Although I love Gist and the tech industry in general, they’re far from my only passions in life.  In fact, sailing holds a special place in my heart as well.  In 1992, I won the America’s Cup – sailing’s biggest race – and later went on to complete a successful “around the world” voyage.

Truly, it’s fascinating to me how many of the skills and techniques I developed as a competitive sailor have helped me to be successful in the business world, both as the founder of Gist and with my other projects.  I hope the following lessons I learned on the water help you to experience a similar level of success with your businesses!

Tip #1 – Pick your areas of innovation

Too many people approach entrepreneurship as a vehicle to changing everything they see that’s wrong with the world.  As a result, their startups are unfocused and lose momentum due to unclear objectives – just like sailors who try to tackle different challenges without sufficient training in any one of them.

A much better approach is to find a single problem you can solve and focus exclusively on one area of innovation.  Take a look at the Gist app, for example.  The program isn’t trying to be all things to all people – instead, its sole purpose is to increase the amount of social information that’s accessible via user address books.  This laser-sharp focus allows us to position ourselves as innovators in this narrow field, as we’re able to better respond to the unique challenges facing this specific need.

Tip #2 – Find the rocket scientists

As much as I love the Gist platform and all the other incredible startups I’ve had the chance to be a part of, I’m not an expert in every area of their operations.  But that’s okay!  By recognizing my own areas of weakness, I’ve been better able to attract the “rocket scientists” needed to fill in these gaps in the most effective way possible.

No matter how smart or successful you are, you need other people on your team to complement your weaker areas.  As a competitive sailor, I relied on the input of valued mentors and teachers to help improve my weak areas.  And as a business owner, I continue to look out for these “rocket scientists” to support my endeavors in ways I’m not able to address on my own.

Tip #3 – Understand the Gaant chart

Everything in life is a process – whether you’re talking about preparing for a sailing race, launching and managing a startup, or any other pursuit.  And as with any process of this magnitude, it’s crucial that you take the right steps in the right order – which is only possible if you have a solid plan to follow.

This is where the Gaant chart comes in.  It’s an excellent process for breaking down large goals into smaller, measurable tasks, as well as visualizing how and when specific objectives will be completed.  Learn it, live it and love it if you want to be more successful in your business.

Tip #4 – Iterate on two-week schedules

Launching successive releases on a two-week schedule may seem aggressive, but my past experiences sailing have shown me that making measurable progress requires constant innovation and self-discipline.

In order to improve as a sailor, I had to quickly assimilate and implement knowledge from my teachers and mentors.  If I had stopped to rest on my laurels at all while considering their advice and brainstorming for the future, I would have missed out on many of the opportunities I had in that world.

The same lesson applies to business.  Being successful often comes down to being the first one to market with an innovative new product or idea, and you’ll lose this first-mover advantage if you aren’t diligent about sticking to regular launch schedule.  As an added bonus, getting in the habit of iterating on two-week schedules will prepare you for the eventual board reports you’ll find yourself delivering as your company grows!

Tip #5 – Every test counts

Testing isn’t just a standard operating procedure – it’s your chance to systematically produce demonstrable results that advance your business’s goals.  It takes an incredible amount of discipline to ensure that every test you carry out serves a specific purpose (instead of simply being run for the heck of it), but this effort is nearly always rewarded with a measurable impact.

Tip #6 – Cut your losses and focus where you can create advantage

Businesses fail.  Sailing plans fail.  Really, no matter what type of activity or interest you’re pursuing, you’re going to fail at one point or another.

However, failure only really becomes an issue when you allow it to derail you entirely.  Instead, use failure as your opportunity to scout out a better course where you can create an advantage amongst your competition.  Your chances of succeeding will increase tremendously as you continually cut your losses and play to your strengths – whether in business, in sailing or in any other activity.

Tip #7 – The game is won on 1000 tiny tests

Always be improving, and always be innovating.  Sailing races (like everything else in life) aren’t won off of a single, great run – instead, it’s the thousands of training runs and practice sessions leading up to the big day that ultimately result in victory.

No matter what your business is, there are always things you can be doing better.  Be ruthless in uncovering and addressing these weak spots so that – over time – your thousands of tiny tests and changes can result in measurable improvements and ultimate success for your company.

Image: stunhillphotography

Invite to BlackBerry Messenger
You can now invite others to connect with you on BlackBerry Messenger within GfBB. As you already know, it’s easy to “Get the Gist” of a contact from the email, calendar or contacts app on your BlackBerry device. Simply, select the “Get the Gist” option from the BlackBerry menu key in any of these apps and the Gist app opens displaying profile information, social updates and any notes you’ve added related to your contact(s). On the profile tab, you will see we’ve added a new option to “Invite to BBM” (assuming you aren’t already connected). Once selected you will be prompted to send an invitation email to the contact.

Click invite to BBM (above) to send the email displayed below.

To maintain the security and privacy of other users, we give the other user the option to connect, but assuming they do, you will be real-time messaging with them in seconds.

