Small business owners should cancel all unnecessary meetings

One of the best ways to recapture energy and time is to identify timewasters. Unnecessary meetings can be major time and energy wasters for small business owners. Be mindful of how you spend your working hours. Make them productive, make them effective and make them efficient. The more you ask yourself “what decision needs to be made?” or “how will this bring me closer to meeting my goals and objectives?” the more you will start to eliminate unnecessary meetings. With all the technology we have today, take advantage of ability to reduce travel time and expenses.

Face-to-face meetings should be scheduled wisely. They should include establishing a personal connection with a potential client, sales dialogue and persuading or soliciting a decision. Most other meetings should be done virtually. For more effective and efficient meetings:

• Make sure there is a real purpose for your meeting or event and predetermine your outcome. If your meeting involves: business negotiations, connecting with a decision maker, personal favors, promises, understandings, coordination, persuasion of others, expression of emotions, etc. they should be face-to-face. If not, schedule a virtual meeting.

• Use technology to make scheduling easier and stop playing phone tag. Sites like Tungle, Doodle,Bookfresh and Setster allow you schedule a board meeting, business lunch, conference call, family reunion, movie night, or any other group event.

• Use your virtual meeting to determine the need for a face-to-face meeting and cover the basics (i.e. draft an agenda, review material, etc.) Use sites like DimDim.com, gotomeeting.com, conference call lines, Skype and video conferencing to save time, gas and money and still achieve optimal results. Be sure to send visuals (i.e. PowerPoint, reports, documents, presentations, etc.) ahead of time so that you can review them together online. (This also saves paper).

As a small business owner, you can’t afford not to streamline your business operations, work with a purpose and be efficient. So before you schedule your next meeting, ask yourself, “What is the purpose?” “Is this the best use of my time?” and “How will this bring me closer to my goals and objectives?” and cancel any current unnecessary meetings.

WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

A.Michelle Blakeley is in the listening business. As a Micro Business Therapist, she provides an open-minded and non-judgmental ear to listen to the real issues and concerns that start-up, emerging and women entrepreneurs experience and negotiate solutions through comprehensive discussions and practical micro business plans. She is featured in Forbes.com and the Financial Post as one of 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter, contributor for the San Francisco Examiner and Fearless Woman Magazine; the host of Simple Truths for Women Entrepreneurs on BlogTalkRadio.com and author of the NEW e-book: “Get it Right and Move Along… a collection of practical tips, tools and techniques for small business owners.”

5 Ways to Erase Daily Procrastination in Your Business

According to Real Simple magazine’s survey of 10,000 readers, the average daily to-do list has 5 to 9 tasks on it. Only 5% of the readers are productive for 3 hours during a 9-to-5 workday as a result of web-related distractions. According to the Procrastination Research Group, based on some figures, it is estimated that as much as 95% of the people are prone to procrastination. Amongst them, 20% of them are chronic procrastinators.

Procrastination is generally defined as avoided tasks or activities that need to be accomplished. Poor time management and procrastination can be a direct result of having unreachable goals, having to meet others’ standards, disorganization or the inability to handle the task. Below are ways to erase daily procrastination in your business.

1. Use the first hour or two of your day to work on things that require your attention or have deadlines. Accomplishing necessary tasks will invigorate you to do more.
2. Inspire yourself with insightful reading. Read at least one business article daily and take action. Try implementing a new idea. Don’t just read about it, but do.
3. Afternoon organization can make the next day easier. Take 15 minutes at the end of each day to think about tomorrow’s priorities. Knowing what needs to be done at the beginning of each day gives you focus and direction.
4. Break large projects or tasks into smaller activities and schedule them on your calendar as appointments. Do them in 30-minutes, 1-hour or 3-hour time blocks. You wouldn’t interrupt a scheduled appointment, so don’t allow unnecessary interruptions when working on your projects.
5. Don’t make lofty goals. Be reasonable in your expectations of yourself, your time and your commitments. Overextending yourself can cause you shut down. Be practical and realistic.

