Successful Blog

Pre-Holiday Season Reality Check – 5 Ways to Stay Healthy

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Rosemary O’Neill

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Pre-Holiday Season Reality Check – 5 Ways to Stay Healthy

Your most important business asset is your own physical health, especially if you are an entrepreneur or small business owner. That asset must be cared for, if you’re trying to build a long-lasting enterprise and leave your own “dent” in the universe.

We are heading into a season in which there will be a lot of opportunities to go totally “off the charts” with perfectionism, food temptations, squeezing work in between family obligations, and parties. All of these things can lead to a worn down, tired, guilty mess of a body.

We’re friends by now, right?

Let’s agree to the following principles, and enjoy the season that’s coming. We’ll emerge into 2013 ready to take names and kick butt.

  • I will set aside time to move
    Exercise, even if it’s just an after dinner walk with your visitors. (No, sprinting down the aisle of Wal-Mart doesn’t really count.) Consider checking into some of the cool technology that’s available to track your daily exertion, like Fitbit or the Nike Fuelband.
  • I will keep my brain in shape too
    While you’re out of the office and relaxing, take some time to exercise your “brain muscle” too. Do some puzzles, or use a fun online service like Lumosity or Read-It-For-Me to stay sharp.
  • I will assess my home office
    If you’re spending more time working from home over the holidays, take a moment to assess the ergonomics of your work space. If you’re one of the many who work solely on a laptop, you need to get a detachable monitor and keyboard to achieve the proper angles and avoid back/neck strain.
  • I will not skip meals
    Just because you went to Aunt Betty’s massive Thanksgiving spread doesn’t mean you should skip lunch the next day. If you overindulge, just make sure your next few meals are smaller and more healthy. The food you eat is like fuel in your tank. You might need a few bowls of oatmeal to counteract the slab of pumpkin cheesecake.
  • I will fill up my love tank
    One of the Real Housewives of Orange County is always talking about her “love tank” being on empty. We don’t want to become a sad Real Housewife. Use precious family time to fully focus on your spouse, your children, your relationships. Put away the devices and make eye contact. Get some hugs, and give some too, to fill the tank.

What are your best strategies to stay on track during the holiday season?

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

Thank you, Rosemary!

You’re irresistible!

ME “Liz” Strauss

Time to Keep Better Track of Your Employees?

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While many employees are either off to begin with or ducking out early on this Thanksgiving Eve, how many do you suspect are being truthful about the hours they worked this day?

For many small business owners, it can be a challenge to properly document how many hours their workers are in fact putting in. Even though many companies employ a 40-hour work week, not all employees abide by this rule.

According to a Salary.com survey, surfing the Internet has over recent years become one of the major reasons not all work gets done on time.

The survey noted that more than 60 percent of workers end up on non-work related websites on a daily basis while “working” at their jobs. Within that percentage, nearly 40 percent spend one hour or less per week, 29 percent devote two hours per week, 21 percent waste five hours of their employer’s time per week, while just three percent claim to waste 10 hours or more.

Yes, in some workplaces across the country, employers go above and beyond what would be deemed the normal office environment, that is monitoring the hours worked, time spent for lunch, and how many breaks workers are taking. Some even block a number of Internet sites or the Web altogether.

Others, however, feel the need to implement some type of system that will easily and properly record the time each employee puts in on a daily basis.

Should you find yourself to be one of those small businesses in need of employee time tracking, consider the following:

1. Take the time to find the right system – First and foremost, you don’t want to waste money on the wrong system. Some systems can be harder to implement and record, so make sure the system you desire is understandable, effective, and worth your time. If you or your employees are spending excessive time during the week trying to figure it out, are you truly saving time in the long run? In most cases, the answer is no;

2. Follow the leader – If you want your employees to play by the rules, don’t you think you should too? Even if you own the company or are a higher-up executive, keep in mind that the company is made up of team members and not individuals. Set a good example for your employees by putting in a responsible amount of hours yourself during the week. Most employees respect authority and will follow suit if they see their managers and others higher up the work food chain setting a good example for others to follow;

3. Treat all employees fairly – Nothing can harm an office more than if it is perceived that some employees are getting special treatment when it comes to recording their time spent working. While there are always going to be special circumstances for medical appointments, emergencies and such, treat all employees the same when it comes to recording their hours worked. If some employees feel management is looking the other way in some cases with recording employee hours, it can quickly turn into a major issue in the workplace;

