Small Business: Spring Cleaning Shake-up

Spring is here and what better time to shake off those winter blues and get a fresh start?

Why not break out the trash bins, clear the clutter and look for new growth opportunities and better ways to connect with customers and prospects?

A good spring cleaning may be just what your business needs to re-energize and get those creative juices flowing, experts say.

"The goal is to clean everything out in your business that is not serving you or your customers or is wasting your time, energy or money," says Terri Levine of TerriLevine.com, a North Wales, Pa.-based business growth mentor and author of "Coaching Is for Everyone" (Morgan James; $17.95).

You need to look at both your physical and mental clutter, Levine says. Here are some tips to get you started:

Look ahead: Revisit your business goals to see what strategies have been working, Levine says. Set your three-month goals. "Ask yourself, What do we need to do as a company in the face of the economy and competition for the next 90 days?' " she notes.

File or discard: Look at your files and see what's meaningful in your life now, says Eileen Koff, president of To the Next Level, a professional organizer in Stony Brook. Keep current projects in action files on your desk, discard waste and archive the older projects, she suggests.

Detox the office space: Open the windows, vacuum the floors and steam-clean the carpets, Koff says. Put a floor mat on the outside office entranceway and the inside office entranceway. "About 45 percent to 65 percent of all pollutants that enter into the business or home come in on our shoes," says Koff, an eco-consultant for Green Irene, an eco-awareness company. If you don't have windows to open to air out your space, burn soy candles or diffuse essential oils, says Koff, who prefers these over traditional air fresheners.

Green up: Brighten up your office with some plants, she notes. They not only boost your spirits but are good for reducing pollutants. Low-maintenance and low-light plants like spider plants and ivy are good picks, she says.

Purge emails: Delete emails you don't need or make folders to archive old emails, says Bruce Chamoff, director of Web development at Hot Web Ideas, a website design and Internet marketing firm in North Babylon.

Update software: Check your anti-virus and anti-spyware software to make sure you have the latest version, he suggests. "New viruses come out every single week," Chamoff says. Also defragment your hard drive to make your computer runs faster, he notes.

Reconnect with customers: Talk to your customers and ask them what their expectations are, says Jim Blasingame, host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show "The Small Business Advocate Show" and a Florence, Ala.-based small-business expert. How do they like to be contacted, do they expect you to have a Facebook fan page? he asks, adding you want to be relevant to their wants and needs.

Categorize your customers: Organize them by the most profitable. "Worship the A's, cater to the B's, encourage the C's and teach the D's about self-service," Blasingame notes. He offers more tips at smallbusi nessadvocate.com/small-busi ness-articles/business-spring- cleaning-in-december-2222.

Clean inventory: Categorize inventory from most to least profitable, Blasingame says. Shed the obsolete inventory even if you have to discount. "Get rid of it and convert it into cash," he recommends.

Spring cleaning mental exercise

1. Get a pen and paper.

2. Write down in letter form anything negative/adverse that's impacted your business over the last 90 days (loss of client, etc.).

3. Make it as long as necessary

4. Don't mail it -- put it aside when finished.

5. Use it to release the negativity and move on.

Source: Terri Levine