Ask yourself, what is draining your energy? As founders, we have a lot on our plate, but we have to remember the ultimate vision, the ultimate mission, and we have to be willing to remove things that are hindering us from honoring that vision.
Welcome to the Legacy Creator podcast, a show dedicated to giving you the tools you need to build a profitable, purposeful, and powerful business that lasts. I'm your host, Ashton Smith. I'm a sixth-generation entrepreneur who is passionate about helping you think bigger so that you can actualize your goals and build your legacy.
Let's dive in.
Hello and welcome back to the Legacy Creator podcast. I hope you are having an incredible day. I'm so excited to be here with you today. We are going to dive into some spring cleaning for your business. There's nothing better to me than spring cleaning, refreshing, resetting a space, and this is also applicable to our businesses. Specifically, I wanted to highlight some things that will help you increase productivity and efficiency in your business. So that's what we're doing today. This is going to be quick-hit tips for you. I actually have 10 tips that I want to walk through today.
First and foremost, I just want to direct your attention to some areas that you could refresh, could clean out in your business, but of course, 10 is quite a lot, so feel free as we're going through these tips to notice what is most applicable to you, what is most necessary for you, and take that as your kind of next steps and action items after this episode. So let's dive in, let's get started.
Tip number one, organize your financials. You may have an accounting software where you want to do this. For us, we have an accounting software, but I most regularly reference our ongoing tracking system for our high-level financials. I keep this in a spreadsheet, and it has high-level numbers that are just helpful for me to reference week over week, month over month, quarter over quarter as I am measuring our sales, what we have booked, what is working well, all of the things. I find this to be really, really helpful and just a quick click away from seeing this high-level view.
Some of the things that we keep track of on a regular basis in this system are: revenue, expenses, profit, profit margin, business booked—that's actually a really big one. The first thing that I do with new private clients is we actually get this dashboard set up for them. I share a spreadsheet, and it is a high-level dashboard of all of this basic information. But one of the things that we keep track of together is business booked, and the reason that that is helpful is because you can visually see what you have booked so far for the year. So that tells you a lot of things, right? It tells you, "okay, what revenue do you already have secured and locked in?" You know, beyond this month, you know, we really want to aim to start securing revenue six to 12 plus months in advance. So this allows you to see what you have booked, but it also allows you to see what your capacity is. So, especially for those higher-ticket containers where, you know, it's very time-intensive, you're going to have a cap on how many people you can serve. A lot of times when I talk to new clients, they don't really have a system to kind of keep track of this and to visually see this, so this has been really, really helpful for our clients: creating a system by which you can see the business that is booked for the year to see overall revenue, but also to inform your capacity.
Another thing we keep track of, too, is the percentage of the way to our revenue goal. That's really helpful. So month over month, we can see how close we are or if we're a little bit off and how we might want to redirect or shift our strategy in order to accommodate. Another big thing is the percentage breakdown of our offer suite. Now again, your offer suite is just the products and services that you offer. But I like to see this breakdown because let's say, for example, we have a client that is working towards making her business predominantly passive. So we want to work towards a higher percentage of her revenue coming from those passive sources, and we want to decrease the amount of revenue coming from those higher-ticket, more intensive, hands-on containers. So that's just a high-level view of the numbers that we keep track of that may even give you some insight into a system that you want to set up for yourself. But take a look at your financials and I want you to get very familiar with what is upcoming. Clean up anything if you've off-boarded clients, let's go ahead and remove them from that tracker. However, you have the system set up, let's get that clean, let's get that prepped for the next three to six months.
The second thing here is refresh your project management system. Now you may or may not have a project management system yet for your business. If you don't have one, I encourage you to consider it. I encourage you to take a look at some different platforms that you could use. We use ClickUp, and early on I used Asana. That worked really well for me as a one-woman show. But as our team grew, I felt like we kind of outgrew that platform. So we shifted from Asana to Jira for a while, and then we shifted to ClickUp, which is what we use now. And this is so important.
So in the short term, feel free to refresh your project management system. In the long term, if you don't have one, I encourage you to get one set up. This can house the entire infrastructure of your business: your processes, how you work and coordinate with a team, how you coordinate in order to complete projects from a marketing perspective, from a sales perspective, from a client experience perspective, from a launch perspective. So our ClickUp, it houses all of these processes. And over time, you know, it's going to grow and expand. We have gotten to the point where we have people on our team that actually can do some project management for their own positions so that I don't have to be the one project managing everything. But we can only get there if you have this in a system. Okay?
So in terms of refreshing, just kind of close out any completed tasks or maybe projects that we are like removing from the priority list. Fill any gaps that you have noticed while working either by yourself or with the team over the last few months. This is really important to keep track of. So let's say that you have an onboarding process for new clients, but you've onboarded a few clients now and we realize that there is a particular error in that process or there's a miscommunication or they all have the same question, maybe something's not working correctly. We obviously want to notice that and then we want to make sure that we're updating that. It can even be things that are coming up with the team, like maybe you're working together and realizing, "this is actually taking a lot of time. This isn't the most efficient way to do this. How can we change, how can we tweak, how can we test out new approaches and ways to go about this?" This is something we do regularly with our team, especially one area that was really big for us was our content creation system. At this point, we're on about six or seven marketing channels. That's a lot to balance and manage, and so over time we have had to adapt, shift, tweak our content creation process both with myself and with the team so we can actually pull that off. So that's a big one to take a look at when it comes to your project management system.
