Blog
I vote for SHORT sales landing/squeeze webpages. Who’s with me?
Pithy. Piquant. Brief. Direct. To the point. Is there anything wrong with getting to the point quickly? I’m busy, you’re busy, we all have a billion things going on in our lives. We also have a whole pile of visual and audio items assaulting our senses. I believe that I have plenty of other compatriots in this wild world of small business with me* who’d appreciate a “get to it” attitude. So why then, in this “go-go” world are people still putting up these hugely long sales landing/squeeze...
read moreYou gotta flaunt it before you can sell it!
Happy New year all you crazy kids! Wanted to remind you that it’s January (as if you missed that fact) and I’ll be spending all my bloggy and Enchilada-y time focused on Marketing and Sales! While M&S are around every month of the year for a small business, it seems that there is some magic fairy dust that gets sprinkled on the midnight moon between December 31 and January 1. We all inhale that dust and presto change-o we have new inspiration, new verve and new ideas to make our businesses go and grow. So while you’re...
read morePiles of Crap on Desk/Floor = Meltdown #productivity #makeaplan
You know you’ve been there. Looking at your desk with so much to do and wondering where to even start. What did I do? I scooped all of it off the desk and put it in one pile on the floor. That’s right, I couldn’t get past the piles so I made a bigger pile. (Hey, it made sense to me at the time.) One of the many piles… In retrospect the bigger pile was overwhelming, mocking me, getting under my skin. So much to do and all of it small piddly little stuff, most of which I was the responsible party. I’m a...
read moreCool Sexy Productivity Tool: Neat Receipts – @neatcompany #beproductive
Oh, Neat Receipts, you so rock. I love you. Every successful entrepreneur is so “ooh shiny” and a control freak all at the same time. It’s tough when you need to make sure you stay on top of your finances and avoid getting sucked in to the detail of data entry. This tool gives you the room to breathe to get you to the next spot in business. Enter the perfect solution: Neat Receipts. Yeah, okay, as an entrepreneur to truly be the most productive, at some point you’ll want to outsource data entry to a bookkeeper...
read moreLegal Structures – which one is right?
Round and round I went on the freakin’ business structure merry go round trying to figure out which one was right for me. I talked to an accountant. I talked to a lawyer. Each of them had different things to tell me, which were, in my head at least, at odds with one another when it came to what business structure was right for my small business. Now before I get deep into this: I am NOT an attorney. I am NOT an accountant. Go talk with your own attorney and accountant. Yes, this is my “cover my ass” statement. Do your own...
read moreEfficient vs. Effective – Pink Flamingos and Social Media #iamproductive
The other day I was talking with someone about streamlining their workflow. We spoke about “social media” and how they felt overwhelmed by feeling they had to be present in facebook, in twitter, in … well any other new social media platform that exists out there in the world. My advice to her was to be efficient and effective in her time and money. To get the main points across, here’s what I told her: Think about your business like a wedding. (Stop laughing, I’m serious.) Most people know where weddings...
read moreFreelancing is supposed to be FUN, people! #organize #processes #freedom
You started your freelance business because you wanted more time with the family, more freedom to come and go as you please, maybe even the freedom to dink around on facebook anytime you wanted to without “the boss” looking over your shoulder. What happened? Like a goth kid from the 80s, you lost the fun. You wear all black, play Morrissey and feel cranky you spend 80-90 hours a week networking, hustling, creating, shipping and feeling like time is just not your own anymore. Wasn’t this supposed to be fun? YES!!! Yes, it is...
read moreComfortable delegating.
Don’t you feel awesome when something works for you? Last week I received a couple of emails mentioning a link in my regular productivity tips email didn’t work. Today, I had a look at the link, fixed it in about a minute and then started thinking about the time and energy I’ve invested into my business over the last nine and a half years and how they have born fruit in intended and unintended ways. I’m finally comfortable delegating. The main reason/excuse I gave for NOT delegating is “I like learning...
read moreMoving Can Be _______. (Adjective) #MadLib #Organizing
We moved. It took us 2 weeks to move just under 200 miles, about a 2 hour drive, back to where we started 2 years ago. That’s a lot of twos. As I am one who is frugal and likes to “regulate” and control situations (ha!), we made it all happen ourselves instead of hiring a moving company to do it for us. I’ve moved now three times in two years. I am, and always have been, awesome at it. I don’t always follow the “perfect moving plan” rules because well, life and business just get in the way. Plus...
read moreFamily Business Psychosis – Tips for running a biz with family #smallbusiness #familybusiness
Aloha all! My friend Jackie and I were talking the other day about family businesses and the crazy that can come with them. Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, sisters and brothers. You name it, it’s crazy. Not only are you dealing with running your own business, but you’ve also got layers and layers of other *family dynamic* that has nothing to do with business. Family relationships are fascinating at the best of times. Add in the challenges of business and the blurred lines of responsibility, roles and status…...
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