2 Ears and 1 Mouth

My plans for today were shot to hell once again by the weather - oh well!  I took some time this morning to clean up my home office a bit and came across my "Thomas Profile".  If you've never had your profile completed I suggest you call Claudina Whisken at Thomas International and get it done asap.  The information you learn in it is sooo valuable and helps you so much when working and dealing with other people.

One of the things that my profile says is that I am so enthusiastic that I times I may talk too much and not listen well  - guilty!  I believe the old saying - "we were given 2 ears and 1 mouth so that we could listen twice as much as we talk".  I make a conscious decision on a regular basis to work on a variety of things I feel need to be improved about myself...both in attitude and behaviour.  It was a great exercise to sit quietly, not in a rush, and go through my profile and recommit to work on this extremely valuable skill - LISTENING!  Nothing makes a person feel better than to know that they have been given your full attention and that you have been truly listening.

Being an enthusiastic extrovert I can sometimes be like a whirlwind or a bulldozer - if I've been like this with you - I apologize - and if I'm like that with you in the future please let me know.  This is my very public commitment to try to listen twice as much as I talk - we don't learn much if we're the one doing all the talking!

Create a “STOP DOING LIST” Today!

This week when you start your to do lists I suggest you create a “stop doing list”.  I would wager that you would see more productivity from implementing a “stop doing list”, than ticking off the many tasks on your to do list.  Early on in our businesses we wear all the hats and juggle a zillion tasks.  As you progress if you don’t focus on YOUR SECRET SAUCE  you will be stuck in the vicious cycle of doing everything, working too long, not being productive and not making enough money!

Here are some areas where entrepreneurs can get buried – get real with yourself and stop the cycle.

Doing your own things like bookkeeping or designing.  Even if you’re okay at these things they aren’t what you went into business for (unless of course they are J).  Delegate them to someone who will do them more efficiently leaving you to the job of business building.

Getting Trapped in Busy Work – spending hours on a facebook timeline photo or making sure all your file folders are colour coded are things that you SHOULDN’T be spending your time on.  How about spending that time connecting with past or future clients, organizing or attending a networking event – which is a better use of your time?

Easy gratification versus long term success – stop focusing on the small things that are easily completed and give you instant gratification by ticking them off your to do list.  Think about one strategic priority that you can work on each day and spend your time taking a bite out of that.

Perfectionism Paralysis – plain and simple this can kill your business!  There is no such thing as perfect anyway – it’s all in the eye of the beholder.  Strive for excellence, not perfection – and sometimes done is better than excellent.  Be selective and decide in advance what level of excellence is required for each job.

I’d love to hear what ends up on YOUR  “STOP DOING LIST” – just don’t do it!

7 Lessons from my Clothesline Obsession

Yes...I am obsessed with clotheslines.  I LOVE THEM!  I am a clothesline-aholic and have absolutely no intention of recovering.  I get great joy from just watching my clothes blow in the wind.  There is a feeling of simplicity and peace that comes from my clothesline.  I can sit endlessly on my deck watching the wind in my clothes (many times with a beer in hand)...and oh, the smell of clothes fresh from the line!

I can't be sure where these feelings come from but I presume it has something to do with my childhood.  I grew up in an extended family environment.  We lived in sort of our own little commune of our family (6 kids), my aunt and uncle's family (4 kids) and my Grandparents.  Our three homes shared a lawn, driveway, well, sheds, wharf...and even clotheslines.  It took great coordination to be sure that all the laundry of the 3 families was done since none of the families had a dryer.  If the weather was even near fine there was always laundry on the line.  My prominent memories are of a diamond sparkled ocean with laundry blowing in the wind beside it. 

My Clothesline after a day at the beach.

Our village was very communal as well - it wasn't rare to come home and find all the laundry sitting in a basket in the kitchen,taken off the line by one of the neighbours if she felt the weather was going to turn...and we did it for our neighbours in kind... this was possible since no one locked their doors :)

A clothesline is a non-negotiable for me - I have a 75 ft one that I use year round.  So it could be the joy of seeing the beach towels after a sweet day in the water, or maybe even a frozen piece of clothing - or at times a full line of laundry on the ground as a result of an aged clothesline that could take no more.... then a new clothesline goes up and we start all over again.