Export Gist contacts to BlackBerry Contacts App
Many of you have requested export capabilities from GfBB to your BlackBerry Contacts App. We are happy to let you know that this is now possible. From the contact profile tab in Gist, scroll to the bottom and select “Send to BlackBerry Contacts”.

We know many of our users have a large network and therefore many contacts in their Gist account. Our founder, for example, has over 70,000 contacts in his Gist account. We suggest using this new feature to export the people you contact or look-up on a regular basis and leave the rest in Gist. With the rich Gist search you can quickly and easily find contact information as you need it on Gist, versus exporting all of them to your device.

Add and Delete Contacts
Until now users have had to log into gist.com on the web to manually add or delete contacts in their Gist account. You can now do this from your BlackBerry device! Open the Gist contacts list view, select the BlackBerry menu key and choose either add or delete contact.

We hope you enjoy these new features. This is another step in our mission to bring the powerful features of Gist to the Blackberry audience.  To see more of our work, check out the recent work on the Playbook Contacts app and stay tuned as we bring even more power to Blackberry 10.

These days, if you want to attract top talent to your company, you’ve got to offer something that’s “above and beyond” compared to traditional office settings.  You can blame this new way of doing business on Google (who is widely recognized as being one of the first major companies to offer such perks as flexible workstations, onsite catering and other amenities), or you can get with the times and transform your own office into the cutting edge workplace your employees desire!

Here’s how to go about making the leap from traditional office to engaging, invigorating workplace:

Step #1 – Solicit open and honest feedback

The first key to transforming your workplace culture to be more “cutting edge” is to solicit open and honest feedback from your existing employees.

At first, this might sound simple.  However, hearing criticisms of the environment you’ve spent years building can be challenging – even for the least ego-driven among us!  But if you want your employees to be on board with this transformation, you must be willing to listen to the concerns they bring up without judgment or negative repercussions.

If you find that you aren’t able to keep your emotions out of the feedback-gathering process, consider hiring an outside management consultant to collect the necessary information from your staff about what’s working in your office, what isn’t and how things could be taken to the next level.

Step #2 – Change your environment to change your culture

Really, there are very few people who find the beige walls and drab cubicles that are endemic to modern office life inspiring.  If you want to change your office culture, start by changing your environment!

Transforming your space into one that reflects your vision of a hip, modern office doesn’t have to be expensive.  A simple coat of paint in a bright, invigorating color can do wonders for dated office buildings, while eliminating cubicle walls and gathering desks together in work groups can be another step to creating a more open feel.

If you have a small budget to commit to your office redesign, invest it in extra furniture and use the space freed up by your former cubicle walls to create relaxation spaces.  A small reading lounge, a foosball table or a video game station can all give your employees an outlet to relax and recharge their batteries – ultimately making them more productive at work.

Step #3 – Reevaluate industry standards

Although environmental factors play a role in the atmosphere of your company, the policies and procedures you have in place should be scrutinized just as closely.  If you really want to create a cutting edge workspace, everything needs to be put on the table – including long-held industry standards that are accepted as “de facto” principles of modern business.

The following are a few of the specific items you’ll want to address as part of your total corporate redesign:

• Management and reporting structures
• Regularly-held meetings
• Standard working hours
• Business systems (including email, calendar management, CRM programs and others)
• Time off policies (including vacation, sick time and leave policies)
• Fringe benefits offered to employees
• Compensation schedules

Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box.  Take the example of John Scumniotales, who decided to eliminate standard vacation policies for all his employees, one year after taking the helm as CEO of Verdiem.  In a recent post on Geekwire, Scumniotales explained the benefits of this change, saying:

“One of the ways we increased trust with our employees was by eliminating a formal vacation policy. We recommend our employees take about three weeks of vacation per year, but we don’t mandate that guideline.  Because we don’t track vacation or sick leave, employees take more responsibility for their own schedules and work-life balance, and reciprocate by respecting the company.”

Step #4 – Embrace a results only environment

Today’s employees are as motivated by the “work/life balance” as they are career advancement, so any plan to modernize your office culture should consider methods for providing increased flexibility where possible.

If you’re truly committed to creating a cutting edge workspace that values your employees as people – not just human resources – you’ll want to look into the new model of results only work environments (ROWE).  Essentially, businesses that adopt this model permit employees complete freedom in their working hours, work location and more – as long as their assigned tasks are finished on schedule.

Transitioning to an ROWE from a traditional office environment isn’t easy, but the benefits in terms of hiring and retaining talented employees may be worth the interim discomfort.

Step #5 – Think big, start small

All of the steps listed above are great ways to transform your office into a cutting edge workspace.  But realistically, if you’re planning to change every single aspect of your current office life, you may be better off breaking your changes into smaller chunks to avoid alienating your existing employees.

For example, you could start by making a few changes to your office space, in addition to eliminating or modifying your most restrictive corporate policies.  Over time, you can continue to integrate the additional changes necessary to create a more responsive workplace, being sure to solicit ongoing feedback from employees throughout the process to ensure all relevant concerns are being addressed.

