There’s something about the warmer weather and change of seasons that inspires new beginnings. As you open the windows in your homes, clean out closets or dust your baseboards, think about using a piece of this motivation to do some spring cleaning for your business too.
The good news for small business owners and entrepreneurs is there are a few seamless ways to bring a bit of fresh air into your business.
Here are three areas you can focus your attention on your business this month.
1. Re-energize your goals
Believe it or not, we’re almost through a quarter of the year. Now is the time to take out the plan you created for the year to reassess how you’re tracking toward your goals.
Businesses are constantly changing, especially as our world evolves to more virtual, digital, and remote ways of working. Do you need to update any of your strategies to meet and exceed expectations for your business and your customers?
Or perhaps you can think about what you can do differently to push the boundaries of your business. For me, as I revisit both my personal and professional goals, I always ask myself: What’s the next big thing?
As leaders, it’s important that we shake up the model of what’s been done previously and not continue doing something because that’s the way it has been done in the past. This practice can inspire new ways of thinking, new ways to do business, or new practices to adopt to move the needle.
There are often rewards in taking risks, and you can start by re-energizing your goals.
2. Get organized
Organization is key to any business, but good organization practices can fall to the wayside as pressing priorities creep into your daily to-do list.
As you look to refresh your organization rituals, I recommend starting by taking a hard look to evaluate what’s not working. Are you having trouble finding files? Has your inbox become a mess? Has your office become cluttered with unnecessary elements for your work?
We’ve all been there, so don’t worry. Here’s how to move forward. Take some time to identify a few simple habits of organization, based on the pain points you identified.
If it’s inbox management, set aside 5-minute blocks throughout your day to delete unnecessary emails or use rules to auto-sort emails to folders to review later. If your files are out of control, The UPS Store can manage shredding of your unwanted documents.
For me, it’s all about dedicating specific moments of my day to organization. I start my day by identifying my top three priorities. Midday, I review and file any pressing emails, and return phone calls I missed, and then before I leave the office, I make a list of tasks for the following day.
3. Connect with your employees
Use this moment to check in on your employees to see how they are doing.
Are there specific areas they’d like to focus on growing this year? How can you help meet their goals?
Working with and learning from others is the best part of my role at The UPS Store, so talking with employees and truly getting to know them is something I try to do consistently.
By talking with employees, you can inspire them and make them more excited about their work and what the business is doing. Inspiration goes a long way to creatively address problems or identify solutions for your business.
These practices take time. But, if you put in the work to refresh your ways of working this spring, your business will see success in the long run.
The post Does Your Business Need a Bit of Fresh Air? appeared first on Inc.
Original source: Inc.
