Archive for the ‘Entrepreneurs’ Category

Kathy's family at the Beach

This week, I returned from two weeks away on vacation.  We had a fabulous time in New England at Old Orchard Beach and I was able to check some emails and do a bit of needed work, but my preparations before I left and my team support while gone really made it easy to be away from the office.

Of course we returned at a very busy time – not only is it the end of the month (books and billing due), but the kids are still home and needed a few more things before starting school on Sept 2nd AND add to this one of the worst heat waves I have ever experienced in Nova Scotia.

Today the temps got up near 34 C (about 88 F) and with our lovely maritime humidity it felt like 41 C (104 F).  I am not very good with high temperatures like this – not at all.  So my productivity this week has been less than my norm and that only adds to the cranky-i-ness.

We are all human and have issues at times.  Today mine was the heat. Oh, the horrible heat of the last few days.  Earlier this summer I told my husband (during another mini heat wave) that I had had enough and was going to buy a portable air conditioner for my office.  Of course, it was a hard sell, that type of purchase, when in all honesty I might only need it a few weeks (even days) every year. Yet the arguments against it were coming from someone who works day in and out in a nicely air conditioned office building.  So we decided it was not something we would pursue.

Yesterday, however, was my breaking point. We all have them, and mine was when I started sweating in places I did not know that it was possible to do. The kids were all cranky and hot, I was cranky and hot and nothing (not even a quick trip down the road to the neighbourhood beach) could keep my mind off the uncomfortableness of it all. Needless to say I was not very productive at all.  I even tried working late at night, but the heat just wouldn’t go away.

As a small business owner, my work is the business and if I cannot work then not too much gets done. And this heat wave is to continue until Friday night when we will probably get hit by Hurricane Earl.

This morning when I got up at 7 and the day was already stifling, I made my executive decision. Right after walking the dog, and checking some online availability, I headed out – telling the kids I would be back in while.

I went right to my local Canadian Tire store (think Lowe’s, but even better) and found what I was after – the tool to make me a productivity machine!   I also got the extra materials I needed to rig up something to make it work properly and back home I went to spend the next 3 hours on setup.  (Or should I say sweat up)

The end result was absolutely what I needed.  Sometimes you just have to go for it and take the steps needed to make everything work properly.  And that is exactly what I did.  I took a picture and emailed it to my husband at his work.  His response?

“You look happier in this picture than you did on our wedding day.” (Absolutely not true, but I was pretty happy).

You can see for yourself my level of happiness!

The lesson for other Work at Home and Small Business Owners – Staying productive is Key.  Always be looking to implement systems or use tools that will help run your business efficiently and keep you productive. And, these tools/systems may not always be standard to everyone.

PS. Hubby was quite okay in the end with my purchase – partly because by the time he made it home from work, the humidex was setting records all over the province and neighbouring ones as well.  My task for tomorrow?  Figuring out how to keep everyone from crowding in my office to stay cool! :-)

Technorati Tags: efficient business, home office, productive at work, productivity, Small business

What do emergency room physicians, airline pilots, and kindergarten classes all have in common? They all use checklists to make sure they’re doing the right things at the right time. While they’re not sexy or fashionable, checklists are the backbone of many a successful business. Here are some ways checklists can help entrepreneurs keep their businesses running smoothly and productively:

• Checklists provide a guideline for outsourcing or delegating.
  Want to outsource slideshow creation to a contractor? Send them the details with your “slideshow creation” checklist, and they’ll know exactly what you want them to do, in order.
• Checklists make it easy to replicate best practices.
  Once you’ve pinpointed the exact way to create killer sales pages, you can document that and do it over and over again. Brilliance!
• Checklists save time by eliminating the “what’s next?” stage.
  You know when you finish one thing and have to stop and think, “What the do I do next?” Or “What did I forget?” Well, with a good checklist you won’t have to do that anymore. You’ll know.
• Checklists ensure that everyone is on the same page.
  When you’re collaborating with partners, assistants or virtual assistants, it’s easy to lose sight of who’s responsible for what and when. Checklists make it easy to assign tasks and remind yourself the proper order of execution.

