Whether you’re laying the groundwork or are already up and running as a solopreneur, long-term goals and aspirations are probably at the very core of many of the decisions that you make and actions that you take. Those objectives serve as guide posts to keep you on track, but they can also lead to paralysis if you overthink every little move that you make and put too much constant thought into and emphasis on accomplishing big initiatives. To stay nimble and make progress in building your brand, there are lots of little things you can do in the here and now to make a big difference when getting to where you’re ultimately going.
To name just a few…
Give Linkedin a tad more effort
You can gain so very much by doing just a little bit more on Linkedin.
All of these will help people put a face with your name, build your network and make you more top of mind with both your online and offline connections.
Get your bookkeeping crap in order
OK, so you’ve got a sea of receipts piled on your desk or stuffed in a drawer…maybe it seems like too much work to dig through them right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be more organized from this moment forward. Make it a point to document, categorize and file receipts AS YOU RECEIVE THEM. Seriously, it takes just seconds if you deal with one or two at a time as opposed to saving them for one monumental moment when you’ll be stuck with the nearly impossible task of total recall. As with any other business task, procrastinating with financial records keeping will just make it harder in the long run.
Check in with a client about something other than work
It will only take you a few minutes at most, but it can generate goodwill that lasts. Simply send an email to a client (ideally one whom you haven’t had much contact with recently) to check in and say “Hello.” If it seems awkward to reach out only to say something along the order of “Hi, how are you?” then consider finding and sharing an article or blog they might find interesting or telling them about an upcoming event or webinar that looks right up their alley. Going the extra mile to show that you care or to be helpful in some (non-billable) way can put you way up there on the likeability meter.
In the interest of space and time, I’ve listed three here, but I’ll follow up with another post soon to share more small steps that can move solopreneurs closer to checking off their big picture business plan to dos.
And I’d love your help! Please either comment here or email me at dawnmentz@gmail.com with the little actions you’ve discovered can make a big impact when working toward achieving overarching business goals.
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Right on Dawn. I recently came across Outright and Shoeboxed, both of which integrate with quicken and Freshbooks. With so many automation tools, it is almost a crime to be disorganized. But as you point out, none of this is about organization.
It’s about the discipline of putting together a system to deal with receipts and invoices. Unfortunately, mine works but needs improvement which is to put everything into a receipts folder in Outlook. I am just now getting into Freshbooks.
The other thing was that I had to get over the fact that to have good systems, you have to be willing to pay a little money. Most of us Central Pennsylvanians like to squeeze what we can out of a dollar.
I getting over that too. Not everything has to be directly tied to a revenue item, but if it keeps you sane so that you don’t miss opportunities, I would call it a win.
Rock on, Dawn.
Thanks for sharing those tools, Charles. I hadn’t heard of them before, but I’m going to explore how they work with Quickbooks (I’m using Quickbooks Premier Professional Services – which is relative new for me, too). I agree with you – it’s all about getting into the habit of using a systematic approach. And the reality is, we sometimes need to dish out a little cold hard cash (as painful as that can be!) to get us on our way to doing it right. 😉 Thanks for your comment and have a terrific night!