4. Set the rules – In some companies, overtime work is going to be required in order to meet customer needs. In those cases, make sure when hiring workers that they know if they are working from a set salary or are paid hourly. In some cases, workers will try and bill for extra hours that they worked legitimately, yet others will try and stretch the truth. That being said, it is also important that employees record their lunch breaks, etc. so that they are meeting the requirements as set by the law. Under reporting hours can be as much of if not more of a problem than reporting too many hours worked;

5. Review over time – Finally, it is important to review your employee time tracking software, how it is implemented, and what works and does not work from time to time. The needs of your company will change over time, hence how you record employee time spent doing a job will too. Whether you track employee time by when they sign in on their computers, when they enter the office or by some others means, don’t just assume it is automatically working. If your current tracking operations are not working, take the time to fix the problem and see better results in no time.

Photo credit: smallbiztrends.com

About the author: With 23 years of experience as a writer, Dave Thomas covers a wide array of topics to help your small business succeed.

 

How to Be More Productive While You Commute to Work

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Paul Ellett

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Some days there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to finish all the work you have to do. On top of tasks, both short-term and long-term, things crop up which have to be dealt with there and then, which push you back even further. Deadlines coming up which have to be reached can mean several nights staying late at the office, or spending your evening and weekend working. All of this can mean missing out on the things you would rather be doing with your family and friends.

How Can We Be More Productive On the Commute To Work?

The thing is, those of us who commute to work, whether by car or public transport, spend a long time traveling. This can be up to an hour or even more doing one of the following rather wasteful activities:

  • Listening to the same music as the day before
  • Browsing Facebook on your phone
  • when everyone you know is either still in bed, also traveling or simply not doing anything interesting
  • Stuck trying not to make awkward direct eye-contact with the person in front of you
  • Staring out of your window at the same sights you see everyday
  • Catching up on sleep which only makes you feel more tired when you arrive, or being jerked awake each time your head hits the back of your seat.

Rather than passing the time, we could be using it.

How to Be More Productive While You Commute to Work

We can do so much more with this time. We can get rid of those troublesome smaller tasks that hold us back once we arrive at work. We can also use commute time to help get ahead in other ways through research and learning. Here are some ways to make commuting time more useful and productive.

1: Plan Your Day

Though you sometimes have to wait and see what is on the agenda before you can plan your day (and even this might change as the day goes on), you can get a rough idea of what you have to do. Make a list of these things, starting with the easy things which will make you feel like you’ve accomplished something by the middle of the morning. This might also include firing off some emails so you can get quick replies when those people check their email first thing; this way you’ll be their main priority to get back to rather than your message being one of ten they receive come 9am.

2: Research Through People-Watching

If you work in advertising or marketing, keep your ears and eyes open. It seems a little redundant if you work in these areas, to be surrounded by tens to hundreds of people (from a variety of backgrounds, ages etc) each day and ignore them. This can be valuable research which can help you with projects you’re working on. By simply keeping your eyes and ears open while you travel, you can get a grasp of what people are reading/wearing/listening to. If you overhear their conversations, listen to what they say and how they convey this. This kind of rough insight can also help your approach if you work in sales, simply by giving you tips for conversation to break the ice.

3: Listen to Podcasts

Many are seeing podcasts as a revolution that will deal a further death nail into the heart of the morning commuter’s favourite, radio. Let’s face it: most radio is useless. The music playlists are often the same each day, and the conversation is hardly ground-breaking. For those still waking up who don’t anything too heavy, this is fine; but for those with long journeys who wish to make the most of this time, you should look into podcasts. There is just so much to choose from, depending on your taste. While you can subscribe to comedy or entertainment podcasts, you might find it more useful to research and download a series of motivational podcasts or those which teach something, like a new language. You’ll probably be able to find a series of podcasts relevant to your industry so you can get the latest news through another medium.

Of course, most of these are best to utilize when on public transport. If you drive to work, you can still listen to podcasts, though people-watching may distract you from driving, so be wary of this. Being productive while you travel to work won’t mean much in the grand scheme of things if you receive a driving ban (whether temporary or permanent). It’s always more important that you make it to your destination safely without harming anyone else on the road, than not at all.

Author’s Bio:
Paul has just started to travel to work via public transport, and has been trying to use this time more usefully, as this commute is quite long each day. This experience has helped him in his work with a firm of drink driving solicitors whose clients include those caught for multi-tasking while driving.

