What do you do when you put your shiny, new plans and strategies into place… and they hit a bump in the road?

Many of us spend so much time planning and dreaming for a new month, quarter, or year in our business that we don’t actually know what to do when those plans don’t go according to, well, plan.

That’s why being prepared to overcome roadblocks needs to be part of your original plan.

At Elevate, we’re always looking 3 steps ahead so we can anticipate potential issues and plan to avoid them in the first place or know exactly what steps to take if they do pop up.

And today, we’re sharing pro tips for identifying roadblocks and understanding how to overcome them or keep them from happening again!

What to do when obstacles get in the way of your plans

Start with a SWOT Analysis.

A SWOT–strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats– analysis is a helpful, structured framework highlighting what is working and where you have growth opportunities and are at risk.

If you want to be able to plan for potential obstacles, you have to know what they are. That information only comes through completing a comprehensive SWOT Analysis.

This should be your go-to first step to get a high-level overview of where your business is and what you need to be on alert for.

Look at the numbers.

What story is your data telling?

• Where do your KPIs show you're doing well or performing below expectations?
• It's tempting to write off bad numbers as a fluke or explain them away, but you're missing an opportunity to understand the why behind those numbers.
• When you rely on data instead of emotions or “gut feelings” to plan, adjust, and pivot–– you will be more accurate.

Tracking KPIs and taking time to understand what they are telling you is the key to overcoming the roadblocks standing between you and your team and the success you want to see.

Engage your team.

Don’t get stuck in your own tunnel vision!

Ask your team to share their experience and feedback so you can see how everyone else perceives the obstacles in your way. You may find the people on the ground doing the work are more aware of roadblocks and challenges than you are as a leader because they’re engaged daily with clients, customers, and processes impacted by the obstacles.

Bring in an outside professional.

Fresh, neutral eyes can be a lifesaver.

When it comes to evaluating your operational efficiency and identifying challenges, some things are nearly impossible to see from the inside. Working with a professional like our founder, Ashley, can illuminate issues and obstacles you can't see yourself.

Once you’ve overcome the obstacles… What’s next?

Congratulations! You completed a SWOT analysis, looked at your numbers, engaged your team, and brought in an outside professional to help you see what’s truly going on in your business, solve your unique, specific challenges, and overcome the obstacles in your way of success!

Now what?

The truth is that you’ll need to repeat this process again and again. As your business continues to grow and evolve, so will your obstacles and issues. But that’s okay––you know what to do!

And in between overcoming obstacles, you can always improve your business or department’s success by focusing on building the most effective team possible.

At Elevate, we're passionate about helping our clients set their teams up for success and are serious about empowering leaders to get the best results from each and every team member.

These are a few of the ways we do that that you can do, too:

• Outline clear goals + expectations.
  • Set your team up for success with defined goals and specific expectations for their role.
• Commit to open communication.
  • People want to feel heard, and open communication practices are the best way to keep everyone on the same page working toward the same clear goals.
• Celebrate wins, big and small.
  • Never assume your team knows you appreciate them. Tell them! Celebrating individual wins and team achievements keeps everyone feeling motivated and appreciated.
• Schedule regular check-ins and a feedback framework.
  • A successful team includes each member knowing where they can improve and being willing to implement constructive criticism. Make feedback a consistent process that your team members understand and expect for best results.

Need help identifying, overcoming, and avoiding business obstacles?

We have a number of services designed to help you! Anticipating potential roadblocks and creating clear plans for overcoming obstacles is what we do best.

Whether you need some 1:1 time to consult CEO-to-CEO or a dedicated team of professionals to step in and take over a major issue with our Get It Done Service, we have the solution you’ve been searching for.

Feel free to schedule a call if you need help figuring out which service is best, or go ahead and get on our calendar for 2025!

The “Thrill Capital Of The World” continues to hold its title by adding its 21st roller coaster anticipated to begin construction soon.

Earlier this year, Magic Mountain demolished the Golden Bear Theater. However, park officials have not disclosed any information regarding the replacement venue and have only offered that the new attraction will be a “first-of-its-kind.”

Construction is anticipated to begin soon according to an approved construction permit from LA County. The permit grants authorization for grading activities related to the construction of the new coaster, as well as the construction of new retaining walls, a station, and a mechanical building at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Roller coaster fans have speculated online that the new roller coaster will be similar to a suspended motorbike coaster, where riders sit underneath the track in a motorcycle-like position.

