot on their plates from the get-go and it is difficult to do everything on daily task lists. They can make their lives a lot easier by assigning their staff some of the processing assignments. With all the information generated by a business each day, small business owners must be able to trust their employees with some of the activities they deem most important to the success of the enterprise. By appointing a chief marketing officer and a chief finance officer, owners of small firms can feel more confident marketing and finance procedures will be completed.

Respond to errors
While small business owners may ignore some of the information about their enterprises, they must defend their companies when something that simply isn't true is published about their businesses. Whether it is an email, report or telephone call that contained false information, setting the record straight is important for any small business owner. Defending the company is the mark of a small business owner who is truly passionate about his or her operation.

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