Tag: graditude

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How to Do More with Less

Many folks in western society have been taught by word and deed that being busy makes them a good person. The truth is, being busy does not mean that you are productive. You can be busy doing the wrong things. Getting more done with less implies that the impact you make is more significant than your effort.

 

Some ways to get more done with less:

 

  • Understand your key objectives – For any task, what is the point of doing it? Does this task actually impact any of your critical business objectives or the objective of the one task?
  • Automate – If you can document the steps you do for a task, you can likely automate a lot of it. From using macros within your documentation to implementing new automation tech, there is likely a way to do it.
  • Outsource – If you cannot automate it, you can likely get someone else to do it for you. As a business owner, you should actually make it your goal to outsource or automate almost every task in your business, with few exceptions.
  • Batch tasks – Once you’ve figured out what tasks you really do need to do, batch things together that make sense. The fewer steps you can take, the better. For example, if you need to do bookkeeping, save all your booking entries to do one day a week instead of doing it daily.
  • Avoid multitasking – When you are doing a task, do that task. Don’t do anything else that will take away your focus. No human really can multitask anyway.
  • Create realistic schedules – When you write your tasks into your calendar, it should make sense. If a task takes four hours, you need to ensure you really have four hours and not one. For example, include set up time, drive time, and all the time needed to finish the task as scheduled completely.
  • Do the hard things first – If there is one thing on your list you really don’t want to do, but you cannot eliminate it, automate it, or outsource it, get that out of the way first thing.
  • Track your time – When you first start doing things, it helps to track your time so that you stay mindful of how you’re spending it and so that you know how long any given thing really takes you.
  • Focus on money-making tasks – Note which tasks you do that generate invoicing or money in your pocket. These need to be done first thing.
  • Cut distractions – Set up your workspace to eliminate distractions and interruptions. Turn off notifications, your phone, the TV, or anything that can take your mind off what you are doing.
  • Use the right tools – Don’t skimp on investing in the tools of your trade. If a tool exists to use that helps streamline your business and eliminate busywork, you need it.
  • Know your top five – Everyone has off days, but if you create a list of the top five money-making must-dos for a basic day, then even when you have issues, you can focus on those top five tasks.

 

Remember that being organized in your business is part of what a business owner does. Business owners reduce risk in their business by organizing, planning, and generating new ideas that create new opportunities.

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What Do You Do All Day?

 

As a business owner, you have a lot on your plate. But, in order to figure out how to automate your business, you first need to know in detail what you do all day long so that you know which tasks can be automated, should be automated, and even whether it’s something you should be doing at all.

Review
Stay focused

In every business, you will have daily tasks, weekly tasks, monthly tasks, and even yearly tasks or quarterly tasks. The best thing to do is to get out a calendar and enter the items you know you have to do.

 

For example, you have to pay quarterly taxes, and you have to balance your books at the end of the month. You must buy a business license each October or January depending on your location and the rules and laws in your area. Whatever it is that you know for sure has to be done, enter it into your calendar, blocking off the approximate time it will take you to do it.

 

But there are also the daily things you do that generate your income. When it comes to generating income, it’s essential to specify which actions you are doing that generate income and which actions you’re doing that support generating income. Go through the steps you take in your day and write down what you’re doing, step by step.

What’s Your Job as The Owner of Your Business?

 

Coaches Example

 

Ø  Business: Coaches retired teachers starting a second career as independent course and project designers.

 

Ø  Morning: Checks the mail, email, and Trello to find out if there are any fires to put out this morning before paying any bills due for the day. Calls her group coaching clients for the weekly hour Zoom group coaching session. Writes 7 product educational and nurturing emails for a new one-on-one coaching product to market to her group coaching clients.

 

Ø  Afternoon: Records part of an online course in development. Transcribes the group call and sets up her part as a standalone presentation video.

 

Ø  Evening: Answers coaching client questions for those who signed up to receive daily emails and schedules them to be delivered in the morning.

 

As you can see, this is just one day out of an entire year and is not representative of all the money-making tasks this coach does, nor is it a complete picture of what happens in the business overall. But it does give you a great idea about where to start automating and even outsourcing. Once you see what you’re doing visually written out, it’s a lot easier to figure out places that you can improve your process. Take the time to write out every process you do each day that you do them. Once you’ve documented the different activities you do each day, you can identify what needs to be perfected and then automated or outsourced or both.