It’s always helpful to identify the source of your procrastination. Take some time to think about why you are putting things off and then try one of the above techniques. Procrastination can really be a struggle and challenge for small business owners, especially when they are simply overwhelmed and unsure of their next move. Take it one step at a time and be conscious of your actions AND inaction.

WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

A.Michelle Blakeley is the Founder and CEO of Simplicity, Inc.; a progressive small business development firm. She manages her clients’ business expectations and prevents information overload via Micro Business Therapy™ and Micro Business Action Plans. She is featured in Forbes.com and the Financial Post as one of 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter and the host of Simple Truths for Women Entrepreneurs on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Are you a statistic?

When is the last time you really thought about just how much time you are wasting with menial work, misguided business practices, misdirected energy and money? Are you a statistic?

• 43% of Americans categorize themselves as disorganized, and 21% have missed vital work deadlines. Nearly half say disorganization causes them to work late at least 2 or times each week.
Jane Von Bergen, “So many reasons to neaten up…”, Boston Globe Esselte survey, David Lewis
• Most people actually use 60% or less of available work time. When more than 38,000 people in 200 countries were queried about individual productivity, it showed that even though they were physically at work five days a week, they were only productively using three days. 
Microsoft Survey
• Unnecessary meetings cost U.S. businesses approximately $37 billion each year. 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005
• 48% of us feel our lives have become more stressful in the past five years. 
American Psychological Association (APA), 2007
• 71% of white-collar workers feel stressed about the amount of information they must process and act on while doing business; 60% feel overwhelmed. 
Institute of the Future, Menlo Park, CA
• Spending 15 minutes every weekday morning mapping out your day can save you an average of six hours of wasted time during your workweek. That’s a 480% return on your investment of time.

The end of the year is fast approaching. Are you going to continue to do what you’ve been doing? How’s that working for you so far? If it’s not and you are tired of spinning your wheels or are bogged down in disorganization and frustration, STOP. Stop with the poor business practices. Stop with the poor planning. Stop with the lack of accountability.

START the New Year in a better and stronger position than ever! Now is the opportune time to analyze your business operations, identify areas for improvement, cut the fat, hone your niche and drive your business forward. When it comes to proper planning, what gets measured gets done.

With the end of the year fast approaching, you would be wise to plan well for the new one. If you are still trying to figure out how to adapt to the changes in the economy, as the old adage states, “Out with the old and in with the new.” New perspectives, new ideas and a new agenda.

Before you make your long list of New Year’s resolutions (or NOT), start with a clear understanding of where you’ve been, what you’ve been doing, what’s working, what’s not working and where you ultimately want to be and where you want to go. Get help and a fresh set of eyes. More often than not, small business owners are too close to their business to be objective. You need someone from the outside to look deep within your business and ask you the right questions. Don’t be a statistic. Be progressive. Be pro-active. Be prepared. Be purposeful. Take complete control of your business.

You simply cannot move forward until you know where you have been and what needs to change. Change can be small. Change can be big. Change can be empowering.

Submitted by A.Michelle Blakeley

Simplicity, Inc. |Because you don’t have time to waste.™ |866.927.5888 x1

Ask about our PROVEN Coaching and Mentoring Services.

Copyright Notice: Visitors to the Simplicity Mastered™ website may not reproduce, republish or redistribute material found on the website in any form without the express written consent of Simplicity, Inc.. For all requests for use of copyrighted material from the Simplicity Mastered™ website, please contact amichelleblakeley@yahoo.com

Recognize your business traffic signals

Are you constantly “looking” for ways to get clients or grow your business? Are you constantly “talking” about what you’d like to do?  Heaven forbid you are “waiting” for the economy to turn around before you… Recognize your business traffic signals and take the appropriate action.

Go. Consistent and focused marketing is essential to each and every business. Do you know where the majority of your business comes from? Is it referrals? Is it advertising? Is cross-promoting? If it referrals from other people, who are they and where can you get more of them? Expand or increase the incentive for them to make the referral and show your appreciation. If it advertising, what is the ad and where else can you place it? What market can you expand to? If it is cross promoting, whom else can you collaborate with?

