I want to be the boss! – Part 6

This is sixth in a series of blogs for those who want to start their own business.  By now you’re committed, you know what your financial situation is, you’ve started your savings cushion, you’ve proven that your business is feasible and you’ve got an idea on how you will spend your time.  Congratulations!

Step 7:  Answer these questions:  Do you have organization systems set in place to support you?  Have you thought about keeping things rolling?  Do you have automatic systems and a rhythm to ensure you’re not going to have an avalanche of paper at the end of each week?  Will you outsource or do it yourself?

Tip 1:  Take some time to set things up.  Start with a good filing system.  As paper and emails come into your office set up files – electronic or paper – or both, to organize your business.  Here’s a sample of what you’ll want to set up.

Current project files:  These may be client files or product/service files.  As items come in pertaining to a particular area, you’ll have a place to put them.

Bills to be paid:  As you receive bills, put them in this file.  I process these once a week, on Monday mornings.

Tax information:  A place to keep those receipts for tax time.

Follow up:  A place to keep anything you have to follow up on.  Make sure you schedule a regular time to look at this file each week so you don’t miss anything.

Business receipts:  As you buy things for your business you’ll need a place to put any receipts that you might need to refer to.

Tip 2:  Get a good accounting software package if you’re going to do your own accounting.  Or find a good accountant and setup a system for how you will work with the accountant.

Tip 3:  Before your week begins take some time to plan it out.  Look through your calendar to see what meetings you might have set.  Send out reminders for those meetings.  Each week include some administration time to pay bills, file papers, record receipts, etc.

Sub-tip:  Plan 50 to 75% of how you will spend your time each week.  Over scheduling can cause you frustration and overwhelm.  Be careful to add time between meetings, in case something might run over.  Allow for travel time.  Set a daily goal – one item that you’ll want to work on or accomplish that day.

My wish for you is that you’ve gotten clear about moving forward and creating a plan for your transition.  I hope this blog series will help you optimize the start of your business.  Please contact me if I can be of any help.

Post any questions you might have below.

To print this or any other post, click the first icon in Share the Knowledge below.