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Does Your Business Need a Little More Room?

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Group Of Business People Having Board Meeting Around Glass TableHave you stopped recently and looked around your office space?

For those individuals running businesses, they might be a tad overwhelmed if they stop to see how quickly their offices can fill up.

From all the office equipment to the number of employees you have working for you; it does not take long for free space to become all but non-existent.

In the event that best describes your office, what options do you have in front of you?

While there are a few options you can consider, have you thought about simply turning to a storage facility, giving you as much room as you need for excess files, office supplies, office machinery and more?

If not, you may want to give that idea a try sooner rather than later.

Store More Stuff and Reduce the Frustration

While you could consider relocating to a bigger office space in the event your current one is proving too small, that may very well prove more expensive, especially in the short term.

If, however, renting space at a local storage facility sounds like a better choice, there are some factors not to overlook in choosing the best unit for your needs.

Among these:

  • What will be stored? – If you are mostly in need of space for filing cabinets and boxes of documents, that should prove rather easy to store in a facility. There are likely a number of self storage units in your community, some of which may be very close to your current office address. Check around through your business contacts, along with using the Internet to see what would best meet your requirements. Unless you need to store excess office machinery or office furniture, finding a storage unit simply for paperwork/filing cabinets won’t be all that difficult;
  • Where will it be located? – Where you store your excess business documents, supplies, along with whatever else may be necessary, means finding a storage unit close to the office. You don’t want to have to drive clear across town just to access a couple of boxes of documents etc. Unless there is an issue with neighborhood security and/or the storage facility itself, finding the one closest to your office would typically make the most sense. That said it doesn’t hurt to check out some other nearby ones so you have at least more than one choice to work with;
  • What does it offer? – This is one of the more important parts of the decision you will have to make. You definitely want a storage facility that offers climate controlled units, along with secure locks and video cameras. Security should always be a top priority, especially when storing company paperwork, some of which is likely to include customer information on it. Entrance to the facility should also be secure, meaning only customers are allowed into the storage center. This is best done by requiring either entry with a key or a password on a computer pad;
  • What are the costs? – Last but not least, about how much can you expect to pay for renting a storage unit on a monthly basis? For some business owners, the cost will override any other factors, so this can prove quite important when all is said and done. Yes, you may not like the idea of having a monthly storage unit bill, but if it means still saving money over renting a more expensive office space, isn’t it worth it? While a bigger office may be the answer at some point and time down the road, turning to a storage facility now could be your best bet. You don’t want employees coming into an office each and every day where they are literally tripping over one another because of space issues.

As your office space becomes scarcer, this is an issue that you will have to address sooner or later.

You could look at it from the point view of your company is hopefully growing if space is becoming restricted.

More paperwork, more employees etc. can be a sign that your business is growing, certainly something very few business owners would be disappointed in.

Finding the best way to accommodate that growth may mean turning to a storage facility to take care of your items at least for the time being or becoming a whiz at reorganizing your current office.

Either way, a growing business is always a good problem to have.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

Do You Really Have to Write What You Know?

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By Miranda Marquit

Pretty much every aspiring writer has heard this advice: “Write what you know.”

The logic behind this approach makes sense. A certain expertise and confidence accompanies knowledge, and the words come easier when you write on a familiar topic. But you don’t need to write what you know in order to build a successful blogging business.

It’s especially important to learn how to learn about various topics if you plan to provide content to other blogs. Today, I provide content to dozens of blogs and web sites each month. When I began as a freelance writer and professional blogger, I found that the topics I knew about weren’t in high demand. In order to land more clients, I began writing about things I didn’t know. That flexibility is one of the reasons I have so many clients today.

Approach Blogging Like Journalism

While many journalists eventually settle into specific beats, the reality is that many of those beats aren’t the result of chasing after what the writer “knows.” My journalism background provided me with tools I could apply to blogging, but you don’t need formal training to develop the following skills:

  • Research: It’s possible to find information about almost any topic, thanks to the Internet. If you want to learn to write about something you don’t know, start with a little research. Just make sure that you understand how to separate the wheat from the chaff.
  • Identify reputable sources for your information. When I first started writing about finances, I knew nothing about money management — beyond the fact that I had more debt than I was comfortable with. Research into the world of finances has not only allowed me to write about money, but it has increased my own financial savvy. Now finances fall into the category of “what I know” and I even have my own ideas about money management.
  • Interviews: So, you aren’t an expert on a subject that you’re writing about. Find someone who is! Find an expert to interview, and write a blog post based around his or her viewpoint. One of the easiest ways to find knowledgeable experts is to turn to Help a Reporter Out (HARO). You can offer a query, and you’ll likely get plenty of eligible responses.

