I like to think that I’m organized, but I don’t know if that’s the truth. I have folders and spreadsheets and apps and so many things working together to stay organized, but sometimes, I wonder if I’m overdoing it?
Either way, I thought I would share my process for how I organize my business for a new year in case any of it is helpful to you!
Apps
Wave – I use the Wave app to create and track invoices and also track receipts. It’s so convenient to just snap a photo of my receipts and have them instantly adding into my accounting system. At the beginning of the year, I go through all of my hard copy receipts and make sure to add them to Wave if I haven’t already.
Planoly – I’ve been using Planoly to organize my Instagram feed ever since VSCO updated and no longer has a grid. It’s great that you can move images around to see how it will all flow!
Spreadsheets
Income Tracker – My income tracker is pretty simple and straightforward! I track all of my Freelance income through the Wave program, but I use my income tracker spreadsheet to track affiliate commissions, brand collaboration income and gift values.
At the beginning of the year, I go through and make sure that all of these income sources are accounted for and ready to calculate for tax season. I then start a fresh sheet to track the new year’s income.
Expense Tracker – Like my income tracker, I wrap up my expense tracker at the beginning of the new year and start a fresh sheet. My expense tracker includes all of my business expenses, such as subscriptions to programs that I use (Canva, Tailwind, etc), courses I’ve taken for my business, advertising (local media, Facebook ads) and giveaway prizes.
Pitch List – My pitch list is my most frequently visited spreadsheet by far. This is where I compile a list of brands that I want to work with, add their contacts and track responses. It’s far too overwhelming to just keep adding to this list, so to start off the new year, I move any brands that shouldn’t be on my list anymore (have worked with, won’t work with) to separate lists. This keeps me from stumbling through a growing list with no clear direction.
Growth Tracker – My growth tracking spreadsheet is updated monthly so that I can keep track of growth on the blog, social channels, newsletter subscribers, etc. It’s great to look back and see where the jumps were and what they were attributed to!
Content Planning
When it comes to planning out my content, I always like to start with just a pen and paper.
For blog posts, I map out how many posts I want to have per month and then I fill in different topics and make sure that there is a good mix of style, home, life, career and wellness content. I will typically fill in each date’s topic the month ahead, but I do look at the full year in January and fill in specific ideas/topics to each month (Valentine’s, Sephora Sale, Holiday, etc.).
I also print out quarterly calendars and write in key dates for the blog, Instagram, LIKEtoKNOW.it, brand collaborations and giveaway plans. This way, I can glance at my quarterly calendars to see if I have too much or too little going on at any given time.
Once I have content planned out in my notebook and quarterly calendars, I’ll add each item to my Google Calendar, which is what I refer to daily to figure out what I need to accomplish.
If you ask me, how I organize my business for the new year is actually extremely simple. I’m about a year and a half into self-employment and still learning what works best for me.
Truthfully, everything I’ve learned about running a business I have found online (thank you, Google), mostly through other bloggers. There is so much information out there to help you keep your business organized and moving forward!
If you’re curious how I started my blog, and my advice on how to start your own, check out this post.
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