A banner displayed on the construction walls surrounding the Golden Bear demolition site depicted a blue and orange cyborg bird with the slogan “Epic Thrills Are Cycling In.”

Magic Mountain is anticipated to release additional details on the new coaster in summer 2025.

SCV Water Customers Asked to Assist in Water Conservation Efforts

SCV Water is asking customers to refrain from all outdoor water use during the weeks of January 6-13 and January 27 – February 3, 2025, due to scheduled maintenance on facilities at Castaic Lake that will restrict the Agency’s imported water supply. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) will be performing needed maintenance on its pipeline at Castaic Lake and must close SCV Water’s connection to do so.

The SCV will rely exclusively on local groundwater sources and treated imported water already stored at reservoirs throughout the Valley for customers during this time. Ahead of the shutdown, SCV Water will fill its local storage facilities to capacity.

“About half of the SCV’s water supply is local groundwater, while the other half is imported from the State Water Project and other sources,” said Mike Alvord, SCV Water’s Director of Operations and Maintenance.

During the shutdown, DWR will be shutting down the piping that allows SCV Water to receive water from Castaic Lake so DWR crews can safely complete their work. SCV Water has no planned maintenance or repair work associated with this shutdown.

WATER SUPPLIES

Alvord added, “With the scheduled shutdown of facilities, the water from Castaic Lake will be unavailable for use. The water will be in the lake; we just won't be able to receive it while DWR is performing maintenance.”

Alvord also noted that this two-week conservation initiative is not a reflection of SCV Water’s overall water supply. It's merely a response to the temporary disruption of water delivery while key infrastructure is taken out of service for needed repairs and maintenance. Once the work is complete, water from Castaic Lake will be available again.

SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE

SCV Water and DWR coordinate efforts for maintenance and repair projects on the water conveyance systems at Castaic Lake on an as-needed basis. This infrastructure is part of the system that delivers water from Castaic Lake to SCV Water for treatment and distribution for urban use.

SCV Water is taking the necessary steps to prepare and is asking all water users to refrain from irrigating those two weeks in January to help get through the repair period without any major issues, so that all customers can continue to receive reliable water service.

“DWR scheduled the project during the winter months when temperatures are mild, days are shorter and the need for outdoor irrigation is minimal,” added Alvord. “Outdoor water use is the single largest use of residential water, so turning off the irrigation is an easy way to help achieve essential water savings.”

“Municipal water systems operate around the clock, so regular maintenance of key infrastructure is of vital importance,” said Alvord. “Annual maintenance maximizes the life and performance of the infrastructure and reduces future operations and maintenance costs, all while ensuring a reliable water supply.”

For more information, visit: yourSCVwater.com/castaic-lake-maintenance

###

About SCV Water:

The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency (SCV Water) is a full-service regional water agency located in the Santa Clarita Valley. SCV Water provides water service to approximately 75,000 business and residential customers. It was formed on January 1, 2018, when local water suppliers combined into one integrated, regional water provider. More information can be found at www.yourSCVwater.com

For more information, please contact:

Kevin Strauss

Communications Manager

SCV Water

kstrauss@scvwa.org

Is your marketing stuck in the exhausting feast-or-famine cycle? One month, you’re overwhelmed with clients; the next, you’re scrambling to find your next project. This rollercoaster isn’t just tiring—it’s holding your business back from consistent growth and success.

The Problem: Inconsistency

The issue isn’t a lack of effort; it’s a lack of consistency. Sporadic marketing leads to unpredictable sales, making it nearly impossible to plan ahead or scale effectively. Without a steady marketing system, you’re left to navigate the ups and downs with no clear path forward.

The Solution: Systems

At SchlickArt, we’ve seen how this cycle can wear down even the most driven entrepreneurs. The key to breaking free isn’t doing more; it’s doing better—by building consistent, strategic marketing systems that deliver results month after month.

But creating and maintaining these systems isn’t easy, especially when you’re already stretched thin running your business. That’s where a Fractional Marketing Team comes in.

The How: A Fractional Marketing Team

A Fractional Marketing Team is your on-demand solution to end the feast-or-famine cycle. Acting as an extension of your business, they provide the expertise, structure, and consistency needed to create and implement effective marketing systems—without the expense of a full-time team.

