Leveraging Your Time: The Top 10 Ways Small Business Owners Can Get More Time in a Day

 Blog, Efficiency, Time Management, Tips  No Responses »
Apr 092014
 

You glance up at the clock and wonder where the time has gone and then you realise that you did not achieve as much in your day as you would have hoped. This is a common scenario for small business owners. We wish we had more hours in the day to accomplish our workload; however the good news is that we do. Here are our top 10 ways we have found we can get more time in our day.

1. Reduce your hours
You might think this sounds a little odd but in truth, if you shorten your workday you will soon find you accomplish just as much as you did before and more. Reducing your hours will force you to focus more on the work that needs to be done and less on the other non-essential tasks which can chew up your time.

2. Know your strengths
No two people are the same and we all have certain times of the day when we perform at our best. Some people are naturally early birds and work best in the morning, others tend to find they work better later in the day. Work around your own schedule to get the most out of your working day.

3. Plan your phone calls ahead of time
Making telephone calls can be timewasting, particularly when the call can easily go off topic. Before you make a call, take a minute to jot down the main points you want to get across and try not to veer too far off course.

4. Use a VA
You have probably discovered this already but the simple fact of the matter is that you can’t do it all. You try; you drop a ball or two, miss deadlines and get stressed. Using a Virtual Assistant (VA) in certain parts of a business can really save time and money, particularly when that area is not particularly one of your strengths.

5. Centralise your social media
Centralising your social media such as Linked In, Twitter and Facebook through Hootsuite is a great way to avoid time wasting sessions on social media pages while you are at work. There is nothing wrong with browsing pages and socialising but save the non-essential work stuff for your downtime.

6. Get mobile
There is a reason that Smartphones and tablets are so popular – they allow business owners to work from wherever they happen to be. Familiarise yourself with some of the latest gadgets on the market and identify which ones will work for you when you are out and about.

7. Minimise meetings
Similar to phone calls, plan your meetings ahead of time. Know what you are going to say and try to stay on topic. Only schedule meetings that are crucial to your business growth, and limit the number of meetings that you attend.

8. Pick your hour
Determine one hour each day in which you are not to be interrupted. Turn off the phone, switch off the social media and just do it. You will soon find that you achieve more in that one hour than you do in any other hour out of your day helping you to get ahead.

9. Be prepared to take notes
The best ideas really do come when you are not expecting them. For this reason we advise you to jot them down in a notebook (either paper or electronic) so you can pay them the proper attention they deserve when you are in full work mode.

10. Just say no
When you are busy, sometimes it is best to just say no. You don’t have to do something just because someone asks you to. Learn to only accept the tasks which are most beneficial to your business and require your particular core strengths. Being overworked will not do you or your business any favours at all.

Start small. Pick two or three ideas which appeal and try them out. Soon you will start to see that time can really be on your side allowing you to create that work/life balance that all small business owners set out to achieve.

 

Thanks to Heather Bienefelt of Integrated Consulting Solutions contributing this article for our blog.

“Leveraging Your Time:  The Top 10 Ways Small Business Owners Can Get More Time in a Day‘ was first posted on Integrated Consulting Solutions Blog.

ics_logoIntegrated Consulting Solutions (ICS) specialise in taking the pain out of the certification process, reducing the paperwork, and giving you a system that’s guaranteed to get you certification fast and cost effectively, so you can go on and grow your business.

For a free no obligation consultation to assess how compliant your system already is

Visit ICS Website at www.iconsultingsolutions.com.au or CALL on 1300 132 745.

AVAC 2014 – What I Learnt

 Administration, AVAC, Blog, Tips  1 Response »
Mar 272014
 

Recently I attended the 5th annual Australian Virtual Assistant Conference (AVAC 2014), which was in Brisbane this year, and I’m grateful I did.  I have been privileged enough to attend every AVAC, and like previous years it was a jam packed 2-days full of info; the organisers did a great job.

Like every conference/seminar you come away with long lists of ideas and things you should be doing, and want to be doing.  Over the years I have discovered that if you try to do everything you learn, or works for others, there is no time for actual business, so you need to determine what works for you, and implement/try one thing at a time.

While I learnt a lot, here are some of the key things I was reminded of or learnt at AVAC that I have/can put into action straight away:

