Working for yourself is wonderful, but there’s one serious dilemma. How do you take vacations?

In order to plan a vacation there are 2 main fears that solopreneurs must first overcome:

1. Fear of Decreased Productivity: Taking a vacation to prevent burnout will actually increase your productivity.

The main reason it’s important to pull the plug once in a while is the risk of burnout. When you work for yourself, it takes an incredible amount of work and you may never feel like you’re off the clock. Most solopreneurs have problems with work-life balance and this leads to burnout.

If you suffer one serious burnout, it can set your business back much more than a few days offline. The reason is that overly long hours and fatigue have a way of poisoning your mindset and making you negative about everything or making you sick. You need to be positive and healthy in order to work for yourself and be productive.

2. Fear of Losing Clients: If you do good work you’re an essential asset to your clients and they’ll actually miss you when you’re away.

The key is to not disappear entirely. Let everyone know that you’ll be away for a few days. You don’t have to tell them the details of your trip. Just let them know when you’ll be back. Have confidence and realize that what you do for them is important and you’re not as easily replaceable as you might think.

If you inform your clients of your absence in advance, a good client who runs their own business efficiently will plan around it. If you have a client who can’t wait a few days it is likely a sign of other issues and they’ll probably need to find someone else who can better accommodate their schedule.

Vacationing for solopreneurs is all about proper planning. Get started well ahead of time and tie up all of the loose ends before you go. Communicate well with your clients so they know what’s going on and coordinate what you need to with a virtual assistant. Plan also for the money you won’t make those few days you’re not working. Plan well and prosper.

What are Mental Price Barriers? Read on to find out just what they are and how to maximize your profits using this knowledge.

The article also includes information on how to calculate conversion rates which is valuable data to track in order to plan your marketing strategies.

‘Daily Blog Tips’ is one of the most popular marketing blogs in the world. I hope you find this resource from their blog to be a valuable tool in your business!

]]> http://www.altadmin.ca/how-to-use-mental-price-barriers-to-maximize-your-profits/ /feed 0 http://www.altadmin.ca/emotional-marketing-value-headline-analyzer/ http://www.altadmin.ca/emotional-marketing-value-headline-analyzer/ #comments Thu, 28 Feb 2013 04:01:22 +0000 Jennifer Hazlett http://www.altadmin.ca/?p=1084 To communicate effectively through your marketing means to connect with your client at an emotional level. Would you like to know the emotional impact that your headlines have on your target market? Then try out the Free Headline Analyzing Tool called the “Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer“

This tool determines the Emotional Marketing Value (EMV) score of your headline by comparing the words in your headline to words that have been proven by research to conjure up emotional reactions through sound patterns.

Simply enter your headline into the text area, select a category from the drop down menu and click ‘Submit For Analysis.’ You will receive an EMV Score in the form of a percentage along with one or a combination of the following emotional classifications: Intellectual, Empathetic or Spiritual.

I tried with a few recent article titles and received a score of 44.44% for one particular headline that apparently appeals equally to people’s Spiritual and Intellectual spheres; another at 40% with a predominantly Intellectual classification and another scored 50% with a predominantly Spiritual classification. Evidently I’m not an Empathetic writer (smile).

So I’m quite pleased with my results as it’s stated on the site that “most professional copywriters’ headlines will have 30%-40% EMV Words in their headlines, while the most gifted copywriters will have 50%-75% EMV words in headlines.”

Have some fun and give this free tool a try. And if you’re interested in learning how to increase your EMV rating and more, you can sign up for The Advanced Marketing Institute Newsletter and free report here http://www.aminstitute.com/newsletter/index.htm

Most small business owners realize at some point that they can no longer continue to ‘do it all’ as they once did when starting out. This usually happens when they are established and their business becomes successful. They are busy doing what they do best and find it necessary to start outsourcing the time consuming administrative tasks.

An Administrative Virtual Assistant is typically the first step in building a team. As a generalist your Administrative VA will assist with tasks such as managing your calendar, email correspondence and phone calls, customer service and document creation to name a few. In a successful business owner and VA partnership, over time (several months up to a year or more) the business owner will have experienced more growth and it becomes necessary to expand the team. Your VA generalist can continue to handle the administrative tasks and the logical next step is to find a VA who has the skills needed to create revenue generation strategies.