Dramatically changing your workplace to be more cutting edge may sound like a daunting process, but ultimately, you’ll see tremendous benefits in terms of your overall employee satisfaction and retention rates.

Image: stevenin4D

While we at Gist are obviously big fans of the Playbook 2.0 native Contacts app, we do also recognize that a substantial percentage of users out there rely on Google Contacts and other Google services to power their business networking.

And although we certainly recommend installing the Gist app for Gmail in order to build the power of a social CRM system into your Google email and contact management system, there are a few other tips and tricks you’ll want to follow to make the standalone Google Contacts program work better.

Here’s what you need to know:

Tip #1 – Make and manage Google Contact groups

One of the best features of Google Contacts is its ability to quickly and easily sort contacts into groups – which is a “must do” for business professionals who regularly message small teams of people.

For example, if you work with a team of virtual assistants to manage your business, creating a “VA Group” by logging into Google Contacts and selecting “New Group…” from the left-hand sidebar will enable you to email your entire team simultaneously – instead of wasting time selecting each individual email address separately.

Bonus Tip – Be aware that, if you have multiple email addresses stored for some of your contacts (for example, a business and personal address), Google allows you to specify which address should be added to individual groups.

Tip #2 – Update information for sharing across Google+

Recently, Google announced that contact information found within your Google Contacts account will be displayed within your contacts’ Google+ profiles.  This move has been widely heralded as a positive step, as it will allow Google+ users to eliminate the extra effort needed to cross-reference profiles in order to find the contact information they’ve only stored in one of these two services.

For this reason, it’s a good idea to fill out as many fields as possible within each entry in your Google Contacts account (if, of course, you use the Google+ network).  Doing so will enable you to reference contact information more effectively without the hassle of switching between websites to find the data you need.

Tip #3 – Merge duplicates regularly

Another feature that Google Contacts offers that isn’t regularly provided by other address book systems is the ability to merge duplicate contacts – so take advantage of this tool!

To merge your duplicate contacts, click the “More” button and select “Find & merge duplicate contacts…” from the drop-down list that appears.  Google will automatically search your saved contacts and compile those it believes are related.  From there, you’ll have the option to save multiple email addresses under a single name or reject Google’s proposed merges.

Making it a habit to regularly review your contacts and merge any duplicates that occur (or delete any outdated addresses this search reveals) will help to keep your address book useful and up-to-date.

Tip #4 – Sync contacts with your other accounts

Another advantage that Google Contacts does offer is its portability.  If you have all of your contacts filed away on your business Outlook account, for example, accessing this information while away from your desk will be much more challenging than using Google’s centralized system.

However, this doesn’t mean that syncing your Google Contacts information across other accounts and mobile devices is a seamless process.  There are a few common errors you’ll want to watch out for as you integrate your business contact data across multiple platforms.

To sync your Google Contacts data to your Blackberry, you’ll need to download the Google Sync app.  Once installed, this app will enable you to copy your existing Google Contacts data to your phone’s address book; as well as manually set how and when future syncs occur.  If you use the Gmail platform in addition to Google Contacts, you’ll need to download the separate Gmail app as well, as Google Sync can’t handle this integration on its own.

For complete information on how to sync your Google Contacts account across other platforms and devices, check out Google’s Sync services tutorial page.

Tip #5 – Adjust your auto-saving settings

One final tip for making Google Contacts as effective as possible deals with a frustration that many users encounter when navigating Google Contacts – the fact that the service automatically saves every new email address you send a message to from Gmail in the “Other Contacts” section of your Contacts account.  While, in some situations, this may be useful, people who use their Gmail accounts to mass mail prospective clients, organizations and other groups of strangers will likely find that this feature quickly clutters the Google Contacts interface.

Fortunately, fixing this issue is easy.  Simply log in to your Gmail account, click the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner and navigate to your “Settings” menu.  On the “General” tab, you should see a section labeled “Create contacts for auto-complete.”  Change the radio button to “I’ll add contacts myself,” click save and this otherwise-automatic feature will be turned off.

Do you have any other tips or tricks for working with Google Contacts?  If so, share your advice in the comments section below!

Images: adria.richards

There’s a lot going around the web right now about what a failure Google+ has been since its launch almost a year ago.  Industry insiders are falling all over themselves to decry the web giant’s platform as “irrelevant” or “unwanted” – even Google employees aren’t sold on the concept, as demonstrated by one engineer’s mistakenly-released statement that read, “The Google+ platform is a pathetic afterthought.”

Now, admittedly, adoption of the site has been somewhat limited, with the bulk of current participation occurring in the tech and business sectors.  And it’s true that Google+ didn’t immediately surpass Facebook or Twitter in terms of active users or popularity, or generate the kind of mass exodus some web business strategists predicted following its initial release.

But really, to say that Google+ is an outright failure – even in light of these criticisms – is shortsighted.

