Yesterday I discussed with a close friend about what it takes to make oneself financially free.  This friend has been undergoing a lot of personal development over the years and has a very clear view of what he wants to achieve in a short period of time.

My argument was that to become financially free via the traditional methods (not winning lotto or getting an inheritance), you need to work really hard.  His response was “it’s not about working hard – it’s about working smart”.

Upon reflection, I realised that it comes down to interpretation. Perhaps ‘hard work’ need not be difficult – I see it as persevering to achieve an outcome, and doing what it takes to reach it.

So let’s explore whether working hard is enough to make your business successful these days.

Well, are you currently letting your business run you? Are you reacting to clients, staff and suppliers instead of being proactive… do you often find yourself in a state of disorganised chaos?

OR… Are you in control of your processes, functions, and have systems in place to manage things in a calm and consistent manner?

People who run around busily each day without a clear goal or purpose are creating a lot of noise and flying papers, but they aren’t getting anywhere.

While those who link their daily activities to their strategic goals are creating less waste and inefficiencies, are finished sooner, and could be defined as working ‘smart’.

What Does it Take to Get Ahead?

The key to working smarter is to be really clear about what direction you are heading in.

-       What are your business goals and objectives?
-       What are the timeframes you want to achieve these within?

THEN, look at your daily activities and ask:

-       Are these activities linked directly to my strategic goals?
-       Or am I doing lots of ‘stuff’ without really achieving anything?

You’ll realise fairly quickly from your business results what the answers are.  You’ll also know from your internal sense of achievement.

The key to working smarter (and not harder) is to align your daily tasks and activities with your larger strategic goals. Then to use systems, technology and processes to make it more efficient and take the load off you.

That’s where a highly automated Email Marketing and CRM system comes into it, just like Infusionsoft.

When we think of automation, many different things come to mind.  Some people imagine computers, whilst others picture factory lines and robotic machinery.  Automation occurs everywhere. It’s in our alarm clocks, our ovens… our computer calendar reminders and even our wristwatches.  Automation is a part of modern life, working away without our noticing.

What about in business – do micro and small business owners need automation?

In any business, automation can easily be set up in a number of ways:

• Scheduling daily tasks in the computer calendar, with timers to remind you when a task is due.
• Using software programs that automatically run a program every month.
• Operating system is set to check for updates on a regular basis.

These are all examples of automation.

So how does a Small Business Owner utilise automation more to save time and make life easy?

Firstly, look at the tools you have available.  A calendar is a great way to set things up so that you’re keeping on track.  If you’ve created a schedule of your day and allocated time to do certain things, then set it up in Calendar (inside Outlook or Entourage), with alerts to remind you when to finish and start the next one.

Let’s face it – emails often distract us from our task at hand. If you don’t want to be distracted by emails, turn off the automatic downloading of emails or set it to download only twice a day.

You can also create different views or types of calendars for the different activities you have – very handy for those of us leading double lives!  Some calendars – such as Google Calendar – allow you to colour code your different calendars and activities, so that you have a visual representation of the different activities you’re doing.

Taking It One Step Further – Complete Business Automation

You can take things to another level in your business by actually automating processes, so that tasks normally done manually are done using technology.  This is where a system like Infusionsoft can put your business on Steroids (good ones) with marketing, sales, and billing automation – to name a few.

The best part about automation is that you control the set up – so it can be customised to your business and personal needs. Before setting it up, my advice is to find some smart tools and ensure you’ve identified all the processes that can be automated.  The benefits are well worth it.  And if you’d like some help with this, just give me a call.

What do you do when you wake up and don’t have any energy to tackle that ‘to-do’ list?

First, think about why it’s so hard to get moving.  Are these tasks or items that are your least favourite things to do?  Or are they things that you’re putting off for some other reason?

As humans we tend to move away from pain, towards pleasure…

We all have days that we would rather sit on the back porch in the sun with a magazine and cup of hot coffee (or similar) at our side.  But the reality of our life is that the bills still keep coming in, clients need our assistance, prospective clients need to be found, and we have to take action to create a nest egg for our future.  So the choice is: do nothing and sit on the porch, or get into action and make some money.

Obviously, doing nothing WON’T pay the bills!  So how do you push past those internal barriers of resistance to the activities that you really don’t like doing?

An Action Plan to Create Money

First:

• Identify what it is that you like doing and what you don’t.
• Identify what you’re good at and what you’re not.
• Identify the things that actually bring money into your business, and the things that don’t (for example they’re just admin tasks).

