Wobizzle

For women who own or aspire to own their own businesses

Management

Office Organization for Small Business Success

Ok, let’s face it. The topic of office organization isn’t sexy. Or, maybe it is, if you’re a nerd like me who loves nothing more than perusing a glossy, printed catalog of office supplies. Yes, I said printed. I’m old school, and I’m not sorry.

I digress. Back to the topic at hand – office organization. Though a recent study by the University of Minnesota found that keeping a less-than-tidy desk can encourage creative thinking and stimulate new ideas, there are plenty of reasons that having an organized office space is good for business.

It Just Feels Better

First, it just feels better. Messy-deskers, let go of that University of Minnesota study for just a second and give me a thumbs up, because you know I’m right.

Walking into a tidy, organized work space at the beginning of your day feels like a fresh start. It gives you a sense of control even when you have deadlines crashing all around you.

And, while it offers you the feeling of control, if you are in a customer-facing environment, it also gives them a sense that you have your act together. That’s important, because impressions count and, like it or not, a tidy desk just looks more professional than a messy one. Even if you’re sure you know where everything is, a disorderly work space may make a client question how organized you are and whether  you’ll be able to take care of whatever it is that they need you to take care of.

Think Beyond The DeskOffice organization for small business success

While your desk may be the most obvious place to start an office organization endeavor, to really make a difference, your effort should go way beyond keeping your desktop clear. You need to take a close look at the way you manage your business overall. I’d recommend carving out some time after hours or on a weekend to review what’s working and what’s not. Then, start implementing solutions to bring everything in line.

Keep A Calendar

This may seem elementary to some, but trust me it’s not. You need ONE place where you keep it all. And, sorry, your brain is not the place. It needs to be doing other amazing things.

A single calendar is the way to go. Doing double entries across multiple calendars is not only inefficient and time-consuming, it also sets you up for an error or omission.

If you must keep separate work and personal calendars, use an app that allows you to merge them onto one screen view, so you can keep track of everything in one place. Microsoft Office and Mac Calendar both offer this feature.

Develop Easy, Repeatable Systems

It’s important to develop systems for every single business activity, from keeping the physical space in order, to keeping track of all of the details that keep your business running.

Are items in your office stored in a way that makes them easy to find? Do you have a clearly defined work-flow? If you have employees, do their systems fall in line with yours?

Developing easy, repeatable systems will increase your organization’s efficiency and productivity.

Think about where things get stalled in your business. Ask yourself some questions to help identify the problem areas. You want to avoid re-inventing the wheel as much as possible. Develop templates for documents that you find yourself (or your staff) creating on a regular basis. Set up processes for routine tasks.

Accounting and billing can be an arduous activity. Look for ways you can automate some of that. Most accounting and invoicing software programs offer time-saving features like allowing you to post invoice reminders and schedule routine billing.

Find the Right Tech Tools

While we are on the subject of software, there are a ton of tech tools designed to help business owners stay organized. Because there are so many, what may be the next best thing for someone in your networking group, may not be the right fit for you.

Take project management software for example. You could spend countless hours trying different ones on for size. But bouncing from one app to another kind of defeats the purpose of having an efficiency tool to begin with, doesn’t it?

Instead, think about what you really need. What problem are you trying to solve? What features do you think would be helpful? That will help you narrow down your wish list and make shopping for that new tool a little easier.

Office Organization Is Good For Business

Office organization may not be  on the top of your list of things to do, but it is good for business.  A lot of time can be saved by being organized. Imagine how you could spend that bank of saved time on other areas of your business – particularly the ones that make you money!

So, take a little time to put some systems in place, or organize the ones you already have. It will make living your life and running your business so much easier.

 

RECOMMENDED CONTENT: Six Ways To Achieve Better Work-Life Balance As A Solopreneur

Six Ways To Achieve Better Work Life Balance As A Solopreneur

To the untrained eye, it may seem easy to achieve work life balance as a solopreneur. Your friends with “day jobs” may see the grass as being so much greener on our side. Sure, we often have the ability to set our own schedules. We don’t have to ask permission to leave the office to go to a dentist appointment. We can take time to go holiday shopping when the mall is less crowded.