These are the lessons that I have learned from my clothesline:

1.  Doing nothing is not non-productive.  Anything that brings you joy is worth the time it takes to do it even if it may appear to the outsider as "doing nothing".

2. A little extra work can sometimes bring great results.

3. Just because you can't see something doesn't mean that there's not something at work..(have you ever seen the wind?)

4. Looking out for each other reaps rewards all around.

5.  When negotiating, understanding what each person needs and wants is essential and will usually lead to a win, win... (a win, win, win in our clothesline case)

6.  Even when you seem defeated you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and continue the journey.  It cannot be perfect every step of the way and knowing this and making plans to deal with it will make the defeat minimal.

7.  Happiness, joy and success and individual - respecting and embracing this of others makes everyone winners.

Urgent doesn't always mean IMPORTANT - 6 Tips to get you to IMPORTANT

Taking control of how we spend our time one of the best changes that we can make for long term success.  We don't really manage our time, we manage our tasks and activities.  Too often our "urgent" tasks are those that have something to do with another person's goals and not ours.  There are 2 types of urgent tasks - 1. those we can't foresee...and 2. those we've put off or procrastinated getting done. 

Stephen Covey's time management quadrant process is a great way to put our activities into perspective.  Start categorizing your tasks within this quadrant and you'll quickly see that most of the activities that will propel you to accomplishing and reaching your goals are Important but NOT urgent...that's why most of us don't get to them.  There's no sense of urgency attached to them and are easy to put off.  Check this out and try it for a week or two and see what I mean. 
http://www.usgs.gov/humancapital/documents/TimeManagementGrid.pdf

Here's are 6 tips that will help you get to those Important activities that will change your business!!!

1.  start saying no...enough already, you really aren't superwoman!
2.  stop being a "time Pollyanna"... you really can't drive 100 km, see a client, drive 100 km back all in an hour - get real with your time!!!!
3. schedule appropriately in the first place- EVERYTHING you do has a timeline attached to it... figure that out when your scheduling anything.
4. stop procrastinating - this is another blog entirely... get help if you need it.. this is such a waste of time, energy, talent and angst.
5. stop allowing another person's priorities to become your priorities!  Know which important tasks you need to do each day and protect your time like a mama bear with her cubs.
6. if you starting setting a deadline on everything you do it will change your world - when you ask for something from someone else, put a timeline to it...when someone asks for something from you, put a time line to it.  When you write a to-do list put timelines to each task.  When you're working on a project put a timeline to each and every task for each and every person.  This alone will change how you spend your time.

Until next time...

Whose Goals are they Anyway???

I work with soooo many clients who say they aren't reaching their goals and are super frustrated.  When we actually get to work looking at those goals, challenges, obstacles, etc., more often than not the goals they were working towards weren't really in sync with what they really wanted.   Goals often conflict with each other because most of us don't really take the time that's needed to REALLY think about what you want ... we're sort of on this ever moving treadmill and anchored to a life of busywork... STOP!!!  Take time to identify what YOU want and I bet you'll be amazed how much more motivated you'll be to reach them.  Grab a friend, an accountability buddy, a coach, create a mastermind group - whatever it takes for you to take the time to think, brainstorm and yes, get feedback.

Here are things to be careful of when setting your goals:

1. Make sure the goals are yours - not your manager's, your spouse's, your friends, parents etc. or society's in general.

2. Your heart isn't in it - you really don't care - you're simply doing it because you think it's what you should do.

3. You're hanging around soul suckers - you know who they are - they are toxic, they poo poo on your dreams - they don't want you to outgrow them.  Find positive, motivated, inspirational and giving people - there are lots out there.

4. You're over extended - you can't accomplish are your goals at once and you can't do everything yourself.  Be realistic - have laser focus on one goal at a time...multi tasking is a myth!!!  Delegate whenever possible.  We all need a support team - figure out what your team looks like for you.

5. It's toooo hard (insert "whine whine" here) - yeah - some things are hard.  Don't be one of the "yeah but" people... or the "if only I could.... but..."  Really???? 

