Need Energy? Organize Your Desk!

I'm getting into spring fever mode, for me that means organizing my desk and computer files.  Being organized give me energy.

If your desk and your computer files are messy and disorganized, it'll sap your energy, reduce your productivity and waste your time on trying to find things.

Furthermore, when your desk and your files are organized, it creates a sense of pride in your workspace. You're more likely to look forward to working, rather than dreading it.

What's the best way to organize your files?

Clear Filing System for Physical Papers

Do you have a clear filing system for the papers related to your business? Or are they just in random stacks of paper, where you hope to remember what they are?

It doesn't matter what the exact system is, as long as it works for you. It can be chronological, alphabetical, by category or any other system you can think of.  Need motivation?  I ADORE these file folders from Erin Condren, she always inspires





Eliminate Your "Stuff" Drawers

People often have drawers that are just made of "stuff." It's where they throw things when they don't know where else to put it.

Get a bunch of random business cards that you'll never contact but can't bring yourself to throw away? Toss it in "stuff." Got an interesting advertisement that you'd like to emulate but don't know where to put it? Toss it in "stuff."

Pretty soon your "stuff" drawer is overflowing and you have no idea what's in it. Important files can get lost in there, while unimportant files subtly zap your energy and sense of organization.

Eliminate your "stuff" drawers. Create folders for things like random business cards or future to-dos and file them. Even if there's only one piece of paper in the folder, file it anyway.

Get rid of the "stuff" drawer. It's the "under the bed" of your office.

Digital Organizing Essentials

Much like physical organizing, your first step with digital organizing is to create systematic folders so you know where everything is.

Think up a filing system that makes sense for you. Perhaps a different folder for every client or project. Perhaps a separate folder for deliverables versus things you're using on a project.

Again, the actual system doesn't matter, as long as it makes sense to you.

Create "quick links" to your most frequently used folders in the Windows file browser, on the left. Just drag and drop folders into these shortcuts for easy access.

Once again, do a deep cleaning of all the files and folders on your computer. Clean up your desktop so it's not strewn with random files and folders. Delete files you don't need any more and file anything that might be necessary for future reference.

Once you've organized your offline and online systems, schedule 30 minutes every two weeks to keep your organization system in check, and file any build-up of paperwork.  You'll have a renewed sense of energy!

5 Tips On Becoming SuperWoman

I am super woman.  Yes, that sounds very conceited and I swear that is not my intention.  But I get asked a lot by various clients, colleagues, co-workers, friends, family, “How the heck do you get so much done, do you not sleep”?   Well, since I do sleep, and actually I sleep more than most I think - at least nine hours a

night – I decided maybe I should ponder this question and see if I could figure out why.  Maybe, just maybe,  I have some sneaky tips on what makes me so productive. So here is what I came up with:

#1 Get Plenty of Rest 
I know this is not exactly a productivity tip, I’ll get to a few of those too, but I do firmly believe getting enough rest allows for longer periods of concentration and focus. I’m sure there is some deep rooted science proving this too, but for me it’s based on experience. When I’m rested, I am energized, happy, focused and productive.

#2 Eat well and Eat Often
After I had both of my kids I did weight watchers and I have to say I liked it a lot and it taught me some good eating habits.  I’ve carried those with me and I’ve noticed that when I eat healthy and snack at regular intervals, my energy stays up.

#3 Have a Schedule
I follow the same schedule pretty much every day.  Now there are huge blocks of time that are not, “scheduled” since my work is very busy and always changing, but there are cornerstones throughout the day that stay the same.

For me it falls at 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm.  I have specific things I do at these intervals (i.e. check email, log in/post/check social networks, have a snack, check my ToDo list, etc.). This frees my blocks of time up and allows for flexibility in my schedule but still time to get things done.