Number three, this may sound simple, but we all know it feels so good. Clean out your inbox. To me, there are few things that are as amazing as inbox zero. I mean, who agrees with me? Inbox zero is where it's at. When I open my inbox and I have nothing in there, I just feel light as a feather. Okay?
So the first step here with cleaning out your inbox is actually get to inbox zero. Okay? Like, that's the ultimate objective here. Now in order to do that, if you don't already, you may want to kind of like update your organization system within your email. So for example, for myself, I have a set amount of folders that are for specific things, whether it is for our private clients—I can't actually remember any other examples at the moment—it might be from the team, it might be from a development perspective. All that to say, I have different folders there. So if there are particular communications I feel like I need to keep, we have a system where we can do that. So if you don't have anything like that, get that set up because that will allow you to get to inbox zero, and also keep some of the emails that are relevant that you want to have on file. Okay?
Number four, update your sales CRM. So you may have your sales CRM set up on a specific software. A software that we use and like for this is Airtable. You may also just have this in a spreadsheet. I mean, gosh, I remember when I first started this business and I was really getting serious about lead gen and sales, I had this stuff written down in a notebook and then I had it in a blank document. Okay? So it doesn't have to be fancy, although I will say setting this up in a spreadsheet or an actual platform like Airtable—Airtable's free, they have a free version, so that's a good place to start—but setting it up in an actual system will really help you be more efficient here, and it also gets you in the habit of just staying on top of your sales.
So when it comes to refreshing this, you'll want to kind of go through and see like how up-to-date is your lead list, for example. Do we need to remove any old leads that, you know, didn't go through? The beautiful thing about our system and Airtable is that once, for example, if a client does not decide to move forward, we still will maintain and keep hold of their information and those just show up as "closed lost," that's how we label it. So that way, we still have a record of all the people that have been interested in working with us but maybe it wasn't the right time. That allows us to continue to nurture that relationship and also to reach back out at a later date to see if there's an opportunity to serve them. So that's one thing.
Another thing too is just go ahead and add new people to your list for the upcoming months. Now if you are just really good at staying on top of this system, you may just have everything up to date. But if this is something that, like a lot of our clients, you know, it's another thing on your plate, we'll want to go in and update. Let's make sure that the information in there is accurate. We have older leads that are either removed or they are labeled accordingly. And then we have new leads that are documented in there. So going into the next few months, you know, the handful of people that you're going to be nurturing and potentially sending invitations or pitches out to.
Five, let's do a quick website audit and update. Now at a very basic level, we want to ensure that your offers, your pricing, and your availability are accurate. Even down to little details like if you have a program and it has a specific start date, let's make sure that that start date is updated. I'm even thinking right now that after this month, I need to update that little detail on my FAQ page on one of my landing pages. So we want to have all of that information up to date. So if you have people, potential customers that are going to your site, they have an accurate understanding as to what you offer. If you share pricing over there, they know exactly what it costs and what your availability is. So let's make sure that those basic, you know, details are updated at a minimum.
Now the other thing I mentioned here was doing an audit. We did an audit of our site, I believe about two to three months ago now. And I like to do this. I like to do this about every six to 12 months, and it depends on your season of business. If you find that right now you're in a season of kind of shifting, tweaking, pivoting quite a bit, you might do this a little bit more often. But if you haven't done this in a while, do an audit of your site and really take note of those basic pieces of information I just noted. But also, even like the feel, the look, your branding, your photography, and definitely your messaging and your copy. That's something that I find myself continuing to elevate time and time again. The more you go in business, the more that your messaging is going to expand and also kind of become clearer and clearer. So take a look at your site, update those basic pieces of information, and then make sure that you feel as though your website is conveying the true essence and power of the work that you do. Now if it doesn't, it may take a little bit of time to get there kind of depending upon the projects that you want to take on in order to achieve that. Like for us, I believe it was last year, it was last year, we kind of shifted our brand in a big way. We called it The Awakening Reimagined, and we did a big re-haul to our site. It took quite a bit of time to integrate and implement that. Whereas now, we're just doing some basic tweaks and edits. So you decide what is most relevant to you, but make sure that your site communicates the true essence and power of the work that you do. If it doesn't, kind of highlight those things that could help you get there.
