Time Management Tips

by Martha on March 15, 2010

No matter how you slice it, the way you spend your time  directly affects your business results.

Yes, online business owners have the wonderful capability of working at home and working when they want.  However, let me set record straight.  Over time, there does emerge some sort of routine.

You only have so many hours in a day and you need to decide how to spend those to get the best results for your business.

Here are Seven Great Tips:

  1. Make a list.  Yes, it seems simple enough, yet many work-at-home people don’t do it.  It’s crucial.  Be realistic too.  If the list is too long, you become defeated from the start.  Keep it simple, complete, and small.
  2. Prioritize your list.  Do the most difficult or time consuming items first.  That’s when your energy level is highest and you’ll be most productive.
  3. Work in “blocks.” Some people are productive in 45 minute increments, others in 2 hours.  You know your own concentration span.
  4. Take breaks! (Everybody likes this one!) Allow yourself 10-15 minute breaks between work blocks.  Spend a few minutes resting and rejuvenating.
  5. Set goals.  Measurable ones!  That’s the only way to know if you are staying focused and on track.  Goals are your measuring stick and need to be written down.  Your goal is where you want to end up.  Keep it in front of you.  Continuing to move forward toward your goal helps ward off a sense of being overwhelmed.
  6. At the end of the day, STOP.  When you have a home-based business, it’s very easy to keep going, hour after hour after hour.  Don’t do that.  End your day.  Close up shop.  Start fresh tomorrow!
  7. Reward yourself for a job well done!  This will keep your attitude positive and encouraging.

Time management isn’t the most glamorous of topics, but increased efficiency ultimately means an increase in your business bottom line.

Now, that’s exciting!!

Peace,

-Martha


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Outsourcing – Who, What, When?

by Martha on March 3, 2010

Are you doing it all?  Are you trying to?

In a conversation yesterday with a new online biz owner, she revealed that while growing up, her family worked hard at what they did and believed in doing all the work themselves.  She then said I was the first person she had met that told her there could be another way.

She told me of hearing for the first time that in running her business, she should think of herself as the “head” of the business. Running the show.  With all the little tasks that she didn’t like to do turned over to someone who did.

Outsourcing.

If you have the attitude that you have to “do it all,” it could be hurting your chances of having a profitable business.  There is no one on the planet who could do all the tasks involved in running an online business and live to tell about it.

During the start-up stages of your biz, you might have to do more hands-on, but after that, you NEED to be outsourcing.

For one thing, there will be plenty of tasks you just plain don’t like.  Others are too time consuming.  And still a few that aren’t cost effective.  Figure out what part you LIKE and do that.  Outsource the rest.

My guess is,  you will like being the head honcho of your own business instead of being bogged down with overbearing tasks!

The internet has created a virtual marketplace to locate helpers. The best part?  It’s not like hiring a full-time employee that you have to offer benefits to.  You can find people who will contract out for small jobs, get them done quickly, and have reasonable fees.

Help is not as hard to find as you might think.  Also, not as expensive.  I’m making the assumption that you did start your business with capital, or have some on hand.  This is one place you use it!

One such place that I have used is  Elance.  There is also RentaCoder.  Both of these offer a marketplace of people and services that you might be looking for.

You can also search the web and find virtual assistants everywhere.  Many of these are people who have come out of corporate America, are freelancing, and get the job done efficiently and quickly.

And, don’t forget Twitter and Facebook.  A quick cry for assistance could turn up many resources! (I found a WordPress expert and a graphic designer using social media!)

In the end, it’s your decision.  But, think about this.  Couldn’t you get to the profits better and quicker by having help?  Your business is to run your business!  Find good people, let them help, and see if it doesn’t make a difference to your bottom line!

Peace,

-Martha


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Unlaunch Radio – Celebrating Success!

February 23, 2010

What is the goal of your business?
To make as much money as you can for as long as you can? That could be your goal,  but usually, there is something much deeper.
Your “why” factor. Why you do what you do.
For many business owners, the “why” is simply freedom.  Freedom to do what you [...]

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Willie Crawford Speaks

February 9, 2010

If you have been online any length of time, chances are you have run into him.
Or at least, clicked on one of his sites.
Or bought a product he was selling.
Or listened to his radio show.
He is truly one of the biggest names in online marketing.
WILLIE CRAWFORD!

In my desire to help new online business owners build [...]

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Content is King

February 2, 2010

“Headlines open the door, Content keeps ‘em in the store.”
Do you think of your online business differently from an offline brick and mortar biz?
You shouldn’t.
Think of your blog or site as a storefront.  That’s the outside of your business.  For the world to see.
Now, something has to make people want to walk in.  In the [...]

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Self-Made and Successful

January 26, 2010

“Everybody’s a self-made man; but only the successful ones are ever willing to admit it.”- unknown
Contemplating that quote.
And thinking about my father-in-law.
He was the first person I ever heard refer to himself as a “self-made man.”  He was also one of the most successful men I ever met.
He told me once that he had always [...]

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Something For Nothing?

January 22, 2010

Starting your online business is no different from any other — you have to make an investment.
The two main components are obviously time and money and I am adding a third.  Continuing education.
Time-wise, you have to figure out how many hours you are going to spend on your  online business daily.  Yes, daily.  Remember, you [...]

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Joint Ventures

January 19, 2010

You’ll eventually want one.
A joint venture partner.  Or JV, as they are known in the online world.
JV partnerships are simply where you join together with another business person to gain a bigger presence in the marketplace.  This can be done several ways.   Creating a product together or bundling products that you both already have [...]

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Finding Your Niche

January 11, 2010

You’ve all heard of it.
Niche Marketing.
What is a niche and why do you need one?
Your niche is what your business specializes in.  Your area of expertise.   It’s the market that your product fits into.
For example, this blog is in the internet marketing niche.  Or the “how to make money online” niche.  Your niche could [...]

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Traffic, Traffic, and MORE Traffic (to your blog!)

December 31, 2009

WARNING:  This great idea requires action on your part.
OK, you’ve got your blog up and running.  You are now communicating with people.
Or are you?
Sometimes, when you are writing on your blog, it may seem like you are just talking to yourself.
Guess what?
You might be!
The key to making any business profitable is getting customers in the [...]

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