Queen of KAOS - WAHM!! I Never Saw It Coming...

Keep Your Business Strong by Eliminating the Weak

jan@queenofkaos.com (Jan Ferrante) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:53:38 +0000

I first heard Michael talk about this concept in his book, "Ready, Fire, Aim". I thought it was so good I grabbed my notepad and jotted it down so that I wouldn't forget it.

How can you use this concept in your business to start spending your time on the winners and stop wasting your time on the losers in your product line?

And how can you up the anti by making a few small changes in what you offer and what you focus on creating for your market and your customers?

It would be a really good idea for you to read the article, then put on your thinking cap and see what you can do…

Keep Your Business Strong by Eliminating the Weak End of Your Product Line

Michael Masterson

If you want to increase profits, trim low-profit-margin items from your product line.

They are probably eating up limited and valuable resources that could be better used elsewhere.

Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino’s Pizza, tells a story about the early days in his first pizzeria:

“One night, most of my employees didn’t show up, and I didn’t know whether to open or not. Someone said, ‘Why don’t you just cut out the six-inch pizzas?’ We had five sizes, but most of our business was the smallest, the six-inch. It took just as long to make as the big one and just as much time to deliver but cost less.

“I decided we would try that,” said Monaghan.

“We never got busy that night, and yet we made 50 percent more money than we ever had. The next night I cut out the nine-inch pizza, and all the bills caught up. I learned then that keeping things simple could be more profitable.”

You should continuously be asking yourself two questions:

1. How do I increase my business’s most profitable activities?
2. Is it really worth it to maintain the low-margin activities?

The answer to the second question, by the way, is “No!”

Cut your losers short and let your winners run. Make “survival of the fittest” your credo.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Want help DOING what it takes to build a stronger business?

The best way I know to do that is by using my Home Biz BOOST system. I created it and have been using HBB principals for a few years now, that's how I know they work. Find out how you can
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The Way You Work Could Be Working Against You

jan@queenofkaos.com (Jan Ferrante) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:10:16 +0000

When you work at home things that you thought would be easy sometimes are not.

If you're shaking your head, wondering what happened to the good life working at home, here are some great tips.

The Way You Work Could Be Working Against You

By Michael Masterson

"If I had more time, I’d have more fun," we tell ourselves. Or, "If I had more time, I’d knit/ paint/ write a novel/ [fill in the blank]."

Time is an equal opportunity provider. Every one of us, regardless of age, sex, race, or religion, has the same 24 hours a day. How we use those hours determines our success.

On the one hand, we know that working long, hard hours is a characteristic of most successful people. On the other hand, we understand that working that way gives us little pleasure and less time to pay attention to family, friendship, intellectual stimulation, etc.

"Workaholism is an addiction," Julia Cameron says in The Artist’s Way, "and like all addictions, it blocks creative energy." Cameron’s concern in the book is to find time for creative writing. But her advice is useful for anyone who is fighting his or her workaholic streak.

You can be successful in business without sacrificing personal relationships. You can make money and art too. You can accomplish your major goals in all of life’s four most important dimensions:

Your health-building goals
Your wealth-building goals
Your social responsibilities
Your personal aspirations

To do so, you’ve got to follow a productivity plan that recognizes (1) achieving any important goal takes time, (2) at any specific period of time in your life you must establish priorities and give primary attention to your top goals, (3) many of the problems prioritizing may cause can be limited by respectful scheduling and thoughtful communication, and (4) as opportunities change, so must your objectives.

You must also recognize that the way you work right now may be working against you. A workaholic pattern might help you accomplish your primary goal, but will usually leave your other goals in a shattered heap.

Begin, today, with this self-administered evaluation – from Julia Cameron – to help you figure out if you have workaholic habits. Answer "seldom," "often," or "never" to the following:

I work outside of office hours.
I cancel dates with loved ones to do more work.
I postpone outings until the deadline is over.
I take work with me on vacations.
I take work with me on weekends.
I take vacations.
My intimates complain that I always work.
I try to do two things at once.
I allow myself free time between projects.
I allow myself to achieve closure on tasks.
I procrastinate in finishing up the last loose ends.
I set out to do one job and start on three more at the same time.
I work in the evenings during family time.
I allow calls to interrupt – and lengthen – my workday.
I prioritize my day to include an hour of creative work/play.
I place my creative dreams before my work.
I fall in with others’ plans and fill my free time with their agendas.
I allow myself down time to do nothing.
I use the word "deadline" to describe and rationalize my workload.
I go everywhere, even to dinner, with a notebook or my work numbers.

"There is a difference between zestful work toward a cherished goal and workaholism," says Cameron. "That difference lies less in the hours than it does in the emotional quality of the hours spent. There is a treadmill quality to workaholism. We depend on our addiction and we resent it. For a workaholic, work is synonymous with worth, and so we are hesitant to jettison any part of it."

Your answers to Julia Cameron’s self-evaluation questions will give you a quick sense of whether you have a problem with workaholism. But don’t just test yourself. Do what I did. Ask a few members of your family, or a few friends, to answer those questions for you. You may be surprised by what you find out.