#4 Make a ToDo list
Prioritize. Stick to It – this is one of my biggest tips.  I do not live out of my email in-boxes (yes I have several).  Every day I make a priority list of what needs to be done and prioritize.  I allow for le-way time for things that do come up in my email and I block out time to get certain things on my list done.  This leads to tip #5:

#5  Block Out Time
Block out specific time on your calendar to get things done.  I cannot tell you how many task/productivity apps I’ve downloaded on my iPad, but there have been a lot, and none work as well as the one I am going to share with you right now.

Now, in case you are hoping I will tell you what the best one is and I am, but don’t get too excited, you might be disappointed.  My biggest productivity application is (drumroll here). Outlook. Yes. Outlook.  Here’s why.  For me I am booked constantly with meetings and calls, so I’ve found that blocking out small chunks of time (15 – 30 minutes) on my calendar throughout the week allows me to get the top priority things done.  This really works well for me, but you definitely have to stick to it and hold yourself accountable.

There you have it, the top 5 things I do to be super woman productive.  What do you do?

The Holidays are Coming, is Your Business Ready? How to Know If You're Inefficient Or Not

How will you get everything done, increase your efficiency and streamline productivity?

It seems like everywhere we look we are seeing a drive for efficiency. Waste is to be avoided and expenses have to be cut if the small business is going to survive, let alone prosper. Today it's more important then ever to get maximum value out of the money spent on resources, whether it is the direct costs of running a business or the substantial costs associated with employing personnel. There's no room for uncertainty when it comes to handling these costs and every reason for the small-business owner to put in place systems to analyze where and why the money is being spent.

There are so many different reasons for employing a virtual assistant.  Each one of these reasons has in one way or another a lot to do with efficiency, so it is somewhat ironic when one of the reasons put forward by a typical small-business owner – faced with the question about hiring a virtual assistant – is one related to efficiency.

"I simply don't know how many hours work it should take to complete, so how can I employ a virtual assistant on an "as needed" basis?"

Before any progress can be made moving forward it is important to get a feeling for exactly what work needs to be outsourced. This will require careful consideration for the executive, who will almost certainly be surprised as the list grows longer and longer. These are all the tasks that should be delegated and many of them may be tasks that can be handled on an "as needed" outsourced basis.

Just think how inefficient it really is to employ an assistant or administrator on a salaried or weekly basis. This person is being employed for 40 hours whether there is sufficient work to fill those 40 hours or not. Invariably this leads to massive inefficiency as a salaried employee may simply "expand" the time that it should take to complete a variety of tasks in order to justify his or her salary. Some people might look at this as cheating, while other people would say it is also human nature to a certain extent. After all, this is the traditional way of handling administration and is it really the fault of the individual employee if there is not an "exact" amount of work to fill an exact number of hours?

In a drive toward efficiency this kind of operation of course needs to stop. Once that long list of outsource-ready tasks is complete a top notch assistant can be engaged to advise. The VA will know how long it should take to conduct and complete each and every task and can then agree with the small business owner to take on this raft of tasks efficiently. A price will be quoted for each job through completion and there will be no need for the business owner to worry about an employee "expanding" to simply fill up their weekly timesheet.   The best Virtual Assistants are experienced small business owners themselves. Their business is streamlining productivity for others and over time as they work with you, they can offer expertise in other areas of your business.  The more efficient the small business owner can be in this way the more likely they are to succeed and go on to prosper in the aggressive real world out there.

Thanks for reading!

Until Next Time
Diahana

Social Media Marketing for Small Business

Utilizing Social Media to market your business is becoming a popular type of marketing for many small businesses and many are benefiting greatly by developing and following a social media marketing strategy.  By using Social media you can really give your marketing efforts a big boost and it can help you achieve the success you want not only quicker but more efficiently.

So what exactly is the skinny on Social media, and why should you use it as a marketing tool for your small business?  

