Spring has Sprung!

There’s nothing like a bit of sunshine and feeling the stretch in the day to encourage a little spring clean. It’s at this time of year when I have a good tidy and clear out, especially for my business. A time to re-develop my systems to get me business ready for a fab and prosperous Spring.

Here’s a list of the top five things that I do to clear out and re-start ready for Quarter 2.

Have a ‘Dumpster’ day

Book a quiet day to have a good clear out of your home office – from top to bottom. If you haven’t used an item in the last year, you probably don’t need it. Clear out those piles of paper, those junk draws and bookshelves. You spend a lot of your time here so you want it to be as clutter free as it can be and a peaceful and creative place to work. Check that pot of pens – I bet half of them don’t work – tidy up those computer wires under your desk – they’ve always annoyed you anyway – and invest in some beautiful art for the walls or perhaps a lovely smelling candle.

 

“If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
― William Morris

 

File clear out and un-subscribe from emails

When was the last time you backed up your computer? Quick! Do it now! Invest in an external hard drive or upload files to the cloud. I use Dropbox for a lot of my massive design files, it clears up so much space on my mac.

 

What are all those files on your desktop? File those away and watch your computer literally speed up. Not forgetting of course, the dreaded ‘download’ folder. Go through those and file them away. Ahhhh…. that’s better.

 

Fed up with having a million emails popping into your inbox every minute of the day – ok so that’s quite extreme but you’d be surprised how much time you can spend reading through them. Over the next week your challenge, if you wish to accept it, is to unsubscribe from 5 subscription emails every day. It’ll free up your time and your inbox will become such a happier place to visit! While you’re there why not file those old emails too? If they are unread and from 2016 you probably don’t need them!

 

Social Media

Update your social media bio’s and check your website is ©2017

Have a good look at all your social media bios and have a shake-up. Are you still attracting that type of client or has your niche changed? Reflect that in your explanation. A bio is part of your brand and what you send out into the world, so make sure your bios explain exactly what you’re up to and what your clients are expecting. Update your website to ©2017. No new clients want to think you aren’t trading anymore because it’s out of date.

 

Accounts

Update those pesky accounts

Ok, so the dreaded accounts have raised their ugly head again. In all honesty, I outsource most of this BUT I still have a great grasp on incoming and outgoing money, even though as a creative type numbers aren’t really my forte.

 

I have files labelled with each month and all receipts and invoices go in there ready to be processed by QuickBooks and my accountant.

 

If you are doing your own accounts now is the time to get things under control – not long until April! Check out QuickBooks, Sage or Xero and go through their free introduction tutorials, they can teach you how to do it, and start uploading information to the cloud. Add a recurring event to your calendar that reminds you to update your books each week and stick to it. Keeping on top of your books is not just handy to keep track of what you can invest in your company, but it makes your tax return so much easier.

 

Build Your Brand

Think about your brand and marketing

Is your brand still working for you? Is your marketing still attracting your dream clients, and is it fresh and up to date?

 

Your brand is organic – it re-freshens and grows overtime. Without a regular review, it can become dated or confusing to your clients. Is what you’re putting out into the world still reflecting your company and what it’s offering? If not now is the time to get it changed.

 

Perhaps you’ve updated your pricing or offers for 2017? Check through all your literature and your website to see that this is reflected. Or perhaps your client base has changed, check that what you’re saying on your website is still attracting your dream clients.

 

I hope that has helped get you ready for the start of Spring and you are happy in your lovely fresh and clutter-free office! If you’d like help with your refreshed branding or marketing then please get in touch – we’d love to help – hello@designjessica.co.uk