It can be hard to make time for your personal life when you’re trying to prove to your boss that you deserve a raise… when you’re busy building your business… or when you just plain love what you do. But don’t work so hard or so long that you neglect your family and friends. If you do that, you will eventually regret it.

Here’s how I keep myself from falling into that trap:

I don’t take work home at night. I put in my time at the office, and then I come home… without my laptop and papers.
I don’t take work home on weekends. If I want to put in a few extra hours on Saturday, I clear it with my family in advance. But, again, I don’t pull out the computer or papers in front of them. It sends the wrong message.
Away from work, I try my best to stay "in the present." For me, this was the hardest lesson to learn, because my mind is always jumping from one topic (the story someone is telling me) to another (something related that happened at work). When I feel myself drifting – and it happens frequently – I pull myself back.

When I follow these rules, I am happier twice – at work and at home. I recommend that you do the same.

[Ed. Note: If you’re a workaholic, you could benefit from learning how to break your goals into smaller, more manageable objectives. ETR’s Total Success Achievement program can teach you how to accomplish all your goals - without neglecting your health, social life, or family. We’re putting the finishing touches on our 2008 Total Success Achievement Program right now. So keep reading ETR for more details about how to make 2008 the year you accomplish all your dreams.]

Want help to create good working habits that work for you AND your business?

The best way I know to do that is by using my Home Biz BOOST system. I created it and have been using HBB principals for a few years now, that's how I know they work. Find out how you can
Get a Home Biz BOOST of Your Own.

How Does Someone Like Me Fit Anything Else Into a Day?

jan@queenofkaos.com (Jan Ferrante) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:17:37 +0000

Feeling that we have to do it all seems to come naturally for some of us. This article is a fantastic reminder that sometimes a little help can go a long way.

Dear ETR: "How does someone like me fit anything else into a day?"

By Michael Masterson

"I’ve recently started reading your newsletter. Some of your advice sounds great – but help me here.

I already get up most mornings at 6.00 a.m. I’m at work by 8.30 a.m. In that time, I’ve taken the dog for a walk, done a load of washing and hung it out, packed lunch for my husband (who leaves at 7.00 a.m.) and children, and then gotten myself and my kids out the door and off for the day.

There’s no time at work for me to be working on my own personal goals. You can imagine what it’s like at the other end of the day… not much time left there either!

"I have many goals and lots of things I want to do to further my life financially and otherwise – but how does someone like me fit anything else into a day?

"Realistic advice greatly appreciated!!!"

Anna Power

Sydney, Australia

Dear Anna,

You are the woman every man secretly hopes his wife or girlfriend will turn into. You earn a living, take good care of your family, and do it all before you think about yourself.

I could tell you to get up at 5:00 or 5:30, but I’m going to put that in the What-Kind-of-Male-Chauvanist-Is-He box.

Instead, here’s what I recommend.

Explain to your family that you have dreams too. Remind them that they’ve been benefiting from your selflessness for many years now. Tell them it’s time for them to square the deal.

In the old days, a good man worked eight to 12 hours a day and the wife took care of the home front. Today, we have thrown that model in the dustbin. Women are often expected to contribute to the family’s income. And when they do, that means the man of the family has to kick in around the house.

You work full-time. Your husband does too. You should be splitting the family work 50-50. That means he should be doing the work you do – walking the dog, making meals, and washing clothes – as often as you do. Switch weeks or days, but get him to take on his share of the load.

And your kids – what kind of message are you sending to them? Do you want your daughters to grow up thinking they have to defer their dreams? Do you want your boys to become full-grown men who expect their wives to work 40 to 60 hours a week and pick up their underwear too?

Even in the old days, children were expected to work. All seven of my brothers and sisters had regular chores – daily and weekend chores – that were mandatory. We were taught to be proud of that work. Our parents were kind enough to teach us that working for the family was a good and honorable thing.

My daily job was cleaning the dishes after dinner. My weekend job was scouring the sinks and toilets and bathtub. Nobody could clean a kitchen or bathroom better than I could.

We ironed our own clothes. We made our own lunches. We helped out!

MaryEllen Tribby, ETR’s CEO and Publisher is a working mom. How does she do it?

"I get up at 4:45 Monday through Friday, and sleep in on the weekends until 7:00," she says.

"I pack school lunches the night before while my husband does the dishes. We split all household duties. For example, I usually do the grocery shopping and he does the cooking. My nine-year-old and seven-year-old pick up their rooms and have very specific jobs around the house.

My kids have wanted a dog for years, and we’ll finally get one this year because the two older ones will be able to help out. If we had gotten one sooner, my husband and I would have ended up taking full care of the dog, and that was just not an option for us."

If Mary Ellen can do it – while running a multimillion-dollar business, you can do it too. So get that family of yours into gear. Give them the opportunity to have their wife/mother get some free time every morning to achieve her dreams.

Your life is not a dress rehearsal. It’s a one-time show and you are the star. Act like the star you are and your family will enjoy your glow.

- Michael Masterson

[Ed. Note: Trying to accomplish your goals and take care of all your everyday responsibilities may seem impossible. But you can do it just by putting a few simple strategies to work. Learn the details here.

Send your questions to AskETR@ETRFeedback.com. Include your full name, your hometown and state, and the ETR team may answer you in an upcoming issue.]

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