|
|
Monday, December 1
Work is A Four Letter Word
by
rjosen
on Mon 01 Dec 2008 12:00 PM GMT
Work = Toil = To work long and hard
Work = the absence of play
Work = effort
I’ve decided work is a four-letter-word.
Like most home workers, I love what I do and mostly don’t consider it work.
Some parts of my day I spend working but I keep it to a controlled minimum and get it out of the way as quickly as possible. Basically, if I’d rather be doing something else, then I am working!
Work is defined by things we don’t like doing; We don’t like dealing with miserable or incompetent people. So once we know who they are, we stamp ‘Do Not Use’ on their details.
We don’t like waiting in call centre queues so we switched suppliers.
We don’t like calling expensive phone numbers in order to spend money with those companies so we found alternatives.
We don’t like being let down.
We don’t like our calls not being returned.
All this baggage makes work of our days so we make it obsolete.
I don’t particularly like dealing with finances so I delegate as much as I can to an accountant, who loves this sort of thing and is good at it. However, I keep all my receipts and records in impeccable order so I don’t pay them to do work I can easily do myself.
Similarly, as a team, we all enjoy doing different types of tasks, usually those we are good at, so I’m careful to delegate jobs to the most effective person.
I’m sure you don’t need me to repeat all the statistics we hear about how many hours we spend working or waiting or doing mundane tasks or ironing and other household chores.
Is it worth doing something that drains our energy or makes us miserable?
What will you do with the extra 5 minutes every hour, or an afternoon per week or a week a year? Would you develop more business – if that’s what you like to do? Would you take a week’s holiday? Would you have more me-time or spend more time with family or friends. Or all of the above?
So is it worth working when you could be having fun doing business?
Business: If it feels like work, you’re not doing it right!
Friday, November 28
Tip of the Week November 28th 2008
by
rjosen
on Fri 28 Nov 2008 03:00 AM GMT
Do the jobs you're good at
At work and at home, concentrate on what you're good at and delegate what you can.
A more experienced person will do the other tasks in less time.
Monday, November 24
Work From Anywhere
by
rjosen
on Mon 24 Nov 2008 11:22 PM GMT
The Freedom to Work from Wherever You Choose
[A cautionary tale to anyone thinking of expanding out into an office and/or employing staff!]
Home or office? (The joys of working from home)
We went in reverse to most. We’ve always worked in offices for one reason only: to house staff. We’ve moved 3 times but the last one was the best move. It was when we decided we didn’t need to work from an office anymore.
Cut out the baggage (The joys of the virtual office)
In order to do this, I cut out the businesses and services that were time consuming and needed both the office and full time staff to operate. One was not enjoyable and plain and simply, didn’t work. Others, including Miss Jones were born to be run from home and are good fun to manage.
This slashed a massive overhead and more importantly an even greater headache. Of course we still have an office base but we only go there for occasional meetings. I find everyone is very happy to meet in a coffee shop, motorway location or plush city centre hotel. Now - this is a better way to work! Pretty soon, we will reduce that to a virtual address – just somewhere for our clients and suppliers to send us post.
Quality self-employed staff (The absolute joy of not having staffing issues)
Quality staff has always been the principal and most time consuming issue for me. There is enormous availability of people who want to work part–time from home but very limited (or nil) availability of quality, reliable people who come with confidence and common sense to work in the office. We had a waiting list for home-based workers and still do.
They will commit to schedules providing they can work from home and have flexible hours. They know this a very rare opportunity to do something fun, valuable and paid whilst not having to step out of their homes. When on the odd occasion, they have to run an errand, they work it around their personal commitments and errands tend to be planned in advance anyway.
Because of this flexibility, they are dedicated to us and focussed on our client’s needs. We no longer have an issue with quality of staff and can comfortably recruit anywhere in the country, indeed the world, wherever we have clients.
All the staff are now self employed. We simply altered the contracts and they just send me a weekly invoice and get paid the following week. Again, so simple that we don’t even need to use the accountant!
With self-employed and home-based colleagues, we seem to have no issues and there’s no need for time consuming weekly reviews and meetings. They don’t want them and I don’t need them – we just discuss anything as it arises and fix it.