There are a lot of perks to being self-employed, but those of us doing it also know it can be a juggling act that can lead to stress, anxiety, and frustration. Work life balance as a solopreneur can be difficult to achieve.

As a one-woman show, you are among the busiest of business owners. You are wearing most of, if not all of the hats. You are in charge of sales, marketing, inventory, bookkeeping…the list goes on and on. Plus, you are doing the work of providing the service that you offer or minding the store. And, that doesn’t take into account the family commitments and other obligations competing for your attention as you strive to be successful in every aspect of your life.

Achieving The Elusive Work Life Balance

I’m sorry to report that there is no magic formula to achieve work life balance. But here are some things you can do to help reduce your stress as you try to keep all of the balls in the air.Six Ways To Achieve Better Work Life Balance As A Solopreneur

Keep Your Eye On The Prize.

Establish short-term and long-term SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goals for your business. Having SMART goals in place will help you maintain your focus on what you ultimately want to accomplish. Having that focus will make it easier to eliminate or avoid obstacles and other distractions that pop up in your way.

Keep A Calendar.

That means one calendar with everything on it. Whether you choose an electronic format or a hard-copy planner, your business meetings or deadlines, personal appointments, and other commitments should all be in one place so you can avoid double-booking. It will also help you foresee potential log jams, so you can take action to mitigate the stress of a work-related pile-up.

Prioritize.

Make lists daily to help you maintain focus on what must be done that day. Setting priorities will help you stay on track and avoid diversions. Inevitably, you may veer off your plan from time to time, but a daily priority list can get you back on track when you do get distracted.

Delegate.

You can do anything, but you can’t do everything. If you can do nothing else to improve your work life balance, at least try to delegate. Ask family members to pitch in to help with household chores and errands. Consider outsourcing certain business tasks or projects that don’t necessarily need to be performed by you.

Learn To Say “No.”

If you are able (or appear to be able) to balance your business and personal commitments, chances are you are the “go-to” person for a lot of people in your life. Give yourself permission to say “no” to anything that adds more to your already full plate. Likewise, take a look at your current list of responsibilities to see if there is anything you can give up.

Make Time To Relax.

Your brain and your body need downtime. Relaxation relieves stress and can help improve your concentration when you return to your tasks. Schedule yourself time to recharge your battery, the energy you gain from relaxation will make you more productive later.

Building and growing a successful business requires a time commitment that cannot be compromised. But if you maintain your focus, stay organized, and give yourself a little downtime once in a while you will experience less stress and be better positioned to achieve your business goals.

What tips do you have to achieve better work life balance? Share them in the comments below!

RELATED ARTICLE: Five Ways To Make Working From Home Work

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Change One Thing To Make Business Networking Pay Off

Despite all of the ways we are able to connect with potential customers and vendors online, face-to-face business networking continues to be an important part of growing a small business. Problem is – few of us are born networkers.

I’m an extrovert. I have spent enough years in media, marketing and public relations to get pretty good at striking up conversations with strangers, but I know it doesn’t come easily for everyone.

Having worked at a chamber of commerce for several years, I have seen some awkward attempts at business networking. And I understand why. No one really ever trains you for business networking. You are just expected to show up to an event and know what you’re doing.

The Typical Business Networking ExperienceBusiness Networking

Let me paint the picture of a stereotypical business networking experience.

You walk into a room full of strangers and you do what you think you are supposed to do.  You pass out your business cards, deliver your elevator speech, move on to the next person or group of people and repeat the process.

My friend, you are guilty of drive-by networking.

What do I mean by that? Put yourself in the shoes of the person on the receiving end. Here’s how that might sound to them.

“Hi, I’m Michelle. I have no idea who you are or what you do, but let me tell you how great I am and why you should do business with me.”