Stop. Eliminate your time wasters. They will, no doubt, consistently drain you. If you are attending networking events and find yourself talk to the same people, you have 3 choices: change events, stop going or host your own event. It’s okay to be social and meet up with colleagues, but be mindful that you are a business owner. Recognize the purpose of your actions. Yes, your actions should have a purpose. Networking events are for connecting with new people. It’s the follow-up where you continue your conversations and develop relationships. If you are constantly talking to the same people at your networking events, change venues. Unless your business is extremely local (you lack the capacity to service clients outside a set geographical parameter), check out other regional events or try virtual events (great way to save gas and travel time). Expand your horizons. Cast your rod further, into deeper water.

Go. Keep your pipeline full by consistently adding to it. If you get tunnel vision on 1 or 2 potential clients, you are loosing valuable time. Nothing is guaranteed leads and clients are known to “change their minds.” Understand what it takes to meet your sales goals. How many leads to generate how many sales? How many sales to make how much money? No doubt, you will need a lot more leads to generate a minimal amount of sales. This requires you maintain a “pipeline.” Keeping your pipeline full allows you to make more accurate sales projections and increases the opportunity for you to meet your sales goals.

Stop. Eliminate time wasters. They will, no doubt, consistently drain you. If you are spending hours on the Internet surfing, updating your Facebook status or anything else that steals your valuable time, STOP. Notice what’s not working and change your actions until you figure out what works. Then do that as often as you possibly can. Social networking can be an essential and valuable tool to a small business owner. However, it can easily be mismanaged. Are you using the right social networking sites for your business? Are you consistently adding value, sharing information and participating in discussions? Are you reaching out to new connections? Have you taken any connections offline and had a verbal conversation?

Go. Get excited about your business. Why did you start your business? What got you excited about your business? Where is your passion? What is your mission? Your purpose? Imagine your business at its peak. What does it look like? How are you going to get there? What’s your plan? If you don’t have a plan, get one! You have to believe there is business to be had, if not, you might as well close the doors now. If you have a product or service that is valuable to a defined market,

To achieve business success, you must take the right actions. There’s no such thing as a “rut.” Either you are taking action to move your business in a forward direction or you are taking action to close your business by not taking any action at all.

Submitted by A.Michelle Blakeley

Simplicity, Inc. |Because you don’t have time to waste.™ |866.927.5888 x1

Ask about our PROVEN Coaching and Mentoring Services.

Copyright Notice: Visitors to the Simplicity Mastered™ website may not reproduce, republish or redistribute material found on the website in any form without the express written consent of Simplicity, Inc.. For all requests for use of copyrighted material from the Simplicity Mastered™ website, please contact amichelleblakeley@yahoo.com

When are you going to get out of your way?

When are you going to get out of your way? You only hurt yourself and your business when you cease to apply and practice sound and successful business habits.

There is always plenty of blame and excuses to go around. Not enough time in the day. Can’t get organized.  Lack of money.  Lack of resources. Too much of this; too little of that. Enough with the excuses already.

To overstate the obvious, successful small business owners practice successful small business behaviors and habits. Our habits are what shape us. They always have. What we practice, good or bad, is what we receive, good or bad. Good eating habits = generally good health. Bad eating habits = generally bad health (it will certainly catch up with you). Yes, this is oversimplifying it, but the fact remains the same. Take a moment and reflect over your own business habits. Are they good, bad or perhaps in between? Now reflect on the “results” of those business habits. What have you achieved lately? Are your poor business habits getting in the way of your business success?

Your habits are directly related to your knowledge, thoughts and feelings. You will always be responsible for what you know. And if you know better, you should do better. Deep down, you can identify at least 2 or 3 things that you have been continuously doing that you know are hindering you from really achieving the success you would like to see in your horizon. You have made excuse after excuse for not changing or making the necessary adjustments. In the end, as a small business “owner,” you have to take ownership of the success AND failure of your business.

So, you already know what hasn’t and does not work. Now it is time to start looking at what will and does work. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. But if it creaks, be sure to tweak it. If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve got. The clichés can go on and on. You get the point.

