One of the biggest issues small businesses have is getting clients to pay on time. There are a few systems you can put in place to create better cash flow.

Construction schedules allow us to keep projects on track and to give clients peace of mind. If a contractor doesn’t communicate the timeline, it makes the client nervous and it doesn’t allow the rest of your project team to stay on track.

I’ve learned a lot about how to work with people, and about myself. I knew the work would be rewarding, but doing client work and working ON the business are two very different things.

Email—it can be a blessing and a curse. If you have run a business that involves constant correspondence, it’s essential. It used to be the thing that gave me a headache, but now It helps my business run more efficiently. The key to not having my email inbox drive me nuts? I consistently use the systems I’ve set up.

Managing clients is difficult to implement in the beginning, because in the building and design industry it seems like the more you bend over backwards for a client, the better service you are providing. I have found that quite the opposite is actually true.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you know that there are a lot of non-billable things that need to get done for your business to continue to run smoothly. I’ve found that dedicating one day a week to take are of things like posting to social media, emailing your list, networking, continuing education, and bookkeeping makes the rest of the week more efficient.

It took me a while to realize that what is obvious to me, isn’t obvious to everyone outside of the industry. Your client likely doesn’t know your process and that can make them apprehensive about moving forward.

Leverage your Instagram feed to attract your desired audience.

So often business owners want a website right away, but to make that happen designers need content. We need the visual and informational building blocks in order to create something that represents your company and helps you grow your business.

Your photography is just as important as your resume—I would even venture to say it has more of an influence on whether or not someone bothers to contact you.

These are a few things that you can do to make the process run more smoothly before you even hire a website designer.