Category: Planning & Management

Business Entrepreneur: Whether you’re thinking it’s Spring Cleaning Time or time for an annual checkup, your business needs to undergo a checkup each year. No matter how large or small your business is, you cannot gauge the effectiveness of any changes you’ve made without analyzing the benefits and bottom line.
Here are 10 questions to get you started:
• How do your year-to-date sales compare to the last couple of years? Don’t be satisfied if you managed to match them because if sales stayed the same then you’ve achieved zero growth. With inflation, this flat growth line is a warning sign for more trouble down the road.
• What percentage of your business is from repeat customers? This is important to know because if it’s too low, then it needs to be improved. The estimated cost of getting a new customer versus retaining an existing one can be as much as five to one in terms of dollars spent. Keeping customers is more cost-effective than constantly seeking new ones.
• How long has it been since you offered a new product or service? Loyal customers like to see you changing and progressing with the times. If you’re stuck for an idea, ask your customers what they need.
• Do you consider marketing and advertising expenses or investments? How you look at the money spent in these areas affects your willingness to spend money at all. Would you look at prescriptions as a waste of money? Marketing is really investing in you, your vision, and your company. The old adage that you must spend money to make money is true, but you must spend it wisely. Spend it on ads that are pulling responses and orders, and if they’re not maybe you need to change publications.
• Do you know what PR is and how to use it to positively position your business in the media? I’ll bet that at least one of your competitors does. Nearly every mention of a company or business in the newspapers and magazines is a direct result of publicity efforts. Being quoted or featured in an article speaks volumes to your clients and readers who are your potential prospects. A good PR consultant can do that for you and show you ways to extend the shelf life of that article beyond its publication.
• Are you listed in the yellow pages? If you only have a line listing, consider including a small ad in the yellow pages. If you can afford it, it will pay dividends throughout the year.
• Do you teat your regular customers better than your drop-ins? You should. If your customers don’t feel special when coming to you for products of services, why should they remain loyal to you? Have a customer appreciation day or a special invitation only sale for your regulars. Create a mailing list of your regulars. Send occasional post cards or greeting cards for special events or just to keep in touch. Learn to recognize them on sight and greet them by name when they visit you.
• How long has it been since you really talked to one of your customers? Just as you appreciate when your Doctor takes time to talk to you, your customers will appreciate you if you take an interest in their needs. If you have a service business, have lunch or coffee periodically with some regulars – even if they only contact you once or twice a year. The personal touch in an impersonal world will be remembered.
• How is your business doing compared to your competition? Every company, no matter what the size, has competition – even home-based businesses. Is their business growing or downsizing? Is their pricing or service better than yours? If so, what can you tell potential customers about the price difference? Think about how you can improve your service to meet or exceed your customer’s expectations.
• Are your employees happy? Don’t ask them directly, but observe them throughout the day. Watch, listen and learn. Employees who like their jobs don’t watch the clock for quitting time, aren’t habitually late, don’t have poor body language, don’t spend time on personal phone calls, and don’t look like they never smiled. Observe how they interact with customers. Not everyone is a match for direct contact with the public, so make sure you don’t have an employee who is driving business away.
Business Checkup [Business Entrepreneur]

Blogtrepreneur: As an online entrepreneur you will always be faced with more tasks that you need to get done than you can manage. There will always be new ideas and opportunities that are tempting to pull you away from other things you are working on. Prioritizing your work is extremely important to achieve efficiency with your time and to get the most accomplished. Whether you are working full-time or part-time with your online ventures, you will need to recognize what tasks on your to-do list are most important and urgent.
Here are some tips for getting more out of your time by prioritizing your work:
1. Have a strategy
You need to have a sound strategy that will keep you moving in the right direction. An effective strategy will help to keep you focused and avoid distractions from activities that don’t fit with what you are ultimately trying to accomplish.
2. Recognize what makes you money
I think most online entrepreneurs, and definitely bloggers, face the challenge of identifying what work will actually produce an income. If you are going to make money through freelance blogging for example, writing posts for other blogs is what will produce your income. Using social media, reading other blogs, and participating at community sites will all help the cause, but none of these things will directly put money in your pocket. As a result, your income-generating work should take priority.
The important thing here is that you recognize the significance of activities according to how much money they can produce for you. Make sure that you are dedicating the majority of your time to things that will make you successful.
3. Set goals
One way to keep yourself on track and working on the most important activities is to set goals. For example, my monthly income goals keep me focused on the work that will help me to meet those goals. Whatever your goals may be, make sure that they will lead to your ultimate success.
4. Schedule your time
Once you have set your goals, schedule your time accordingly so that you will give yourself the chance to achieve those goals. Scheduling your time for specific activities can help you to reduce the amount of unproductive time, and it will force you to decide what work is most important and worthy of your time.
5. Use to-do lists
Each day there are so many different things fighting for my time, but with a to-do list I always know what is most critical and what I need to get done first. If I get everything on my list done then I can move on to other things. I like to write out the list at the end of the night (making a list for the next day) or first thing in the morning before I start any work.
6. Focus on one project at a time
Try to resist the urge to start something new until you have achieved some success with your current project(s). Be realistic with how much available time you have, and make sure you are giving yourself a chance for success at anything you attempt.
7. Get organized
For most of us, doing some of the day-to-day tasks of running an online business can become more time consuming than we would like. Usually some improved organization would help. Whatever areas are the most time-consuming for you, evaluate to see if there are areas for potential improvement in organization.
7 Tips for Prioritizing Your Work [Blogtrepreneur]