Being entrepreneurs we are full of ideas. Often those ideas turn into little side projects. If we don’t have a good system for keeping track of everything projects will be forgotten or neglected.
Below is the system I’m currently working with for all my websites and projects.
Systems for your business and to keep track of your projects online are things I would consider essential to your Mojo!
In order to really have business freedom you need to know where everything is, get to it quickly, get your answers in short order and move on to the next project as fast as possible. Keeping organized will help you do that.
PLEASE NOTE – I really believe that everyone needs to create a system that works for them. I’m sharing my system not for you to copy exactly, but as an example of what might work for you.
Marketing Plan
I have my marketing plan in a binder and in an Open Office document. (If you’re not sure what Open Office is it rivals Microsoft Office but it’s completely FREE!). I usually change/revamp/update it about every six months. I need to do a new one actually, my old one is marked up all over the place with all the changes I’ve made 😀 .
I also have a mindmap of products/projects I am working on or have planned. I use freemind for the mindmaps which is open source.
Activity Report:
My activity report is like my bookkeeping for my entire business. I track everything in here that relates to income/expenses.
It has tabs for:
Overall Expenses, Internet Expenses, Affiliate Expenses (the ones I pay), GST Tracker (Canada), GST Paid, Affiliate Marketing Tracker, Client Sales Tracker, Coaching Sales Tracker, Product Sales Tracker
Really detailed I know but it gives me a really good overview of my entire business when I keep on top of it. Now that I send in GST I have to at least keep it up to date within the last three months but I’ve been working on keeping it completely current.
Affiliate Marketing:
– I have a spreadsheet where I list business name, affiliate #, user ID, password, resources area, affiliate link, redirect link, best arduino projects commission rate every time I sign up for a new program. As soon as I sign up for a program I also create a redirect. If I wait for ‘later’ it never gets done so I get on this right away.
Project Management
(This may not apply unless you provide a service, though some of it I do also use for my affiliate marketing/info product biz)
– I’m having fun with this one. The fact that I just started my outsourced affiliate management services business is giving me a new opportunity to organize in a way I never did the first time. Here’s how I’ve got this organized now:
1. Client Project Binder – First page is current clients, Second page is potential clients. I have a blue page for every client and white sheets for project details. I use a little postit sticky (yellow) to tell me I need to do something for a client and a pink sticky to say I’m waiting on a client.
Just started the paper binder and I am loving it so far! Having something actually physical and quick at hand will make a big difference to my client projects I think.
2. Basecamp – I love basecamp. I use this to organize all my projects. It’s a paid program and I don’t love the fees though, I just got used to using it and I can’t see myself running my business without it. I post to-dos, due-dates, files, messages and all client projects in there.
3. Freshbooks – again another paid service and you don’t need this if you don’t provide a service.
4. Backpack – I am just starting to use this. It’s $7/month or more but I don’t see myself using more than the smallest plan. I have been creating systems for everything I do for a long time as well and I plan on uploading every system to backpack so I can easily get someone taking over my services when the time is right and I find the right person. It will also make it more attractive to sell if every system is in place and in a very transferable place.