Embrace technology (The joy of gadgets)
In order for everyone to be based from home, I decided on a web-based system so we don’t have to operate a server that needed to stay on at any particular location. Having spent a fair amount of money on databases and technology over the years, I searched high and low for several months for a web-based system similar to what we already had so there was minimal upheaval and most importantly, a company that offered support to everyone. I was delighted to come across Microsoft Office Live completely by chance – and it didn’t cost anything! I tried it myself for a few weeks, in tandem with our existing database and then rolled it out. I didn’t even need to train, it’s so simple. I choose who sees what information and when so our wonderful clients still receive the perfect service they have come to known but we have the all important security element too.
In addition to Microsoft Office Live, we have taken advantage of technology such as Blackberry’s and Skype. I had used both over the years but now to much greater extent. Everyone knows a Blackberry means you can receive your emails wherever you are so for me that means not always carrying my laptop if I’m only out for a few hours. Skype now do packages to aid budgeting on phone calls. You also no longer need to make calls via your PC but simply save a number onto your landline or mobile and you can make calls all over the world – all within a budget. It also means home-based staff don’t have to send me itemised bills to have their phone calls reimbursed. I can see it all on-line using my Skype account.
Work fewer hours (The joy of freedom)
None of us now work full time although in most people’s eyes I still do. Having gone from over 2 years of 18 hour days, including working all weekend to now working a 4 and half day week, just 6-8 hours per day, I don’t see this as full time! Most of this reduction is down to not have to operate and manage an office.
On top of this, everything we do is fun and the day just rolls by. Clients are happy and we are happy. Bliss.
All these activities add up to lots more freedom. I can attend at least one training course or seminar per month and have 2-3 leisurely meetings with suppliers and contacts per week and pretty much have Friday afternoons off; something I could have only dreamed of when working 2-3 times as many hours in the office.
However, personally, the most blissful of all, I can be based anywhere in the world, with my laptop, Blackberry, Skype and fabulous support team and nobody will ever know any different.
Why now is a good time to outsource
by
rjosen
on Mon 24 Nov 2008 11:20 PM GMT
Why now is a good time to outsource
Cost Saving
Outsourcing is cheaper than having employees; full time, part time or temporary and that’s not just counting the cost of advertising and recruiting. It costs to take the time out to devise effective training and deliver it successfully too. Not to mention time consuming appraisals and progress meetings and the more obvious costs of NI, holiday pay, holiday cover, bonus, sickness pay and benefits.
High Quality
Outsourced specialists know they are only as good as their last piece of work so they will produce top quality work every time to keep you as their long-term client.
Better Business
Now is the time when you should be marketing, strategising and ‘doing’.
Outsourcing means someone else does the jobs you don’t have the expertise for or the time for. It can also mean ticking off the jobs that you just don’t want to do from your to-do list!
· Why should you be doing data entry when your best skill is to be out networking to meet new contacts?
· Why are you chasing money when you should be maintaining an excellent working relationship with that client? Let someone else be Mr Nasty!
· Why spend time doing administration when that time can be spent talking to new or existing clients and building the business?
· How long does it take you to find newsletters and blogs that you need to read or to do online business networking? Will that time be better spent just reading what’s perfect for you and just responding to great on-line contacts?
· Why organise the database when your priority is to write the new marketing plan?
Bad Hair Days
Outsourcing means there will always be someone available to support you. No sickness. No holidays. No paternity leave (but outsourcing will cover for yours). No hangovers and no bad hair days!
Access to a larger talent pool and a varied knowledge base
Outsourcing means an entire new department in your company; a team full of additional skills. If they don’t have all the answers, they are very likely to have the resources to find the answer for you so you will also have improved knowledge.
In addition, they are likely to know of other contacts and services that can also help you.
Operational Expertise
Outsourcing means you will gain access to their know-how which will save you time in the long run. For example, you can use their best practice or HR policies rather than developing your own or they can come in to teach your staff time saving tips or sales skills.
Catalyst for Change
Outsourcing can often mean a catalyst for major change that otherwise
may be very time consuming or not happen at all.
Of course, outsourcing means you can carry on working from home with no expensive office to run!
Thursday, November 20
Tip of the Week November 21st 2008
by
rjosen
on Thu 20 Nov 2008 05:56 PM GMT
Back up often
Back up daily and then make sure you store your back-up separately. Even just backing up on a CD and keeping it a different location could save you days, weeks or months of work.
Friday, November 14
Tip of the Week November 14th 2008
by
rjosen
on Fri 14 Nov 2008 03:00 AM GMT
SAVE YOUR WORK OFTEN
When typing, save your work literally every few seconds using Ctrl & S. Especially every time you are interrupted, when you have a read through and when you amend
something.
