Time to spring clean your business?

The sun is shining (sometimes), the weather is warming up (sometimes), and when we aren’t dealing with gale force wind and downpours that threaten to drown us, it’s almost tempting to throw open the windows and let in the spring air. 

Spring cleaning is most definitely ‘a thing’. That insatiable itch we get when the temperature increases, and the sun shines, can only be scratched with a vigorous hoover and cleaning things that haven’t been cleaned since this time last year, and won’t be cleaned again until next year. 

The same is true for your business - winter can feel very much like a case of getting your head down and just focusing on making it through. Those cold months can feel uninspiring, and honestly a little exhausting when dealing with all the extra life admin that comes with Christmas and New Year. So it’s not surprising that often we’re not in the mood to start revamping the way we work.

April however is another matter entirely. The moment the clocks change is almost magical - suddenly it's light until 8pm, and you start to feel like there’s a chance you might be able to feel the tips of your fingers for the first time in months! So it’s natural that the spring cleaning urge might tip over from the house into your business, but how can you make the most of the motivation while it’s there? Read on for my top tips on where to start with spring cleaning your business!

The good old fashioned tidy up

If you’re a bit messy, why not start with simply adding your office space (assuming you have one) to your list of rooms to spring clean? Get stuck in with a duster, tidy your desk and generally make it a nicer space to be in! If you really want to go the whole hog then you could always consider revamping the decor, getting a new desk or rearranging the furniture to make the most of the light. There’s no reason to keep things the same all the time if you don’t want to - with a bit of imagination and a couple of extension leads, great things can be accomplished!

Get your head in the cloud

Is there a system or programme you think could make a world of difference to the way you work, but you’ve never quite found the time to sit down and work it out? Whether you’re getting to grips with Google Drive, getting creative with Canva or something else entirely, use this burst of motivation to book a couple of hours out to sit down and have a play! It might not be the solution you hoped, in which case now you know - but it might be an amazing tool and be just what you need to level up your business. Regardless of the outcome, it’s not time wasted.

Tidy up your website

When we’ve all got multiple social media platforms to worry about, the website can drop off the bottom of the list sometimes. However not everyone uses social media, and a website is still a valuable tool in 24/7 marketing for your business - so it’s important to make sure that it’s up to date and looks the part too! 

Why not spend an hour or two going through your website, updating galleries if appropriate, making sure logos and colour schemes are correct, and double checking that any price lists are accessible, accurate and complete. If you offer a service but it’s not listed on your website, many potential customers won’t bother contacting you to find out if you offer it, they’ll simply move on to someone else. 

Sort your filing system

Whether you’re paper based or paperless, filing systems can easily get into a muddle when there’s more than one person accessing them (or even when it’s just you!). It is, admittedly, much easier to ignore a cloud based filing system than a filing cabinet that is spilling onto the floor and piles of documents on every desk, but both systems need some maintenance to ensure that everyone can find the right document easily. 

Taking some time to check that files are named correctly (applicable in both situations!) and that relevant documents are stored together makes life a lot easier when you need to access a client contract, insurance policy or even an instruction manual for the label maker you only use once a year…

Revamp your marketing plans

If things have taken off and you don’t have time for marketing then taking an afternoon to get it back under control can be amazingly valuable. Even scheduling one or two posts a week means that new customers can see that you’re active and still working, and keeps you in the mind of existing customers too. 

Set up a folder on your phone or Google Drive with photos that you snap as you work, and think about setting up something similar for captions - keeping a bank of potential posts for those ‘I have nothing to say’ moments means that you never truly have nothing to say because you can upload a picture, copy and paste the caption and you’re done!

So there you have it  - 5 easy ways to make it feel like you’ve transformed your business and harness the power of the spring clean at the same time. And the best part is that every single one of these tasks can be outsourced! I’ve personally helped clients sort out filing systems (paper and digital) that they thought were beyond saving, my team has helped clients to completely overhaul their marketing strategies, we’ve updated websites, helped clients transition to new systems and taught them how to use them as well. 

We’ve even helped to source office cleaners!