Have Your Business Blooming this Spring

Thu, 1 Sep 11

The Spring is here! And that means it's Spring Cleaning time again. Many households make it a priority to renew and refresh their homes at the beginning of the Spring. We believe this way of thinking should be applied to your business as well. Check out these steps from Paul Spiegelman in Entrepreneur to refresh the physical and systematic aspects of your business, so that your business will grow and bloom through the Spring - setting you up for a fantastic end of year result!

1. Clear out the clutter.
   Think about business activities that no longer add value to your organization. If products or services have outlived market demand, sweep them out. It may be a difficult decision, but clear the clutter and focus your business energy on what will be hot in the coming quarters.
   Take a quick inventory of the emotional baggage at work, too. There may be some things among your employees and colleagues that need to be dealt with for growth to occur. If mistakes have been made or goals haven't been met, one of the best ways to facilitate a fresh start is with discussion. Consider how long it has been since you had team performance reviews, or just chatted to your team about where they are at and how they are doing.
2. Hire some help.
   If you're committed to a thorough cleaning, you may want to call in expert help to make sure nothing is overlooked. It's not unusual for people to hire housekeepers, tree-trimmers, landscapers and other service providers to enhance spring cleaning. In the business world, it's a good idea to bring in an objective third party to identify organizational clutter; hire an expert who has done the same for other companies. This may be for a certain area of the business, or for a complete business audit.
3. Repurpose things.
   Martha Stewart is an entrepreneur who has made a living out of turning old hats into centerpieces and broken chairs into plant holders. Apply this type of thinking to your employees. Some of them might be happier and more useful if you thought of a different way to leverage their talents.
4. Dust off your mission statement.
   Evaluate whether your mission and vision still match your company's strategic goals given how much the markets have changed.
5. Refresh your colors.
   There are dozens (seems like hundreds) of home design shows on TV, and most recommend repainting rooms to give them new appeal. Maybe your brand could use a new look to give it a fresh appeal to customers. Don't misunderstand--a brand is more than colors, shapes and logos. It represents your company's value proposition and the expectations customers have when they encounter your company. However, if your company has begun to serve new markets in new ways, maybe it's time to modernize the company's brand.
6. Sharpen your tools.
   Lots of folks invade the garage in the spring to inspect the tools they use outdoors, and they usually find that the tools need sharpening. Spring may also be a good time for employees to review and sharpen their skills or learn new ones to improve work efficiency to last the rest of the year.
7. Plant new flowers.
   With college graduation around the corner and an increasing number of businesses hiring again, think about how you can make your company more appealing to the best young job seekers entering the market. Of course, this is also important for attracting new clients. The market is saturated with other small businesses competing for potential clients so now is the time to plant new seed by trialling new channels for finding and communicating with these potentials.
8. Post a "pardon the dust" sign.
   Anytime you start poking around the organization to improve it, employees will get nervous, especially in today's economy. If your purpose in auditing the business's operations is not to trim staff, reassure employees at the beginning of the process that you are on a mission to improve efficiency, not payroll. Then roll up your sleeves.

These are just the beginning of ways you can spring clean your business. There are literally hundreds of ways you can review and refresh your current activity, an there is always room for improvement. Remember, you're either green and growing or ripe and rotting!

What other ways can you think of to give your business a good clean?

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