If your computer freezes up, you will have retained most of your work, and you won't waste time having to do everything all over again.
Thursday, November 6
Tip of the Week November 7th 2008
by
rjosen
on Thu 06 Nov 2008 05:42 PM GMT
Prepare for phone calls
Before you call someone, make a list of important things you want to say or ask. This way, you won't forget anything, and you won't have to waste time calling back later.
Thursday, October 23
Tip of the Week October 24th 2008
by
rjosen
on Thu 23 Oct 2008 09:43 PM BST
Send back the original Rather than typing up a brand new letter, answer routine correspondence right on the original letter you received.
Make a copy for your records and mail the original back to the sender with your response.
Thursday, October 16
Tip of the Week October 17th 2008
by
rjosen
on Thu 16 Oct 2008 06:47 PM BST
Use PC short cuts.
A few to start with:
Ctrl + X Cut
Ctrl + C Copy
Ctrl + V Paste
Ctrl + P Print
Ctrl + S Save
Tuesday, October 14
You Can’t Possibly Succeed Without An Assistant
by
rjosen
on Tue 14 Oct 2008 04:19 PM BST
I found this on www.paulspublicityblog.com and couldn't resist adding it here
Do you have an assistant? If not, I guarantee you will never reach the level of success you deserve. It’s just not possible. Here’s why…
Many entrepreneurs pride themselves in being a "one man band". They talk about how they handle everything and have everything under control (yeah, right). They handle product production, duplication, fulfillment, returns, inventory, record keeping - the works.
I can’t tell you how many business owners I know have told me they have a CD duplicating machine right in their office so they can handle duplication, label production, assembly, shipping, etc. all "in house". They boast how they save money on the whole process.
Not only is that untrue, it’s one of the leading factors that destroys a business.
You’ve been told many times that you should work on your strengths because that’s where you make the most money. You should not waste a minute of your time trying to improve your weaknesses. Some people have the fantasy that if they improve the areas where they’re weak, they will live a balanced life.
Utter stupidity!
You are weak in certain areas for a good reason - you’re not good at those tasks. No genius thinking there! But still, people fritter away their lives building their weaknesses.
Unless you run a full scale CD duplication house, duplicating CDs is one of your weaknesses. I don’t care how good you are at duplicating those CDs and how fast you can do it. You can’t do it better than the duplication house and you can’t do it cheaper.
Oh, it may seem cheaper. You may produce a finished CD for 89 cents, while the duplication house was going to charge you $1.40. So you saved 51 cents. But it took you 10 minutes to make the CD, label it, package it and get it in the mail.
A foolish waste of time.
And so it goes with an assistant. If you hire a good assistant and you do it correctly, you’ll hire someone who’s good at what you are not. That person will be a beautiful balance to you - and you to that person.
My assistant, Denise, and I have been together for over 10 years. We differ in many, many ways. And that’s good.
If you’ve ever spoken with Denise, you’ve experienced one of the joys of life. She is so pleasant, kind, happy and friendly that when you hang up you have a better day ahead of you.
I wish I could be that pleasant as often.
Denise and I balance each other out beautifully. As a result we get a lot accomplished.
I repeat - there is no possible way you can be as successful as you deserve without help; without a good assistant.
Learn how to look for, hire and work with a great assistant. It’ll be one of the best investments you’ll ever make in your business and in your life.
The best place to start is with an information product Denise created about this very topic. You can get free information by CLICKING HERE. Don’t worry, this isn’t one of those mega-priced, 20 pound information products. This’ll set you back about the same as a couple of large lattes and some pastries. But it can revolutionize your business…and your profits.
That’s enough of reading this. Go hire yourself a great assistant!
Thursday, October 9
Tip of the Week October 10th 2008
by
rjosen
on Thu 09 Oct 2008 07:10 PM BST
Make the most of every minute!
Do something whilst you are waiting for...
documents to open
someone to answer the phone
pages to load
the kettle to boil!
Friday, October 3
Tip of the Week October 3rd 2008
by
rjosen
on Fri 03 Oct 2008 09:10 AM BST
Train Yourself
to go down your 'to-do list' without skipping over the difficult tasks
Monday, September 29
Tip of the week September 29th 2008
by
rjosen
on Mon 29 Sep 2008 04:00 AM BST
Only touch a piece of paper (or email) once
Deal with it
File it
Or bin (delete) it!
Thursday, September 18
Tip of the week September 19th 2008
by
rjosen
on Thu 18 Sep 2008 05:16 PM BST
Simple
Do one task at a time!
