6 Ways To Get Your Business Organized in 2023

Define Your Goals/Make a Plan If you don’t have a vision or goals set for your business then you are not going to go anywhere. Setting goals and making plans that you can achieve is one of the keys to success. Making achievable goals is the name of the game. Here are a few things to think about:

• Create Your Business Plan: A business plan is just a document that describes your business activities and how you plan to achieve them. This plan may change as you grow but is an important part of your success.

• Set Financial Goals: Setting realistic financial goals is a must. I am not talking about you setting a goal to be a millionaire by the end of the year. We are talking about quarterly goals. So, if you want to make 6 figures by the end of the first quarter. You would need to set that goal and map out how you will achieve it.

• Set Personal Goals: Yep, I said personal goals. You may want to quit your job and become a full-time entrepreneur. If this is your goal, then map out a plan to achieve it.

• Create Your Marketing Game Plan: What social media platforms will you market on? What type of content do you like making? Will you add email marketing to your game plan? What type of networking events will you engage in? There are a lot of ways you can market your business. I suggest email marketing, choosing 1 or 2 social media platforms to master, and networking events (in-person or virtual).

Manage Your Time If you are not managing your time wisely, then you are not going to get a lot done. I recommend completing 3 tasks daily. If you have more than one calendar, I would advise you to consolidate it into one. If you are using a paper calendar or planner, I would recommend going digital. Now, don’t get me wrong you can never go wrong with paper however, in this day and age it is not convenient. Google Calendar and Time blocking is the way I manage my time. From doctor's appointments to kids' school projects to business activities. It is all managed via my calendar.

• Time Blocking: This is where you block off time to work on different things like Bedtime, Workout Time, Client Work Time, or Focus Time. You can call it whatever you want to but you need to schedule time on your calendar to get things done.

• Content Calendar: This is a totally different calendar and is there to help you schedule your marketing efforts. This is how you will know what you will post, to what platform, and at what time. This is here to keep your marketing as organized and timely as possible.

Perfect your Projects Your project management that is. Everything you do in your business is essentially a project. Marketing, Selling, and Finance are all things you will probably do on a monthly or daily basis. You need a way to keep track of the things that you or your team are working on and a systemized way to communicate.

• Choose a Project Management System: Systems like Clickup, Asana, and Trello is a great way to keep up with projects and assign tasks to your team.

• Choose a Date: All projects need a start and end date. How else are you going to get things done? Setting up milestones will keep you focused and motivated to get the job done.

Document Your Processes You may want to hire employees or subcontractors to help you out. Documenting your processes is the name of the game. This helps eliminate the number of training hours you have spent on educating the employees.

• Create SOP’s: Standard Operating Procedures are used in every business. This is like a resource vault for every process within your organization. You can create video or paper SOP’s. I actually recommend doing both. Those step-by-step video tutorials work better for most. Download my free SOP Template to get started.

Systemize All businesses utilize some type of system to get things done. But when you are a solopreneur they are a game changer if you select the right ones. You will need systems to help you with selling and displaying your products and services. A system for keeping track of projects, time, and finances. There are also systems to help with writing and marketing. Here are the top 6 systems that I use daily in my virtual assistant business.

• Google Suite & Google Calendar: Yep, I know this may seem like two different systems and it is but they are both made by Google. Google Suite is my professional email and cloud storage home base. This is where I create all my documents, spreadsheet, and my file storage. Google Calendar is my home. I do nothing if it is not on my calendar.

• GQueues: This is a system that I use for my project management. I use this because I can create my todos and it goes directly into my calendar. I can also check off tasks from my calendar when they are done.

• Canva: I use Canva for my graphics and marketing material. It is simple and easy to use.

• Mailerlite: This is my email marketing system. I use this for my newsletters and landing pages.

• Trello: This is another project management system but I only use this for my content calendar needs. However, you can utilize it with all the projects you create within your business.

• Squarespace: This is my website platform. This is where and how clients contact me and it houses my blog and other resources.

Delegate/Hire A VA Doing repetitive and boring tasks day in and day out may not be your cup of tea or in my case coffee. But this has to be done so your business can run smoothly. If you are not in a place to hire employees then contracting a virtual assistant might be a better fit for you. A VA can help you with just about anything from general administrative work, and project management, to marketing support and the list goes on. VAs are self-employed and work remotely but can be a vital part of your business.