Do you find yourself procrastinating around what you need to move the needle for your business?
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Putting funds aside each month for GST at the end of the quarter
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Spending an hour a week doing invoicing or perhaps chasing payments
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Updating your cash flow forecasting for the month
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Checking your budget for the past month to see whether you’ve kept under your targets for expenses
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Calling a client one a quarter for a check-in
One of the very best things I implemented into my business in the early years was a workflow program.
Some are free, some have a monthly subscription. I started with Asana as it was free and was a great entry point until my budget allowed me to implement a more sophisticated program
Everything I need to do goes into my workflow program. Literally everything. That allows me to clear my head of anything I need to remember and get on with working with a clean slate in my brain every morning. I include the one-off tasks right up to the more complex ones, some of which are repeating tasks.
All of my recurring/repeating tasks are easy to manage as I can make each task recur on a certain date, or perhaps every second Monday of the month, as an example. Even the simplest of tasks like paying the electricity bill – I put that as a recurring task in my program takes the stress out of remembering to pay it on time!
I also colour code tasks to make them easier to read and find at a quick glance.
Once I became used to using the system, I stepped out and got brave and start putting in links to documents, videos and create my own checklists for tasks. Even in the early days as a solo-preneur, I created step by step checklists for everything I do with how-to videos. Getting stuff out of my head and onto a system was a fabulous long term investment in my business – it enabled me to be ready for business growth. The ease of bringing others in to take over tasks was priceless (and incredibly time saving). The business no longer relied on me for everything.
I created Loom videos (a brilliant, budget friendly piece of tech that has been a game-changer in my business) – which I use for training new staff. Its such a time saver and the new team member can learn at their own pace, allowing me to get on with my work. So many people prefer self-paced learning so it’s a win-win.
Being ready for business growth and being proactive with checklists makes life so much easier when you take on a team, even when it’s just your first employee. It’s so much harder to implement when you’re bringing on a new person and madly trying to get out of your head how you do what you do and putting it into a checklist.
The workflow program gives you a work “list” each day so nothing is ever forgotten.
There are a few out there in the market and I encourage you, if you don’t already have a workflow program, to check them out. Ask your associates what they use – do your homework as it’s not always a one size fits all.
monday.com | Your go-to work platform , Asana, Clickup are some of the popular ones.
If you want to stop relying on your memory and free up a few brain cells for more important tasks, I encourage you to consider implementing a workflow program into your business.
Supporting you in your business success
Karen Whitely
Educating & empowering small business for long term profitability
61 482 080 430