3 Simple things you can do to streamline your online business
This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links (at no cost to you!)
Streamlining is all about creating speed and ease of movement—one of my favorite things in life.
For your online business, this means eliminating or simplifying unnecessary tasks to improve your mini empire's efficiency- sometimes through technology, like with a customer relationship management tool (CRM system), or by coming up with some savvy new organizational plan. These puzzle pieces will make you look badass when it comes to business because they tell your customers that you're on your A-game.
Benefits
By streamlining your business, you'll also experience a plethora of other benefits!
More time - with workflows in place, you won't waste countless hours just trying to get organized. You'll have more time to step back and look at the big picture of your business, allowing you to move the needle where it matters - like creating new projects instead of answering countless emails.
Better communication - by creating a consistent back and forth information stream, you'll be able to talk with clients fast. Cutting out all of the back and forth texting, phone calls, and "where is that file you sent" emails.
Fewer mistakes - you'll also be able to catch and correct mistakes faster or eliminate them all together!
3 Simple Things You Can Do
So, to get down to it, here are three simple things you can implement right away to streamline your business and start growing as a professional.
1. Write down your process
The best thing you can do if you have a repeated process (more than four times in a year) is to write it down. The next time you go through the steps, have a pen and paper in hand. Jot down all of the things that you did to complete your task and then type it all up nice and fancy in a checklist document, ready to go for next time. This will help you not only stay focused but ensure that you don't forget anything.
If your business involves more than one person working on the same project, you might even look into a project management tool like Asana, MeisterTask, or Trello. This way, your team can work efficiently through the process without constantly writing emails to communicate.
It's all there, ready to go.
2. Create documents of repeatable information
The next thing is to write up information that you regularly give so that it is easy to share again and again! This could be in the form of a blog post, a canned email response, or even a welcome packet that you send to customers for every project.
Instead of giving a unique response with every inquiry, you will be able to upload, copy & paste, or send - cutting down significantly on the amount of time you spend in your inbox.
Want to cut back on repetitive questions to your email even more?! Add your FAQ section to your contact page above the fold! You'll see a significant decrease in queries that you get all of the time because the info is so easy to access.
3. Automate repetitive tasks
Finally, you'll want to automate any repetitive tasks that don't require continued oversite.
Most business automation will be in your inbox (welcome emails, confirmations, sales notifications, etc.) But you could also pre-schedule your blog posts and social media postings, automate your client scheduler, and even your bills that come out regularly.
Some of my favorite platforms for automation are Honeybook, Acuity Scheduling, Tailwind & Squarespace (of course!) Yes, these are affiliate links!
Need help bringing your creative vision to life?!
I know how overwhelming it can be to start your online business. That's why I decided to create a simple and easy process. Together we’ll build a stunning website that you can launch in just two weeks!
Book your free consultation call today! Chat with me about your website goals and together we’ll navigate the best solutions for your business.