A Marketing/Technical Virtual Assistant who specializes in business support services that revolve around strategic planning, internet marketing and ecommerce can augment the support you are already getting and help take your business to the next level. Together you will strategize and she will use her expertise to help plan your marketing campaigns, set up your online shopping cart and carry out all the associated tasks for product and program launches. Newsletter creation and maintenance, article distribution, posting to your blog and website maintenance are commonly part of this specialty service package.

What are some other specialty services you as a business owner might want to consider adding when building your team?

A Social Media Specialist – to create your profile, your posts & generally maintain your social media presence and reputation by posting on social media sites on your behalf.

A Web/Graphics Specialist – to create your website and/or sales pages, design and create graphics.

Of course each business owner will have their own specific needs and each specialist will have specific service offerings tailored to their own skillset.

So now you have your team member or members, what next? If you’ve been a solopreneur up until now it can be difficult to let go but with the right people, good communication and a plan it can work very well.

Here are the 5 key elements to ensure you and your virtual team work together effectively:

1. Communication – Any method of communication will work as long as you’re consistent. Some people prefer a phone conversation over a series of emails back and forth. For others they like to have their conversations documented to refer back to later. Sometimes a simple text message will do.

2. Goal – The business owner must be clear about their goal, for example, “I want to double my annual sales.”

3. Strategize & Plan – What steps will be taken to reach the desired goal? The right team will be proactive and knowledgeable enough to suggest strategies and contribute to the plans.

4. Document – Keep track of to do’s and record details in a procedures manual. It can be a simple Word document or there are many online tools that are very effective. I have used Basecamp

when working with a large team and it works very well to manage projects.

5. Analyze – Was the goal achieved? What worked and what didn’t? Do we need to change anything to meet the next desired goal?

So you see, solo is not the only way to go. Your team is probably one of the most important investments an established business owner will make. You and the team working with you with their complementary skills will help take your business successfully to the next level.

Some time ago I told you about another such tool called Linkbait Generator, however, Tweak Your Biz Title Generator has a few more options.

For example, after entering your topic into the search window:

- you can select whether your word is a Noun or a Verb

- you can choose how you would like the results to appear; Title Case, Sentence case or ALL CAPS

Tweak Your Biz Title Generator also sorts the results into over a dozen categories with several title suggestions in each category as opposed to Linkbait Generator which produces one title at a time. For example, using ‘home office’ as my topic here are just some of the results in various categories using the Tweak Your Biz Title Generator tool:

- Lists: “9 Creative Ways You Can Improve Your Home Office”

- Best: “Best Home Office Tips You Will Read This Year”

- How To: “How To Turn Your Home Office From Blah Into Fantastic”

- Questions: “Want An Easy Fix For Your Home Office? Read This!”

- Motivation: “Make Your Home Office A Reality”

As quoted on the site “An outstanding title can increase tweets, Facebook Likes, and visitor traffic by 50% or more”. Why not give it a try!

Your business can be operating like a well-oiled machine, but if you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re going to be stressed out. It’s ironic that when things are going really well, we typically end up spending MORE hours on our jobs because we’re just having so much fun and we’re seeing all the fantastic benefits of hard work.

To be a healthy person, you need to be a well-rounded person. Here are a handful of tips to make sure your business isn’t taking over your life at the expense of your health and well-being:

Get a hobby.

You will probably laugh at this, thinking you don’t have time for a hobby. But the truth is, you don’t have time NOT to have a hobby! Whether it’s knitting, canoeing, genealogy, cooking, or grooming llamas, you need something that will provide balance to your life. There will be days when the business side of things isn’t going so well, and you will need an escape. Get a hobby before you’re forced to find one.

Get physical.

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again – regular exercise reduces anxiety, combats obesity, and makes you a nicer person to be around. If you are sitting on your rear in front of the computer most of the day, you have to find some way to move your body on a regular basis. It can be as simple as a 15 minute walk first thing in the morning, or as intense as a 2 hour gym workout. Just choose one and do it.

Get some rest.

I’m willing to bet that at least once in the past month, you’ve found yourself up way too late, finishing one last work project, answering one more email, or putting the finishing touches on one last product. On an occasional basis, these nocturnal escapades are no big deal, but burn the midnight oil night after night after night, and you’re frying yourself. Not only does sleep deprivation make you anxious, edgy and unable to think clearly, it also makes it harder for you to work at peak efficiency. Set a bedtime, and stick to it.

Connect.

