Archive for the ‘Productivity’ Category
Time is the great equalizer. Everybody gets the same amount: 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour. We can't save time or accumulate or rearrange it. We can't turn it off or on. It can't be replaced. You can always make more money but, you can never make more time. But these days, it seems as if the lament of not having enough time has become a national anthem. Everywhere women and men, especially small business owners, find themselves constantly in a rush, over-booked and over-scheduled with no time off. Life is accompanied by the ongoing stress of not enough time. And sometimes doing too much and being too busy can be a way of numbing feelings or disguising depression or anger.
Though it may not always seem so, how we fill our time and how we spend it is our choice.
Answer "true" or "false" to the following questions to discover if you're caught up in the "too-busy" cycle. If you answer "true" to four or more questions, it's time to reach outside yourself for help to step off this treadmill and start living a life you love!
- I constantly find myself doing "urgent" things and trying to catch up.
- I allow myself to drift into obligations when I don't know how much time or energy they'll require.
- I find myself running from when I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night. I'm always tired and never feel like I accomplished enough.
- I seldom schedule a day off for myself and when I do, I tend to fill it with activities.
- I don't make time for "self-care" activities: physical exercise, nurturing or "pampering" myself, cultural stimulation, spiritual well-being, learning something new, playing, or simply doing nothing.
- I seldom have time to do the things I really love.
- My work and project areas are cluttered with "I'll look at this later" stacks and "to-do" piles.
- I often miscalculate how long certain activities will take.
- I often miss deadlines or work long hours to meet a deadline.
- I respond to interruptions such as phone calls, faxes, email, beepers and pagers, and allow them to take me off track.
- I try to keep things in my head rather than making lists. If I do make a daily "to-do" list, it's impossible to complete in a day.
- I tend to move from one urgent thing to the next, rather than working toward specific goals and objectives.
- I find myself constantly wishing I had more time or projecting an imaginary future when I have more time, making comments such as "as soon as..." or "next year..."
- I spend time running errands and rushing because I didn't plan well enough.
- I spend time doing things I could pay someone else to do.
- I often do things because I "should," or continue to do things that no longer fit who I am.
- Other people complain that my schedule doesn't allow enough time for them.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
Author's content used with permission, © Claire Communication
In today's globalized, decentralized, wireless economy, more and more businesses are hiring "virtual employees" - employees who work remotely, often from home, and who may rarely or never come into the office. Needless to say, managing these employees from afar can be challenging. Effective virtual management begins with hiring the right people and continues with regular, frequent communication and recognition of success.
1) Hire the right people
The successful virtual employee is a disciplined self-starter who is productive in an isolated environment but is wise enough to maintain connections with other outside communities. The employee must also be trustworthy, self-reliant, organized, efficient, and dedicated to their own and the company's success.
2) Get to know them
Hold one-on-one, 20-minute meetings (or longer) at least once every two weeks with direct reports. Let the employee set the agenda, and encourage him or her to discuss any questions or concerns. Assure him/her of your trust and respect, and ask questions about his/her aspirations, quality of work life, and sense of career advancement. Work to resolve any problems quickly, and keep the employee apprised of your progress.
3) Make them feel like a part of the team
Virtual employees should be included in all team meetings. Teleconferencing and web-enabled tools like GoToMeeting.com, webinars, live chats, etc. make team meetings among scattered employees easy. Include some form of recognition in these meetings, such as acknowledging an insightful comment, remarking on small accomplishments that contributed to the end result, and praising those who honor their commitments. Organize employee retreats once a year so that virtual and traditional employees can interact with one another, to discuss success and/or make improvements, to create a sense of unity and teamwork, and to share information.
4) Communicate, communicate, communicate
Communicate in as many ways as possible, including newsletters, electronic message/discussion boards, the company intranet, etc. The level of communication should correlate directly to the distance of the employee.
5) Set realistic benchmarks and expect regular status reports
Establish criteria for measuring progress and success - for example total contacts made or products generated. Reserve a particular time of day or the week for check-in chats and/or web-enabled staff meetings. Set interim deadlines for projects to avoid surprises or gaps.
