Start this year out on the right foot. Establish your priorities early and then stick to them. If you and your relationships aren’t top on your priority list you’re missing the boat. Donna helps you put things in the proper perspective. Read this article to have a long and happy life and business.

How to Maintain Your Business and Your Romantic Relationship without Losing Either

I’ll be the first to admit I’m the “Donna-come-lately” in this game of simultaneously managing a business and a romantic relationship. When I was married the first time around at age 26, I worked in higher education administration and was completely and totally devoted to my job — not necessarily to the exclusion of my marriage — but for many years my marriage and my relationship took a back seat to my job. Big mistake. That issue and a host of other reasons led to the dissolution of my marriage and the finalization of my divorce after almost 10 years of marriage in 1999.

I went for two full years without dating, as I needed to grieve the relationship and heal myself and come to terms with all of my issues surrounding my marriage and divorce before deciding to put my toe again into the dating pool and foist all of these hangups on some unsuspecting guy. This aspect of my healing went pretty well, although I’ll have to admit it took probably 3 years or so after my initial separation to fully work through all the anger I had about the relationship and the divorce.

I began dating again and vowed that things would be different this time. I discovered, however, that dating had changed dramatically in the 13 years or so that I’d been absent from the dating scene, and that I still had alot to learn about being a good partner in a romantic relationship, as well as in figuring out what I wanted in a romantic partner. I saw the good, bad, and ugly sides of men, kissed alot of frogs, and learned a great deal about myself and what I really wanted during my journey.

Synchronicity occurs when you’re ready and open to receive what you truly want. For me, that occurred last fall when I met the man I had been looking for all of my life, Eric. For me, it was love almost at first sight, but I knew by our second date that I had never had this degree of compatibility with anyone I had ever dated before — not even my ex-husband, and I had married him!

Our relationship is still in its infancy, although we both feel like we’ve been together and known each other forever. Perhaps we have in another life, if you believe in reincarnation…..

Here are some things I’ve learned through the school of hard knocks that’s helping me maintain this relationship, as well as run a business, without losing either:

1. Put your partner and the relationship first. Running a business can be a 24/7 job, but the old adage about “no one ever says on their deathbed that they wished they’d spent more time at the office” is true. Eric and I make time for each other during the day, despite working different schedules (he works many night and weekend shifts, and I run my business during the weekday business hours). If he’s at work, we manage to talk at least twice for short periods during his 12-hour shift, and if he’s home during the day when I’m working at home, we try and eat one meal together. At a minimum we drop into each other’s home offices for several quick smooches or hugs or quick “how are you doing” conversations.

In the past he’s expressed to me his concerns that our relationship is interfering with my business. I’ve told him that he’s right — it is — and that because he’s in my life, I’ve had to start thinking about my business differently and work in it differently than I did as a single person. I don’t work the long hours that I used to work before he came into my life. It takes me longer to get things done, but it’s a sacrifice that I’m willing to make. Businesses come and go, but finding a soulmate is VERY hard work.

2. Your partner needs to be your best friend. Eric is the one with whom I share everything. I may not always like what he says, but I respect his opinion. When I was married, I somehow got off track with my ex in terms of sharing my hopes and dreams and what I wanted in life, and shared those exclusively with my best female friend. My ex was left out of the loop, and I made many decisions about our relationship on my own, after talking about the issue with my best female friend, not my ex-husband. Having 3 people in a relationship (2 spouses and a best friend) is one too many. Sharing information with a best friend is fine, but don’t do it to the exclusion of your romantic partner, if you want your relationship to survive.

3. Create a calendar consisting of free days, business development days, and profit-generating days. I have mapped out on my calendar my free days (weekends, days off, holidays, and vacation days), my business development days (when I write, speak, conduct marketing activities or pursue strategic alliances) and profit-generating days (when I’m working directly with clients). This has been an exercise in extreme discipline for me, as the temptation is always there to do some type of work on my free days. However, in the last year, I’ve made myself keep my free days free, as I need that time to get away from my business and have fun and recharge.

Since Eric has come into my life, we’ve set aside some of that time for date nights or weekend vacations when he’s doesn’t have to work on a weekend. His impish side comes out on his days off during the week when he tries to lure me out of my office to go out and goof off with him. I’ve succumbed to his whims on occasion, but haven’t quite gotten my business to the point of of having it run successfully without me. That’s my next goal — to have more flexibility in my business so that it’s not so dependent on my presence in my office.

