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10 Reasons I Love Systems That Track What I Do

December 12, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

I have really come to love systems – in my business, in my life, in my kids activities, basically…everywhere. By the way, when I talk about systems, I mean I like having simple, step by step procedures mapped out so I can save time getting things done. I map out things I do every day and I usually do so in the form of a list, chart, mindmap or some other type of visual. It keeps my thoughts organized and helps me jump right in to knock out a task when I need to.

Some of my favorite tools to keep track of to-do’s? Toodledo.com is a favorite list-maker and I use Mindmeister.com for drawing mind maps.

Ever thought about the last time you made out a to-do list? How many of the items were things you’ve had on your list before? If you think about it, you can probably take some of the things you do constantly and make a master list to start from. That way, you just add the dates, add any new tasks, and you’re all set.

Well since I’m into lists, I thought I’d have some fun sharing some of my favorite reasons for being a fan of to-do systems.

you can get to information in a central place
systems help streamline the way you communicate
when you have a to-do system, it’s easier to delegate some of the steps to someone else
you can produce records whenever you need them (e.g. tax documents)
increases your level of confidence and that of your clients when they can rely on consistency
you can generate more referrals because of increased trust
no more looking for sticky notes (this is a biggie for me!)
to-do systems allow you an opportunity to automate things you do everyday
have more time with family/friends when you get things done
when you have good systems, you have more time doing what you love instead of making more lists!

Which of these reasons is a favorite for you? Share your favorite to-do system or tool below.

Filed Under: Business Acumen For Solopreneurs

Imagine An Ideal Week In Your Business

November 14, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

What would it be like to have a perfect week in your business? What would you do on Monday? Would you take off, would you use it as your time to organize, pay bills, return calls? What day would you have a one-hour massage? When would you pick your kids up from school?

As a coach, consultant, or freelancer you may have heard of the ideal day exercise. But what about visualizing what a perfect week would look like? A perfect week will capture not just the professional side of who you are but also the hobbies, digital ways of spending time with people that matter in your life, and more.

Watch this short video for simple instructions on how to map out your ideal week. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Personal Growth & Development Tagged With: automation, Goal Setting, Personal Growth & Development

What Is Your Business Saying?

November 3, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

iStock 000014921871XSmall What Is Your Business Saying? Your business is a brand – your brand has a voice, so have you thought about this…

WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS SAYING??

What does your brand stand for? And does your message tell your audience about a key idea or concept they need to learn, know or do to get to their desired outcome?

When I talk to entrepreneurs about branding, one of the biggest lightbulbs to go off is the one on messaging. Having a clear, concise message that runs through all you deliver – e.g. products, programs, services, social posts, is a huge attractor for your market when it’s communicated properly. It helps create trust when people clearly understand that you have an idea that can contribute to their improvement, help them make a change, or share knowledge.

I like how Milana Leshinsky, author of Coaching Millions and creator of Passive Income Unleashed says it best, ““A big idea…makes your message clear and your product stand out in the market. It’s a Unique Key Idea that runs through your entire product launch and is later supported by the actual product you sell. It’s your unique message based on your core belief.”

When you can let your market know what you want them to believe, feel, and do as a result of having an experience with you that is a powerful attractor.

For example, one of the messages I consistently deliver is

“In order to be successful solo business owner, you must have systems in place that allow you to spend less time on administrative tasks so you can focus on generating profit.”

This core idea runs through many of the programs I deliver, articles and blog posts I write…even how I run my own business.

You can use your business message in a variety of ways – when posting website content, writing articles, delivering a presentation, writing a book, doing an interview. So how do you know you have a message that works?

The message is clear, makes a fast connection, and relates to real, tangible outcomes – “light and love” are great, but how do you get there? If I said, “to be successful, you must have inner peace”, I’m thinking…okay, but what is peace for you may not be for me. There isn’t an immediate connect for me (maybe that’s just me). But when you share a real outcome (e.g. more time to make money in your business) that resonates fast and like my grandma says “in a hurry”.

