Feb 27 2008
This is a great post on the etiquette of social networking - don’t miss it! I especially like the advice about being a giver, respecting the other person’s time, and making sure you have an online presence for your new contact to check out. Good stuff!
Feb 26 2008
Editor’s Note: As many of you know, I have been working with an accountability partner for over a year now. She has made a huge impact on my business and personal life, and she has now systemized that approach as part of her coaching services at Upstart Smart. Below is a guest post from the most important person in my business life - Amber Riviere - as well as special deal for Small Business Blog readers for her accountability partner program.
10 Ways an Accountability Partner Can Improve Your Life and Business
If you are starting or running a small business, you need someone who can help keep you on track to achieve your business goals.
Sign up today for the UpstartSmart Accountability Partner Program and receive 2 BONUS WEEKS FREE!*
*This offer expires March 31, 2008. To take advantage of this offer, you must sign up through the link below.
Sign up for the UpstartSmart Accountability Partner Program and receive 2 BONUS WEEKS FREE!
Feb 21 2008
RescueTime is really working! If you haven’t already, check out my original post on this time-management application. It tracks your total computer usage and lets you know where you are spending the most time. From there you can set goals to spend more or less time on certain projects.
For me, the biggest time hog was email. I spent 33% of my time the first week on email. I generally work about 45-50 hours per week with more than half that time spent on the computer. I was easily spending 10 hours a week on email. Email! Some weeks I don’t even spend that much time WRITING and that is a core piece of my business (another surprise to myself - no wonder the book is making such slow progress).
After seeing that 33% the first week, I analyzed my usage and found that notifications from networking sites and informational emails were heavy distractions for me. I set up a folder called “Internet Reading” for all of that and set up rules for my Inbox to automatically process them. As new emails of this type came in, I added them to the rule. It will probably take me a month or so to get everything set this way, but I can already tell a difference in how I’m using email (instead of letting it use me).
Once or twice a day I click on the folder, scan it to see what is appealing, and read those entries. Then I do a group delete of all the items I have read or do not wish to read. This has substantially cut down on my email reading time because it is done at one time and when I am ready to do it, not when the little alert shows me I have an email waiting.
Another thing I did was start unsubscribing from emails I do not have time to read. Yes, it is all important, but I am only one person and can only take in so much information at a time. So instead of subscribing to every guru I want to follow, I only subscribe to those I have actually been following. I put a lot of my “good intentions” on my ever-growing “not to do” list. It is okay to not take advantage of every good thing out there.
My latest figures show my email time down to 24%, which is pretty good in such a short period of time. I plan to get it down to 10% by summer. And all that rescued time will go back into the book that has been on the backburner lately.
Try RescueTime yourself and see what changes you can make to streamline your day and get some of your time back.
Feb 20 2008
Do you wish you had a virtual business card? One that had your picture or logo? If you work virtually, or if you network a lot like I do, having an online business card with a picture is a great idea. It reinforces who you are to your contact and helps personalize electronic communication.
Hyplet is a free service that allows you to build virtual business cards and banner advertising for your email signature, blog, or website. It is really easy to use - just click “create” to get started.
Below is my latest creation, which is basic and used as my email signature. I started with a blank template, but there are many designs to choose from. Make a banner advertisement for your services, a contact form for your website, or use it as an email signature like I have.
Set up your own Hyplet and “hype” yourself in the comments section!
Feb 20 2008
I’ll be speaking on the topic of blogging in April and need your help finding out the biggest hurdles/questions about blogging. I *think* I know, but I want to make sure I make the talk as effective as it can be for the audience.
Thanks for your help in pinpointing blogging issues. And please don’t forget to sign up for my free Special Report on Blogging from Start Finish at my main website as your gift for participating.
The blogging survey is here. Thank you!
Feb 19 2008
There is a reason the flight attendants tell you to put your air mask on before helping the person in the seat next to you. You have to help yourself first if you want to survive in business.
Making sure your company is profitable gives you the means to perform charity/pro bono work long-term and from a position of abundance. Helping everyone else and disrespecting your own needs is an almost sure path to failure.
Many of my friends with service-based businesses have told me their battles with the “coffee date.” They meet someone at a networking event, the person expresses interest in getting to know them, and a date is set up. When my friends arrive, however, they find the date is really not about networking and helping each other succeed; it is about getting free advice.
Coaches, healers, organizers, computer technicians, etc., – they all have a great deal of knowledge as their “product.” No one would ask a widget maker to give away free widgets over coffee, so I’m not sure why it is expected that service professionals would give away free advice. The reason their information is so valuable is that it took them a long time to learn and master it.
If you are a service provider who regularly gets asked to coffee dates that turn into free consulting sessions, here are some tips to get your time back:
Some of my entrepreneur friends have come up with terrific ideas for warding off the takers and sussing out true customer leads and networking relationships.
The best by far?
Offer an introductory consulting package with a price that goes toward any of your services. For example, a phone/in-person consultation could go for $150, and if future services are booked that money goes toward the package. If not, the customer got $150 worth out of the first meeting and you both walk away satisfied. Pitch this package for every “iffy” coffee date request and check the response. If you do have a free networking coffee date that goes off track, you can always refer back to this package and let your date know you are happy to help them at that rate.
