Question: which days of the year do small business owners make the most of their time?
Answer: the days just before they go on holidays.
We all know the fenetic feeling just before you leave to go on vacation. So much to get through, and so little time. You've got a huge list. There are staff or outsourcers to organise. Orders to be put in motion. Contingency plans for who's going to make decisions while you're away. Because this time you've decided you really are going to switch off your phone.
The thing is, we really should make every day an 'I'm going on holidays' day. Here are a few ways I'm trying to make this happen:
* Write the list like I really have to get it done.
* Prioritise my time as if I only have a few hours left before I walk out the door for a couple of weeks.
* Chunk down my remaining time into 10 minute blocks. The sense of pace and achievement is amazing.
Happy holidays!
Margie
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Business Success: Golden Nugget #3
Rates are up all over the shop in Australia. Our dollar's rate is shoulder to shoulder with the US dollar. Our interest rates have just gone up another notch. But what about your rate as a small business owner?
We often don't put ourselves into the equation because we are our businesses. But now's the time to take stock of your own inputs and use my Golden Nugget #3 of Small Business Success to reassess things:
Rate yourself
* Look at what you do every day in terms of an hourly rate. If someone asks you to do a job, what would you charge yourself out at? Then apply this rate to everything you do through the day. It'll make you think about what's really important to your business's bottom line and what can be outsourced or left till later.
* Think of yourself as the brain surgeon of your business. Would you pay a brain surgeon to unpack the scalpels and mop up after the operation? Then don't do it in your business.
* Set your priorities: plan your day in a list, and tick things off when you get them done. It helps you stay focussed, and actually achieve things.
* Handle each piece of paper only once.
* Trust that others can do just as good a job as you. Empower those you employ and others you outsource tasks to with extra tasks you've always done. It's a bit unnverving at first, but liberating too.
Every success!
Margie
We often don't put ourselves into the equation because we are our businesses. But now's the time to take stock of your own inputs and use my Golden Nugget #3 of Small Business Success to reassess things:
Rate yourself
* Look at what you do every day in terms of an hourly rate. If someone asks you to do a job, what would you charge yourself out at? Then apply this rate to everything you do through the day. It'll make you think about what's really important to your business's bottom line and what can be outsourced or left till later.
* Think of yourself as the brain surgeon of your business. Would you pay a brain surgeon to unpack the scalpels and mop up after the operation? Then don't do it in your business.
* Set your priorities: plan your day in a list, and tick things off when you get them done. It helps you stay focussed, and actually achieve things.
* Handle each piece of paper only once.
* Trust that others can do just as good a job as you. Empower those you employ and others you outsource tasks to with extra tasks you've always done. It's a bit unnverving at first, but liberating too.
Every success!
Margie
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Unique selling proposition 101
I've been talking a lot about unique selling propositions USPs) lately. These USP's are the thing that makes your product or service king.
The trouble is, a lot of small businesses can't articulate why their product or service is different from the rest. They think they know, but they can't tell you in 20 words or less. So they blend in with their competitors and miss out on market share, on new business.
The key to marketing power is to be specific about why your business is unique. Why you're the best, and why people need to buy from you over someone else.
How do you do this? Ask yourself the one question your customers will ask: why should I do business with you over anyone else?
Answer this, by spending the time drilling down on your selling proposition, and you have your unique point of difference.
Being specific will bring you success.
Margie
The trouble is, a lot of small businesses can't articulate why their product or service is different from the rest. They think they know, but they can't tell you in 20 words or less. So they blend in with their competitors and miss out on market share, on new business.
The key to marketing power is to be specific about why your business is unique. Why you're the best, and why people need to buy from you over someone else.
How do you do this? Ask yourself the one question your customers will ask: why should I do business with you over anyone else?
Answer this, by spending the time drilling down on your selling proposition, and you have your unique point of difference.
Being specific will bring you success.
Margie
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