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8 TIPS TO BRAVE THE WEATHER WHEN WALKING

 

The thing that often puts roadblocks in people’s way when it comes to establishing a firm walking routine is the weather. These tips will help you navigate and plan for that happening – because it will happen. That way, nothing gets in your way. Remember, if you have a plan you can implement it.

 

It’s Raining

 

When it’s raining and wet outside, it’s tempting to say you’re not going to walk out there. Certainly, you don’t have to – you can walk in a mall, at a gym, and in other indoor areas if you want to. However, walking in the rain isn’t generally unsafe.

 

It’s essential, like any other time, that you dress for the weather. If it’s raining, wear rain gear for walkers so that you can still use your hands to protect yourself from a fall. You might be surprised that walking in a gentle rain when it’s above 60 degrees F outside can be fun.

It’s Snowing

 

One issue with snow is the cold and the potential for ice. Check the weather to ensure it’s not too cold, and there are no warnings about dangerous cold. Even if it’s at freezing doesn’t mean you cannot walk if you have the right clothing and shoes on.

 

Take shorter, smaller steps to avoid slipping, and wear the right gear to protect you – including the correct type of shoes and outerwear to protect against wind and wetness in order to keep your body safe.

 

There’s Ice Out There

 

One of the times you might want to consider skipping walking outside is if there is ice or there is a significant wind chill factor. If you do find yourself walking on ice, it’s important to take smaller steps that are more like marching than walking normally. This will help you avoid slipping.

It’s Hot as Heck

When it’s hot outside, you can still walk. However, it is important to understand that there are times that it’s best to stay out of the heat. The main thing about heat is to ensure you wear the right clothing as protection, are drinking enough water to stay hydrated, and that you protect your skin and head from the heat.

It’s So Humid

 

Walking when it’s humid will make it feel much hotter and less comfortable, but you can still do it. You may need to walk slower, drink more water, and take more breaks. Wear thin cotton clothing so that it helps wick away the moisture from your body so that you can avoid chafing and blisters on your feet. Consider taking a change or two of socks for a longer walk.

 

There Is No Humidity

 

While it’s always more comfortable outside even in hot weather when there is low or little humidity (as in the desert), drinking enough water is even more important. You should wear clothing to cover your entire body and your head to keep cool, plus plan on taking at least a gallon of water with you for each hour you plan to walk. You need way more than the eight glasses a day in this type of climate; in fact, you may need up to 30 cups of water.

 

It’s Cold Outside

If it’s cold but not snowing or raining, walking is a good thing to do. If it’s not too cold to be outside safely (look at your local weather information), you can walk like you usually do even if it’s down as low as freezing if it’s not too windy or bad weather. Dress appropriately and you’ll be fine.

It’s Just Not Safe Outside 

 

If you have determined it’s just not safe for you to walk outside, or you simply don’t want to due to the bad weather, you don’t have to. You can go to a gym with an indoor track, the local indoor mall, and other indoor areas to walk, including a treadmill in your home when needed.

 

Walking in inclement weather is not hard to do. You simply need to dress accordingly and take enough water with you to keep yourself hydrated and healthy. If it’s too uncomfortable, you can do just as much walking inside if you prefer.

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HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SHOES

 

One of the things you need to consider if you want to start a walking program for yourself is your footwear. Finding the right shoe for walking is essential because if you have foot pain or problems with your feet, it can cause problems with the rest of your body too – from your legs to your knees to your back and more.

Walking

Buy a Walking Shoe

 

If you’re going to use the shoes for walking, you should buy a walking shoe. Walking shoes are typically lightweight, allow for ventilation to prevent moisture, have outsoles that provide traction, plus they offer the right type of arch support.

 

You Don’t Have to Buy Expensive Shoes

 

You really don’t have to buy an expensive walking shoe to protect your feet. You only need to make sure it has the right walking shoe features such as those mentioned above. Look for shoe sales in January and April to get the best deals on walking shoes.

Think About How Your Foot Is Shaped

 

Everyone is different, so once you start looking at walking shoes you want to figure out what type of foot you have. How wide is your foot? How long is your foot? Do you have a big arch or a small arch? Different walking shoes will fit different criteria.