First of all, the platform itself is good.  At its core, Google+ is more intuitive and easier to use than Facebook, and the features it offers (including the platform’s video chat system, for example) far surpass anything that’s currently being offered by the reigning titans of social networking websites.

It’s also substantially easier to set appropriate privacy settings and protect your personal information using Google+ than it is on Facebook.  As social networking participants become increasingly tired of the endless social game requests, incomprehensible privacy policy changes and ad-driven atmosphere found on Facebook, it’s my guess that participation on Google’s fledgling social network will grow significantly.

And given the site’s future potential, I believe there’s going to be a natural “first mover” advantage to those who establish themselves as thought leaders on the site early on.  However, this isn’t the only reason to get a jump on engaging with the Google+ network…

One of the most interesting features of the Google+ launch has been the way content found on the site has been integrated into personalized search results pages.  Google has long made it known that the personalization of its search results – that is, the display of unique SERPs based on your personal experiences and preferences – is a priority for the company.

At its core (and despite its many other ventures), Google is still primarily a search engine.  But to retain its dominance in this industry, Google must continue to provide the best possible search results to its users – and increasingly, its competitors aren’t other search engines, but individualized apps that return information based on a user’s profile.

In order to compete in this newly-social market, Google has begun integrating recommendations based on personal connections within the Google+ to the traditional SERPs.  For example, if you carry out a search for “inbound marketing tactics” and one of your Google+ contacts has recently shared an article on this same subject, you may see this link appear in the results page – even if that page wouldn’t ordinarily rank highly on its own according to traditional SEO principles.

The implications for the inverse of this idea are especially staggering.  If content recommended by others in your social circles has the potential to disrupt the traditional search results from displaying, your website articles could similarly infiltrate other natural SERPs based solely on the relationships you’ve built with individual searchers.

This effect could be incredibly powerful if you operate in highly competitive markets.  Rather than investing hundreds of hours in getting your articles to rank well in the traditional SERPs for tough keyword phrases, your content could jump to a top spot based on the personal relationships you’ve built alone.  Any industry figure that wants to belittle the impact this change could have on your traffic levels and perceived authority is – in my opinion – seriously missing the bigger picture!

Of course, to take advantage of this effect, you’ve got to have a large enough and active enough presence on this growing social network.  If you don’t have any followers (or, if you have followers, but never interact with them), your ability to have your content prioritized in future personalized results will be limited – further limiting your recognition as an industry thought leader.

So if you aren’t already active on Google+, take the time to start building your profile and your audience now.  Add as many of your industry peers to your Google+ circles as you can, and use social sharing tools on your website to encourage others to add you as well.  Then, make it a priority to share interesting content (both your own articles and those curated from other sources) and engage with your contacts on the site.

In general, treat Google+ with the importance you give your marketing efforts on Facebook and Twitter.  Given that all evidence points to Google continuing to pursue social integrations like the Google+/Google SERPs link, there’s a good chance that the site’s value from a marketing and personal branding standpoint will only continue to grow in the future.

Image: Quinn.anya

This isn’t 1995 – keeping your valuable business contact information stuck inside single a Rolodex or Excel spreadsheet (or even within the confines of your desktop email management program) simply won’t cut it anymore!

As modern business practices change, so must the ways we manage information.  And when it comes to quickly and efficiently capturing business contact information, this new workstyle requires multiple solutions that allow you to reference client and prospect data using a wide variety of tools in a wide variety of situations.

The following are a few different ways to fill your address book, using the tools and solutions available in this modern market:

Tip #1 – Use automated business card processing apps

Although Outlook, Google Contacts or any other traditional address book management system can be a useful starting place for storing business contact data, these systems do have their limitations – one of which is the challenge of importing data from new contacts.

Say you spend a weekend roaming around an industry tradeshow and come home with a stack of business cards.  Sure, you could carefully type all of this data into your electronic address book – but why waste your time and risk errors when it isn’t necessary?

Instead, give the Cardmunch or Card 2 Contact apps a try.  Cardmunch is a free tool from LinkedIn that allows you to take pictures of the business cards you collect using your smartphone camera, creating a digital Rolodex of all your new contacts that can be easily browsed.  As an added bonus, the app will sync your imported cards back to your new contacts’ LinkedIn profiles, enabling you to access even more information about these professionals.

Card2Contact provides similar functionality for Blackberry users, but with the added bonus of manual transcription services that capture every detail of the business cards you upload.  This valuable contact information can then be accessed from within the app or synced to your Blackberry address book for permanent storage.

Tip #2 – Use eGrabber to extract email signature contact information

Of course, Cardmunch has its limitations.  It can’t be synced back to most address books, and it’s really only useful in the case of storing the information found on the business cards you receive.  What happens if most of your prospecting and networking occurs via email?

In this case, another type of program – the signature file extractor – might make more sense for you.  Esseentially, these programs browse through your incoming messages and, when they encounter data from a new contact, add a person’s contact details to your address book automatically.  Again, using this type of tool in your business can be a great way to save time and eliminate the chance of making costly errors in your data transcription.