Social media  networks are communities online, think of it as a “place” online where people gather to communicate  and learn about things that they have in common. It gives them the capability to interact with each other. This can be through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn forums and any number of online means of communication. Because of the way these networks develop, it often presents some great networking opportunities.  I love this infographic from Social Metrics on "10 Creative Secrets for Social Media Marketing" showing that over 93% of businesses currently leverage social media to gain more customers!



If you are wondering how and why you should use social networking sites to promote your small business, you are not alone. A fairly large numbers of small business owners aren't even sure what or which social media sites to use or how they work.  One benefit to small businesses is the ability to utilize Social media sites to share photo’s and video’s or run an online contest, all which will aid in gaining publicity and if you are on a budget, using social media networking sites is a cost-effective way in obtaining the publicity you are seeking for your products and services from your business website.


It can also be extremely valuable and worth the time and effort to join online forums like those on LinkedIn.  Within these online forums, you can answer and ask questions, learn from others, and use what you learn to develop relevant blog articles.  You can also post comments, promote events, and offer tips or advice.  Surveys and polls are also very popular in gaining the attention of not only your current customers but also potential customers.


The best part of using Social media is that it is a very cost effective means of communicating and interacting with your target market. Most networks are free and it only takes a little bit of time to keep interacting with the members of the network once you have gotten established. From there the growth is somewhat natural. As communities grow, so does the amount of exposure you get. The more exposure you get the more success you will have.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts.

Until Next Time
Diahana

Small Business Tip - What About Using a Virtual Assistant?

One of the most advantageous aspects of using a virtual assistant is the ability to employ industry experts for the completion of certain tasks. This becomes beneficial in situations where a small business is faced with a complex problem which is beyond the expertise of the in-house employees. Using a virtual assistant gives the small business the opportunity to outsource the task of solving the problem to a highly qualified candidate. Plus, many small business owners find that the virtual assistant’s service fee ends up being significantly less than what it would have cost them to solve the problem with their in-house staff. The amount of time it would have taken coupled with the potential for costly mistakes makes it clear using a virtual assistant is the right decision in this scenario.

Another scenario where tasks may be outsourced to an industry expert is when the small business is faced with the task of performing more work than they are capable of handling in-house. During aggressive deadlines or unexpected delays, using a virtual assistant can be used to complete projects according to unyielding deadlines.

Flexibility in Scheduling

Many small businesses balance the workload they take on based on the number of employees they have on staff capable of assisting in each individual task. However, using a virtual assistant gives small businesses the ability to consider accepting more work than their in-house employees are capable of completing. An example of when this is beneficial is when consultants are awarded more projects than they had anticipated and are suddenly in a situation where they are not able to meet their deadlines due to larger than anticipated workloads.

Another advantage to using a virtual assistant is the ability to take on larger projects than usual. One of the most elementary factors often considered when awarding projects to consultants is the number of staff members who are available to work on the project. Clients evaluate this number with their project needs and schedule to determine whether or not they think the consultant is capable of completing the project on time. Consultants who outsource portions of their projects are effectively able to increase the amount of employees they can afford to have working on a particular project.

Reduced Operating Costs

Finally, using a virtual assistant can help companies to produce higher quality work by enabling them to reduce their operating costs. Using a virtual assistant can save companies a great deal of money because they often do not have to pay benefits such as social security, workers’ compensation and Medicare to those who perform work on a contract basis. Additionally, those who perform the outsourced work typically do the work from their own office meaning the company does not have to provide resources for the individual. Although these costs may seem trivial, they can really add up especially if using a virtual assistant is used on a regular basis.

Combined with the reduced operating costs, many companies find that productivity is increased through using a virtual assistant. By using a virtual assistant the in-house employees are freed of additional responsibilities and can focus exclusively on the tasks they were hired to perform. This is significant because without using a virtual assistant these same employees might be tasked with attempting to perform complicated tasks for which they are not properly trained or qualified. When this happens there is a significant decline in productivity as the employees take longer than necessary to complete the more complicated tasks and do not have time to complete the simpler tasks.

