Before you take steps to diversify your business, you need to make sure your core business is running like a well-oiled machine.

If you already feel overwhelmed with your current workload, it will be hard to expand into non-lending markets.

So first thing first: ask yourself if you really feel organized with your current book of business.

If the answer is “no,” it’s time to take a look at your current service model and make adjustments. What processes can be improved to reduce manual steps, eliminate duplication of effort or improve documentation? If you are trying to manage all of the mundane daily tasks involved with running an appraisal firm, you’re never going to find the time to make growth a business need. Ensuring you have process automation in place will give you some time back to build relationships and increase your volume of work (which, in turn, will make having an automated audit trail more important than ever). With Anow you can monitor the progress of your orders, build custom task lists, and generate invoices and analytics reports based on your appraisal details. Automating your processes is simple when you have the right tools and technology to support you.

If you’re coming up short on ideas for streamlining your core business, consider asking your valued clients what would make THEIR lives easier. After all, each client has its own needs and wants. Perhaps your client needs a customized workflow or an easier way to make payments.

With this “spring cleaning” out of the way, you’ll have more free time — and a stronger foundation — from which to expand into new markets and grow your book of business.