Organize your small business in 4 steps
<p>Do you ever feel like you’re going crazy, running in all directions and wasting time left and right, all in one day? Sure, being a freelancer has some great advantages, but sometimes, you can feel overwhelmed, especially if you’re working alone. There are just so many things to do, and unfortunately, you get the same number of hours in a day as everybody else.</p>
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<h3><strong>1. Organize your schedule</strong></h3>
<p>It’s time to get organized, and it starts with your schedule. It’s way easier to be effective if you have an established schedule and as a freelancer, you have the opportunity to create your schedule yourself. For example, you could choose to make cold calls every day from 9 to 10, or to manage all daily orders around 5 pm. Every Friday afternoon could be free, to give you some time to write blog articles or to prepare your monthly newsletter. These are all examples, but it’s to show you how effective a schedule can be. </p>
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<h3><strong>2. Organize your marketing efforts</strong></h3>
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<li><strong>Choose your social media outlets</strong>: Before posting on all social media, you should decide which one you want to put most of your focus on. Not all social media are good for all business. For example, your photography business should ideally have a website, a Facebook page and an Instagram, to showcase your best pictures.</li>
<li><strong>Prepare an editorial calendar:</strong> What, when, where? If you have an editorial calendar, you will be much more effective when the time comes to post online. Give yourself a few hours each month to plan your posts of most of your media outlets. Of course, you should leave out some blank spaces: you never know when you will have an awesome post idea!</li>
<li><strong>Write down your marketing objectives:</strong> When you are preparing your editorial calendar, you should also write down your marketing objectives for the month. It is said that writing down your goals will motivate you even more to achieve them! it could be really simple goals, such as:
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<li><strong><em></em></strong><em>Make 50 new cold calls</em></li>
<li><em>Interview a guest blogger</em></li>
<li><em>Find 5 free ways to promote my business</em></li>
<li><em>Plan a $50 budget to sponsor Facebook posts</em></li>
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<h3><strong>3. Organize your work space</strong></h3>
<p>Cleaning your workspace may not be on your to-do list, but it should be! Did you know that having an organized work space will not only increase your productivity, but will also reduce your stress level. Having a cluttered desk will actually give you more anxiety, as you will think about multiple things at a time. it’s therefore the time to get rid of that pile of paper you’ve been stacking on the corner of your desk. Make room for creativity!</p>
<p>A more organized work space will make you feel like you have it together, thus you will work more efficiently. This also works for your computer! Make some room for your next projects by deleting all clutter and dividing your documents into folders.</p>
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<h3><strong>4. Organize your finances</strong></h3>
<p>Accounting usually isn’t the favorite part of freelancing for anybody, but it’s something that has to be done. If, from the beginning, you organize all your finances, you will see that it’s actually much easier than you think and it won’t leave you with a huge headache at the end of the year.</p>
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<p><strong>Get to budgeting</strong>: Making a budget is a great way to keep yourself accountable for all the money that is going in/out of your company.</p>
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<p><strong>Organize your invoices</strong>: Keep your invoices in separate categories: to send, sent, received, paid, etc. With <a href="https://www.momenteo.com/" target="_blank">Momenteo</a>, all of your invoices will be organized so you will never forget to get paid!</p>
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<p><strong>Used a cloud-based system to store all data:</strong> <a href="https://www.momenteo.com/" target="_blank">Momenteo</a> will save all of your information in a secure cloud-based system, so you don’t have to worry about your information being safe.</p>
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<h3><strong>Bonus! Become a master at time management!</strong></h3>
<p>As a freelancer, you should be able to manage your time efficiently. Of course, you still have 24 hours in a day, but if you feel like you have so much more to get done in the same amount of hours, here are some tips that will help you get more done in less time!</p>
<p><strong>Pomodoro technique: </strong>The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. This is great because it makes you focus on your task for a short period of time and then you can take a break! It is said to be very efficient.</p>
<p><strong>Make lists: </strong>A classic. Create daily, weekly and even monthly to-do lists, and never forget about something you have to do again! A great tip is to put what you dread the most first, and get rid of it as soon as you can. Checking the elements off your list will be more satisfying than you think.</p>
<p><strong>So, what are you waiting for? It's time to get organized!</strong></p>
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