During the first quarter of the year, businesses usually start to figure out what’s working and what isn’t, what goals have been met, and which haven’t yet. Perhaps a project started in the first few weeks of the year has yet to gain traction, or a marketing campaign launched around the end of January did not yield the results you expected.
Whatever the situation may be, now is the time for your internet business to undergo some “spring cleaning.” Whether it’s a complete overhaul of your marketing approach or a review of your SOPs, these and other actions could be excellent ways to re-energize your online business as we enter the second half of the year.
Below, ten members of the Young Entrepreneur Council discuss what they recommend you do to “spring clean” your operations and the impact it will have on the rest of the year.
Members of the Younger Entrepreneur Council offer ways to “spring clean” your online business this year.
Photographs courtesy of the individuals.
1. Evaluate The Effectiveness Of Automated Processes
Examine all of your monthly expenses and eliminate any that aren’t necessary or aren’t providing adequate value. In addition, examine automated procedures to ensure that they are still functioning properly. This includes operational procedures, marketing automation, and sales automation, among other things. Because each broken process might result in lost time and/or money, all automations should be checked at least yearly. — MattressInsider.com’s Jonathan Prichard
2. Arrange for your accounting classes to begin.
Companies should take the time to organize their accounting classes to better determine which price and revenue facilities align and drive the highest margin. The first week of the year made certain that our new service lines and service pricing facilities had the same part for revenue, wage-price classes, and value of products purchased, similar to a software program to automate our jobs. Rainfactory’s Kaitlyn Witman
3. Evaluate your standard operating procedures and coaching materials.
Within the office, there has been a significant change. It is only logical to replace company-wide training regularly. By fine-tuning your company’s training rules, you’re readjusting your employees’ protocols to manage impending tasks and implementing methods that will make it easier to adapt to the current work environment. — Casely, Inc.’s Emily Stallings
4. Reconsider your vendor relationships
Renewals are often a waste of resources for businesses, and charges will rise with distributors who do not always have their best interests. Every year, you must evaluate your vendor relationships to determine which ones to keep, which ones to cancel, and which ones to renegotiate. Amerisleep Mattress’ Firas Kittaneh
5. Get rid of your credit card
You’ll almost certainly be overpaying for services you no longer require. Canceling your bank card will force you to examine which providers you should continue to pay for and to whom you should switch your new card information. This forces you to think more deeply about your operations and processes, allowing you to be more practical. Chiropractic Advertising, Bryan Citrin
6. Make a list of five key questions to ask yourself.
When you’re a business owner, a lot can go stale—your goals, requirements, operations, employee motivation and company, customer relationships, marketing, product ideas, etc. So, ask yourself this question: Did I achieve the goals I established for the previous year? Am I on track to meet my intermediate and long-term goals? How valuable are the goals I’ve set for myself? What am I supposed to do with them? How do I put these into action? – OneIMS’ Samuel Thimothy
7. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Evaluation and Discussion
The proper management of your employees is critical to your success. Many business owners fail to use KPIs to fire, hire, and promote their employees or even to set and monitor them in the first place. I advocate starting a spring cleaning by analyzing employees’ current work and then linking their roles and responsibilities with a quantitative indicator. Ensure that everything is well-communicated, documented, and tracked. Dietitian Boss Libby Rothschild
8. Arrange your books to see where you might be able to save money.
Every company’s books should be thoroughly cleaned. Take the time to prepare your books, review your accounts, and digitize as much as possible. Make sure your personal and professional accounts are kept separate. Determine where you overspend. Additionally, look for areas where you may invest money to help your internet business grow. Consult with tax and financial professionals to see where you may save money. — United Capital Source Inc.’s Jared Weitz
9. Get Rid of Any Subscriptions That Aren’t Being Used
You may prepare your online business for the coming year by canceling any subscriptions you aren’t using and merging your SaaS products where possible. There are usually various options for streamlining your workflows during this process. You might find that taking this step saves you money and time while also increasing your productivity. — SeedProd LLC’s John Turner
10. Examine Your Checklist for Shoppers
Every year, every business, particularly professional service businesses, should evaluate their customers. This analysis should look at the profitability of each customer, but it should also look at customers to see whether they match your values and are a part of your strategic goals. If the shopper does not agree with you on one of these three high-level issues, you should consider moving on. — to Protea Financial’s Zane Stevens.