Remember that as a service professional your store’s inventory is in your head. Treat it as well as you would a product, and in no time you will have the means to offer pro bono work by choice and on a grander scale than you can as a new business owner.
Feb 13 2008
This weekend I attended a workshop in San Diego with my friend, Betsy (no, I do not require that my friends share my first name, but it does make it more fun).
The workshop was on Creating Your Ultimate Life and took the best of Jack Canfield and Jim Bunch’s coaching and combined it into one program. I learned a lot about my values and how they related to my business and life goals. Even more importantly, I learned how much my environments impact my chances of success in both happiness, health, and wealth.
There are nine environments in everyone’s life, ranging from body to physical space to relationships. Jim says having an unhealthy environment in any of these areas will impact living a fully productive life.
For instance, in the category of physical space, an unresolved clutter problem can impact your other environments as well as your chances of reaching your other goals. If you come home from work and feel your energy sag, or you have to yell at your kids or spouse/partner for not picking up after themselves, you are robbing yourself of the energy you need to reach your goals. You also create a problem in your relationship environment.
I was shocked at the number of people who had a problem with clutter and kept thinking to myself that my friend Debbie the Professional Organizer should have been standing at the door with business cards as we left on break. I saw people nearly break down in tears over issues of clutter, and that’s before we really got to the deeper stuff on relationships.
As Jack Canfield moves into more television and film work, he is moving away from the writing and seminars. It appeared to me that he is grooming Jim for an eventual takeover of this portion of his business, and Jim seems like a worthy successor.
It was a hugely satisfying weekend, and one that will make a difference in the way I set goals and follow through for years to come.
Later this week I’ll tell you about another amazing part of the conference - Fred Johnson. You won’t want to miss this one.
Feb 11 2008
You are a small business owner so you obviously work more hours every week than the average Jane, right? Hmmm, maybe not.
RescueTime is a free web-based time management system that shows you where you are spending the most time on your computer. Download the free widget and RescueTime starts tracking your time in each application right away. You then check the dashboard at RescueTime and “tag” everything with the label you want.
For instance, rather than tag each of my customer’s websites with a specific name, I use the tag “customer site.” General research for client projects is just labeled “research.” My first weekly report arrived on Sunday, and I was surprised to see that 33% of my computer time was spent on email. Wow. Another big time consumption was social networking sites at 14%.
Once you tag your usage and monitor it for a few weeks you may consider adding daily or weekly goals to help with your productivity.
Some of the tags I’m using:
Thanks to Zita Gustin for telling me about the site. It is my new favorite productivity tool! Let me know in the comments if you use this and how you find yourself adjusting your time afterward.
Feb 06 2008
Looking for a little advice for your small business but don’t have the time or money to consult an expert?
Check out the Microsoft Small Business Summit on March 24-27 for a virtual seminar on topics of interest to you. The seminar is free and has some top-name experts I’m interested in, like John Jantsch from Duct-Tape Marketing. Each day has 4 hours of live speakers you can access right from your computer.
Click here to register for the free event, then sit back and get some expert help from the comfort of your own office. “See” you there!
Feb 06 2008
Promotional products are not marketing - they are an added piece of emphasis to your regular marketing. If you think of your marketing message as a sentence, the promotional product would be the punctuation.
I recently met Dwyane Faux at a local Biznik event and he made some excellent points about using promotional products in small business.
First, what is a promotional product? It can be any product that contains your company information and also serves another purpose. Most people think of pens, calendars, t-shirts, etc., but there is no price or size limit on a promotional product, and your product or service may be expensive enough to justify a larger item.
Advertising gurus state that a customer needs to see your ad 20-30 times before deciding to buy. Dwyane’s take on this is that they see your ad many times but do not choose to notice until they NEED to, and that is when your promotional product is best placed to get you a sale. By offering something your potential customer will use often, you increase your chances they will come to you when they need your services.
You can distribute your marketing materials as giveaways at trade shows and in direct mail campaigns, but something I never considered was using them as part of your regular networking. Dwyane has a great point about this: if you are in a fairly common industry like real estate or skin care, providing a promotional product as you meet people will make you stand out from your competition. When you make your followup contact, you can always refresh their memory by reminding them you gave them the small tube of lotion or handy tip chart.
Do you know other professionals who share your target market? Consider a group promotion to be handed out by all participants. Dwyane set this up for a home repair group (plumber, painter, carpet cleaner, etc.) and it was hugely successful. Each service professional left behind a magnet with the other home specialists listed, so each of them were always advertising for everyone in the group. This would be a great option for a real estate centered group or a nutrition/fitness group or a medical services group.
Dwyane works as a promotional product consultant, meaning you get his consultative services when you buy products. He will advise on what works best for you and your market as well as analyze the results of your campaign with you. If you are interested in talking with Dwyane about his services, give him a call at 206.444.9100 or email him at dwyane@topbananaevents.com. Oh, and ask him what his title is while you’re at it. I’ll bet he’s the first “Director of Sesquinpedintary” you have ever met!
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