 

Ensure That the Shoe Fits

 

When it comes to walking shoes, you don’t need to “break them in.” They should feel comfortable from the moment you put them on. When trying on the shoes, be sure to wear the type of socks you plan to wear while walking to ensure that they fit the same. Also, try shopping for shoes after you have been walking so that your feet are at their largest size. Get your feet measured too, because you may be wearing the wrong size out of habit.

 

Don’t Wear Old Shoes

You really do need to buy new shoes more often than you might think. A good walking shoe will last about 400 miles of use, but you can also choose to get rid of them when the outsole is worn (as a guide). The best thing though is to check your mileage, just like you would for your car tires. If the outsole is not in good shape, it can cause a considerable impact on the rest of your body due to not giving you enough traction or cushion for your steps.

Wearing the right walking shoes will prevent issues such as blisters, as well as body pain that can be caused by the shock of your foot hitting the pavement. That’s why a walking shoe is lighter, has good shock absorption due to the way the outsole is made, and good materials inside to cushion the impact of hitting the ground with each step. Your feet will thank you, and your entire body will thank you too.

13 WAYS WALKING CAN BENEFIT YOU

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Business Plan Resources You Can Use

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to create your business plan. There are numerous resources you can use to help you. Use this list to find resources to use to help you create the best and most functional business plan possible.

 

The more you work on this, the more likely you are to be successful. But don’t forget, set a deadline for yourself so that you finish your business plan so that you can get started living the life you dreamed you’d have as soon as possible.

 

  • Small Business Administration – [https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/write-your-business-plan] In the USA, you can use information from the SBA to help you create your business plan. They have a lot of precious information on their website and in their offices across the country, and most of it is free or low cost.

 

  • Business Plan Software – There are numerous choices, such as bplans.com, liveplan.com, and others. They’re all pretty much the same, so you can choose based on what you need.

 

  • Business Plan Templates – You can find them right inside your MS Office templates and free online. Whatever you do when you do use a template, don’t copy someone else’s information. Make sure you add your own information so you don’t make a mistake. Just use the template for layout purposes.

 

  • A Business Plan Outline – Once you decide the type of plan you want to create, make your own outline, so you don’t forget to add any information. It does help to have the basic structure laid out, so all you do is fill in your own information.

 

  • An Accountant or Other Professional Expert – CPAs, Enrolled Agents (EAs), and some bookkeepers who specialize in a business start-up are professionals you want to have on hand to help you with the financial aspects of your business plan. Plus, they can help you with tax planning. Every small business owner should visit a tax planner before they start their business.

 

  • A Mentor, Coach, or Consultant – There are people who are willing to assist you for free or for payment, depending on your situation. Try going to a local SCORE.org office to get some help with your business plan. You can also find a coach or consultant online. Ask your colleagues for referrals.

 

  • Find an Incubator – Almost every local city with a college or university has a small business incubator that is willing to help. Check out your local coworking spaces for more information about this. They can help guide you through your research and business plan creation.

 

Finally, you can also hire someone to create your business plan for you, but this can be expensive. It depends on your situation whether you do it alone, go the volunteer route, or hire someone. The main thing is to learn as much as you can about creating a business plan, read other people’s plans, and then get yours started and done.

How To Build A Wildly Profitable Income Stream From Home Without Lies, Hype, Manipulation or Pressure…

 

https://flawlessfreedom.com

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Information You Need to Know for Your Business Plan

 

There are many reasons to write a business plan. You may need a plan to borrow money, attract investors, or to validate your ideas. Plus, creating a business plan helps work out operating procedures and can put your business at a strategic advantage over other businesses.

 

To create your business plan, work on collecting the following information and documentation.

 

  • A Description of Your Business – This is simply what you do, who you do it for, why you do it, how you do it, and when you do it.

 

  • Describe the Problem(s) Your Customer Has That You Solve – Make a list of each problem you solve for your customer. Describe them fully and why they need to be solved. It can help to attach the product to the problem for reference.

 

  • Describe Your Solution – Explain how this solution solves the problem for your ideal customer. Try to write this from their perspective to ensure that you are putting the customer in a central place.