4. Share your business highs and lows with your partner. Every time I have a big business “win”, Eric is the first to hear about it. When something doesn’t go the way I’d hoped, I tell him first. My business is important to me, as is Eric’s job to him, so we both make it a point to ask how the day has gone for the other, and sit and listen patiently to the good and bad portions of each other’s day. As we’re both problem-solvers, it’s difficult for each of us to sometimes simply let the other one vent, as we’re already thinking of solutions to whatever situation is at hand. Sometimes one of us has to say, “Do you just want to vent and have me listen?” when one of us shifts into the unwanted problem-solving mode.

5. Make time for each other. When you have opposing work schedules, as Eric and I have, and add mandatory overtime that Eric has to work frequently during the year, we may see little of each other over the course of a week. We’ve both gotten good at sensing that we’re losing track of each other, and requesting a “date night” so we can talk and play and catch up.

6. Never go to bed angry. By far, this is the hardest lesson I’ve had to learn. When I was married, I would get angry at my ex and give him the silent treatment for days because I knew it drove him crazy. Usually by day 3 or so he would crack, and we’d make up. Now that I look back on this, I realize how immature and juvenile this way of fighting is, so the silent treatment is out as a way of fighting in my current relationship. Eric and I have had our share of spats and disagreements, and I’m almost always the first one to wave the white flag for a truce and an end to the argument, usually within the course of an hour or so. Life is just too short to continue to fight in stupid ways, and it’s hard to regroup in a relationship if you let something fester overnight.

7. Forgive each other for being human. It took me a long time to acknowledge that I’m not perfect, and even longer to figure out that no romantic relationship is perfect, either. Give up the notion of perfection and accept each other as you are. One of my great faults in romantic relationships has always been the need to “fix” my partner. I’d see the potential in a guy and stay in a relationship long after it was dead, under the guise of, “Well, if you’d only do this and this and this, you’d be so great, because you have so much potential.” Oprah said something along the lines of, “believe what they tell you the first time they tell it.” We all bring our quirks, our baggage, and our eccentricities into relationships, and do and say things that drive our partners completely nuts. Remember that forgiveness is divine, and that it’ll only be a matter of time before you need forgiveness.

8. Say “I love you” every day…and mean it. I feel so lucky and so fortunate to have finally met the man of my dreams. I always thought that often-quoted line, “You complete me,” that Renee Zellweger’s character says to Tom Cruise’s character in the movie, Jerry Maguire, was so hokey. However, now that I’ve found someone with whom I’m so compatible, I’ve discovered a whole new meaning and nuance to that line. I tell Eric that I love him at least once each and every day, and then go on to tell him some trait or some action he’s taken that makes me fall in love with him all over again.

Being in love and running a business don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Both endeavors are hard work, and if you forget that point, you can lose one or the other in a flash. Take time to nourish both your business and your romantic relationship, and discover how having both in your life will make your life all the richer.

Copyright 2006 Donna Gunter

Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed professionals make more profit in less time online. To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE ebook, TurboCharge Your Productivity: 50 + Tools To Help You Automate Your Business and Make More Profit in Less Time Online!, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com .

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donna_Gunter

No rest for the weary. You’ve marketed during the holidays, and you’ve had personal obligations to attend to as well. Time to take a breath and rest. Oh no you don’t! Now is the time of year to really make your presense known. Take advantage of the after holiday market with the tips of this article.

Marketing After the Holidays

Businesses are getting an early start on their holiday advertising. Look around you…after Halloween, the festive displays adorn malls everywhere. Flyers and catalogs are knocking at your door. Soon you will be hearing on the radio and television the telltale signs the holidays are quickly approaching.

Community forums, social networks, blogs etc. are coming alive with holiday buzz. It’s inevitable and you either go with the flow or ignore it altogether. Ignoring it wouldn’t be a wise choice, but using it to your advantage is.

Will you be joining in the masses of offering some business specials of your own? Of course you will. Or maybe you won’t because you’re thinking ahead.

How will you fare after the holidays? After the mad rush of sales and discounts galore, where will you and your business be standing? This is usually considered the slow season, but it doesn’t have to be. While it’s good for your business to offer sales during the holidays, you can hold back a bit or go full force continuing your marketing efforts through the New Year.

If you’re not joining in the masses then you should be taking advantage of this perfect opportunity and seeking out what your competitors are doing and gather tips to brainstorm for an effective “after sale” marketing campaign.

More than anything, this will be the time to kick it up into another gear. Not everyone will go overboard on their advertising budget. I’m sure there will be some bargain hunters looking for some good sales. These same bargain hunters may be waiting for the “after sale” and this is where you will come in to meet their needs.

