If your focus word for 2020 is organisation, read on.
If it’s not, it probably should be, so read on anyway!
FACT: The definition of organised is: “arrange systematically; order.” (Oxford Dictionary).
Being organised in your business is a huge success step and good business organisation can keep your operations running smoothly and set you up for growth. And 2020 is the year of VISION and GROWTH!
Sometimes that is easier said than done because business owners wear so many hats. But here’s what happens when your business isn’t organised properly:
- Tasks build up.
- Important information is lost (or misplaced).
- You waste time searching for emails, documents and other items.
- Team members aren’t as productive, costing you money.
- Clients get upset.
But when your business is organised …
“Benefits of keeping organized: You can increase your productivity. By keeping organized, you will save time looking for things and will have more time to work on important tasks. As organization can improve the flow of communication between you and your team, you can also make your team more productive.” (Source: Monster.ca)
Organisation can make or break your business – so if it’s not high on your list of priorities, it should be.
Here are the 6 areas you need to start with when organising your business:
1) Team empowerment
What do you currently do to empower your team? Remember your team is the greatest asset in your business and they need to feel inspired and motivated. Do you have a Monday Huddle, or a weekly call, are there incentives when goals are achieved and do you give them random gifts or time off because of the awesome job they do for you? All of this should be documented in a system.
ACTION STEPS:
- Check in fortnightly to make sure things are under control.
- Find out their wins, challenges, questions and what can be improved or what they want to learn
- Send gifts on special occasions
2) Client relationship management
How do you nurture the people on your list, prospects and clients? What are your touchpoints and what do you give these people? How do you stay in touch with them, where are their notes kept, how many times a year do you follow up with them? This is extremely important for repeat business, a wonderful customer experience and raving fans who will talk about you kindly to everyone who asks about your area of expertise.
ACTION STEPS:
- Show your appreciation by getting in touch quarterly or at a minimum, bi-annually with an email or cards.
- Give valuable content to keep them engaged.
- Take ownership, especially when there is a delay or mistake.
- Take immediate action to rectify any complaints.
3) Marketing strategy aligns with your business goal
Is your marketing sporadic, or non-existent, or do you have a fully documented process and system in place? And is it aligned with your business goals? Most business owners are in the first two categories. But marketing your business is what brings in the leads and sales, and aligning it to your goals only strengthens that.
ACTION STEPS:
- Look at your business goals, work out your KPIs and figure out what you can sell to meet your targets.
4) Your marketing campaign
How have you got your marketing campaigns set up? Are they in a program like Ontraport, Infusionsoft, Active Campaign? Or are they at least scheduled into Gmail and saved into a folder on your computer? If not, then your marketing will never truly work for you. If you are looking to get better results in your business this year – get your marketing systems set up!
5) Finances – income and payment
How do you pay people and how do people pay you? Do you use accounting software and payment gateways, or just a bank account and spreadsheet. More importantly, do you have processes and a system for your finances?
ACTION STEPS:
- If you’re not an accountant or bookkeeper, seek advice from the professionals to set up your finance and compliance structure correctly.
- It is OK if you’re still using an Excel spreadsheet and migrate to accounting software later. It’s more important that you’re keeping your records up-to-date.
6) Time management
Do you track your time on tasks, for meetings and generally throughout the day? You can use an app or timer for this. Also, are you planning your week ahead of time with the things you need to get done. What’s your system for this and for your team’s time management as well?
ACTION STEPS:
- Use Toggl to keep track of your time. Knowing how much time you need to complete a project or task does help when scheduling.
- Plan your week ahead. I highly recommend doing this on a Sunday night so you’re ready to create magic on Monday.
- Declutter your brain memory, use your diary (digital or paper journal), so you can see your weekly plan.
Conclusion
What is stopping you from growing your business in 2020?
It might be cashflow, team or your marketing plan. But there is also a very high chance that it is your SYSTEMS!
Systems are your ticket to more money, time and freedom!
But if the thought of implementing a business system (or any system for that matter) sends a shiver down your spine – leave it with me!
I can help you understand how systems can help you grow your business and just make life easier for you!
I encourage you to join me at my monthly Q&A, where we can work this out together
Or contact me directly on eezen.cha@reavasolutions.com.au.
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If your focus word for 2020 is organisation, read on.
If it’s not, it probably should be, so read on anyway!
Prepare yourself and your business for the holidays!
Just as you clean out your home to welcome a positive and happy vibe of the new year, make sure you schedule a few hours for some office and work related maintenance!
If it’s is too nerve-wracking to pay attention to the bigger projects, it is absolutely fine to start small and easy!
Organise your mailbox, cloud storage and filing:
“Now, where did I save that document” is probably a thought you have on several occasions – if your inbox, cloud storage and filling processes are not organised enough. Save yourself minutes and hours of frantically searching for that important email or file and create that organised filing and naming system!
Backup your data:
If you have ever lost data before, you will probably understand the aftermath of this mistake. The chances of your valuable and crucial business data getting lost or deleted are a lot more if you have it saved and updated only on one device. Now might be a good time to get started on saving and backing up 2019’s data to make room for a whole year’s worth of valuable files and documents!
Work out how you can manage your time better:
Finding time is a challenge enough for entrepreneurs who wear many hats – not to mention frustrating! Take this time of the year as yet another chance for you to develop a method to manage your time more effectively in the upcoming year. Before you list out what you can do better, don’t forget to analyse what your past year has been like to gain more insight into where exactly you need to improve.
Review your 2020 business plan:
What does the year 2020 look like for you? If you have already drafted a business plan – kudos to you! But before you roll that out, I encourage you to take a moment to review your amazing business plan to weed out any errors or make any improvements!
Create templates for presentation slides, social media posts and email correspondences:
No matter what your business is about, you are bound to receive and send out several emails and documents! Do you have a template ready for each kind of content? Many business owners I have had the chance to interact with are often astonished to know that such a small task, when done systematically, could save so much time!
I can help you grow your business exponentially
If you have a business operations, systems or processes question that you’d like answered, join me at my monthly Q&A sessions where I will answer your questions personally.
Starting and growing a business can be hard, but the thing that makes it easier is having the right people on your side and the systems, checklists and processes to help you and your team (even if you are outsourcing) run your business efficiently and effectively, giving you back precious time with your family and also time to do the thing that you do best, work on your business.
I can help you and I can start by answering your questions. Ask me here.
