Hit Refresh!

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Spring means a season of growth and new opportunities for your small business. It’s a time of possibilities.

Change, pivoting, adaptability, agility, ‘the new normal’, and to quote news presenters, “extraordinary and unprecedented times” …these are all words and phrases that have summarised business life since corona wasn’t just a beer. At home, my spring cleaning usually starts in my bedroom. After a year and a half of lockdowns and virtual work, it has never been more necessary! The same applies to our businesses, we need to revitalise our physical environment, our business plan and our marketing.

Here are four steps to spring clean your business:

Dust off the business plan

If you haven’t already had to significantly adjust the way you do business, chances are you will have to do so soon to keep abreast of the pace of change worldwide. Business agility refers to the ability to perceive changes in the market and to respond quickly to them.

Take inventory of where your business is and ask some of the difficult questions, such as

  • What’s working, and what’s not? Why?
  • What could be improved? How?
  • What do I really want to achieve? Is it realistic in the times?
  • What may be holding the business back? What can I do about it?
  • What actions do I/my team need to take? Prioritise in terms of urgent and important.

The Shifting Gears self-learning programmes may guide you through creating or revisiting your business plan. Alternatively, working through a SWOTA for your business will help keep you working on your business, not just in it.

Deep clean the workspace

No spring clean is complete without the tools of bucket, mop and broom! Whether your workspace is your dining room or a factory, it’s essential to get stuck into your work environment. Clean up, tidy up, fix up and if necessary, do up. It’s amazing what a coat of paint and a few pot plants can do to lift the spirits. Just as we bring space and order to our environment, there is a parallel emotional and psychological clearing that takes space too.

For green cleaning tips click here

Tidy up the books

Entrepreneurs are not noted for their bookkeeping or record keeping skills. However, you cannot know the state of your business’ financial health, if you are not on top of the business’ books. They help you identify problems, forecast the financial future and to make smarter decisions.  

To organize your books, review and reconcile accounts, pay attention to your debtors, sort receipts, and digitise wherever you can. It’s also vital to store and protect financial data via the cloud.

For more help go to:

Freshen up your online presence

The world is now a digital place and if your business website and general social media presence is dated or clumsy, it is the equivalent of having a shop front that is dingy and dilapidated. Your brand cannot afford to collect dust.

Go to your website/Facebook page as a visitor and see it through a customer’s eyes. Having refreshed your business plan, do you need to reflect those changes in your marketing? Get friends and family to review and compare it to your competitors’. Is it interesting, modern? Is it easy to navigate? Is the logo, wording, colour palette and tone consistent with your brand? Are you legally compliant (consider POPIA, PAIA etc.)? Are you engaging with your customers online – how well and where? Is your site mobile-friendly?

For more insights, check out

Revitalise Yourself!

Remember the ‘you’ in your business.

It has been a long and tough year. Take the time to focus on what nourishes and inspires you, whether it is walks in the countryside or family time. Audit your unhealthy habits of working too long, too hard and eating on the run. Seek positivity and remember that self-doubt starts with you.

To give yourself a little love click here 

It’s time to sweep away the cobwebs, real and metaphorical!

 

By Janet Askew

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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