Work Better, Not Harder

Survivor fans might remember WWMD - "What would Monica do?" - from Season 34 Game Changers . Brad Culpepper often reflected on what his wife Monica would do in a given situation. He considered Monica his hero as she had made it to the final tribal council on an earlier season. This introspection seemed to work as Brad also made it to the final tribal council. Recently I wrote to a trusted colleague describing the help I want from her as "What would Alison do?" After all, Alison Knott is an expert at branding and that's exactly the kind of help I was writing to her about. There are other heroes in my life - business and personal - whose advice I call upon often without their knowledge... by thinking, "What would *my hero* do?" I'm so fortunate to know and love them, to appreciate their expertise and learn from it. Do your heroes guide your daily business activities? Do they shape your decision-making without even knowing? Now might be a...

If you think writing blog posts about what you do is your best content option, you might be sorely mistaken. The popular approach to content marketing usually includes some combination of blogging (podcasting, video, etc) + email + social media. (I love that equation!) The thing is, well, writing articles (or recording) is not for everyone. I've spent several hundred hours convincing (disguised as training) small business owners that blogging is a worthwhile endeavour. Some have success, more don't - for a variety of reasons. What I know is this: if you don't like the work involved, you won't be successful. Your momentum will wane over time. So, what the heck do you do if you don't want to write or record? (And maybe even if you do.) Identify something your target market wants and that you can provide easily through the activities you're already doing. For example, if you do lots of research and reading online, curating and collating others' conte...

Do you often flip to the back page of your notebook to jot down content ideas ? If not, start! When I'm teaching small business classes about online marketing, I insist they start a page in the back of their notebooks for jotting down ideas for blog or social media posts. This page will extend beyond one, but it's the start of something great. BOB (for back of book) becomes a new friend... your idea catcher . When you are looking for something to write about or post, check your BOB for ideas. Click to Tweet this Article

Almost 12 years in business and I don't have a bucket list. In fact, it didn't occur to me to have one until I stumbled across mention of it online. It got me thinking, what is the difference between a business bucket list and business goals? You won't put something on a bucket list unless you're going to make the commitment to do more than thinking about it. By its nature, a bucket list is 'do or die'. Things on a bucket list are like dreams and desires but more hardcore because they also have a personal commitment behind them. A bucket list is a list, not a plan. It's about results, not how to achieve them. Some of the items on it may have to be backed up by significant implementation plans. Is a business bucket list rigid and unchangeable? I'm a fan of flexible goals; it's important to be re-evaluating our goals. That means being able to cross things off without having accomplished them. Is the difference really in our perception of t...

On May 30, 2013, we sent out the 50th issue of the Work Better, Not Harder newsletter. In it I wrote about the importance of celebrating milestones - small business owners don't do that enough. In July of 2016, we sent out issue #100. That big milestone was reached through our own perseverance; we could have reached it even if we had no readers. Something to be proud of but not particularly motivating. I want people to read my stuff - that motivates me. For a couple of years, we've been flirting with reaching 10,000 pageviews on our blog in one calendar month, coming close but never quite reaching it. In December 2016 it finally happened - we had over 12,000 pageviews. Thank you to our readers who keep coming back! Blogging regularly (this is post #451) has brought many benefits: More social media contacts More subscribers = potential clients and referrers Enhanced reputation Better writing skills - practice makes perfect Motivation More referrals, clients and ...

“Where attention goes, energy flows.” - James Redfield I've been reminded of this quote lately because my attention has been wandering. That’s not to say energy isn't flowing – it’s just flowing off in several directions. When we think about getting things done, crossing things off, and making progress, we're usually considering concrete things like action items or task lists. There’s another side though. Just by paying attention to something, we are creating inspiration, motivation, and keeping momentum. Here’s the example that brought the quote to mind. For most of last year I was in the habit of checking my blog stats before logging off for the night. In the past 3 months, I’ve not been so regular. Recently I went 3 weeks without looking. And my pageviews have dropped. I’m not trying to say that just by looking at my stats I was somehow magically drawing people to my blog – although that would be nice. But here’s what was happening... First, I was paying att...

