It’s back to school time for teachers, parents and kids. But small business owners can also benefit from a fresh start in the middle of the year. You may wonder where to start or what needs attention the most, so grab your digital feather duster and follow these quick organizational tips!
How Small Business Gets Organized
- Start by cleaning out your email inbox. As a small business owner, ‘inbox zero’ may not be possible for you. But if you sit down for 45 minutes a day, for a week to clean out your email inbox, you’ll be one step closer to it. Schedule time on your calendar every month to clean it out again for maintenance. Treat this as a serious appointment and stay on top of your contact clutter.
- Tackle paper clutter. I know, I know. We were promised a ‘paperless office’ decades ago and yet here we are, still drowning in paper. Digitize what you can; file what can’t be digitized or those items you absolutely NEED to keep a paper copy of for your records.
- Organize your digital files. It doesn’t do much good to digitize your files if you still can’t find what you need when you need it. Consider using cloud storage so you can have access to your small business’s files while you’re away from the office. You’ll thank yourself later.
- Clean up your website. Get your digital presence clean as a whistle. Are all of your links functioning? Is the copyright line in the footer of your site up to date? It doesn’t still say 2015, does it? Make a content plan and schedule some new blog posts!
- Spiff up your social media. Do you have the brand consistency your small business should across all the platforms you use? Are you getting what you want and need from your social media? Have you had your social media reviewed by an expert?
- Review your business plan and your goals. As a small business owner, what can you do in the remaining quarter to make sure you hit your 2016 goals? Business planning isn’t something you do once, then never look at again. If you aren’t on track – strategize on how to get there and make sure to re-evaluate again every quarter.
- Finally, literally clean your office. Shake the crumbs out of your keyboard. Wipe down your desk. Vacuum or mop your floor. Deep-clean your whiteboard. Empty and disinfect your wastebasket. Really, when was the last time you vacuumed behind that printer? Yikes!
A Clean Small Business is a Creative One
Now, you should be ready to tackle Q4… and beyond! One final small business tip is to stay on top of your file backups; this is an important part of regular housekeeping. You’ve heard stories about people whose computers crashed and caused them to lose everything. Don’t be that guy!
Now that your physical and digital spaces are clean and refreshed you have space to let your creativity flow. Prepare killer presentations, make masterful sales calls, network like a boss AND stay on track for your best year ever.
What is the one thing that you most need to clean up or organize in your business?