With the ability to research, experts to interview, and a willingness to learn, there is no reason to limit yourself, as a writer and a blogger, to what you know. In fact, getting outside your writing box is probably good for you (and your writing business) in the long run.

Expand Your Horizons

Even if you decide to focus mainly on writing what you already know, don’t limit yourself to those topics. Take the time on occasion to write about something you don’t know. It’s a good challenge that will force you to improve your writing skills. Plus, you’ll learn something new, and maybe interview someone interesting that you wouldn’t normally have met.

Too often, we think we can’t do something because it’s different from what we’re used to. Forcing myself to become knowledgeable about a topic I didn’t know turned me into a better writer, a more successful person, and helped me build a successful blogging business. Plus, I like learning new things, so it’s been fun, too.

Author’s Bio: Miranda Marquit is a freelance journalist and professional blogger. She writes about freelancing at MirandaMarquit.com and money at PlantingMoneySeeds.com. She is also the author of Confessions of a Professional Blogger: How I Make Money as an Online Writer. Follow Miranda on Twitter: @MMarquit.

Q&A with Ian Greenleigh, author of The Social Media Side Door

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As a small business owner, I’m always hustling to make the most of limited resources. The techniques presented in Ian Greenleigh’s new book, The Social Media Side Door (McGraw Hill, October 2013), are designed to help us take advantage of the seismic shifts that have happened in recent years regarding access and influence.

Ian Greenleigh: The Social Media Side Door

Enjoy this Q&A with Ian, as he offers some great insights from the book.

1. What is the social media side door?

We’re living through an extraordinary time. Social media is decimating the human and technological gatekeepers that have historically prevented non-elites from accessing and influencing powerful people and institutions. The barriers are crumbling all around us, and so many people haven’t even noticed, or they’re simply not yet equipped to take advantage of these massive opportunities, what I call “social media side doors.”

2. How did you discover it?

I really struggled to get a decent job during the recession. I had just graduated with a degree in political science, even though it was a field I didn’t want to pursue. I was in sales, and I wasn’t very good at it. It was pretty bleak. None of the things our society teaches about getting great jobs were working. I thought I was bright, hardworking and creative, but I couldn’t find a way to convey that to the professional gatekeepers in recruiting.

I needed to try something radically different, so I scraped the bottom of my dwindling savings account to attempt something I had seen on a blog. I took out a Facebook ad, pointed it at a special “hire me” page on my blog, pointed the ad at decision-makers at the top companies in Austin, and saw the clicks roll in. Within a few weeks, I had a nice array of options for my next career step.

It wasn’t an anomaly. Once I started looking for them, I realized that social media side doors existed almost everywhere barriers seem to exist. I also realized that no one had written a guidebook to help people spot and take advantage of these new opportunities, so I decided to write it myself.

3. How can people find and open their own side doors in social media?

Realize that side doors often open gradually. For example, every time you leave a comment on a CEO’s blog, or tweet a piece of intelligent feedback to an influencer, you’re opening that side door up an inch or two more.

Think about the goals of the person whom you’re trying to reach, and reflect on how you can help them get there faster. You can do things like introduce them to other influential people via Twitter, interview them on your blog about a project they’re promoting, or help them find information they’re after.

Relationships are still the basis for almost all of the value created in social media. Social media makes it really easy to answer the question, “what has this person done for me lately?” As such, you’ll hear “yes” far more often when you’ve provided value before an ask, or in conjunction with it.

4. Why should we try to open these side doors sooner rather than later?

Imagine it’s the dawn of the 20th century, and you’re a salesperson, marketer or jobseeker. Telephones are expensive and rare, but somehow you’ve acquired one for free. There are no gatekeepers to screen the calls of the rich and powerful, and you can reach any of these fellow telephone owners simply by asking a switchboard operator to put you in touch. If you wait too long to take advantage of this situation, your competition will beat you to the punch, your approach will no longer be unique, and access now seems like more of a liability than an opportunity to those being accessed.

We’re not quite there yet with social media. We see rising adoption among powerful people, but the human and technological gatekeepers haven’t caught up yet. And innovation happens so rapidly, that the arrival of each new social network brings with it a new set of access and influence opportunities.

