How to Spring Clean Your Freelance Business

This time of year, you might be thinking about spring cleaning your home. And if you’re a freelancer, now’s a good time to consider sprucing up your business too! In this post, we talk you through five steps to spring clean your freelance business:

1. Clean out your workspace.
2. Have a digital tidy-up.
3. Get your goals and plans organized.
4. Sort through admin work.
5. Freshen up your professional details. 

Keep reading to discover these points in detail.

1. Refresh Your Home Office

If you’re working from home, your office should have everything you need on hand to do your job. Take some time to assess your work tools and furniture. Is your chair comfortable? How about your desk? Could you do with some better lighting or a new layout?

If you find that your office could benefit from some updating or rearranging, you can incorporate that into your spring clean. In a similar vein, you should also minimize unnecessary clutter in your workspace. To declutter your office:

• Test pens and other writing tools and get rid of what no longer works.
• Check your drawers or other storage spaces for anything that doesn’t need to be there.
• Make sure your desk is stocked up on essentials that are organized and easy to find.
• Go through old paperwork and notebooks and shred or toss what you no longer need.
• Put a recycling bin near your desk to reduce litter.

A clean and tidy office will remove distractions and keep you focused on your work so that you can stay productive.

2. Tidy Up Your Digital Space

With your physical space looking pristine, it’s time to move on to your digital workspace. If you don’t already have some sort of digital organization system, consider setting one up. 

This can be as simple as creating file folders for specific types of projects or arranging your apps according to when you use them and what for. Other ways to tidy up your digital workspace include:

• Deleting files that you no longer need, such as duplicate files or documents from old projects.
• Removing apps or programs you don’t use.
• Setting up separate business and personal accounts for your email, social media, and browser.
• Organizing your email inbox by clearing out unnecessary emails and organizing what remains into inbox folders.

If you’ve deleted everything you can get rid of but are still low on storage space, cloud storage can help free up your computer’s memory. It’s a good idea to have multiple backup copies of your files in case of any computer disasters, so in addition to cloud storage, you should consider making use of an external hard drive.

3. Review Your Business Goals for the Year Ahead

Spring cleaning can provide a good opportunity to set new goals for the next few months and adjust your long-term ones to make sure they’re still relevant. If you’re feeling burnt out or have been putting off doing something, for example, this might be a sign to reshuffle your business plan. Write down specific targets you’d like to reach regarding:

• Clients, such as the number of people you work with or the type of client you want to focus on.
• Services, such as what you can provide to clients and the rates you charge for your work.
• Professional development, such as training in a skill related to your industry or learning how to market yourself better.
• Any other aspects of your business.

Make sure each of these goals are realistic and achievable. Sitting down and setting out a plan for the direction you want to take your business will boost your motivation you for the new year and provide a clear path for you to take.

4. Get on Top of Admin Work

As a freelancer, you will likely be responsible for all the admin work related to your business. This means it’s important to keep things organized and under control. If you get ahead of admin tasks early in the year, it will be easier to stay on top of everything each month. Make sure to:

• Update your calendar with any deadlines, meetings, and other work duties.
• Check through your inbox for anything you need to follow up on.
• Review any services, newsletters, or memberships that you may be subscribed to.
• Find apps and software that can help you manage your finances, marketing, appointment scheduling, and other organizational tasks.
• Create a budget for your business.
• Work out the expected taxes you will owe for the year.

You can even set up a schedule for completing admin tasks throughout the year. For example, you might decide to dedicate one day a week to checking over your finances and following up on unpaid invoices.

5. Update Your Professional Details

As a freelancer, you’ll constantly be taking on new work and gaining new experience. This means it’s crucial that all of your professional profiles and details are kept up to date and relevant. To do so, polish and update your:

• CV or resume by adding recent work experience and details of your skills.
• Portfolio with up-to-date samples of your work that accurately reflect the services you provide.
• Professional profiles, such as your LinkedIn account and any social media associated with your business.
• Website with your current contact details, recent reviews or testimonials, and any changes to your rates.

And if you’re lacking any of the above materials, such as a portfolio, professional social media accounts, or a website for your business, take the opportunity to set these up now. If you’re stuck, check out our posts 5 Tips on Using Social Media as a Freelancer and 5 Tips for Designing a Freelance Website.

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