Grab on tight - go for it - be persistent!!!  It's a lot more fun if it's a goal you really want - Good Luck!

Do you know the #1 way to increase sales?

Improve your sales skills!!!

I know so many business owners who shake in their heels when we start discussing sales.  The “I’m not a salesperson” statement is probably the most common one that I hear.  Well I hate to tell ya…. If you own a business, regardless of what type of business, you are a sales organization and by default, a sales person!  Now that we have that settled stay with me and I’ll show you how you can make more money without doing any extra work… I’ve gotcha don’t I???

First and foremost you need to know your numbers….and by that I mean that you need to know your “conversion” rate.    Let’s work backwards.  If you have an average sale of $1000 and you want $100,000 in revenue that means you need 100 customers  - easy right?  You need to know how many clients you need to propose to or how many consider your product in order for you to make those 100 sales.  If it takes talking to 200 customers to get 100 sales, then your conversion rate is 50%.    If you invest resources in improving your sales skills and your conversion goes from 50% to 75% you’ve just increased your sales from $100,000 to $150,000.  That’s an increase of 50% without having to talk to even one additional potential customer.  Chances are that the additional $50,000 didn’t cost you as much as the first $100,000 because your fixed costs were already taken care of, therefore your profit margins are higher on the incremental business.

This is just one component of a much larger number formula that you need to consider when developing your sales goals and forecasts. 

The bottom line is that sales is the process of providing a solution to a problem for someone who would welcome your product/services.  I consider sales just GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE!

People hate to be sold to, but they love to buy!

You can have a great Team with or without employees

For most of us it was our passion that inspired us to go into business for ourselves.  We wanted to do what we love, help our clients and generally live to beat of our own drum.  Before long the reality of running a business on our own hit – suddenly we realized there are many different hats to wear other than the one that inspired us to entrepreneurship.

A great team is essential to all success – especially  the success of a “solopreneur” or small business owner.    Based on very focused objectives my decision to not have employees doesn’t diminish the need for additional resources.  I work with an amazing team of professionals that serve a variety of purposes.  I focus on what I’m good at to generate revenue and outsource everything else.  Each person only has so much capacity – why not use that time to make money and delegate the things that can be done by someone else?  It’s also important that your team include colleagues that assist, inspire and motivate you to think and reach beyond your comfort zone to create YOUR ideal life – whatever that means to YOU.

One of my most important team members is my “right hand”.  The one that helps me by professionally and reliably completing the necessary on-going tasks that are essential to the success of my business but not my forte.  It’s not enough to have only a typical Virtual Assistant, you need a professional that can think like you, know what clients expect and works with initiative and innovation.  Whatever that means to you in your business I guarantee that as soon as you hire them it will feel as though a weight has been lifted from your shoulders and your business will start to become what you initially dreamed about.

Being a entrepreneur – there’s no life like it!

Who Is In Control?

Are you setting the ground rules for your life or are you letting others set them for you?

Before I started my business I wrote a list of the 'criteria for my life' - not my business, my life. Only after that did I tackle what I wanted my business to look like. All too often we are where we are, not by carefully selected goals and choices, but by opportunities that arise along the way that we respond to. When we respond to opportunities offered to us, the details of those situations are usually on someone else’s terms. The hours and location of work, how we dress, who we work with... all are outside of our control. But once you take the jump into entrepreneurship shouldn’t you be the one steering the boat?

Figure out what you want your life to look like, where and when you work, what type of clients you want to work with, etc. - the big stuff. Here’s a great form to start with for this exercise.

Now to tackle the day to day. Every time someone has a brain fart they tweet it, text it, email it... you get the picture. And then they expect you to respond NOW. Because of the speed and extent of technology it’s all too easy to become a slave to it instead of using it as a tool in your life. Use these wonderful tools of technology in a strategic way, not at the whim of others. If the first thing you do in the morning is to check your email and social media, remember, these are usually someone else’s agenda... not yours.

Try one week with YOU in control - you’ll be amazed the difference in your productivity.

• Check your email only 2-3 times per day
• Write down your goals for the day.
• Plan your day in advance.
• FOCUS!!! Multi-tasking doesn’t work!
• Don’t get sucked in to the 'busy' work.
• Schedule your social media time.