Not all checklists are created equal, though. Research has shown there are a few key ingredients for making good checklists:

1. Keep it to one page. Longer checklists are intimidating and make it easy for people to get lost. Or they’ll avoid using the checklist because it’s just too darned long.
2. Be specific. Especially if you’re outsourcing or delegating, you have to leave no room for ambiguity.
3. Test it out. Once you’ve created what you think is a great checklist, give it a go. See if you’ve left anything out or put too much in. Then refine it and test it again.
4. Have someone else test it. Of course, you know what you mean by “add graphic to web page,” but will someone else? Give it to someone else to test and see what they come up with, where they get stuck, and what works well.
5. Use it! Checklists don’t do any good if they’re languishing on your hard drive. Use them – and if you find yourself NOT using them, ask why. Is it too complex? Too self-explanatory? Too simple? Then use that information to create a better checklist.

While checklists won’t solve all of your productivity issues, they are a fantastic way to simplify complex information and provide guidance for outsourcing. They can be a bit time-intensive to create, but the time that you’ll save on the back end will be well worth the effort.

Technorati Tags: efficient business, Time Management, virtual assistant

I really enjoyed reading the book, Write It Down Make It Happen: Knowing What You Want And Getting It by Henriette M. Klauser, Ph.D. The premise of the book is simple: By writing down your goals and desires, you are much more likely to make those dreams a reality.

How much more likely? Research shows that people who write down their goals are about twice as likely to achieve them as those who do not. And if you count those who write down their goals but don’t quite meet them, they still get a lot closer than they would have if they hadn’t written them down in the first place. Therefore, you can see the strong case for committing to your goals in writing.

This research is true in long-term goals like building your dream house or traveling the world  – but what does all of this have to do with daily To-Do lists? Well, what is a To-Do list but a list of goals for the day? That means by writing your daily goals list on paper, you’re more than twice as likely to make significant process towards checking those items off than if you just try to fly by the seat of your pants. Here are some tips to help you create do-able, effective To-Do lists:

1.    Make it reasonable

We’re all too familiar with the endless To-Do list, the one with dozens of items, more than you could accomplish in a week, let alone a day. While writing every single thing you have to do down on a list may make you feel like you’re getting your life under control, it’s actually counterproductive (when I got married I had the most complete To-Do list ever…3:45pm use washroom was one of the items!!!). Not only will critical tasks get lost in the muddle, you can become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of things you have to accomplish. It may be more attractive to just take a nap!

2.    Make it specific

One of the biggest problems with To-Do lists is that people write down projects versus tasks. Anything that goes on your list should be something you can actually accomplish, such as “Call Jane about website launch plans,” instead of “Launch Website.” If you write down projects instead of tasks, you can’t ever cross them off – they just sit on your list and migrate from one day to the next which is obviously very frustrating. On the other hand, basic psychology teaches that rewards make us want to do an activity more – so every time we check off an item on our list, it motivates us to do more. You can only do that if the items are small enough to check off. However…

3.    Make it important

I’ve been tempted to write down things on my list just so I can cross them off (sad, I know ;-). While this gives you a little momentary boost, it doesn’t do much to move you closer to your goals. So before something makes it onto your list, ask yourself if it’s critical to the completion of your goals. If not, don’t even write it down. (Trust me, you will remember to “eat lunch” even if you don’t have it on your daily list!)

When used correctly, To-Do lists are powerful tools that can help you to accomplish more in less time. By “respecting the list” and following these three tips, you’ll have a daily To-Do list that will harness your energy and help you blast closer toward your biggest goals.

Have you any other tips to complete your To-Do lists?

Please post your tip here before Sunday July 18th at 11:59pm and you can WIN a PRIZE!

I will do a random draw (on July 19th from the comments that give a tip on completing a To-Do list and send the winner a copy of my eBook – Talking on Twitter.  In this you will find a schedule and to-do list to follow that will help you stay on track when using twitter.