Not all bargain hunters are bargain hunters so make sure you have an advertising campaign that is affordable to fit the needs of all budgets.

What would an “after sale” entail? It’s not necessarily getting rid of old or discontinued inventory at hard to beat prices. It can be, but it’s also the perfect time to introduce new products, services or advertising space that is affordably priced without underselling the value. These can be sold well into January and February or simply bundle up some items and mix ‘n match old and new. It’s really up to you.

Marketing your business is year round. It doesn’t start and stop. It doesn’t just pick up during the holidays and slow down after it. It does if you let yourself become complacent.

Instead of facing the dreaded slow season, your think ahead marketing plan will be prosperous. Ring in January and the New Year with consistent traffic and sales to your business. What a great way to start off the New Year on a high note!

S McIntyre owns http://www.WorkAtHomeSpace.com, a free work at home resource focusing on telecommuting companies, daily telecommute job leads, articles, business resources and other work at home related topics.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=S_McIntyre

Download the print version : December Navigator (24)

Oh, no! I know that I should never not market but with the holidays coming my business evaporates. And with the economy the way it has been, this could easily be thought of as one of the hardest business years that can be remembered. Don’t end this year on a sour note! Use the holiday season to spark interest in your products and services. Use the tips in this article to keep your business going through the holidays.

8 Reasons the Holidays are a Great Time to Build Your Business

Too many of the clients I talk to write off December as a marketing black hole. After all, people aren’t really focused on doing anything but holiday shopping and attending parties, right? Why not preserve your energy for a time when people are ready to buy?

Considering the holiday season a time when marketing should be put on hold is missing a great opportunity to connect with your prospects. True, people are overextended financially and time-wise, are cranky and overshopped and are wondering how they’re going to get it all done. But, miraculously, the spirit of the season also survives and gives people more hope, openness and willingness to try new things. Being as it is on the cusp of a great, shiny new year, the holiday season is a golden time to connect with people emotionally about what you do. So, instead of resigning yourself to wait until next year to redouble your efforts to get new clients, ask yourself instead how you can use this unique time of the year to get creative about communicating about your business.

Tie your work in to the season

Ask yourself – what about your business is seasonal? If it’s nutrition, talk up a fresh angle on how to eat nutritiously during the holidays. CPA? Focus on important end-of-the-year planning you can do. Divorce attorney? Send a tipsheet on how to enjoy your holidays as a divorced person, plus 3 important legal matters you should attend to first of the year. Virtually every profession can be tied into the end of the year/holiday theme. If you’re in a profession that’s easily tied into the end of the year (food, shopping, etc.), then your work is done for you. If not, think harder. Ask yourself – what do people need from me during the holidays? Do they need more balance, a time to relax, a plan for how they’re going to do something better in the coming year? New year planning and balance are great themes that can be carried across many different businesses.

Let people buy gift certificates for your product/service. Hey, they’re going to be giving stuff – it might as well be yours! Look around to see the kind of packaging product-producers are doing and ask yourself: how does that apply to my service? What is an affordable bundle of solutions I can make available during this season?

Holiday card – It’s an old-stand-by for a reason. Insert something that keeps on giving. Challenge yourself to come up with a great “next year at a glance” theme. Or perhaps a gift coupon for your service? A bonus for referring a friend? It’s a great time of the year to reach out and show people how much you appreciate them and remind them how your work can help them.

Put together an end-of-the-year and “What’s Coming Up” report

Even as people are frazzled and engaged in other things, they are filled with the expectation of what next year will bring. Why not tell them how they’ll benefit from your work? What’s coming up for you – do you have a new product you’re working on, a workshop they’ll enjoy, an add-on service, a new strategic alliance you want to announce?

Tie a promotion in to New Year’s Resolutions

A cottage industry for service professionals, New Year’s Resolutions can be a great way to make your service real and immediate to your prospects. Ask yourself – what do people resolve to do that I help with? Weight loss and self image? Financial security? Better relationships? Considering these and other broad categories of the kinds of resolutions people make, get creative about what kinds of tips, services and programs you can offer to help people meet their goals.

