The same goes for spring cleaning in your business. After all, you had a business plan when you started, so why wouldn’t you have one when you’re reorganizing and cleaning up your act? Setting goals and expectations for your business is one of the more important steps you can take as a business owner or employee.

But they have to be realistic goals and expectations, and that’s part of spring cleaning. The goals you’ve previously set for yourself may not have been all that great in the first place, and – as you’ve grown and evolved – those goals and plans could even be hurting your business.

Knowing Your Limits

We all want our businesses to take off the instant we put them out to the public. It would be nice if every single one of our ventures took off like a rocket and made us set for life at the drop of a hat.

However, it doesn’t work that way, and very few businesses know that level of success right off the bat. For most of us it’s a constant struggle over months and years before we ever reach a position of security. Even then it still seems like it’s one thing after another running a business.

Well those “one thing after anothers” have to be dealt with somehow. And if you don’t know your limits, you may set unrealistic goals for yourself, expecting more than is possible.

Everyone knows what it’s like to overreach your limit. One time in college I took a trip to another state to see a concert with some friends. I thought I could drive forever – until it was 4 AM on the way back after going for almost 24 hours. I quickly discovered I wasn’t invincible and had reached my limit. Luckily nothing happened and someone took over for me, but the lesson was learned. But too many business owners keep driving the proverbial car in the same direction long after they should!

Squeaky Wheel

The good news about amending your schedules and goals to be more accommodating to your lifestyle could mean drastic changes for your company. You may not realize it, but in the past you’ve undoubtedly set some harmful expectations for yourself. These unrealistic goals make you stressed, tired, and irritated, especially when you don’t reach them.

These goals are a type of “squeaky wheel.” They’re always making noise in your ear but you never fix them; instead, you placate them, and convince yourself it’s your fault.

“Of COURSE I didn’t make all fifteen meetings today day, it’s because I’m lazy! UGH!”

Come on. Squirt some WD-40 on those squeaky wheels and get your cart moving smoothly again. Look at what you’re trying to motivate yourself to do every day, week, month, etc. Figure out where your big stress points are (end of the month, beginning of winter holidays) and reconfigure them so you’re not pulling your hair out. If all else fails, call an audible and pull in some outside help!

But breaks can be much more than just sitting around staring at the wall or going to a Starbucks again. They can be even more productive than some of your actual work if you let them. There’s never a better time to let your mind wander to find better solutions for all your problems than during a break.

Powering Through Lunch

Contrary to what you may think, trying to power through lunch without stopping isn’t necessarily good for your work. It obviously isn’t good for you, as your brain, eyes, fingers, and whatever else all need to change direction for a bit.

If you don’t get a real break during the day you actually risk getting more distracted. You’ll be so worn out and ready for a distraction you that you’ll gravitate towards anything that comes along. This could mean getting stuck on TVTropes.com for four hours instead of simply relaxing outside for thirty minutes with a sandwich!

Studies have shown that taking mini-breaks through the day benefits you the most. They break up the day so you don’t get too exhausted, plus they’re small enough so you don’t get so relaxed you have that post-lunch “I don’t wanna work” feeling.

Make Them Count

The important thing to remember when taking your breaks (mini or not) is to make the time you have count. It’s the same with your workday – you can schedule twelve hour days all you want, but if you’re not actually accomplishing more in that time, what’s the point of killing yourself? It’s the exact reasoning Henry Ford first established eight hour workdays for his employees; he noticed they worked more if they were there a little less.

When you finish a task, do you usually hop up and move around or do you move on to the next task? You can best schedule your day if you know how you operate. Only then can you really make these little breaks count. Going totally against your normal schedule and your natural rhythms just won’t work in the long run.

If you like to power through things when you start them, make sure you get up from your desk and walk around for a minute before starting the next thing. If you don’t you may get bogged down trying to finish something but then get distracted. By voluntarily standing up you can control the distractions and keep them to a minimum.

While you take your break, don’t just think about work or what you’re doing. Try to divert your mind to something else entirely – a fun event coming up, or what you’ve got planned for dinner. Clearing your mind can be great for sorting out any issues you’re facing when you head back to your desk.

Well guess what? Our businesses need a little spring cleaning too! It’s the same idea. But think of the space in your garage just like the time in your day. There’s a limited amount and you want to fill it with those tasks that will make your business grow. The problem is that we get so busy with life and selling (and it’s good to be busy selling – because it means you’re selling!) that we don’t take the time often enough to step back and evaluate our eBay business. We get into that mode of photographing and researching and describing and listing and shipping and responding and…repeat.