Do you have experience using a virtual assistant?  Please feel free to share any thoughts or comments.

Thanks for reading!  Until next time...

Diahana

Small Business Idea - How to Increase Your Efficiency

Everywhere we look we are seeing a drive for efficiency. Waste is to be avoided and expenses have to be cut if the small business is going to survive, let alone prosper. Today it's more important then ever to get maximum value out of the money spent on resources, whether it is the direct costs of running a business or the substantial costs associated with employing personnel. There's no room for uncertainty when it comes to handling these costs and every reason for the small business owner to put in place systems to analyze where and why the money is being spent.

There are so many different reasons for employing a virtual assistant, for example. Each one of these reasons has in one way or another a lot to do with efficiency, so it is somewhat ironic when one of the reasons put forward by a typical small-business owner – faced with the question about hiring a virtual assistant – is one related to efficiency.

"I simply don't know how many hours work it should take to complete, so how can I employ a virtual assistant on an "as needed" basis, accordingly?"

Before any progress can be made moving forward it is important to get a feeling for exactly what work needs to be outsourced. This will require careful consideration for the executive, who will almost certainly be surprised as the list grows longer and longer. These are all the tasks that should be delegated and many of them may be tasks that can be handled on an "as needed" outsourced basis.  Just think how inefficient it really is to employ an assistant or administrator on a salaried or weekly basis.

This person is being employed for 40 hours whether there is sufficient work to fill those 40 hours or not. 

Invariably this leads to massive inefficiency as a salaried employee may simply "expand" the time that it should take to complete a variety of tasks in order to justify his or her salary. Some people might look at this as cheating, while other people would say it is also human nature to a certain extent. After all, this is the traditional way of handling administration and is it really the fault of the individual employee if there is not an "exact" amount of work to fill an exact number of hours?

In a drive toward efficiency this kind of operation of course needs to stop. Once that long list of outsource-ready tasks is complete a top notch personal assistant can be engaged to advise. The VA will know how long it should take to conduct and complete each and every task and can then agree with the small-business owner to take on this raft of tasks efficiently. A price will be quoted for each job through completion and there will be no need for the business owner to worry about an employee "expanding" to simply fill up their weekly timesheet. The more efficient the small business owner can be in this way the more likely they are to succeed and go on to prosper in the aggressive real world out there.

Thanks for reading!  Feel free to share your thoughts.

Until Next Time,
Diahana

“I’m not a Salesperson” but I need more sales! 5 Questions to ask that will increase your sales.

We all want more sales, and one of the best tried and true (and easiest) ways to increase your income and expand your business is to start with your current clients.  Happy clients are great sources of additional sales and referrals and it can take up to twice as much time and energy getting a new client.  Growing and expanding your relationship with your clients will increase your sales.  Plus repeat clients will spend 33% more than new customers.  So what do you say to expand your repertoire with your clients?  Here are 5 questions you can ask that will increase your sales with your clients:

1. “What are some of your Priorities today?”
Feel free to expand on this in a specific way targeted to your area of expertise.  For example if you are now offering web services or want to increase your sales by offering social media marketing you could say, “What are some of your priorities around your Website?” or “What are some your priorities around Social Media today?”

This will get them talking.  Ideally they will respond with something to the effect of, “oh, I’ve been really meaning to get into that, but don’t have the time….” BINGO you have an in to introduce your service and expand your sales.  In the event that they do not need Social Media, follow up by asking, “Great!  Who do you know that might be in need of help?”  they may respond with, “hmmm, I don’t know”.  Feel free to give them some examples of clients you have to spark their memory (Real Estate agents, Law Firms, Coaches, Speakers, etc).

2. “What challenges might you have around...”
Understanding your client’s challenges and what they are facing in their business will begin to differentiate you and your services.  Clients will begin to look at you as more than just a VA that sometimes provides administrative services, you will become an extension of their strategy team, if your are not already, and upscale their perception of you and your services in their eyes.