6) Reward and recognize
Reward virtual employees' desirable behavior in ways that are meaningful to them. A virtual employee might like an upgraded computer, a Starbucks gift card (since many of them work from coffee shops from time to time), learning and development opportunities, or simply time off. Ask virtual employees to list two or three rewards that they would find motivating and then recognize them accordingly.
Managing virtual employees is challenging but gratifying, as these employees are among the most reliable and entrepreneurial. Give them room to innovate and grow, and you'll be rewarded with success.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
When content marketing is a large part - or even a small part - of your business marketing strategy, it pays to learn to write articles fast. With this five-step process you can write educational, value driven, and informative content quickly and easily. Here’s how to write articles fast!
Step #1 - Choose your article topic or keywords and form it into a question.
So for example, let’s say your keywords are “dog training tools” and you want to write an article about dog training tools. These keywords formatted as a question might look like this: “What are the most useful dog training tools?” or “What are the top three dog training tools?” This is an extremely writer-friendly technique because it’s much easier to answer a question quickly and succinctly. And when you perform your keywords search, you’ll often find the phrases are already formatted as questions.
Step #2 - From that question, add three additional questions that relate to your main topic.
For example, * What are the benefits of dog training tools? * Where can you find dog training tools? * How do you choose the right dog training tool?
Step #3 - Answer each question with a four or five sentence answer.
This is where the true writing begins and you’ll find that writing a paragraph, or two, to answer your question is quite easy. The best online content is easy to understand and written conversationally. This question and answer technique facilitates conversational writing. The question and answer format also helps create articles that are easy to read online. Short paragraphs with subheadings are easy to scan and absorb the value quickly.
Step #4 - Write a quick introduction.
Once you’ve answered the three main questions in your article, it’s time to go back and write the introduction. Again, this will be a four to five sentence paragraph, only this time you want to introduce the problem you’re addressing in your article and provide a benefit for reading the article. You want to motivate people to continue reading.
Step #5 - Write your conclusion.
Your conclusion is merely a re-emphasis of the benefit in your article and a quick summary of your key points. You’ll also want to include a call to action here, like “Visit my website for more information.” (Be sure to include a link.)
By formulating your article as a series of questions, you’re able to write the answers quickly and provide valuable information to your prospects. It’s a useful technique for just about any article type or subject matter. Give it a try; chances are you can cut your article writing time in half with this simple five-step technique.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
How do you increase your income by working less? Many people think this is impossible. After all - with a job, the longer you work, the more money you make. This is because in many instances you are getting paid by the hour, not by your production. However, that’s not the case when owning a business. When you first start a company, you will quickly find out that if you don’t get things done, the money doesn’t come in. You are forced to learn time-management skills, or go back to the work force. The reality is, it is possible to make a huge income without working a lot. Obviously in the beginning of a company, you will have to put in more time. However, even then you can reclaim a lot of wasted time. Here are three ways to do it:
#1) Outsource
This might be the most important time-management tip of all. The reality is that most people are great at one or two things, and less good at everything else. While you might have twenty things that need to be done, you probably are only good at two of them. Eighteen of those tasks could be done just as effectively by someone else. Why not outsource those tasks? That’s the real “secret” of time management. If you don’t set up your business to run without you, you will always have to be there to make it work. Otherwise the operation will come to a crashing halt. Learning to replace yourself with others is one of the most critical things you will ever do.
#2) Prioritize
It’s amazing to many people what they spend their time doing when they start keeping track of it. Checking email, forum and social networking browsing, and blogging about nothing in particular all take time without accomplishing anything. These are the activities many people do to fill time when they don’t set priorities. That’s why you need to set a “to do” list the night before. Stick with that no matter what. Most people just know that they have twenty things that need to get done. They place equal importance on those things. Instead, some things are much more important than others, and you want to focus on those.
#3) Set short deadlines
Once you have a list of things you need to focus on, set immediate deadlines to force focused action. Most things will swell in time to the amount of time you allot them. So if you give yourself all day to do something, it will take all day. This is because you know it doesn’t have to be done immediately, and you will not stay focused. Remember when you were in school? You probably kept putting off those papers that were due months off, because they didn’t have to be done. However, when you had something that was due the next morning, you were forced to stay much more focused. Do the same with business.