 

  • Describe Your Target Customer – You may need to describe more than one target depending on your products and services, especially if you have different levels of products, depending on their place in the customer buying journey. This is a good place for customer avatars.

 

  • Describe Your Competitive Advantage – This is all about how you are different from the competition. It may be due to price, service, innovation, operation, or something else. Some people also describe this as a unique selling point or unique selling proposition. It’s all about your place in the market and how you can leverage it to your advantage.

 

  • Describe Your Selling Process – Website, storefront, affiliates, distributors or salespeople, door-to-door, or something else? For example, perhaps you’ll set up a squeeze page with a freebie to build your list then nurture your relationship with them in email. Be specific and thorough.

 

  • Describe Your Business Model – This is a list of your revue streams and how you’re going to make money. If you have no revenue stream potential, you have no business. For example, starting a blog is not a business until you monetize it.

 

  • Describe Your Start-Up Costs – What are the funds you need to get started? List each expense and why you need it.

 

  • Describe Your Goals and Benchmarks – If you don’t set deadlines, it won’t happen, so make sure you match a deadline or benchmark to each of the goals you’ve set for your business. For example, “I will get 100 new customers each week by hosting two-hour long webinars each week.”

 

  • Describe Your Business Setup – For example, if you’re a sole proprietor who outsources to contractors, state that; if you are an employer with a management team, state so. If you plan to buy human resources, as time goes forward, mention those benchmarks so you know when this will happen.

 

  • Describe Resources You Have and Need – Make a list of the resources you have available now and how you’ll use them and a list of resources you need to buy, and when you’ll do so based on benchmarks.

 

As you work on creating your business plan, it can help to understand fully all the information and data that you need to complete a business plan that is useful for you. Use this list of information you need for your business plan to guide you as you create the plan and build your business.

How To Build A Wildly Profitable Income Stream From Home Without Lies, Hype, Manipulation or Pressure…

 

https://flawlessfreedom.com

 

 

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What Is Your Business’s Financial Outlook? How Can You Know?

As you are creating your business plan, the part about understanding your industry and business’ financial outlook can seem daunting. But the truth is, while the numbers are assumptions based on what you studied, if you do a good job, your projections should be pretty close. Let’s look at how you can know and document your business’s financial outlook.

 

  • Study Your Industry – Remember that killer technologies are always being invented that can impact your business and even end your business. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, but you should keep up to date so you can mitigate or change course as needed.

 

  • Study Your Competition – If you keep aware of your competition and what they’re doing every day, you’ll also see signs of issues in the industry or with your customers, especially if you’re in business by yourself and not a huge multinational corporation. If big businesses are worried about something, you should be too.

 

  • Project Your Expenses – Make a list of all the potential expenses you’ll have for your business—for example, website hosting, software updates, contractors, employees, supplies, and so forth. Before you make one cent, you’ll have a few expenses.

 

  • Project Your Income – After you know how many customers you can go after and how many you think you’ll convert over time, you can now project your income. You do that by figuring out how much they’ll buy per purchase, whether or not they’ll be repeat buyers, and how you’ll get more customers over time.

 

  • Know Your Break-Even Point – Your break-even point is when your basic expenses match your income. Knowing this is going to help you know where you can cut back in hard times.
  • Understand Your True Financial Needs – The business plan only includes how much you are going to make, how you’ll make it, and how you’ll spend it per your business, as a small business owner who wants to make a certain income, you can include that figure for your own needs.

 

  • Document the Potential Income and Expenses For 12 Months – Once you have the information, create a spreadsheet to enter the income and expenses you’ll have for your business over the next 12 months.

 

  • Use the Figures for Planning – Each of the numbers you generate can be used for future financial planning and business planning. For example, you can set up benchmarks that inform you when you add to your business. “When my net income is $5000.00 per month, I’ll hire a virtual assistant for $1000 a month.”

Know your number

  • Be Ready for The Unexpected – One thing that is always good to do with any financial projections is to have contingencies in place if your plans don’t work. For example, what will you do if there is a natural disaster? What if you can’t do business in the way you are used to? Can you change and how will you do it?

 

  • Monitor the Reality – While you’re making projections, understand that reality will happen as you grow your business. As reality happens, update your projections to account for that reality.