3. “What would you ideally like to ….” 
Everyone had an ideal of what they want their business to be.  Ask your clients this question and see what they say, it might just surprise you how honest and direct they are and how much the open up to you.  Typical answers can include quick responses such as, “I’d ideally like to make a million dollars, or have a day off”  Either way, you’re in.  Ask more questions, be genuinely interested and find a service you offer that will help them achieve that idea.
 
4. “Tell me about the impact it would have on your business if you could….”
I love impact questions.  Impact to me means money, or ROI.  Helping your clients calculate the ROI or talk money with you is a great thing.  Articulating what impact means to them will not only help you understand more about them and their business, it will help you position the value of your services even more.  This is especially true when the service you want to offer is more expensive than what they’ve typically paid in the past.

Remember, you may have to help them put the numbers together in this area.  For example if you ask about the impact it would have on their business if they could delegate their Social Media to someone else and they respond that it would give them an extra 10 hours a week follow up with a question about what they would do with that time.
Then ask what the value of that time means to them. If you can get a monetary number from them; that would be even better.  Feel free to share examples of other clients you have and their experiences with you and how much money they saved, or made, by using your new Social Media service.
 
5. Finally, last but not least, ask additional follow up questions.
This will give you more credibility and expand your knowledge of what is important to them.  Just asking one question is great, asking several questions and taking notes, is even better. It shows you’re listening and care about their business. Sample follow up questions would be: “Tell me more about that?”  “What are your ideas on?”  “Define for me ______” “Give me some examples of_______”

So the next time you give your client a call to “check in”, be sure to ask them one or even two or three of these questions.  By asking them to elaborate you are interacting with them on a whole new level and will greatly increase your sales effectiveness, even though of course, you are not a sales person…right?

Oh and by the way, this is a great way to build new clients too.  When you’re interacting with potential clients whether on twitter, facebook, or email, asking questions is great way to begin to build a relationship with them and learn more about their business.

Thanks for reading!  Until next time...
Diahana

This article was originally published in the July 2012 issue of the Paperless Entrepreneur you can read it in context HERE

Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business

Recently a client asked me to put together a few strategic marketing ideas for their restaurant business that was aligned to their growth goals.  So this week I thought it might be interesting to share with you some of the ideas we discussed.  Now in this particular situation the client owns a restaurant and I've decided to include that detail since I think it provides a good example, but it could easily be adapted to your own small business goals.

Whenever I start a new project, I always begin with the goal.  In this case, the goal was to create a plan for a attracting new customers (25-40 year old set) who are more cutting edge and using social media.  A lot of this stuff can easily be automated in a cloud-based virtual solution so don't get overwhelmed.  It also should be pointed out that the customer already has a website, Facebook Page and Twitter account, all key components in my mind for an effective and well rounded strategy.  Here are a the ideas we discussed:


Create a Newsletter or Blog

In this case they had a pretty big email list, but no newsletter.  Even if you don't have a list yet, it's easy to build one and a great way to stay in touch with your customers and keep them coming back.  Ideally a newsletter or blog should be done once a week. The 25-40 year old set likes communication to be more personal these days (that’s why they are all “hanging out” on Facebook) so include a recipe “secret”, quote from a happy customer, birthday information, and what's happening in and around town.  All the content you create for your website and newsletter can then be repurposed and used on Facebook and Twitter.

Maximize the use of Facebook

Post any videos you have to your Facebook fan page and ask for comments.  Ask customers that come in to “like” your page.  When people "Like" your Facebook page, they are alerted to your updates via their news feeds.  You can also explore expanding your fan base using Facebook ads.  I would also recommend creating a “hidden” secret in the commercial or video for them to watch for (e.g. "what color is our signature drink”) when they come in the restaurant with the answer their name goes in for a drawing, winners can be posted via twitter, Facebook, on the blog or newsletter, etc.