I’ve seen it happen over and over again. It’s ineffective and honestly, annoying. Who wants to be on the receiving end of that?

The problem with this method of business networking is that it focuses too much on the quantity of contacts rather than the quality of contacts.  Sure, you may walk out of a networking event with a stack of business cards, but you were likely unsuccessful at making any true personal connections. Also, you possibly guaranteed that some of those folks are going to avoid you the next time you enter the room.

My First Business Networking Fail

Let me tell you about my first time trying to promote my business at a networking event. Boy, it fell flat.

I walked into a meeting of a local public relations group. It was my first event as a new member. I was still working for another company, but was looking forward to networking with this group to try to grow my freelance business.  I marched up to someone and introduced myself.

“I’m Michelle West, I work at company z and I also do freelance writing.”

The person on the receiving end of that looked at me, grimaced, and said, “Yeah, I do too,” and walked away.

I was horrified.  As a result, it took me a long time to get up the courage to just walk up to someone and introduce myself again.

Here’s what’s so strange about that scenario. I had been successfully networking for years while working jobs for other people. But things got weird when I tried to promote myself. It’s like the wheels came off my networking bus. I was nervous and awkward.

Also, I forgot the cardinal rule of business networking. It’s not about selling. It’s about building long-term business relationships. Good business relationships are just that—relationships.  They cannot be forced and they are rarely developed through a rapid-fire, drive-by networking style.

Change Your Business Networking Mindset

So, instead of promoting yourself, consider trying a different approach called Positive Networking®.

The term has been trademarked by Shepa Learning Company. The strategy turns the tables on the “promote your business” method of networking, and it yields better long-term results.Change One Thing To Make Business Networking Pay Off

As an added bonus, it takes the pressure of you to sell yourself and makes business networking a lot more enjoyable. Consequently, the more enjoyable it is, the more you will do it. The more you do it, the more your business will grow.

What is Positive Networking®?

It represents a shift in attitude.  Networking is no longer about you, it’s about the people that you meet.

So, instead of going into a networking situation with the goal of selling your business, you approach your new contacts with the intent of discovering what you may be able to do for them.

Ask questions. Get to know them. And think about how you might be able to help them grow their businesses.

Perhaps you can connect them with a resource or someone within your network that might be a potential customer or vendor for them.

You may be wondering how this is going to benefit me?

It’s simple.  People do business with people, not businesses.  And they are more likely to do business with someone they know and trust. If you approach networking from the standpoint of starting a relationship instead of closing a sale, you’ll begin developing that level of trust.

Also, it makes striking up a conversation at a business networking event so much easier. You no longer have the pressure of figuring out where in the conversation you should start reciting your elevator speech.  You are just getting to know a new friend.

Network Like You Know How

Business networking done right is not able generating sales leads. It’s about building a circle of friends for your business.

Also, the reality is, very few people that you meet at business networking events will ever become your customers. Their true value is in their potential to refer you business. And, they are more likely to do that if they feel they know you and trust you.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

So get yourself to a business networking event ASAP. Practice your new skill and start building a circle of friends for your business. Network like you know how. Because now you do!

 

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Payroll Outsourcing: Does It Make Sense For Your Business?

Hiring employees can help your business grow, but it also makes your job more complicated. Take payroll for example. It’s a headache that recurs before every payday. Payroll outsourcing may relieve some of that pain.

Processing payroll internally takes time and resources. Also, it’s easy to make mistakes. Statistics from the Internal Revenue Service show that approximately 40% of small businesses incur penalties for failure to comply with payroll requirements. Total fines paid by businesses are in the billions of dollars. That’s money that could be better spent.

Payroll outsourcing can keep you on the right side of compliance. And, it’s really not that expensive when you consider the time and worry it can save you.

How Payroll Outsourcing Works

In general, payroll companies take care of payroll administration for their clients. If you’ve been doing it yourself, you know it is a much bigger job than just issuing checks.Outsourcing payroll

A payroll company handles all of the details to get employees paid. This typically includes check processing, direct deposit, W-2 and 1099 processing. They may also help manage employee benefits and other HR functions. But, where a business may find the most value in outsourcing payroll is in tax administration services.

