Category: Operations

As a professional writer who has published multiple books along with maintaining two blogs, it’s not uncommon for me to have to balance multiple writing projects every day. Whether it’s promotional or article writing for myself or my clients, or working on my latest psychological thriller (yes, I write fiction, too), there’s always something that needs to be written.

While you may not have quite as many writing projects on your desk as I do, it’s entirely possible you’re feeling overwhelmed with what you do have on your plate.

Maybe, in your case, you’re trying to figure out how to balance a blog post, a sales page for a new program, and a book your soul is calling you to get out into the world.

So, how do you get it all done? (Without pulling all your hair out, of course.)

Well, below are a five tips I’ve used to help me balance my day, so I’m able to get everything done and still have a life

1. Batch similar projects together. 

So, for instance, you may want to separate your promotional writing projects (i.e. sales emails, sales letters, web site updates, etc.) from your content writing projects.

(For myself, I’ll separate even further, putting client projects together and separating fiction from nonfiction activities, but you likely don’t have that many writing buckets.)

Writing a book requires a different mindset than writing a blog post, which requires a different mindset than writing a promotional email, and so forth. It takes less energy, then, if you group your writing pieces together.

2. Separate your writing activities into time blocks.

Once you’ve divided your writing projects into similar buckets, you’ll want to block off specific times in your calendar to work on them. Be sure to include breaks. So, for instance, maybe you want to write your promotional copy in the morning, take a break for lunch, then work on your book in the afternoon.

Having a natural break in the day is a great way to allow your muse time to unwind and switch between writing projects. It’s nearly impossible to go from project to project to project without a break, so building in those break times is important.

3. Set a timer.

If you have a difficult time getting started, try setting a timer for 50 minutes, and work only on that one project during that time. Turn off Facebook and email and have only that specific project in front of you. It doesn’t even matter if you write the entire time—what’s important is that you’re focusing only on that project for the entire 50 minutes.

When the timer goes off, take a break for at least ten minutes, even if you’re in the middle of writing. Your brain needs a rest to keep optimum focus.

Bonus tip: When I’m blocked, I’ve also had some success writing nonsense, even typing “I don’t know what to write” over and over again. Even if what you’re writing is crap, sometimes the sheer fact that you’re typing is enough to kick the brain into gear. Before you know it, you’ll be happily typing away.

4. If 50 minutes is too daunting, try 15.

This comes from my good friend Samantha Bennett, who advocates committing 15 minutes every day to your creative passion project.

If you’re trying to work on a book, for example, this may be a better solution to keep moving the book forward when you feel stuck. Now, the trick is, you have to show up EVERY DAY for at least 15 minutes. It doesn’t matter what you do—you can stare at your outline for 15 minutes. What’s important is to show up.

And, if you’re skeptical about whether this actually works or not, I wrote my entire nonfiction series AND got my novel writing kickstarted using this 15-minute-a-day approach.

5. Give your muse an opportunity to help.

If any of my writing projects are big (such as creating a sales page) I’ll take a few minutes the night before to review all of my notes and think about the project. I might even create a quick outline or jot down any initial impressions. The point is to get the creative juices working.

Your muse will likely mull about your project in your subconscious while you sleep, so when you wake up, you’ll be fresh and full of ideas about what you want to do.

Lastly, you may want to create a writing ritual as well. I talk about writing rituals in my “Love-Based Copywriting System” book, but having a writing ritual to get yourself into a writing mood can be very helpful.

The most important thing you can do is create a writing container that works for you. So, whether that’s using all five of these tips, only a couple or creating your own structure, just make sure it works for you.

Choosing a location for your business can be very challenging. Many small businesses and startups choose cheap locations as a way to save some funds. Others believe that location has no effect as long as the product is right. However, this decision can have many consequences for your business performance. The wrong location may cost your clients as well as your employees. Furthermore, you have to take into consideration the future requirements of your company. Don’t think just about your current situation. Businesses develop and their needs change. So, don’t limit your business with a bad location. Here are some questions you can ask yourself before choosing a location for your business.

Is there room for my company to grow?

