Posted by Amy on December 20, 2010
The New Year is almost here and I thought a quick talk on Systemizing Your Business was a perfect fit. This is one thing that is ringing loud and clear for me. I think most of us know the importance of systems and procedures, but that doesn’t mean we are doing it!
As an entrepreneur, your systems are the processes and procedures by which everything in your business runs. When your systems work, everything runs smoothly, or as smoothly as possible when running a business!
Systems are essentially a step-by-step process written out for each aspect of your business. They help you stay on track, they make you more efficient, they streamline your business and they help you see where you can improve and where your business is excelling.
When your systems work, everything runs smoothly. Some potential systems include:
* Marketing
* Customer Service
* Sales
* Product Creation
* Product Development
* Purchasing
* Production
* Producing a Newsletter
* Billing
* Invoicing
* Outsourcing
Systems are particularly useful when you’re outsourcing a task or if you’ve hired an intern or an employee. Then, you’ll have everything written down from the very first step to the very last step, and your contractor or employee will know exactly what is expected of them.
Creating your systems
The first step to creating systems is to realize what processes your business uses. Simply make a list of the processes you go through on a daily or weekly basis. Once you have your list, it’s time to actually create your systems. They’re created initially by simply writing down the steps to accomplish a task. As new processes are added to your business, you’ll simply create a new system for that process. For example, if you add on an affiliate program then you’ll have several new system like a payment system, a communication system, a recruiting system and so on.
Once your systems are created, the processes can be fine-tuned by using several steps. Firstly, you may want to simply evaluate the process you’ve written to see if it works and if there are any loopholes or steps you’ve missed. Secondly, you may want to include goals and measurements to determine whether the system is a success.
For example, if you have a customer service system and your goal is to have 100% customer satisfaction, and you end up losing 20% of your customers due to an inadequate customer service policy, then you know the system needs to be tweaked.
Systems are a business owner’s best friend. They’ll help keep you on track and running smoothly today, tomorrow and for years to come.
Amy Robertson is the Founder of the Girlfriend's Alliance, a women's entrepreneur resource. She is also President of the Girlfriend's Biz Assistant. Amy uses her own experiences of being an entrepreneur to help inspire, empower and connect women entrepreneurs. She is someone who talks her walk... and is able to teach what works because she has done it herself.
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Posted by Amy on December 15, 2010
Are you struggling to get started living your dreams and accomplishing your goals because you’re afraid of failing? Afraid of the unknown? It’s a natural feeling. Even the most successful women fear failure.
Fear of failure can hold you back or it can help you grow.
Accepting that fear is a natural and human response is only the beginning. What you do with that fear is the key to success. If you take that fear and forge ahead regardless, then you learn how to not only quiet your fear, but use it to your advantage. This makes you stronger the next time it creeps up. You’ve learned that fear is just an emotion – useful if a crazy psychotic cougar is chasing you but not so useful in business.
Failure means you’re doing something… you are going for it… and you are making it happen!
Failure is something that happens only if you’re trying. Ask anyone who’s achieved a respected level of success how they got there, and chances are they’ll tell you it took perseverance, a lot of failures and the determination to look failure in the eye and continue on. No one achieves any level of success without failing, often many times. The difference between them and others is that they have the ability to manage their fear and get back up and keep going.
Getting beyond your fears.
There are two types of people in the world. There are those who dive right into the cold swimming pool and those who must start by dipping their toe in first. What type of person are you? If you’re a dive right in sort of person, then the best way to get over your fear of failure is to establish a goal, a goal that’s risky and you might not achieve, and then to just do it. Acknowledge your fear and then shove it aside.
If you’re a dip your toe in type of person then the best way to overcome your fear is with a bit of analysis. Take a look at exactly what it is you’re afraid of. Are you afraid you’ll lose money? Look ridiculous? Do a bad job? Once you’ve analyzed exactly what it is you’re afraid of, ask yourself what’s the worst that could happen. If you’re afraid of doing a bad job, what’s the worst that could happen? Generally, the worst, is so much more insignificant than our fears.
Take a look at your business goals
What’s the worst that could happen if you don’t achieve them? Now, ask yourself what’s the best thing that can happen when you do achieve them? It’s worth the risk, right? Whether you’re a toe dipper or a dive right in, there is a way to manage fear of failure. Know that it’s human, it serves a purpose and you’re stronger than your thoughts and emotions. Go out there and take a few risks and have fun doing it!
Amy Robertson is the Founder of the Girlfriend's Alliance, a women's entrepreneur resource. She is also President of the Girlfriend's Biz Assistant. Amy uses her own experiences of being an entrepreneur to help inspire, empower and connect women entrepreneurs. She is someone who talks her walk... and is able to teach what works because she has done it herself.
