How organized are you really? It’s a shot in the dark, but it could be 50/50? You tell me! To-do lists get pushed aside and critical time is wasted because your business lacks management. Trust me, I know, I have to go running for a pen every day. Time adds up after five seconds.
It’s an easy decision, but getting in the habit of good organizational skills can make or break your business. Wanna save time, want to reduce stress, want those clients coming back?
While reading this post, you’ll learn:
How organization will save you time and money
Why organization is better for client service
Why an organized workspace reduces stress
Why it's beneficial to outsource
Organization Saves Time and Money
Imagine walking into the office in the morning to see a stack of paperwork from the previous night. You know you have a busy day ahead of you. As a result, your day may become chaotic and disorganized. Lack of organization in the workplace is costly in terms of both time and money.
Time, because you wasted a good portion of your morning fixing problems that should have been avoided in the first place the night before. Before you leave the office, make sure your workspace is cleaned and ready for the next day.
Money, because you’re wasting valuable time. A meeting is scheduled but you can’t seem to locate the correct documents. Or a client walks into your store, saying you’re ready for the day but in reality everything is out of place.
Trust me, I get it. By the end of the day, we are ready to go home and just deal with it in the morning. But you are going to deal with consequences that’s going to cost you time and money.
This is going to help both you and your clients, having an organized system. The goal here is to find a system that works for you, to implement it, communicate with your team members (if you have them) and not have to make things difficult.
Organization for Great Client Service
Can you imagine: A client calls or comes into your office to place an order or make an appointment (mind you they’ve already been there) and you can’t find their information. How would they feel? NOT SATISFIED, NOT IMPORTANT.
Or
New client comes into your space: They ask you questions about a product or service and you can’t give them information. We get busy or might not know something off the top of our head (It’s ok if you don’t) but have something in front of you with information.
I have called businesses to ask a question. Come to find out, they didn't know anything and trust me; I get it, they might be new or don’t have an answer but to put me on hold for ages that’s not ok.
I can go on and on about client service but I can save it for another day.
What I am trying to get at is you, as the business owner, should have all organized.
Creating a system where you can have all the information so when that client does come in, you’re able to pull up their information with no problem and I’m telling ya, they, the client, appreciate it more than you know.
Reduce Stress by Organizing the Chaos
Raise your hand if you want a stress-free zone? Yup, I’m right there with ya.
The emotional toll working in a chaotic workplace has consequences. Close your eyes and imagine going to work, entering a stress-free zone, where everything has its place. Oh my, you can find anything and everything. I bet you’d love that.
Now, for some reason, things are out of place. Consider organizing to feel at ease.
Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant
Remember above when I was saying the goal was to find a system that works for you? Part of that could mean outsourcing. I know I know, this term gets thrown around a lot!
“Outsource this task or outsource this blog, etc.” But what does this really mean? Imagine your business is exploding with growth, it may be you or you and an employee but the time has come when you know you need help. It's not in the budget to hire someone full time ($50,000 + yearly).
You’ve been talking about it with your friends that you are looking for help and Jane over here says that she has hired a Virtual Assistant to help her stay on track and keep everything organized. She goes on to say that she only pays about $21,000 yearly and that the virtual assistant does full time work. Jane goes on to say, she's able to focus on other tasks so she's not worried about what's going on behind the scenes.
Not only will a virtual assistant cost less, they are there to help you stay on track and keep you organized.
Creating an Organizational System that works for You
Rather than forcing yourself to adopt a completely new workflow, look at what you already have. Consider experimenting with different and if they work, that's amazing; integrate them with your existing habits.
There is no single right way to keep your small business organized but there are plenty of tips and tricks you can incorporate into your workflow to keep you organized.
Keep everything in one place
Ask your clients how they would like to receive items such as
Docs
Paperwork they have signed
Spreadsheets
Etc
Clean your desk before you leave the office and make sure you have everything ready for the next day
Keep a physical calendar handy
Outsource
I'M TELLING YA RIGHT NOW, IF YOU HAVE ALL ORGANIZED YOU WILL FEEL MORE AT EASE + YOUR CLIENTS WILL COME BACK FOR MORE
Tools I use:
Google Workspace
Calendar
Docs
Sheets
Physical calendar
Asana - Project Management Tool
Reminder - These can be low cost to free. There's no need to spend a huge amount to stay organized!
Check out 9 Ways to Build Better Relationships with You Clients to learn why organization will help you build better relationships with clients!