As already mentioned, when choosing a location for your business, don’t limit your search to your immediate need. Keep in mind that your company is likely to grow over time and at some point, you’ll need additional space. This can be dealt with in a couple of ways. Before you settle at the new location, you have to negotiate a lease. One option is to add extra empty space to your lease for future needs. If you can afford this extra space, try to negotiate a shorter lease. Additionally, you can add a clause to your lease that gives you the right of the first negotiation. This means if any adjacent space becomes available, your landlord will offer it to you first.

Is the office at the right location for your key employees?

Consider where your key employees live when choosing a location for your business. Think about whether this location is convenient for them. A long and expensive commute to work may drive them to look for employment somewhere else. A good option is to include your staff in the process of choosing a location. Let them weigh in and pick the right location together. This way, you won’t risk losing them. Furthermore, they will feel more appreciated and will most likely perform even better.

Before choosing a location for your business, think whether the location is convenient for clients?

In addition to your business’ location being convenient for your employees, you have to think about your clients. Ask yourself if the location is accessible to your clients. Transportation costs are on the rise and some people may not be willing to travel to a remote location to do business with you. You might be considering choosing a cheaper space in the suburbs as opposed to an urban location. In this case, decide whether the lower expenses will make up for the possible loss of clients. Additionally, think about whether cheaper rent is worth it more than those clients. Even though we live in a digital age where Skype and video conferencing are lifesavers, nothing is more important than making face-to-face meetings possible.

Does this location send the right signal?

The location of a business sends a message to everyone. Think about what signal you want to send. Your business’ location will be much more than an office space filled with cubicles. It also will be a sign to others how well are you doing. However, this is a fine line to walk on. If you spend too much on luxurious office space, the client will start to wonder if they are paying too much for their service. On the other hand, if you don’t spend enough, it might have the opposite effect. People will wonder about the financial health of your company.

What other businesses are nearby?

Before you buy or rent office space, check out the surrounding neighborhood. Choosing a location for your business should also depend on the amount of competition in the area. If there is a lot of competition, there may not be enough customers for you. Choosing the right amount of competition can keep a small business in business. On the other hand, if there are no similar businesses in the area, you won’t have customers stolen from you. However, this can be tricky. The lack of competition can also mean that there aren’t customers in the neighborhood. To avoid this, do an extensive market analysis to gather more information about potential customers and competition before you settle on the location.

Are there hidden costs you’re not considering while choosing a location for your business?

Don’t choose a location for your business without calculating the full cost. Rent, utilities, construction costs are the most common expenses you will have. However, there are other costs that may not be obvious. They are known as hidden expenses. Consider hiring a professional broker to help you understand your total price. You have to look at the costs associated with the move to the new location. Also, hiring professional movers to help you out with relocation should be added to the final price. Additionally, take into consideration whether you have to do some remodeling in the new space. Perhaps, you’ll need some new furniture. Even the restoration of an old space can be an additional expense.

What is the parking situation?

Another important thing to consider is the amount of parking available at the location you want. Also, think about the potential cost to employees and clients. If parking options are tight, is there another space where employees can park? Additionally, find out if you can reserve some of the more convenient spaces for clients. Negotiating special employee rates and validating clients’ parking tickets are always good ideas. However, they need to fit into your budget. Also, if it’s too costly for your employees to park, they might leave the company for more suitable conditions.

What is the necessary level of security?

Believe it or not, your location can increase your odds of your business being affected by crime. This, in turn, can influence your insurance premiums, along with security measures you may need to take to keep your premises safe. Knowing the potential security risks can help you better prepare and take adequate precautions. Furthermore, having this information on time can save you from a wrong decision.

Author’s bio: Joana Leusin is an experienced content writer with a BA in leisure studies who enjoys giving business and relocation advice. This is why number1movers.ca is the perfect place for her. Here, Joana can use her passion to help those in need of business guidance.

The objective of a successful E-store localization is to give international buyers an online experience that is indistinguishable from their local experience. This enables retailers to boost their international sales and to compete on a level playing field with foreign competitors.

E-store localization is on everyone’s mind. Why? Because it has proven as the most effective way to gain market share and increase sales globally.

All of the E-store owners with global ambitions must localize into the Chinese market. This language is the most important key to localizing into the most important and one of the biggest markets in the world.