Party for business

It’s true, you probably won’t ink that important deal or get tons of new buyers during the holiday mixer. Still, all of the chances to meet and celebrate with many people are a golden business opportunity. During holiday parties, people are usually jovial and relaxed about having a good time. So instead of thinking about all the deals you won’t make during the holidays, focus on the spirit of the season and build relationships. After all, everyone who is focused on getting through the season will “go back to work” in a few short weeks. When the season is over, you can call on your holiday-party connections and evoke the good feeling of having been at a holiday party together, then translate that into a conversation about how to further the relationship. And, as always, when attending a holiday party (or any other business gathering), ask the organizer if there is an opportunity to give something as a door prize. What do you give? Your service or product of course!

Gift-giving

Now’s a great time to let your key business contacts know they’re important to you. Give your business list a little personal attention and pick out something less generic and more meaningful. Taking the time to find a personally appropriate gift will mean the world to your prospects, referral partners and clients.

Time-sensitive offers

People respond to deadlines and the end of the year is an ideal time to build those into your service. It’s smart to re-visit your prices every 6 months anyway. The end of the year is a natural time to communicate to your prospects: prices are going up next year so now is the time to hop on.

With a shift of focus, you can consider the holidays a wonderful time to build new relationships and breathe fresh ideas into your business. One last important tip: Don’t overdo it! Remember, while you can build your business even through the holidays, it’s good to tap into the spirit and focus on family and friends. When you do, the rest will come naturally.

©2005 Maria E. Andreu. Service business owners, get the AMS Letter and receive 10 great tips for marketing, as well as free audio of the popular Building Mktg Confidence. Get instant access, e-mail to subscribe-956611763@ezinedirector.net or http://www.andreumarketingsolutions.com/newsletter.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maria_Andreu

Before you started a business you had no business work to do but the minute you started your business you have more business work than you could ever get done by yourself. Now, in the beginning you probably had more time than money so you took on some of those chores that needed to be done but you couldn’t afford to pay someone to do for you. Like phone calls, appointment setting, filing, bookkeeping tasks, and such. You may not like doing them but they are a necessary evil of business. Unless you got into business to be someone’s assistant or bookkeeper, you may not be spending your time as wisely or as profitably as you could. Read this article and get some assistance for your business growth.

Why It Is Less Productive to Work Alone

Many small businesses begin as one-person operations. A new small business owner may have neither the budget nor the workload to justify hiring employees. In the early days, this generally works just fine. A small business with a slow stream of work usually allows its owner plenty of time to focus on all aspects of each project.

However, success tends to breed success. Soon you may find yourself with a steady stream of projects. You may even get to the point of turning down projects that you simply do not have time to complete. The decision then becomes, do you continue to do it yourself, or hire someone? It can be a difficult decision. But you must take into consideration that continuing to work alone can be counterproductive. There are several reasons for this:

• No business owner is good at everything
• You probably have a natural aptitude for the work that your business produces.
• You can quickly and easily turn out finished projects that are of the highest quality.
• Other types of work, however, may not come so easily to you.

Perhaps you have trouble producing high quality written work. You struggle with putting words together in just the right combination to convey your meaning. Consequently, preparing written reports, ad copy and other documents takes you an inordinate amount of time. Or maybe math is not your strong suit. While words flow quickly out of your fingers, you struggle to understand spreadsheets, complete payroll and perform other tasks that involve long strings of numbers.

No matter what your weaker area is, you will find yourself dedicating extra time to those projects. You will lose valuable productivity simply due to a natural weakness.

No business owner has time for everything

The sheer quantity of tasks that must be performed by a small business can be onerous. Even if you are the rare person who is equally talented in all aspects of business management and production, performing them all by yourself ensures that you have less time to produce your main product. Every task takes time to complete. So you have to make the decision, should you do it yourself or hire someone?

The solution

You may not be ready to hire an on-site part time or full time staff just yet. That’s okay; after all, those costs can be high when you factor in overhead and equipment purchases. But there is an intermediate step you can take: Outsourcing. Whether you choose a virtual assistant to work consistently with you or a freelancer to take on specific projects, you can scale up or down or hire on an as-needed basis.

The advantage here is that you can start small and slowly build your business in an organic way, rather than hiring an employee and hoping that you’ll get enough extra business to cover their wage. Outsourcing your work is the way to go!

Heather Villa, MBA CMA MSM, is a Business Coach and Entrepreneur. She helps business owners achieve success in operations, productivity, project management, and social media. Read her other articles at http://hireheathervilla.com/resources/articles/ and visit http://heathervilla.com for more information. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_Villa

By Aditi Walsh  

Entrepreneurs today are inundated with claims by so many experts, each stating they have the key to your success. This has been especially endemic online. It could even be driving you crazy at times, eh? 

