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Winter Solstice & How It Applies To Your Business
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Today is the shortest day of the year. That might not mean much to you, but to people who live in Alaska, December 21 is a day we look forward to. As of December 22, the days are going to grow longer as we start gaining light each day. Right now, in the part of Alaska that I live in, it doesn’t get light out till after 9 am and it is dark by 4:30 pm.
For those of you that don’t live in the Arctic Circle like I do, it may take you a while to notice this change. For us Alaskans, though, it will only take about a month and we’ll see some changes. Give it a couple of months and I will have more daylight here than my family does in Michigan. In 3 months it will be light out till about 10 pm and of course, and as you know, it is light out far longer than that in the summer. The sun will be shining brightly at midnight.
So how does all of this apply to your business? As I said earlier, right now I don’t see a lot of sunlight. But I know that in six months from now, the sun is still going to be shining at midnight. Day by day, bit by bit, the sunlight increases. At first, an increase of 2 minutes a day doesn’t seem all that different than the day before, but eventually it is going to be a whole lot different.
If you have recently started a business and you are not getting the results you thought you would, take a moment and think about the accumulative effect of growth. An order once a week now can grow into several orders per week which can grow into several orders per day which can grow into hundreds of orders per day.
On those days when you feel like giving up, just tell yourself that things do change. Keep working and growing your business bit by bit, day by day. A little bit of growth each day is going to add up to A LOT of growth in six months time. If you keep working, just imagine where you’ll be a year from now! But if you quit, you will never have a chance to see that success.
Push for it. Eventually, that sun is going to be shining at midnight!!!
Assigning Tasks To An Assistant
It’s no secret that outsourcing can really help you grow your business. It allows you to hand over some tasks to an assistant, which frees up your time, enabling you to work on projects that will actually grow your business.
The whole process of delegating can be scary - especially if you’ve never done it before. Here are some tips on how to delegate tasks:
Delegating responsibilities is just good business. If you have an assistant, particularly a good one, it is important to keep them busy and to make sure that they are communicated with and respected particularly when assigning tasks. Here is how to handle assigning tasks to your assistant for optimal results:
Step 1. Establish a system of communication, including checks, balances, and deadlines. There are many software tools and programs that make this process automatic including Microsoft Outlook. It is important to establish a system of communication so that deadlines can be set, expectations can be outlined and your assistant can take on the task with little management from you. If you, as the manager, have to spend too much time facilitating it reduces or eliminates the benefit of having an assistant.
Step 2. Communicate the task. Using your established communication system, email, or telephone communicate the required task. Make sure that all deadlines, resources, and task responsibilities are thoroughly communicated.
Step 3. Ask questions to make sure task is understood if yes then move on to
Step 4. Let go. This is critical. If you’re unable to let go of a task, you turn into the worst type of manager – a micromanager. This is someone who must have there fingers in every aspect of the business and is unable or afraid to let go of some tasks. When you let go, you can focus on tasks required to grow your business and improve profits.
Step 5 If the task is unclear make sure your assistant is comfortable asking questions and seeking clarification. It may be with some tasks that training is required. If training is required, establish a method of completing the training and potentially compensating them for their training time.
Step 6. Follow up as defined when task was assigned to make sure there are no problems or questions about the task and to ensure that it is on track.
Step 7. Upon completion of the task provide feedback. If it is all good
feedback – great! If some constructive criticism is required, remember to sandwich it between positive feedback for best results and to ensure a quality working relationship.
Great Tool For Service Based Business & Outsourcing
If you have a service based business, such as virtual assistance, I recomend Base Camp as a great tool for staying in touch with your clients. This is also a great way to keep in touch with any of your employees if you happen to outsource tasks for your business.
Here are some tips on how to set up an account within the program:
Base Camp is a project management software program that not only enables you to create to do lists and share information with others, it allows you to track your time on certain tasks. For a business owner this feature alone can be invaluable. Here’s how to set up an account:
Step 1 Choose your level. Base Camp offers six different plans with prices ranging from free to $149.00. Choose the plan that best meets your needs and don’t worry if you over or under project your needs, they allow you to change your plan quickly and easily and you get a 30 day free trial.
