Online banking. Use your bank’s site to set up automatic bill payments. Even if your electric, phone, and internet provider doesn’t offer payments through their site, your bank probably does. Set up as many automatic payments as you can. All you have to do then is remember to deduct the expenses from your checkbook. This saves me a ton of time each month, because I don’t have to remember when bills are due or write a bunch of checks and mail them. And by doing it through my bank, I’m in control of my money going out, rather than giving a company access to my information.

Automatic payments. In addition to setting payments via your bank, you can also pay some of your business items automatically with your business credit card. Purchases are tracked for you and you only have to make one payment to cover several expenses. And you may even earn bonuses or cash back. Just be sure to pay it off each month so you don’t rack up expensive interest charges.

Finance software. If you use a program like Quicken, you can simplify several financial transactions. It can automatically total your accounts for you. Use it to track various categories of expenses. And even download your banking info to make reconciling your account a breeze.

Automatic savings. Set up your accounts to automatically put aside some money for savings each month. Do it at a set time each month, with an amount that puts you closer to your savings goals. Want to save $5000 this year? Transfer $417 each month. Or about $100/ week. Don’t forget your retirement. And sole proprietors should be setting aside money for taxes as well. All of this can be done automatically so you don’t have to spend a lot of time each week or month figuring it out, or trying to remember to do it.

Just a few small steps can save a lot of time in the long run. Give it a try and see how it works for you. What other ways do find are helpful for simplifying your finances?

Image: Newscom

Post from: My Organized Biz

Vicky works with women in creative businesses to help them boost their bottom line – and even if you’re of the male persuasion, you’ll find some great info below.

Jen: Welcome, Vicky! I’ve heard that feng shui is the study of how energy moves through a space. Is that right? What does that mean, exactly?

Vicky: I describe Feng Shui as the art of arranging your environment to enhance your life.

For me, it’s way more than that too. Feng Shui literally means ‘wind and water’. Wind represents the unseen forces – within us and outside of us, and water represents the seen forces.

The Feng Shui I’ve gravitated to I call Inner Feng Shui because it addresses energy flow in your environment and also the energy flow within you. It’s all about aligning your inner and outer which includes your physical environment, your intentions, your passions, the food you eat, the actions you take and your strengths, and this all adds up to support you in attracting what you want. Feng Shui is a powerful tool for transformation – in any area of your life.

Jen: We’re focusing on spring cleaning this month at MyOrganizedBiz.com, so I’m curious about what happens to energy flow when things are out of place? Or dusty?

Vicky: There are a number of challenges common to most environments. And this includes furniture placement. Because you’re a refection of your environment, it’s important that the energy flows freely as this affects all aspects of your life – your creativity, your relationships, your prosperity, your ability to learn your life lessons, your health, and so on.

Imagine energy coming into your office space. It enters the room, bringing fresh, inspiring energy and it comes across a pile of papers or runs smack into a piece of furniture – and it gets bogged down and certainly slowed down. And then because you absorb the energy in your environment, the same happens with your own energy.

Energy needs space to flow freely. Dust, clutter, poorly placed furniture will slow it down.

And, by clutter I mean: anything unfinished, unused, unresolved, tolerated or disorganized. So it covers quite a bit.

Jen: Wow. That is a lot – and I can see why it’s so important to deal with clutter from that perspective.

Are there feng shui principles that address how income and clutter are related?

Vicky: Great question. Money IS energy. Prosperity is energy. The prosperity of your business is directly affected by the flow of energy in your environment. If you’ve ever had a cluttered desk and felt stressed with a whole lot of things weighing you down, you’ll know it’s not possible to be creative or inspired or even to think clearly. This directly impacts your prosperity.

Take a break, clear your desk and the energy will starts flowing again.

Jen: So, will you give us some advice? What step(s) would you recommend that readers take in their own workspaces?

Vicky: There are several general principles you can start with.

Position your desk in the power position. This is where your desk is as far from the door as possible, and with a view of the door from where you sit. Hopefully you have a solid wall behind you also. Being in the power position means nothing (symbolically or for real) can sneak up behind you and take you unawares. Next best thing if your desk is attached to the wall, is to position a small mirror so if someone came to your office door you’d catch the movement out of the corner of your eye. Just think, they may not know anything about Feng Shui, but you’d never find a CEO sitting with their back to the door.

Declutter (of course). Your office needs to be inspiring and to reflect where you’re going, not where you’ve been. Anything not related to your business, or related to a past business should be out of there. Anything broken needs to be removed. One of my clients had a broken clock – she removed it and immediately attracted new clients. Another client spent a whole Saturday decluttering her office – everything got the once over – and within 24 hours she had attracted six new clients. She’s a raving fan for decluttering now.

Make space for new clients – The easiest way to do this is to declutter your filing cabinet. Be ruthless. Create an empty file folder – or 5 – for the clients you’d like to attract. If your file cabinet is full of old energy, with no space for the new, you’re sending the Universe mixed messages about what you’d like.

Jen: These suggestions really fit in with this month’s theme. Do you have any other ideas for us?

Vicky: The most important thing in Feng Shui is to declutter. Your office is divided into 9 different areas, each representing part of your life and business. Your Wealth and Prosperity area is in the far left hand corner of your office when you stand at the door looking in.

What do you have there? All areas are connected but when you know that pile of old papers or that cluttered filing cabinet is in your Wealth & Prosperity area for example, it gives you an incentive to clear it out.

I have a mantra: 20 minutes is my friend. Start with just 20 minutes a day, every day. Choose a defined area to declutter each time – perhaps one drawer, perhaps the top of your desk, perhaps one bookshelf or half of a bookshelf. That way you’ll feel the difference – as opposed to doing a bit here and a bit there.

Declutter first – then add a symbol of prosperity. You do need to get the energy flowing well first. Then it’s time to add a symbol to your Wealth and Prosperity area. This can be anything that represents abundance to you. Money, an image of your future boat, a sunset – something personal to you. You can check to see where the different areas of the Bagua are located here.

Jen: Cool – a freebie! Thanks for that tip!

Vicky: Use these tips to give your workspace an energy shake up and you’ll feel the difference immediately. Create a workspace that inspires and supports your success, and your creativity will be greatly enhanced – and that in turn will boost the prosperity of your business.

Jen: Thank you so much – this is terrific information. Now I’m jazzed to work on my Wealth and Prosperity Area!

Post from: My Organized Biz

Don’t have 3 minutes to watch it all? The high points are summarized below:

Watch the video. (3:02)

Point 1: The kind of workspace you have impacts your productivity and the bottom line.

Point 2: A roadmap for your business should includes short and long-term hiring goals.

Point 3: Leasing office space (vs. buying) is recommended. Suggested sites for researching options include loopnet.com and cityfeet.com

Point 4: Consider location needs based on the type of business you have.

Point 5: Develop an effective telecommuting policy.

Do you see more desks in your future? How is your business doing space-wise?

Post from: My Organized Biz