Focused Business Action

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Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

Sometimes even when there’s a lot going on around you, you still need to get work done. What do you do to ensure that you will not be disturbed?

• Use your door – I had a supervisor at a previous job who had a very clear signal for whether she was available to be disturbed or not. When her door was open, it was never a problem to enter her office to ask a question. When her door was closed, you were not to disturb her unless there was an urgent need or an emergency. It was one of the things she shared with you when you were first hired so she set the expectation up front and everybody knew it.

• Block or screen your phone calls – When I was in a meeting with the same supervisor (with the door closed), she would put her phone on “Do Not Disturb” so that her calls went directly to voice mail. In today’s world that is the same as putting your phone on silent.

  Another tip I used when I owned a computer store and would receive almost constant phone calls. There were times when I just had to get some work done, and there were certain people that I still needed to talk to. I told those people to ask for Scott David (adding my middle name) when they called. My staff knew to let those phone calls through and to take a message if the caller didn’t have the “secret code”. I still chuckle at the creativity of this early caller i.d. system.

Protect your productivity. I would suggest that for any business owner you need to have at least some time each week to work undisturbed. Schedule that time for yourself and use these tips (or similar ones) to own your zone.

If you have an office, close your door when you don’t want to be disturbed. If you don’t have a door to close, let those around you know that you would like to be left alone for a certain amount of time.

Turn the ringer off on your phone when it’s appropriate. Or use caller i.d. to screen your calls and know ahead of time who you are going to let in.

What do you need to do to protect your productivity?

Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes

Most of us run our lives on a handful of systems. Between our cellphones, our planners and our e-mail inboxes, we have systems in place to organize ourselves and our time. And if you ever doubt the importance of these systems, recall your panic the last time you lost your planner.

Yet as important as these systems are, most of us don’t take advantage of what systems can do to improve our businesses. Systems are simply ways of automating or structuring processes so that they can occur systematically without so much thought or attention—and by more than just one person, so that the business can continue to run even if the owner takes a vacation.

For most of us, there are dozens of similar repetitive tasks, large and small, in our businesses that could be systematized. To identify where you can apply systems, step back and look at your business as objectively as you can. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

• Where are your frustrations? This is important for two reasons. First, you are more likely to be frustrated if you are redoing tasks that bring no particular satisfaction. Second, you are going to be frustrated if you have to relearn a task or “reinvent the wheel” every time a specific need comes up.
• What is holding back your business? Do you need to generate more prospects? Do you have prospects but a low rate of conversion? Do you convert prospects but lose them as customers through poor follow-through? Strategically focusing on your business this way is more likely to spot high-value opportunities for systemization.
• What causes you stress? Is it sorting out your invoices for your accountant? Finalizing the material for your new program? Preparing for your annual make-or-break tradeshow? Even if you know the steps by heart, systematizing at least part of these stress-inducing activities could yield big benefits to your business—and your well-being.

Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes

Tuesday, February 16 Linda Claire Puig from Ready2Go Articles and Ready2Go Ezines will be our guest expert on the Marketing Action Seminar, and will be sharing how to publish an ezine that makes you money. Linda suggests that establishing an expertise requires consistent and intentional efforts. Here are some of her guidelines to follow when using an ezine or newsletter to market your business.

• Fill your newsletter with helpful information that readers can use in their lives. Give suggestions, new ideas, “how to’s,” warnings, resources, tools or advice. You may include brief information about your services, but avoid self-promotion; keep it focused on the benefits of your services.
• Make the newsletter relevant. Whether it is about school bullying, managing conflict at work, healthy ways to age or reduce weight, Internet addiction, changing careers, or finding one’s purpose, make the newsletter current and helpful to your audience.
• Send out your newsletter consistently and regularly. This builds trust and confidence that people can rely on you. It also keeps you in front of your public enough that they grow to associate you with the newsletter and with the services you offer.

Yet a lot of people find publishing their ezine to be very time-consuming—often overwhelming—and they give up.

Join us on the Marketing Action Seminar as Linda Claire Puig shares some of her secrets for making ezines MUCH easier so that you can reap the benefits of a regular, consistent newsletter such as: more clients, more income, more attention, more opportunity.

For more information and to receive the call-in details, click here.

Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes

Home-based business owners have a special set of challenges.

• They don’t have a boss telling them what to do so it’s easy to let things go.
• They have to make business decisions by themselves which can paralyze them from making any decision for fear it will be the wrong one.
• Often they are so caught up in day-to-day activities that they do not take the time to plan, organize or evaluate.
• Being on their own much of the time, they can feel isolated and bored leading very quickly to distractions away from growing their business.

You can have a different outcome, but first the right tools need to be in place so you’re working smarter, not harder. I suggest a zone by zone approach where you master the following one at  a time:

• Internal Focus Zone – the mindset that creates your thoughts and feelings
• External Focus Zone – systems and environments
• Internal Action Zone – strategic planning
• External Action Zone – implementation and follow through

To master those zones you need tools and support so that you’re not spinning your wheels.

For a limited time my blog readers can get those tools and support in the FBA Circle. You can even try it out for 2 weeks at no charge using this link.

This four month virtual mentoring program offers home-based business owners a unique zone by zone approach. Each month members master one of their zones with my easy to implement tips and strategies.

 Circle members receive:

• simple and actionable tips each week to stay productive
• 2 monthly seminars over a conference line jam-packed with more strategies to help you stay in action
• a discussion forum with the other members to help you implement the tips and stay moving forward in your business.

If after the 2 weeks, you agree with me that you’re getting exceptional value from the program, you can then sign up for only $1 for another 2 weeks and $37 for each of the remaining 3 months, but you must use this special link. Read the rest of this entry »