There are two main reasons why you, or at least I want to stay as organised as possible from the get go. One is to preserve my sanity and two is to help massively reduce the risk of money slipping through my fingers. I have friends who have recently started a small business and have not been as organised as I am and they seem to be doing perfectly fine, but I am a 'worst case scenario' type of gal. I like to know that if something was to happen or mistakes were made, there's a clear record of everything that has been done. This way things can get sorted quickly and there's a lot less to stress about.
The first thing I did when setting up the business is create to-do lists. I sectioned these lists into four groups, or 'stages'. I titled them appropriately and made a short description of what each group was for to ensure I was putting the correct tasks in each list. I'll explain. The lists included;
- Stage one - 'foundation' - before you can say you have a business
This list involved all the things that need to be completed before a business can even be run. They included setting up a business account, sourcing funding, buying a laptop ect.
- Stage two - 'production' - Before you can begin producing any stock
This listed all the things I would need to have ready before I can begin printing my products. It included everything I would have to source and booking in time to create collection ideas.
- Stage three - 'trade' - before i can begin trading
This list like the rest does what is says on the tin. It included having a logo ready, making sure all legal was covered (public liability ect.)
- Stage four - 'final prep' - work hard, hope for the best and congratulations.
This list is for when everything is complete and all that's left to do is make money and be successful. This list included creating rhythm and routine calendars to ensure i am making the best out of each day and networking. Currently I am on stage three.
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The next thing i done was organised my desk top and PC in general. I make sure any work is saved in specific locations so that they are easy to find. I keep personal images and files separate from anything relating to the business. And of course I make sure that my desktops background has my companies logo. It seems like such a minor thing but it really will help reinforce you into 'work-mode'
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So next and most importantly was organizing my budget. This is the one part of this post which i would encourage everyone to do or you will lose track of your outgoings and live to regret not being more organised. So to do this I simply created a spreadsheet in excel. I split the table into three sections.
- Things that i need to buy to run the business
- Things that i need to buy to print the stock
- Personal expenses that i need to successfully run the business. e.g. a car.
I then created a column beside each thing that needs to be purchased. I use this column to highlight whether or not this purchase has been made as you will see in the image below. Red means it has been fully paid for, orange means it has been partially paid for, green means that it is ready to be paid for (e.g. the item is in eBay basket awaiting payment) and yellow means it hasn't been paid for.
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You don't have to be good at making spreadsheets!
Excel has been a lifesaver. There are bucket loads of templates free from excel that you can use to organise any information you have. Simply open excel, then you want to go to file> new. And you will be taken to this window. (I am using a 2010 version of excel in-case yours looks different)
Under 'office.com templates' you click the option that is most appropriate for you. For creating lists select 'lists and to-do checklists'> business lists> and then the one that I find the most simple is 'to-do list' however you have an option of others if you prefer. Your Mac or PC will take a second or two to download the template then you can use it and save it easy peasy. Go to 'format as table' to change the color scheme, if it bothers you as much as it does me.
OK, so now you're all mostly organised. You want to make sure you have a backup system in place. Whether you are backing up on USB... dropbox, just make sure you are! So that's the technical side of staying organised. Next you want to make sure all your physical letters and paperwork are well organised. The simplest way to to this is grab a bunch of plastic folders and some white labels, and file everything away accordingly. Make sure you are keeping your personal letters separate from your business. And where necessary, make photocopies.
Well that's all folks! I hope this post was helpful and not confusing. Any questions feel free to ask and as always....until next time? x
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