Sometimes, we business owners are lured by the siren call of a new piece of equipment, or tool, or maybe even a new employee. Even when it is wonderful, there will be a learning curve for anything.
For example, my ITouch has become ill, I really want an IPhone to replace it as my cell phone which is a smart phone has gotten pretty stupid over time. Knowing my frustration with learning new technology, summer, will be the best time to purchase and learn this new device. But before I even buy, since this will be a business asset, here are the questions I ask myself when thinking about a new asset or major purchase.
1) Will it increase sales?
2) Will it increase my personal productivity?
3) Will it work with my current operating system?
4) Will it do more than one thing?
If I can't answer YES to at least one, I bid the idea goodbye. But the more Yes answers, the more likely it will be an investment worth purchasing.
Now, before I say "charge it", I want to know the answers to these, too.
1) How long will the payback be on the total costs to previous costs?
2) What are the other costs associated with this - think data plan, other software. Think about the total cost of ownership over the life of the asset.
3) Is this new device updatable? A printer I once purchased ended up "not being" updatable to Windows 7 and I'd only owned the MFC printer for 7 months!
Time spent thinking before buying is something my Dad taught me - worked for him and works for businesses, too.
Quick Tips
Salvage the Negative Employee!
Is negativity their nature? Some people are perpetually negative. If it is infecting your business, you need to help them realize it is their choice to change. If they are not negative by nature, help them take responsibility for solving influences affecting them. Otherwise they may need to choose a new job.
Remember, if you don't ask -- you won't get!
Sales people who qualify their prospects in advance of not actually speaking to them ("Oh, I'm not going to call him because he'll never buy.") lose the opportunity for many profitable sales. Don't be the judge, let your prospect be the one to say no....or yes!
Great Vacations are PLANNED
You know your business needs a future plan, but you still wonder if it will make a difference. Well, remember your last vacation that was great? You probably spent time planning and saving for it. Imagine how your business could look 6 months from now if you took the same care and time to plan. The plan will help identify the barriers and opportunities waiting for you! Call Coach Linda for a 30-minute complimentary coaching session to get your plan moving!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Monday, April 04, 2011
The Fools of April
Surviving April Fools
April 1st has come and gone and maybe you had some fun with April Fool's jokes. I like to read The Onion and the April 1st issue is usually very good. But jokes and rumors can be very damaging in the work environment. Here are some tips to keep you out of the rumor limelight.
-Avoid gossip, listening or passing.
-Seek to cultivate office and business relationships that are positive. Being polite means just that - treating others like we want to be treated.
-Check your demeanor. The way we dress, hold our body, and our facial expressions all say a lot. This doesn't mean we need to have no reactions, just make sure they match our intent.
-Get to know others; what makes them tick and what ticks them off.
-Be observant and use what we learn to maximize our relationships with others
-Be social but aware of social events. What we say at the baseball game to colleagues will get back to the office.
-Check your temper. Being professional and diplomatic may take practice, but in the end it will serve us well. There is a difference between being angry and losing our temper!
Working with others will mean that feathers get ruffled, feelings get hurt and people will be disappointed. Accepting that this will happen may help all of us keep April Fools day as the only day we behave foolishly.
Second Quarter Tips
The Truth is Out There
Rumors can be devastating, often just annoying. My inbox sometimes gets overloaded with email petitions; virus alerts and scares about lost children. Some have been very convincing but before I forward any, I always check out the rumor mill at http://www.snopes.com/ by typing in some keywords. This reference site for urban legends is a well-researched non-profit business. So the next time you get one of those guilt-loaded emails - check it out first!
Changing Employees-Change Passwords
When employees change, it is a good time to change passwords on computers and files. Best idea-change all the passwords, not just the exiting employee's. Doing this as a habit will maintain integrity of current and past employees while protecting critical data and information.
Time is all we have
Two percent of America's gross domestic product - about $97 billion - is "frittered away" by workers tinkering with their computers, messing around with typefaces, and endlessly polishing charts, graphs and other things. Focus on what is important and minimize tasks that are time-wasters. Find an oasis of sanity through common sense efficiencies.
April 1st has come and gone and maybe you had some fun with April Fool's jokes. I like to read The Onion and the April 1st issue is usually very good. But jokes and rumors can be very damaging in the work environment. Here are some tips to keep you out of the rumor limelight.
-Avoid gossip, listening or passing.
-Seek to cultivate office and business relationships that are positive. Being polite means just that - treating others like we want to be treated.
-Check your demeanor. The way we dress, hold our body, and our facial expressions all say a lot. This doesn't mean we need to have no reactions, just make sure they match our intent.
-Get to know others; what makes them tick and what ticks them off.
-Be observant and use what we learn to maximize our relationships with others
-Be social but aware of social events. What we say at the baseball game to colleagues will get back to the office.
-Check your temper. Being professional and diplomatic may take practice, but in the end it will serve us well. There is a difference between being angry and losing our temper!
Working with others will mean that feathers get ruffled, feelings get hurt and people will be disappointed. Accepting that this will happen may help all of us keep April Fools day as the only day we behave foolishly.
Second Quarter Tips
The Truth is Out There
Rumors can be devastating, often just annoying. My inbox sometimes gets overloaded with email petitions; virus alerts and scares about lost children. Some have been very convincing but before I forward any, I always check out the rumor mill at http://www.snopes.com/ by typing in some keywords. This reference site for urban legends is a well-researched non-profit business. So the next time you get one of those guilt-loaded emails - check it out first!
Changing Employees-Change Passwords
When employees change, it is a good time to change passwords on computers and files. Best idea-change all the passwords, not just the exiting employee's. Doing this as a habit will maintain integrity of current and past employees while protecting critical data and information.