To help you deal with this challenge, you can use a very simple exercise that billion dollar companies as well as one-man shops have used for many years. It helps you clean away what’s not so important and focus on what is. It’s called SWOT. No, it’s not a van full of policemen crashing through your front door. It’s an evaluation of your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The process is designed for you to walk away with actionable tasks that you can immediately implement to grow your business.

Get the Broom Ready!

Okay, so how do you do it? It’s easy. Hide yourself away from your kids, your cell phone (seriously, you can stay away from texting for a few minutes can’t you?) and every other connection to reality. Get some paper and start writing.

Start with your strengths. Looking inside your business, what helps you do well? Are you a Top-rated seller?  Do you have good product sourcing? Perhaps you’re an expert in a particular category? Maybe you create great looking listings? Do you use a nice eBay selling template for all of your listings? eBay listings that look professional will make you more credible in the eyes of prospective buyers. So that’s a strength if you do it.

Now your weaknesses. Don’t worry if you have more weaknesses than strengths, it just means you have a great chance to improve! Maybe you are bad at time management? You don’t have a strong knowledge of keywords or Best Match? Have you taken the plunge into social media? Once again, write until your hand hurts! Don’t judge what you are writing, just put it down.

Now looking outside your business, what opportunities do you see to grow? Have you wanted to find a new product category to specialize in? Do you have expertise that you could use to create a presence in social media? Maybe you could write an eBay guide that might be seen by lots of potential buyers?

Finally, it’s time for the threats. These might exist today or be far in the future. Is there a competitor who’s undercutting your pricing or growing faster than you? Maybe a new eBay policy that affects your business?

Sweep Them Away

You probably have a big list by now. The next part of the process means sweeping away all but the most valuable, highest priority items. It could be a strength that you want to exploit. Or a weakness you need to finally eliminate. Or an opportunity you’ve had in the back of your mind for a long time but have never taken the plunge. Sweep away all but one or two that will have the biggest impact on your business.

Do It – And Hold Yourself Accountable

Break the one or two items into small tasks or steps that when accomplished, will achieve the goal. And put dates next to each one. Do It! Tell an employee or family member or friend what you’re doing and have them help make you accountable so you’ll hit your dates.

After all of this, you want to evaluate the results. And start again. What are the next one or two items on your SWOT list that you could do next?

Take the time to go through the SWOT process with your eBay business. To help, there’s a free SWOT guide in our eBay seller resources section. It has a lot more examples in each area and more tips on being successful. It’s free so check it out!

Chris Taylor is VP of Marketing at Page Mage. Page Mage, a recipient of eBay’s 2011 Ecosystem Champion Award, offers Billboards, a “Top 10 Most Popular” application for free custom eBay listing templates for eBay sellers looking to stand out from the competition.

One thing going against this, though, is how much your vendors are charging you for the products or services you’re buying from them. The more you spend on your vendors, the less you’re ultimately pulling in, and the less you have to spend on improving your business.

Most of us know to shop around when it comes to utilities and extras like cable TV, but we sometimes forget to do the same when it comes to our business. If you want to increase your profit margin, it may be time to take a look at your vendors and renegotiate a deal.

They Want To Keep You

If the vendors you use are worth their salt, they know they have to stay competitive to survive. They also know they need every last customer that walks through their door (virtual or otherwise). So when somebody calls up and says they’re unhappy with their prices, they have to make a quick decision.

What’s that decision? The same as any business: do I work with this person on how much I’m charging them or do I kick them to the curb? As you assuredly already know, that’s not an easy decision to make. You don’t want to lose a customer, but at the same time you can’t just hand out discounts or new contracts all day long.

However, if you’ve been working with a certain vendor a long time and have a decent relationship with them, they’re more than likely going to at least listen to you. Business owners know the difficulties and challenges of owning a shop, so they’ll understand your plight.

Don’t Just Expect a Big Cut

There are several other things you can do to help ensure a better price from your vendors. Begging and pleading might do the trick once in a while, but in general doing someone a favor goes a lot farther.

For instance, some of your vendors might actually show up to deliver their products to your place of business. Instead of standing idly by and watching them work, offer to lend a hand. If they’re close by enough and you’re willing, lend a hand at the store once in a while in cases when they’re backed up.

At the very least make sure to recommend them – find the vendors on Facebook, Yelp, etc. and write favorable reviews. When you hear a fellow businessperson needs what the vendor sells, point them in the right direction. Make sure your colleague mentions your name!

And finally, don’t just ask for price cuts. Perhaps you really are getting the rock bottom deal. Instead, ask for longer repayment terms, a lower interest rate, a dedicated account manager, or another perk that makes your life easier and saves your business money in the long run.