What’s amazing is if you have discovered your real success is inner-generated and you are living from your own deepest desires, then you are able to experience challenges and opportunities in a completely different light. 

Getting Stuck

Yet, there still may be those times when you just get stuck, even with the best of intentions. And you find it very hard to keep your focus on visioning and living in the success you so desire. You lose the feeling for it and get caught up in your old ideas and limitations. Success starts to slip away again, and stress quickly enters to fill the gap. 

When you do pick yourself up, you wonder what all the fuss was about. Or you berate yourself for having fallen into those old mental pictures and ideas in the first place. 

Does this sound familiar? The good news is you are not alone. As Tulshi Sen says, “Success cannot be bought or learned… it must be practiced. 

The Master Key

I found it really helps when I meditate on the success principles of Ancient Secrets Of Success For Today’s World to dissolve the old triggers. With practice, I am becoming better able to laugh it off, instead of using negative thinking to dissolve negative thinking. Two negatives do not make for a positive outlook, do they?

So how can you transcend the stressors of the day? Is there a ‘master key’ to free yourself from these de-energizers that are holding you back? If only you can remove your mind from sticking to your problems and instead free it to believe in the success you truly desire. 

Tulshi Sen shares, “Before a person can achieve anything, they must raise their thoughts and raise their belief level. You cannot fight against circumstances forever. It is tiring. You have to create new circumstances by raising your belief level.” 

Training The Mind

You have to convince your mind that you are going to be successful, no matter what your present circumstances are today. This journey of the entrepreneur is led by the heart, not the mind. The mind’s place is to follow the Vision set by the heart. 

When we get it backwards, chaos, confusion and doubt take over. And there goes your success. Fear unleashed results in stressful, limited thinking. 

And, you cannot convince the mind with the mind. That’s what caused this predicament in the first place. Nor can you trick the mind over the long term. You need to transcend the realm of the mind and enter your heart to anchor in your dreams and visions. Leave them there, where you can nurture them. 

Imagination Rules

Einstein said that you can’t solve a problem at the same level of thinking as you created it in the first place. He also said that imagination was more important than knowledge.

Imagination lives in the all-knowing heart. So the first priority is to find out your heart’s desires. Then you can take your trained and helpful mind along for your unique entrepreneur’s journey. 

Tulshi Sen will be holding a live, Free, Teleseminars as a prelude to his upcoming one day workshops this fall, called “Raise Your Belief Level with the Master Key for Success” in Vancouver and in Toronto. Go to end of blog post at http://budurl.com/ggqu for further details. 

Aditi Walsh is a conscious entrepreneur, helping people create and manifest their visions of success. She shares ideas and reviews of success strategies and tools for the online entrepreneur at http://webmarketingrebel.com 

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aditi_Walsh

By Mary W Brophy 

Many business owners consider a company’s brand to be one of its greatest assets. How can you create a brand for your small business that will deliver this value premium? How much will it cost? And, perhaps most importantly, is it worth it?

Branding: Integral Part of Any Company

A brand is more than simple logo development, although the way the company name is displayed is an essential component. Every customer interaction contributes to their perception of your brand – from communicating with the sales staff to how a purchase is shipped and packaged to messages from customer support. All indicate what values your company holds. Identify what is important – honesty, level of product quality, and post sale customer satisfaction – and implement plans to achieve them.

Your branding strategy needs to be an integral part of your operation. If your branding strategy requires high quality customer service, you need to consider your customer’s needs during order taking, billing, returns and exchanges, and then during a post sale thank you by mail or telephone and by sending a buyer satisfaction survey.

What will it cost to brand your company? Because we think of “brands” as large national or international corporations, we often assume it takes huge advertising budgets. This is not the case. Many companies build grand brands without investing in pricey television or banner advertisements.

Visual Connections

An early step is creating an eye catching logo. A logo design usually begins by meeting with a graphic designer. Preparing for this meeting is more efficient and ensures better quality results. Know your target market. Bring examples of the competition, of preferred logo styles and those to be avoided.

After a designer presents initial logo concepts, request outside opinions to gauge public opinion. Be selective in soliciting opinions. Depending on your target audience, ask your family, friends, the guy at the grocery store or your kid’s soccer coach. This will help guide you in the right direction. For example, you might not realize that a certain color is seen as negative or unattractive to your target audience.

A logo can cost anywhere from $50 to $5,000, and many designers are available to match your style and budget. For the cost conscious, you may even find someone willing to exchange services.

Large Corporations Know How To Just Do It!

