Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Time Sucker Alert: No Prioritization System

As you begin to plan for the year to come, I want you to be sure to take some time to plan out how exactly you are going to get it all done. I have spoken before about the biggest time sucker I see time and again. Now let me walk you through the biggest prioritization issue I see with my clients, working on the WRONG stuff, and what you can do about it.

 

How do I know what the right stuff is?

To answer that, I’m going to share with you the highlights of my Plan to Grow process.

  1. Have a business plan: You wouldn’t go on a road trip without a map complete with rest stops and check-ins all mapped out, and you shouldn’t do that with your business. Having a business plan allows you to layout where you want your business to go over a certain period of time (i.e five years). When you know where you are going, you can set goals and say yes or no to interrupters and shiny objects with confidence. And most importantly, you can stop spinning your wheels on things that aren’t serving you or your business.
  2. Set goals that are going to result in significant growth in your business: With a destination point all set out, you can start building backwards, setting goals and taking on the projects that are going to progressively move your business towards where to be years from now. For this, I usually use the SMART goal setting methodwith my business and my clients.
  3. Create a roadmap for your goals by breaking the goal down into small, manageable tasks: Once you’ve decided on the goals that you need to take on to move your business where you want it to go, it’s time to create a roadmap for each goal you’ve set. This involves breaking the goal down into small, manageable tasks through a process of starting at where you want to be and then work backwards, listing everything you are going to need to do to get to the end.
  4. Get real about your schedule: This means figuring out where your time is going and how much time you actually have. Why? So you’re managing your own expectations and not putting unrealistic demands on yourself. When you are deciding which goals to take on and assigning them timelines, you need to have a true understanding of all the other things vying for your time. Without that knowledge, you’re going to feel overwhelmed and overextended and nothing is really going to get done.
  5. Find someone to hold you accountable: There is nothing more powerful than having someone waiting for me to tell them about my progress to make sure I actually make some progress.

 

Why you need to put in this work:

When you don’t know where you are going to get the biggest return on your time investment, you end up spinning your wheels without even noticing it. It’s like throwing a bunch of spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks. While it may be the easier  route, successful businesses just aren’t built that way. So as you begin to plan for the new year, be clear about what you want, what needs to be done to get you there, and how you’re going to do it.

Samantha King is a busy mompreneur and homeschooler with two young children and a couple of businesses at home. When Samantha’s daughter was diagnosed with autism, she had to learn how to keep her priorities aligned within her family, while operating her business at the same time. She is excited to share her knowledge to empower entrepreneurs by giving them the tools they need to do something they love while building sustainable, profitable businesses.  

Contact Samantha:

Tel: 416-885-6841

Email: samantha@fempirebuilders.com

Facebook: @FempireBuilders

Twitter: @FempireBuilders

Instagram: @Fempire_Builders

Keeping it Consistent on Social Media

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With millions of people to reach online, spread over hundreds of Social Networks, how do you keep up engagement levels with your fan base for your small business? The simple answer is: consistency. The more consistent you are in posting, liking and commenting through your business profiles on social media, the easier it will be to break through all of the online noise with your message.

Finding Consistent Content

Quality content is the most important commodity in the online world today; it is also the most time consuming to create. Don’t worry – the good news is that you probably have more to share than you know of. Answer these questions to look for existing content in obvious places and as a starting point to help you to start thinking of what you can post, share and create:  

  • How many previous blogs, social media posts, videos or reviews can you repurpose?
  • Do you have daily/weekly sales or specials that you can share routinely?
  • Can you talk about any problems or concerns that your customers have that is relevant to your business?
  • Start thinking of your content as the voice of your business – What is your business passionate about?
  • If your business had an avatar, what would their personality be and how would their voice sound?

Posting Consistent Content

Once you have good content, it’s important to be posting it regularly. Social Networks function person-to-person, so be social! In order to be seen on busy social networks you have to be active, just like in real life. Posting content once a week just isn’t going to cut it. Ideally, brands need to be posting multiple things daily.

How does this work in practice? For example, if I have a daily special, then I might put a post about that special online each day at 8AM. If you publish a blog, make sure that you are posting that blog at the same time every week or month. Building around that single consistent daily post you can start to plan when (2-3x daily) and where (1-2 social networks) online you will share the rest of your content. Just don’t get so stuck on the plan that you don’t allow for any spontaneity in your posting!