When you implement these three tips, those forty to eighty-hour work weeks can be shortened to almost nothing. You can then spend your time doing the things you love. And even if you want to spend your time with your business, it will enable you to focus on the parts of it you enjoy more, and less on the parts you don’t.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
How do you increase your income? The answer is to meet your customers’ needs. Many business owners, in their haste to make money, forget that business is really about helping others. “You can get anything in life you want if you just help others get what they want.” Quite simply - if your product meets your customers’ needs better than anyone else, you will make more money. So how do you find out their needs? There are a number of strategies you can implement. Here are six tips you can do right now:
#1) Ask your customers
This is the simplest method. If you already have a list of customers, ask them what their biggest problem is. Whatever gets the most response could be the focus of your next product. What if you don’t have customers? Then you could post a survey on your website, and drive traffic there.
#2) Look at your competitors
In just about every niche, there will be people already making money. So visiting their site and reading their sales pages can give you a good idea of what they are emphasizing. If they are all talking about same benefits, you know this is something customers want. Then all you have to do is find a way to meet those needs better than anyone else. Focus on sites doing paid advertising on Google. This likely means they are making money, and therefore they are doing something right.
#3) Browse forums
Another easy strategy is to just go to popular forums related to your niche, and see what topics people are talking about. If everyone is discussing the same problem, that’s probably a good niche idea.
#4) Have a blog
This is another great way to get in a conversation with customers. This way, you can take note of the comments people leave and learn from them. If you find a lot of related comments, you will have a good product idea. And every now and then you can even do a post asking your customers what they want.
#5) Do keyword research
Often times this step alone is enough to design a product. By looking at the keywords being searched for related to your product, you can get a good idea of the needs of people. How do you meet those needs? That’s the other side of the coin. Fortunately it isn’t that hard. One way is to offer great free information. For instance, you might be selling an information product explaining how to do something. That process could involve four steps. Therefore, you can give away two steps for free. Then you would leave the other two for your product. The better your information is, the better people assume your paid information will be.
#6) Have a USP
Having a related USP lets the customer know you will meet their needs better than anyone else. For instance, if your customers want to know how to make more money, you might say “increase your income in thirty days or you get double your money back.” Just try coming up with a guarantee nobody else is offering.
The truth is, if you don’t meet needs, you won’t make money. The only way to know what the customer wants is by listening to them and then providing solutions.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
What are the best iPhone applications to use for small businesses? When utilized right, this mobile device can be very effective for smaller companies. It’s not just for fun and games. This is excellent tool for smaller companies as well as gamers. The apps are everything for the iPhone.
Where do they come from? They are made by third party companies to use in conjunction with the iPhone. Many of the applications are made specifically with the small business owner in mind.
How many apps are there? There are currently over five hundred and fifty for iPhones. And that number is always on the rise. In other words, it’s not hard to find apps. The challenge is finding one that will really help your business. To help you avoid wasting hours looking for the right one, here are eight of the best:
#1) Invoice2go
This one enables you to build and then send out PDF invoices via changeable templates. So you can charge your customers while on the go.
#2) iPhone quick mobile office suite
This one allows you to get almost as much done as if you were using your own computer. It comes with Word, Excel, PDF viewing ability, and so on. In other words, it has the same functions as Microsoft office.
#3) Personal assistant
This enables you to stay on top of different accounts, and puts the information from all of them into the same one. So you can combine your business, travel, and email accounts into the same one in an easy-to-read format.
#4) Mileage counter
This one enables you to figure out how much gas your car has gone through. This useful if you want to report the gas as a business expense.
#5) Budget tracker
This app enables you to put your budget in. Then you input your expenses, and figure out how close to your goal you really are.
#6) 43 actions
This essentially allows you to organize different actions in terms of importance. So you would put the most important ones at the top, then check them off when done and go to the next item on the list.
#7) VAT calculator
This allows you to immediately figure out the VAT in many different countries. It’s useful if you do a lot of travelling.
#8) Feed reader
This is an RSSS feed that will bring in latest news relevant to your business.