Once you have a great logo, put it to work. The success of a visual brand is partly measured by how often it is appropriately displayed. Most companies do not leverage their logos often enough.

The logo can be effective in many ways – with your product or service materials, company stationery, invoices, email signatures, shipping labels, indoor/outdoor signs, flags, and promotional giveaways. These are all repetitious uses and serve as persistent reminders. Employees may take pride in wearing a classic logo shirt or an owner or executive proud to carry a logo on a high quality portfolio or handbag.

Constant Continuity

Use your company brand consistently – in its elements of color, font and tag line – and on a paper quality reflective of your business.

This also means consistency in experience, for example, when customers are always greeted in the lobby or when the product is shipped as ordered.

It means consistency in depicting your values. If a goal is to be an environmentally aware company, make specific programs or processes and track or measure results.

Benefits Versus Costs

What are the benefits of brand management? Why does it matter that the UPS van color matches the UPS workers’ socks? Branding creates an experience whether or not its planned. Consciously or not, customers expect predictable and positive experiences.

When values are aligned and communicated, a potential a heavenly with your customers may be result – and brand loyalty often follows.

The Cost of Building Awareness

Since most consumers react to branding after repeated exposures, what does building awareness cost? It will vary depending on the size, goals and budget of a company.

Some approaches can be created with little to no out of pocket costs, such as offering automated service reminders, answering the phone consistently, or offering purchasing options.

Some strategies cost more money so plan wisely and carefully. For example, if you are on a budget, it is wise to base Internet advertising on a cost-per-click pricing. If promoting via printed products, choose items with longevity, such as promoting your business on a magnetic calendar rather than a paper flier.

Decisions in business branding can be adjusted to suit any budget. The key is to have a plan, follow it, and be consistent and then let it grow based on your financial resources and profitability.

Mary W. Brophy is a writer, serial entrepreneur and creative force behind a new handbag trend – personalized logo bags. Her company, Bizz Bag, Inc., gives business people a fashionable way to flaunt their logos on handbags and shoulder bags. To see a savvy and innovative promotional product that creates brand staying power, visit BizzBag.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_W_Brophy

By Cynthia Marsh-Croll
During my journey of increasing value to my clients and expanding my skills, I have embarked on a quest for reducing waste in office processes. On this journey I discovered something that is truly amazing – “Lean Office”. Why is this so incredible? Because it addresses the fact “that 60 to 80 percent of all costs associated with meeting a customer demand…is an administrative function” – Value Stream Management for the Lean Office, Don Tapping and Tom Shuker. Why is this significant? By becoming a Lean organization you can produce a better quality product for less and have a competitive edge; and best of all an increased profit margin. Wow all this from eliminating waste.

Lean is a whole system that I could not even attempt to explain implementing in this short article. However, I can give you an overview to decide if Lean is something you should research further.

Lean’s whole premise is to add value to your customer and eliminating waste. The customer is the central focus when determining waste. In fact, when analyzing your workflow, value stream, you begin with the customer and work backwards. As a professional organizer it is my inclination to start from the other end. It takes a bit to wrap your mind around that. But if everything you do revolves around value to the customer then starting with the customer makes complete sense. The traditional thinking for determining the price of a product is cost + profit = price. In a Lean organization it is price – cost = profit. Therefore, price is determined by the market (ergo your customer). The key component to increasing your profits is reducing your cost. I call that a very good incentive for being efficient.

“The office waste may be compartmentalized into four elements – information, process, physical environment and people.” – Flow in the Office, Carlos Venegas. A broken down grid with specific examples of each of these types of waste is available in “Flow in the Office” by Carlos Venegas. The grid gives you indicators to determine if one of these is a problem in your office. When implementing Lean Office is not about picking and choosing but changing the whole way your work and think.

Another powerful element of implementing this system is the involvement of everyone who is part of or affected by the value stream. Coming up with solutions is a team effort. The experts about the work are those people who are performing it everyday. They know what is causing the bottlenecks and frustration with their workflow. The atmosphere is one of discovery not blame. Giving the people on the front lines the ability to do continuous improvements on a process is a great use of resources. There is a continuous flow of information from the bottom to the top and vise versa. Creating an environment of open communication.

The more I learn about Lean Office the more I am amazed at the difference it can make in productivity. I would recommend any management or owner who is unhappy with the overall performance and competitiveness of their business take a look at Lean and see if it would work for your organization.

