Joyful Business Blog

Eight Places to Look for Opportunities to Create Systems in Your Small Business

Part 1 of 2

So you’ve made the commitment to yourself: you’re determined to find ways of systemizing your small business. You know that conserving your energy for your “great work,” or what you’re most passionate about, is the key to your success.

The question is, where do you create those business systems? Here are the top eight places to start looking:

1. Marketing Basics. It helps to create systems for those repetitive marketing basics – like having a variety of photos and bios on hand and ready to go. Keep your professional and casual photos of yourself easily accessible, along with short and long versions of your bios – so you can respond to opportunities quicker, with less “thinking,” and less stress!

What is one marketing basic you use over and over again that you could put into a system – so next time it’s quick and easy?

2. Client Relationship-Building. Think about your relationship-building process for a client from beginning to end. Every stage can be systemized so that it takes very little time.

Your initial follow-up system could include a business card scanner, thank you cards or e-cards. Create a system for your initial consultation (I use a client questionnaire to get the ball rolling), and a New Client Package, even use email birthday alert systems or online appointment setting systems once they become clients.

These systems not only make you look more professional – they inspire confidence and position you as an expert. You must be, because you have a system for handling these things!

What is one Client Relationship-Building system you can add to streamline your client nurturing right now?

3. Online Marketing. To fully utilize online systems that can automate your marketing – so you can reach more people with less effort – it helps to have a great support team that knows how to maximize the programs. Shopping carts, autoresponders, an online newsletter, blogs, and social networking sites can all work together to support marketing you and your small business. A great assistant or virtual assistant can set up and maintain these for you – allowing you more time for marketing, working with clients, or relaxing at the pool.

Another area to consider for time-saving systems: if you have standard information that you share frequently, such as in teleclass introductions and scripts, podcast openings, thank you pages for your products, etc. In all of these, you basically say the same thing over and over. Take a few minutes (or get a team member) to put this information into a template. I find it’s easier to get inspired when I’m working from a template – instead of a blank page staring at me!

What is one “script” you find yourself saying over and over again? How could you simplify it into a template?

4. Recycle & Reuse. Recycling isn’t just good for the environment – it’s good for your business! You can take content you’ve created in one format and repackage it into multiple formats (this is often called “repurposing”). For example, this blog post came from a teleclass I gave on systems. I recorded the teleclass for a future audio product. Then it was transcribed for a supplemental booklet. I then used the transcription as the basis for an article that appeared in my newsletter and on Facebook. Then my team will publish the article at online article sites, as well as on community sites where I am on their Expert Panel. One idea: a minimum of eight ways to use it!

What is one idea you could take and reuse in another area of your marketing?

More “Places to Look for Systems in Your Business” coming…

En-JOY!

Laura

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog please feel free to do as long as you include our credit information: Written by Laura Howard West, Center for Joyful Business, http:/www.joyfulbusiness.com I would also appreciate it if you'd send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Laura West is an award-winning online entrepreneur and president of The Center for Joyful Business. If you are ready to shift your marketing and mindset for more success with joy and ease, get your free report: Business Attraction Success Kit

Allow More Success - Pay Attention to Your 5 Energies

As your business grows and you experience more success it becomes increasingly important to pay attention to your 5 Types of Energy to maintain the growth and also to enjoy the journey. Your energy is your #1 most important resource when it comes to growing your business. It's more important than money, ideas and, yes, even time. You see, if your energy is depleted, you'll never follow through, no matter how great the idea, how much money you can throw at it or even if you have plenty of time available.

Let's look at Your 5 Types of Energy and how they impact your business:

Physical Energies

This is the one we are most familiar with, although it may be one we most often take for granted. Our physical energy is about eating healthy food, drinking plenty of water, getting good sleep, exercising regularly and taking care of our physical bodes. I'll share that over the last year my business has grown exponentially, and I let it become more important than taking good care of my body. Slowly and unconsciously, I started making quick food choices (not the healthy kind), allowing myself to get dehydrated, drinking just one more soda for the caffeine jolt, and then skipping walking and tennis more and more frequently.

So, I started gaining a few extra pounds, getting tired more easily, feeling overwhelmed and having trouble sleeping through the night. It's also a catch-22 - as I started getting more tired easily, it seemed like it took more effort than I would expect to keep up with my business growth.

