One of the most difficult things when building your own business is to get organized: Certain tasks come very easy to most of us, but others are just painful to even think about.
Especially in the start-up phase, it is crucial to overcome the adversity that you are experiencing towards the uncomfortable areas of doing business. Creating an organizational strategy is key and will provide comfort and structure. And I am not just talking about writing a business plan and creating a value proposition. I mean the small in / out folder structure on your computer, a filing system for your incoming invoices, a planner, and maybe even a post-it structure that helps you navigate through the outstanding projects.
Creating a surrounding that makes you feel comfortable while building your business is a key element to your success because building a business is not only about skills, grit and having the right idea, it is also about being able to motivate yourself on a daily basis to get up and get going. It is about being able to push through difficult situations and decisions while staying inspired and motivated. Entrepreneurship is not an easy path: It does come with many rewards, but also with many unexpected situations. And it is very much an emotional roller coaster that you need to be able to control and have mechanisms in place that will allow you to take a step back and recharge.
Many business owners don’t succeed because of small things. Having an emotional organizational structure can help you to avoid situations that will force you to make decisions that can jeopardize your success. A solid structure is what helps you to grow strong roots that even when the tree breaks it can regrow new branches.
How do you set up a structure that makes you feel secure and grounded?
One of the techniques that I like to use with my clients and myself is to make a list of all the things that I don’t like to do in my own business. This list has become a major lifesaver especially because I have so many ideas and can get easily distracted from the tasks that I don’t want to do or the things that I don’t feel comfortable with.
The second question that I ask is how does this task make you feel? That can range anywhere from bored, insecure or even stupid. Usually, we don’t like to do certain because they evoke negative feelings in us. These negative feelings need to be changed into a positive experience.
The third step is to write down all the steps that need to be taken in order to complete each task successfully. My biggest struggle is managing emails. I am receiving way too many daily emails and it has become really difficult keeping up. Sometimes I feel annoyed and feel like it is a waste of time; So much so that I end up not checking my emails regularly as I should. (Oh and yes some great opportunities have slipped through my fingers because of that). I have to admit that I have worked with some unpleasant clients that made me cringe whenever I had to read their emails. Email checking created this feeling of discomfort and annoyance. The first thing that I did to overcome this issue was to acknowledge the feelings and make a list with what truly bugged me about it. This brought me to unsubscribe from all email newsletters. The second step that I took was to create an email folder for every client. This allowed me to read some emails at a later stage without having to scroll or search for an email. I have put aside a 60-minute daily window to respond to my emails; My email account looks now beautiful and less overwhelming.
I have created similar strategies for my invoices and bills, client folders, pitching ideas, blog posts and many other parts of my business.
The result: less anxiety and stress.
I was able to hand in my tax forms within 30 min and eliminated the need to pay a bookkeeper throughout the year. Gave me the ability to make choices that are not only aligned with my mission statement, but also with my emotional experience of my business.
The earlier you start with this exercise the earlier you will set yourself up for a positive relationship with arid topics such as bills, tax, laws, and scheduling your week in a structured matter.
Because success in business is not just a question of professionalism and skills, but also a healthy emotional and mental mindset.
One of my personal secret weapons to stay organized and happy is Bublup. It is kind of like Dropbox combined with Pinterest and so much more. It allows me to store not just files, but also website links, photos, notes and documents in one place. And I don’t know about you, but I will have notes on websites (that are important for a project) stored in one place, project documents in another place and project photos again somewhere else. Having one system that helps me to keep everything in one place makes me happy.
You have come to the right place if you would like to try out a new system of getting organized and have the need to make it visually beautiful. Just follow the link https://bublup.com/promo/kinga or visit bublup.com and enter the code Kinga for 100GB for free online storage.
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