Cynthia Marsh-Croll Turning Business Piles Into Profits! Croll Organizing, LLC PO Box 98 Westtown, NY 10998 845-649-2778 cmc@crollorganizing.com http://www.crollorganizing.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cynthia_Marsh-Croll

By Kym Gordon Moore
What type of letter grade can you give your overall business operations right now? An A, B, C, D, or F? Is this grade the same that you gave your business a year or two ago? At this point, everyone is practically worn out from discussing the perils of our current recession. It doesn’t matter who you are, every sector of our local, national and global communities have been adversely affected by the aftermath, since this recession was initially announced. Your head is in such a massive tailspin that you find it increasingly difficult to regain control in any attempt of being levelheaded soon. So, enough already! It’s hard finding a solution when you are constantly picking the scab off of the problem.

We are realistic about the impact this recession has had on everyone, but we’re not going to continue wallowing in a pit of recession misery. The good thing about the recession is that it definitely pushed everyone out of their comfort zone. Sometimes our human characteristics tend to resist the need to change because we become so self-absorbed in operating and functioning habitually. Does the fear of anything unfamiliar create anxiety for you? Do you feel comfortable operating your small business the same way you did when you started? What types of changes have you made or are making to revive your business?

When there is a systematic organizational change, start small. The following reconstructive steps will help you to rethink where your business is and in what direction you want your business to go. To avoid becoming discouraged and frustrated, divide these steps into bite-sized pieces.

1. Reevaluate
Get reacquainted by reintroducing yourself to your business. Review what’s working and reevaluate the changes that’s needed. Do you need to do more networking? Do you need to readjust your prices? Do you need to renegotiate with vendors? You know your business better than anyone else does, so who better to answer these vital questions to detect and change those inadequacies than you?

2. Refocus
Are you keeping up with the changing needs of your customers? Are you keeping up with new technologies to help you to succeed in this new century? Do you need to update your marketing plan? Refocus on your mission, purpose and customer.

3. Reeducate
Update your organization on any new industry changes that will affect the way you conduct business now and the future, compared to the past. Go back to school or take classes that will give you the certification or degree needed to validate and empower your business.

4. Renew
Take care of your body, mind and spirit by indulging in mini sabbaticals. This is a good way to energize your body and usher in peace within the corridors of your mind. Quite often, you will have a different perspective on evaluating your business and the energy needed to adapt a more positive attitude about current conditions, when you seek peace in the midst of a chaotic situation.

5. Regurgitate
Expel your daily intake of widespread depressing news. Sometimes we get so absorbed in the latest developments that paint such a dismal portrait of the overall economy, the ongoing decline in the housing market, the credit crisis, crime, the bail outs, Ponzi schemes…you name it, it’s out there! It’s not just coming from television, but the radio, internet, mobile communications, daily conversations, newspapers and any other communication devices. Make it a point to relieve yourself from as much stress and distractions as possible.

6. Rebuild
Revamp – Rework – Recreate – Readjust – Reconstruct. Reinvent yourself and your business to get desired results. You cannot continue doing the same thing and expect a different result. By recommitting yourself to reinventing your business, it can become a winning strategy in the long run, as the economy begins to bounce back.

7. Reciprocate
Give back. Volunteer to do something in the community. Think of some type of reward system to show your customers how much you appreciate their patronage. Let them know you understand the challenges that so many people are going through right now, but encourage them to hang in there and that these challenging times won’t last forever.

When you step outside of the maze of chaos and confusion, your perspective is liberated and refreshed. You are re-energized to discover new solutions to those recession challenges, by seizing the moment to turn a negative into a positive. Now is not the time to resist change. It’s time to welcome and embrace it.

Kym Gordon Moore is a Creative Marketing Strategist and Public Relations Administrator for Moore 2 It Productions, a firm dedicated to coordinating creative marketing packages for new businesses and new authors. http://www.moore2itproductions.com She is a member of the American Marketing Association, American Authors Association, North Carolina Writer’s Network, and authored hundreds of articles, essays, poems, won awards for several writing competitions and completed works on her soon to be released book, “Diversities of Gifts: Same Spirit”. http://www.kymgmoore.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kym_Gordon_Moore

By Joan Curtis
How many of us have walked into a room full of people and wanted to turn around and leave? When I think about networking events, my heart freezes. Didn’t our mothers teach us not to speak to strangers? Yet, in this article we’re going to examine how to talk to strangers. The first thing you need to know is we all hate going to networking events. Why? It’s hard to thrust yourself on someone else, no matter how “outgoing” you may be. Knowing that we are all miserable makes these things a tiny bit easier.

