sjsmith.com.au - blog

Cleaning up

Business Spring Cleaning

Now that July is over and all of the end of financial year jobs are done (in Australia anyway), it's the time of year when I start to get that feeling of needing to have a good clean out.  As well as archiving and tax returns there's a lot of analysing and planning to do.

August is the perfect time to look not just how you ran things in the last financial year but, how you ran things full stop.  Of course it's important to run the numbers.  How were your sales, your outgoings and your profits?  Where they more or less than over the same period the year before.  Did you have any major unforeseen expenditure?  Do you need to adjust your cashflow budgets for the coming year?  Can you give yourself a pay rise going forward?

Besides the number crunching you need to break things down and look at where your money was coming from. What products or services did well?  What did not? Can you capitalise on some of the successes for the year as you move forward?  It's also worth looking at where your customers were coming from.  Was it word of mouth or social media?  Did you get any referrals or repeat customers?  Take an inventory of your social media stats and compare them to a year ago.  Has your following grown or shrunk and on what platforms?   Do you need to adjust the time you spend and the type of content that you are devoting to social media and marketing?

Now it is important to do this health check and to spend some time analysing what worked and what didn't but, don't forget to include a health check for yourself in the business.  Did you have fun in the last year?  Who were the stand out contacts you made? What was the thing you achieved that gave you the most satisfaction? What or who did you find really inspiring? How can you do more of what lights you up?

Finally, are you still energised in your business? Do you need to allow for more breaks? Is your work environment stimulating and productive? Taking the time to do a spring clean not only gives you a clear idea about where you are now but can provide valuable insights into how you need to move forward. Having some clear air for the next year is a good, healthy thing for any business.  Now take a deep breath!

Till next time,

Sarah-Jane X