The most important thing: make sure you experience joy in each day.

Originally published in Work Better, Not Harder on May 16, 2012

It's All About Them

How many times do we have to hear, “It’s all about them?", meaning the customer. It’s all about them! It’s all about them! It’s all about them! Will that do?

So many times I see ads, marketing material, policies, you name it, that have not taken the customer into account. They scream in their messages that they’re all about you, have great customer services, would be nothing without you – but their actions speak louder than their words.

Consider the airlines – all of them! I recently went to Cuba on vacation and imagine our surprise when the flight attendant wouldn’t accept our cash. No siree, cash is no good on the airlines, only credit cards. Is this about the customer? Hardly. It’s about how much easier it is on the airline not to have to make change. And boy, was she nasty about it! (Air Transat) Did my husband and I stay thirsty? No, but that’s not the point. We didn’t want to pay by credit card!

What about all the industries that use acronyms? Give me a break! We don’t all take a course in each industry so that we can understand what all the initials are that you are using, or your industry jargon. Follow the proverbial rule – KISS, Keep It Simple Sweetie (the nice version... you know what I really mean).

And now in the day of social media and online conversations, it’s more important than ever to be clear, concise and simple. We are not living in a bubble. The internet is global so your visitors and friends are from all over the world. When you start an online conversation, remember to put it in context for your connections that may not be in your little corner of the world.

Don’t confuse people. KISS! Remember – It’s all about them!

Originally published in Work Better, Not Harder on April 26, 2012

Magic Happens in the Hussle

There are lots of 'P's in Marketing – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Now let me share some other 'P's that I see many entrepreneurs (and people in general) adopt in their lives: Perfectionism, Paralysis, Procrastination. Many times I hear the statement, “Oh, I’m a perfectionist” ...like it’s a good thing. It’s not!! The goal to be perfect is IMPOSSIBLE – just like wanting everybody to like you. There are just too many people, with too many different views and opinions, for your work to be perfect to everybody. When you satisfy one person, you irritate or fall short with another – it can’t be any other way. In most cases. Perfectionism leads to Paralysis or Procrastination to actually DO SOMETHING! You know how I feel about Planning (another 'P') - it sets you up for success, but only if you actually DO SOMETHING with your plan. Strive for excellence, not perfection – and then set systems in place to make you take action. Here are some systems and supports that can Propel (another 'P'!) you into action. 1.     Have a Plan - Know what you want to accomplish and identify the actions it will take for you to get there. 2.     Systems – Set up systems within your business that enable you to DO things with the least amount of effort possible. 3.     Project Manage – Break every project, initiative, event, whatever, into smaller action items. Identify every task needed, who needs to do it, what money or resources you need. Then set a timeline for EACH task. (Click here for the form I use for myself and with my clients.) Which leads me to... 4.     Set Timelines FOR EVERYTHING – Know when you want to start something, when you want to finish it, and when you need something from others. Even when you ask for something from someone else, or are providing something to someone else – set a timeline! 5.     Accountability – What makes you accountable? An accountability buddy, rewarding yourself, a mastermind group, a coach or consultant - what does it take? (I have clients who pay for my services on a monthly basis, not just for the expertise, but because they know if they’re spending money and know we have a meeting coming up, they will get things done. After all, I’m known as the slapper!) 6.     Just DO SOMETHING - Sometimes you should just Ready, Aim, Fire! (I know a business owner who has been in a state of perfectionism, procrastination and paralysis for over a year – no money being made there!) YOUR ASSIGNMENT 1.     Set up a system of accountability. I suggest you do this first because it will actually help you to do the following steps. 2.     Identify one thing you’ve wanted to do but haven’t because of one excuse or another. (Notice I didn’t say reason?) 3.     Before you do anything else, what is ONE thing you can do in the next 24 hours as a step forward with this goal? 4.     Take this form and break down your goal into tasks and set timelines to each task. Some of the tasks will require a form of their own. 5.     Start setting timelines to everything.

Let me know if this kick in the butt has helped get you started on something... I’d love to hear from you.

Originally published in New Life Business Newsletter April 2012