For this purpose, our favorite tool is eGrabber, which offers a number of different features at various price points.  The company’s “Address Grabber” suite (which integrates with a number of standard address books and web CRM systems) captures personal contact information from email message and offers a free trial option allowing you test-drive the service.  Additional data capturing solutions are available from the company, depending on your specific needs.

Tip #3 – Hire a virtual assistant for business contact data processing

While both Cardmunch and eGrabber can be great tools for managing your business contact lists, they aren’t a good fit for every professional.  Cardmunch, for example, won’t sync with popular address book systems, which means that using this tool will result in two separately stored contact lists.  For some users, this isn’t an issue, while others may find the need to switch between two different systems a hassle.

Similarly, while eGrabber’s software tools integrate with a number of popular contact management systems, its functionality isn’t universal – meaning that the program may or may not work with your chosen address book or CRM tool.

The alternative, however, isn’t to revert back to entering all of your business contact information by hand!  After all, you’re a busy professional, and your time is undoubtedly better spent on important business priorities than on hand-typing contact data into your address book.

This is where virtual assistants can come in.  Instead of capturing business card images in Cardmunch, an outsourced worker can take your pictures and transcribe them directly into your address book.  At the same time, your assistant (when given the proper access) can capture signature block data and input it into your CRM system – saving you time and energy that’s best allocated elsewhere.

Tip #4 – Make more contacts!

So far, in this article, we’ve talked about different ways to input contact information into your chosen address book or CRM tool.  Obviously, though, transcribing this information is only half the battle!  If you really want to fill your address book, you’ve got to make networking a priority in your business.

Consider any of the following options for boosting your industry presence:

• Attend industry networking events in your area to connect with potential business partners and mentors.
• Travel for major industry conferences and events (being sure to prioritize those that include the specific people you want to meet and connect with).
• Form your own networking group if there aren’t any in your area that meet your specific needs.
• Participate actively in social media and use the low barriers to entry found on these sites to build relationships with authority figures within your industry.
• Make an effort to connect other business professionals to one another (being viewed as a super-connecter often has a way of coming back to you).

At all of these events, make it a priority to collect each new contact’s business information and conduct ongoing follow-up when appropriate.  Over time, the value of the relationships you’ve built and the effectiveness with which you’ve stored and managed your business contact information will go a long way towards the success of your business.

Image: firexbrat

As far as technological advancements go, it’s pretty hard to beat the internet and the myriad forms of digital communication it’s enabled.  What once would have taken days spent passing information via phone and physical mail can now be accomplished in minutes, allowing businesses to grow more quickly and leverage more assets from a wider variety of sources.

Unfortunately, while there’s no doubt that email can be powerful, it can also get out of hand.  The ease with which email messages can be sent often results in more messages – not necessarily more effective communication.

So if your email inbox is so packed with archived information that you’re downright amazed it hasn’t yet achieved sentience, check out the following productivity tips on how to slay the inbox dragon once and for all!

Tip #1 – Get to “Inbox Zero” (and stay there!)

“Inbox Zero” is a concept that was popularized by productivity website 43 Folders and refers to an inbox that’s meticulously maintained with no outstanding messages filed in the inbox area.  When inbox zero is the goal, incoming messages are sorted through, prioritized and dealt with immediately – eliminating the subconscious stress that can pile up from having hundreds upon hundreds of unread messages floating around inside your inbox.

Of course, getting to inbox zero and staying there can be quite a challenge if you’ve never managed your inbox effectively before.  However, there are a few tools you can use that will make the transition easier.  First, start with Baydin’s Email Game – an add-on for the Chrome browser that turns email processing into a fun game by setting a time limit for dealing with each message in your inbox and awarding points for each message you handle.

Then, once you’ve used the Email Game to clean out your inbox, install one of our favorite programs – Sanebox – to help keep your email account neat and tidy by filtering out unimportant messages for later processing.

Tip #2 – Avoid repetitive messages with email templates

No matter what industry you’re in, chances are there are at least a few stock messages you find yourself sending over and over.  Whether you’re sending out hundreds of prospecting emails to potential new clients or following up on the same questions that are asked over and over again about your business, an email template program that allows you to store and call up common messages can save you tons of time over constantly typing these emails from scratch.

When it comes to creating effective email templates, our favorite program is Yesware – a great tool that combines rich email templates with the power of a social CRM system.  Best of all, most users will benefit from its free subscription version alone (though fully-featured plans are also available for more advanced users).

Tip #3 – Track open times to increase follow-up responsiveness

Email communication should be a tool that supports your business – not yet another overbearing demand on your time!  But unfortunately, if you’re using this tool ineffectively, you’re wasting time that could be better spent working on the focused activities that will help grow your business.

One such inefficiency occurs when you repeatedly check your email inbox, looking for responses from the people you’ve contacted.  A much better solution is to track when your recipients open the messages you’ve sent, using a tool like Mirapost.  Once you know that your messages have been opened and read, you can follow-up in a much more effective manner than simply guessing whether or not your information has been received.

