More Than WE Know

In last week’s post I wrote about how I don’t want to work a four hour work week.  I’d rather have a business that I enjoyed so much, any thought of time simply disappeared, so that forty hours felt like four.

Later last week I met with a client who was in exactly that position.  Her business was so enjoyable that it was consuming every waking moment.  It was interfering with her ability to spend time with her family and on her hobbies. 

She had intentionally left the corporate world because she wanted more flexibility in her schedule. And now here she was in her own business, recreating the same kind of crazy schedule herself.

On the surface this appears to be a simple time management issue - reschedule priorities, delegate, delay, delete tasks, until everything fits within the time available.

But after we spent some time digging deeper, we realized that this issue was not just about learning to schedule time more effectively - it was about fear and self-confidence.

When my client was first starting her business, she felt she needed to always be available. She was in such a hurry to fill her client roster, that she agreed to appointments at any time regardless of what it meant to her personal life.

This might have been appropriate in the first few months of building her business, but it is not a sustainable practice.

In order to build the life she wanted, she was going to have to learn to say no to some opportunities.  And she was going to have to have confidence that her prospective clients would still want her services even if she were not always available.

Limiting your availablity has many of the same fears and issues associated with it as does asking for more money. 

Setting boundaries is difficult for many Women Entrepreneurs.  Many times one of our main motivations to go into business is to help other people. So limiting our availability or asking for more money both feel uncomfortable and selfish.

It’s important to remember that you are building a business that must meet your needs as well as your customers.  If you don’t create practices that are sustainable financially, physically and emotionally, you won’t be around long enough to help any customers. 

After some further consideration, my client came up with a “work schedule” that felt right to her. It allowed her to take her children to school and be home when they got home. It allowed her to see clients or attend networking events two nights per week and to work from home one night per week. But it kept her Wednesdays, Fridays and weekends free. 

It was great to see her physically relax as she set boundaries to safeguard her time and health.

As we worked through her schedule she began to realize that many of her clients probably could accomodate her new schedule.  They might have preferred their old time slots, but they would rather adjust their scheules and still work with her, than go work with someone else.

She also needed to realize that not everyone would agree to the new schedule. Some might leave. And that’s okay. She’s building a sustainable practice and those clients are not the ones she needs to sustain it.  By leaving, they were freeing up her energy and time to focus on obtaining new clients who could fit her schedule.

So, how about you? Are the hours you are working sustainable? Are you honoring your own time as much as your customers?  If not, what’s holding you back?

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Is your email inbox a mess?

I learn a lot about a person from a glance at their email inbox or file management system. I recently worked with a client whose email inbox was, quite frankly, a mess. I define ‘mess’ by one or both of the following: too many unread messages and/or messages that are never deleted. If you fall into either of these categories, you are not alone.

However, failure to delete your emails or at least create and move them into folders puts you at risk of missing out on potential new business. Worse, if you allow your messages to pile up without reviewing them, a lack of response may signal to existing customers that you’ve forgotten about them. It is not uncommon to receive 100 or more emails in your inbox in the course of a day’s work. 

Here are two simple rules that can help you manage the high volume of emails.

RULE #1: Read the email once and file, flag, delete or reply.

RULE #2: Delete emails that do not contain important information

Are you bewildered about file management?
 
It’s equally important to keep the files on your computer organized and up-to-date. The goal of computer file management is to ensure that you can always find what you’re looking for, even years after its creation. What good is all your hard work if you can’t find where you stored your file?

These file management tips will help you keep your files accessible:

1. Organize by file types.

Make applications easier to find by creating a folder called Program Files on your drive and keeping all your applications there. For instance, the executables for Word, PowerPoint, QuickBooks, and WinZip should all reside in the Program Files folder.

2. One place for all.

Place all documents in the My Documents folder and nowhere else. Whether it’s a spreadsheet, a business letter or a PowerPoint presentation, make sure to save it there. This will make it easier to locate your files and to run backups.

3. Create folders in My Documents.

Having trouble naming your folders? Envision your folders as the drawers of your computer’s filing cabinet. Use plain language to name your folders. Otherwise, you may be looking at this list of folders in the future and wonder what “rtm” or some other invented abbreviation means. Create file and folder names that are meaningful to you. Keep business and personal folders separate.

4. Nest folders within folders.

Create other folders within these main folders as need arises. For instance, a folder called “Invoices” might contain folders called “2007”, and “2008”. A folder named for a client might include the folders “customerdata” and “correspondence”. The goal is to have every file in a folder rather than having a bunch of orphan files listed.

