Sally just got done reading Manage Your Day-To-Day. The subtitle of this book is Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus and Sharpen Your Mind, edited by Jocelyn K. Glei. Here's some of the best business take-aways from the book:
If you find you've been working hard and hardly getting ahead, this book is for you. It focuses on how our work day and work world has changed. Too often we're reacting and not working on our daily to-do list. The first thing to do is schedule your creative work first and schedule it at a time when you work best. This may take a little time to find - but instinctively you may know this already. Set routines and stick to them. If a project isn't complete one day, calendar it and move it to the next day. Your capacity is limited. Schedule your renewal or "sharpen the saw" time. Stick to it. Schedule thinking time or alone time to plan. Plan blocks of time to work - calendar it and stick to it. Stop multi-tasking - it doesn't work. Work on one project at a time, focus and finish it. Understand your temptations and resist them. In other words stay off Facebook and quit texting. Keep your workspace organized. Protect your DO NOTHING time. Your brain needs some R&R. Send really short emails. There is magic in a six-word email. Schedule your social media time and use it effectively to promote your business. Sally does hers at the same time she's updating client posts. Sometimes your soul needs to rest - take a long break from being connected. Finally, stop thinking everything must be perfect. We are human. Only God is perfect.
Get the work done, do your very best and let it go.
"The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say 'no' to almost everything." – Warren Buffet
It's funny how much change advertising has seen over the last ten years. Nationally newspaper readership is moving to online reading instead of print (much to our dismay). Cable television is competing fiercely with network television. New cable shows are pulling in solid ratings none of us could have predicted. Listenership on radio has become diluted with so many music choices. Internet advertising is coming on strong. As a whole we are more sophisticated buyers and less likely to respond to traditional advertising methods. The marketing world is changing, and it's important to understand how so you can make decisions that will work best for your company.
The time has come. It's time to go ahead and start investigating internet advertising. For a long time it wasn't really working - well, now it is. Many people go online to get all their news now. We routinely search websites to find the products and services we need. Hopefully by now you have a website. Your internet ads should link to your website and be carefully placed on other sites that relate to your business. A Chamber web site would be a great place for a business that only works with other businesses. A local radio or newspaper website is a great place for local retailers. Focus on one product or service and make it fun. Don't forget to have a call to action to get people to respond. Start looking around; you'll see that the smartest businesses are already advertising online.
If you don't already have a website, it's time to take the plunge and get one. You've probably figured out that online marketing isn't a passing fad. Web-marketing is here to stay and you need to be part of it. Early adopters have at least a decade of experience. Start by getting more comfortable with your online marketing efforts. Take a look at what the world around you is doing. Research other businesses. See what they're doing. You don't need to mimic your competition, but at least learn by being a part of the game. Get started today. Don't give the competition another day's advantage.
