Stay organized and keep moving
As with any project, whether it is staging or redesigning, you have to be organized. I can have busy days on some days and slow days on others. To keep my mind focused on my small business, I set up a schedule of things I want to tackle each day. There is a lot of care and feeding with any kind of business and home staging is no different. While I love to spend time with clients preparing their homes, you can’t let items fall through the cracks. In order to do this, I picked 1 or 2 things to work on each day. Below is my weekly schedule:
Monday – Blogging and setting up social media posts
Tuesday – Newsletter
Wednesday – Website updates
Thursday – Marketing/advertising
Friday – Writing
I found there are certain days that work better for me when it comes time to do a specific task. Friday mornings seem to be the best time when I get my inspiration to write an article or blog. All week I will read about different topics on social media and then Friday I sit down to expand on a topic or do some research.
On Monday nights, I prefer to post my blogs that I started on Friday or even started a week ago. I also spend time deciding what topics I want to tweet about that week and set that up using Buffer. It’s a great tool to use and post on all your social media at once. It keeps a schedule for me too so I know when I need to add more posts and stay organized.
Even though I write a monthly newsletter, I find it best to look at it once a week and decide what topics to cover next month. That way when the beginning of the month comes around, I am not rushing to put something out.
I am always tinkering with my website so I set aside a day for any updates. I created my website in WordPress which is challenging but rewarding. Sometimes I add pictures to my portfolio, add a new widget or learn something new on WordPress. Because I don’t have a web designer, I had to learn everything myself.
Finally on Thursday I review my marketing strategies, such as Google Adwords. I review the reports to see how well my ads are doing and tweak them if necessary. I brainstorm new ad campaigns too. I will also just do research on what other marketing avenues may help my business. If I have time to go to some open houses that weekend, I will look some up and decide which ones I want to visit. This helps me see what other houses look like and the different designs used in the area.
On the weekends if I visit an open house, I will ask the agents if they want to receive my free newsletter (which is another part of my marketing). This way they can get to know me and the services I can provide.
I found this sort of schedule helps me stay organized and keep my business moving. I am constantly learning new things. While the learning process may be painful, I have a sense of achievement. Obviously there are days when I can’t get to each task but I have a set schedule that keeps my business organized. What keeps your small business organized?