• Recognize and acknowledge that which needs to change. It’s your first step; awareness. Believe in the fact that you CAN change. You have the ability to change; however, change requires ACTION. Belief and action are the basis of the foundation for renewing your mind and your business.

• Carefully examine what has worked and is working. Begin to look at ways to expand and enhance those habits. Replace one bad habit with one new habit. Be sure to include the “lack of habits” too. The habits of not doing the things that you should. You’ve spent more time doing less. Now spend more time doing more. Productivity doesn’t have to be painful or time consuming, but it does have to be.

• Commitment and consistency will complete the process. Commit to yourself and the success of your business by consistently taking action on necessary improvements. Practice, practice and practice some more until it becomes a routine.

There is no such thing as “trying” to be a successful business owner. Either you do what is necessary or you don’t.

Submitted by A.Michelle Blakeley

Simplicity, Inc. |Because you don’t have time to waste.™ |866.927.5888 x1

Ask about our PROVEN Coaching and Mentoring Services.

Copyright Notice: Visitors to the Simplicity Mastered™ website may not reproduce, republish or redistribute material found on the website in any form without the express written consent of Simplicity, Inc.. For all requests for use of copyrighted material from the Simplicity Mastered™ website, please contact amichelleblakeley@yahoo.com

You are not IN business. You DO business.

It is one thing to be IN business and another to DO business. It is sometimes considered glamorous to be in business. It makes us feel important and independent, but business is more than that. To be able to say, “I’m in business for myself” or “I have my own business,” is a real accomplishment for some. However, that accomplishment is short-lived at best if there is no foundation for it to stand upon.

Most people go into business for one of a few reasons: you got fired; you feel you can do it better or you want more control over your destiny. With the economy and employment rate in the condition it is in, it is no surprise there has been an influx of new small business owners and increase in professionals moonlighting as part-time business owners.

Purse strings are in knots and business cards are being exchanged at record speed. It is certainly survival of the fittest. So, how fit is your business? Are you IN business or are you DOING business. There is a real difference. If you are IN business, you:

• Have no plan of action or direction in achieving your goals
• Market your products and services to the everyone and anybody
• Are always in “autopilot” or spend your days “putting out fires”
• Have no idea who your real competition is
• Don’t have a way or system to measure your marketing efforts
• Constantly focused on generating new clients
• Have no established or functional system in which you conduct your business; therefore, waste valuable time being unorganized

If you are DOING business, you:

• Have a clear set of goals and objectives. You have taken the time to chart your course in a written plan of action.
• Have a consistent marketing message that includes responding to a real need. You have determined your target market and know your client profile.
• Focus your time and resources on the marketing efforts and venues that produce results and put you in direct contact with potential clients
• Collaborate with complimentary businesses to increase your value to your clients
• Provide an exceptional client experience to generate referrals without having to ask
• Have a solid infrastructure and functional way of operating their business
• Continue to educate yourself on market and industry changes, how to improve products and processes, enhance client service and develop your professional skills.

Having your own business means more than ordering a box of business cards and sticking the “open” sign in the window. There is an opportunity for real personal and financial freedom; an opportunity that you do not want to miss or not be prepared for. Whether you were laid-off, fired or simply have always wanted to go it on your own, how you conduct your business will determine your survival and longevity. Actively participate in the planning, development and growth of your business. The reality is that there is work to be done. The glamour of owning your own business will wear thin and wear off quick when you are ill prepared. You will be stuck with a box of business cards, unnecessary bills and labeled “fly by night.” Take your business seriously and let it reflect in your efforts. You are not IN business. You DO business.

Submitted by A.Michelle Blakeley

Simplicity, Inc. |Because you don’t have time to waste.™ |866.927.5888 x1

Ask about our PROVEN Coaching and Mentoring Services.

Copyright Notice: Visitors to the Simplicity Mastered™ website may not reproduce, republish or redistribute material found on the website in any form without the express written consent of Simplicity, Inc.. For all requests for use of copyrighted material from the Simplicity Mastered™ website, please contact amichelleblakeley@yahoo.com

Can Your Clients See Your Passion? Or Can They See Your Pain?