Remember, scratching a back generally works better than just asking out of the blue. And after all these favors the vendor might be knocking YOUR door down trying to give you a discount!

Instead of going out and looking for brand new stuff to put up in your shop, why not take your current stock into account? Buying items that compliment each other can be useful in more ways than one, and can drastically revolutionize the way you run your store.

Complimentary Items

What do we mean by complimentary items, exactly? Say you sell electronics through your online store. You go out and look around to find more electronic equipment to sell. However, you notice a huge box of cords, remotes and other bits at a garage sale.

These little items are complimentary items – when a customer orders a DVD player, they may also order a few cords and wires that enhances their experience. For example, a cord that hooks the player up to a set of speakers.

What this does is give you an opportunity to sell smaller items to your customers when they’re already “in” your store. Instead of them buying a DVD player and seeing only other expensive electronics, they pick up a few more items that give you ten or fifteen more bucks. These purchases add up!

Ways to Make It Work

Just sticking these smaller items up in your shop isn’t quite enough. Customers have to be able to find what they need, and often, you have to lead them there.

So that’s why it’s important to design (or redesign) your shop so when a customer sees one product, they also see the complimentary items. Sites like Amazon are particularly good at this – they show you “recommended items” or “customers who bought this also bought” options. These instantly put in your mind you may need those items to go with your current purchase.

Another way of making these complimentary items work is by putting them in bundles. These little packages (DVD player, speaker cords, maybe a DVD or two) usually come with a good discount to further entice customers to snatch them up. You can even use the packages as a selling point for your store in your ads.

If you have time and the resources, you may also consider adding a “package deals” section to your website. Everyone loves a deal and you may even pull in lurkers who otherwise might have just bounced away to another site!

Photo by Naomi Ibuki

Online sellers have debated for years about the pros and cons of selling and buying in bulk/lots versus singular items. Search on eBay and you’ll undoubtedly see them everywhere: “lot of Nintendo games,” “lot of chapstick A++++ variety,” etc. But is there a clear winner on this debate or is it a case of 6 in one hand, half dozen in the other?

Pros

The big draw of buying and selling in bulk or “lots” is the price. When you buy a bunch of something it’s typically to get a better rate. You don’t necessarily need 40 cases of Kleenex and your customer doesn’t necessarily need 50 sheets of floral pattern wallpaper – you both just know you’ll eventually use it and it’s cheaper this way.

However, that’s not the only benefit. Buying in bulk is also a convenience issue. If you need to blow your nose and find you’re out of Kleenex, you have to go to the store and buy some. If you have thirty more boxes of it lying around, you’re no longer inconvenienced. The same goes for selling in lots – the customer wants a lot of stuff (either a variety or all the same).

Lots and bulks can also give you some nice ideas when it comes to promotion. There are plenty of coupon opportunities you can use bulk items for, especially when you show your customers how much they save on shipping.

Cons

Naturally the big risk with buying in bulk is you won’t use all the stuff you just purchased. You can buy 40 cases of Kleenex, but if you don’t get sick enough, what good are all those boxes? They’re just sitting around for nothing and going to waste.

Selling in bulk or lots has the same risk. You may think throwing a bunch of cool stuff together is the way to go, but if it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t sell. If you have too many pieces of wallpaper together and that one seller who needs that many never comes along, you’re stuck with a zillion pieces of wallpaper in your warehouse.

Another big drawback? Bundling everything together means less variety for your customers. If they want, say, three out of six of the things in your lot, that’s not enough incentive for them to grab the entire box. Bundling may lower the possibility of a sale.

Bundling things together in lots or bulks can really can go either way. Having the option to bundle may push some customers into buying when they normally wouldn’t, though. As with all things in your online business, it’s up to you whether your purchase lots for resale. If you’re ready to get started, start with a site like Top Ten Wholesale or ask around for referrals. Until then, “lots” of luck!

It happens, and unless you’re constantly vigilant about the contents of your hard drive you’ll come across this problem from time to time. But in the spirit of spring cleaning it’s time to clean out that hard drive and get rid of any unnecessary programs you have. They’re simply bogging down your computer and getting in your way.

Which Programs

The big problem with cleaning out unnecessary programs is you sometimes don’t even realize you have two conflicting pieces of software. One time my computer started running two completely different antivirus programs, just out of the blue. Turns out, one had updated from being solely an anti-malware program to covering virus protection as well.

Suddenly I had two programs fighting to do the same thing. Worse, it was literally slowing my CPU down, as they were both trying to do the same thing at the same time. Luckily the problem announced itself and I was able to fix the problem. That’s not always the case, though.

More often than not you’ll simply have two or more programs just hanging out on your hard drive. You don’t realize they’re there because you only use them once in a blue moon. Then one day you go to burn a DVD and realize you have three separate programs and you’re downloading a fourth!

