4 Ways to Spring Clean Your Business Thoughts

We are about one month away from summer but since it’s still spring I wanted to talk about some ways that you can spring clean your business thoughts. Often times we are our own worst enemy and talk ourselves out of doing things that will take us to the next level. This is totally normal but it should be addressed and recognized so that we can move past it and get outside of the comfort zone that we tend to find ourselves in. Today I will be talking about four things that you should change your mindset on that will help you get out of your head and get to the next level.

1. Start putting yourself out there

The first thing to do is start pitching yourself to brands and people that you want to work with. As we all know, the number of followers that you have does not equal the number of sales that you make.  The main things are engagement and influence. Brands are starting to get hip to this and understand what the true value is which is not in the number of followers. My following is not huge, but I have worked with brands and have spoken at large conferences. It's all about what you know, how effective you are in communicating it, and how in touch you are with your audience. Don't be afraid to reach out and pitch a brand that you have always wanted to work with. You never know what may happen, but you will know what happens if you do nothing... nothing! 

Putting yourself out there also applies to reaching out to peers in your niche or in complimentary niches to collaborate. There are so many opportunities to collaborate with others, so instead of waiting around for those opportunities to come to you, go after them yourself!

2. Start getting on camera to create video content

Video content is king and this is even more evident with the features that social platforms continue to put out there (Reels and TikTok for example).  Also, YouTube is still a dominating force along with other social features such as IGTV, IG Live, Facebook Live, etc.  Long and short form content have their place in the world, so either way you go you will win.  If you’re a shy person when it comes to showing your face on camera, short form content is a great place to start (Stories, Reels, and/or TikTok).  And really, with attention spans being so low these days, the shorter content tends to perform better than longer clips.  Use this to your advantage!

3. Start focusing on your own evergreen content (platforms you own are still king!)

Social content is always going to be a necessary part of your marketing strategy, but don't put so much focus on social that you neglect the evergreen platforms that you control.  Evergreen content is content that will always be around such as your website, blog posts, email marketing messages and even Pinterest pins.  Here’s why:

• Your website- it is totally controlled by you.  The user experience and direction in which you want to lead your readers is all controlled by you.  The content is searchable on a search engine, so your content can be found by anyone in the world.  On the other hand, with social media, there are algorithms that control when your content is seen and by whom.  Also, people do not tend to scroll too far down social feeds, so your old content that was posted is likely not getting much traction after it has run its course from its initial post date/time.  There is a new feature now in Instagram where you can add keywords to your posts for SEO purposes, but ultimately getting traffic to your site rather than generating it to someone else’s is also king.

• Email marketing- you also control the content and when it goes out.  You can target certain members to receive content that they have already shown an interest in, and the content is sent to everyone at the same time. Of course you can’t control if or when they will open it, but you ca still control the user experience and direct them where you want them to go.

  You can also easily obtain backups of your data if you decide to move to a different email marketing platform, so regardless what happens to the platform you use, you can still have the contact info for your list and still communicate with them.  Good luck with this on social media...there is no way to take your following with you anywhere if you decide to leave that platform because your followers data does not belong to you.

• Pinterest- yes, this is a social platform, and yes it is not a platform you own...however...Pinterest is used as a search engine these days and tends to generate more accurate search results than a standard search engine.  This is because there are industry words and phrases that may not be as common on a regular search engine.  For example, searching for living room vignette on Pinterest vs Google will give you two different results since vignette is mostly used as a photography term rather than a style term, but people searching for this on Pinterest are going to get what they’re looking for.

4. Start focusing on connecting with your audience, not growing a following

Whether you’re doing this in your social comments, through an email list, through a survey or a DM, make sure you are not just talking TO your audience, but talking WITH them.  As I mentioned, social media is a great marketing tool, but it’ also a great connection builder.  I met one of my best friends online from blogging and have met many wonderful people through Instagram IRL.  I have also had awesome opportunities come my way that were a result of Instagram.  I’m an introvert, but I do enjoy connecting with people on my social platforms.  The main thing is to just be yourself and try not to worry about what people might think of you (I love the cooky crazy side of people because that’s where their individuality shines through).  Connect with your audience by telling relatable stories and events.  Share behind the scenes content so people can see that you are a regular person just like them.  I love BTS content of large bloggers and influencers (even celebrities!) because I like to see their everyday and though our lives may not be exactly the same, there are many aspects that are similar where I have a better connection to them as a human.  Start sharing more of this content and making true connections with you audience.

---

These are a few ways to restructure your thinking for your business and start stepping outside of your comfort zone in this season.  Changing things up is a great way to get out of a rut and start seeing different results.

12 Simple Ways to Use Trello in Everyday Life

I love using apps that make my business and blogging processes smoother and more organized.  My favorite tool to use for planning is Trello because it’s easy to use, contains so many useful features and integrates seamlessly with a variety of apps.  Here’s a post that goes more in depth on what Trello can do.  When I started using Trello it was for my business planning, however, the more I used it the more I realized that I could use it in everyday life.  Their lists and calendar view make it so easy to plan and organize things, so it’s my go-to when creating lists that are related to everyday life.  Today I will be sharing 12 ways you can use Trello in your daily life unrelated to business and blogging!

