The Benefits of Mind Maps for Small Businesses
When you hear the term “mind map” you might immediately think of highlighters and colored pens scattered around the floor of your high school bedroom. But did you know that mind maps can be used for small businesses too? It turns out, there’s a lot more to mind maps than color coding according to the rubric. Take a look at what some of our experts had to say about the use and benefits of mind maps for small businesses.
Marketing
Marketing is a field that changes rather rapidly. This is especially true for the marketing that is done on social media platforms. Having your marketing team create a mind map can allow for more creative thinking and a structure to their approach in staying up to date with trends so decisions can be made appropriately.
“Laying out all of your marketing plans in one document can help in future planning,” says Anne-Marie Faiola, CEO and Founder for Bramble Berry. “It helps when you’re strategizing because you see not only the details of the individual marketing strategies, but you can see the big picture too.”
“Marketing mind maps are great for teams to take advantage of,” says Reece Kresser Co-Founder of Zizi. “Because marketing personnel juggle so many different campaigns at once, a mind map can be helpful for reference as they work through projects or hold meetings about their current campaigns and can help show the rest of the staff what their upcoming goals are.”
Meetings
Meetings are something that can be planned out with an agenda or tracked through the recorded minutes, but mind maps are also a great way to keep track of the topics of discussion during a meeting that keeps things organized for staff to refer back to later.
“Using mind maps in meetings and team huddles can help small businesses thrive,” says Eric Elggren, Co-Founder of Andar. “When you have a team of people, you’re going to have different strengths. Some people are really good at focusing on one problem and finding solutions while others are better at big picture brainstorming. Mind maps help people in both camps communicate well with each other and reach the goals set by the team.”
“Meetings can be organized through a mind map ahead of time,” says Jared Hines, Head of Operations for Acre Gold. “That way, when you enter the meeting, everyone can see all of the topics that are up for discussion and review. You can even send the outline out to everyone ahead of the meeting.”
Employee Growth
Professional development and employee growth is essential to small businesses. Mind maps can help in tracking growth, aspirations, and employee efforts in this area. Growth can be obtained through training and intentionality in the workplace but it’s often difficult to see small results without keeping track of the goals through something like a mind map.
“Creating a mind map for growth can help in so many ways within a small business,” says John Berry, CEO and Managing Partner of Berry Law. “Everyone is growing together in a small business, so it’s great to be able to sit down and create a mind map of where you want to grow and how you’re going to reach those goals.”
“Employee growth in a small business is often significant as everyone is learning and growing through the process of running the business together,” says Mehdi Marrakchi, CEO of Mob Hookah. “Brainstorming and mapping out your goals through a mind map can be a great way to solidify your team and create accountability.”
Accounting
Accounting is one area of a small business that not everyone is going to understand. Spreadsheets and charts are fantastic for the people doing the accounting, but in a small business everyone needs to be on the same page and understand the finances. Mind maps can help communicate this information in a way that looks less intimidating.
“Accounting mind maps can be a game changer for your team,” says Marcus Hutsen, Business Development Manager for Patriot Coolers. “There is a lot of information on the accounting side of a small business, but explaining the information to the rest of the team is sometimes a challenge. Mind maps can help everyone understand the financial successes, goals, and significance of the data that’s being presented.”
“Having a mind map for your accounting data can allow everyone in the business to absorb the numbers in a way they’ll understand,” says Zach Goldstein, CEO of Public Rec. “The best way for people to go about learning the accounting information about their business is to learn how to interpret it. Mind maps can be a great place for that initial growth to take place so communication becomes easier in the future.”
Business Goal Setting
Mind maps are fantastic for business goals. They can help a small business plan out their goals over the next weeks, months, or even years. With so many mind map outlines available, it’s easy to find one that meets the needs of your business goals.
“Outlining business goals is a huge part of running any business and this is especially true for small businesses and startups,” says Phillip Montalvo, Director of Marketing for Azuna. “Business goals can help keep staff motivated and moving in the right direction.”
“Business goals can be tricky because they’re not always things that can be accomplished or checked off of a list quickly,” says Stephen Skeel, Executive Producer of 7 Wonders Cinema. “These goals can be tracked and updated with the measures that are being taken to achieve the goals so everyone can see the progress that’s being made, even if that goal feels far away.”
Conclusion
Mind maps are valuable tools for small businesses. They are able to help with keeping track of a plethora of information when used correctly. Some areas we discussed that can benefit from mind maps include accounting, marketing, employee growth, meetings, and business goal setting. However, there are so many other areas you can implement mind maps within a small business. Try looking at your current strategies and imagine what a mind map would look like for each area and discover the power that mind mapping can have in your small business.