The bottom line is, there are many apps available. The key is to only use the ones that genuinely help your business. Some of them might seem cool, but if they distract you from the most important tasks, they are actually harmful. Experiment with the different apps, and see what helps you and what doesn’t.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
A cluttered desk can significantly impede your productivity. If you can't find an important file or even find a space for your laptop, you will waste valuable time looking for the file or just clearing off space. Worse still, clutter can be demoralizing and foster procrastination. Fortunately, decluttering your desk is possible - in just a few simple steps. Here's how:
1. Manage your time
First and foremost, if the task seems overwhelming, set a timer and limit yourself to just 15 minutes of decluttering at a time. You'll be amazed at how much you can get done in just 15 minutes.
2. Put up or give up
Clear your desktop and put back only what you use every day. Store everything else in drawers, on shelves, or in your supply closet. If you never or seldom use something, get rid of it. Give it away to someone who could make good use of it. Put anything that doesn't belong on your desk in a pile. When the timer goes off, put all of those things away in their proper places.
3. No more "misc."
Don’t keep a "miscellaneous" file. Sort papers into files labeled specifically for the action needed. For example, keep a file for bills to pay, receipts to enter, papers to shred, etc. Anything that cannot be filed this way is not important enough to keep. Maintain virtual folders (and subfolders) the same way.
4. Organize your drawers
Arrange like items in each drawer. For example, put all of your office supplies in one drawer, stationery and notepads in another. That way, you won't waste a lot of time searching for a pen when on the phone or looking for printer paper just before a deadline.
5. Clean out your virtual inbox
Declutter your virtual desk by deleting old emails that require no further action on your part. To store email you need to save, create a folder for it on your hard drive. Do not print emails unless you absolutely have to.
6. Use simple organizational tools
Bundle related papers together with clips, use trays for current papers or files (labeled "next week," "this week," etc.), and keep pens in a cup.
7. Take a moment
Whenever you have a lull in the day, take a moment to trash or shred old paperwork you don't need anymore.
8. Conclude cleanly
At the end of each day, before you step away from your desk, clear it off and put everything away in its proper place. Wipe off your desk with a cleaner or just plain water.
Now that your desk is clean, you can get down to business! A clutter-free desk makes for a clutter-free mind.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
Mobile offices offer a host of advantages to both employees and businesses. Employees can set their own schedule and pace, work when they are most productive, and enjoy independence and autonomy. For businesses, mobile offices cut costs and broaden the potential labor pool exponentially. But mobile office employees can encounter a number of pitfalls as well. Some common mistakes include:
1) Infrequent communication and socializing
The mobile office employee misses out on the camaraderie fostered by daily interactions with colleagues. The resulting isolation can impede motivation and team commitment.
2) Finding a place for physical meetings
Some situations require a physical meeting, and it isn't easy to find occasional meeting space on short notice or for short periods. Mobile employees seldom have adequate or appropriate meeting space in their home or mobile office.
3) Letting home and office overlap
Mobile offices are often in the home, and separating those two spaces can be difficult. Spouses, children, and household chores are just some of the many distractions that can interrupt the employee's concentration and pull him/her away from work.
4) Working too much
Mobile employees who work from home are "always at work," because they never truly leave the office. When they fail to set firm boundaries, mobile office workers can spend all of their evening hours, weekends, and/or vacation time at their desk or on the phone.
5) Failing to keep a schedule
When working remotely, it's easy to start work late, run errands, or find other distractions from work. These distractions can be especially alluring when they offer a chance to interact with the outside world.
6) Failing to get help or direction
When help is needed, a mobile office employee cannot simply walk down the hall to consult a colleague or superior. It takes precious time to get information, especially when the source is not immediately available, and so mobile employees may too often try to go it alone.
7) Inadequate technology
Mobile employees need to have up-to-date and even state-of-the-art technology available to work and communicate effectively from afar. Investing in, installing and supporting these tools can be daunting for both employee and employer.
To avoid falling victim to these pitfalls, the mobile employee needs to be sure to stay connected with outside communities and to schedule regular, virtual or physical meetings with colleagues and superiors. Give regular status updates to fellow employees and supervisors, and check in with their progress as well. Don’t be afraid to ask for help; doing so not only fosters success but also builds camaraderie and teamwork. Set firm boundaries between home and office, work and life by establishing a work schedule and sticking to it. "Just say no" to distractions, even when they come in the form of spouse or children. And finally, invest in a good Internet connection, a webcam, a robust handheld device, and other relatively cheap web-enabled tools (like gotomypc.com) to keep your mobile technology effective and up to date.