Here’s how a Fractional Marketing Team makes the difference:

1. Strategic Leadership: Gain access to seasoned marketing professionals who guide your efforts with expertise and precision, without the commitment of full-time staff.
2. Tailored Marketing Plans: They design custom strategies that address your specific business needs, industry challenges, and long-term goals.
3. Consistent Execution: A Fractional Marketing Team ensures your campaigns are implemented regularly across all platforms, eliminating the chaos of sporadic efforts.
4. Data-Driven Decisions: Through tracking and analysis, they optimize your marketing efforts in real-time, ensuring every dollar and hour spent is effective.
5. Scalable Solutions: As your business grows, the team adjusts your strategy and tools, so you’re never stuck in the feast-or-famine cycle again.

The Who: SchlickArt

At SchlickArt, we’re more than just marketers—we’re your Fractional Marketing Team. Our focus is on helping you break free from the endless cycle of highs and lows by building systems that drive steady, predictable growth.

With a combination of strategic leadership and high-quality visual content, we don’t just market your business; we elevate it. Whether you need a comprehensive marketing plan, an evergreen library of content, or a multi-channel strategy, our team creates solutions that work today and scale for tomorrow.

If you’re ready to leave the feast-or-famine cycle behind, it’s time to partner with SchlickArt. Let’s build a marketing system that delivers the results you’ve been searching for.

Planning for the future of your business – whether it’s a new year ahead, a new quarter, or even a new month – can’t be accurately done without understanding where you are and where you want to go.

That’s where strategic roadmapping comes in.

At Elevate, we specialize in 1:1 Strategic Mapping sessions that guide you through the 7 key pillars of your business. Together, we'll identify your goals and create a clear, step-by-step roadmap to success.

These sessions can be the difference between feeling uncertain and stuck or feeling confident and experiencing your highest level of success.

And while a Strategic Mapping session can absolutely help when you’re struggling, it can also be exactly what you need to continue your success and take the right next steps when you’re crushing your current goals.

Keep reading to discover if a strategic roadmap is the next right step in your business!

Who needs strategic roadmapping?

Every business owner, leader, and CEO needs to have a strategic roadmap in place at all times.

Here’s the thing: This isn’t a “set it and forget it” kind of project. Once you’ve completed your existing roadmap and met your goals, it’s time to re-evaluate your business and map out what’s next!

There are some specific scenarios you may find yourself in that are especially a good fit for Strategic Mapping:

• Your company is growing
  Growth is the goal… so this is a GREAT thing! But growth can also pose a lot of questions and create a series of critical decisions. A strategic roadmap will help you identify where to outsource, where to hire, and how to delegate now that your team (and workload) have grown! With a plan in place, you can handle growth with confidence.
• You have an abundance of ideas
  It's exciting to have big, innovative ideas, but if you find yourself with 347 ideas scattered between post-it notes, your mind, emails, physical notebooks, and a project management tool… you need some help! Strategic Mapping will help you put all of your ideas in one place and help you prioritize into a plan for executing them.
• You want to launch something new
  Whether it's a new service, offer, product, or audience – launching can be overwhelming! A roadmap outlines the moving pieces, identifies what to delegate, and establishes realistic timelines to ensure a smooth rollout.
• You hit all your year-end goals
  First of all – congratulations! That's a huge accomplishment. You may also be at a loss wondering, “Well, what's next?” This is where Strategic Mapping can give you serious direction and clarity! Mapping out your next-level goals is a daunting task, but you don’t have to figure it out on your own.

Common Problems CEOs Face When Trying to Map Out Goals

Even with the best intentions, many leaders struggle with strategic planning. Here are some common roadblocks we help our clients overcome:

• Unclear Vision
  If you don’t know where you want to go or why your organization is trying to reach certain milestones, it can be impossible to get anywhere. This usually results in setting vague, unmeasurable goals or overly ambitious targets that will only lead to failure.
• Getting Too Complex
  While you may want to do it “all,” loading down your roadmap with too many goals, initiatives, and tasks will leave you feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where to start. Strategic roadmapping helps you simplify and focus on what matters most.
• Not Doing Your Research
  Our Strategic Mapping process starts with a thorough audit of the 7 key pillars of business. Skipping this step can lead to unclear goals and missed opportunities.
• Inadequate Focus
  You can easily get caught up in too short-term of a view or too long-term of a view. The sweet spot? Planning for the next 6 months to a year, with flexibility built-in. Getting more granular than that can cause you to end up getting lost in the details and not planning big enough, while trying to map out too far in the future will leave you with an outdated plan that isn’t aligned to the current state of your business.
• Resistance to Change
  If you don’t want to make the necessary changes you need to get where you want to go, you won’t plan for them. That’s why having a thought partner and accountability measures ensure that you stay committed to your goals.

