With the new year off to a start, we’ve been chatting and plotting and planning over here at Scout Modern. I guess the first place to start would be the team! And, PS - BIG NEWS - we’ve expanded, which is super exciting! The business is growing and we couldn’t be happier about it.
On the design front, Ashley is still leading all design work and overall creative direction of the business. But to help support her so that she can design even MORE amazing spaces, we’ve added Missi in the office- she’ll be handling much of the backend of the business, as well as coordinating with our vendors and clients… so maybe even you, too! Anything admin, consider it handled by her. And then, there is Madison (that’s me!) who is working on brand and content management for Scout Modern.
With 2019 in full swing, we’re excited to bring so many goals to life in the coming months - like our online shop (yes, you read that correctly!) and our trip to the Las Vegas Market this month, to further develop relationships with vendors, and bring you some of our future favorite pieces.
We are feeling like this is really OUR year over here at Scout Modern. We have loved connecting with so many of you in the past, and feel so very excited to share even more amazing spaces, design tips and all of that good stuff in 2019.
So, with all big goals and plans, come realistic planning and organization. While creativity and design (aka, pretty things) is what we love, practically speaking a business needs organization as well. If you’re a creative person, you may also struggle with “Type A” tasks - like making spreadsheets, or calendars, etc. It can be hard to box in our creativity sometimes! But we’ve found some things that work well for us that we’d like to share in case it helps someone else:
Have a weekly meeting with yourself. We love this and have been trying this (on Sundays) in an effort to plan the week ahead . Depending on what you have on your plate work-wise, this can be really effective to setting tasks for each day. This way you can easily find out if you’re setting expectations that are TOO high for yourself, or if there are certain days where you’re lacking in productivity, or days where you can’t stop producing. It’s a good way to check in and ask yourself - what did I do differently on those days? How can I get better results and accomplish more?
Put it on the calendar. We’ve recently been using Trello, a great crossover app for your phone, tablet and desktop. You can integrate the app with your Google Calendar, so it just helps to keep everything in one place. It also has a handy-dandy feature that lets you drag and drop tasks from your various lists - we love it! It’s easy to use, and has helped our team keep up to speed on content and initiatives.
Find a project tracking software you love. For us, it’s IVY. The software has completely changed and streamlined our planning process. If you are interior designer, we give it a rave review! From client proposals, invoicing, project tracking and more - IVY has helped with every aspect of making our business run smoothly. And we’ve found their podcasts, webinars and a Facebook community to be invaluable.
Learn how to delegate. Delegating is not always easy when your business is your baby! But sometimes, to help your baby grow into a fully fledged adult, you need to create a little village to raise your child up right. Expanding our team has been a HUGE step for Scout Modern and we only hope to continue on that track. If you’re not sure if you’re ready to delegate, or expand your team, try writing out a list of things that you need to do to make your business successful. Separate the things that only you can do, and the outsource where you can. It’s all about awareness of your strengths and weaknesses and knowing when to scale!
Have a weekly team call. While email and texts, technology and the rest are all excellent communication tools, there is just something special about hearing someones voice (if you can’t be in the same room with them). It’s important to check in weekly with your team to talk to-do’s and goals and just see how each other is doing. We find it helps boost team morale and keep us truly connected- something we definitely recommend adding to your routine.
Talk about, and write down your goals. As we mentioned earlier we have big plans for all that this year will bring. We are committing to sharing them with you guys - as we just did, and also with each other. There is something about speaking your dreams aloud that helps bring them to fruition, and keep you accountable. If you don’t have a team to discuss your goals with, write them down - pin them up around your workspace, or in your bathroom; read them like affirmations and then, get going!
We’d love to hear your tips too for staying organized and on track - are you doing something new? Or something tried a true? We’d love to hear it!