Work Better, Not Harder

Sometimes I take things for granted. For instance, while many have been adapting to working alone, I've been happy as a pig in sh*t. You might think this is because I've been working at home for 15 years, so I'm used to it. Sure, that's part of it. But... I don't always work alone even though I'm at home. A recent comment in MyRevenueRoom reminded me that working at home has never been lonely for me. And it's because of the telephone. One of my best friends lives in rural Saskatchewan. We used to work for the same company, me in Toronto and Danielle in Regina. Our 25-year friendship has always been based on phone calls. Now we both do marketing work from home, sometimes collaborating, and we continue to talk (sometimes for hours) almost every day. And we're not just chit-chatting (although there's some of that) - we work together as if we share an office. Danielle might say, "What do you think of this idea?" and I might say, "What if ...

Sometimes it's hard to give honest feedback, especially if it's negative. After all, the other person worked hard to create something and their feelings might be hurt. But the work is just not 'right', and may even be horribly wrong. What do you do? Be honest , and give good direction about what you don't like and what you'd like to see instead. And what if you don't exactly know what you'd like instead? Be honest about that, too. When discussing this with a new client recently, she said, "No bricks between friends." That saying came from her Irish grandmother, Annie, and the wisdom can certainly be applied to our business relationships, too. Communication, by any of the many options available, takes time and costs money. But we are not saving time by withholding critical feedback. Here are two scenarios that might happen if we do: Later in the project, for example, a website, it becomes evident that the work is not pleasing. And l...

It might sound a little corny but having a blogging buddy is a great strategy, especially if you can find one that serves the same target market as you. Why? You can plan and generate ideas together. You can write series of articles that intertwine, linking back and forth to each others blogs. You can edit, proof, check each other's work. You can be accountable to each other, especially if you have an agreed upon schedule. You can motivate each other when you're stuck. photo by mailliw / Flickr Click to Tweet this Article

'The Creativity Movement' - this headline caught my eye in the paper recently. Included were several inspiring articles about idea generation and I noticed a common thread running throughout. It turns out that idea generation works better with more people than just yourself. No surprise there; doesn't this sound like brainstorming? Whatever you call it, more people make it merrier... and more creative. So, this creativity movement hinges on collaboration. And that's good news for small business! Most small business owners I know thrive on collaboration; having others to work with but having autonomy, too. It almost feels like we have an unfair advantage in this new age. Small business owners dream of getting that BIG IDEA. The one that will make them rich or popular or powerful, or give them the means to do good for others. But to get to that big idea, we have to practice with lots of little ones. No matter how overused, "practice makes perfect" is...

Do you want more customers like the ones you already have? You can use experiences with your current customers to develop content that will attract more of the same. Customer-generated content is akin to 'social proof' - it elevates your reputation . By 'content' I mean all the 'stuff' on your website, social media accounts, blog, newsletter, brochures and so on. How do you get your customers to do this work for you? Success stories: Interview a client and write a blog post about it. Or ask them to write it themselves . Or do it live via Blab or Periscope and save the recording to post online. Prepare a few questions in advance so the advantages of using your product or service will be highlighted. Lessons learned and improvement opportunities: Write about a customer service experience and what you learned from it. This doesn't have to be negative. Case studies and examples: This works great if you do project-type work or customization. As abo...

Leadership and teamwork disappeared when I left the corporate world and started my own business. Not the activities, just the words. Many small business owners seem to think these are concepts for big business. What did you depend on someone else for in the last couple of days? It might be advice, help figuring something out, a paid service, a favour, a Twitter post, brainstorming, feedback, inspiration to get unstuck, and so on. For me, it’s been all of those. And I consider all of those people part of my team. While doing work for a client recently, I came across an article titled The Discipline of Teams (Harvard Business Review, Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith) which gave this definition and opinion: 1. A meaningful common purpose 2. Specific performance goals 3. A mix of complementary skills 4. A strong commitment to how the work gets done 5. Mutual accountability, trust and commitment “People use the word “team” so loosely that it gets in the way of learning ...

There is nothing like a beginning. New friend, new job, new idea - all of them bring the excitement of beginnings. Better still, that excitement breeds motivation. Never do you have a better opportunity for rapid growth and change than in the beginning. So the question is, how do you maintain that excitement? As entrepreneurs, how do we turn that new idea seed into a plan we can implement? Share the idea. Spread the word. Brainstorm. Choose a method that works for you: find a like-minded colleague you trust and book some coffee dates, join or start a mastermind group, have an employee meeting, share with an online business community. Reach out. Turn that idea spark into a real strategy. Once you share your excitement, it is easy to harness that energy to implement that strategy. Just be open to change and adjustments based on your collaboration. Click to Tweet this Article originally published in Work Better, Not Harder, October 23, 2013

Neil Everton specializes in teaching writing skills. Of course, good writing is important to a successful newsletter, so he’s a useful person for me to know. For 3 years I've been sharing what I've learned from Neil with my newsletter clients. That led me to ask Neil if he would collaborate with me on a lunch and learn workshop. My purpose was to give additional value to my local clients and share my enthusiasm about newsletters with whoever else might want to attend. Of course, Neil and I both wanted to increase our brand exposure and build our reputations too. Our collaboration made the work easy.  Here’s why: Neil and I share a common philosophy when it comes to newsletter writing. We shared the workload and each did the work we’re good at. We were able to maximize our exposure through our combined mailing lists and social media contacts. Within a few days of announcing the workshop, we were full up with a dozen people on the waitlist. Neil prepare...