Spring is a great time to refresh your mindset and declutter your business, both literally and figuratively. Spring cleaning your business operations can involve taking steps to improve performance, reorganizing your workspace, and discarding strategies, tools, and files that no longer serve your business. Rethink the way you go about business as usual with these spring cleaning tips for business.
Check your financial situation
Get your business finances in order to set yourself on a strong footing for the next nine months. With tax returns due, it's the perfect time to make sure your books are in order. Organize your bookkeeping, review your files and accounts, organize your receipts, digitize anything that isn't already, and give your accounting a “snapshot.”
Get a fresh start for the rest of the year by taking care of all your accounting details. Track outstanding invoices, record bad debts, and pay any outstanding expenses and bills. Check payroll and ensure all staff records are up to date, update your budget, and ensure you've accounted for quarterly tax invoices if applicable.
Spring is also a good time to review high-level metrics like gross margins, cost of goods sold (COGS), and operating cash flow. Understand last year's financial performance to make better decisions over the next nine months.
Refresh the website
Spring is a good time to audit your website to ensure your links are working, your content is relevant, and your site navigation aligns with your SEO goals.
“Maybe your company's website has content that needs rewriting to better reflect your company's offerings and target market. Or maybe your website just looks totally outdated and needs a bit of a facelift,” Mike Kappel, founder and CEO of Patriot Software, writes in Forbes. “Trust me… fixing small details (even CTAs and text) can make a big difference.”
SEO best practices change frequently. Make sure your website follows the latest guidelines so customers can still find you. If you change any policies, such as your return or shipping policy, make sure your website has all the latest information.
[Read more: 5 Small Businesses Celebrating Spring With Creative Marketing]
Businesses change as they grow: does your business plan still reflect your core strengths or does your plan need to be updated to reflect new directions?
Evaluate your technology stack
Talk to your team to see which platforms, software, and equipment need to be updated or replaced. Regularly auditing the tools you use will increase productivity and optimize your budget. You may need to add new tools to keep up with the needs of your growing business.
“This process allowed us to refine our best practices, eliminate tools that were no longer necessary, and invest in new tools, all while reducing costs,” Kathleen Lucente, CEO and founder of Red Fan Communications, wrote in Fast Company. “We also surveyed our team to understand their work environment preferences and added apps to help them use our office space smarter and reserve spots for group or individual work.”
As you review your technology, look for vulnerabilities in data security and storage. Delete any customer information you store but no longer need.
Reinvest in your core business
Leigh Burgess, CEO and founder of Bold Industries Group, says he is focusing his spring cleaning efforts on the core strengths of his company's business.
“Evaluating what's working well at your company, whether it's organizing your paperwork, optimizing your digital processes, or evaluating your relationships with customers and clients, can open the door to lasting success,” Burgess told Fast Company. “By the time we get to spring cleaning this year, we want to increase our efficiency and strengthen our core so we can focus more on the big picture and create an even stronger foundation that will last into the future.”
One way is to reexamine your business plan, mission statement, and company values. As your business grows, it will change. Does your business plan still reflect your core strengths? Or do you need to update your plan to reflect new directions? Make sure you're still chasing your North Star.
[Read more: Updating Your Business Plan: A Guide for Growing Businesses]
CO— aims to provide inspiration from leading, respected experts. However, before making any business decisions, you should consult with an expert who can advise you based on your individual circumstances.
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