As I made a commitment to taking care of my physical energy, everything is getting back into alignment again. I see how my physical energy makes creativity easier, enhances my clarity and physically makes me feel more confident. All of this leads to growing a business with ease, confidence and flow. Sounds good, doesn't it?

What are you noticing in your physical energies? What is the one place you want to commit to a change?

Mental Energy

Your mental energy is about your clarity, your thoughts and beliefs. We have 68,000 unique thoughts a day - that is a lot of mental energy! Are yours pulling you down, coming from scarcity and keeping you circling in doubt and anxiety? Or are they generally life supporting and business enhancing?

Just developing an awareness of your consistent thoughts can start to shift them. It's important to notice when you are in doubt, stuck, have fear or anxiety and then shift these corresponding thoughts even a bit to something that is more believable and supportive. It will release the hold on your energy to take confidence and inspired action.

Today, notice if your mind chatter is business-enhancing or business-inhibiting. Just that alone will start to shift you to thinking about what's possible.

Emotional Energy

Your feelings are your body's way of communicating with you. Your body is a brilliant communication instrument - it will tell you if it feels the emotions we label as anxiety, love, joy, happiness, stuckness, doubt, concern, and worry. You want to pay attention to your body's signals: tightness in your gut, expansiveness in your heart area, a lump in your throat, a headache, tingles in your shoulders.

If your body is talking to you and you aren't listening, then it will get more intense and loud. That's where simple signals of stress will turn into illness and ailments you'll have no choice but to deal with.

Notice what your body is saying to you right now. What messages are you receiving?

Spiritual Energy

How aligned are you with your values, your purpose, and your joy? Are you living your life in integrity? Is your business built upon those principles you truly endorse? Any conflicting choices and actions will inhibit your creative flow - which we often call a divine download. It will block your awareness of your connection to source/god/spirit/universe. This happens when we are in a job we don't like; when we are playing small in our business and not getting our message out there in a bigger way, or when we don't treat our clients how we really want to be treated because we think we have to do it like everyone else.

Where are you feeling your spiritual energy is blocked? What is one step you can take to open up the connection?

Environmental Energy

The energy around you impacts you and your ability to be clear, focused, in your joy and taking inspired actions. Everything is your environment, from big concerns like the air quality of your community, to the people you hang around with to the clutter in your office. When these aren't dealt with, they make you irritable, resistant to take action and confuse your mind. So you sit in overwhelm and doubt and don't move into the action you know that will bring you closer to your success.

What are you putting up with in your environment? What is one change you can make to improve your energy in this area?

You want to remember to be compassionate with yourself. It's not about beating yourself up because you aren't being perfect in one or more of these areas. It's about developing the commitment to these areas of your personal energy and business energy and understanding how they will impact your personal and business in a fulfilling and joy-filled way.

Believe me: you'll always be moving between all of these types of energy. All 5 will never be perfectly in balance all the time. I don't believe in balance. You are a creative human being, and your creative nature means that you will be changing, evolving, moving to the next new place. You know that - just look at your business. It's always changing and growing. That automatically means you'll be dancing with all 5 energies as you create and move through the evolution of your business. Just by creating awareness in these 5 areas of energy, you can increase your creativity, your clarity, your confidence and your business results!

EN-Joy!

Laura

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog please feel free to do as long as you include our credit information: Written by Laura Howard West, Center for Joyful Business, http://www.joyfulbusiness.com I would also appreciate it if you'd send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Repurposing Content: Is it Cheating?

Absolutely not!

Now, allow me to elaborate on that answer. Because it makes no sense to spend your energy feeling guilty about something that’s actually one of the secrets to success in your small business – leverage!

You’ve heard of repurposing. It’s the smart, systematic practice of taking a piece of high-quality content – say, a teleclass – and re-using it in other forms, like blog posts, articles, podcasts, videos, news releases and more.

Here are some reasons why repurposing your content is actually a good business practice:

1. The truth is, people are so busy that they’re unlikely to view this as repetitive. While a reader might miss your latest blog post, they might catch a podcast or read an article. And so on.

2. Even if the information does reach a small, dedicated minority of your community members more than once – repetition is good for retention of your messages. So hooray!

