21 Ways to Declutter Your Business and Get Organized! – Part 1

Did you know that decluttering and getting organized can save you money and help you to make more money in your business? Over the next week I will share 21 ways to declutter your business. I find that my clients are overwhelmed by the details of running a business. These 21 tips will help you decide what you need to declutter the most and where you can get more organized in your business.

Cleaning up chaos and restoring order to your business is all about finding the right tools and methods that work with you, your clients, your contractors—and your unique type of business. Apply as many of these 21 ideas as you can to help you stop yourself from sliding down the slippery slope towards overwhelm. But don’t try to apply all of them at once. Pick the ones that you think you will actually commit to getting done!

#1 Create a Company Manual

In fact, create two—a master manual for yourself, and one with personal information missing for your VA or project manager. Why should you do this? If you are a solopreneur, this will help you get clear about all of the different tasks you are doing in your business and make it easy to start passing tasks off to an assistant. Plus, if something were to happen to you this, this document would allow someone else to step in and take care of your business for a while.

Your company manual should act as a complete package, should anything happen to you, so that whoever is cleaning up your business affairs can find everything they need, including your master password list, site URLS, contractors to be paid, instructions, business documents, bank accounts, credit cards, etc.—and the password to your computer!

Remember that you can make your manual visual, colorful and playful. That’s my specialty – business doesn’t have to be boring. Notice how brightly colored all these images are, that is by design. My business plan, marketing plan and other planning tools are full of color, doodles and creativity as well as the practical. The trick to getting things done is to find the systems that work for you.

#2 Apply for a Business Credit Card

If you have a business bank account (mandatary for LLC companies or corporations, but not for sole proprietors) then apply for a credit card dedicated solely to your business. Use it to pay online subscriptions, web hosting fees and offline expenses such as gas used on business errands, stationery and other office supplies, and business travel. You can read more on how to save while on a business travel to bring down your extra expenses. This makes tax planning and preparation so much easier. Plus, when you keep all of your personal and business expenses separate, you get very clear about what you are spending in your business!

#3 Manage your Taxes—in Advance

 

Did you have to pay taxes last year? Is your business already bringing in more income? Then estimate and project your next year’s taxes—and start putting a portion of each month’s income into your business bank account or a business savings account for taxes; or set up a tax payment option directly in your online banking and pay a portion every month.

At tax time, you won’t have to pay—and if you do, it will be minimal. (And maybe you’ll get a refund!)

I owned a publishing company for 11 years, staying on top of our finances and our tax information was so important. We never got audited and we always knew exactly where we stood with our business. I had one client who got hit with a $10,000 tax bill she didn’t expect because she wasn’t prepared!

These are just 3 of the key strategies to declutter your business and get organized. These are all foundational strategies! Tomorrow come back for more tips about productivity and saving time.

Copyright: fkdkondmi / 123RF Stock Photo

 

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