1.Daily Schedule

You can easily add your daily schedule to a Trello Board so you will always know what needs to be done each day and at what time. The calendar view also makes it simple to visualize your schedule and tasks for each day.

2. Vacation Planning

One of my favorite parts of vacation planning is doing it all in a Trello board!  It makes the planning process so smooth.  I generally have two boards for vacation planning- one for prep leading up to travel day and one for the days of vacation. I create lists for things that would be fun to do, restaurants and coffee shops that look good (yes, I create a list in this board that specifically lists the coffee shops I want to visit, haha!), places to stop along the way if we’re taking a road trip, etc.

3. Prep List

This board is where I list the 7 days prior to travel departure day and plan the tasks to complete for each day.  When tasks are planned out over a week, it makes it easier to tackle them because each task is spaced out so you’re not waiting until the last minute to do them.  This also makes it easier to remember what to pack so you won’t forget items that are easy to forget.  Some of the lists that I have in my vacation prep board are packing lists (clothing and food/snacks), home tasks to complete before leaving (cleaning for example), shopping lists, etc.

4. Vacation List

I also create a board for the duration of vacation.  It includes travel itineraries (hotel confirmations, flight info, rental car info, etc.), what we will do each day, where we will eat, etc.   Of course things don’t always go as planned and often change, but as I always say, it’s better to have a plan than none at all.

Another great Trello feature that helps with vacation planning is a map feature where you can enter an address and the location map will appear in the board.  This is incredibly helpful to have as a visual when planning activities.

5. Chore Chart

Trello is great for planning chores to do daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and quarterly.  You can easily create lists for each of these times and list what to do for each time frame.  If you have a digital family hub or family tablet, you can easily view the chores in a central location so you can stick to your cleaning schedule consistently and everyone in your family can easily access their chore list. 

6. Meal Planning

Trello is a great place to store recipes that you’d like to try and also to plan out your meals for the week.  Since you can paste photos in your lists, you can visually plan your meals as well (adds an extra special touch to your board!).  

7. Party/Event Planning

What better way to keep up with party planning than in an organized Trello board?!  I love to plan parties and events in Trello.  Lists for color scheme ideas, theme ideas, food and drink ideas, music/playlists, games, etc. makes the planning process smooth and fun!  I love to choose a board background that is somehow related to the event just to give it an extra fun touch (I actually add background photos to all my Trello boards matching the theme of the board because…aesthetics haha!).

Trello is also great for wedding planning.  With the schedule feature, you can set due dates for specific tasks to keep yourself on track with all that you need to do.  Appointments, gown ideas, honeymoon ideas, etc. All of this can be planned and organized in Trello. Again, you can paste images into your lists and make a beautifully planned board for your wedding.

8. Christmas/Holiday Planning

Every year that we host Christmas, I make a Trello board to plan out all that I have to do leading up to it.  This is similar to the party planning and vacation boards in that I plan tasks to do each day for the week leading up to Christmas.  This means, cleaning different areas of the house on certain days, grocery shopping, decorating the dinner table, etc.  This helps to ease my mind at such a hectic time of the year!

You can also create holiday shopping lists in this board to keep track of what you need to purchase and for whom in a simple and organized way. Wishlist’s can be uploaded and easily stored for shopping reference as well.

9. School Schedule & Assignments

You can use a Trello board to house your child’s (or your own!) school schedule and assignments due for the week.  This is also a great board to plan out projects that need to be completed including any supplies you may need to purchase to complete them. By giving your child access to the board, they can also contribute to it and mark tasks as complete.

10. Weekend Plans & Errand List (shopping list)

If your weekends are always busy and full of errand running, creating a Trello board to house what you have to do and want to do for the weekend is a great way to keep it all organized.  It’s also great that Trello has an app so it makes viewing your errands easier when you’re on the go.  You can also use your weekend errands board to house shopping lists for any stores that you may need to go to (the checklist feature is so helpful!).

11. Date Night Planning

If you have a set date night with your partner, it would be helpful to plan out what you want to do in a Trello board as well as ideas for things that you would want to do on future dates.  You can both have access to the board and add ideas to it when you think of them. This is great also if you know your date night will be a concert or other event that is a few months away; add the future event to your Trello board so you won’t forget about it.

12. Work Projects & Tasks at Your 9-5

Although this post is for your everyday life and how to use Trello in it, a 9-5 may be a part of your everyday life.  Use Trello at work to help keep your personal tasks and projects organized.  I use Trello at my 9-5 to keep my tasks, projects and their progress stored in one place.  My 9-5 doesn’t formally use a project management system, so I began using Trello because my position involves so many projects and I didn’t have a way to keep them organized or to track their progress.  If you find yourself overwhelmed with tasks at your 9-5 and have no structured system to track them in, I highly recommend Trello (you can even share your boards with others so they can see your progress as well if necessary).

---

Now that you know 12 more awesome ways to organize your life in Trello, go ahead and try it out! What other tools do you use to plan and organize the everyday things in your life? Let me know in the comments!