It’s a bit like telling all your family and friends when you’re starting a diet or quitting smoking. Your reputation is on the line. Powerful incentive for task completion! We all know how easy it is to put off things that are a little risky. What if something comes up and we’re not ready? Something will always come up if we start out with that possibility in mind. We’re busy – we lose focus. Opportunity knocks every day for entrepreneurs, and we’re right there to open the door. One way to get motivated is to create a deadline – one that other people know about. As professionals and small business owners, our reputation is of the utmost importance to our continued success. Put your reputation on the line and you will get things done. And that should grow your reputation more. originally published in Work Better, Not Harder newsletter Mar-12-14 Click to Tweet this Article Click to Comment

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

If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ve probably been a member of a mastermind group (although you might not have called it that). If you’re new to self-employment, start or find a mastermind group... fast! I’ve written about mastermind groups before as a way to get your own ‘board of directors’. They can take many forms. I’ve been fortunate to have been a member of several during my years as a small business owner. I’ve started and ended groups, joined and left groups. Some groups have been short term with a specific purpose. A few years ago I studied an internet marketing course with a small group over a 6 month period. It was fun and educational to learn together. Some groups have been more long-term and general purpose . I currently meet with two other women business owners monthly to discuss ideas, learn from and motivate each other. Whether short term or long term, specific or general, big or small, I’ve learned a few things from my experiences. The...

This is what an empty inbox looks like! It's the first time I've seen mine like this in at least a couple of years, maybe longer. It looks kind of strange, doesn't it? Even a little hard to get used to. What a boost of self-gratification I got from accomplishing this (been patting myself on the back ever since). So much so that I'm now determined and motivated to keep it this way. Does this mean that I have nothing to do? That all my action items are completed? Not by a long shot - but now they're not staring me in the face all the time distracting me. My inbox will no longer be used as an ineffective to-do list. Now I realize this is a bit of psychological manipulation - it's all about my state of mind. But I've learned that my state of mind is about the most important consideration to accomplishing anything. What brought about this most awesome accomplishment? A handy little online app called Follow Up Then . It is by far the most useful ap...

If you’ve been in business for more than a few months, you’ve had the discussion about accountability with at least one other business owner – and will continue to have that conversation with other business owners. We all struggle with staying focused and getting things done. One way that we combat this is by setting up systems of accountability. Our systems vary greatly, from detailed plans and deadlines to mastermind groups and more. One strategy that can be effective is bringing another person into your system to be accountable to. Telling someone else about your goals and deadlines is a step in the right direction. But accountability works best when it’s more than deadlines and reminders - when there’s the real potential for loss. That could be the loss of money, if we are paying someone to keep us accountable. It could be the loss of opportunity, if we aren’t acting fast enough. It could be the loss of integrity or trust, if the opinion of the person we are letting down is i...

This is a blah time of year. The lack of sunshine is making me listless. I’m anxious for spring… and my garden. My enthusiasm is waning a bit. Are you feeling it too? Running a small business is hard. We can’t afford to show it when we feel discouraged. How do we get reenergized and refocused? Here are some things that work for me: Appreciate what you’ve got. Do a reality check. Focus on what you appreciate about owning your own business. Maybe it’s having the freedom to work from your home office with a cat on your lap. (His name is Romeo .) Or maybe it’s not working your butt off to satisfy a cranky boss. Whatever your motivation, make a list of those things and pin it up by your desk. Get moral support. Whether it’s networking or just having coffee or lunch with other business owners, being around others with a similar mindset is motivating and inspiring. Entrepreneurs are optimistic and action-oriented, so if you’re feeling blah, grab another business owner for a pep...

"Why do I care if I get along with my co-workers or not?" This bold statement came from a young woman participating in a workshop I was delivering at a Halifax cosmetology school a couple of years ago. It was more of a statement than a question. Oddly, it actually shut me up for several seconds. Not because I didn't know the answer but because I was surprised that she didn't. That day we brainstormed 6 key reasons why getting along with other people is critical to any success. Working together, we can achieve these things that we cannot accomplish alone: More creative solutions. When we bounce ideas off each other, we arrive at better solutions than we would alone. Implementing complex plans and strategies. Because the work can be divided, together we can tackle complex projects more effectively than we can alone. Learning from others' skills and experiences. When we work with others, we also learn from others. Endurance. If one person is resp...

My business is all about making things easy for my clients. What I’ve learned is that making things easy isn’t the only secret to success. My clients need direction and motivation too. Getting the right mix of all three can be a challenge but, when it comes together, wonderful working relationships result. Chip and Dan Heath, in their new book “Switch”, use a wonderful metaphor – of riding an elephant. The book is all about creating change, in ourselves and in others. Here are 3 basic ways to do that: Direct the Rider : appeal to our brain Motivate the Elephant : appeal to our heart Shape the Path : make it easy While I’m all about shaping the path, I still have to direct the rider and motivate the elephant – both for myself and for my clients. I tend to try directing the rider first. Clear instructions should yield results… or so I think. Then I wonder why nothing happens. I have to remind myself… it is one thing to “get it” intellectually but quite another to “get it” em...