With the economy and market the way it is, it’s no wonder many of us have forgotten about the JOY and PASSION in what we do. Change is always a difficult process, especially when we are forced to. Change requires us to challenge our thought process, alter our habits and embrace that which may be uncomfortable and unpleasant.

Life is short and time is fleeing. Can you really afford to jeopardize your health AND the success of your business by refusing, denying or avoiding the personal and professional changes needed to move forward? Are you on life’s treadmill or are you riding the waves from shore to shore?

Try focusing on how you are going to improve today. Just today. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Business is business; but your business is not the whole of you. It does not define you. You define your business. You have the power to cultivate a business environment that is conducive to how you want to live your life. You have the power to instruct clients and colleagues how you wish to be reached. If you respond to messages at all hours of the day and night, you will continue to receive calls at all hours of the day and night. They expect you to be available because you “told” them you would be; not so much with your words, but with your actions. You have the power to change that. Use your voicemail, use your auto-responder, post your work hours; it is your right to do so.

Sometimes technology is NOT our friend. We rely on it for just about everything. It is okay to use technology, but you have to know when to TURN IT OFF. You control technology; don’t let technology control you. The world won’t end if you miss a non-emergency phone call. And you have to admit most calls are of the “non-emergent” nature. That is why they invented voicemail. Remember what it is for and why it was invented: to leave a message when you are unavailable. Life goes on with you AND without you.  Do you want to get run over or do you want go along for the ride?

Learn how to recognize what is important and what is urgent. Everything may be important; but everything is not URGENT. Yes, there are things that must get done, but how much work do you think you would get done if a doctor restricted you to only working 2 hours per day for health reasons? You would immediately shift and only work on that which was URGENT. You would also quickly find out that a lot of things just aren’t that URGENT; important yes, but urgent… not so much. Even the important things need to be put into perspective.

Sure, there is a million and one things that you need to get done; but you are an army of ONE and the reality is that you can only get done what gets done. Learn how to download and ease your own burdens. Before you go to bed at night, write down all the things still fluttering around in your head, things you forgot, things you need to do, things that just “popped up.” Do your body, mind and soul a favor and sleep well.

One more thing, “take time to smell the roses.” Some of us need to take time and simply “breathe.” Take an hour, take half a day, take a whole day (oooh, you’re living dangerously now) to re-evaluate your goals, priorities and where your passion lies. Make sure they are still aligned with your business values and how you have been conducting your business. Can your clients see your passion or can your clients see your pain?

Submitted by A.Michelle Blakeley

Simplicity, Inc. |Because you don’t have time to waste.™ |866.927.5888 x1

Ask about our PROVEN Coaching and Mentoring Services.

Copyright Notice: Visitors to the Simplicity Mastered™ website may not reproduce, republish or redistribute material found on the website in any form without the express written consent of Simplicity, Inc.. For all requests for use of copyrighted material from the Simplicity Mastered™ website, please contact amichelleblakeley@yahoo.com

Just How Much Time Are You Wasting?

Some mistakes can be corrected, but not the mistake of wasted time. When time goes it has gone forever.”– Napoleon Hill.

There are so many products on the market that were created to simply make our lives a little easier. Time savers, organizers, reminders, information management, client management, the list goes on. These tools could prove to be invaluable to us “do-it-yourselfers” i.e. solopreneurs.

What tools are you using to streamline and simplify the way you do business? Are those tools effective? Are you using them fully and consistently? How much time are you wasting on unnecessary duplication, partial integration and on hold on the phone?

When you are a solopreneur and small business owner, time is SERIOUS money. Your time should be focused on client service and revenue generating activities. And every minute you waste being disorganized or unprepared will cost you money.

Regardless if you are a tech savvy or not, there is a system that exists that will enable you to organize your operations, streamline your processes and become a more efficient business owner.

