I’m obsessed with organization. You could get me highlighters, colored pens, and file folders for a gift and I’d be SO excited! I run my business using Sprout Studio and I absolutely LOVE it! However, there are several things that I need to use pen and paper for, so with that being said, if I didn’t have my business binder, I’d be a little lost! haha!
I wanted to share today how my binder is set up, along with some tips on how to start your own!!
I colored this page from a coloring book a few years ago and decided it’d be a great insert for the front of my binder!
My binder has evolved very greatly over the years. It started as a half inch, and then a one inch, and then 1.5, and now it’s 2 inches and it’s perfect. Still has room to spare! Having dividers makes it super easy for me to find sections, and honestly, this binder was a leftover binder from my student teaching days. So, I left the roman numerals in the tabs and now I actually know by heart which one goes to which section because I use this binder SO much! 
There’s a divider with a branded sheet in a plastic sleeve that lets me (or anyone who needs to use it) know what’s in that section! I loved using all of my branding fonts and colors and patterns throughout it! It’s another fun way for me to be creative while organizing things!
Here are the sections that I have in my binder:
- social media planning sheets // weekly calendars I made to help fill in what I’m going to post on my blog, instagram, and facebook!
- financial plans // this is where I write out how I’m splitting up each payment I get, as well as an indicator of my monthly bills, when they’re paid, and tracking my savings and tax accounts; maybe I’ll turn this into a freebie!
- content ideas // this is the most messy section, because a lot of it is a brain dump from when I get new ideas of what to share about!
- education // this is where I store all of my notes from random webinars, articles, etc.
- the photo lab // this is an entire course that I took and this is where I store the workbook and notes I took. The next few sections actually are all courses I’ve taken! You can read more about that here!
- the instagram lab //
- the pinterest lab
- AJ posing course
- KJ lighting and location
- list to launch lab (can you tell I’m obsessed with Jenna Kutcher?! haha)
- wedding client info + workflow // where I store my workflow sheets and client info. I actually don’t use it that much any more since I store everything I need on Sprout!
- business manual + business plans // this is where I keep my business goals and the manual I created for my business so that if anything were ever to happen to me, anyone could step in and pick up where I left off on the business side of things. So valuable to create one of these! I need to update it this year!
Here is how you can start your own binder!
- Get a binder. It can be an old one you have laying around – it doesn’t need to be fancy! I prefer, personally, the ones that have the inserts on the front so you can change out the paper that is on the cover!
- Get dividers.
- Decide what’s going IN your binder. You can figure this out by looking at what you already have for notes/information you’ve collected for your business.
- Make categories based on what you’re already finding you do for your business. (Some categories you might find you need – notes, workflows, ideas, and goals)
- Start to insert things and add as you go!
- Voila! Done! You’ve started your first business binder!
When I started mine all those years ago, it was very small, and not very organized. As my business has grown, so have my needs. So – your binder will grow and evolve over time. What matters is that you start with a solid foundation so that you can add to it as you need it!
There you have it! I hope that this is useful for you!
Linda is a Boston-based photographer specializing in weddings and creating family legacies. You can see more of her work online at lindabarryphotography.com, on Instagram, or on Facebook. If you want to reach out directly: linda@lindabarryphotography.com. To sign up for the monthly newsletter full of encouragement and real life, click here!
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