Maintain a Success Circle in Direct Sales & Relationship Marketing

Archive for the ‘Time Management’ Category

In my last post the focus was on making the best use of your time with blog posts.  Today we will look at utilizing our time effectively with articles, creating videos, and other product creation.

Points to note from comments received on the previous post:

(a) Do indepth research on a topic in one sitting

(b) Write a long article and then divide it into two or three blog posts

(c) Write a series on a topic you’ve researched

(d) Use templates or copy and paste your format.

Articles:

(i)  You can re-purpose your post by submitting it to your favorite article directories.  You will need to verify the acceptable minimum number of words as some article directories will accept as low as 250 words, whereas some will accept a minimum of 500 words, and at least one that I know of will not accept less than 700 words.

(ii) Because you have written a series or done research extensively on a specific topic, if your individual posts Read the rest of this entry »

We know that as entrepreneurs we are responsible for carrying out various tasks essential to our business.  Many entrepreneurs have wisely taken advantage of Virtual Assistants and other professional services to outsource a number of their projects.

Let’s imagine that like the majority of us, you do it all.  For the do-it-yourself person, let’s look at posting to your blog.

• How long does it take you to do research for each post?  And how long does it take you to write it?

• If you post to your blog everyday this alone could take significant chunks out of your day. What’s more, you may work your online business only part time so you do need to maximize your time. Read the rest of this entry »

A growing number of men are pursuing successful businesses from home; however, it would appear that the majority of home-based businesses are managed by women. Many of these women are mothers, especially of small children; wives; caregivers for elderly parent/s; involved in social and volunteer activities, and the list goes on. While these are normal, everyday activities and responsibilities, they can create tremendous stress for solo-professionals working from home.

It is important to maintain a proper balance between personal and professional life when working from home:

a) Location: Your office building is your home. Your office may be a desk and chair in an already occupied room. Or you may have a room designated as your office. Can you make and receive phone calls without interruption or background noise? At the start of your day, do you dress as if you were expecting a client in your home, or as if you were leaving for a job outside the home? Nothing excessive, but doing whatever is necessary to make you personally feel Read the rest of this entry »

Today is August 1^st and the start of  the “Ultimate Blog Challenge” coordinated by Michele Scism  and Michelle Shaeffer with the hashtag #blogboost on Twitter.

The last blog challenge I participated in was in June, coordinated by Dr. Jeanette Cates with Twitter hashtag #blog30.  During the challenge I submitted 21 posts; 9 short of the goal and was a little disappointed with myself that I’d not met the goal.  However, I reminded myself that in setting goals, you may fail to reach them the first time but the solution is to pick yourself up and start again.

Before committing to the Ultimate Blog Challenge I debated whether I should participate in another challenge for these reasons:

1)  To meet the goal I am obligated to write and submit a post on one designated blog for 31 days.

2)  I have other blogs that I need to write posts for, two of which I’ve neglected.

3)  One of the goals I’ve set for myself and my business is to focus more on Article Marketing.

4)  Another goal is to increase my online visibility.

Here are the reasons why I went ahead and made the commitment: Read the rest of this entry »

People chose to work from home for different reasons.  Many persons who work from home do not have an online business even though they use their computer extensively.  In order to be efficient and productive and thereby contribute to your success, it’s important to have systems in place. Systems are defined as a set of detailed methods, procedures, and routines established or formulated to carry out a specific activity.

Here are three systems in your home office that could be great time savers, but at the same time can rob you of your time if not used wisely.

1.Your Computer As a Time Saver: I cannot imagine running a business from home without a computer.  Your computer allows you to store huge amounts of information and retrieve them with a few clicks of your mouse.  The volume of software on the market allows you to be creative, and of course, access to the internet allows you to communicate quickly and effectively, as well as do research quickly.