Thursday, August 28
Jelly is Sweet
by
rjosen
on Thu 28 Aug 2008 06:41 PM BST
What an interesting idea to come across. I saw this on www.enterprisenation.com – a fantastic website for home based workers.
Two young entrepreneurs in New York City opened up their homeworking apartment to friends and … well, to just about anyone really. They call it jelly and this co-working idea is wobbling its way around the girth of the world.
To read more Jelly is Sweet
Tip of the week August 29th 2008
by
rjosen
on Thu 28 Aug 2008 06:37 PM BST
Tip of the week
Avoid useless trips back and forth unless you have a definite purpose to accomplish
Thursday, August 21
Tip of the week August 22nd 2008
by
rjosen
on Thu 21 Aug 2008 07:33 PM BST
New Tricks
Try to find a new technique each day that you can use to help gain time.
Thursday, August 14
Tip of the week August 15th 2008
by
rjosen
on Thu 14 Aug 2008 05:13 PM BST
Keep a list
Back to basics this week
Keep a list of specific items to be done each day.
Arrange them in priority order and then focus to get the important one done first.
It's very satisfying to tick things off the list and watch it reduce.
Try it!
Friday, August 8
Tip of the week August 8th 2008
by
rjosen
on Fri 08 Aug 2008 08:41 AM BST
Put it Back!
Put everything back where it belongs.
Seconds spent doing this now will save minutes or hours looking for it later
Tuesday, July 29
Tip of the week
by
rjosen
on Tue 29 Jul 2008 05:26 PM BST
Set a timer!
If you are still establishing a routine or just aren’t good at following them, set a timer or alarm to go off when it’s time for you to switch tasks.
This will keep you on schedule and help you figure out how long you need to complete each task.
Wednesday, July 23
Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda
by
rjosen
on Wed 23 Jul 2008 03:33 PM BST
I've come across this amazing website full of articles with useful tips. I though I was the most positive person I knew until I learnt this:
Remember the Ice: Untie the (k)nots. Once you untie the (k)nots and replace them with the appropriate word choice, your will discover the power behind clear articulation.
We have identified seven words to eradicate from your vocabulary and replace with more empowering alternatives. They are as follows:
Not Don't Can't Won't Wouldn't Couldn't Shouldn't
Notice they all have "not" in there somewhere. Untie these (k)nots and you will find you are able to accomplish more in every avenue of your life. When you remove the "not" or "n't" you leave yourself with these empowering words:
Do Can Will Would Could
(Drop "should" from your vocabulary. It implies a pardon from responsibility, and is fundamentally lazy).
Do this exercise: Read through the above words one more time. As you do so, pay attention to the difference in your physiology and focus. You will immediately be more empowered in your thought composition. You will find yourself in a more empowered physical state. Your shoulders will shift back, your breathing will become more controlled, your eyes will be more focused. Your overall physiology is congruent with your empowered message. This is a repetitive exercise, and it pays off by giving you more of the results you want to create.
Lots more on their website.....
Thursday, July 17
Tip of the week
by
rjosen
on Thu 17 Jul 2008 06:43 PM BST
Use one calendar
Having one calendar to keep track of all your work and personal dates will eliminate missed or conflicting appointments.
Wednesday, July 16
Bunch of Fives - spotted this on www.directorscentre.com
by
rjosen
on Wed 16 Jul 2008 06:01 PM BST
Find five ways to maximise your time
Find five ways to congratulate yourself on your successes
Find five ways to spend a little more time thinking and a little less time doing, but also…
Find five ways to be a bit more spontaneous!
Find five new connections you want to make
Tip of the week
by
rjosen
on Wed 16 Jul 2008 05:54 PM BST
Clear your filing cabinet or cupboards
Go through and organise your papers & folders. Then schedule time to purge your files.
This can be done monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or even annually, just make sure you do it on a regular basis.
If you'd like to subscribe to tip of the week, please visit www.missjones.info
Sunday, July 6
5 reasons why you need an Assistant
by
rjosen
on Sun 06 Jul 2008 09:00 AM BST
1.Free up your time - What can you do with an extra 5, 10 or 20 hours per week?
2.Get Organised - With your projects organised, you can come across as being highly professional in your work with others
3.Remove Yourself from the Front Lines - An assistant will arrange your meetings, travel and much more. Does doing this yourself encourage a sense of security and show growth in a business? Not necessarily. Your experienced assistant will handle the day-to-day stuff so you can do what you do best. Grow your business, develop new products and services and act important!
