Since Spring is the traditional time to tackle cleaning projects at home, it’s a good time to tackle cleaning up your business, too.   So with that in mind, here’s your “To-Do” list:

Decorating Your Office / Commercial Space:

Decorating an office space can be a delicate balancing act. On the one hand you want your office space to be inviting and pleasant for both employees and visitors, while on the other hand it must remain professional in look and feel.

When painting office walls, try to pick a color that reflects the spirit of your business.  Depending on the type of industry, you can choose more conservative colors (light green, beige, or a shade of white);or if appealing to more creative types such as designers or artists, feel free to go for walls with more visual pizzazz.

Warm up your workspace by adding some tasteful framed photos, prints, or paintings to your walls. One creative idea is to invite local artists to display their artwork on your walls. It's a win-win situation — they get exposure for their work while you get free office decor. Adding a few plants and indoor trees to your office setup will make your employees feel less cut off from the outside world, especially in offices located in very urban areas. 

Want to harmoniously organize and arrange your commercial or office space? Here are some helpful Feng shui tips that have slowly filtered into the business world over the past few years:

• Never sit with your back to the door. When visitors arrive, you don't want the back of your head to be the first thing they encounter. Instead, arrange your desk so it faces the door; doing so sends a message of power and strength. 
• Light your space well. If there are fluorescent lights in your office, turn them off and bring in lamps, then find a nice balance between the light the lamps provide and the natural sunlight.
• Create a sense of openness. Avoid a cluttered physical space by placing only the necessary furnishings (your desk and some chairs) in the center of the room. Place all other furniture, such as bookshelves, filing cabinets, and sofas, against the walls.

If you are planning on a more substantial makeover of your home or office, check out our featured business this month, Simple Man's Discount Supply to find discounted cabinetry, kitchen and bath supplies, as well as laminate or hardware flooring.

Backup Your Data

Back-ups are a very important, yet often neglected, part of using a computer. Most people back up little to none of their files on a daily basis. They don't back-up emails, address books, internet shortcuts, software installations, accounts data and FTP accounts and then get frustrated when all work is lost.

There are several software packages on the market that automate these backups. All you need to do is configure the software, then run on a daily basis at a time that is convenient. The best way of storing these back-ups would be on a secondary drive. The expense of the software and the secondary drive will be minimal, considering the time and effort it would cost you if you didn't have back-ups to re-build your computer.

Furthermore it would be even more effective to keep a back-up of your files in an off-site location. Meaning at another physical location. If your computer was to catch on fire a back-up on a secondary drive would not be much help. This would ideally be performed every month or every three months. With regular back-ups you can work with the peace of mind that if something happens to your valuable data, you can restore it with the click of a mouse.

If you need assistance with your IT hardware or software need or help getting a backup system in place for your business, please call Vince at Techs in Lex: 859.273.0817.

Get rid of outmoded ways of thinking.

Spring is a great time to breathe fresh air into your company.  Sit down with your key people and think about the way you do business. If there are patterns, products, or thought processes that aren’t working anymore, figure out how to get rid of them and replace them with ones that will rejuvenate your bottom line.

Try some fresh marketing ideas such as social networking, setting up a blog or YouTube page for your business, email marketing, or selling your products/services online.