Then:

Consider how long it takes you to complete the things you’re not good at and don’t like doing, and what that time is worth in $ terms.  Is it worth outsourcing?  Someone else might be able to do it far quicker, and you can make better use of your time too.

When you’re in ‘work hours’ – always do the things that bring you money FIRST.  Leave the non-revenue stuff for the times when it’s not suitable to be sourcing clients or doing marketing.

And finally, remember your goals… look at any Goals list that you wrote on January 1st. Bigger goals are always much easier to get motivated for, so keep your Big Hairy Audicious Goal in mind as you set to work on those smaller tasks.

We all have motivation slumps – but if you re-examine your daily tasks, you’ll be able to manage them so much better.

We are all masters of our own specialty… whether a builder, painter, accountant, real-estate agent, developer, coach, or manager – we’ve all got our area of expertise. But when is it time to let go of control?

Comfort Zones
We are very comfortable in our core talent, and there are also other things that come naturally to us in our daily work. Some people love administration and organising their desk! Others are suited to bookwork and managing accounts. Some people are naturally great communicators. We’re all different.

Yet as business owners we all have this common need to wear a lot of different hats to manage our business. These hats represent different functions and activities (e.g. sales, accounting, management, customer relations). Since most of us have invested a lot of ourselves in our business initially, it stands to reason that we want to ensure that everything goes smoothly under ‘our control’.

A typical small business owner naturally wants to control everything – because the business is their creation and investment. Yet, outsourcing or delegation is the first step to leveraging your time and being able to work ON your business instead of IN your business.

Getting help from someone else is often difficult and uncomfortable. The pain and fear of outsourcing is often expressed as doubt. A client of mine recently said, “I know I need to do it – I just get nervous that they won’t do a good job so I end up reviewing everything they’ve done”. Sound familiar?

How Do I Let Go?
There’s a process of letting go that will make it easier for you. My advice is – do it in baby steps. Outsource a small function first, one that doesn’t require a lot of time and energy and that you can check on in the early stages to ensure it’s being done correctly. Once you’re comfortable that they’re doing it well – then let them do it alone.

Choose your next hat and again keep it a small task. Do the same thing for the first outsourcing task. Give yourself time and don’t think that it’s going to happen overnight. Simply trust that it will be for your benefit, since you deserve to have your time back for yourself!

In all of this, remember that it’s important to find help from people who have proven experience and come with good, solid credentials. Use your wisdom and instinct in choosing outside service providers, and you will be far better off.

Outsourcing is going to be a strength for you and your business: so don’t be afraid to venture out from your comfort zone.

I was at a conference last weekend with about 70 other business owners, all brought together by their connection to Human Resources (HR).

They are a great bunch of people, and the room was abuzz with ideas and connections. Most of the business owners are solo operators, while some of them have support staff and consultants to assist with their business.  A large member organisation runs the conference and supports the development of HR in the SME sector in Australia.

What I love about being with these people is that they really learn from each other.  It reminds me how important it is to have people around you who can provide objective feedback and qualify your own ideas about what’s best for your business.  It proves the concept, “the power of three minds is the equivalent of five solo minds”.  You can learn and accomplish so much more with others who are passionate and motivated to succeed: just like you.

It’s tough sometimes as a solo business owner to get the same level of stimulation you might get working in an office with many others, each with their pros and cons. All the sessions and topics presented were informative and useful, yet I realised that most of these people come to the conference simply to mix with others and hence learn from each other. The jewel in the event is the ability to network in a group of like-minded individuals who can help you on your journey.

Too many business owners forget the benefits of mixing with other business owners. Sure, we have competitors who we may not want to be close to, and we are busy and focussed on our business responsibilities… but we all need opportunities to mix with others like us.  Personal development, professional development, networking, mastermind groups: there’s lots of ways to do it.  Just be sure you do – it’s really important!

Why do most blogs not make it past the first three months?  Perhaps because most authors start with a few ideas of what they want to say, but then they lack the skills to continue and develop a audience. Pro Blogger mentor Darren Rowse (of ProBlogger.net) reckons that many of his blogs did not reach their tipping point (of success) until about two years in – i.e. only the determined survive!