Second, your job at a networking event is to meet people. Your job is to learn as much as you can about as many people as you can. Your job is not to sell yourself. You can sell yourself in the process, but that is secondary and must be done with caution. The great Dale Carnegie said: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming really interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” What Dale Carnegie meant is that whether you are attending a networking event or your family reunion picnic, the rules are the same. Listen to the other person. Question the other person. Learn about the other person. When you do these things, suddenly, you will discover that you have a new friend, a potential associate or a possible client. How do you start? Let’s go back to that evening when you walked into the room full of people and looked around. This is what you saw.

Two people talking. Their heads bowed slightly toward one another as if to hear above the crowd. A group of people laughing and talking casually by the food. Another group talking casually by the bar. One person standing by the door, alone.

Which one of these three “groups” do you approach? If you answered the one person standing alone, you win the gold star. If you answered the group of people laughing and talking near the bar or food, you win the silver star. If you answered the two people talking with their heads bowed, you get the booby prize.

The main reason you go up to the person who is alone is that is a person who is looking for someone to talk to. They, like you, are feeling out of place. That person wants to talk to you. That person will be forever grateful that you approached them.

When to Hold ‘Em.

As soon as you walk into the room and spot a person, go introduce yourself. You do not need to wait for someone to introduce you.

Once you’ve introduced yourself begin questioning the person. Ask what they do. Give them a chance to tell you all about their business. Ask what brought them to this event. Search for things you have in common.

Do not ask personal questions, such as: Are you married? Do you have children?

If someone walks up, introduce yourself and your new friend. Tell the new person a little about the two of you and what you were talking about. Bring that new person into the conversation.

As you begin to draw the conversation to a close, if the other person has not asked for your card, ask for theirs. That may stimulate them to ask for yours. Do not give someone your card unless they have asked for it.

When to Fold ‘Em. After no more than 10 minutes and preferably 5 minutes leave the conversation.

If you notice the person you’re talking to saying less or their eyes darting around the room, excuse yourself gracefully, even if you have not been talking 5 minutes. Do not leave the person standing alone. Instead, offer to take them with you to join another group.

Thank the person for giving you their card and for talking with you.

If you approach someone, who clearly does not want to talk to you, then gracefully thank them for their time and move on. Do not waste your time with people who are truly uninterested. You can note their interest level by the way they respond to you, namely, they answer your open questions with one word responses. Their eyes dart around the room, looking for someone “better” to talk to. They do not look at you while they talk. They do not ask you any questions.

Networking, like everything else we do, takes practice. Try these tips and see if it’s a bit easier for you the next time you enter that proverbial crowded room.

Dr. Joan Curtis is a nationally known communications coach. She has over 20 years experience as a trainer and educator. She has taught communication skills and presentation skills to leadership groups throughout the country. With a doctorate in Adult Education and a Master’s in Journalism, she has a strong knowledge of what it takes to communicate successfully.
Her website is http://www.TotalCommunicationsCoach.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joan_Curtis

By Connie Ragen Green
Marketing will become the area that will make the difference between success and mediocrity, no matter what field you are in. The definition of marketing is simply the process of telling other people what you do so that they have an opportunity to do business with you.

It used to be that you only marketed for your business when times were slow. Small businesses, both online and off, would wait until they had very little business and then employ marketing techniques to attract more prospects and clients.

Those days are long gone. Now it is best to make this a part of your daily work schedule and to learn as much as possible about online techniques and methods.

There are so many ways to let people know who you are and what you do. Article marketing is one of the best, but it takes some time to start working. You write a three hundred word article that discusses an aspect of your business. Submit that article to the free directories and it will circulate all over the internet.

Internet radio is another good way to use online marketing. Have someone interview you for thirty minutes to give you a chance to tell the world about your business. That recording can then be sent out as a podcast or given out as a link on your blog or website. This is a completely free service.

Blogging is probably one of the very best ways that you can market yourself and your business. Every time you make a post to your blog you give people another opportunity to find out more about you and what you do. Blogging also allows clients and prospects to make comments, bringing them in and involving them in the conversation.

Think of marketing as part of your daily routine and you will have as much business as you want, without having to think about it.

Download a free teleseminar on building your online business by visiting http://www.EbookWritingandMarketingSecrets.com to learn how to write articles, blog, become involved in social networking and learn the technology needed to build a profitable online business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connie_Ragen_Green

For more information and support for business development, marketing, and networking, visit http://www.GalileoLS.com/consult.html for a free coaching consultation.