Time Saving Tips

Time. It is the one thing that is endless but yet we never seem to have enough of.

In business ones time is demanded from so many angles and particulary as a soloist or small business owner time management can seem like such an overwhealming task.

Over the next 3 weeks I will share with you 3 tips that can help time become your friend!

Tip #1
The early bird catches the worm.

An old but truthful saying. Yes that extra half an hour sleep in the morning feels wonderful, but an extra half hour of work time can mean the difference between a productive day or not.

This time can be spent replying to emails from the day before, sending emails to prepare for the day ahead, organising your work day by prioritising your to do list, and preparing files and information you need for the day ahead.

Another good idea is to use this time as your reading time. All business owners need to keep abreast of changes, advances, and the news relevant to their industry. Using relevant keywords, set up Google Alerts to be delivered to your inbox each day and use this time each morning to read through things of interest and relevance. Make notes and bookmark items for future reference and use as Facebook or Twitter links, and blog ideas.

The early morning can also be an inspiring time to get blog posts and promotional articles written and update your website. These tasks are often pushed down our to do lists but are so important to the ongoing success of our business. This is a perfect time to schedule this in.

Challenge:
Try waking up a half hour earlier each day, bring the laptop home, or get to work a half hour before everyone else, to devote a full half hour to doing the above things. Try this for a week or two and see how much of a difference it makes to your productivity and time management.

Business Blogs. What can you write about?

It always seems to amaze me how many people start a business blog and then neglect it. They go in all gung-ho for the first few weeks or months only to get 'busy' and then keep putting it off and off and off until it has been three months since their last post!

To be successful, a business blog needs to have time dedicated to it. Apart from having interesting, relevant and knowledgeable content, it needs to be updated on a regular basis and if possible a routinely basis. Same day same time. It is not always easy (ahem....I am guilty of letting mine slip from time to time....), but if you want a blog to work for your business you need to make the time for it.

One of the biggest problems business blog writers have is finding ideas on what to write about. The key is to write about what you know.....Your Business!

- Blog about what you do and how you do it.
- Use customer/client examples and anecdotes
- Write about FAQ's from your clients
- Blog about current topical news in your industry
- Write about the ups and downs of your own business
- Have an opinion on an relevant issue, but remember to be open minded
- Write about the future of your industry
- Blog about a specific task or product that you offer
- Invite guest bloggers that your clients & readers will find interesting
- Write a short blog on an interesting article you read and link to it
- Throw in a few light hearted, short blogs every now and then. It is okay to be a bit personal sometimes (without getting too deep!), as it helps connect to your readers on a human level.

Another tip is to read other blogs relevant to your industry or field of expertise. Not to plagiarize or steal ideas but to feed your knowledge and encourage your mind to explore new blog ideas. Often I will be reading a blog and an idea will spring into my head. It may be related to what I am reading directly or it may be totally out of left field. The key is to act on it then and there, write it down.

Set up a document titled 'Blog Ideas' and list them there using a possible blog title and then a few short keywords or description to jog your memory when you come back to write on it further. You will be amazed how quickly your list builds and soon you will have some great ideas to keep you blogging!

The main thing is, keep focused and be dedicated. If you aren't dedicated to commit time and effort to your blog, you may as well NOT blog! If you are really finding it hard to find the time to get your blog posted why not email your draft to your VA to proof it, tidy it and post it for you! ;)

Do you take pride in your job?

Recently I heard a statistic that not only surprised, but disappointed me. According to the latest research most Australian's are unhappy in their job, in fact only 22% stated they were happy with their chosen career path. You can take a look at the article and statistics here.

The reason I find this a disappointing statistic is that I believe there are so many opportunities out there in today's world to find the career path that you want to follow. No longer do we live in a world where women are expected to stay at home (unless they choose to of course) and no longer are men expected to follow in their fathers footsteps. Modern technology has made so many things possible and has opened up so many more opportunities.

I wonder why so many are unhappy? Is it because many no longer take pride in their chosen profession? Is it just a 'job', a means to an end? That to me is sad. Whether you like your job or not, you should always take pride in what you do.