5. Follow the file naming conventions.

Do not use spaces in file names, keep file names under 27 characters, and use all lower case. So a file named for a client should be “susansmith” rather than “Susan Smith”. If you break any of these rules, be consistent about it.

6. Be specific.

Give files logical, specific names and include dates in file names if possible. The goal when naming files is to be able to tell what the file is about without having to open it and review. So if the document is a letter to a customer reminding him that payment is overdue, call it “overdue091207” rather than “letter”. This allows you to know to whom the letter was written without opening it. 

7. File as you go.

The best time to file a document is when you first create it. So get in the habit of using the “Save As” dialogue box to file and name your document. Put it in the right place in the first place.

8. Order your files for your convenience.

If there are folders or files that you use a lot, force them to the top of the file list by renaming them with a “1” or an “aa” at the beginning of the file name.

9. Clear out your files regularly.

Sometimes what’s old is obvious as in the example of the folder named “Invoices” above. If it’s not, keep your folders uncluttered by clearing out the old files. Do NOT delete business related files unless you are absolutely certain that you will never need the file again. Instead, in your main collection of folders in My Documents, create a folder called “old” or “inactive” and move old files into it as you come across them.

10. Back up your files regularly.

Whether you’re copying your files onto a flash drive, a disk, or an online storage site, it’s important to set up and follow a regular back up regimen.  Protect your files from loss due to viruses, hackers, and damage.

Save often but know where you’re saving. There is a place for everything and everything in its place.

This was a guest post by Robin Matuk, Digital Coach.  Robin founded My Digital Coach to help women reach their true potential by using technology to start a new venture, grow their business or expedite their personal dreams. She can be reached at My Digital Coach.

What would you do with $25? 

 After a few moments of pondering, the question soon becomes what could you do with $25?  We all dream of obtaining thousands of dollars to invest in our businesses, could a sum as small as $25 really make any difference?

Shai Coggins author of Just Make Money Online asked this question recently on her blog. I read about it on John Crickett’s blog Business Opportunities and Ideas. John had a good idea for developing an additional website devoted to a topic of interest to him and potentially to others. He was so excited about his idea that he actually went ahead and invested the $25 to put his plan in action.

Another entrant said that she would finally break down and buy business cards as she had been wanting to do,  so that she could more easily publicize her business.

Both of these ideas were good but after giving it some thought, I realized that what is most important and most scarce for me right now, is time. Like many entrepreneurs I already have more projects, ideas and passions than I can pursue.  What I need is more time to work on them.

How much time can I buy for $25?  I figure I can hire a high school senior over the holidays to work 2 hours for that amount of money.  In that time he or she can organize my online files and categorize my email inbox,  and update some spreadsheets I keep on analytics, expenses, revenue and article submissions.

In return, I’ll get back morethan just the 2 hours.  I’ll save the time I would have spent looking for a document or ebook that I need for a project. I’ll save the potential loss of good will resulting from not responding to an email that got lost in my inbox. I’ll save the embarrassment of not being sure which article I’ve submitted to which site. And most of all, I’ll save the frustration and guilt I’ll feel each time I realize that I really should take the time out to organize my files better.   

And what will I do with this increased time and enhanced psychic energy?

I’ll devote it to the aspects of my business in which I add the most value - working with clients, writing articles, doing research, coming up with new ideas to provide more value.

Now I’ve talked myself into it - I’m going to go ahead and make the investment in my time, my energy and my business!

So, what about you?  How would you spend $25 on your business? Let me know - And if you come up with a good idea - why not go ahead and put it in action? 

Many modern-day Women Entrepreneurs can relate to the following poem, first published in 1920:

My candle burns at both ends;

It will not last the night;

But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends–

It gives a lovely light!

It seems that in nearly 100 years, WE have not gotten any smarter when it comes to creating sustainable success.  

WE build our businesses in and around our jobs and our families.  WE sacrifice sleep, exercise and time for ourselves in order to pursue our passions.

Of course, this type of enthusiasm can be engaging. WE don’t mind the sacrifices we make because they feel worthwhile. WE are building something of our own, something that lets us be who we really are. WE feel that at last we know why we were put on this earth and what we were meant to do.

The exhilaration, passion, and energy feel good.  WE find ourselves feeling real joy and a sense of accomplishment.  WE feel that we ourselves are the ones giving off a lovely light!

The problem, as Edna points out, is that this type of effort is not sustainable – it cannot last the night. 

How long can WE survive on 4 hours of sleep, poor nutrition, and no exercise? 