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Posted by Amy on December 13, 2010
Time management can be the single biggest challenge to working from home and being a successful entrepreneur. Learning to overcome these obstacles can be the key to managing and leading a successful business.
What are time management obstacles and what causes them? Many things cause time management obstacles including:
1. Perfectionism – Many people use perfectionism as a crutch; a way to stay busy doing what they know how to do and to let the rest slide. For example, you’re a skilled writer but detest accounting, which means you spend days on a sales letter and your books are so messed up you don’t know who owes you what or how much money you’re making or losing.
2. Procrastination – This happens for a number of reasons. If you’re facing burnout, then you’ll likely feel like avoiding anything related to your business. However, if you’re facing a task you don’t want to do it’s much easier to procrastinate.
3. An inability to say no – Guess what; not only should you not be doing everything – you can’t! And if you try to, something’s going to give. You’re not going to be able to devote your full attention to your business-related tasks, they’ll suffer and your bottom line will suffer.
4. Lack of planning – It’s easy to become caught up in tasks like
* Social networking
* Email
* Phone calls
* Checking stats and website analytics (This is important but you don’t need to obsessively watch the numbers)
* Surfing the net, reading blogs and industry information
One quick email check can turn into a full hour of back and forth email correspondence and before you know it, your entire schedule is off for the day. Planning, and sticking to your plan, helps you stay on track.
To overcome time management obstacles, consider these four steps:
#1 – What’s stopping you?
Look at what’s holding you up. Is it procrastination? Perfection? A lack of planning? What’s getting in your way?
#2 – Prioritize and set goals
Prioritizing and goal setting are two very important components of time management. Goal setting is easiest to accomplish when you set a goal that is attainable and measurable and when you break it down into smaller manageable goals.
Creating a task list is another item that, as strange as it may sound, needs to become a scheduled part of your day and your week. You’ll want to spend a bit of time prior to Monday morning creating a list of tasks and goals for the upcoming week. Keep in mind that some days may be set aside as planning days, days off or meeting days.
#3 – Schedule your day, week and month
Make sure you have time to accomplish the goals, tasks and priorities you’ve established. Set aside the time you need by planning your days, weeks, and even your month out.
To make this process easier, and to lighten your load, there are time management tools like a PDA, desktop scheduling software and the good old fashioned paper calendar, like the Girlfriend’s Day Planner which can help you establish and maintain time management success.
#4 – Get help
Finally, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, it may be time to seek outside help. Consider hiring someone to manage the tasks that seem to get in the way. Often these are the administrative tasks. You can outsource them to a virtual assistant to lighten the load. You can also hire a housekeeper if daily chores are a distraction from your business. And don’t forget about technology. Many tasks can be automated.
Overcoming your time management obstacles is easy when you are able to acknowledge what they are and why they exist. From there it’s merely a process of planning how to overcome them and using the right tools to get the job done.
Amy Robertson is the Founder of the Girlfriend's Alliance, a women's entrepreneur resource. She is also President of the Girlfriend's Biz Assistant. Amy uses her own experiences of being an entrepreneur to help inspire, empower and connect women entrepreneurs. She is someone who talks her walk... and is able to teach what works because she has done it herself.
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Posted by Amy on December 9, 2010
Building a business is a fabulous and challenging experience. You can wake up exhilarated to begin your day and go to bed feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. The key to success is to maintain a positive, I can do it, no matter what, mindset.
Sometimes it is easier said than done, right? Here are 5 keys to help you create and sustain a positive mindset so you achieve the success you desire.
1. Surround yourself with successful and positive people. The influence people have over our own personal energy is amazing. Moods and attitudes are so easily spread – think about how much of a difference a simple smile from a stranger can make for your day and then magnify it 1000 times to demonstrate the power of positive and successful friends, family and associates. When you have people around you who inspire you, believe in you and want you to succeed, there’s no room for doubts and even when they creep up, they’re quickly swept away.
2. Create a mantra or an affirmation. Repeating positive affirmations has been shown to get people through tough times and to actually help them truly believe what they’re saying.
For example, “I am building a powerful and profitable business.” Many of the most successful business professionals have used the same affirmation strategy to attain their success. To find the right affirmations for you, consider writing a quick list of your doubts, insecurities and complaints. These can then be quickly turned into affirmations.
For example, if you write that you’re always feeling disorganized then your affirmation would be, “I am organized and in control.” Repeat your affirmations several times a day and feel the power of positive thinking.
3. Capture negative thoughts. We all have negative thoughts from time to time, however, negative thoughts and emotions can derail us and prevent us from achieving all we desire. Of course catching those negative thoughts takes practice and persistence. When you find yourself thinking negative thoughts or having negative emotions, find a trigger to turn them around. The affirmations mentioned above are a great way to turn the negative into the positive. You can also find quick pick me ups like a favorite song, a walk outside in the fresh air, or some exercise to help improve your mood.
