Have you stopped counting the number of emails in your inbox?

Have you noticed that you keep putting off the same tasks?

Do you just need more discpline or do your need to delegate to someone else?

If you work for yourself then the buck stops with you – if you are growing your business them it may be time to look at outsourcing.

The rise of the virtual assistant industry means that smaller businesses can now tap into expert resources economically.

I used a great service provided by Lindsey from www.outbox.co.nz. She set up my mailchimp enewsletter template and taught me how to use it.

What can you outsource OR do you currently outsource in your business?

If you don’t know where to start then email info@kiffin.oc.nz to book a 30min  FREE session to find out how.

Having a clear definition of who does what in your business will make staff absences easier to plan for and manage. It will also mean new staff become productive a lot quicker.

Drawing up your businesses organisational chart will give you the opportunity to see how many hats you may be wearing and to think about how much time you allocate to each area of your business.

The next step is to list the responsibilities of each role and when they need to be completed.

For example;

• Who is responsible for invoices getting out on time?
• Who sets the sales targets?
• Who is responsible for delivering what has been promised?

 Not sure where to start?   Give Kiffin a call on 948 6278

We can draw up your Organisational Chart and interview you & your staff to get all your Job responsibilities written down.

 JAN SPECIAL: Small Business Organisational Chart drawn up for  $80 plus GST

( Max 10 staff members)

Click on the image below to watch the interview

Our brains can only hold a 2 – 3 tasks in our prefrontal cortex ( our working memory) at one time. When we load ourselves up with things to do we create stress which has a negative affect on our memory. Then we are more likely to forget  one of those tasks . As business owners we are often juggling multiple hats switching from new business development to sales to marketing to writing a blog within a mornings work giving ourselves plenty of stress and therefore chances to forget something.

Using the basic tools you have on your computer can be a lifesaver.

What is the most under utilised tool on your COMPUTER?  — Your Calendar

Writing down all those lists and scheduling them into your calendar will help remove stress and make you feel more organised.

CREATE A PLAN

I use a OUTLOOK calendar for managing my LIFE – well not all of it but definitely for work appointments, family events, exercise & social events.
I love the reoccurring event setting for keeping my Working ON my business appointments like Sales target reviews and Systems reviews.

My Outlook Calendar reminds me of  Sales & Lead followups, GST Payments, blog postings, cell phone payments you know all essentials of business you don’t want to forget.

The ability to colour code my appointments means I get to see at a glance how many hour I have billed each week.

Make yourself a list of all the tasks you need to do

• Daily
• Weekly
• Fortnightly
• Monthly
• Quarterly etc..

Then book them in as reminders on your calendar.

I was interested to note that some of the exhibitors where complaining about lack of leads while others were not.

It got me thinking about what goals I set for exhibiting at an expo.

1. Generate leads
2. Connect with strategic partners
3. Credentialise yourself as an expert in your field ( hanging with the likes of banks and telcos)
4. Listen to feedback and gain first hand useful information about what your potential clients challenges are

Visiting your fellow exhibitors is a great idea – you might strike up some strategic alliances ( some of my best have come from so called competitors) and even if it appears that you do the same things.

Remember you most probably don’t love to work with exactly the same clients.You could potentially refer to each other.

I know Lindsey will have a mixture of all 4 as she was strategic in her thinking.

When you started out in business did it fill you with happiness – does it still?

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN Audio: Does my business contribute to my happiness_fiona-kiffin_08_Oct_2012_14_33_48

I have been teaching a few of my clients do this recently so I though what a great topic for others to learn.

Why do you need to like another business page from your business page?

If you have a Facebook business page and have formed some strategic alliances with and /or network with other businesses it is a great idea to connect with their business page.

This will allow you to share interesting posts, comment on their pages and increase your profile across their connections and maybe even send each other referrals.

So Get Liking — Here is HOW

From your facebook business page click SHOW

Click on Edit page then click on use as ..your business page name

Type on the name of the business page you want to like

Open the page and click Like ( This is my fabulous business coach)

To switch back – return to your business page and choose “edit – use Facebook as your own name”

CLICK HERE  to go ahead and like the Kiffin facebook page  – the 100th liker will be getting a present

Have a deadline thrust upon you and need to get something to a client quickly and want it to look professional?

Then you need to learn about the benefits of templates in your business. Click the link below to listen in for tips to save you time.

CLICK HERE to hear “The Joy Micosoft Word of Templates”