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Blog: The Organized Entrepreneur
 Who Cares if Your Business is Organized?
Organizing is one of the latest trends. It is hard to pick up a business or lifestyle magazine without reading an article about getting organized. Unfortunately, these articles rarely address the important issue of "why". Why be organized? What do you hope to gain? In a time of economic challenges, prudent managers and business owners should not invest their time or budget dollars into "getting organized" without a clear understanding of why. The answer is fairly simple. Good organizing strategies benefit your customers, your staff, and yourself.
Be Organized for Your Customers
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Image Matters - The appearance of being well organized will instill confidence in customers that your business is competent, consistent, and reliable. If you care enough about your company to run it in an organized manner, then your customers understand that you value their business and will deliver high quality products and services.
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Provide Great Customer Service - An organized company provides top-notch customer service. It is hard to please your customer if orders are lost and emails and phone messages are not promptly returned.
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Gain a Competitive Edge - A reputation for being the most organized company in your field can be a strong competitive advantage in a tough economy.
Be Organized for Your Staff
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Communicate Expectations - The structure of an organized office helps staff to clearly understand what is expected of them and ensures that they have everything they need to succeed at their job. Detailed job descriptions, clear lines of authority, and routine reviews benefit employees as they strive to do their best.
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Lead By Example - An organized owner/manager sets the tone for the quality of work to be performed by the entire office. As you pay attention to detail, establish and follow routines as you go about your work and strive for efficiency and excellence, you will establish a corporate culture that promotes organization at all levels of the company.
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Keep Good Employees - An organized office environment promotes employee retention and helps reduce costly turnover. In the book "The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave", HR Expert Leigh Branham identifies disorganized supervisors as a primary cause of stress among employees. Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance is listed as the #6 reason why employees leave their jobs. According to Insightlink Communications, an online provider of employee surveys, the direct cost of employee turnover is 25%-30% of their annual salary plus benefits. At a time when every dollar counts, companies cannot afford to lose good employees due to poor organizational skills of managers and supervisors.
Be Organized for Yourself
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Reduce Stress - When you are organized, you feel less stressed. In this uncertain economy, managers and entrepreneurs often feel as though they are riding an emotional roller coaster. The well-being of their families, staff, and the business they have nurtured for many years may be at stake. In the article "How to Reduce Stress At Work", management expert F. John Reh states that the #1 way to reduce stress at work is to "improve your time management and organization skills." (About.com) One of the quickest and easiest ways to reduce stress stemming from overload is by saying "no" and eliminating one or two low priority commitments per week from your schedule.
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Increase Profits - Well organized companies are often more profitable. Financial organization assists companies in finding and eliminating unnecessary costs. Also, an organized sales force generates higher revenue by having a consistent system for following up on leads, processing and tracking orders, and maintaining customer data.
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Prevent a Crisis - When the work flow processes and physical environment are both well-organized, it is easier to review work and catch potential problems before they become a crisis.
Good organization in the workplace is far more than a popular trend. Its benefits, which are felt by customers, employees, and the business owner, can be the difference which positions your company for success in spite of a struggling economy.
posted on: 2/26/2009 6:48:50 AM by Shana Prichard
category: Business
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The Organized Entrepreneur
by Shana Prichard
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About Shana:
Shana M. Prichard, MBA owns realign, llc, a professional organizing firm. realign, llc provides small business organizing services including filing system design/implementation, desk and time management and QuickBooks set up and training. realign, llc also provides home-office organizing services to individuals.
Shana's Website:
www.RealignOrganizing.com
What I'm Reading . . .
- "Raising Financially Fit Kids", Joline Godfrey
Common sense ideas and insight into raising kids who are wll-prepared to manage their own finances as young adults.
- "The Success Principles: How To Get From Where You Are to Where You Want To Be" by Jack Canfield
This book really got me excited about pursuing my goals and growing my business. There is a heavier emphasis on materialism than what I am comfortable with, but overall this is an inspiring book.
- "The Organized Executive", by Stephanie Winston
- "No B.S. Time Management for Enterpreneurs" by Dan Kennedy
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www.OnlineOrganizing.com is a service mark of Bradford, LLC.