Looking for a Strategic Roadmapping Partner?

We’re here to make strategic planning seamless and effective.

When you book a Strategic Mapping session, you’ll get:

• Two 90-minute strategy calls
• One follow-up Clarity Call
• Clearly defined mission, vision, and value statements
• Defined goals and an actionable plan to reach them
• Guidance through the 7 Pillars of your business
• A goal-oriented action plan for the next four quarters
• Personalized Trello board to keep track of next steps and monitor progress to your goals

Say goodbye to overwhelm and uncertainty. Instead, walk away with clarity, direction, and the confidence to take your business to the next level.

Click here to learn more and apply for your Strategic Mapping session today.

Please consider donating to the SCV Food Pantry for the holidays! We are in need of the monetary donations to help us serve the community! Anything helps! Visit our Instagram @scvfoodpantry where we have uploaded our fundraising goal for the remainder of the year!

We all know how hectic the holiday season can feel, but it doesn’t have to be pure chaos!

At Elevate, we help our clients execute strategic end-of-year planning that not only sets them up for an effective start to the new calendar year but also helps them enjoy the holiday season and all it brings with it!

Today, we’re sharing all our best tips for choosing client gifts, planning for the influx of holiday-related events, managing holiday travel plans like a pro, and setting your business up for success in 2025.

End-of-Year Gifts

Giving end-of-year gifts is a great way to show your clients, vendors, and partners that you appreciate them.

It can be hard to choose the right gift or figure out how much to spend, so our experienced Executive Assistants shared their professional advice:

• Always send a personalized gift when possible. People are more likely to use something that fits their needs and feels like it was meant for them! Easy ways to personalize are with monograms, brand colors, and engravings.
• Create tiered options for gifts. You can assign clients to a tier based on the impact they have on your business, the level of communication you maintain with them, how long they've been a client or any other criteria that are important to you. Having different tiers allows you to adjust your budget and give more personalized gifts where appropriate.
• Think outside the box. You don’t have to send holiday-themed gifts. To make things more interesting, choose a gift inspired by the location of your business or personal interest. We worked with a client whose business was headquartered in Japan, so we sent Japanese whiskey and monogrammed decanters, and everyone loved them!
• Think about taxes. You can deduct up to $25 for a gift per person per year. If you have the gift personalized and/or shipped, you can also deduct those costs. For example, if you bought a planner that was $25 and paid $15 to have it monogrammed for your client and $10 to ship it – you can actually deduct $50. ($25 for the gift and $25 for “incidentals.”) We're not CPAs, so always work with your accountant to double-check what's true for your business, state, and gifts.

Include travel in your end-of-year planning

We know almost everyone ends up doing a little extra travel during the holidays, whether you’re visiting out-of-town family or making extra shopping or holiday event stops.

Traffic can be worse, airports can be crowded, and kids can get tired of the car, so here’s how you can take the stress out of your holiday plan:

• Give yourself plenty of time. If you're flying any time between now and the new year, go ahead and assume lines will be longer, and moving through security will take you longer than usual. We suggest adding between 30 and 60 minutes to your normal airport arrival time to make sure you're not doing the Home Alone dash through the terminal to make your flight!
• Plan for travel time on your calendar. Don't just block out the time an event starts or ends – make sure you include enough time to travel to and from your event in your calendar block as well.
• Keep the kids entertained. If you have kids who will be in the car more than usual or for longer than they're used to, make sure they have plenty of activities and games to keep them interested. We love downloading a kid-friendly audiobook or even a kid-focused podcast for them to listen to during the drive.
• Say no when necessary. Set boundaries now to avoid a stressful holiday experience. You don't have to say yes to every invitation you receive. Make time before everything gets hectic to sit down with your partner and/or family to discuss what you want this holiday season to look and feel like.

Do’s and don’ts for end-of-year planning for your business

A new calendar year is often a time for businesses to reflect, reset, and recharge.