Author’s Bio: Ian Greenleigh is a social media and content strategist, and author of The Social Media Side Door: How to Bypass the Gatekeepers to Gain Greater Access and Influence. He helps companies turn data, ideas, and relationships into true thought leadership. His words and ideas have been featured in Harvard Business Review, Ad Age, Adweek, Digiday, Ragan, Seth Godin’s The Domino Project, and elsewhere. He writes and speaks on a wide range of topics, including changing consumer-brand relationships, the convergence of personal identities, and the radically shifting landscapes of access and influence. You can connect with Ian on Twitter: @be3d

Talking Your Way to Success

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By Eric Nacul

John is addressing a group of his peers on how to offer better customer service, when one of his colleagues starts periodically tapping the chrome plunger of a service bell. Undaunted, he continues and is delivering what he considers the talk’s most powerful point when his audience cuts him off mid-sentence with clapping.

Far from being rude, however, the group is helping John become a more effective communicator at one of the more than 13,500 nonprofit Toastmasters International clubs worldwide. And with more than 40 percent of those clubs sponsored by corporate giants like State Farm, Bank of America, IBM, Boeing and a host of government agencies, Toastmaster membership might well be one of the best tools for success.

Toastmasters traces its roots to 1903 when Ralph Smedley, education director of a YMCA in Bloomington, IL, saw a need for speech training there. Smedley formed the first permanent club in Santa Ana, CA, in 1924.

Meetings are typically held weekly and aim to enhance communication skills as well as listening, evaluation, interpersonal and leadership skills. Membership also offers great networking opportunities. While they vary from club to club, dues and fees typically run about $200 annually.

Toastmasters is the epitome of learning by doing. While each club does have officers, the duties of running a meeting as Toastmaster of the Day rotates from member to member. The various responsibilities of a meeting rotate as well. Key responsibilities include:

  • The Ah Counter counts the times a speaker uses “ah,” “and” and other filler words and uses a bell, clicker or other audible device to alert the speaker each time one is used.
  • The Grammarian keeps track of grammar mistakes, awkward sentence structure, pronunciation and other errors.
  • The Time Keeper typically uses an electronic timer to track a speech’s time and warns speakers at pre-determined points.
  • An Evaluator is assigned each of the meetings speakers to note what the speaker did well and what he or she can improve upon.

Toastmasters meetings usually run 60-90 minutes. An hour-long meeting might include three speakers giving 5-7 minute speeches as well as three or four Table Topic speakers of 1-2 minutes each.

While those giving longer speeches typically know well in advance and can write and prepare for their speech, Table Topic speakers have no idea of what their topic will be and have no time to prepare. The Table Topics Master chooses a topic ranging from the silly to the profound and then chooses a member at random to speak on it. Next he chooses another topic and another member and then another. Each member has the time it takes to stand to prepare.

The longer speeches are typically prepared in advance, with beginning Toastmasters working through the Competent Communicator manual, a guide on how to organize, research and write a speech as well as lessons on body language and vocal tone in delivering a speeh. Also in the manual is information on effectively giving various types of talks such as a persuasive speech, an inspirational speech, an entertaining speech, etc.

Members who aspire to greater oratory heights also have a number of advanced levels they can achieve. Periodic speech contests are held as well with advancement to local, regional and national levels possible.

But being a better speaker is only part of being a better communicator and Toastmasters also helps hone its members listening and critiquing skills. Evaluators are assigned to each speaker to watch, listen and note what the speaker does well and what needs improvement. Constructive evaluations are given with evaluators first noting what was done well and then giving areas in which the speaker can grow.

Meetings themselves are structured so that members become proficient in conducting efficient and effective meetings. Responsibilities for conducting meetings rotates among members as do other meeting responsibilities in addition to those already mentioned. There’s also a General Evaluator who observes and reports on the overall quality of the meeting.

For most members, improvement in their communication skills is fairly quick. And improvements in confidence, quick thinking, listening and leadership well serve anyone wanting to succeed. To learn more about Toastmasters, visit toastmasters.org.

Author’s Bio: Eric Nacul is a freelance writer, graphic designer and tech enthusiast who contributes to a number of sites, including one of his favorites, bestfreeonline.net. You can find him on Twitter as @ericnacul.

If You’re Skipping the Smaller Conferences, You’re Missing Out

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Walking the exhibit hall at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is an awe-inspiring experience.

