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October 26, 2006
Time Mastery
Your time is your life and your business. Master them by being forceful and deliberate! Lose no time in choosing how to use your time. Control your time and you control your life. Let others control your time and your time is not your own. Own it NOW!
If there is something you want done and want to do, then schedule it and nothing else for that allotted slot of time. The most important work you can do is work at a schedule that you have planned yourself. You've marked a time for your endeavors and if anyone asks what you'll be doing at that time just say you will be busy.
The best way to be productive is to set aside time to focus on a project. Do the project. Ignore distractions. Say no to interruptions. Dedicate yourself by dedicating your time to what you are doing. Do that one thing either for the whole time or until it is done. Only then do you move on to something else.
Lock the doors and put up a "will be gone until such and such o'clock" sign. Shut off the phones and leave a message in your outgoing voice mail saying you will be unavailable until such and such a time. Set an alarm to go off, signaling when you have put in the time wanted on that activity for the day. Then work straight through until the alarm rings before going on to the next item in your schedule. That way you don't always have to be looking at the clock, which is one more distraction you have gotten rid of.
That is how you make the time to do one thing at a time. If you want to accomplish more, schedule more. With a schedule there is no need to hesitate and procrastinate wondering what to do with your time. It does not take long to plan a schedule. Figure it once and write it down. It is simple, it is structured, and it brings success, which brings satisfaction. Time management equates to increased output. You can apply it to business as well as to your personal life.
Try to track down the things that waste your time. Find and eliminate them. Cut out excessive television, computer games, sitting doing nothing. Those things get you nowhere. Write goals so that you can be doing something worthwhile. That way you can have a streamlined upwardly mobile direction and a dynamic proactive life.
See what you could be doing more efficiently than you are doing now. Sometimes we are doing something simple that can just as well be done while we are also doing something else (listening to motivational or informational DVD's while driving is one example) thus we get more done. Other times we try to multitask and the complexity and the details make us have to do them again, when if we concentrated on just the one thing then we would have done it right the first time and thus saved a lot of time. There is also the sometimes-smart option of not doing the work at all. Hire someone else to do it instead. And by all means, if there is a way to automate the task using technology, see what you can do to set it up.
To make time truly your own, find out when you have the most energy for doing things. Maybe it is in the morning, afternoon, or night. That way you know how to best make your schedule, which just might include a siesta nap in the middle of the day. Working tired equates to dragging your feet and is inefficient.
A schedule is a tool you use to control your time. With your own schedule, you rule your time and your life. Do you want more than 24 hours in a day? Then schedule a 36-hour day! A study was even done of people living in caves where they couldn't see the daylight and the study found that a 36 hour cycle was natural in that situation. The people would sleep for 12 hours and be awake for 24.
So what is it that you would like to do with your life or your business? If for instance your main objective in business is making money, then you should focus on marketing. Make it the priority in your schedule. The value of time is in how we use it. We can spend it mindlessly, or invest it wisely. It is your life; it is your choice.
Posted by billenross at 09:35 PM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2006
Low Budget Online Marketing for Small Businesses
The pressure is on those small local business owners who have been holding out, hoping against hope that the Internet would go away. It's become fairly obvious that that's not going to happen.
As a matter of fact, the Kelsey Group says that "70% of U.S. households now use the Internet as an information source when shopping locally for products and services." It's become obvious that small business owners who don't have an Internet presence are at a serious disadvantage, and are losing more ground every day to their competitors.
But where to start? Many small business owners want to get online but the idea of it becomes overwhelming. One of the things many people are concerned about is the cost. Having a professional website created can be expensive, as can the online marketing needed to promote the site. Fortunately with a little work, there are some great low budget online marketing solutions for small businesses.
First, don't immediately buy web space or register your domain name with the first site that pops up in Google. Web space can be pricey or fairly cheap; it all depends on what company you go with. There are some sites that offer free hosting, but those sites usually force you to include banners or pop-up ads on your site. If you want to be taken seriously, you definitely do not want to host your business on a free hosting site.
There are places on the web that offer a good amount of storage for less than $100/yr, which is not bad. You can also find sites that will register your domain name for less than $10/year, such as the popular GoDaddy.com.
Once you have your website set up, how do you get people to visit? One of the best ways is to take advantage of social networking sites like Squidoo.com and MySpace.com. MySpace.com is a huge site designed to let people keep in touch with others. However a lot of businesses set up MySpace profiles and send out "friend" invitations to clients and prospects. Retail store owners, service providers, authors, bands, magazines and even tourism companies do MySpace marketing. Same thing with Squidoo. This form of marketing is becoming even more powerful than reciprocal linking.
Don't forget message boards, chat rooms and link exchanges either. They are great ways to get your word out. When you first began your low budget online marketing campaign, you'll probably spend anywhere from 5 to 10 hours a week promoting your site, or you can train an employee, intern or your resident teenager to do it.
The simplest way of marketing your small business is to include your website address in your signature in emails and posts to message boards, even if they aren't related to your business. While this doesn't market directly to your targeted audience, it does make people aware of your website. Who knows, maybe they'll know someone who needs your services.
It's very easy to do low budget online marketing for small business because so many things on the Internet are free -- message boards, networking sites like Squidoo and MySpace, and of course, email. The main thing it will cost is time, but even that can be "bought" at budget prices on sites such as rentacoder.com and getafreelancer.com. So there's no reason for even the busiest small business owner not to get their business online, even if they're on a tight budget.
Posted by billenross at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)
October 09, 2006
Web Video
The Web's Premier Internet Video Resource Center for web site owners, information publishers, internet marketers, small business owners -- and anyone who wants to put jaw-dropping, profit-boosting Internet video on their web site.
In just a few minutes using the tools at this terrific resource, I was able to add web video to several of my websites.
Posted by billenross at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)
October 03, 2006
Success on the Internet
There are at least 3 important steps to a successful plan when working on the internet. These 3 steps can be applied to just about any plan, and when coupled with the right amount of determination and perseverance, will result in success! But remember, you must persevere through the dry spells and difficult times. Everyone has hard times and this is just a fact of life. The key is to keep working toward your goal and never give up.
Three Important Steps
1) Develop the Right Philosophy
The first point is to develop the right philosophy. How you approach your business (and life) will determine your success or failure. Try to always be growing and expanding your horizons in some way. You might want to think about continuing your education or contributing to your local community in some way. (Make sure to set-aside enough money for personal development.)
Most successful people do not blindly follow someone else. They learn, evaluate, and make the necessary adjustments in their approach to career and life. Excellence is the goal, and continuous training and instruction are a very important part of the process.
As you continue to grow and develop, be sure to find other individuals who can help in the process. Good mentors are hard to come by, but indispensible when it comes to personal growth.
2) Decide What You 'Really' Want
Determine your true inner desire and then do it! If you don't really desire to accomplish what it is you are currently doing, when the difficult times arrive you will simply quit. It's a fact of life! Thousands of dollars are lost by people who invest in ill-suited programs which they soon quit. The inner desire and "real" interest were not there in the first place.
Always remember...to be successful you must first determine your true inner desire. Identify what it is that you really want in your career and life. The answers to these questions will lead you to success.
3) Take Action
Do your homework, but by all means step out and do something. Not just anything, mind you...you can actually be busy and not accomplish anything.
Consistent action in the right direction will produce results. It is the law of sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow. In other words, you get what you deserve, not what you need. Plant enough seeds and you will find growth. Ask enough people and someone will join or buy what you are offering.
Posted by billenross at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)