  • It’s the small things that make a difference – start small and add things as you go, you don’t have to do it all at once – Kaizen Exercise Physiologists
  • Take time to enjoy your food; and “Do it Now”, don’ keep putting things off until everything is perfect, this will help reduce stress – Happy Healthy Groovy
  • ‘Spend less than you earn, borrow less than you can afford’; and put a some away for an emergency – On Your Own Two Feet
  • Own your brand/brand colour and communicate your message consistently – Sassy Branding
  • Remove ‘Yeah but’ and ‘I know’ from your vocabulary; and Write down ‘BIG’ dreams, link personal and business dreams, and then break the BIG dreams down into achievable dreams, i.e. break 10 year dream into 1 year dream – Warwick Bidwell
  • Make sure every page of your website has a ‘Call to Action’ and if you don’t already, check your Google Analytics regularly and learn how to decipher them – Paul Barrs
  • Communicate regularly with Facebook, Newsletters & Website and get people off Facebook to your Website/Mailing List – Natalie Alaimo
  • Take 5-15mins every 1 ½ hours away from your PC to relax and reset, and empty your emotional garbage every day – Creative Evolution
  • Removing ‘emotional’ clutter unless it can be used, can free up space for better things, click to watch TED Talk – Less is More – Clutter Rescue
  • Learn your numbers – Do you know your true hourly rate?  Bring value to your clients in the packages you offer – Southern Cross Accounting
  • Turn off all new message alerts, and allocate 4 times a day to check email, this will allow you to focus on the task at hand – Taming the E-mail Tiger
  • Allow your brand to reflect the real you, not an online version of yourself.  Repurpose your content – i.e. social posts become blogs, blogs newsletters etc – Cas McCullough
  • We learnt about 53 Cool Tech Tools, of the ones I aren’t already using I’m going to investigate: Evernote, Cam Scanner, Prezi and Houzz – Two Cents Group
  • Most importantly I learnt I need to be aware of what’s going on around me, i.e. stop using my phone while walking the streets – Phil O’Brien

If you ever have the chance to listen to any of these speakers, I recommend you do.

The best part of the conference is networking with other VAs, you have the opportunity to make great friendships, and pick up some great tips on how others handling different things.  Networking is important for business whether it be with people in the same industry or other industries.

Already looking forward to AVAC 2015 –bring on March 2015 – if you’re a VA it’s time to start saving now.

AVAC 2014

It’s a Big Ask

 Angela Vithoulkas, Blog, Guest Blog, Tips  No Responses »
Dec 032013
 

Do you know how to ask for help? What about asking a question of others to find a solution to a problem or challenge? It’s actually a learned skill – from my perspective, and it’s all about being brave enough to hear the answers and listen to the lessons that inevitably come from the conversations with others.

If you are lucky enough to get your hands on a wise person, tie them to a chair and record the Q & A to play back as needed!

It’s ironic that we have no problem with asking people for feedback on our personal lives and relationships; we discuss all this openly and frequently and do what our friends say. But imagine when it comes to business questions, we completely go quiet and freeze up, or in my case we just don’t think about it. For so long it never occurred to me to just ask.

Whether you are a start up or an established business owner, you will constantly come up against, or be forced into, situations that will stump you. Clearly there are moments that Google can’t fix, and where no search bar in the world can provide assistance either. It’s either human contact or find out the hard way. Often, in fact far too frequently, the hard way comes in multiples as well… Why would it be easy? Lol

What if you look bad?

Is there an art to asking? Only if you over think it and care how you ‘look’ or ’sound’ when the questions come out. I like to think of asking as part of my investigation and search strategy. Usually that means me investigating what I don’t know, and searching for the right words to ask about thing I have no idea about, to people who know everything about matters I don’t. Make sense?

You may need a simple query answered, or an investor to deal in to your business, or a contra deal considered; the size of the ask isn’t relevant. It’s learning to ask that has the effect and changes the journey. And one answer I know you will get if you don’t ask, is the horrible echo of nothing.

Deep breaths

Take a good look at collaborative business models, people who have really fined tuned the art of asking and surround themselves with like minded individuals, who gather a complementary brains trust to resolve, construct and grow their unique and combined businesses. They can’t always afford specialist advice and consultants, but they know they need one, so they just ask!

When you do take a leap and want to breathe life into your idea and make the vision more than just a mission statement, wouldn’t it be great to find someone who could answer some basic questions at crucial times, and possibly save you the pain of learning very hard and expensive lessons? Especially if you are like me and you need to break something several times before you realise what it’s all about. If only I had asked…

Courage

Growing a business and leaving your very warm and fuzzy comfort zone where you are the all-knowing-and-seeing Queen and to suddenly stand at the edge of the cliff, facing a blank space is a diabolical dilemma. You either assume you know it all and freefall, or you ask … for transition help.

To overponder the simple task of asking is to waste the very time you would gain by just doing it – maybe avoid sounding like you have inhaled a helium balloon, and it will all be fine. And remember to pay it forward. There is someone around you who wants to ask, right now they are trying to get the courage to come forward and peek through the curtain, it doesn’t hurt to answer their ask.

It’s a big ask was published on Angela Vithoulkas’ Blog.

6 Keys to Motivating Your Team

 Blog, Engagement, Motivation, Tips, Warwick Merry  No Responses »
Oct 162013
 

I have seen many speakers, read many articles and heard many ideas on how best to motivate team members.  There are so many opinions and ideas with different steps and methodologies that it is easy to lose focus on what is important, the team member!

Unfortunately, there is no “one way fits all” approach to motivating team members.  But there are the five key factors you need to take into account if you want your efforts to have an impact.