Time is all we have
Two percent of America's gross domestic product - about $97 billion - is "frittered away" by workers tinkering with their computers, messing around with typefaces, and endlessly polishing charts, graphs and other things. Focus on what is important and minimize tasks that are time-wasters. Find an oasis of sanity through common sense efficiencies.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Blooming Business
Is your business blooming like the trees outside?
Several years ago I met a banker who was also a weekend fruit farmer. We talked mostly about his orchard which comprised of antique apples and pears. He had a few places that bought his apples wholesale, but mostly he sold out early to a steady loyal group of customers. He saw this orchard as part of his retirement plan - the part that will keep him physically active and social.
We also talked about getting things done in the orchard. Starting in early February, he would begin the process of pruning his fruit trees. Each evening as the days got longer and he arrived home from his banking career, he would spend more and more time outside pruning and trimming. Before he knew it, spring would be filling his orchard with the beauty and scent of future customers. He also expressed how the spring trimming of branches had a trimming effect on his body, too, and prepared him for the heavy work of harvest.
Trees, and especially fruit trees really mirror many parts of the business and the diligence to the plan of getting a good crop yielding a good profit. You have to feed, nurture and prune a business to get the best results and the feeding, nurturing and pruning extends to all areas - employees, customers, vendors and the plan. Ignoring pruning over feeding will lead to beautiful blossoms - lots of blossoms - but if the blooms all were to set fruit the fruit may be smaller and the branches would break impacting customer satisfaction and demand.
With spring finally here, what in your business will need pruning to make the rest of 2011 fruitful? If you have a nagging feeling that your business needs to do some pruning, give me a call and let's get a plan in place.
Several years ago I met a banker who was also a weekend fruit farmer. We talked mostly about his orchard which comprised of antique apples and pears. He had a few places that bought his apples wholesale, but mostly he sold out early to a steady loyal group of customers. He saw this orchard as part of his retirement plan - the part that will keep him physically active and social.
We also talked about getting things done in the orchard. Starting in early February, he would begin the process of pruning his fruit trees. Each evening as the days got longer and he arrived home from his banking career, he would spend more and more time outside pruning and trimming. Before he knew it, spring would be filling his orchard with the beauty and scent of future customers. He also expressed how the spring trimming of branches had a trimming effect on his body, too, and prepared him for the heavy work of harvest.
Trees, and especially fruit trees really mirror many parts of the business and the diligence to the plan of getting a good crop yielding a good profit. You have to feed, nurture and prune a business to get the best results and the feeding, nurturing and pruning extends to all areas - employees, customers, vendors and the plan. Ignoring pruning over feeding will lead to beautiful blossoms - lots of blossoms - but if the blooms all were to set fruit the fruit may be smaller and the branches would break impacting customer satisfaction and demand.
With spring finally here, what in your business will need pruning to make the rest of 2011 fruitful? If you have a nagging feeling that your business needs to do some pruning, give me a call and let's get a plan in place.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Saving Time and Daylight Saving Time
Saving Time
Planning - having a plan - timeline - scheduling - following the schedule. All these terms get us thinking about getting things done AND on time! Sometimes saving time means slowing down.
I've known forever that rushing around leads to mistakes that will take more time to correct than the time spent doing it correctly in the first place and Coach John Wooden said it best "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?".
419-897-0528
linda@changinglanes.biz
Consider working with a coach or a MasterMind Team to make 2011 the year of your dreams!
Planning - having a plan - timeline - scheduling - following the schedule. All these terms get us thinking about getting things done AND on time! Sometimes saving time means slowing down.
I've known forever that rushing around leads to mistakes that will take more time to correct than the time spent doing it correctly in the first place and Coach John Wooden said it best "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?".
This weekend while driving home from upstate New York on Interstate 90 between Albany and Buffalo, the weather went from rain, to slush, to sleet to fog and settled into snow. The temperature dropped from 50°F to 27°F so the road became slick, very slick. For over an hour, I drove 50 miles per hour or less and saw my GPS adding minutes to my ETA (expected time of arrival). About a dozen cars were seen in ditches, mediums strips, pointing the wrong direction and one even off in farm field. I realized that by taking the time now and driving slowly, I was saving not only future time, but dollars and possible injury. I'm guessing, but I do think a turn into the ditch would have added at least 3 hours to the trip IF the car was still drivable.
In the end, I arrived home only a half hour later than I'd originally planned, but in one piece.
During the course of our busy work weeks, we often don't plan for the unexpected and smash our schedules into the impossible situation of too much to do and too little time leading to hurry-up and get it done.
Being realistic with our time and abilities can lead to happier customers. Why? Because if we realistically plan for "our own slick roads" we can knowingly estimate projects more accurately, schedule catch-up time and feel less stressed as we complete projects on our own schedule and not on the traffic of the rush-rush world.
Take some time this week to wedge in some breathing room in your calendar.
Copyright 2011 Linda Fayerweather MBA EA
http://www.changinglanes.biz/ 419-897-0528
linda@changinglanes.biz
Consider working with a coach or a MasterMind Team to make 2011 the year of your dreams!
Daylight Saving Time
Spring Forward on March 13
The current Daylight Saving Time law was passed in the United States in 2007. Daylight Saving Time (DST) now follows the following schedule:
The current Daylight Saving Time law was passed in the United States in 2007. Daylight Saving Time (DST) now follows the following schedule:
- DST begins on the second Sunday in March each year; and
- DST ends first Sunday in November each year.
Although most places in the United States observe daylight saving time, Hawaii and most of Arizona do not.
If you live in the U.S. where DST is observed, set your clocks ahead by one hour when DST begins, and back one hour when DST ends.
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