Now is a great time to examine what your business is saying. It’s time to get ready for all those New Years’ resolutions, right? Add this one to your list and get clear on your business message.

WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

About the Author: Tanya Smith is a creative business strategist and coach specializing in showing service based entrepreneurs like coaches, consultants and freelancers how to save time & money with simple, yet profitable systems that engage leads and clients. Her company Be Promotable provides fresh actionable strategies and virtual resources to promote business owners as power players in their market. Claim your instant access to a free 12 point checklist at: www.bepromotable.com.

Filed Under: Personal Branding for Business Tagged With: Personal Branding for Business, promote your business

5 Very Cool Tools to Ramp Up Your Gmail

October 13, 2011 By admin 7 Comments

MP9004224581 5 Very Cool Tools to Ramp Up Your Gmail You know they say some of the best solutions are born out of frustration – that’s what happened to me with Gmail. I was feeling quite overwhelmed about a month ago and my inbox had reached epic proportions – even with deletions that I do fairly regularly, I had over 12,000 emails in one account (I use Gmail to centralize much of my mail).

I don’t know about you, but just seeing that number made my insides turn. Okay, I’m probably a little over the top when it comes to liking things to be in order but it helps me to always be looking for a shortcut (which is what you love about me, right – LOL)! But this mountain of email in Gmail was driving me into total paralysis. I didn’t even want to open the box, not to mention read another email.

So, I got to work and started researching solutions. I had a few things in place like Gmail filters, but then I really got smart and figured out which tools would help me most. I’m planning to deliver a webinar in November that will reveal what I did, but here are 5 quick tool you can apply right now to tame the email monster in your Gmail account:

Canned Responses

This is one of the Gmail Lab features you can add in “settings”. The benefit is that if you have an email you are constantly having to write over and over again, you can create a “canned response” that you send with the click of a button. This is a huge time-saver. Yes, you can edit the email if you need to – e.g. change the recipient name, add a detail here or there. Very nice and free.

Gmail Smart Labels

At first I wasn’t in love with the idea that Google could decide how to filter my mail to fall into a “bulk” or “notifications” category. What if I missed something important? Well, now I know that you can adjust the filters if you choose. In the future (and in my webinar) I’ll share how to do this. I also have certain emails that will always be “marked as important” so I don’t miss them. That’s next…

Mark As Important (or Not)

In Gmail, you can mark certain messages as important so that they always show up in your “priority inbox” or even in your regular inbox, depending on how you’ve set up the view feature. The more you designate certain emails as important or not important, Gmail learns the patterns and starts to adjust based on what you’ve selected (too complicated to try explain all that here, but just know that the folks at Google are pretty smart!)

Stars

This might seem really simple but it’s one way to pull out things you know you need to take care of – anything that requires action on your part. You can click the star image next to your email to make it show up in the left index as a “Starred” item. If you decide you want to use the star for something other than an action item, you can do that too. The key is to be consistent in how you use it because this is very easy way to filter out messages you need to get to right away.

Active Inbox

Ahhh, this is my secret weapon of choice. Active Inbox has finally made Gmail worth my time and effort. This system helps you separate emails into folders like “Action”, “Waiting On”, even project folders. That’s what I missed when I left Outlook and other email systems. I love the way you can even filter messages to automatically file themselves into the folders.

This is just a quick hit list, but there is so much more. Be sure you’re on my weekly updates list so you can get the link when “Email Systems That Don’t Stink” opens at the end of the month. And guess what, having a neater inbox that doesn’t turn into a black hole is one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself and my business.

Do you have some favorite Gmail tools? Let me hear about them – add your comments below!

WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Filed Under: Online Marketing Resources Tagged With: automation, business systems, communication, gmail, manage time, online tools

Click of the Week Video: Project Management Using Dooster.Net

October 5, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

In this short video, learn how Dooster.Net can help you manage your projects and tasks online. You can even assign access to your assistant or outsource projects using this handy collaborative tool. Free trial available.