Tip #4 – Manage contacts in a holistic way

Old contact lists – which store basic contact information like phone numbers and email addresses, but nothing else – simply aren’t useful given the way business is conducted these days!

Instead, you need a program that tracks your contacts’ recent online activities in addition to compiling follow-up information from multiple sources.  Indeed, there are several such tools available that allow you to manage multiple types of contact information, while also compiling information about your contact’s most recent tweets, status updates and blog posts.

Obviously, we’re partial to Gist for this need, although other tools like Rapportive and Salesforce.com can accomplish similar results.

Tip #5 – Limit email checking

Now that you’ve put these effective email management systems into place, it’s time to trust that they’re doing their jobs and break the habit of repetitive email checking that’s costing you significantly in terms of productivity.

Most experts estimate that switching between tasks costs us about 15 minutes of “recouping time” every time we move from one project to another.  So if you’re constantly interrupting your focused work to check email, you aren’t just losing the time spent in your inbox – you’re also losing the time needed to get back into the swing of the project you were previously working on!

To eliminate this inefficient time suck, it’s crucial that you limit the number of times you check your email messages.  Browser extensions like StayFocused and Leechblock can be programmed to only allow access to your email accounts at certain times of the day – for example, at noon and 4:00pm, as recommended by productivity expert Tim Ferriss.

Be careful though – you’ll need to be strict with yourself to prevent “cheating” by opening your email on your smartphone or other browsers in order to make your email management system as effective as possible!

Image: kla4067

In an ideal world, we’d all have access to unlimited capital, along with a team of mentors that recognized our true genius and supported our every decision.

But let’s face it – we’re startup entrepreneurs!  Getting things done on a budget isn’t just smart financial planning; it’s the only way to operate in an environment that forces you to be a lean, mean, business-doing machine.

Really, investing wisely in your business can make the difference between a company that survives its early growth periods and one that burns itself out before reaching its true potential.  So read on for more tips on how to make the smart financial decisions needed to lead your business to success:

Tip #1 – Spend Money Strategically

This tip might sound obvious, but the problem is that most of us are pretty good at talking ourselves into justifying any purchases we really want to make as “strategic.”  Of course, when you’re running on limited funding, you’ve got to be pretty strict with yourself about what constitutes a valuable business expense and which costs can be pushed aside until you’re better capitalized later on.

The following are a few “must have” expenses you can probably do without until your company has extra cash on hand:

• Office space and office equipment – Yes, you need somewhere to conduct business, but in many cases, this space doesn’t need to exist in a separate office.  There are plenty of options out there that provide business space on a startup budget, so be sure to investigate these opportunities before committing to a commercial real estate lease.
• Industry conferences and travel – While conferences can be a great way to make vital connections within your industry and network with your peers, there’s no arguing with the fact that they’re expensive.  If you feel you must go to a conference to build brand recognition, identify key contacts you’d like to connect with and determine which single conference they’ll all be at in order to maximize your investment.
• Expensive training courses – Online sales pitches can be incredibly persuasive, but unless you’ve identified a specific education need that only a certain coach can fulfill, it’s best to hold off on expensive training products until you have the cash on hand to reinvest in your education.

Tip #2 – Recognize the “Time versus Money” Tradeoff

Now, although my first tip revolved around cutting costs, this isn’t an article on saving money or setting a business budget.  Instead, we’re talking about investing wisely in your business – and sometimes, that requires spending money.

For example, suppose you’re a skilled graphic designer who has a great idea for a web app.  Unfortunately, you don’t know how to code well – which means you’ve got to either learn web development yourself or hire the task out to someone with more experience in that area.  However you decide to proceed, there will be a cost associated with your choice – but it’s up to you to determine whether that cost will be assessed in term of time or money.

Of course, your specific situation will dictate how “time versus money” tradeoffs will be made.  If there’s absolutely no way you can spend money on your web app, you’re going to have to learn how to code.  On the other hand, if you have even a small amount of capital (whether your own savings or personal credit, or an investor’s monetary injection), you may decide to spend this money on hiring a web developer or on some even larger task that’s looming large over your head.

Be sure to investigate all factors involved before making these decisions.  Following our example, if the time it will take you to learn how to write web code risks erasing the competitive advantage your app would hold by being the first to market, it may be in your best interest to come up with the necessary cash.  Keep in mind the popular saying, “Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish,” and apply this bit of wisdom to the difficult financial choices that will need to be made within your startup.

Tip #3 – Seek Out Free Options

Finally, keep in mind that too many people automatically assume they’ll need to shell out their limited funds for the products and services needed to grow their businesses.  In fact, there is a wealth of free resources out there, if you simply take a minute to open your eyes and look for them!

For example, instead of hiring a web developer and burning through your cash as a result, you could seek out a coder who’s open to bartering web services in exchange for graphic design work.

Instead of investing in paid business management tools like Basecamp or Salesforce, you could seek out free alternatives, including Trello or Gist.