The following 7 technology platforms will certainly change the way you do business. They will help you save valuable time, organize your business operations and increase your productivity. (click on each name for more information)

1. Mind42 – Need to visually see your ideas and projects? Need to brainstorm with a client or business associate? Mind42 is a web-based mindmapping site. Isn’t 42 the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything? Well, in this case it means FOR TWO and indicates the collaborative character of mind42. Manage all your ideas, whether alone, twosome or working together with the whole world -collaborative, browser-based and for free.
2. Evoice Receptionist – Just because you are small business owner, doesn’t mean you have to function like one. Think professional. Full featured virtual phone system. Professional greeting, multiple lines, no hardware/software and access anywhere.
3. Doodle – Need to arrange meetings but have trouble coordinating schedules? Need to take a quick poll? Doodle makes it easy to find a date and time for a group event or conduct a quick survey. How does Doodle work? Create an event or poll. Forward the link to the poll to the participants. Follow online what time works best or what the participants vote for. Doodle is a free online coordination tool which requires neither registration nor software installation.
4. Chrometa – Do you need to track the time you spend on each client? Are you worried you might be underbilling? Track all PC-based work for your clients with NO data entry. Easily piece together what you did days, even weeks earlier.
5. Timeout (MAC) – having trouble stepping away from the computer? It is very easy to fall into bad habits when using a computer for hours on end. When you care about what you are doing, so can sometimes push yourself too far, or over-strain yourself. The human body isn’t built to sit in one position for endless hours, gripping a mouse or typing on the keyboard. Dejal Time Out is here to help. It will gently remind you to take a break on a regular basis.
6. Nozbe –  Project management for the solopreneur. Overwhelmed by all the stuff that needs to be done?
A traditional to-do list hasn’t helped? Nozbe combines the power of projects, next actions and contexts that not only help manage tasks, but actually getting them done.
7. Fonolo – Do you make a lot of sales calls? Don’t have time to wait through phone menus? With Fonolo, never listen to a phone menu again. Use deep dialing to avoid dealing with phone menus and use their intelligent history to track your calls. Fonolo transcribes the phone menus of large companies, so you can navigate them visually. Skip the navigation. Get right to the business.

Whichever system you decide to implement or are currently using be aware of the following:

• Take time to explore ALL of the options and tools your system provides
• Customize your system so that it fits and meets your needs
• Consistently use your system. Nothing will work, unless it’s used.

Use technology to your advantage and take ownership of finding practical solutions.

Submitted by A.Michelle Blakeley

Simplicity, Inc. |Because you don’t have time to waste.™ |866.927.5888 x1

Ask about our PROVEN Coaching and Mentoring Services.

Copyright Notice: Visitors to the Simplicity Mastered™ website may not reproduce, republish or redistribute material found on the website in any form without the express written consent of Simplicity, Inc.. For all requests for use of copyrighted material from the Simplicity Mastered™ website, please contact amichelleblakeley@yahoo.com

Your Time is Valuable, Network the Smart Way

With so many social networking sites and events to attend, it is difficult to know which ones will bring you the most value. Not all groups and networks are the same and to help grow your business, you’ll want to be connected to more than one. However, time is money and you can’t afford to aimlessly attend networking events or spend valuable hours online. Before you attend your next networking function or sign-up for that new social networking site, set some ground rules for yourself. Know what it is you need and expect in return from your participation.

Each networking group may offer you something another does not. The more you know and understand your needs as well as well as your clients needs, the faster you can recognize real opportunities to connect and make a sale. Be prepared to not only connect with potential clients, but with potential power partners (businesses that provide complimentary products or services) as well.

Consistency in attendance and contribution is key for ensuring people have an opportunity to get to know you, what you have to offer and how they can help you.  For online venues, make sure your profile is updated regularly, contribute to discussions and reach out to participants. For live venues, always be prepared with business cards, offer to meet for coffee or a conference call to continue your discussions and learn more about each other; and keep in touch.

