So, I'm doing my darnedest to get Belong in a place where things are more automated. There are obvious reasons to do this--just getting things to run smoother and be less work for me. What business owner doesn't want this?!

Here are 3 things I'm doing to get Belong in shape for summer and beyond.

Get your business in shape for summer and beyond as featured on the Belong Magazine blog for the female entrepreneur, blogger, lady boss, social media maven, woman in business and more!

Working ahead /

Call me old fashioned, but there is just something taking down time and using it to your advantage to get ahead. Every business has its natural ebbs and flows. And even if it doesn't have as many ebbs as you'd like, you can try to plan so that you create space to get ahead of the game--even if just for a bit.

Here is what I'm working ahead on:

- FUTURE ISSUES: We have to plan pretty far ahead for each issue, so I'm actively working on issues for 2018 already. BUT! there are so many details that have to be pulled together for the next issue (and the one after that) such as contracts and copy-editing and all of the behind the scenes business as you just don't want to have it hanging at the last minute--talk about stress!!!

- BLOGGING: We depend on guest posts from contributors and women LIKE YOU to keep the blog fresh and new and to supplement the post or two a week that I personally put together. Thankfully, I have a helper that collects info for me and loads it into the website for me. I just have to work a little formatting magic, create a pin-worthy image and schedule it. Luckily, we just had an influx of guest posts which puts me in a fantastic position to prepare a couple of months of blog posts.

Once the posts are ready, I can schedule social media in conjunction with them and fill in around it. Which leads to....

Later /

Do you use a social media scheduling tool? I am not super good about being originals on all social media fronts. I choose to focus on Instagram. And Later has been a really great tool for me for scheduling out my posts. There are loads of features that I love such as the search, the calendar, the preview, the saved captions, and...Later also offers a "link in bio" feature which is HUGE, and if you're not using a tool that offers this feature, you must.

I plug my blog in on the days that they are scheduled, I usually post an inspirational quote every other night, and then I fill in from there--trying to vary the perspectives (flay lay vs. lifestyle) and balancing the colors.

CHECK OUT LATER

Dubsado /

This is a new one for me. I just recently subscribed to Dubsado which is a client management system PLUS. I don't necessarily manage clients, but I do manage submissions and contributors and advertisers. With Dubsado's ability to manage new leads, automate workflows, send invoices and manage contracts--and so much more--this seemed like a good option for us. SO! I am getting things in shape by inputting canned emails, forms, and other information into this system so that it can take us into future issues and automate things in a way that they are not currently. It is a bit of a learning curve, but they have superb customer service which is so helpful.

GAIN CREATIVE FREEDOM FROM DUBSADO