Filed Under: Online Marketing Resources Tagged With: automation, click of the week, manage time, project management

How To Get Off the Social Networking Rollercoaster

October 1, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

I may hit a nerve with someone in this post, but at this point in my life I know what I want and I’m super keen on protecting my time. See if this looks like your Facebook or other favorite social networking page…okay, but especially Facebook (and I’m not even counting the hundreds of Ning groups out there)…

You open your page and have 50+ notifications telling you who posted, what new event is coming, that next best link to truckloads of riches. And you’re expected to respond to every one of them because at least 10% of the notices were messages making you feel guilty about not participating even when you didn’t sign up to join in the first place. After you spend 2 hours going through all of it, you reflect on that book you read…when was that again?…that said you can “do social networking in 15 minutes a day”…yeah right.

You get where I’m going with this. Now – let me be real here. There are certainly times I have intentionally signed up to be part of a group or social networking site, and I have every intention to deliver value there. In those cases, I really DO deliver. But the problem is when I’ve joined as a favor to a friend, just because I like you, to get the page more “likes”, etc. And the big one lately for me is being automatically joined without my permission (yes, on Facebook).

Guhl, What the Problem Is?

(for my cousins who know me, that’s my super slang over-the-top southern voice right there)

When most of us, as normal human beings, become tied to an obligation (voluntarily or not) we react one of two ways – 1) try to handle it all, or 2) shut down and get nothing done. Social groups are obligations by nature of being SOCIAL. You can’t really be social if you are not interacting with others, reciprocating contact, sharing and learning.

Sooooo….if that is the case, why not set up some criteria just as you would for your business or other projects at work?

I’ve decided to take back ownership of my time and social space. This list of criteria is now being added to my Personal Policies Manual to help me decide when to get off the ride vs. when I will stay on with my hands up in the air screaming “whoo hoo!” If parts of it work for you add them to your own list!

My Top 10 Criteria For Joining Any More Social Networking Sites and/or Groups

The group or network I join has at least 70% of the following:

An active, engaged community – e.g. regular posts, not spammy, conversation, and respectful debate

An audience with my target market

An audience where my industry peers or potential joint partners hang out

Easy for me to submit posts (e.g. fast, no long drawn our process, no lengthy approval, or undecipherable password to recall)

Potential for me to serve a broader audience through connections I make there

Reciprocal knowledge sharing – it’s not just me giving, I’m getting valuable information too

No haters – e.g. people bad-mouthing other people, nasty, rude remarks, people stealing others’ ideas

I can share my services/offerings reasonably (of course, no spamminess)

Aligns with my values – I’m all for diversity of thought, etc. but if something is in direct conflict with who I am I have a choice to make

Fits within my budget or it’s free to participate

Well, that’s it for my list. What would you add to your own? What would you take off? I’m interested in hearing how this topic impacts you.

WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Filed Under: Online Marketing Resources Tagged With: business systems, manage time, productivity, social networking

How to Use an Editorial Calendar

September 26, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

Editorial calendars are a good way to organize how you will deliver your content. Without an editorial calendar you can fall into the trap of over-delivering in one period of time and under-delivering later on. You really don’t want your content tripping over itself.

What is an editorial calendar? Wikipedia says editorial calendars are “used by bloggers, publishers, businesses, and groups to control publication of content across different media, for example, newspaper, magazine, blog, email newsletters, and social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook fan pages. They are an extremely efficient way to control publication of content across diverse media outlets over time.”

What it does is create for you a map of what, when, and how you will post your content to share it with your audience. So for example, let’s say you have a couple of upcoming programs, a new product and an ongoing service you provide. You want to make sure your audience is aware these things are coming, but you want to divide up the messages to avoid information overwhelm.

