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Archive for the ‘Wealthy Bag Lady’ Category

Crunched for Time?

Are you feeling like there aren't enough hours in the day for everything you have to do?

I don't know about you, but now I'm driven to make every minute count.

I check my Blackberry while I'm waiting in line at the store and I even bring my laptop to the beauty salon.

If
you're time-crunched like me, here are my top 7 tips to let help you
add more productive hours in your day and even take the time
to…breathe.

Top 7 Ways to Create More Productive Hours in Your Day

1. Use
   the 80/20 rule. We all know that 80 percent of our
   results come from 20 percent of our efforts. Figure out what the top 20 percent
   of your activities are and concentrate on them. Delegate the other tasks or put
   them off until later.

2. Reduce the Time You Spend on Email. Set up electronic file folders and flag messages from clients
   and other key contacts. Avoid the urge to check your email every few
   minutes.

3. Put
   Fun Names On Your Daily Activities. According to Lisa
   Nichols, one of the teachers in the Secret Movie, we need to put fun names on
   our tasks. Instead of checking email, she calls it "Finding money." Instead of working
   out, she calls it, "Bringing sexy back."

4. Work
   with a Timer. Buy a kitchen timer and turn it on when
   you start a task. When I'm editing corporate sponsor proposals for my clients,
   I put the timer on for 20 minute intervals. Just knowing the timer is on, makes
   me more productive.

5. Take
   Frequent Breaks. Avoid working for hours on the phone or
   your computer with no breaks. Get up, stretch and walk around every hour. If
   you're in a home office, you could take a walk around the block. If not, you
   can just go outside. Breathing in fresh air and looking at nature will
   re-charge your battery.

6. Strive For
   Completion, Not Perfection. This is a favorite mantra that I use with my
   clients. Too many of them are perfectionists and it blocks them from completing
   tasks and moving on to the most important cash flow activities in their
   businesses.

7. Reward
   Yourself For Completing Tasks.
   I love chocolate, so
   after completing a task, I eat a piece of chocolate and savor the
   flavor. I eat the good quality chocolate, so I my hips haven't gone
   condo yet.

__________________________________________

What Are Your Time Management Tips?

I'd love to hear them and I'll publish the winners.

I wish you the best of luck in your business. Go for your greatness!

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According to the Wall Street Journal, business owners outrank 10 other occupational
groups in overall happiness and well-being.

Check out Roger Peugeot, who owns a plumbing company. He's had challenges. He's laid off workers and isn't getting as much work as he used to, but the guy is happy to come to work every day.

In hard times, he says, his fate is in his own hands,
rather than those of a manager. "Even when things get tough, I'm still in
control," says Roger the Plumber.

Business owners surpassed 10 other occupational groups on a
composite measure of six criteria of contentment, including emotional and physical
health, job satisfaction, healthy behavior, access to basic needs and
self-reports of overall life quality.

The findings, psychologists say, reflect the importance of
being free to choose the work you do and how you do it, the way you manage your
time, and the way you respond to adversity. Regardless of occupational field,
the survey suggests that seeking out enjoyable work and finding a way to do it
on your own terms, with some control over both the process and the outcome, is
likely for most people to fuel satisfaction and contentment.

"Despite the recession, it still pays to be your own
boss," says Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll. The survey,
adds John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health, "reaffirms my view that the more control you have over your
work, the happier you are."

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I posted on Facebook about going to the Diana Krall Concert with my friend Diane at the Hollywood Bowl.

Within minutes, I got so many responses it was scary.

One
man told me how to pack a great picnic including wine and cheese.
Another woman let me know that she had fantastic box seats if I ever
wanted to use them.

Power of Facebook

I
knew that Facebook was powerful, but when I got so many immediate
responses, I made the decision to learn more about social online media
and how it will grow my business now.

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Your brand is more than a slogan, logo, or a cute character.

The most important part of your brand is your integrity.

We've all experienced  the failure of companies to deliver on integrity.

How often do you get excuses instead of performance?

How many times have you emailed a company with no reply? How many times have you left a voice mail with no call back?

You can spotlight your integrity with outstanding customer service.

If
you can't get back to someone with quotes or information, let them know
you're working on it and you haven't forgotten about them. Handle all
complaints immediately. Complaints are actually an opportunity to
highlight your integrity

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is coming back from the Diana Krall concert at the Hollywood Bowl. She did standards with a latin flavor. Ole!

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In
this challenging economy, it's more important than ever to show some love to
your customers. Let them know they're special and how much you appreciate their
business.

1. Give Them a Welcome Gift: Some great welcome gifts I've received include books,
   plaques, mugs, even an expensive hand cream. You could also give them an
   online gift card. A great way to retain special customers is a gourmet
   gift basket or a monthly gift such as a fruit of the month club, cake of
   the month club, etc.
2. Have a Special Customer
   Appreciation Event: If you
   have a physical storefront or office, you can throw a special party for
   prospects and customers at your place. If you work out of a home office,
   you can do a an event at a venue such as a hotel or put on a virtual event
   through a conference call or webinar.
3. Answer Customer Phone Calls and
   Emails Immediately: People
   love to feel special and acknowledged. Don't wait days to respond to your
   customers, or worse, not respond to them at all. If you're overwhelmed,
   you can hire a virtual assistant to respond to your clients' phone calls
   and emails.
4. Remember Their Special
   Occasions: Make a note of your clients'
   birthdays, anniversaries, kid's graduations, even pet's birthdays. A
   friend of mine, Kelly O'Neil, founder of the upcoming Mentor to the
   Millionaires Conference, tells the story of how her Mercedes Benz dealer
   sent a special birthday card to her puppies. This doggie birthday card
   cost the dealer only a few dollars, but it turned into a $68,000 sale.
   Kelly ended up buying another Mercedes Benz from the dealer who sent her
   the doggie birthday card.
5. Write Testimonials for Them: Send some love to your customers by writing
   testimonials about the virtues of their businesses and give them plenty of
   referrals.
6. Feature Them in Your
   Newsletters and Social Media:
   You can also give your customers some great visibility in your email
   marketing. Social media web sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn make it
   easy to recommend people and write testimonials for them.
7. Call and Thank Them When They
   Give You Referrals: When
   people give you great referrals, call them and thank them personally. They
   may even give you more referrals during your thank you conversation.

