Spring may just be our favorite season.

That’s because the word itself indicates forward movement. When building your business, there’s no better momentum than springing ahead with your plans, goals, clientele, and revenue.

Moreover, an actual spring is also a resilient device. You can push and pull a spring, and it will always bounce back to its original shape. The natural course of business will ebb and flow, but you always will bounce back with hard work.

With the 1st day of spring upon us, this week is a great time to spring clean your business to ensure your success. While you may want to give your office a good cleaning too, today we’re focusing on the infrastructure of your private practice.

Here are 3 ways to spring clean your business for the new season:

1. Check-In With Your Annual Goals

Remember the business resolutions you set earlier in the year? Now is a great time to revisit them. With the first quarter of 2018 coming to a close, you can start pulling some numbers to see if you’re meeting the expectations you set for yourself.

If you’re right where you thought you would be, congratulations! What have you been doing to help you accomplish the goals you set forth for yourself? Reflecting on your success is just as important as strategizing to improve on shortcomings.

If you’re not quite on track to accomplish your goals, that’s okay! We still have most of the year left to help you get there.

Reflect on the business-promoting activities you’ve been working on for the past 3 months and ask yourself:

• What’s working well?
• Did the marketing strategies I tried lead to new clients?
• Where am I finding clients and revenue? How does it compare to where I’m spending my time?
• Do I need to give my strategies more time to see results?
• Is it time to ask for help?

Try to stay as objective as possible when evaluating your business. We know that it’s a part of you, but every entrepreneur needs to asses their business through a clear lens.

Consider signing up for our Business Bootcamp to give you the encouragement you need to get your business off the ground.

2. Refresh Your Website and Social Media Profile Pages

Auditing your website and social media profile pages every few months is a great way to ensure you’re conveying your message in the best possible way.

Your website is your first impression. A prospective client should be able to understand what your business is about in mere seconds. Having a website that reflects who you are as a nutrition professional can encourage a prospective client to immediately book an appointment with you. On the other hand, having an outdated or unappealing website can quickly turn someone away.

The same is true for your social media profiles. Social media is an increasingly popular vehicle to obtain new clients. Make sure your social media presence attracts your ideal clientele just as much as your website.

And remember that social media sites periodically change the dimensions of images and what you can include in your profiles. Auditing them allows you to take advantage of new opportunities and ensures your visuals look good.

Here are some things to consider when reviewing your website and social media pages:

• Is your voice consistent throughout the copy? Does it sound like the same person runs your website as your Instagram page?
• Is your brand accurately reflected?
• Is there a clear way for prospective clients to contact you?
• Are your images outdated?
• Can a visitor accurately describe your niche from your social media profile?

3. Audit Your Time

As an entrepreneur, it’s essential to work both in your business and on your business to continue to grow.

Seeing clients and billing insurance are examples of tasks you do in your business. Marketing and strategizing new opportunities for growth are how you work on your business.

The amount of time you spend in each area will change as your business develops and grows. A time audit allows you to see what activities eat up the majority of your work week so you can increase your productivity.

There are several ways to audit your time. Many free apps are available that you can download, like Toggl and Hours. Alternatively, you can make a spreadsheet. Write down how you spend every minute of your day for several days in your work week.

Here’s an example:

9-9:15: Check emails
9:15-9:20: Bathroom break
9:20-9:30: Review Suzie’s intake forms before appointment
9:30-10:30: Suzie’s initial appointment
10:30-10:40: Finished charting and created Super Bill for Suzie
10:40-10:45: Review Mark’s goals and food journal before follow-up appointment
10:45-11:15: Mark’s follow-up appointment
11:15-11:20: Finish charting for Mark
11:20-11:50: Call Aetna regarding claims submitted
… and your day goes on!

You may notice you spend too much time confirming appointments every week. That could mean that it’s time to invest in some automations (like Healthie) that will save you hours each week.

If you’re already using an efficient practice management platform, perhaps you need to spend less time scrolling through social media and more time establishing partnerships for your business in order to increase profitability. Alternatively, you may notice that it’s time to hire an administrative assistant or VA (virtual assistant) because you’re spending too much time on billing insurance.