 

  • Update as You Know More – Update your projections any time you have new information that will make your numbers more accurate.

Use a spreadsheet to enter the figures you discover so that you can easily update it and change them based on new knowledge or assumptions. As you grow your business each year, your projections will become more and more accurate. This means the planning you do, based on those projections, will also become even more useful.

How To Build A Wildly Profitable Income Stream From Home Without Lies, Hype, Manipulation or Pressure…

 

https://flawlessfreedom.com

 

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How to Analyze Your Market and Why It’s Imperative to Do It

 

One thing you will notice about your business plan development is that there are lots of parts. You’ll have to do a lot of research to get the answers that enable you to create your business plan. Analyzing your Market is one of the things that you need to do to gather the right information. If you don’t go through this process, you may make decisions based on erroneous information.

How to Identify Over the Top Goals to Make Them Reasonable

 

A market analysis answers the following questions:

 

  • Who Are Your Ideal Customers? – Depending on your business, you may have several ideal target customers. Make a list of who your customers are. Describe them and give them a name so that it’s easy to know who you’re targeting with each new offer.

 

  • What Process Does Your Ideal Customer Go Through When Shopping? – In marketing, this is called the “buying journey.” It’s basically standard depending on where they are in the marketing funnel. Understand this so that you can differentiate the content you use to target them.

 

  • How Big Is Your Target Audience? – If you don’t know how many people are out there needing your solution, how do you know you can earn enough money. Pricing depends on many factors, such as how many people you can attract plus your production cost or time available to perform the services. If there are only 100 people who need what you’re offering, can you profit?

 

  • How Much Is Your Ideal Customer Willing to Pay? – Understanding who your customer is helps you also know how to price your products or services. Knowing their budgets and what keeps them up at night is enormously helpful.

 

  • Who is Your Competition and What Are Their Strengths and Weaknesses? – Understanding who and how your competition does business is also helpful. If you don’t have customers yet, you can learn almost everything you need to know by immersing yourself in studying them.

 

To get the information, you need to make good choices for your life and your business. Don’t try to skimp market research. Not only do you need to research before starting your business, but you should also continuously research your ideal customers over time.

 

While your customers may stay the same demographics, they can change their principles and values over time. Imagine creating a commercial for DOVE soap today compared to the 1940s and 1950s. Many old ads offend people today. You don’t ever want to offend your audience, so keep studying them and your market so that your communication with them fits.

 

  • Know Why You Are Doing the Research – Before you start researching, have a reason to do it. For example, if you want to find out where your ideal customer in the awareness stage finds their information, you should search for it; don’t just look at the information randomly, have a point for your research.

 

  • Stay Up to Date on Your Industry’s Outlook – One thing some business owners forget to study is the overall industry. You need to be on the lookout for killer technologies that might end the need for your product or service or otherwise change something drastic in your business. Remember, no one is still making VHS tapes. (Those used to have movies on them.)

 

  • Focus on Finding and Identifying Exactly Who Your Ideal Customer Is – You may think you know who your customer is already. If you do, it’s because you decided who they are before you even created your product. But if you already have a service or product, you may need to work a little harder finding the customer, but it is still possible.

 

  • Study Your Competition Regularly – Don’t just study the competition one time. Join their lists, get to know them. Become members of their community. The truth is, you never know when the competition might become a wonderful colleague.

 

  • Use the Data You Discover – Don’t just do all this work for nothing. Use the information you gather. Once you’ve collected the data and analyzed it make changes based on the facts. Then do it all again. And Again.

 

There is no point doing all this work researching if you’re not going to make changes and adjustments to your ideas. Once in a blue moon, your assumptions may be right, and your research confirms it, but often assumptions can be wrong, so always match your assumptions with the metrics and data that show the truth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Can You Describe Your Business?

One of the things you need to do to write a useful business plan is to describe your business. It might seem simple on the surface, but you want to be careful how you describe your business so that it is crystal clear what you do, who you do it for, how you’ll do it, and why you’re the right one to do it.

 

  • Be Specific – When you choose the wording for your business description, you want to ensure that you are as specific as possible. You must use the right terms that the audience understands best to get the information to them clearly. Hint, you may need more than one description if you have created more than one client avatar, to ensure that they truly understand.

