Posted: December 3rd, 2010 | Author: Clare Fountain | Filed under: In business | Tags: priorities, time | No Comments »
This will give you practical information concerning home based business as you learn from experts in their fields. The Brains of Business is a newsletter written by small business owners to support other small business owners. Each contributor has their own area of expertise which they apply to a different theme in each edition.
This edition talks about POWER OF PRIORITIES
A couple of teasers for you…
‘Thinking ahead and prioritising responsibilities marks the difference between leaders and followers. Use the Pareto principle to focus on those top 20 percenters.’ – Paul Henshall from ActionCOACH Business Coaching
‘To go from ‘motivated’ to ‘implemented’, priorities must be written down, measured constantly and reviewed regularly.’ – Jennifer Blainey from First Class Accounts
Brains of Business Issue 14 Power of Priorities
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Posted: September 27th, 2010 | Author: Clare Fountain | Filed under: At work | Tags: save, time | No Comments »
This article will save you time by removing items that ‘waste’ time from your business.
After being stuck inside for winter, spring is the traditional time to open the windows and let the fresh warmer air circulate and invigorate your home. The longer days and brighter sunlight almost act like a refresher to your eyes. The windows look dirty, the shelves dusty!
Interestingly the essence of Spring Cleaning is about getting organised……..everything comes back to being organised!!
In Australia Spring leads into Christmas into the long summer holiday and then the New Year. It is a fantastic opportunity to organise you and your business. It also tends to highlight the areas that aren’t organised.
Like at home ‘things’ in your business accumulate – both physically and in your head. Take a look around you. Does your workspace invigorate you? Do you arrive into it each day and think ‘YES’ I am going to spend the day here and LOVE IT?!!! If the answer is no I recommend you block out some time in the next 2 weeks to:
- Cull rubbish. Be ruthless. If you haven’t read it/actioned it, either do so within 24 hours or bin/recycle it
- Archive what you legally need to keep.
- The walls – do they need a face lift? Lick of paint, new artwork or something inspiring
- Is the business organised? Does your team know what they are doing? Do you know what you are doing and importantly do your clients know what you are doing!!
- Is the office organised? Review your office systems – what works, what doesn’t work and what can be improved.
Recently in a Find Your Desk Under the Mess workshop, I worked with clients to set up some really simple but effective systems. When you are reviewing yours remember the line ‘Keep it Simple Sweetie’!
The lead up to Christmas is a busy one both at work and at home. Heaps of social functions and clients who want their work completed before the end of the year. As the pressure builds the key to remaining sane is
- to be organised
- beat procrastination and
- make smart choices about what you say yes to!
When you say ‘Yes’ to something always consider what you are saying ‘No’ to.
Remember to take time for yourselves…….do you want Santa to find you dozing over the presents that still need wrapping on Christmas Eve?!!
Hot Tip
Each week between now and Christmas spend at least 15 minutes organising and planning for the week ahead. Review what you wanted to achieve next year and organise yourself to make it happen.
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Posted: September 15th, 2010 | Author: Clare Fountain | Filed under: At work | Tags: email, manage, save, time | No Comments »
Oversized ‘to do’ lists are intimidating and rarely get ‘done’. Your email has the potential to work in the same way. It can slow your day and interrupt productivity.
Do you sit at your desk and read everything that comes in but take no action and leave it sitting in your in-box? The in-box can work like a gigantic ‘to do’ list that anyone can add to… whenever they like. Managing your emails effectively will save you time.
Ideally, your in-box should only have current or unread emails in it. Once you open a message you need to do one of the following:
- action it immediately
- delete it
- file it for follow up/action.
For example – if you subscribe to e-newsletters you could keep them in a ‘to read’ folder and schedule in time to read through them all – maybe last thing on a Friday when you want to wind down.
If you have to phone people then put them into a ‘to call’ folder with a follow up date to remind you. Most email software have inbuilt functions that help you do this.
Checking email can be a time consuming task and I find that clients don’t allocate long enough to handle it effectively. When you arrive at your desk allow at least 20 minutes without interruptions so that you can action and set follow-ups for new messages. Depending on how many messages you receive a day set another 20 minutes after lunch and again before you leave.
Remember you manage it – it doesn’t manage you!
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Posted: September 3rd, 2010 | Author: Clare Fountain | Filed under: In business | Tags: Business, save, time, tips | No Comments »
This edition talks about BOOM OR BUST; insights and tips into what
makes your business boom or bust especially over the holiday period.
A couple of teasers for you…..
Property Booming???
Property and finance are both subject to cycles. Learn how to get the
best out of your investments.
by Steve Fuller & Terry Carrol, Money Depot
Christmas – Boom or Burst.