4. Set goals/intentions and then be willing to let it go. The law of attraction says that we attract what we focus on the most. However, desperation, needing your business to be a success, sends mixed messages and a lot of negativity into the universe. Set your goals and intentions and then let them go. A certain amount of faith in yourself and in the power of attraction is necessary. Give it a try… it works!
5. Be grateful. Gratitude is perhaps the single most powerful and positive tool for success. When you’re grateful for all of the wonderful things and people in your life the challenges you face seem significantly less important and are more easily dealt with.
Consider keeping a gratitude journal and make a practice of entering into it daily. That way, when you’re facing challenges a quick peek at all the amazing things in your life will make you feel as if you can tackle anything. Additionally, an attitude of gratitude helps you maintain a positive perspective and to face challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles.
Success is within your reach and with the right attitude you can accomplish anything you set your sights on. Embrace these five powerful mind success strategies and you’ll build a better business and live a happier, more satisfying life.
Amy Robertson is the Founder of the Girlfriend's Alliance, a women's entrepreneur resource. She is also President of the Girlfriend's Biz Assistant. Amy uses her own experiences of being an entrepreneur to help inspire, empower and connect women entrepreneurs. She is someone who talks her walk... and is able to teach what works because she has done it herself.
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Posted by Amy on November 29, 2010
Female entrepreneurs have the best of both worlds. They’re able to live their life as they choose, striving to attain their goals, hopes and dreams. Of course with all of this freedom and empowerment comes a feisty dose of stress. Entrepreneurs have the common characteristic of biting off more than they can chew, or almost more than they can chew since they often accomplish things when all odds are against them.
All of this stress can have a negative effect on happiness and satisfaction. Your successes and achievements don’t feel as good as they should because you’re already onto the next task – no time to celebrate. And stress has a scientifically proven effect on health and longevity. Here are a few ways to eliminate stress and live a balanced life.
* Schedule time for yourself – Entrepreneurs are all about planning, scheduling and doing, right? So schedule time for yourself every day! Small bits of time each day spent on self-care, exercise, a hobby or spending time with girlfriends for example, is a great way to help eliminate stress while taking care of your mental and physical health. On top of those smaller bits of time, be sure to take time off each month, or find a way to take large chunks of time off each quarter or annually. I love the motto – work hard, play hard.
* Outsource – Did you know you can actually outsource much of your work at a surprisingly low cost? In fact, it actually makes sense to outsource tasks, particularly if it frees your time to focus on other more profitable tasks. Common tasks to outsource are administrative tasks, marketing tasks like updating your website, blog or social media outlets and even tasks like household cleaning.
* Use your resources – Chances are you have a support group, right? Girlfriends, family and associates that are in your life are there to help you. Entrepreneurs are creative, right? Get creative when it comes to using your resources. Find ways to help each other out. Babysitting swapping is one common way to help a fellow female entrepreneur out. Band together to exercise or to simply get out and have fun on a regular basis. Your support group can help you stay motivated and help you find time to de-stress.
* Leave work at the office – Whether you have a home-based office or an outside office, it’s important to set limits for yourself. Obviously, you can work all day and all night – there’s always something to do, but that’s not balanced and the result will be burn-out, too much stress and general mental and physical fatigue. Set boundaries for yourself and stick to them.
* Embrace technology – It’s amazing what technology can do for us to make life easier. It can automate our customer service, remind us of appointments, help us stay on track financially, automate our product fulfillment process, and of course help us stay in touch with customers on a regular basis. Without creating more work for yourself, embrace technology to help make your life easier. Did you know there are membership sites that will plan your menu for the week and produce a shopping list? Yay technology!
* Find a non-work activity that makes you smile – Do you love to read? Swim? Roller Derby? What about painting, dancing or going to rowdy football games with your friends? Regularly make time for non-work activities that bring you joy and make you smile. In fact, take time right now to make a list of a dozen things you like to do, get on the phone or email and start scheduling them.
Can you have it all? No, but you can have everything you need and want provided you take steps to make it happen. A balanced life is important for everyone and it’s particularly important for entrepreneurs like you who like to burn the candle at both ends. You’re smart – stay healthy and sane and take the steps necessary to live a more balanced life.
Amy Robertson is the Founder of the Girlfriend's Alliance, a women's entrepreneur resource. She is also President of the Girlfriend's Biz Assistant. Amy uses her own experiences of being an entrepreneur to help inspire, empower and connect women entrepreneurs. She is someone who talks her walk... and is able to teach what works because she has done it herself.
Website - More Posts
Systemizing Your Business
The New Year is almost here and I thought a quick talk on Systemizing Your Business was a perfect fit. This is one thing that is ringing loud and clear for me. I think most of us know the importance of systems and procedures, but that doesn’t mean we are doing it!