And instead of spending money on that expensive training program you know you want to buy, you could simply run a Google search for advice on your specific questions.  You’ll be amazed by how many free resources exist in the business world today that will give you all the information you need to succeed without requiring a dime in return.

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Google’s Chrome browser isn’t just the fastest web browsing option on the market today – with a few tweaks and add-ons, you can easily turn this program into a productivity machine!

Here’s how to customize this popular web browser to help you to complete business tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible…

Technique #1 – Let Google Chrome open commonly-used tabs for you

When you first sit down to work, it’s important to get into the swing of things as quickly as possible in order to maximize productivity.  So instead of wasting time opening an individual tab for each of the sites you usually access, use Chrome’s built-in settings to automatically open these pages.

To do this, click on the wrench icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, then select “Settings.”  From here, click the “Open the following pages” radio button and input the addresses of your most commonly-used websites.  Once you save these changes, Chrome will automatically open your selected pages whenever you open a new browser window.

Technique #2 – Limit distractions with browser-restriction extensions

Any business professional who uses the web knows what a challenge it can be to maintain focus in this potentially distracting environment.  “Sure,” you tell yourself.  “I deserve this five minute break to watch cute kitten videos on Youtube…”  Two hours later, when you’re finally able to tear yourself away from viral video delights, you sit back and wonder what the heck happened to your productive afternoon.

This entire situation could have been avoided by enabling potent browser-restriction extensions within Google Chrome.  Consider any of the following options if you need a little extra support when it comes to staying on task:

• StayFocused – Like Leechblock and RescueTime (which we’ve profiled here on Gist before), StayFocused offers similar functionality in terms of allowing certain unproductive sites to be shut down for periods of time.  However, one extra feature this extension boasts is the “nuclear” option, which allows you to block the entire internet for a certain amount of time while you get down to business.
• StrictPomodoro – If you use the Pomodoro method of enforcing productivity, this Chrome extension is a “must have”.  Not only does it track your Pomodoro cycles, it shuts down distracting website pages from being displayed while a work session is in progress.

Technique #3 – Improve your email experience

Don’t like the way Gmail looks in your browser?  Wish you had a quick and easy way to add commonly repeated phrases to your email messages?  No matter what your beef with your current email experience is, the Chrome browser’s got you covered!

Check out the following Google Chrome extensions in order to power up your email management and improve your productivity in this area:

• Minimalist for Everything – If you can’t seem to tune out Google’s endless stream of notifications, pop-ups and announcements, try the Minimalist for Everything extension, which will clean up the way you view your Gmail account, your Google Reader page and other related programs.
• Email Game – Staying on top of your email inbox can be a challenge, but this unique Chrome extension turns email management into a game.  By earning points and receiving positive feedback for acting decisively to manage your messages, you’ll find it much easier to stay on top of your email accounts.
• Mailto:Gmail – This simple extension causes Gmail to load as your standard email service whenever a “mailto” link is clicked, eliminating the hang time needed to switch browser tabs, launch Gmail and compose a new message.

Technique #4 – Track time easily with Google Chrome

Time-tracking is a crucial pursuit for most business people, whether you’re managing your hours for client billing purposes or simply to ensure that you’re being as productive as possible.  Again, Google Chrome can help manage this need through the use of the following helpful add-on extensions:

• Yast – With both free and paid versions, the Yast extension offers a thorough set of tools designed to simplify the process of tracking and managing time.  Check it out if you need the ability to track time for multiple projects or clients simultaneously.
• DeskTime – While wasting your own time on unproductive websites is one thing, having your employees waste valuable company time on similar pursuits can have a major impact on your business’s bottom line.  See what your employees are up to and track their productive versus unproductive time using the DeskTime Chrome extension.

Technique #5 – Manage browsing sessions for maximum productivity

Conducting web research efficiently can be a challenge.  While you might start researching a single topic, one interesting article often leads to another – and before you know it, you’ve got 30+ browser tabs open across several different windows!

And unfortunately, while all of this information might be useful to you at some point, it’s tough to be productive when it takes you minutes at a time to sort through all these different windows to find the specific fact you need.  To manage your browsing sessions more efficiently, take a look at any of the following Google Chrome add-ons:

• Session Buddy – If you have sets of websites that you need to access frequently, use the Session Buddy Chrome extension to save time by creating browser tab groups that can be opened together.
• Split Screen – Having two monitors may be nice, but splitting your browser window into two screens using the Split Screen Chrome extension is a much cheaper way to boost your productivity!
• No More Tabs – If your browsing sessions typically end with 10+ open tabs, you’re limiting your productivity by forcing yourself to navigate through page after page to find the information you read earlier.  To eliminate this situation from occurring, install the No More Tabs Chrome extension and set a limit on the number of tabs you can have open at any given time.