1. Participants – Know beforehand if there will be potential clients (those that match your client profile) in attendance. For online venues, are the members geographically located near you and does that matter? How many leads or referrals can you anticipate from your networking efforts per month? Just as important as potential clients is connecting with potential collaborative business partners. You can find this out ahead of time by reviewing the membership roll or directory.
2. Opportunities – Know beforehand how many will be in attendance or how many are members? For live venues, will there be an opportunity for you to give your elevator pitch or speak to the group? Also, are the same people showing up each week or month? Is the group stagnate or constantly looking for ways to grow and expand? For online venues, do they include platforms that will allow you to directly connect with potential clients and collaborative business (i.e. live chat, IM, etc.)? Depending on the amount of potential clients and collaborative partners, you will need to determine how much time you have to devote to connecting and cultivating relationships with members.
3. Benefits – is there a membership fee? Take advantage of the free trials; but use them when you have an adequate amount of time to really go through and utilize the site. Find out about all of the member benefits. You need to be able to justify the membership fee with the likelihood of generating actual sales. You should track your conversion rates as well for benchmarking purposes. In addition, do they allow for corporate sponsorships for increased exposure? For online venues, can you cross-promote or advertise your business on their website? Does the networking group promote referrals to members?
4. Time – For live venues, when, where and how often do they meet? How will that affect your current workload? Online venues are generally more flexible with time. You can log-on at your convenience. However, again, consistency in regards to your presence and participation is imperative.

Get back to basics and focus on the fundamentals of operating your business. Ensure your business tasks and activities are revenue generating or conducive to the growth of your business.

 

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10 Ways to Measure Your Time Effectiveness and Efficiency

It’s true that what we focus on tends to expand. When we watch the clock, time moves at its slowest pace. However, when we are conscious of what actions, tasks and activities we give out time to, we have more of it. If you don’t know how your time is spent, keep a time log for one week. Track how much time you spend on each activity throughout the day. Once the week is done and your notes are complete, sit down and analyze how you’ve been spending your time and make the appropriate adjustments. You should be able to identify pockets of time that are being misused on the phone, on the internet, with non-clients, too much networking, in front of the TV, sleeping, chatting on non-relevant, etc. That’s not to say you shouldn’t be doing these things, but you do want to make sure they are not stealing valuable time.

Conduct an honest evaluation of yourself and your daily work habits. An honest reflection on your daily work habits will reveal exactly “who, what, where, when and how” contributes to your productivity or lack thereof. Ten ways to measure your time effectiveness and efficiency, ask yourself:

1. Am I being productive or just active? Know the difference.
2. Am I inventing things to do to avoid the important tasks and activities?
3. What are my non-negotiables? (i.e. how late am I willing to work, do I really need to attend 3 networking events a week?)
4. Are you willing to train your unconscious with new techniques? If I keep doing what I’ve been doing, I’ll keep getting what I’ve been getting.
5. It takes longer not to write things down than to write them down. My plans, goals and activities don’t need to be complicated, but they need to be written. That which is written, gets measured.
6. What have I learned and am I willing to correct what needs to be corrected? This should include mistakes that should not be repeated. Get it right and move along. Time allocated to actually serving clients earns money. Time allocated to administrating and soliciting clients, costs time and money.
7. What am I currently doing? What actions have worked? Not worked? – Detail the effectiveness of specific tasks. Did each task achieved do what was intended to support the larger goal? Detail actions taken that did not provide the expected benefits.
8. What progress has been made, if any, by my current system? Does this system work for me? Does it meet my needs?
9. What adjustments to my plan are necessary for maximum results?  What can I plan to do differently? What should I do less of, more of, and what should I stop doing altogether?
10. What should I add to my plan that I now realize is missing? 

These questions used to measure your effectiveness are critical to not only establishing a functional system, but getting rid of time consuming non-revenue generating activities and maximizing your work efforts; while strengthening your business. And finally:

• Deal with procrastination – “what if I do it, what if I don’t”
• Establish a standard starting format
• Plan and schedule
• Delegate and trade
• Break down projects
• Set and calendar deadlines
• Consolidate like tasks (i.e. return calls, checking phone/mails, emailing/filing, answering letters, sorting