Create automated updates across all your accounts.  Connect to your Facebook page from your newsletter, you newsletter to your website, from Facebook to twitter.  You get the idea.  All should be tightly integrated so as you update one with the daily specials, birthdays, etc. it can automatically post to all the others.

Maximize the use of Twitter:

Tweet your nightly/weekly specials (if you aren’t already).  Tweet interesting things happening in in and around town, such as  new movies, concerts, interesting happenings.  Become the center of information for the community.  Check and make sure your Twitter handle is on your website, Facebook page, newsletter, displayed in the restaurant menu, put it on the televisions in the bar, etc.

There are some good rules of thumb to use for Twitter that build value, a relationship and a good following.  Here are a few that you can incorporate in addition to sharing your own information about daily specials, birthdays, your blog or newsletter and other relevant information.  Remember many can be streamlined using technology and other resources, you do not have to do all this yourself and it could easily be outsourced to a virtual assistant team.

• Reply to someone else’s tweet
• Re-Tweet good information
• Post inspiration or quote
• Post an “a-ha” resource
• Share a link to another great resource, blog post or website

Develop Email Campaigns

Developing email campaigns is easy and can also be automated, you probably already have the content developed for advertising elsewhere, it just needs to be adapted for email.  Any advertising you are doing in local magazines, tv, radio can be repurposed and sent via email along with a newsletter, blog, recipe of the week, birthday days, specials…you get the idea.

That's it!  I hope you got some good ideas for putting together your own strategic marketing plan, as always we are here to help.  Feel free to share your comments, and I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Until next time,
Diahana

Ten GREAT Ideas On How To Use Evernote For Your Small Business

1. Paperless. Going Green has never been easier!  If you use this solution creatively you may never use a paper and pen again. Type away into Evernote instead of taking notes, or if you do fall off the wagon and find yourself taking some handwritten notes, scan them into the software, where the words can be recognized for indexing purposes.

2. Storage. Evernote provides you with a unique e-mail address, so when you receive document attachments that you need to reference from time to time, or when travelling on business, forward them to the e-mail address.

3. Watchdog. If you designate a specific folder on your computer as your "work in progress" for example, Evernote can keep an eye on that folder. Whenever any recognized file formats are inserted therein, they will be automatically uploaded to your account. This means that they will be available on various devices and off-line if needed.

4. Planning. When you're starting to work on a potentially challenging and multifaceted project you simply have to be organized right from the start. If you create a stack of notebooks within Evernote, you can categorize different tasks and responsibilities into the various notebooks. Tag keywords carefully and methodically and you should never experience project "brain freeze" ever again.

5. Doodle. If you want to commit an idea that just popped into your head to virtual memory then you can use the facility within Evernote known as the "ink" note. You can sketch onto the tablet using a variety of different colours and formats. The next multimillion dollar idea doesn't need to be on the back of a napkin, even if that makes a good story.

6. Brainstorm. Collaborate with your cloud-based virtual solutions team to come up with ideas for new ventures, projects, client relationship management and so on. When you find resources online you shouldn't bookmark them to your browser or local machine but do create an instant link or screen grab here. Keep all this in your research section.

7. Snap. Because a picture tells a thousand words get used to the idea of snapping away with your iPhone or iPad whenever you see something relevant or inspirational. The app that enables you to upload these pictures directly to your Evernote account with ease.

8. Tweet. There is integration between Twitter and Evernote, enabling you to capture tweets that are important, memorable and enabling you to create your own archive.

9. List. Evernote has a checkbox feature. Therefore, you can create any number of lists including daily "to do" lists. As you complete you are able to check them off and move on to the next pressing issue.  A must have for any small business!

10. A-ha. You never know when your next inspirational brainwave is going to hit. The chances are that you will have access to a mobile device of some kind when it does. Commit it to virtual memory right away, safe in the cloud for anytime access, as this is sure to be the brainwave that pays for your upcoming retirement, is it not?

Until next time,
Diahana

LearnEASE