It’s about this time of year that the weather starts to improve and we begin thinking about spring cleaning. The warmer days bring with them a renewed enthusiasm for home, health and the great outdoors. We eat lighter, feel more inclined to exercise and may even want to move the couch so we can clean underneath it.
It’s about this time that we also often experience a renewed energy for our business and a desire to streamline it, simplify it and bring it closer to the dream we have for it. If you can feel a seasonal rejuvenation calling you and your business, here are some ways that you can spring clean, organise and streamline your business over the coming weeks.
1. Social media: Make a list of all of your social media accounts and get rid of the ones you don’t use or don’t enjoy using. Next time you’re on Facebook (or any other platform), take a few minutes to go through the list of pages you “Like”. Chances are there will be a lot in there that you don’t want to follow anymore, so just unlike them. Easy. Cut the noise out of your newsfeed and see more of what you want in there.
2. Your inbox: Using the search function in your email account, input the word “unsubscribe” – this will bring up all of the newsletters that you’re subscribed to. Go through and unsubscribe from any that you no longer want to receive – if you haven’t opened or read an email from a business in a number of months, it’s time to get rid of it.
3. Tidy up your website: Set aside an hour or two and show your website some love. Update your product listings, remove or fix any broken links and tidy up your blog. If your product photography needs to be updated, consider outsourcing this job as it can become onerous.
4. Update your website: Check your about page, contact information, stockist listings, brands you stock and policy information – is it all accurate and up to date? If you’ve dropped a product or taken one on, make sure your site reflects that. If you’ve recently changed contact details, make sure these new details are reflected wherever your business is listed on the web.
5. Plug your money leaks: Go through your bank and PayPal statements and make sure all subscriptions are ones that you actually want and use. Cancel or downgrade where necessary.
6. Do your tax: Cause, you know… that’s always fun. And if you don’t do it now, it’ll be Christmas before you get to it.
7. Create or update processes: Consider creating or updating your processes. It needn’t be a traumatic experience. Simply use screencast software to record each task that you do and keep the videos well categorised in their own folder. When it comes time to hiring new staff, having these process videos ready to go will make the training period much simpler.
8. Consider outsourcing: If doing less is high on your list of priorities this spring, you might be toying with the idea of outsourcing some tasks to a VA or other assistant. The great news is that if you’ve recorded all your processes, the hardest part of handing over certain tasks is already done.
9. Revisit your goals: If you’ve been too busy to look at your current goals for a while, now is the time. Are they still valid? Are you on track? What needs to be done to reach them?
10. Do less: Grab a piece of paper and over the next week write down each task that you do for your business, as you do it. Once you’re confident you have every business task on the sheet, go through and highlight the items that indirectly or directly generate revenue for your business. Then, go through and circle all highlighted items that only you can do. For tasks that aren’t highlighted – ask yourself if they really need to be done or if they can be eliminated from your list. If they’re not generating revenue, they can probably be culled. For tasks that are highlighted but that you don’t need to do yourself – consider outsourcing. For tasks that are highlighted and circled – these are your top priority. Make sure your spring and summer business planning reflects that.
Now over to you. What spring cleaning tasks will you be doing in your business this season?