Technique #6 – Store information for easy retrieval later

As you’re working online, you’ll likely come across at least a few different resources you’ll want to explore more deeply.  However, rather than break your concentration and disrupt your productive “focus time”, use the following Chrome extensions to capture these interesting pieces of information for later review:

• Read Later Fast – Read Later Fast enables you to quickly capture web URLs for later reading.  Once the extension is installed, all you need to do is right click on a page to save it to your RLF reading list, which can be accessed later once your focused work is done.
• Pixlr Grabber – If, instead of storing pages to be read later, you’d like to capture images or screen content for later reference, check out the Pixlr Grabber Chrome add-on.  The program allows you to quickly grab screenshots, which are then automatically uploaded to a cloud-based image hosting service for easy sharing between computers and colleagues.
• Evernote Web Clipper – If you use the free Evernote service to manage notes, “to do” lists and more, you need the Chrome “Web Clipper” extension, which allows you to capture web content to your Evernote account for easy retrieval later.

What are we missing from this list?  Share your favorite Google Chrome extensions for productivity in the list below!

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For busy professionals, the idea of hiring a virtual assistant (VA) can seem like a godsend.  Not only can you use this creative type of hiring to eliminate busy work from your day, the global nature of today’s virtual workforce means that you could hire a VA who’s able to work on your projects while you sleep – and for significantly less money than what you’d pay a local employee!

However, just because the idea of hiring a global VA sounds promising doesn’t mean that the execution of such a monumental task is either quick or easy.  Check out the following list of pros and cons to get a feel for whether hiring a virtual assistant is the right choice for your growing company:

Pro – VAs help you to get more done

Simply put, hiring another person to work on your team helps you to get more work done and to finish projects faster.  For example, if you’re looking to launch your product or service in a new market, hiring an outsourced worker to handle market research, make initial industry contacts in the area or carry out any other aspect of your debut can free up a significant amount of your time.

It’s true that “Many hands make light work,” so if you’re struggling with an overwhelming “to do” list, hiring a virtual worker could be a good way to alleviate some of this burden.

Pro – Hiring a VA frees up your time for higher-level pursuits

Most business owners – at one point or another – will face the challenge of balancing time between focused work on key priorities and the administrative tasks needed to sustain these endeavors.

Unfortunately, as the size of your company grows, the administrative demands needed to fuel your business’s growth may outweigh the need for other types of work, creating a frustrating situation in which your energies are pulled away from the tasks you love – and that prompted you to start your business in the first place!

So if you find yourself focusing more on administrative duties and less on the priority work you’re uniquely suited to accomplish, consider handing over the reins on some of these less important tasks to a VA in order to free up your time for higher-level pursuits.

Pro – Hiring a VA can make your business more scalable

In too many fledgling startups, the single entrepreneur at its core becomes a limiting factor that prevents the company from growing according to its true potential.  If, say, you’re the only person in your organization able to code well enough to build your web app startup, your business will only grow as long as you’re able to focus on coding (which, as mentioned earlier, often falls to the wayside when confronted by the administrative needs of a growing company).

In many cases, for your business to grow successfully, you’ll need to develop economies of scale that remove you as the limiting factor.  Hiring a VA to take over various elements of your growing business can be one good way to ensure you aren’t limited in this way.

Con – VAs must be used efficiently in order to be effective

Of course, it’s worth keeping in mind that the statement above – that, “VAs help you get more done” – should come with a caveat.  VAs can only help you to get more done if you’re using their time effectively.  Hiring a VA just to delegate busy work or other unnecessary tasks that should be eliminated – not outsourced – isn’t a good use of your time or money.

For this reason, it’s vital that take the time to outline your business practices before hiring your first VA to determine whether or not this type of worker will truly help your company grow or simply become another cog in an inefficient wheel.

Con – Choosing the right VA is a “time versus money” tradeoff

Hiring a foreign VA for a few dollars an hour might seem like a no-brainer, but if you plan to outsource complex business tasks or projects that require excellent English language skills, you may find that you’ll ultimately pay more to get a non-native speaker up-to-speed than what it’d cost you to simply outsource to an English-language VA in the first place.

When hiring outsourced workers, you’ll need to decide between hiring domestically and hiring abroad.  Though there are relative advantages and disadvantages to each, don’t be penny-wise and pound-stupid when delegating important tasks to your virtual assistants.

Con – VAs may require extensive training to get up to speed

Finally, one common misconception about hiring VAs is that the process is as simple as posting a job description, selecting a qualified worker and then turning over the reins to your business empire.

For example, suppose you decide to hire a VA to work on your website’s link building campaigns.  Although these activities are vital to growing your company’s web presence, there are about a hundred different ways these links can be created – from securing high value guest posting spots to automatically creating thousands of scam profile backlinks.  If you’re only looking to create a certain type of backlink, you’ll need to either hire a VA with this specific type of experience or be prepared to put in the hours of training necessary to get your VA up to speed.

However, don’t let the idea of investing in a VA’s training turn you off from the idea of outsourced workers entirely.  If you find the right person, who’s available at the right price, investing in his or her training could result in a long-term partnership that will be vital to your business’s growth and success.

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