It's time for a good spring clean

There’s something refreshing about taking stock of your surrounds in spring and getting rid of clutter. As the busy end-of-year period approaches, business owners may want to think about a good ‘spring clean’ and how they plan to go about this, writes Jason Toshack, Vice President and General Manager, ANZ Oracle NetSuite.

Here’s a couple of ideas to get you started on your spring clean

Start your spring clean with you!

Before looking at your business operation, it may make sense first to look inward. A recent HBR article titled ‘The Endless Digital Workday’ found that many of us are now working all hours. Many parents I know like to start early, take breaks for meals and complete work after the kids are asleep. Having flexibility throughout the day can be great, however, setting boundaries has become equally as important.

Developing a routine that works for you is key. Think about when you are most productive and when your team will need you. For example, retailers may have peak trading times, while there are other times during the week that are often quieter. Use this time to participate in activities that boost motivation and create positive habits, like reading a book, exercising or starting a creative project. These activities can provide a much-needed change of pace, spring cleaning your body and soul and leaving you feeling refreshed and ready for the task at hand.

Refresh your business

Many entrepreneurs I’ve worked with like to routinely take a step back and look at the business as a whole. Getting input from their managers and staff about the way they operate is equally as valuable. It’s a great process to adopt in your business spring clean. This can help to identify the key areas of business operations that may need a refresh:

Repetitive tasks – there are chores that we would like to avoid if possible. More often than not, these are tedious and manual, leaving you with a feeling that there should be a better way of doing things. Luckily there usually is, thanks to the power of technology and automation. Start by making a list of every mundane task, prioritise their impact – to your staff and the bottom line – and assess how your business management tools can take on the heavy lifting
Supply chain analysis – the importance of an effective and efficient supply chain cannot be understated. Without this, you risk escalating costs and may have to deal with varying delivery times for you and your customers. A supply chain spring clean can start by paying attention to the data and identifying your pain points. For instance, what are the key risks and how could these be mitigated? Could you reduce costs by ordering in bulk? This will help you uncover valuable information that you can use to optimise processes and avoid inefficiencies
Financial certainty – month-end delays are one of the challenges I hear about most, and I can understand why. Many are still using Excel spreadsheets to capture and reconcile data, but what happens if you lose the document, or someone edits the wrong version? Again, a robust business management tool can turn a month-end nightmare into bliss
The customer is king – ultimately, happy customers are the lifeblood of a successful business. Consumer preferences change all the time, and businesses must stay ahead of this. For example, click and collect and ‘boot delivery’ options have become the preferred checkout option for many shoppers. From an experience point of view, having up to date checkout options – like a variety of payment options – helps deliver a frictionless experience, fostering loyalty and brand preference

Hopefully, I’ve provided you with a few ideas that you can try in your entrepreneur ‘spring clean’ as the busy end of year period approaches.

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