3. Everyone learns and absorbs information differently. Some of us are visual learners, some are audio learners – and some learn best by doing (kinesthetically), like in a workshop. So if you provide good content in a variety of ways, you’re appealing to a variety of people with varied learning styles.

4. Not all repurposing is created equally! Keep in mind that you can vary your introduction, tie your message into a current news event, or put a new twist on it – for example, by incorporating a teleclass participant’s comment into your next blog post.

5. And finally, if you insisted on designing a separate message for each and every video, podcast, teleclass, e-book, blog post, article and news release – imagine the stress, and how that would affect your energy for running your small business. I’m betting that your output would decrease significantly.

Repurposing is a way to keep that energy flowing! More time, more ease.

Have you written or created something you’re particularly proud of (and that elicit great responses from your clients)? Are you sure it’s reached its largest possible audience? Can you rework it into some other formats, to reach new prospects and community members?

En-JOY!

Laura

5 Ways to Use Photos and Facebook

As a coach, consultant, author or speaker or other small business owner, you are always in the mode of creating your "expert status." That means that you know enough about your clients, their needs and desires and solutions to help them, that you can claim expertise in this area. Many marketing gurus talk about being a "rock star" or "celebrity," and many heart-centered entrepreneurs have trouble with these terms.

I like to position it that you are creating your "Celebrity with Integrity" status. It has a ring to it, not only when you say it, but also for being authentic and in the limelight, and at the same time aware of your responsibility and values.

Let's face it... your clients want to work with successful people, just like you do. You like to know that when you hire a coach or a consultant they have a certain amount of experience, they have resources, they invest in themselves, and are constantly keeping up with the fast changing world.
With social media, it's easy to create and share real examples of your expertise. Here are 5 easy examples of how to post pictures on Facebook to build your "Celebrity with Integrity" platform.
(Remember your friends want to know you are successful and you want to portray your success in real, authentic ways.)

1. Post Pictures of you speaking. Whether you are speaking to a small group or large, post pictures of you in action. Nothing speaks louder than photos (well, except video) of you sharing your expertise with people who want to be with you.

2. Post a photo of you attending a workshop. Your potential clients and colleagues (think potential joint ventures and referrals) like to know that you invest in yourself, are learning new strategies and tools, and are connected with movers and shakers in your industry. The fact that you spend money on your personal growth speaks volumes.

3. Post a photo of you with a well-known leader or celebrity. Success breeds success! Who you hang out with sets a tone for your own credibility (just like momma said!).

4. Post a photo of your vacation and travels. I know this goes down the path into sharing personal information, but in this day and age where many potential clients will hear about you first on the Internet - they want to know that you walk your talk of enjoying your success.

5. Share photos of your passions, hobbies and loves. Your peeps are getting to know you first through your words and photos. I know you worry about being "professional" - I think that word alone can kill a marketing brand. Professional can also mean boring, vanilla, blending in to the sea of other "professionals" just like you. You have to stand out and be interesting and remarkable. Share photos of your kids, cats, cars, your hobbies - be tasteful, of course, unless being un-tasteful is your style.

You'll stand out as having confidence - that's success!

So, bring your camera with you wherever you go or learn how to download your cell phone photos. You never know when a "Celebrity with Integrity" opportunity will come along. As my boy scout sons say, "Be Prepared!"

En-JOY!

Laura

How Large is YOUR Joy Container?

I just had to share today’s message with you from my friend, mastermind partner and a Joyful Business Guide owner, Thea Sheldon. We are so connected…I’ve been thinking over the weekend about how much joy do I actually ALLOW in…how about you….? Here’s a beautiful touchpoint visualization to help you connect to and expand your Joy Container…

From Thea…a masterful, visionary coach,

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy it can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?"

- Kahlil Gibran

How large is your joy container?

In what ways do you let joy be who you are? .

Breathing deeply--acknowledge the deep caverns of sorrow within you; observe your sorrow without being drawn into it and express gratitude for each time sorrow has inhabited your soul; Breathing again, let go of sorrow and begin to see the shape of the container that holds your joy; notice its size and marvel at its elasticity and flexibility; feel your joy container being filled, expanding and overflowing into your whole life; allow the bubbles of joy to rise in you like the effervescence in a glass of fine champagne; Carry that effervescence with you as you move fluidly through the activities of your week...

En-JOY!

Laura