Blogs must show a consistency of voice. A voice that is perhaps not always going to be completely Politically Correct, but sometimes bring up a salient point that no-one has hitherto suggested, or break a new story. This is why blogging is different to writing web page content – sharing, helping, and throwing out ideas is the MAIN aim. Promoting is secondary. Get it?

Some Key Blogging Tips

Remember that the habit of posting has to be done like clockwork, through busy times and lean times, through computer meltdowns and people meltdowns. Outsourcing will take that load off you, but make sure the writer is clued into your audience and your core topics.

Don’t get bogged down in the blog posts. It’s meant to be fast.

“Think of your blog as a thick marker – and each blog post a single idea designed to inspire, engage and stimulate.” - Gavin, Servant of Chaos (pro blogger)

Learn yourself from the best commentators/bloggers, and then educate your audience. Snippets of other author’s comments, or related facts, makes each post interesting. While blogging may seem lonely at first, soon real comments from readers and a great social media strategy will get you past the blogging blues.

Stats:
While Technorati states it is tracking over 112.8 million blogs (figures in 2009, and exclude China), only around 21% are actually active.

More about Blogging for Small Business and a book you can buy at Servant of Chaos.

I was thinking today about the rise of the Guru in internet marketing. If we are to achieve our goals, do we need to follow a Guru? A coach? Or do we tread our own path?

Let’s look at what the most successful entrepreneurs tend to do. They research and learn from others. But a critical difference is that successful entrepreneurs do not ‘buy in’ to a guiding Guru’s opinions. They have their own. They question common preconceived notions (this often leads to new markets or new products).

Many successful entrepreneurs today have followed their passion with true grit and a real mission to complete. They face adversity, as you will, on a daily basis, and learn to make decisions quickly and not get caught up in second-guessing themselves.

Entrepreneurs learn from experts in other fields in order to shortcut their learning. They surround themselves with the best specialist consultants, contractors and employees, since they cannot DO everything.

Examples of single-minded entrepreneurs (no groaning please):
•    Anthony Robbins of Robbins Research International (Booklist on Amazon)
•    Sir Richard Branson (latest book: Business Stripped Bare)
•    Bill Glazer (book: Outrageous Advertising)

“Richard is the only person in the world to have built seven billion dollar companies from scratch in seven completely different sectors” (Amazon).

My point is, you can learn a lot from the work and success of others, as long as you remind yourself that you are taking steps along a path and that no-one is the final figure of authority.  Of course we all need some support along the journey, and some people choose a coach for that.

What role can a Life/Business Coach play?  A coach is a sounding board and guides you to practical, time-saving methods and smart business practices. Sometimes they are the sole encouraging voice, someone to help you achieve your goals in small steps. But they are not the final authority, you are.

You don’t have to wait for all the answers to get started on that lifetime dream, because you learn as you go along. If you learn from others who have built businesses, while promoting your own unique qualities, then you will surely become a business success.

When surrounded by all the talk of social media and SEO, it’s important to reconnect with why we do marketing at all – to eventually make a profit.

No matter how great your website is, how many followers you have on Twitter or how well found you are on Google, if visitors fleetingly cross your path and don’t hang around, contact you, buy from you or tell anyone about you, then it’s likely you’ve ignored the basics of marketing.
– Carolyn Tate, Connect Marketing (author of Small Business, Big Brand)

Those of us who have online businesses or rely on website leads are always looking at new ways to boost our reach. This often involves a variety of online efforts to build a following.

But sometimes being a “netpreneur” can have its drawbacks. A friend of mine who owns a couple of online based businesses (successfully drawing 5000 visitors a month), working and writing until the wee hours while her children are in bed, struggles to make a living from her main business. The reason for this struggle, I believe, is the hole in the plan – enough sources of revenue.

While you must take into account all costs, your time is your most precious commodity. If you run around like a headless chook, Twittering, Facebooking, ‘being helpful’ in forums, gaining links, etc, don’t forget to have a solid plan to earn revenue from either your website or your core skill.

If your profits for FY ending 2010 are looking less than great, now is the time to draw up a new kind of Marketing Plan, one that involves AUTOMATING your time, LEVERAGING your ability to create leads/customers, and bringing in new streams of LOW COST INCOME. In addition to using the latest Infusionsoft technology to achieve all this, here are some ideas to get you started:

• Create your own digital products, eBooks, DVDs, audio, white papers (a writer or editor can tidy it up for you),
• Create your own book to sell (you will need expert help here to make it a success, but you can use digital “print on demand” to trial publishing)
• Sell high end coaching (sold from a free educational webinar).
• Sell a new service to a highly targeted audience (from email marketing to a list you have captured with a really focussed offer)

If already successful in the traffic attraction stakes, why not sell appropriate advertising? Or joint venture with a compatible education provider to exchange marketing offers to each other’s lists? You would be surprised how approachable some well-known authors and speakers are.

