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Getting Organized (An Entrepreneurs Dream)

Written by: Michelle Moore

Article Overview: Finding ways to organize our tasks and our surroundings is foremost on the minds of multi-tasking entrepreneurs. Organization and Time management are necessary aspects of doing business; and yet businesses often need a little push to get on the right track! SCORE offers a few tips.

Getting Organized (An Entrepreneurs Dream)

It was 2009. I stopped having to search for invoices. I found important documents the first time I looked for them. My new paper management system was saving me hours and hours of time. No longer was my email inbox an electronic nightmare blob waiting to absorb everything in its path and growing larger and larger. My files weren't in hiding. A streamlined office saved my sanity. I was more productive. My tax filing was never late. My customer response time was up and paper volume was down. Then I woke up.

Entrepreneurs face many challenges. Among them are the need for organization and time management
skills. Like hundreds of business owners, I dream of putting the tools and processes in place for a more organized and productive lifestyle. But statistically speaking, there is some sobering news: Some Organizing experts say that close to a month of work time (8 hr days x 20) - basically 160 hours a year are spent looking for documents and information. It's not only the loss in productivity that is aggravating, but the frustration of knowing you have that phone number or address, that important file, that special marker, etc., somewhere! New entrepreneurs can be especially overwhelmed with all the recordkeeping requirements to keep their businesses running smoothly.

Thus comes a fundamental question for eager entrepreneurs the world over: Can more income result from investing in organization (i.e., can you make you make more money from being organized)? Next, how can I reclaim (and savor) my space?

Organizing gurus like Janet Taylor (owner of Totally Organized) helps put the matter of organization into perspective. Getting organized, she says, does result in more time and money. "Keeping track of leads (for more timely follow up) and staying on top of details of a client's project (knowing who and when to call vendors, for example) can create more income." How nice it would be if Reorder reminders were mailed to customers, letting them know you're thinking of them and don't want them running out of whatever it is they may need - like pens or calendars. A tickler file of some sort might help keep up with this money-making task. Sometimes vendors(like some of mine) will offer to do this for you. Anticipating client needs is a sure way of adding to your bottom line!

By creating an organized environment, busy business owners allow their space to support them - instead of working against them. One way to gain control of document messes is to start by determining if action is required when that piece of paper pops onto your desk. How about identifying a specific use for that file folder, basket or in box. Perhaps the hardest one for me is deciding the true usefulness of that article, catalog or marketing media. I have the all too common "someday I'll need" syndrome. Of course, tax and/or legal considerations make organizing especially important for the business owner. Keeping good records are essential and can save you money.

Another benefit to an organized office includes a better frame of mind. No one wants to tackle tasks in an environment where chaos rules! It can be toxic to our attitude and our bottom line.

Yes, it takes organization to create more time to focus on what’s most important to your business.
SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” offers five ways to better organize your daily workload:

1. Invest Time Wisely
Spend time on what you do best, whether it’s serving clients, generating sales or setting long-term strategies.
Allocate 60 to 70 percent of your time to tasks that have the most impact on your business. Create a daily plan and follow it. When contacting people, leave detailed voice and email messages that state exactly what you need, so the person will be prepared with the information when they respond to you.

2. Annually Update Financial & Tax Files
Purge last year’s files from your office area and place them in storage. This will make room for this year’s important documents and receipts that may require more immediate access. Files that you do not use anymore, but may need in the future, are best stored in file boxes. Keep your tax returns and supporting records for six years. File boxes can be stored on shelves, in a closet or at an off-site storage center. Organize your files by color-coding, alphabetically, or by type of file.

3. Make Sense of Online File Folders
Organize the files on your work computer and shared drive to match the structure of your business for easy access by you and your staff. Name your online folders with headings such as marketing, sales and customer service.
You may want file folders specifically for real estate, leases, and equipment. Make information easy to find by clearly naming files, saving files to appropriate folders and creating shortcuts on your desktop.

4. Manage Incoming Mail & Email Contacts
Set aside a specific time of day to sort your inbox. Throw away junk mail, forward mail to the appropriate people when necessary, open and separate the rest of the mail, and file it when appropriate. And, set periodic times to read and respond to email. Concentrate your time on leading the business and serving customers. Establish a routine for these routine tasks, so they don’t waste your valuable time.

5. Clear Your Desk
An uncluttered desk sends a message to you and your team that you are focused on the most important
business at hand. Throw away items you don’t use, and keep only the supplies you regularly use on your desk. Use letter trays and file sorters to avoid piles. Clear out your desk drawers and designate a purpose for each one.

(To learn more about these and other tips for business success, visit the SCORE Small Business Web
Site at www.score.org)

I'm sure I speak for every entrepreneur and business owner when I say that it is easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to selling, marketing, setting up and managing accounts, sending out invoices, filing taxes, and so on. Organization tools can be welcomed gifts. Organizational seminars can range from the reasonable to the ridiculous, monetarily speaking. Maybe you might think to add one to a list of possible supportive gestures for your favorite disorganized business person. In case you didn't know, there are associations of Professional Organizers (napo.net) just for this purpose. Whether you choose to give a seminar*, a trade organization membership, bookkeeping software, or something else, make sure it's something they can and will use to get and stay organized!

*Teleseminars can be inexpensive and are readily accessible.
Check out ones like: http://www.taylorintime.com/timemyths


Finally, a song about The Way We Were (Disorganized) . . .


Scattered papers
Fill the corners of my room,
Spreading chaos and confusion
Until I just can't move.

Stacks of paper
And documents no one can find;
Piling up and all around us
Until we want to hide.

Can it be life could be much simpler
If we didn't have to search
for all those misplaced files.

What we thought we'd need forever -
Tell me, did we?
Could we . . .
Organize, getting more time than we knew
Doing what we really have to . . .

So it's disaster
When write-offs we can't remember
Whenever we must surrender
Those tax returns.

If your time matters
Remove all the clutter.
Be the way you dream.



Michelle S. Moore (The AMPlady)

Sooner or later productivity will be your priority.

Related Articles
  Successful Entrepreneurs - 3 Must Have Characteristics
  Row Sow Tow Your Boat
  The Entrepreneur As Dreamer
  “Twelve Major Benefits For Being Well Organized, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  The Art of Passion

Article Tags: blob, business owners, customer response time, eager entrepreneurs, email inbox, fundamental question, gurus, invoices, janet taylor, paper management, paper volume, productive lifestyle, recordkeeping requirements, reminders, sanity, staying on top, tax filing, time and money, time management skills, work time



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