Spring Cleaning for Your Business

Ah, Spring is in the air!

The sun is shining, the temperature is rising, it’s almost April, the birds are singing, the flowers have started blooming – the signs of Spring are everywhere. Naturally, our thoughts turn to newness, the newness of the grasses, the flowers, and invariably, the newness of our homes and lives. But as small business owners and entrepreneurs, we should also be thinking of newness of our businesses.

Spring is a wonderful time to sit down and really do some work on our business.

• First, get out your goals that you set at the first of the year. How are they progressing? Do you need to update them? Are they still viable goals? Spring clean your goals for the upcoming quarter.
• Second, have you been saving for your quarterly taxes? If not, get busy right now. Take a little money from each client payment and put it into an interest-bearing account to pay your quarterly taxes. It will save time and headache when the time comes to pay them.
• Third, look at your current clients. Are they the clients you wanted to attract? Do your clients lift you up or hold you down? Are you an integral part of their business? Do they value your services or products? Or is it time to do some spring cleaning?
• Fourth, prepare for new clients. And that’s means mentally and physically. Spring clean your office by thinking of what needs to be done for you to work most efficiently. Do you have the space in your filing cabinets? Do you have the materials and supplies? Are your file folders ready? Do you need to clean out your email? Have you filed your receipts? Do you have the forms necessary to complete your client interactions from start to finish? On the mental side, have you looked at your processes and how they’re working? Do you need to add a component to your interactions? Do you have the time to add new clients? Do you need to dust off your brain and look at things that haven’t been working for you – to find a new and different way?
• Fifth, take a look at your personal life. There’s always room for cleaning there. Look for the relationships that are weighing you down. If someone is constantly complaining, belittling you, or just don’t have time for you when you need them, is it time to cut and run? Do you have room for a philanthropic project? Are you taking care of your immediate family – giving them the love and attention they need? You can’t have a successful business if your personal life isn’t successful!

These are just a few things you can do to start preparing now for a wildly successful 2nd Quarter of 2007. They’re little things – but they’re so important and can also be huge stress-busters!

How’s your Spring Cleaning going?

Vickie