Even if our health doesn’t suffer – our creativity and intellect do.  Over time, WE become less able to handle every day crises. WE become irritable, short-tempered, demanding and impatient.  WE cry more easily and get discouraged more quickly.  WE feel alone, lonely and incapable of getting off of the relentless merry-go-round that we have created.

So, what are WE to do?

The solution is to create a schedule and a system that enables us to maintain passion in a sustainable way.  It is okay to get caught up in the flow and excitement of creativity – but not all the time. It is okay to care passionately about the quality and customer service of your business – but not to demand perfection in every instance.

WE need to find balance in our lives:  

• Lose one night of sleep working on a project – but not every night.
•  Skip one nutritious meal – but not every one. 
• Miss one workout – but not every day.
• Give up some of your personal time – but not all of it.

The key is to replenish ourselves in between the tremendous demands on our energy.

It’s admirable that you want to sacrifice for your business. But you need to think of your light as coming from an oil lamp rather than a candle.
As Edna describes, in the end a candle always consumes itself and burns itself out. 

An oil lamp, as long as it is replenished on a regular basis, will continue to burn brightly forever.

One way to manage time more effectively is to delegate whenever possible. That goes for your home life as well as your business life. By delegating tasks at home, you free up time and energy to focus on your business.

I’ve listed some great service ideas below. I am not affiliated with any of these services - some I’ve used while others I haven’t. I’ve included links to get you started thinking of ways you can free up more of your time from doing things you have to do, to focus on things you want to do.

Grocery Delivery - This is a real time, money and health saver. The fee is usually $5 - $9 but the store where I shop runs lots of free specials. You save on the time you would spend driving to the store and doing the shopping and the money you would have spent on extra items not on your list. Your weight might even improve without all those impulse buys!!

Prepared Meals - I love these new services that do all the meal planning, prep and clean-up for you. Again, you make your selections ahead of time on the internet and schedule an appointment.

My husband and I make a “date” out of the evening - in one hour we can prepare 12 entrees in individual containers to be loaded into our own cooler. On the way home we pick up a bottle of wine and a loaf of fresh bread. Then we pop one of our meals into the oven to heat up while we store the rest in the freezer.

Meal prices vary but average about $3.50 - $5.00 per person. Again, there is a considerable savings of shopping, planning, prep and clean-up time to factor into the cost.

House-cleaning - 3 or 4 cleaners arrive on schedule, descend upon your house and leave it sparkling in a mere hour or two. Once a week is perfect, but even once a month heavy-duty cleaning enables you to spend less time on housework and more time on your business. I dislike cleaning so much that I also factor in the saved time spent dreading the tasks as well as the actual cleaning itself. Price varies by region and size of your house - generally $75 - $150 per visit.

Pick-up and delivery Dry Cleaning - Saves on time and your gas. Often a minimal charge or even Free.

Nanny - having someone come to your house to care for your children saves enormous time and energy in getting them ready, into car seats and off to daycare. Not to mention, you don’t have to worry what to do when they are sick. I never had this option when my kids were little, but I sure would want it if I could. Salaries vary by region, as well as by ages and number of children, whether they live in, whether you provide a car, and additional duties they perform. (see costs in link)

Pool Cleaning Service - If you live in the Southwest as I have for the past twenty years, having someone else come and skim the dead leaves and bugs out of the pool and keep the water from turning green can be a real relief - especially if your job involves traveling. ($40 - $70 per month including chemicals)

Handy-man - Take care of all those little things that always need doing - painting, gutter cleaning, fixing leaks, power-washing the house, fixing doorknobs, un-sticking windows, etc. (varies by job)

Yard service - someone to mow the lawn, rake the leaves, shovel the snow. ($25 - $50 depending on the size of the yard and service provided)

Pet Cleanup - someone to clean up after your dog ($24 - $100 per month depending on frequency and number of dogs)

Pet Grooming - give Fido a bath, nail trim and a haircut ($55 - $155 depending on size of dog and extent of matting)

Dog Walking - show off that great haircut with a walk around the neighborhood $15 - $20 depending on the length of the walk

Wow! It would be great to have all that help, wouldn’t it? Even some of it would be helpful. While it all sounds expensive - don’t forget to calculate how much you own time is worth.

If you earn:

$20,000 per year, your time is worth $10 per hour

$40,000 per year, your time is worth $20 per hour

$60,000 per year, your time is worth $30 per hour

$80,000 per year, your time is worth $40 per hour

$100,000 pee year, your time is worth $50 per hour

And don’t forget to network - if you do find a great service, pass the info on to your network, and get the service to reciprocate and refer you to their customers!