4.Think Bigger Picture About Your Business - Let's face it, you need people to help grow your business to great heights! You are great at many things so let your assistant take care of everything else.
5.Partnership - Sometimes being self-employed and being a 'solopreneur' can be a lonely existence. A good assistant can become a partner in your business. They can help collaborate on ideas, brainstorm new projects and give you a second opinion and advice based upon what they know works and what doesn't. They are on your side and will take care of what you have got going on
Saturday, July 5
Time Saving Tips - How to put 25 hours in your day
by
rjosen
on Sat 05 Jul 2008 10:26 PM BST
I thought you may be able to use some of the tips we send weekly to our website subscribers.
Here are the last 3:
Tip 1 - No clutter - No distraction. Keep only the items on your desk that you are using for that particular project so you are free from distractions.
Tip 2 - Write it down! Writing things down will save time and frustration later. Why take the chance of forgetting an appointment when it only takes seconds to write it down?
Tip 3 - Schedule block times to work on similar tasks. Pay bills & update your records whilst everything is on your desk and fresh in your mind. Make all your phone calls together, sign birthday, holiday and business cards for the whole month in one sitting.
If you'd like to subscribe, please visit www.missjones.info
Thursday, June 26
What Can Marketers Learn from Baseball?
by
rjosen
on Thu 26 Jun 2008 11:09 AM BST
You know I like my connections between Sport and Business. I found this article by Lou Bortone (http://www.LouBortone.com,)
As it turns out, plenty! I went to a Boston Red Sox game with my family this weekend and, in between buying outrageously priced $6 hotdogs and $5 Cokes, I thought about what America's past-time has in common with marketing. I know, you may think it's a bit of a stretch, but these simple analogies are actually pretty obvious…
1. Keep your eye on the ball – Let’s start with the most apparent. It takes an intense focus and concentration to hit a 90 mile-per-hour fastball. You’ve got to have the same kind of deliberate attention to your business and your marketing efforts. Don’t take your eye off the ball!
2. Be (baseball) ready – During every single pitch, I noticed infielder Dustin Pedroia go into his “baseball ready” stance. On his toes, ready to respond, and completely ready for anything that might be hit his way. Are you paying attention in your business? Are you nimble, prepared and ready to react?
3. Swing for the fences – It’s rare that you see a wimpy, half-assed swing in the major leagues. These guys are playing like they mean it! In your marketing efforts and in your business in general, you’ve got to take big swings. If you want to hit home runs, you’ve got to swing for the fences!
4. Work as a team – No matter how good the individuals on the team are, it’s the team that wins ballgames. While this is painfully obvious, you need to ask yourself how teamwork can benefit you. Are you developing relationships and joint ventures? Are you leveraging your partnerships? How can you use the combined efforts of your team to win?
5. Have a game plan – While pro ball players may make it look effortless, they never take the field without a game plan in place. Baseball, like business, is a game of strategy. Plan ahead. Study the competition. Know your strengths and weaknesses. And most important, execute.
6. Focus on fundamentals – While at the Sox game, my son asked me why “Big Papi” still takes hitting practice. If you want to be the best, I explained to him, you’ve got to be great at the basics. You’re never too good to practice, and it starts with the fundamentals.
7. How you play the game is how you play in life – This was another “life lesson” moment for my son. The players he most admires are the guys who are as great off the field as they are on the field. You’ve got to bring your “A” game every day, both in business and in life!
8. Never give up – The guys in the “bigs,” as they call the Major League, understand that it ain’t over til it’s over. To succeed as an entrepreneur, you’re going to need that same kind of dogged persistence and determination. The Red Sox have become famous for 9th inning heroics and come-from-behind victories. Take a page from their playbook and keep playing hard all the way through!
9. Be aggressive – Good ball players hustle. They run hard. They act quickly. They don’t let up. How are you playing in your business? Can you put in even more effort? Can you push a little harder?
10. Use a variety of “weapons” – A winning baseball team like the Red Sox uses many different ways to win. They have a variety of weapons in their arsenal: hitting, pitching, defense, bench strength, late inning rallies. Are you using an assortment of marketing weapons in your business? Look for ways to add some depth to your playbook and don’t rely on just one or two methods.
The Red Sox won the game we attended, but I can’t say I’m surprised. The defending World Series Champions do a lot of things right, and they find a way to win. Follow their lead and your business should be off to a winning season!
|