Make sure you know if your business is following the track towards
booming and not heading towards bursting.
by Dean Murphy, Valentini & Murphy
Brains of Business issue 2 Boom or Burst.
> support other small business owners. Each contributor has their own area of
> expertise which they apply to a different theme in each edition.
>
>
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> Article
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> This edition talks about BOOM OR BUST; insights and tips into what
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> makes your business boom or bust especially over the holiday period.
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>
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> A couple of teasers for you…..
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> Property Booming???
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> Property and finance are both subject to cycles. Learn how to get the
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> best out of your investments.
>
> by Steve Fuller & Terry Carrol, Money Depot
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>
>
>
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> Christmas – Boom or Burst.
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> Make sure you know if your business is following the track towards
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> booming and not heading towards bursting.
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> by Dean Murphy, Valentini & Murphy
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> http://www.simply-access.com/support-files/brainsofbusiness2.pdf
>
> Hyperlink to say ’Brains of Business issue 2 Boom or Burst.
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> SEO pack information
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> Title = Brains of Business Boom or Burst
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> Tags = save time, business tips
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> Category = In business,
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> Face Book/Twitter text to introduce the blog link = Save time by learning
> from the experts – Brains of Business Boom or Burst
>Heading = Brains of Business Boom or Burst
>
> This will save you time as you are learning from experts in their fields.
> The Brains of Business is a newsletter written by small business owners to
> support other small business owners. Each contributor has their own area of
> expertise which they apply to a different theme in each edition.
>
>
>
> Article
>
>
>
> This edition talks about BOOM OR BUST; insights and tips into what
>
> makes your business boom or bust especially over the holiday period.
>
>
>
> A couple of teasers for you…..
>
>
>
> Property Booming???
>
> Property and finance are both subject to cycles. Learn how to get the
>
> best out of your investments.
>
> by Steve Fuller & Terry Carrol, Money Depot
>
>
>
>
>
> Christmas – Boom or Burst.
>
> Make sure you know if your business is following the track towards
>
> booming and not heading towards bursting.
>
> by Dean Murphy, Valentini & Murphy
>
>
>
>
>
> http://www.simply-access.com/support-files/brainsofbusiness2.pdf
>
> Hyperlink to say ’Brains of Business issue 2 Boom or Burst.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> SEO pack information
>
> Title = Brains of Business Boom or Burst
>
> Description = Save time by learning from the experts.
>
> Tags = save time, business tips
>
> Category = In business,
>
>
>
> Face Book/Twitter text to introduce the blog link = Save time by learning
> from the experts – Brains of Business Boom or Burst
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Posted: September 1st, 2010 | Author: Clare Fountain | Filed under: In business | Tags: save, time | No Comments »
What do you need to survive in challenging economic times? The simple answer is information and a plan.
As the market changes you need to remain informed of the market in general, your specific industry, the local market and most importantly your business. Review your reporting systems – what information are you receiving and when. How accurate is it? In addition to your regular profit and loss/balance sheet reports you might want to know the following
- Current break even point – this may change as you make decisions on overheads etc
- Profitability of products/services as this may change as suppliers and clients change their spending/selling patterns
- breakdown of sales & clients – understand which areas of the business are working and who are your clients that are spending
- Value of your assets and liabilities – make sure you are aware of your ‘liquidity’ ie ability to pay your bills if you released your assets. Remember the value of your assets can change too.
A fantastic figure to have is ‘how long will my current funds last’ ie if you had no income how long will any reserves last?
Now that you have the information what are you going to do with it? You need to have a clear plan with actions that are triggered by data received. Some business owners are happy to take a reduced salary – how much and for how long. If you need to reduce your staffing costs what is the approach – offer reduced hours, reduced salary, what is the criteria for making redundancies? This is a sensitive area and one that can be very emotional for business owners. A clear criteria that is applied to areas of the business can make it much easier to both decide and communicate.
Review the profitability of your products and which products/services are being purchased. Will you source alternatives, can you negotiate with your suppliers to improve the deals they offer. Be smart and think outside the square – ask for support from an expert. An hour of their time could provide you with fresh and simple ideas.
Finally consider what you will do when the market picks up – make sure that your plan includes what to do as the data improves – what investments in marketing/infrastructure/systems/training do you need to make now so you are on the front foot.
Doona diving will not make the challenges go away! Being informed, proactive and on the front foot will support you through challenging times. Remember your family and friends too – a quieter business might provide the opportunity to spend time with them.
Top Tip: Challenges provide an opportunity to review, learn and change. Make it work for you.
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