Whether you are a top line professional, a mechanic, or a sales assistant, every job is important. We should not be embarrassed to say we are 'just' a stay at home Mum, or 'only' a "check out chic". I strongly believe that if you take pride in your job and strive to do your best in whatever your position, that you will enjoy your job. It may not be your ideal position, who wouldn't like to be a travel reporter on Getaway, but enjoy what you do and your performance will improve and help you get where you want to go.

Personally, I am lucky enough to say I LOVE what I do! I have found my niche, I still have my dreams of the perfect job (an author traveling the world) but I take much pride in my career choice, I strive to do my best at all times and in turn, I love what I do.

What do you think? Do you take pride in your job? Are you part of the 22%?

Have you done this lately?

There are many things in business that are routine, regular and yes boring, but necessary. So have you done this lately?

1. Checked your spam filter.
2. Backed up your files - including your emails.
3. Reviewed your fees.
4. Checked your outstanding invoices.
5. Changed/updated your passwords.
6. Reviewed your phone accounts.
7. Asked your clients for feedback or testimonials.
8. Archived your files.
9. Uncluttered your desk space.
10. Taken a long, deep breath!

Have I missed anything?

2010 - Challenge Yourself & Your Business

A new year is approaching and often it is the time that we sit down and set our goals for the year that lies ahead.

Whether they are business goals or personal goals, we often tend to be a tad modest in our expectations of what we can achieve. We often set goals that we know are easily achievable. Not that this is a bad thing but they are likely to be things that we know we will achieve. It tends to look more like a ‘to do’ list rather than a goal. Why? Because at the end of the year reviewing your goals that you made at the start of the year is much more satisfying when you can check off your list!

This year in 2010 I say we should take a risk. Be bold. Set some goals that are beyond what we normally would. Challenge our comfort zone. Try not to underestimate ourselves. There should be nothing wrong with setting goals that push you to a higher level of success and achievement. By doing this you are not only challenging yourself but motivating yourself. Creating excitement in your business. You are stimulating your brain to think of new possibilities and to think of ways to achieve your new goals. It will foster enthusiasm and be like a new lease of life to your business and your usual way of doing things.

But....
There will always be that “But.....” in the back of your mind. “But that is impossible”. “But that is way out of reach.” ”But I don’t have the time/money/ideas”. Life is full of “Buts”. This is a time to have confidence in your abilities and to look deep within yourself to know that you can achieve what you may perceive as unobtainable. Think of the many successful multi-millionaires in business....Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Bill Gates to name a few. Do you think they got where they are today by second guessing themselves or setting modest goals? No! They took risks. They set goals out of this world. Each goal they set and achieved inspired them to reach even higher again. Take a little snippet out of their books. “Aim for the moon but shoot for the stars".

If at first you don’t succeed.....
If you don’t achieve your goals it is not a time for disappointment. It is a time to be proud that you stepped out of your comfort zone and challenged yourself. You can then re-evaluate and reset the goal at a new level. If at first you don’t succeed....try try again! I have no doubt you will be inspired to do so.

I encourage you to set at least one goal that might feel a bit ‘pie in the sky’. Stick it on your computer, or on your pin board at your desk. Let it inspire you every day in 2010 to challenge yourself and breathe new life into your business. What have you got to lose?

PS. My Challenging Goal for 2010? To get a first draft of my book down on paper. The one that has been in my head for about 10 years! Wish me luck.

Why don't people comment on blogs?

One of my clients recently asked me this question.

New to the blogging world, he began his blog only 3 months ago and posts religiously on a weekly basis. His stats show that the blog is being visited. The content is good, the topics relevant and the target audience wide, but still he has only had three comments in all this time.

I think there are many reasons why people don't leave comments on blogs and in researching and pondering this topic I came across a great post by Liz Strauss titled "10 Reasons Readers Don't Leave Comments" which covers it quite well.

I read quite a few blogs and I comment about 50% of the time. When? Usually if I think the post is outstanding, unusual or makes a really good point, if I have an opinion to share, from a marketing/promotional perspective or if I strongly disagree! :)

For me I think blogs are about interaction, sharing and communication so I try to comment as often as possible. It also depends on the blog itself. Some blogs are purely informational and don't warrant a comment.