Number six, organize client feedback, testimonials, and if applicable, screenshots. So in my line of work, a lot of our clients, they are working in a way where they are communicating regularly with clients and students. They may be receiving feedback via formal questionnaires, via email, sometimes via an app like Voxer or WhatsApp. We want to take all of that social proof, all of those screenshots that you may have in your camera roll. And I am looking at myself on this one, I am not gonna lie. I'm gonna be honest with you guys, I have had "organized screenshots" on my list for over a year now because I'm getting the team to help me with this, but there have just been other things that have been prioritized over top of that. So that is something we need to put on our action item list. But having this organized by year, by quarter, and by it like, program, offer, etc., is so helpful because any time that you need to pull that formal graphics that you're creating or just to kind of share some of that social proof, let's say casually over on Instagram stories, you know exactly where to go. You know exactly where to find it. And then also, it doesn't all have to be kept on your phone. Like that is a big pet peeve of mine is having all of that on my phone. If we can create an organizational system that is hosted in, you know, Google Drive or wherever you house things for yourself and your team, that is going to be so, so helpful any time that you need to pull that information.
Number seven, adapt your annual plan. If you are a regular community member around here, you know me, you've worked with me, you know, we are all about some annual planning, quarterly planning. We're all about getting a plan in place for your business so that we can measure your efforts and we can actualize your goals. So if you don't have an annual plan, that's my my first step to you. Okay? So we're not refreshing, we're creating. But if you do have an annual plan, I want you to take a moment to sit down and look at what is that plan, what are those goals, and really evaluate what is working, what isn't working. Let's get clear on your objectives, your efforts, your strategies. Let's get really clear on what is upcoming in the next few months in the quarter. You may find that some priorities have shifted and changed and maybe we're adapting, shifting, and changing your plan. That is totally normal, that is totally fine. For perspective, we drastically shifted and adapted our annual plan just a couple years in—not years, a couple months into this year—because we felt compelled to focus on some bigger projects that we have been pushing off. So really tune in, take a look at that strategy and kind of evaluate what's working, what's not. And also, are you feeling compelled to adapt, shift, tweak, or change what you're doing? Are you feeling the need to kind of reprioritize? Let's get really clear on that moving forward.
Tip number eight, we're getting there, we're almost there. Evaluate your marketing plan. So, similarly to how we audited your site, take a look at your marketing presence. Take a look at what content is performing well, what platforms are performing well. This is something that we like to keep track of in an ongoing KPI tracking system. So we document key stats from all of the platforms that we're on so we can measure the effectiveness of our content. And for example, if we have a moment in time where we see a lot of growth or we see a lot of traction, we can actually go back and see, "okay, what created this spike?" And so it can inform your content creation moving forward.
First and foremost, another thing to take note of is what launches or campaigns are coming up. How can we start getting prepared for those? So a lot of times when we have launches and campaigns coming up, beyond actually planning them out, I love and I also have to, it's a must for me, I love getting this set up in our project management software. So for this podcast launch, we had a marketing plan. We had a really fun campaign that we were running, and so I sat down with the team, we mapped it out, and then I plugged all of that into ClickUp so we knew exactly what needed to get done, who was responsible, when it was due. We had a timeline overview, and that's what allowed us to actually hit those goals and hit those timelines. So take note of your marketing plan, take note of your content. If you don't already have a KPI tracking system, get something like that set up for the platforms that you are on. That will be really, really helpful for you.
Tip number nine is refresh your office space. I know this is so simple, but if you find that you're lacking creativity or you just want something new going on in the office to kind of make you feel inspired or make you feel excited to sit down, refresh your space. One thing that I usually have on my desk is a diffuser so that I can diffuse like lavender or orange, which is actually a favorite combo for the springtime. I have some plants in my office that make things just feel lively in here, and this doesn't have to do with my office space, but I always have the rhythm and routine of having my little espresso cup that I take with me into the office and I have that while I dive into creative work. You kind of find these little things that just inspire you, that make you feel refreshed, that make you feel excited about sitting down at your desk throughout the day. So refresh your office space. It doesn't have to be anything big. It could even be just moving things around, shifting things around.
The final tip that I have for you and probably one of the most important: let go of the things that are draining your energy. If we talk about something that could refresh us, it would be this: let go of what is draining your energy. Now this could be a lot of things, and I think that there's a fine line here between knowing what are the things that you know aren't necessarily glamorous and fun but their responsibilities that we have to prioritize, and then what are those things that truly drain all of the energy from you and the life from you.
So this could be people that you're connected to. It could be people that you follow on social media. This could be time on your phone. You know, what are those things that just take your energy away from the things that ultimately need your attention? As founders, we have a lot on our plate, but we have to remember the ultimate vision, the ultimate mission, and we have to be willing to remove things that aren't in service of that, that are hindering us from honoring that vision. So ask yourself, what is draining your energy? I know for me, something that really drains my energy is a lot of time on my phone. So I've integrated new boundaries with that. I've delegated quite a few things to the team. So if you have the ability, if you have a team, what can you delegate to the team? What can you give away? Maybe it's high-level client communication via email. Maybe it's admin work. Maybe it's engagement on social media. Maybe it's posting your content. Whatever it is, what are those things that you can delegate? What are those things that you can remove from your life in order to take back some of your energy?
Alright, those are my 10 tips for you to help you spring clean your business. If you are able, please go ahead and leave a review on whatever platform you are listening on. Let us know what you like about the podcast. This really helps us to know what to share, what to create. And if you feel compelled, share on social. Tag us @myawakeningco so we can spread this message to more people, to the people that need to hear it. Thanks for tuning in. I'll catch you next time.