Taking some time to plan now before the last weeks of the calendar year will help you enjoy your time off more and avoid unnecessary stress. Things tend to fall through the cracks when we rush, so a planned, measured approach to the end of the year also ensures you don't miss anything important.

These are some things you don’t want to do when planning for the end of the year:

DO NOT:

• Try to do too much at once
• Overhaul your entire business in the last two weeks of the year
• Leave your books untouched to deal with “next year”
• Start the new year without a clear plan and direction

Since you’re not going to do those things, what should you do?

ELEVATE SAYS TO:

• Space out tasks and delegate as many responsibilities as possible
• Focus on a few key systems or processes that need to be improved, added, or changed
• Make sure your books are cleaned up and ready to make this your easiest tax season ever
• Invest in a Strategic Mapping Session with us to put together a direction and strategy for reaching your biggest goals in 2025

Don’t get overwhelmed by holiday events

Find yourself getting overwhelmed by holiday events and parties? You’re not alone.

Between now and the new year, there are likely to be a number of personal and work invitations and expected attendance at different events.

The holiday festivities don’t have to be chaotic and hectic! With a bit of planning and foresight, you can make time to enjoy everything… and maybe even find some time to relax.

• Start by doing a sweep of your work calendar to make sure any personal events are blocked off.
• Make sure to plan for travel time! If your 3rd grader has a dance recital at 5 pm, make sure you block your work calendar before 5 pm to give you enough time to wrap up your day and leave with plenty of time to get there. Remember that holiday traffic can often be worse than usual!
• Ask your team to share their holiday schedules and any PTO requests ahead of time so you can plan to balance the workload and make sure everything important is covered.
• Schedule extra blank space into your calendar around the end of November and throughout December to accommodate holiday gatherings.
• Convert any in-person meetings to phone calls, emails, or asynchronous video catch-ups. Giving people time back in their day is truly a gift at this time of year!

Need support with your end-of-year planning?

At Elevate, we’re always here to step in and help with your operations.

We have a variety of services designed to help you take control of your business, streamline your systems, and run a well-oiled, efficient operation!

Check out our website to find the service that fits your needs.

And if you know you’d like to work with us, go ahead and schedule a call with us to chat about the details today!

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) has once again recognized the City of Santa Clarita as a finalist for the prestigious 2024 "Most Business-Friendly City" award in the category of large cities (population over 60,000). The winner will be announced TONIGHT (November 6) at the 29th Annual Eddy Awards ceremony, which will take place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This marks another proud moment for Santa Clarita, which continues to be a hub for innovation, growth and economic prosperity.

As one of only five finalists in the large city category for the 27th Annual Eddy Awards, Santa Clarita is being acknowledged for its strategic initiatives, strong partnerships, efficient processes and steadfast commitment to supporting businesses of all sizes. These efforts have contributed to make Santa Clarita a prime destination for businesses seeking growth and opportunity.

The LAEDC Eddy Awards have celebrated individuals, organizations and educational institutions that contribute to inclusive economic development across the region. The awards recognize cities that create environments that foster enterprise growth and job creation, ultimately building wealth and improving the quality of life for communities. Santa Clarita has long been recognized as a leader in economic development and was previously honored with this recognition in 2008, 2016 and 2022.

For more information about the City of Santa Clarita’s business-friendly initiatives, please visit ThinkSantaClarita.com.

Median Modifications to Begin on October 30

Beginning Wednesday, October 30, crews will begin the construction of median modifications, paving, grinding and overlay operations along portions of McBean Parkway at Newhall Ranch Road that will add a left turn lane on northbound McBean Parkway, enhancing traffic circulation.  

The following closures will be in place from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. on weeknights during construction, and from 8:30 p.m. on Friday, November 1 through 4:30 a.m. on Monday, November 4. The closures will then restart during the weeknights until the anticipated end date on November 8.

Closures include:

• One southbound through lane on McBean Parkway at Newhall Ranch Road.
• One left turn lane on northbound McBean Parkway at Newhall Ranch Road.
• One left turn lane on westbound Newhall Ranch Road at McBean Parkway.

Drivers are asked to be aware of scheduled lane closures and plan their routes accordingly. Traffic signs will be posted to inform motorists of upcoming lane closures. Residents are asked to reduce their speed through the construction zones.