Sounds too easy and too good to be true? Localize your E-store for the Chinese market and boost your sales. Sorry to tell you this but there’s a long road between your e-store and the Chinese market. Localization for the Chinese market is a difficult task. You need to adapt to a completely different user, who has little to nothing in common with the rest of the world.

Getting your e-store localized for the Chinese market is an essential. If done right you’ll hit the jackpot.

But what are the different aspects one must be aware of before one starts their localization process. Our linguistic team and Chinese e-store localization experts sat down together to note down a few important tips.

Localization (vs.) translation:

Many E-store owners think that in order for their store to be successful in China all they need to do is to translate their store to Chinese. However, they could not be more wrong. In China, translation is only the beginning step for the entire process of localization.

You have to bring out products into your E-store that will attract the foreign customers. This means a lot of data intensive research to know the demographics of the new location.

China has entirely different social media platforms (since platforms like Facebook and Twitter are banned) as compared to the rest of the world, store localizers will have to look for similar differences. In addition to this, because of the great firewall of China, it is also important for E-store owners to integrate their store into the cloud system based in China.

Choose your Chinese version:

There are mainly two forms of written Chinese. Simplified and traditional. As someone looking to localize their e-store it is extremely important to understand the difference between the two forms. Each of the forms differs from the other and has its own flavor. Chinese in each of the regions is so similar yet so different in many ways. In order to select the suitable resource for the locale and convey the correct meaning it is important to understand the differences.

Simplified Chinese is based on graphic and phonetic simplifications of the traditional form. It is officially used in Mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia.

On the other hand, traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and overseas Chinese communities other than Malaysia and Singapore.

Chinese is not the same everywhere:

Even amongst traditional Chinese there is a lot of discrepancies. For example traditional Chinese used in Hong Kong is not the same as the traditional Chinese used in Taiwan. Apart from the basic difference of grammar and vocabulary. But there are more deeply rooted differences such as the tone and voice used. So an e-store translated for Hong Kong used in Taiwan will sound unprofessional and seem more like a gimmick. The main practice for this area is to translate for Taiwanese traditional Chinese. Mainly because Taiwan is the larger market and the vocabulary difference here is not so huge when it comes to technical terms.

Difference between vocal and written language:

In China people write in simplified Chinese but they speak in Mandarin. Similarly, although the people of Hong Kong write in traditional Chinese they speak in Cantonese. In common written localization projects we only use traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese, as they are the languages used for localization and written material such as manuals, documents, texts, subtitles, etc. however, for more complex multimedia projects such as voiceovers and dubbing you will have to use either Cantonese or Mandarin.

Formal and informal addressing:

Unlike the English language the Chinese use two levels of addresses. Formal addressing and informal addressing. The differences of this lies mainly in the second person. For example nín is the formal “you” while ní is the informal “you”.

Chinese Glossary Order:

It is commonly seen that Chinese localization projects following the English way of ordering things. But the Chinese follow their own way of setting up a glossary. The major difference lies in the Chinese Pinyin elements, since they form a major part of the Chinese Dictionary.

Chinese use the following order for their indexation.

1. Numbers (0-9)
2. Symbols (e.g. $#*&^}{)(!)
3. Simplified Chinese characters ordered by Chinese Pinyin.

Payment Options:

In China it is highly unlikely for customers to pay by credit card. In fact China still today is very much a cash based society. This means it is really hard for E-store owners to make adequate sales in China. However there is a way around this, by integrating local paying options. For example, Ali pay. Another way is payment through Chinese telecom companies which do allow in app payments. Though none of the telecom companies offer services in any language other than Chinese, then again it is crucial to hire a Chinese linguist who can better help you coordinate with the telecom company.

With more than a billion native Chinese speakers worldwide, Chinese is the second language to have the most number of readers on the internet. Getting it right is not an option it is an essential part of the localization process

Byline:
I blogs at https://www.ccjk.com/. A site that provides translation and localization services to a business men’s for run their business international in different foreign languages. Just like document translation, website translation, localization etc.

Years ago, I heard Catherine Ryan Hyde speak at a writer’s event. Catherine is the author of the book Pay It Forward, which was made into a movie starring Kevin Spacey.

There was one thing she said that always stuck with me, although it was only recently that I finally fully understood it.