Scheduling Consistent Content

Keeping up with this demand for visibility can be a huge challenge – content planning calendars are perfect for this. Using either a digital or paper planning calendar will help you to plan out what content you want to post, at what times and on what networks. It’s a good idea to stick to a basic posting schedule that allows for 2-3 posts daily.

Planning out 2-3 posts (or more) daily across multiple social networks can be a full-time job in itself (just ask me!), so busy businesses need to ensure they are not spending too much time each day thinking about planning their social media posts. You can save time by using apps like Buffer or Hootsuite to manage your social networking content calendars and pre-schedule posts for an entire week or month at a time. Additionally, there are many other Apps that work with specific platforms (ie. Tweetdeck for Twitter, Latergramme for Instagram, etc.) and Facebook has it’s own build in “schedule” for Facebook Business Pages. By pre-planning content, you can spend as little as 10 minutes a day online responding to comments and engaging with other brands.

The most important thing to remember is that an abandoned online presence is worse than no presence at all. You have real people waiting on the other end of “the internet” that want to hear what you are saying, so don’t let them down!

Teach Me Social owner Kelly Farrell has been helping empower Canadian Small Business owners through social media for over three years. Her team now offers services ranging from training sessions for small business owners and their teams, to full-service social media account management. Visit teachmesocial.ca to learn more about our service offerings or to contact us today for a no obligation consultation, including an audit of your existing social media channels.

Planning for the Unexpected

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One of the central themes I think all entrepreneurs can agree on, (no matter what the industry) is that the ‘unexpected’ is inevitable.  Change happens whether it is a slight interruption of your day, (“Can we change our appointment to Tuesday?”), or a money draining, time consuming printing error.

As an entrepreneur who talks about (and advocates) for planning, people often ask me why they should bother planning when it is just going to change anyways. For those of you who may ask the same question or could use a little planning inspiration, the following is how (and why) I think you should do it anyways.

Planning creates momentum. When you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), you are taking an action step – even if it is just getting an idea out of your mind. This momentum is often the thing that you need when those unexpected things arise. To use an analogy, it would be like a long distance runner who just pulled a muscle at the last mile of a race. Having all of that hard work, training and road behind him – a pulled muscle is not going to prevent him from crossing the finish line.  He (or she) has momentum and that counts for something.

Planning naturally reveals priorities. Looking at your current calendar/day timer – even a stranger could tell what you are putting your most time and energy towards. Priorities, whether family, work or your physical well-being will always ‘rise to the top’ and can handle a some unexpected circumstances because they matter that much to you. Have some confidence that if the unexpected happens, the things that matter the most to you will still get done.

Lastly, you can plan for the unexpected by giving yourself pre-determined flex time. No, you can’t say for sure what will end up taking that time. But, if your priorities are set and you still give time for things that you don’t expect, it does not have to be a stressor in your life. Even the great Tony Robbins is famously quoted saying “ …if you schedule it, it’s real”. That is why I suggest not packing your schedule so tight that one thing ‘not going right’, could negatively affect the rest of your day – and maybe even your week.

Having a mindset that ‘expects the unexpected’, as well as having the principles we have talked about in this article built in to your entrepreneurial habits will certainly help along your journey. So remember: Get your ideas out, plan for flex time and keep your priorities non-negotiable. Then plan on success.

Tamara is the owner and designer at ‘Your Pretty Pages’ where she provides templates, planners, guides and resources for creative entrepreneurs to get organized and plan productively and purposefully. To see her newest Essentials Pack of planning pages visit here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/yourprettypages

 

Successful Planning, Successful Week

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Planning your workweek in business can sound like a simple process – but if you have ever been interrupted, fell behind on deadlines or forgotten an appointment, this article is for you. I believe it’s not about managing every minute, it’s a new fresh perspective that includes being prepared, flexible and in-line with your work habits, style and personal preferences.

To plan a successful week I have used my experience with other female entrepreneurs who care about accomplishing a lot within a week and found some universal strategies that can be utilized in almost any business out there.

  • Schedule the unexpected:

Business owners are some of the most motivated people I have ever met so I find ‘over-planning’ to be a problem for a lot of us. This happens when we fill every moment of our calendar and fall behind immediately when even one phone call goes over our allotted time. This can cause stress for not only the day, but for the rest of the week as we play ‘catch-up’ to get back on schedule. A way that I have found to combat this issue is to dedicate some time in your week for ‘yet-to-be-determined’ tasks, projects or obligations. Later in the week is usually best. When you aren’t able to finish something in the time you allot or you get an unexpected request, you are able to now be flexible and rely on the safety net you have designed into your week already.

