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Small business housekeeping

I found myself in the same spot. Again. I had stopped doing Altrui housekeeping every Friday and was all of a sudden overwhelmed.

Background. Altrui Consulting is just over one year old. For the first several months all I did was hustle to build the business. Nothing could take my eyes off of the prize, which was making sure Altrui would make it.

I soon realized that although I had years of nonprofit fundraising experience and relationship building experience, I had not run a consultancy. Taxes were rather simple for me as I had learned all I could about them and when I needed to pay them. In Q2 of my first year I subscribed to QuickBooks which helps significantly.

If I enter the data.

Working with clients, for whom I am super grateful, is my passion. It doesn’t feel like work. It’s wonderful. It’s all of the “business” upkeep that I get behind in.

I wanted to write this post so that those just starting with their own business, whether a consultant or something different, realize that they’re not alone. There’s a lot to do, and it’s not all as fun as your work. I’m finding that if I just calendar a couple hours a week to do business housekeeping, then I’m good and I don’t have to experience that feeling of falling behind.

I also have found, which may sound pretty obvious, that keeping my workload list up to date really benefits me. My list includes any project due to a client and when it’s due. I use an Excel spreadsheet but there are also programs out there that can help you make this process easier.

Lastly, being a member of my local chamber of commerce helps me a great deal with all of this because I get to meet with other small business owners and share stories of what’s going on. As I often say, I’m always learning, and being surrounded by others who consider themselves always learning and who also have their own small business is beneficial to me.

I hope this was helpful. Thanks for reading!

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