Look! There’s CNN’s camera crew. Look over here, there’s a drawing to win a new car! Come over here, there are hovercrafts you can pilot yourself. And Debbie Gibson is performing in this booth…

smaller conferences are better

The exhibits are huge, the keynotes are standing room only, and conference sessions are elbow to elbow. From what I’ve heard, SXSW is heading in the same direction…possibly too big for its own good.

That’s why I like to focus on the smaller, more intimate conferences, like SOBCon (back in 2014), Social Slam, or the upstart ConvergeSouth. There’s still plenty of room for learning new stuff, meeting new people, and forming quality relationships. There’s less swag, and more value for your money.

Why Smaller Conferences are a Better Investment

  • You can focus on a conference that dives deeply into your niche. Rather than a huge, generic marketing conference, try one that focuses on content marketing.
  • Have better conversations. When you can actually hear yourself talk, you can have those great hallway discussions that often turn into long-term relationships. With fewer people milling around, you have a better chance of having more than a quick chat.
  • Get access. Some of the smaller conferences pull in heavy hitter speakers, and you can have much easier access to meet them. Especially if you spend the little bit extra for a VIP pass.
  • Enjoy the adventure factor. Sometimes things are just more loose at a smaller conference. You might find yourself in a dive bar at the after-after-after party building memories with people you only knew online. Not that that ever happened. I’m not allowed to say.
  • Anticipate the “let’s put on a show” factor. Smaller conferences often have a hardy band of local volunteers who are shouldering the burden of hosting. It’s a fantastic opportunity to offer your help with the little things. If a speaker flakes out, you could be there when you’re needed to jump in (I’ve seen that happen). If the audio-visual hookups are wonky, you can jump up and troubleshoot. Earn the eternal gratitude of the conference team, and make some friends.
  • Spend less money. The newer, smaller conferences are cheaper, and sometimes even the peripheral expenses are lower since they are held in smaller cities. A hotel room in Greensboro, NC is much more affordable than one in New York City. And do I need to mention food costs? At a small conference in Portland, I had the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich for lunch from a food truck. Cheap and mind-blowingly delicious.

Are you ready to pack your bags? What are your favorite smaller conferences?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Business Success: Power of Negative Thinking?

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By Deb Bixler

If you are looking for home business success, then you start to realize that there is power in everything. People believe in the power of positive thinking and everyone understands that knowledge is power. But would you believe it if you were told that there is power in negative thinking as well?

To find home business success, you should not dwell on negative thinking for too long. But since it is inevitable that you will come into contact with people who are always looking at the down side of any issue, you should learn how to cultivate the power of negative thinking.

It Forces Alternatives

goals for success

The great thing about people with negative attitudes is that they are always looking for a way for something to fail. Before you roll out an important plan or program that will cost your company a lot of money, give the idea to a negative person. He will start poking holes in the plan and find ways that it will fail. As long as you are taking notes, you will have all of the information you need to find ways to fix the plan or offer alternatives to make the plan stronger.

Negative Thinking VS Positive Thought

Sometimes sharing your thoughts and business success strategies with negative people you will learn how they will be received in the market place.

If you have a marketing plan you are ready to roll out but you are unsure of some of the ideas or theories you have in the plan, then run it by a negative person. If anyone is going to put your theories to the test, it is someone who wants to see them fail.

If your theories and ideas hold up against a negative point of view, then they are very strong.

Success Plan

When you are putting together any kind of business success plan, you always try to consider as many options as possible. Negative people love to turn the presentation of ideas into a game of “I bet you didn’t consider this.” When you spend some time reviewing your plan with a negative person, you will eventually consider all possible options.

It Tests Your Resolve

Nothing tests the resolve of a human being more than the power of negative thinking. Just when you think that you have everything figured out, a negative thinker will find a reason to have you start all over again. If you can stand the kind of scrutiny that comes from a person who is always looking at the world from the negative side, then your resolve is strong enough to succeed.

There is a power to negative thinking that, if harnessed properly, can work to your advantage. You do not want to develop the habit of being someone who is perpetually negative. But if your ideas and plans can withstand the kind of microscopic scrutiny that a negative person will give them, then those plans are ready to become part of your company’s business culture.

Author’s Bio:
Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world using the proven business systems that made her a success working for others by incorporating them into her home business. In only 9 months Deb replaced her full time income with the sales and commissions from her home party plan business. Find her on Twitter at: http://www.Twitter.com/debbixler