Here is an example of what an editorial calendar may look like. Mine has elements of written content but also a few other tasks I like to consistently do. Some of mine is adapted from a calendar shared with me by one of my favorite mentors, Nancy Marmolejo over at VivaVisibility.com:

IM Nirvana has a cool downloadable spreadsheet here. Or you can try another that’s more social media-based like the Loud Few here.

My friend and social media guru, Tai Goodwin, shared a great tool with me recently called DivvyHQ. This site has a great interactive calendaring system you can use to map out different points within your marketing campaigns. Personally, I’m a spreadsheet geek, so I love using Excel and other spreadsheet-style tools to map my progress.

I’d love to hear what you currently use to keep track of and post your content. Share in the comments section below.

Filed Under: Online Marketing Resources Tagged With: automation, manage time, online tools

3 Best Scheduling Tools to Protect Your Time

September 20, 2011 By admin

I’m a big fan of online tools (you may know that by now if you’ve read some of my posts or seen my “click of the week” series). One of the best set of tools that has significantly improved my life are tools that allow me to schedule appointments online. The biggest advantages are that I no longer have the back and forth emails, it reduces missed appointments and the “oh no, I forgot”…most of the time, and it streamlines my day.

I especially look for online tools that will integrate into my Google Calendar so that I keep everything in one happy place.

In this video post, I’ll share three of my favorite tools and the best things about each. I happened to notice that all of them start with a “t” – how funny is that…or is it synchronicity? T for Tanya…time…hmmmm, anyway – I digress. Back to the video post!

Here are my top 3 favorite scheduling tools:

Filed Under: Online Marketing Resources Tagged With: automation, business systems, click of the week, communication, manage time, productivity

Click of the Week: Handy Follow Up Tool

September 15, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

This click of the week tip shares a very neat auto-reminder tool – followup.cc. Provides a simple way to schedule your to-dos, get a little nudge to check in on that assignment, and much more. Free up your time to focus on what matters in your business by automating things that you repeatedly do.

Filed Under: Online Marketing Resources Tagged With: automation, business systems, click of the week, manage time

Optimize Your Website To Stand Out

September 12, 2011 By admin

robot person

There are countless websites that exist today, but most of them simply are not good at keeping their visitors engaged and coming back for more. If you are old enough to remember when the Internet had become the new buzzword, you can recall how some companies came to understand the importance of having a website.

There were early adopters, those who have followed the example of the successful, and then there were laggards. Believe it or not, even today there are people today who do not think you need a website and do not see how an Internet presence can really help your business. Your website gives credibility to your business. How many people search the Internet for a company, product or solution to a problem? Show your market that you are the solution to their problems, putting your business where they will frequent.

The problem now is that most companies still have a simple web site that serves just as their business card online, or they do not have the right information in their website to hold attention. A good site should be engaging. Your content must be interesting and informative enough to keep the interest for your visitors. If your goal is to entertain, then make sure you get it done. If your goal is to inform, to do so.

Give your visitors the information they need in a format that does not come across as boring, or like work. Help with their problems, don’t make them fight through a lot of nonsense to get what they need. A great website uses incredible content to optimize the volume of business it brings you.

Here are some key points you want to include when optimizing your website:

It is designed using keywords that are popular and attractive to your audience
There should be a call to action
It should have offerings that align with what your market is seeking
It should be easy for viewers to find what they’re looking for
You should provide frequent, relevant content
Must incorporate multimedia, like video
The site should be grounded with solid SEO (search engine optimization)

Remember that you are competing against thousands and sometimes millions of other pages on the Internet. Make your page stand out. The more elements you have to capture your audience and meet the criteria of search engines, the better chance you have of getting ahead of the crowd and get more traffic and customers.

Filed Under: Online Marketing Resources Tagged With: business systems, online identity, online tools, web design

10 Reasons I Love Systems That Track What I Do

Imagine An Ideal Week In Your Business

What Is Your Business Saying?