When she decided she was going to pursue a career as a fiction writer, her mother told her NOT to have a Plan B.

What? Don’t have a Plan B? But, isn’t that the responsible, grown up thing to do?

What if you don’t make it? And you don’t have a Plan B? Then what?

So, first off, I’m not advocating you run off and risk everything to follow your dreams. If you have a family depending on you, it may not make sense to simply quit your job and start trying to make it as a painter. It can be very smart to work on your dream on the side while you continue to provide for your family. I’m a big believer in building bridges to your next opportunity rather than burning down everything you spent years building.

Instead, I want to encourage you to look at how you’re showing up for your dream.

The problem with Plan Bs, is they can give you an excuse to not go for it. Oh, everything is pretty comfortable right now. I’m making good money and I don’t hate what I’m doing. Do I really have the time to work on my dreams?

As I’ve been talking about a lot on my past Flip Its, if you’re committed to your success, you’re going to have to walk through the fire of your emotions and face your shadows. There’s no short cut. And, it’s not pretty. Or fun. Or comfortable.

And you know what’s the best part of a Plan B?

You don’t have to do any of that.

Your Plan B is safe. Comfortable. No stretching outside your comfort zone or doing things you don’t want.

And when you’re in the middle of it, when it feels awful, your Plan B can look awfully tempting.

That’s why a Plan B may be keeping you small. Because it’s offering you the easy choice.

No sitting in your uncomfortable emotions. No looking at your shadow.

In fact, your Plan B doesn’t require you to do anything you don’t want to do.

Except …

Give up your dream.

If you’re willing to do that, then maybe your Plan B is exactly right for you.

But, if giving up your dream feels like you’re giving up your soul, then maybe ditching your Plan B is the best thing you can do.

It may feel awful when you initially do it. But, it may also be the biggest gift you give yourself.

The logistical brilliance of lean manufacturing principles proved to be a gamechanger across multiple industries. Manufacturers currently getting on board with big data analytics to optimize their operations want ways to fuse these technological advances with their existing lean production codes, and who can blame them?

Given the likelihood for big data professionals to encounter business entities determined to protect their lean manufacturing systems, we felt it’d be wise to outline its origins. Long before the advent of lean manufacturing software and other integrations between waste minimization and data analytics, a socio-technical system developed by a company in Japan proved to be a precursor to the lean production principles and logistics refinement of today.

As the title of this piece revealed, the name of that Japanese company was Toyota. Now a multinational automotive manufacturer, Toyota started out building automatic looms for weaving cloth and other textiles. The company’s signature development was the ability of its machines to automatically stop when a problem occurred. This attribute, based on the principle known as jidoka, would lay the foundation for the company’s revolutionary approach to automaking known as the Toyota Production System.

The Toyota Production System was developed during the mid-20th century by industrial engineers Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda. The primary objectives of this approach were the elimination of overproduction, prevention of inconsistency, and reduction of waste. These core principles are now the pillars of modern lean manufacturing.

While Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda are the undisputed authors of TPS, their work was based on the observations and insights of Kiichiro Toyoda, the son of the original company founder. He was inspired by the way in which American supermarkets operated; the customer takes what they want and the store restocks accordingly. A symbiotic relationship is created where waste is minimized.

TPS encompasses a broad range of operational principles, but modern lean manufacturing places an almost exclusive focus on the waste prevention concepts developed by Toyota. This is due to a variety of factors, chief among them being the increasing automation of manufacturing operations and development of smart monitoring systems. While TPS was developed when humans played a larger role in the manufacturing process, modern lean production is understandably less preoccupied with this factor.

TPS has remained relatively unchanged for decades, a testament to its success. A similar consistency is being seen in the endurance of lean manufacturing. While it could be considered the open-source version of TPS, lean manufacturing is more than a generic set of principles developed to cut down on production waste and inefficiencies. It’s a code of conduct and road map for achieving maximum efficiency in the age of automation.

So next time a client laments about the importance of maintaining the existing lean framework for a big data integration, think twice before rolling your eyes in frustration. In order for manufacturing to maintain optimum efficiency in the new age of automation, it will have to marry lean production with big data analytics. Consider it a form of job security.