1.    Make It Personal

A cookie cutter approach to rewarding or motivating your team will not work. Every one of your team members has different dreams, goals and reasons for coming to work.  For some a hand written note from the CEO will mean the world, for others only cash will do.  Get to know your team.  Find out what makes them tick.  What hobbies do they have? What does their family need? What can you get for them that they would love but can’t get themselves? 

Money is not always the answer. In fact, it is frequently not the best motivator.  A lot gets taken in tax, it just becomes money in their bank account and nothing special.  There also comes a time when people have enough money.  Find out what hits their hot buttons and then hit it!!  (Repeatedly if you can and if they deserve it!)

2.    Do It In The Right Location

Some people love the spotlight. Nothing would make them feel better than to be up on stage in front of the entire company receiving rapturous applause for a job well done.  For other people, this would be their idea of hell.  They just need a little bit of acknowledgement from one or two of “the right” people and that is all they need.  Again, you need to know the personality of your team member to acknowledge them in the right location.

3.    Make It Worthwhile

If the effort to motivate is not worthwhile, you will find you have in fact DE-motivated them.  When I started in the IT industry, I had worked hundreds of hours overtime on a particular long term project and then got a bonus that worked out being 2 cents an hour.  The bonuses were the joke of the office. If they had given us and extra 3 days of annual leave it would have cost them the same and we would have been thrilled.  One of my coaching clients said, “I can’t bear the thought of getting another movie ticket for doing a good job. It is such a waste.”

 Sometimes the “token gesture”, while well-meaning and with good intent, does more harm than good.  Make sure that what you are doing is worthwhile for the team member and not just going through the motions.

4.    Link It To Behaviour

Ultimately you are motivating your team to get them to repeat certain behaviours.  So if you are having a conversation with them and CEO about what a great job they have done, the sales results they have generated or the completion of a project, make sure they associate the conversation or reward with the behaviour.  It is very much like Pavlov’s Dogs.  You want the behaviour related to the award so that they repeat the behaviour.

5.    Make It With Pride

For many people, receiving an acknowledgement is about the emotion of the situation and not any physical reward.  Many managers have handed out rewards, bonuses and even pay rises like Santa throwing lollies to crowds of children.  “Here’s one for you and one for you and one for you…..”

Make it special. Make it really count for your team. They need to feel loved and appreciated and have pride in their accomplishment.

6.    Do It

Motivate your team however you can. Don’t worry if you get it wrong. For many people the fact that you are trying something is enough.  But do something. Do not believe for a moment that they salary or wage is enough.  You need to do something extra to keep them fired up and with a sense of loyalty and belonging.

Typically, saying “Thank You” and acknowledging their efforts and results will make a huge difference.  So even if you are restricted financially and can’t do anything special for the team you can at least acknowledge their work and what it means to you and the company’s overall results.

 

The reality is that you cannot motivate anyone on your team. Motivation is up to them. It is something that only the individual can do. All you can do is create the circumstances in which they are most likely to remain positive and driven to get the results you are after.  Get to know your team. Find out what they like and what energises them, as individuals and as a team. Something as simple as a team BBQ could do wonders.

Whatever you chose, stop thinking about it and do it.

 

Thanks to Warwick Merry for contributing this article for our blog.

Warwick Merry is the Get More Guy, an expert in how to Get More results. He is also the Co-Founder of The Exhibiting and Sponsorship Institute.  For further information visit www.warwickmerry.com or www.EASInstitute.com

Manage Your Inbox

 Blog, Efficiency, Tips  No Responses »
Sep 182013
 

Do you find your Inbox in Outlook is always overflowing or filling up with emails?  Although most emails have a purpose, not all of them need to be dealt with straight away.

A good strategy to follow is the 4 D’s – Delete it, Delegate it, Do it (if it can’t be done in 2mins), defer it.

 

 To help manage your Inbox, why not set up email rules to direct emails to various sub directory’s for reading and actioning at a later date.  Here’s how:

1. Create appropriate sub-directory’s in your inbox, such as by Personal Info, or by Client Name.

2. Create rules, to direct emails to the appropriate sub-directory.

  • Right Click on the email in your inbox
  • Select ‘Create Rule’ (a pop up box appears)
  • In the first section, select the first box ‘From email address’ (recommended)
  • In the “Do the Following” Section, select ‘Move the item to folder’
  • Click on the ‘Select Folder’, and choose the appropriate folder to direct it to.  At this stage you can create a new folder if an appropriate folder doesn’t exist.
  • Click ‘OK’, another pop-up box will be displayed, stating ‘the rule has been created’.
  • Select the box ‘Run this rule now on messages already in the current folder’, and select OK.
  • Emails in your inbox that fit this rule, will disappear from your inbox, and you should be able to find them in the appropriate folder.

Just remember to check your sub-directory’s on a regular basis, so you don’t miss anything urgent. 

I recently cam across this article by James Wilson of Henry & Horne outlining 4 ways to Take Control of your inbox. Read it here.

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