The City of Santa Clarita thanks community members in advance for their understanding and support of this project. All measures will be taken to complete the project safely and promptly. For questions or concerns, please contact City of Santa Clarita Engineer Leslie Frazier by email at lfrazier@santaclarita.gov.

Elevate’s Best Practices for Inbox Management

If you’ve ever opened your email inbox and been overwhelmed, you’re not alone.

But a messy inbox may be costing you more than just stress – it can lead to a huge loss of time, resulting in decreased productivity and overall business growth.

We manage our clients’ inboxes like well-oiled machines every day, and today, our Executive Assistants are sharing our best practices for inbox management with you directly!

Inbox management struggles

Most inbox problems occur in one of these common situations or scenarios:

• Too much junk mail or marketing/promotional emails
• Too many emails, in general
• Important emails lost in the chaos
• No communication guidelines
• Lack of labels and/or folders
• Rewriting similar email responses over and over
• Not using filtering correctly (or at all)

Understanding where you’re struggling to maintain your inbox will help you pinpoint your specific problem.

Once you know where you’re getting stuck (it may be in more than one place!), you can implement the best practices we’re sharing to solve your inbox headaches.

Best practices for an organized inbox

Overall, our best tip is to partner with an EA to manage your inbox for you. If you do have someone helping you, it’s crucial that you establish set times for each of you to be actively working in your inbox so you aren’t both in there moving things around at the same time.

The rest of our best practices include:

• Establish what you want your inbox to look like: There’s no “right” way to manage an inbox. It should be based on how you want to manage things.
• Delete any unnecessary emails and unsubscribe from all superfluous emails
• Establish folders based on your needs and preferences: These can include options like waiting, to do, EA, end of day, end of week OR review today, attention later, leisure read
• Filter out Google Calendar notifications, notifications within Google Docs, emails from Zoom, and similar type notifications
• Use a color-coding system to make important emails stand out
• Establish who will respond to certain emails and follow a consistent system
• Create templated responses you can copy and paste for repeated responses
• Create a multi-inbox view with labeled folders on the right and the active inbox on the left

Need help with your inbox management?

Implementing these best practices will help you organize even the messiest inbox!

If you need a professional EA to step in, create a tailored inbox management system, and maintain organization and systems across your entire business, check out our Executive Assistant services! We’d love to partner with you.

Elevate’s Best Practices for Business Systems + Processes

Every business is built on systems and processes. The question is – are they intentional and strategic or chaotic and disorganized?

We consider a system to be the tools you use to do things in your business and a process to be the way your business does things.

And today we’re pulling back the curtain on how you can improve the systems and processes in your own business based on our talented Executive Assistants’ decades of experience.

Where business systems + processes get stuck

If you feel like your business could run more efficiently or effectively, you’re probably experiencing one of these common issues with your systems and/or processes:

• Your scheduling platform and calendar are not syncing well
• Your data intake is all over the place and inconsistent
• There’s no clear ownership of processes
• Undefined client/team member onboarding and offboarding
• Tasks from emails aren’t accurately captured or turned into to-do list items
• Invoicing errors, missed deadlines, or inaccuracies
• Scheduling conflicts and issues

Best practices for streamlined, effective business systems + processes

When you have effective systems and processes in place across the board, everything in your business will run more smoothly.

Your systems and processes are the key to building a strong foundation for long-term success and sustainability. They’re one of the most crucial elements of your entire operations!

Here’s what our experienced EAs suggest you implement:

• Use Zapier to seamlessly integrate your calendar and scheduling app
• Use Google Forms to streamline recurring data intake or automate the entire process through a CRM like Dubsado
• Create a clear organizational chart with roles and responsibilities clearly outlined
• Identify information holders (who aren’t the CEO) to fill in gaps and answer questions when needed
• Use a tool like Visio, Lucid, Clickup, or Miro to create flowcharts for onboarding and offboarding (and other processes, too!)
• Connect a project management tool like Asana to your email to easily pull and create tasks from your inbox
• Set up a process for invoice payments and use software like QuickBooks or Bill.com to automate and keep you accountable

Need help with your systems and processes?

These best practices will help you create intentional, effective systems and processes within your organization.

If you know you need someone to step in and manage the process for you (and maintain the systems and processes that are put in place), we would love to share more about our Executive Assistant services!

