Mar. 31-Apr. 6
SECURITY Don’t leave this one another month: Get your passwords in order. You’ve no doubt got dozens of passwords for various apps and services. Take some time to write them down all in one place. Consider using a password manager such as LastPass or 1Password. (As solid as Keychain is, Apple provides its staff with 1Password accounts.)
WORKSHOP Spring cleaning! Target the workshop. Use a steam cleaner on your tools but get rid of or store anything you have not used in the last year. Straighten up your bench. Having things where you can find them leads to more efficiency and fewer headaches.
Apr. 7-13
STRATEGY Invest time in finding places where you can differentiate your business. What does your door handle look like? What’s your telephone answering machine message sound like? What’s your 404 error page say? Could you make your cash register receipts more fun? Think of the power of 1,000 points of differentiation. And get busy.
OPERATIONS Check your shipments log to be sure staff are recording who, what, where, when, and how.
MARKETING Can customers buy from directly from your social feeds? If not, explore what’s required to sell from Instagram or Facebook.
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Apr. 14-20
MARKETING Brush off the cobwebs in your old marketing files. This is a great time to revisit successful promotions from the past and reconsider ideas that might deserve a second look. It doesn’t always have to be new.
MANAGEMENT Some things you should do spontaneously sometimes need to be scheduled. Here’s one: Find time this week for a few quality minutes of conversation with each staff member. It’ll do wonders for their morale and give you ideas about what motivates them.
Apr. 21-27
MARKETING Get ready for Mother’s Day by planning a “Dad and child early evening out.” Select a shortlist of gifts for Dad and the kids to choose from. Offer gift wrapping. Send out your first round of emails or mailers by the middle of April.
SHOP Gold prices have surged this year amid global economic uncertainty. Forget them hills — there’s likely to be gold in your carpets, hand-washing sinks, buffs, polishing vacuum machines, emery paper bins, a/c filters. Gather it all up and send it off to a refiner.
Apr. 28-May 4
NETWORKING Contact any churches, synagogues or women’s groups in your area. Tell them you’ll speak for free about gemstones and jewelry at their luncheon meetings.
INVENTORY Buy white cotton gloves for everyone to wear when they’re moving product around — they keep skin oil off jewelry and prevent sterling goods from tarnishing.
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