10 Ways to Get to Know Your Audience Better

  • Describe Your Customers – Your customers are your business. For this reason, it’s imperative that you can succinctly describe who your primary ideal customer is. You need to be able to describe them as if they’re a person sitting right in front of you. Include demographics and even how they look. You can even give them a basic name. It also helps to learn your customer’s buying journey so you can describe your customer at each stage of their decision-making process.

 

  • Describe Your Products – Do the same thing about each of your products. List them all and describe who the product is for what problems it solves, and how and why it will work. Do this for all your products, whether it’s a paid product or a lead magnet. One trick is to list the features of each of your products and then connect that feature to how it benefits your ideal customer that it’s meant for.

 

  • Describe Your Services – If you have services and products or instead of products, you will want to describe each service fully. One way to do this is to focus on the result or impact that the service will have for them and their ideal customer.

 

  • Describe Your Talents as Related to Your Business – Include information about your education and expertise related to what you do in your business. If you have others involved, you’ll include their information too. You can even ask them to write their own short description, especially if they’re contractors since they likely already have that ready in their own business plan.

 

  • Describe Other Experts and Tools That Will Work With You – If you have contractors, employees, or other resources that help you do what you say you will for your ideal customers. Whether it’s people, specialized software, or something else, describe what you will use to get the job done and why they’re right for it.

 

  • Why Do You Want to Do This? – Why are you the right person to do this and to create or make these solutions? This is a great time to talk about a pivotal moment in your life that made you want to do this. What unique insight and talent set you apart from the competition?

 

The more you can make this section complete, the more you can feel proud when someone wants to know about your business. The act of creating the executive summary solidifies in your mind what it is that you do, who you do it for, why you do it, and how you do it.

 

How To Build A Wildly Profitable Income Stream From Home Without Lies, Hype, Manipulation or Pressure…

 

https://flawlessfreedom.com

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Creating Your Executive Summary Is Not Just for Investors

The executive summary is an important component of your business plan. It’s the part of your plan that is first, but it is often created last. You need all the other information collected, studied, and analyzed to create the executive summary. This summary will explain in a concise yet thorough way what you do, who you do it for, and why you will be successful doing it.

 

To complete the executive summary, include:

 

  • Information about your research – The research you conduct will inform business decisions and help you develop your strategy for achieving your goals.

 

  • Results of said research – The research produced results that need to be analyzed for the executive summary.

 

  • Suggestions about how to do business based on the research – Based on what you learned during the research, what steps will you take, when will you take them, and how will you take them?

 

Your executive summary is mostly an informative piece of writing that doesn’t need to be very persuasive other than you should point out the research methods and why they’re accurate and explain the results thoroughly.

 

It should be interesting, grab attention, and give you the info it needs to in the case of needing a business loan or angel investors. If it’s just for your use, you still want to continue creating the executive summary as if someone from a bank might read it. Try capturing your reader with a thought-provoking statistic or tell them about a quote you love that relates, or a book.

Get Business Education: Know and Understand Your Offers

The executive summary should be able to exist without the rest of the business plan as its own document to use when needed. However, you’ll want it to be concise and short. It’s a summary by nature, but it should give all the information the reader needs. You’ll be able to use the document in other aspects of your business to come up with content marketing ideas, to remember your mission, and more.

 

You can write your executive summary in the same way as normal article writing. Create a title for each section. You can use this order to keep it all straight in your mind as you develop your executive summary for your business plan. But remember, you should not even start writing it until you’ve collected the information for each section.

 

Start with an overview of your business; include what you do, who you do it for, why, and how you do it. Next, add information about your target market, your competition, and at least three points about the marketing strategy you plan to use. Now add in information about how you will operate the business. Will you be a sole proprietor, or will you be a corporation? Will you work in a brick and mortar atmosphere, or will you build your business solely online? You also want to include information about your projections based on your research. Give information about finances now, a year from now, two years from now, and up to five years. Be sure to include your break-even point and concrete ideas about when you’ll finally produce a profit. If you need an influx of money, this is also when you mention the type of financing you will get or venture capital you’ll seek. All your numbers should align and make sense.

 

 How To Build A Wildly Profitable Income Stream From Home Without Lies, Hype, Manipulation or Pressure…

 

https://flawlessfreedom.com