A mobile office can be just as productive - and even more so - as a traditional office if you treat it like the latter. Maintain boundaries, balance life and work, and make an effort to keep in contact with the "real world," and you'll enjoy the best that mobile employment has to offer.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
Your word is your bond. Many deals have been made on the strength of the word of the parties involved. If you want your word to mean something, create a plan you can live with for your work life and family life. Making plans is more than jotting a few words on a sticky note that you tack to a cork board. It takes commitment from you to see things through to the end. Plans are important. When you start a business, you develop a business plan that outlines your business ideas, money needed and how much you hope to make in revenue. Having kids also requires a plan – for their growth, future education and beyond. Life is full of plans. Make sure yours have the backing of your word that it will be carried out.
How do you make a plan? Start small. Think about tomorrow and work your way out from there. You can create plans for anything and everything. When it comes to your business, you've already fleshed out a bare bones plan for where the business is going. Now you need a plan for the daily operations of the business to get the work done. In this plan, include timelines for various projects, rates you will charge for your work and what work you need to do each day to meet those timelines.
The key to the entire plan here is to create realistic goals. It’s okay if it takes you a little longer to get things done at first, as long as a long-term goal is to get faster and more efficient. The only way to get efficient is to try a few things and see what works. Before the work day begins, have a plan for the workload that day. If it is feasible to divide your time between two projects, then commit to doing that. Save answering emails until the next day if you can. Know what needs to be done each day and construct a workable plan to get it done.
What about personal goals? The first step to completing them is to write them down. Formulate a plan to spend more time with the kids, spend quiet time with your spouse, go out on more dates or spend less on eating out. Whatever you want to accomplish, map out a way to reach that goal on a daily, weekly and monthly basis until you are done. Some days you won’t want to keep to the plan, especially if you procrastinate. That’s why larger plans are chopped into smaller, more manageable pieces so even on days when you feel less than your strongest, you will get something accomplished towards the bigger goal. How do you stick to your plan? Keep it simple and manageable. Take it day by day, week by week and month by month. You’ll gain the confidence to keep going as each day’s plan is completed.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
As the owner and head of your business, it is your responsibility to deliver for your clients. Maybe in the beginning everything was on your shoulders but if you have employees now, they are also part of the fabric of your business. Learn how to delegate to employees so you can concentrate on other matters. What is the major barrier to delegating? For one, no one wants to ask someone to do something for them. What if they say no? In that case, you have a backup plan in place so an answer in the negative is not as daunting as you might imagine. What if the person does a poor job? Then you’ve learned something for the next time. It is a responsibility of a boss or owner to farm out the work of the company to get it all done.
To avoid delegating pitfalls and your own fears, know your employees and their strengths and limitations. Even before that, know who you need to become a part of your business. Whether you run an online business with freelancers or a brick and mortar business with employees you see every day, your business has specific needs that have to be filled with qualified people. Maybe it is a financial assistant, an accountant, a writer, a secretary or a project manager. List the qualifications you need and choose the applications that match those qualifications. Now begins the sifting process. You’ll interview over the telephone, in person or through emailed questions. The applicants will list experience, their strong points and any areas where they need more work. Use their responses to gauge how well they will fit with the business. Now you have the preliminary information you need to form a team of individuals who can work together for your business.
Make it clear to your employees what you expect of them and what types of work they will be doing. When you delegate tasks to them there will be no surprises. Delegate work according to the skills possessed by your employees. If employee A is good at Internet marketing, any client requests that involve this area can go to them. The same with employee B who is an expert in web design. Another issue to consider is not overloading these experts with all the work in the office. Delegate projects of lesser urgency to those who may be weak in those areas with the stronger person as a guide. In this way, employees gain training and confidence in other areas besides their strengths.
Delegating in an effort to cross-train employees keeps the workload evened out and everyone learning something new to add to their skillset. Delegating is hard, especially if you are used to doing it all yourself. Give your employees the tools to do the job by delegating according to their strengths and weaknesses.
Deanna Maio, Business Development Strategist & Speaker, teaches women business owners how to grow their business significantly while still having time to live a great life. For FREE tips on how to get more results without working harder, attract more clients, and grow your profits, visit http://www.savvygals.com/