If you’re in Direct Sales, for example, you can use your computer to send your customers an e-card.  I like to send an actual greeting card through the US mail and my customers invariably call to thank me.  Just for reading my post, go ahead and click the greeting card link and send a card to yourself or someone you care about.  I’ll pay for your card and your postage. Read the rest of this entry »

For someone new to marketing on the internet it can be like taking a four-year old into a huge specialty candy store.  There is so much to see and so many appealing and delicious type of  candies for that child to choose from that she becomes overwhelmed! Imagine that the parent said, “Remember, you are only allowed to choose one.” A typical reaction in a whiny voice could be, “I don’t know which one to choose!”

One of the things I struggled with and am still working on is to avoid clicking on emails with a really good subject line. Sometimes it’s nothing new, perhaps an e-book with a catchy title.  I know I’ve heard the topic before, probably have something similar in a binder on my shelf or on my hard-drive, or may even be in a class on the topic, but natural curiosity impels me to take a look to see someone else’s take on a topic.  I may open the document and just scan it.  Five or 10 minutes later I’ve learned nothing new, but that’s five or 10 minutes lost.  That’s time I could have spent doing something in and for my business.  One solution I’ve implemented is to unsubscribe from a number of lists. Read the rest of this entry »

As a solo entrepreneur who may also work away from home you have numerous demands on your time and different aspects of your life that demand constant attention.  In the past this seemed to be a challenge that affected women more than men, but in recent times there appears to be quite an equalizing.  One of the main reasons for this change is that due to the economy many men lost their jobs and have had to look at other means to create an income, including working from home.  I became aware of this significant shift while listening to introductions at networking events locally.

Part of being organized is making sure that you manage your time effectively and the following are time saving tips to help you throughout the day and hopefully lessen stress.

1. Do you have school-age children?  Do you also work away from home? Make lunches the night before. Instead of rushing around in the morning, trying to get everyone ready for school and work, make school lunches the night before and put them in the refrigerator.  Label them in bags and they are ready to go the next morning.

2. Lay your clothes out the evening before.   I find that this tip alone saves me at least 15 minutes or more and my choices are better. This is

3. Do errands on your lunch hour and make phone calls during break times and during your lunch hour.  This can save you a trip to the store after work and will help you stay organized. Read the rest of this entry »

Many of us go through the daily motions of life and spend our time keeping busy at being busy.  The pace of life and the constant demands on our time make it necessary to squeeze as much out of our day as possible.  When was the last time you stopped to question if what you are doing is what you really want to be doing?  What is your passion?

One of the things that was shared with me when I first came online and I, in turn, share with others is that in order to determine the niche you will pursue a starting point is to identify your passion.  The main reason for this is that if you care deeply about a topic or area, you are more likely to stick with it and make a success of it.  This therefore means that once you have identified something that you feel passionate about you basically can start earning from it. Read the rest of this entry »

This may seem like a silly question because if someone does not know how to do a job it should be easy to correct it my asking someone else for information.  Shouldn’t it?  Perhaps. This is our 4th and final in the series to help Paula and she will have to confirm if this is what has been holding her back in launching her online business.

Does the idea seem far-fetched that a sharp, savvy and successful (offline) businesswoman would allow her lack of knowledge in a particular area to cause her to procrastinate?  For someone who is successful in other areas the idea that they are not able to master everything perfectly could become a motivational block.  Pride for one could prevent her from recognizing that she needs help, or even worse to admit to herself that she needs help.  Subconsciously this results in avoidance or even developing an aversion for the task. Read the rest of this entry »

We are on our third article to try to assist Paula in determining why she has allowed procrastination in  one important task to stall the launch of her online business.  We were first introduced to Paula when we considered that her fears may be holding her back.  She admitted that while she had some fears they were not strong enough to paralyze her so we suggested that she may not be assigning the task the high priority it deserved.  Today we consider the possibility that Paula could be procrastinating due to a lack of commitment to her online business.

Paula’s record of success offline is well-recognized and is evidenced by the fact that she sometimes has appointments booked up to two months in advance with her clients.  Does Paula really want to start an online business or is she just following a trend?  An online business is a business like any other and must be treated as such for it to be successful.  It demands time, energy, and money.  While an online business may be started with a small budget, a budget is still required to take care of basic start-up costs as well as monthly costs, regardless of how minimal. Read the rest of this entry »