Instead of chuckling and moving on, make sure to figure out which one is the best program for your needs and get rid of the others. Keeping pointless programs on your computer may seem harmless but they add up and can slow performance, which means you’re wasting time waiting for your computer to start when you could be making money.

So Many Options

If you’re having trouble cleaning out your computer, try to think of it a different way. You want to free up as much space on your hard drive as you can. When looking at the programs you have, research if there are any online alternatives.

Not only will this free up space, they may have other options downloadable alternatives don’t. For instance, the downloadable version of Tweetdeck will no longer be updated, while the browser version has a ton of new options.

The digital world is moving that way anyway. With advances like the cloud and so much tech moving towards mobile and tablet software, having a hard drive full of downloadable programs may be on the way out anyway.

Check out what Clark Howard had to say about Kabbage. It’s not a bad idea to hit up his Business & Entrepreneurs page while you’re over there, too!

However, we’re here to say that not all daydreaming is bad! In fact, daydreaming is probably what got you to where you are right now. After all, would you have thought to start your own business or come up with a great new product if you didn’t dream a little?

Not only is daydreaming, or “creative thinking,” important, it can help you with your spring cleaning duties. As we’ll show, it may be one of the most important steps involved.

Taking the Time

We’re definitely not saying you should spend half your day staring at the wall or fiddling with a stress ball. You do still have to run your business, and too much “creative thinking” can be a huge problem.

However, if you carefully plan your day to include some time to chill and just let your mind wander, it can make a huge difference. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a huge block of time like an hour, a few minutes here and there can do it.

Or, instead, try replacing a daily activity with creative thinking. Instead of surfing Reddit as you drink your morning coffee, lean back in your office chair and stare out the window. We all take a little long to get back to work after lunch (well, everyone except me), so instead of scrolling around Facebook walk around the building to clear your head.

Wasting Time?

So what’s the difference between wasting time and “creative thinking?” Obviously wondering if Brad Pitt starring in “Chairman of the Board” would’ve made it a better flick isn’t all that business-oriented. However, if you could somehow turn that line of thought into a way to better your company, then it’s suddenly creative thinking.

So, in reality, it’s a fine line. Not all stargazing is useful. But looking at the stars can lead to some real revelations in your life. How you use this information is up to you. Ultimately, you decide whether or not you’re wasting time or doing some productive.

When you sit down for your daily “creative thinking block,” go in with a few ideas to pontificate over. Thinking over problems and issues with your company is good, sure, but don’t assume you have to focus on them. Creative thinking works for every aspect of your business, and that can include areas you want to expand in the future.

All it takes is one simple idea and suddenly you’re in a completely different business world. So treat your “time wasting” minutes as another business task. Keeping your nose to the grindstone is where all the results come from, sure, but looking up in the sky for the next big thing is how dreams are turned into reality.

That’s why spring cleaning is so important – it’s not just about cleaning, it’s about getting your business (and life) in order! Since we recently celebrated Earth Day, we thought we’d bridge the gap by showing why setting up a paperless digital filing system is good for your business.

Why Do It?

Let’s face it, having a paper filing system is ridiculously out of date. There are a ton of digital alternatives out there and keeping boxes and files and files in boxes in a filing cabinet is just ridiculous in today’s world.

Not only is paper very wasteful, it’s a huge pain to deal with. Those boxes we mentioned just pile up over the years and become a burden to keep. They move from room to room and it’s almost impossible to find anything in a timely manner.

A digital system, though, is all contained in one place. All your files are right there on your computer to pull up with a few clicks of the mouse. No more boxes, mess, and confusion – just easy access and a stress free environment.

How to Start?

Going paperless isn’t always so easy, though. In fact, it can be extremely time consuming, something you may just not be able to afford at this time. Between making items, running your shop, and organizing shipments to go out, when are you supposed to do it?

If you think it’s worth it in the long run, though, it becomes a choice between time and money. Either you have the time to convert to a digital filing system or you have money to let somebody else do it.

If you’re doing it yourself, make sure you have all the right tools and means at your disposal. You’ll need a scanner, a computer or separate hard drive to store everything on, and a system that lends itself to easy organization.

You don’t want to convert to digital and find that you still can’t find anything, so figure out how your files can fit together. For example, if they’re all receipts or work orders, you can organize them all by date or product ID.

Whether you’re doing the conversion yourself or you’re getting somebody else to do it, make sure you have a backup system available. The last thing you want to happen is to one day wake up and realize all your files disappeared with a hard drive crash. Back everything to a different hard drive or use a site like Mozy or Dropbox.