So the question is? Do you comment on blogs and why/why not? (If you don't comment I will take the answer as a no!)

HTML v's Flash Websites

One of my clients recently had their website redesigned. They were after an eye-catching, interesting yet effective website. After consulting with a reputable web design company and handing over their well earned dollars the result of the website was not what the client had in mind. It was a flash dominated website full of animation which looked very 'flashy' but was slow to load and annoying for the end user. Unfortunately my client has been been left with a site they are not terribly happy with and is still in consultation to have the situation rectified.

This raised many questions. What is the best website option for your business? Is flash really as better or necessary? Which sites are best for SEO? (Search Engine Optimisation) Do flash websites turn customers off? Are you being sold something that you don't need or isn't effective???

As I am not a website designer or specialist whatsoever in this field, I decided to gain some insights from two different perspectives and who are experts in their field: A marketing perspective and a design/SEO perspective.

Here are their thoughts:

Marnie Bergan, Creative Director Bergan Blue

"I don’t like Flash websites for so many reasons. Up until recently the argument against Flash websites has been all about SEO, but Google are slowly improving the way their search bots index Flash pages which, looking forward, makes the SEO issue somewhat less of a concern. My main irks with Flash are to do with the user experience. Flash websites take longer to load and I often lose patience and just go to another site. This makes me wonder how many Flash-based online store owners are losing money. Other usability and accessibility issues include the ‘back’ button not working, scrolling with the mousewheel or keyboard arrows not working, and the ability to increase text size doesn’t work which creates issues for users with poor eyesight. I believe the web is about information. The special effects should be left for the movies. When it comes to choosing between Flash and HTML-based sites, I really think site owners should have a good think about sticking with HTML. The web has progressed a lot in the last 2-3 years. So much so that you don’t really need Flash anymore to achieve those nifty animations site owners are after. Most animations and special effects can be achieved using lightweight HTML and JavaScript which, from a usability and accessibility point of view, is so much better for the end user. Plus, if their browser doesn’t support the JavaScript being used, most sites will just fall back to standard HTML which will still work fine. A win-win situation."

Stephen Rinaldo, Director of Rubicon Marketing

"As a Marketing Consultant, I see far too many clients who are sold what they simply DO NOT need. Problem is, most clients don’t know what it is they do need. Very few understand what their websites purpose is. Personally, most service businesses websites are purely for affirmation reasons. Simply there for a potential client to get some additional information about them. Product orientated businesses need to make sales, so shopping carts, ability to order and purchase online are paramount. The unfortunate scenario about flash sites are two fold in my opinion. And lets understand that we are talking about those FLASH sites that open with a shorter version of en epic production, extravaganza, movie scene. Fantastic animation, colour, creative special effects confront you before you actually enter the site. In today's, time poor business existence, these extravagant openings do very little to entice the busy customer. In more cases than not, the customer simply heads for the SKIP INTRO button. Frustrated you can only hope they stay in your website. Customers are busy. Make it too hard for them and they are just as likely to click on the next potential website. Make it simple for your customer to find the information they need to make a decision. Think about it, how many FLASH websites have you sat and watched or have you hit the SKIP BUTTON? I know I do, every time! Secondly, and I’m sure there are more experienced professional website gurus to explain this, but FLASH websites rank very poorly with search engines. The lack of copy, in opening FLASH sequences, do very little to attract search engine bots, so in actual fact, rendering such websites as very poor in SEO. So to finish, businesses would market smarter to actually engage a professional to help them sort out what in actual fact their business needs in terms of a website, what it’s content should be and what it should cost."

In my opinion what it comes down to is making sure you as the client get the website that will be most effective for your business and within your budget. Be clear in your communication with your web designer, don't get talked into anything with catchy 'sales talk', and know what you are getting for your money. Ask questions, get different opinions and make an informed decision before jumping into anything.

Personally, I know that if I encounter a website with a lot of flash that is slow to load I move straight on to the next one.....what about you?