The birds are singing, the daffodils are waving in the breeze, the sun is shining (momentarily)… Spring is most definitely in the air! If you are feeling a spring in your step this March, perhaps it’s a good time for a Spring clean – not just for the house and/or garden, but for your business life too. Here are my top ‘Spring Clean Your Business’ tips:
1.) Spring Clean your contacts list: Whether you’ve got email marketing software that holds contact details for your previous/existing customer and contacts, or you’ve simply got a spreadsheet or address book with contact details in it, it’s worth reviewing your list. If you’re regularly emailing people, are there any ‘bounced’ emails? Has anyone unsubscribed from your list? Has anyone not opened anything from you for the last 6 years? Why not have a good clean up and focus on the people who really want to hear from you? Spam complaints and unopened messages can have an impact on your email engagement statistics and skew the results, so opt for a quality over quantity approach and clear out the contacts who have drifted away. It’s positive from a GDPR perspective too, as you’re not holding on to more personal data than you need to or continuing to market to people who don’t want to receive content from you anymore. Even if you’ve only got a spreadsheet, make sure it’s up to date and that you’re only holding on to information that is specifically required for each customer.
2.) Spring Clean Your Office: Paperwork can build up over time (even when you try to be a ‘paper-free’ office!), as can expense receipts, invoices, discarded pens, etc. Why not take a couple of hours out this month to clear out your office and file anything that needs to be filed. It always feels much nicer sitting down to work in a clean, clear environment – even if it’s only a few days before the paper starts to mount up again.
3.) Spring Clean Your Task List: Time to refresh the daily to do list! Why not make a note of the things that you’d really like to achieve this year, not just the things you need to do, and include them all in your daily/weekly/monthly to-do list so that you can make these wish-list items a reality? In addition, why not consider the possibility of outsourcing some of your recurring, long outstanding or unloved tasks to someone who actually likes them? There are so many business support professionals out there who could help (including us!), and could help you free up some valuable hours in your working month for either the tasks that only you can do OR something from your wish-list.
4.) Spring Clean Your Goals: Have you got professional or personal development goals? If you regularly review your business, you may have quarterly, bi-annual or yearly goals that you set, but things can (and do!) change so quickly at the moment that it’s important to ensure they are still appropriate for you. Don’t forget to ensure that your goals are SMART – that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely – so that you can maintain focus and successfully work towards achieving these goals over the coming months. If they aren’t SMART, you’ll be setting generic, pie-in-the-sky goals that may or may not ever happen, making it difficult to keep motivation levels up and feel positive about making personal and professional progressions.
Will you be having a business Spring Clean this March? If you would like to refresh your business goals or outsource tasks, etc., don’t forget that we’re here to help you, this Spring and beyond!
Get in touch today – telephone: +44 7805 390651 or email: Kathy@personallyvirtual.co.uk