Step #2 Once you’ve created your account you can upload your logo and change the colors of your account to better fit your business personality.
Step #3 Create logins for other people by clicking on the very last button at the bottom of the welcome page. It says “create logins for other people.” Go ahead and click on add a person, you have been already named the administrator of the account. Fill in the information required. Decide if you want to give them open access to all projects, send them a note and create an ID for them. When finished, simply click “add this person,” and you’re done.
Step #4 Check your settings. On your dashboard page you’ll see several options in your top right hand corner of your screen. Settings is the last option. Click it. This is where, if you haven’t already, you can change the look of your page. You can also make security changes, add message and file categories, and modify your email notifications.
Step #5 In the same dashboard page, now click on templates. Templates can be used for repeat tasks, however if you want to assign responsibilities you’ll have to do that from within a project. You can use that template in any project you wish.
Step #6 Create your first project. Go back to the dashboard main page and the very first thing you’ll see at the top are the words “Create your first project.” Click on it. You’ll be taken to a screen where you can name your project. You’ll also have the option of giving others access to this project.
Step #7 Now you have the opportunity to write messages, create a to do list within your project, create milestones, create a writeboard to enable collaboration on documents, set up chats with fellow workers, track your time by using the time button and simply entering the hours you worked on a project and a description of what you did, and uploading files relevant to the project.
Base Camp is a valuable software program because it handles a variety of project management tasks and is extremely intuitive – anyone can use it successfully and with ease.
How To Set Up Live Customer Service
Set Up Live Customer Service in an Online Business (live customer support on your website)
Small businesses seeing several hundred website visitors on their site each day and receiving more than 10 or so customer inquiries a day may want to consider setting up a live customer service option on their website. This doesn’t have to be a website visitor’s only option, however if a customer is on the verge of making a purchase and wants a question answered immediately, live customer service can reduce or eliminate shopping cart abandonment. Here’s how to set up a live customer service option on your business website.
Step 1. Choose a software product. There are a large number of software options, hundreds actually, available to businesses looking to add live chat to their business website. When evaluating products, compare price, features available, and reliability. Purchasing a program that has too many bugs won’t help improve your customer service! Customizable pages with your logo, colors and surveys can add to your customer’s experience.
Step 2. Consider ‘testing’ the software first. It is important to make sure the program fits seamlessly into your current website software and that your money is being well spent.
Step 3. Customize your live chat screen as much as possible. This customization can include a photo of the customer service representative, a name, color coded responses so that the customer can separate their text from the text responses of the customer service representative.
Step 4. Make sure that when a customer service representative is not available, the “Live customer service currently not available” icon or sign is on. There’s nothing worse than asking for help via the live chat button and being ignored.
Step #5 Many live support products provide critical customer information. Make sure you or your customer service representative pays attention to this information when a visitor initiates a chat. For example, it would be helpful to know that a customer is in the checkout phase of their visit.
What do you do when you have no energy??
Today is one of those days where I am just beat… I went to bed at a decent hour last night, and got up today at 7am. I’ve managed to answer my emails for the morning, as well as conduct an interview. I’ve also done some stuff around the house, picking up here and there and put a load of dishes in the dishwasher…. However, I would be happy to put it all aside and cozy up for a nice nap : )
Normally, when I want a burst of energy I go outside for a walk. I love to turn up the iPod, get lost in my music, and take in the nature. Unfortunately, it is -18, and I am not sure if I want to brace that cold. Anything above zero, and I’ll go outside. I’m not scared of a little cold - I grew up in Michigan and have now survived about 7 Alaskan winters. But when it is minus 18 before the wind chill factor, I think it is best to stay indoors.
So what do you do when you have a million things to do and need a burst of energy??