See more about automating your marketing on InfusionOz.com.au.

What frog? You know, the biggest ugliest task on your desk… the one you keep putting off. Do it first and your day will become much easier.

As a business owner or self-employed freelancer, the growth and success of your business rests on your ability to plan and achieve the most important tasks first.

In his book, “Eat That Frog: 21 Ways to Stop Procrastination”, Brian Tracy recommends writing out your bigger goals monthly, and then every night before work write your task list for the next day. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in a diary, computer-based organiser or PDA, as long as you write it down in the one place.

Apparently, people who take 10-12 minutes to plan their day free up to two hours in wasted time ‘muddling around’ and getting distracted. How much time do you currently spend looking for files, looking at marketing email, or surfing the web – the world’s most distracting medium?

The division of priorities Mr Tracy suggests goes like this:

A task: Very important task, if you fail to do this you will be in trouble. Prioritise these if there are more than one.

B task: Slightly important tasks, with mild consequences. Never do a B task if there is an A task to do.

C task: Nice to do, but no consequences if you don’t do it. E.g. telephoning a friend.

D task: Something you could delegate to someone else. So free yourself up.

E task: Something you can eliminate, perhaps a habit you don’t need to have that just wastes time or energy.

Write up a list of tasks that you regularly do. Then place an a,b,c,d,e in front of your everyday tasks on the list.

If you are still thinking “all too hard”, remember that those who complete important tasks get a payoff… a burst of energy, enthusiasm and self-esteem. This ‘endorphin rush’ is also followed by a boost of confidence.

When you keep on conquering your most critical tasks (ones that you signed up for), the good feelings grow and results arrive. So you may even “get addicted” to the positive habit of starting and finishing important jobs. Wouldn’t that be something?

You probably already have some way of recording customer contact details, right? Excel spreadsheets, Outlook groups, post it notes, or even a database that was set up once, but is now gathering dust. Is this costing you time and profits?

Some micro business owners feel caught in the middle – they do not have the time or resources to use the full functionality of the large CRMs built for medium to large enterprises – but they could do with a contact management system to keep it all together in one place, as well as build targeted marketing campaigns.

With a well-executed CRM system, you can better service customers, increase customer loyalty and repeat business, streamline tasks, and of course ensure long-term profitability. The more information you gather in your system, the better you will become at seeing where the opportunities lie.

Unfortunately, while all business owners know they are vital, these strategies are rarely implemented consistently and easily, so let’s look at some of the sticking points.

Problem Overcome – Under-Marketing

Often we overlook marketing our other services/products to people that we have already sold to. This upsell or cross-sell can be an easy way to add to your profits for little extra costs. But how?  One way is to market to a segmented list with a special offer for that particular type of client.

Many business people have been doing it the manual way so long, that they are surprised when I show them a system that does it all so easily … often automatically. This frees up their time as well as aids their brand recall.

Problem Overcome – Crossing Over Tasks, Chaotic Working Style

In working with businesses, I have seen some partner businesses misallocating tasks, sometimes forgetting tasks, crossing over tasks, and having poor systems and tools. Once such couple I recently coached at length had all these problems.

When it comes to this couple, their working style was very different, one had more on their plate, and the unbalanced task allocation was having a big impact on their relationship all-round. A fresh look at it opened up some great answers, like using a journal for noting ideas instead of interrupting, respecting the spouse’s time, having a schedule, discussing business at a weekly planning meeting and prioritizing tasks.

In your team, who are doing similar tasks?  Which tasks could be streamlined?  If it’s a manual task or process then we see how it can be automated using technology or a simple system sequence.  Oft-times using a software tool can streamline a task into a few simple steps…  saving many hours of painstaking work.

You may even be paying for a bells & whistles CRM program, but haven’t seen the benefits yet as so-and-so was supposed to be doing it (i.e. a dusty database). Take charge and look at new ways to perform those regular repetitive tasks like quotes, proposals, invoicing, follow-up emails, newsletters, etc. I’d love to hear all your questions about how to streamline your tasks.