Connecting with those around you is critical to minimizing your stress. At the end of your life, you’re going to be worried more about the people you love and less about the business you created. Show your family and friends how important they are to you NOW by giving them their rightful share of your time. The bonus? It will calm your anxiety when you know you’re investing time where it’s going to matter most throughout your lifetime.

So now you know it’s important to make time to take care of yourself but you’re not sure how? Start by listing 3 personal commitments that involve time spent away from work-related activities. Remember to make commitments to yourself equally as often as you do to others.

Need some inspiration for your writing? Click here for a Free Printable Brainstorming Sheet with 100+ suggestions for any niche. The list is brought to you by online marketer Nicole Dean.

Here are a few examples from the sheet:

* How to ____ in (#) Easy/Simple Steps

* There has Never Been a Better Time to ________

* (#) Common Mistakes that _____ Make & How to Fix Them

Use for your blog post ideas (as the title suggests) as well as for topic starters for your articles, email subject line help, newsletter ideas and more… all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Enjoy!

I clearly remember the skinny maple tree in my backyard that wasn’t much more than a stick coming out of the ground with several low branches. One day I got to thinking that in order to encourage this tree to grow bigger and make room for us to be able to walk or sit under it at some point in the future, I would have to cut off the low hanging branches.

So in response to the question in the web conference room that day I commented that my business has been growing ‘out’ and it looks like a tree that has too many low hanging branches (like my maple once had). I’m reworking things in my business (like the time I carefully pruned several of my maple’s low hanging branches) to grow my business ‘up’ to its full potential (like the majestic maple tree in my yard today).

How about you? Does your business need some pruning? Do you need to remove any low hanging branches to encourage upward growth?

Reaching for the low hanging branches (also known as low hanging fruit) in your business provides you with short term success.

For example, the low hanging branches would be:

-the easiest tasks

-within easy reach

-easier to pick

-easily achievable targets

Removing some low hanging branches forces you to shoot higher and stretch for the bigger goals in your business, providing you with growth and success.

For example, stretching for the higher branches requires:

-effort and skill

-hard work

-more effort and can be more rewarding

-plans to be in place to achieve the targeted results

More effort and time spent pruning and managing the growth your business will result in a much better payoff if you avoid the easiest options. Sometimes we get comfortable with the status quo but like the saying goes “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

What have you been putting up with because you’ve become comfortable with the status quo and satisfied with short term success? What’s getting in the way that can be removed in order to shoot for growth and success?

If it’s clients who drain you; let go of them so you can have more energy.

If it’s your discounted or hourly rates; package your services so you can get paid for the value you provide.

If it’s the admin, tech-y and non-income generating tasks; outsource this ‘busy work’ so you can get paid for what you do best.

Are you pruning all the dead wood in your business or is it stunting your growth? Like my majestic maple tree that now provides my family and I with considerable enjoyment all four seasons of the year, your business can provide abundantly for you too.

]]> http://www.altadmin.ca/does-your-business-need-some-pruning-to-grow-successfully/ /feed 0 http://www.altadmin.ca/23-things-to-say-when-youre-asked-for-free-consulting/ http://www.altadmin.ca/23-things-to-say-when-youre-asked-for-free-consulting/ #comments Wed, 31 Oct 2012 04:01:20 +0000 Jennifer Hazlett http://www.altadmin.ca/?p=1051 As a small business owner I’m sure you’ve been in the situation of having to decline a request for free consulting. If you find it hard to know how to respond or find the right words, then check out this advice from marketing expert Maria Marsala of www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com Although this post is over 3 years old, it is still relevant today. I’m sure you’ll find at least a couple of suggestions that would be suitable for you to use if you find yourself in an awkward situation.

= = = = = = = = = =

1. My charge for an initial consultation is “x.” If we turn out to be a good match, and you hire me, I’ll apply 1/2 of “x” towards your commitment.

2. I’m happy to give you 5 minutes or less of free time, however, most issues are more quickly & effectively resolved in an undisturbed session(s). May we schedule a meeting so I can give you my undivided attention?

3. If someone is very persistent, whip out a stopwatch & say “For $2 a minute I’d be happy to go into this now. May I start the clock & do you prefer to pay with cash or check?”

4. What I can do is refer you to a free resource on “_______.”

5. I do work with two pro-bono clients, who are in desperate need financially. I’ll take your card and add you to the waiting list.

Click here to continue reading on the Do It! Marketing blog…*

*advice from marketing expert Maria Marsala of www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com, posted by David Newman of Do It! Marketing