  • Identify low energy tasks:

It’s natural to have fluctuations in your energy levels as your day progresses. You may feel sharp, motivated and full of energy in the morning or feel tired and a little stiff in the afternoon. It’s easy to identify these times when you are experiencing them, harder to match your tasks to that energy if you are not prepared. The way to do this is to schedule tasks that require less concentration with those low energy times beforehand. Give yourself some time to answer ‘general email’ questions, tidy up your desk or look on social media when you are feeling less energized and save high-energy times for creative, developing and more intense projects. This will help you balance your day, which will help your overall week.

  • Pick a focus:

Within each of our businesses, there is always something that needs attention. Instead of trying to do everything all at once, my recommendation is to pick one focus and stick to it. This produces success because you are not reacting to interruptions, which take you away from that highly productive and focused work. You may be thinking that it is not practical to only do one thing a day – your emails still need to be answered. The way to do it successfully is to keep your focused work (what you really want to complete) in one of the higher energy times of your day (as identified in the previous topic). This gives you quality time that is in-line with your already established habits to really get it done.

  • Bundle ‘Away’ tasks:

Luckily we are in charge of our schedules so we can decide when to do our supply shopping, networking events, doctor’s appointments and ‘out-of-office’ tasks. I have always recommended that business owners pick a time in their week – every week that will be dedicated to these tasks. The benefits are far reaching as you are not only creating habits for yourself, but also creating reasonable expectations from others in your life. Which could be customers, family and also make delivery schedules more regular. I often recommend scheduling these days in the middle of the week when you may just need a change of scenery too.

Overall, when you see how much choice you have in planning your week and use these strategies to integrate your personal preferences you are going to be able to get more done in your week and enjoy it along the way.

Tamara is the owner and designer at ‘Your Pretty Pages’ where she provides templates, planners, guides and resources for creative entrepreneurs to get and stay organized. To support your successful planning, Tamara has just released two all new version’s of the ‘Entrepreneur’s Planner’ which can be found at https://yourprettypages.com/planners/

Business Meeting Etiquette

 

Praveeni

Business meetings are a great way to share information, regroup and discuss upcoming projects and initiatives.  Meetings are usually between 1-2 hours long (can be longer in some cases) so it’s best to be prepared and maximize the meeting time you do have.

Here are a few etiquette tips for a successful business meeting :

 

1. Schedule your meeting well in advance
Make sure you provide enough notice for your meeting so participants can make themselves available.  External meetings should be scheduled 2 weeks in advance. Internal meetings can be scheduled on shorter notice, 24-48 hours in advance. Try to choose a location that is convenient for all parties involved; a familiar place that is fairly close to everyone and has the same amount of travel time, if required.

2. Confirm your meeting ahead of time

Although you provide adequate notice for your business meetings, it’s always a good idea to confirm your meeting date and time. This should be done 24 hours before the meeting for external meetings, and 2-3 hours before the meeting time for internal meetings. If you’re a participant you can also contact the host or meeting chair to confirm your attendance.

3. Set an agenda

An agenda lets all participants know what to expect at the meeting. When participants know what will be discussed ahead of time they can prepare whatever materials they need for the meeting and optimize meeting time. Agendas should be sent out prior to the meeting (about a week in advance for external meetings and a day in advance for internal meetings).

4. Arrive early if you’re the host

If you are hosting or chairing the meeting arrive a few minutes before your co-workers or participants. This will give you time to make sure the meeting room is ready so you don’t take up meeting time re-arranging chairs or looking for stationary.

5. Power down

When you’re at a meeting your cell phone should be on silent and kept off the table. Resist the temptation to check your phone.  Texting, emailing or even accepting calls during a meeting is extremely rude and unprofessional

6. Don’t Chit-Chat

Although some meetings can get a little boring and mundane avoid engaging in your own private conversation with someone during the meeting. This is distracting to other participants and very disrespectful to the meeting chair or host. Maintain eye contact with whoever is speaking and give them your full attention.

7. Take minutes

Minutes help participants keep track of exactly what went on at a meeting. Having a designated minute taker ensures all meeting proceedings will be noted and tracked. Minutes should be distributed 24-48 hours after the meeting so it’s still fresh in the participants’ minds.

8. Follow up

You should always follow up with your meeting participants a few days (24-48 hours) after the meeting. This can be done via email or over the phone. Make sure everyone understood the purpose of the meeting, address any questions that may arise, and review delegated tasks or projects if any.

Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.

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