Tax administration is an important part of the payroll process that many small business owners find difficult to manage on their own.

There are monthly, quarterly and annual deadlines for payment and reporting. Keeping track of those while you are trying to run a business can be overwhelming.  Also, regulations change on a frequent basis. It all makes a great case for payroll outsourcing.

Payroll Outsourcing Pricing

Pricing varies depending on the size of your business and the services that you need. It’s common for services to charge a flat monthly fee plus a per employee fee. Entrepreneur.com reports that basic payroll service pricing ranges from $.80 to $2.00 per check plus a base fee. Many companies will provide a free quote customized to your business’ needs.

So, is payroll outsourcing a good solution for your business?

If you need to focus on other areas of your business, payroll outsourcing seems like an inexpensive option.

Very few people go into business for the fun of payroll administration. By outsourcing payroll to a trusted provider, you can get back the precious resource of time. That allows you to put your energy into the areas of your business that need your attention. It also grants you peace of mind that your payroll administration is being done right.

Related: Knowing When To Outsource

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Five Ways to Make Working from Home Work

Where do you office? If you’re like a number of Americans (myself included), you are working from home. Home is where the heart is and when it comes to building a business, it can also be a low-cost place to launch. Whether it’s a corner of the kitchen table or a spare bedroom, there’s really no better place to get your ideas on paper, and name out to prospective clients or customers.

According to The State of the Remote Job Marketplace report, there are now 3.9 million Americans or 2.9% of the total US workforce who are working from home at least half the time.This number represents a 115 percent increase from 2005 when this group included only 1.8 million. The report not only looked at the growing pool of freelancers and budding entrepreneurs, but also remote workers for a number of small businesses and large corporations. In fact, researchers suggest that the entire labor force ecosystem is being influenced by remote/freelance workers.

Making Working From Home Work For You

Discipline – The first thing you need to keep in mind when deciding to work at home is that it takes discipline. Trust me. When people find out that I work at home the first thing they ask me is how I get anything done. My answer is always the same, I like living IN a house, so I work every day so I can pay for said house. It’s just like punching the clock for anyone else – you have to have starting times AND ending times, and you have focus in between.

Boundaries – While you may feel disciplined to do the work in front of you, if you make the jump to full-time working from home, your friends and family will treat you like you’re on a permanent vacation. They will call, or even stop by, and have questions, requests, or invitations for a fun filled day. The boundaries have to be set, and you have to define working hours and the expectations you not only have for yourself, but for those around you.

Schedule Wisely – Sure, you can still meet a friend for lunch on occasion, but anything beyond that should be handled just like it would if you were still punching a clock. It’s also a good idea to schedule any non-work-related appointments (i.e. doctor, dentist or vet appointments) for the early morning or late afternoon, to prevent lost time and productivity. Even client or customer appointment should be stacked. Personally, I pick a day each week and do my very best to schedule any and all work and non-work-related appointments on that day.

Support – When you’re working from home it’s important to build a community, just like you used to have at the office, there are thousands of other women, just like you, who are building their dreams from the spare bedroom. Find them, connect with them, and shoot them a text, or a phone call. Whether it’s a quick chat or a monthly meetup for a glass of wine, having a community of like-minded women will help you stay focused and on track.

Take Care of Yourself – Believe it or not, it’s a good idea to get dressed and show up at your home office desk. Getting dressed reminds everyone, especially you, that you are actually working. It’s also important to get up and get moving. Set a timer and step away from your desk and walk around. When you’re working at home, you no longer have a parking lot to navigate, an office to move through, or copiers down the hall. The walk between your coffee pot and your desk is not enough.

While working at home can be a struggle at first, once you get into your rhythm there’s nothing like it. You have freedom, flexibility, autonomy, and you don’t have to ask for anyone’s permission to take a break and walk your dog.

Related: Battling The Home-Based Business Blues

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