Business Organization: From Chaos to Structure in 5 Easy Steps

When you are first starting out in your business you do what works. As time marches on, things grow and if your processes don't the amount of time you are investing will only grow too. You may find yourself asking how do I organize my business. Below are five easy steps that I have put together for the request I get a lot... "Help Me Organize My Business" Your business should be a machine. Every step of the way should be an optimized process that enables business, not disables it. When you are disorganized you are saying to your team that it is ok for them to be disorganized. Disorganization creates chaos and inefficiencies that will add up to be more costly than most will ever realize. Increasing your cost of doing business and competing in your marketplace. It is easy to start to feel buried by your business when you are left guessing while searching through the disorganization. It can be an early warning sign that as your business grows it will only get worse and the weight of not knowing will become heavier. This is why I always say that you need to build your business for your lifestyle and not your lifestyle for your business. By being more organized you are giving yourself the opportunity to save time. By saving time you are enabling yourself to make more money. Money, when viewed and used as a tool, can create more time for you to focus on working on your business rather than in your business. Having quick access to information in your business allows you to know what is going on at a moment's notice. You are left guessing and searching. Guessing will lead to panic and feeling defeated. Let's get past feeling defeated and panicked and go over the 5 steps on how to "organize my business". #1 Start Today Nothing will ever change if you are not willing to start today. This step can mean many different things to many different owners. Starting today could mean committing to the idea that you have to get more organized if you ever want to grow further. Maybe growth isn't why you are trying to "organize my business". It could be that you are tired and frustrated with the way the business operates and eats up your time, energy, and resources. All of the above reasons and more are legitimate reasons to want to organize your business and are all the more reason to start today! #2 Ask LOTS of Questions Gathering your team together to discuss the current challenges in your business can be difficult. You need to give your team space to safely and confidently discuss the current situation the way they see and feel it. You may have tried to accomplish this in the past, but if the information ultimately led to no changes your team may be skeptical. This time will be different because I want you to check your ego at the door and come to the table with your team, with an open mind. In some cases, this may be a good time to bring in an outside consultant to act as a moderate to dig deep into the root of the problems. Sometimes we can find ourselves too close to a situation to see the big picture. Listen to the answers and responses. They can help you arrive where you want to go, organization. #3 Set Goals and Expectations Organize the solutions that you have come up with in step two into three categories of implementation. Short Term (Now - 3 months) Medium Term (3 - 6 months) Long-Term (6 - 12 months) This will enable you to build a pipeline for the changes that you are going to be looking to make with expectations and goals set. #4 Start Small Disappointment will come easily if you don't start small and piece out your bigger goals into smaller goals. Especially when you are getting started it is important to have some easy wins for both you and your team. Working on the smaller pieces of your big goals will also help you and your team gain focus on the big picture and stay focused going forward. #5 Always Reevaluate As you lead your team for the months to come,