_______________________________________________________

I'd love to know what you think. Please feel free to give me your comments.

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A new study from the Marion Kauffman
Foundation shows most more than 95% of entrepreneurs surveyed in the study had earned
bachelor’s degrees, and 47% had more advanced degrees. Besides being
well-educated, the median age of company founders in this sample when
they started their companies was 40 years old, while the majority were
married (69.9%) with at least one child (59.7%) as start-up founders.

Backgrounds of Entrepreneurs

The study found that 71.5% of respondents came from middle-class
backgrounds, while 21.8% said they came from upper-lower-class
families. Less than 1% have extremely rich or extremely poor
backgrounds.

Motivations of Business Owners

As for the primary motivation for starting their companies, the
entrepreneurs in the survey indicated overwhelmingly (74.8%) that they
desired to build wealth. Nearly as important to these
entrepreneurs with regards to starting up a business was “capitalizing
on a business idea,” as 68.1% of respondents selected this factor.
Other popular motivators include the appeal of a start-up culture; a
desire to own a company; and a lack of interest in working for someone
else.

Women and Men?

Interestingly, the study did not say the ratio of men and women entrepreneurs.

Please tell me what you think.

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Chris Brown has pleaded guilty to one count of felony assault
on pop star Rihanna.

There was a tremendous backlash against Chris Brown after the news about his domestic violence and photos of a beaten Rihanna came out.

Sponsors and radio stations dropped him, and the
singer had to cancel several high-profile appearances, including a performance
at the Grammys.

Chris Brown's Sentence

Judge Patricia Schnegg imposed a stay-away order that requires that Brown and Rihanna stay at least 50 yards from each,
except at industry events when the distance is reduced to 10 yards.

Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, said the plea deal includes five years of
supervised probation and six months of community labor.

Chris Brown will also be required to attend
domestic violence classes.

Brown spoke softly throughout the hearing as he waived his rights and told
the judge he understood the gravity of his plea.

"I think it's commendable you took responsibility for your conduct," Schnegg
told Brown. She said she hoped "the terms and conditions of your probation will have some
meaning."

Is Chris Brown Really Sorry?

But is Chris Brown really sorry or is he just putting on a show for the camera? Once you've crossed the line and beat a woman, can you control your violent impulses? Will he learn more appropriate ways to handle his anger?

I would love to know your thoughts. Please feel free to comment.

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It is the year of the tween. Coming off a massive concert tour, a hit 3-D movie--and a risqué picture in Vanity Fair–pop
star Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) leads a slew of young stars onto
Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 ranking of the world's ultra-famous.

Also building buzz, and drawing dollars, from the under-18 crowd
were Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, teen crooners the Jonas
Brothers and High School Musical stars Zac Efron and Ashley Tisdale.

Apparently you're never too young or too old to be wildly successful as an entertainer or a business owner.

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When people find out that
I'm from California, they ask, "Where's your tan?"

I don't go to the beach, even though it's only a few miles away. If my pale
skin is exposed to the sun, it burns. My skin turns bright red instead of a
golden tan, hardly the look of a California girl.
 
I'm getting ready for summer by dusting off my patio furniture, taking out the
barbeque grill and doing my workouts to get my body in shape.
 
Since summer may be a slower time for some businesses, I wanted to give you my
top 5 summer tips.

1. Announce Holiday Themed Specials

   Independence is so precious to us as Americans that "Liberty" is
   written on all of our coins. Have a Fourth of July Special. Yeah, I know,
   we see Independence Day Sales all the time. It's because they work.

   You might want to go for the less-celebrated holidays to make your
   promotions stand out. Everyone knows about the 4th of July, but not
   everyone knows about Flag Day on June 14. For holiday calendars, go to www.holidays.net and www.chases.com. 

2. Do Birthday and Life Event
   Marketing

   Is your birthday coming up soon? Are your family members, friends or staff
   having a birthday? Then it's time to celebrate. The "It's my
   birthday, but you get the gifts" promotion always takes the cake
   (Sorry, I couldn't help myself).

   I recently saw a brilliant post card from a business owner who just had a
   baby. His special offer was in honor of his new son, who he was holding in
   the photo. Do you have a new baby, new pet, summer house guests, new
   marriages in the family, or kids who are graduating? Business is getting
   more personal, so announce these life-changing events to your customers
   and reap the rewards.

3. Hire Extra Help

   In summer, there are plenty of students and young people who want to learn
   business and would make great additions to your team. Tap into this great
   pool of talent.

4. Revolutionize Your Business Plan

   Chart the course of your business for the next half of the year. Analyze
   what has worked for you and what you need to change to pump up your
   business success.

5. Have a Party

   You can have a networking mixer or an educational seminar. Even though
   it's a business event, make it fun. Decorate the space, play games and
   give away prizes. Encourage people to network and learn more about your
   company.

Go with these proven strategies and add some fireworks to your
business.

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