At the October 22, 2024 City Council meeting, the City Council adopted a resolution to support the City of Santa Clarita’s (City) efforts to be designated as a Clean California Community. This recent action highlights the City’s continued dedication to environmental responsibility and community pride.

The Clean California Community Designation program, launched in August 2024 by the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans), was created to establish, maintain and recognize communities that demonstrate a commitment to sustaining a clean and beautiful environment. Community cleanups, greening and beautification projects, and education and outreach are all integral components of the program.

City Council expressed pride in the steps the City is taking to maintain its high level of commitment to environmental initiatives that serve to benefit the daily lives of all residents. “Our City has always made it a priority to protect our natural environment and plan for a sustainable future,” said City of Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth. “Earning a Clean California Community recognition would demonstrate the high level of commitment Santa Clarita has to keeping our City clean and green, benefitting the lives of current and future residents.”

Obtaining the designation requires the City to commit to implementing or maintaining recycling and cleanup programs, some of which include:

• Local Cleanup Events, such as River Rally, Neighborhood Cleanup Day, Make a Difference Day and others.
• Collection Drives for items that are hard-to-recycle, hazardous or bulky.
• Community and Youth Educational programs such as environmental awareness outreach, social media campaigns, as well as school and Library activities.
• Greening and Beautification Projects, such as planting trees or increasing park space.

Community members are encouraged to participate in City-led activities which further enhance sustainability initiatives. To see a list of upcoming environmental events, please visit GreenSantaClarita.com/Events.

Together, we will continue to enhance the City of Santa Clarita’s reputation as a community that is clean, green and beautiful!

Results Will Guide the Use of Community Development Block Grant Funding

What are the most pressing issues affecting the City of Santa Clarita as it relates to human supportive services, housing and infrastructure? Each year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides the City of Santa Clarita with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to help meet the needs of low- and moderate-income residents in the community.

To help understand the needs of the community and determine the best use of CBDG funds, the City invites residents to participate in the annual Community Needs Assessment survey. This survey allows residents to weigh in on the City’s housing and service priorities and provide feedback on how funding should be distributed across the priority areas identified in the City’s 2024-2028 Consolidated Action Plan. These priority areas include Affordable Housing, Supportive Human Services and Community Facilities and Infrastructure.

The survey is available online at SantaClarita.gov/Housing through December 20, 2024. For more information on the City’s CDBG programs or the Community Needs Assessment survey, please contact Julia Rodriguez, Administrative Analyst, at (661) 286-4174 or via email jrodriguez@santaclarita.gov.

Elevate’s Best Practices for Document Management

Every business has hundreds, if not thousands, of documents floating around at any given time, so it’s crucial that you understand how to manage them well.

Without proper document organization and systems, you’ll waste valuable time searching for what you need internally and what you need to share or send to your clients.

We are experts at creating customized document management solutions for our clients, so we asked our EAs to spill the tea on what they do behind the scenes!

Document management struggles

Using a drive does not count as a document management system.

These are some of the main struggles our clients report when it comes to managing documents within their businesses:

• Lack of file or folder structure
• Too many folders or sub-folders
• Not using naming conventions
• Duplicating documents
• Losing signed or confidential documents

Read through that list and then take a hard look at your document management system to identify gaps in your process or missing systems.

Best practices for managing your documents

Instead of throwing everything into a random drive, forgetting what you called the doc, and then spending 25 minutes trying to track down what you need, our EAs suggest doing the following:

• Audit your Drive to see what exists, what needs to be created, and what can be deleted
• Establish a basic folder structure outline: Operations, HR, Legal, Marketing, Sales, Clients/Customers/Vendors, Accounting.
• Identify the ideal file and folder layout and create an outline to follow
• Create consistent naming conventions to make it easy to find documents in the future
• Create user groups so you don’t have to individually give access to files/folders
• Separate business and personal files
• Only use one Drive whenever possible
• Create one set of template documents to duplicate and work from when needed.

Need help with your document management?

Don’t waste valuable time searching for documents—those minutes add up to lost days or even weeks of work over the course of a year! Use these best practices to organize your documents and make it easy to always access what you need.

If the thought of taming your document disaster is too much to put on your plate right now, you should consider turning it over to the Elevate team. We can either step in and provide ongoing EA support or create a custom partnership for a short-term document organization project. Either way, we have the skills and expertise to get your business streamlined, organized, and optimized!