It’s about this time of the year that the weather starts to improve and we begin thinking about spring cleaning. The warmer days tend to 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 of year that we also often experience a renewed energy for our business, not necessarily to ramp it up a notch, but to streamline it, simplify it and make it more the way we want it to be so that we can have both a life AND a business that we love.
For the past twelve years that I’ve had a business, I’ve experienced this spring itch and I think it comes down to wanting to spend more time doing what I love and less time doing what I feel l have to do.
If you can feel a spring clean calling, here are some ways that you can spring clean in your business this season.
1. Social media
Make a list of all of your social media accounts and get rid of the ones you don’t use or hate to use. Going forward, don’t sign on to a new platform just because it’s “the done thing”.
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 6+ 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 be 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 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 again.
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 it all 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 hard part of handing over certain tasks is already done.
9. Revisit your goals
Now is the time to revisit your goals. 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 create 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.
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.
