Image courtesy of Marcin Wichary’s photostream
In less than 40 days, the first day of spring will arrive. Whether your winter has been a sunny one or a snowy one, this date – March 20 – is a welcomed one on the calendar. It signifies a fresh start, new life and maybe most importantly… one season closer to summer.
But before you go wishing your entire spring away, challenge yourself to having a productive three months before the summer fun begins. To ensure your springtime months are worthwhile, conduct a thorough spring cleaning. That doesn’t necessarily have to mean you wash your floors, dust your furniture and clean out your closets. But what it does mean is evaluating what you are doing as a businessperson, and getting rid of the clutter that keeps you from succeeding and achieving your full potential.
To start your spring cleaning, track what you do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. This will give you a better idea of where most of your time and energy is spent. Then, prioritize: what are you doing every day that is really something you only need to do once a week? Or on the flip side, what is something you are doing only monthly that should be taken care of on a weekly basis? Coming up with a plan for what tasks need the most attention will give you more time to focus your energy on what really matters – and that’s growing your business.
Once you prioritize what you currently do, review and select business practices and programs you can add. For example, what marketing strategies can you implement (direct mail, social media, etc.) to increase customer traffic? What sales programs can you utilize to better keep track of your prospecting efforts?
Finally, at the end of your cleaning, make sure there is room for growth. Don’t keep too much of the clutter, but don’t add too many new ideas, either. Throughout the spring, summer and beyond, you will most likely come across strategies and solutions you want to try, and that’s great! Just make sure you have the means and capabilities to handle these ideas so you don’t make a ‘mess’ of what you have worked so hard on cleaning.
Spring cleaning your business can take time, and can be difficult. But in the end, having a business that is organized and operating smoothly is well worth it.
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