Technorati Tags: efficient business, office organization, Time Management

My friend, client and role model, Tawnya Sutherland of VAnetworking is hosting a fabulous workshop tonight for small business owners to learn about using a virtual assistant:

Learn how to Outsource your business tasks to a Virtual Assistant

She also has an opportunity to network and meet some Virtual Assistants – virtually of course!

If you have a business and are feeling stressed, overworked and feel you never get everything done that requires your attention then …this FREE workshop is for you!

Tawnya Sutherland is VA Outsourcing Expert and founder of the world’s largest online Virtual Assistant Social Network. She will  share with you the knowledge, tips, tactics and secrets she’s accumulated over the last 10 years on the right way to hire a Virtual Assistant and make it work!

Join Tawnya tonight (Wednesday July 7th) at 6pm EST (along with many other Virtual Assistants, including me) to learn:

• How to gain more time in your business day and in your personal life
• How to become more profitable by working smarter
• How to rid yourself of that extra long to-do list that never gets done
• How to delegate your tasks to a Virtual Assistant

You can do this all and you can learn how tonight!  Simply visit this site to register for the call. You can also pick up a copy of her ebook – Finding the Ultimate Virtual Assistant for your Business.

Virtual Assistants who are VAinsiders will be on the networking session at 7pm EST (If you are not one yet, you can be by tonight – visit here to learn what being an Insider can do for your Virtual Assistant business)

Hope to see you there, whether a business owner or a VA!

Technorati Tags: efficient business, how to find a VA, virtual assistant, WAHM, Work at Home

After being a work-at-home entrepreneur for over 2 years, I can say that the toughest item on this list for me, personally, is learning to say no to potential clients or customers. It’s a scary thought isn’t it?  Saying no to new business.

When you work for yourself – especially in the early days – you’re not always sure where that next pay cheque is coming from. Even when the customer roster is full this month, you can’t be positive the same will be true next month or the month after, this creates the habit of  taking on more work than you can comfortably perform. After all, isn’t a few nights of burning the midnight oil well worth the benefit of having a little more padding in the bank account?

The problem is, working too much to stay ahead causes us stress and job burnout – and it also makes spouses and families a tad angry! So you just exchange one stress point (finances) for another (overwork and family pressure). There is a solution, although you’re not going to like it.  Set a limit and stick to it. I learned this well from a  colleague, Yvonne Weld

I know, I know, this is easier said than done – trust me I have been working hard to achieve the balance with my Virtual Assistant business. But I can honestly say that I’ve never had a customer or client disappear into thin air when I told him or her they had to wait a few weeks or months to work with me. In fact, it often shows that you’re in demand and that you can pick and choose who you work with, and when. That’s a valuable trait.

How do you make your limits?

Set a plan for all types of work; decide how many products you’re going to release, how many interviews you’re going to do, how many coaching clients you’re going to work with, how many articles you’ll write, or how many hours you’re going to work per week for clients, and then stop. That’s it – no more. (Of course, keeping in mind your most valuable clients are your present ones and they deserve top notch service – but you can still maintain your boundaries with them).  All the parties must be made aware of the boundaries as well in order to be fair and for it to work.

One of the best ways to keep your work commitments at a tolerable level is to make a commitment to your family. You can start with committing to attending every hockey game, every football game, and every piano recital. You can promise dinner each evening, or read out of a chapter book every night to your children.  This will make you accountable to your own scheduled work day. You may feel a momentary pang of regret or anxiety when you tell a potential client “no” or “wait.”  I’m willing to bet it will soon fade when you realize how much less stressed you are on a day-to-day basis, and how much happier your home life is!

You are the boss of your time.  Does your family know that?  There you are sitting at your desk in your home office, available to everyone – kids, spouse, neighbors, friends – at a moments notice. You wanted to work at home so you COULD be available to your family, but you will need limits to make it work.

What kind of limits work for you?  Feel free to comment and share as this is always an area where new ideas can help everyone else out!

Technorati Tags: efficient business, family, home office