Thanks to Week 370 SOBs

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muddy teal strip A

Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

Purple SOB Button Original SOB Button Red SOB Button Purple and Blue SOB Button
and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

muddy teal strip A

They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

deep purple strip

Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Make the Most of SEO in Adobe Muse

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Anita Brady

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The recent release of Adobe Muse in May 2012 has many print designers scrambling to figure out just how to take advantage of this powerful new software. Adobe has created a product that allows almost anyone (assuming you have a marginal amount of design experience) to create websites with little or zero knowledge of web development or HTML code. Although there are quite a few limitations (and some heavy industry criticism;), using the right knowledge and a little help from third-party apps, you can get the most in terms of functionality and SEO from this new software.

Make the Most of SEO in Adobe Muse

With the proper considerations and a little bit of leg-work, you can easily create a functional and interactive site with all the Search Engine Optimization necessary to rank well in searches. However this is not a set requirement for new sites, and will only happen if you take the initiative to add descriptions and tags in the right places. Here are a few tips to help you optimize your first build with Adobe Muse.

Include Extensive Metadata

In Muse (and with any web design platform), including extensive Metadata is a sure-fire way to help your site rank well on searches. Include not just a description of your site and business (which will be directly under your search results), but include details like locations, zip codes, phone numbers, and employee names to boost your site to the top of search engines on less germane topics.

Tags

Be sure to add tags to every relevant object within your new site. A tag is a keyword or term that is assigned to a specific item within a website. These keywords help describe the item and allow, specifically, images to be found again by browsing or searching. You can even add Geotags (or geographical identification metadata) to various media such as photographs and smart objects, which will allow users to find your site just because of your geographic location – cool!

Social Media Plugins

Most likely, social media will be a big part of your marketing campaign. Take the time to sign up for popular social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ and then create extensive descriptions (including keywords) within each. The more back-linked content you can create on the web for your site, the better. Consider including an RSS feed signup for new content on your page, or add a Facebook widget on Muse to direct traffic across platforms and increase your search engine appeal.

Searchable, Useful, and Relevant Content and Adobe Muse

Of course, there is no substitute for building a high-quality site with high-quality content. Be sure to include persuasive, original copy on your main pages and all subpages. SEO tags and metadata tricks cannot replace the value of a legitimate, content-heavy site, and ultimately it is the search engine’s job to rank the most relevant sites at the top, regardless of how much SEO went into your design. So keep this in mind and strive to create a site that not only searches well, but also is genuinely useful and relevant to your potential customers.

Despite the inherent limitations and controversy surrounding Adobe Muse, it’s likely that this new software will be a success in the world of digital design. Muse can be a great tool for competent designers who are not ready to leap into CSS or PHP programming. Although it will never replace a database driven or serious hand-coded site made by a professional web developer, for most small, static sites, Muse has everything you need. Be sure to consider adding extensive SEO and third-party apps to help you get the most out of your new site. Good luck and have fun designing!

Author’s Bio:
Anita Brady leads the team at www.123Print.com – customizable print products for business and life situations. The website offers everything needed to make your own business cards and to design other promotional items that combine high quality and customization with an affordable price.

Invest Energy in Your Business Relationships

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Rosemary O’Neill

Relationships take work

Strong relationships, both personal and business, take a consistent investment of energy over a long period of time. Anyone who is selling you “likes,” or Twitter followers, or other nonsense like that is not helping you build your business.

The Tickler File

I love to entertain. Part of the fun is making sure that each person who visits always gets their favorite things. My dad loves blueberries, but not ever baked into anything. My sister-in-law has a particular affection for those little white Russian tea cookies. But I could never hold all of that information in my brain, so I cheat a little. In my Evernote system, I have a “dossier” on each person who visits. It’s my relationship tickler file.

Invest Energy in Your Business Relationships

The most successful business owners and entrepreneurs have a strong network of relationships that they can call on when the chips are down. Liz refers to these as “the people who won’t let you fail.”

But these people don’t just appear out of nowhere. You must slowly build those ties over time, maintaining contact, learning about each other, having face-to-face conversations, and providing support to each others’ causes.

The quick hit of buying followers or making fake reviews will never cut the mustard in the long run. The random stranger who was paid to like your Facebook page won’t be there for you when you launch your new product.

Tips to Build Your Own Tickler File

  • Add notes to your contact system or CRM (e.g., “dog named Babs”)
  • Set up reminders either in Google calendar or in your CRM
  • Start noticing when people share preferences or details about their lives
  • Foster your sense of curiosity about other people, focus on them when they’re speaking, not on what you’re going to say next
  • Don’t just rely on the automated happy birthday status update; get creative and recognize people on days other

    • than their birthday

  • After you meet with someone, write down notes from the meeting for next time, so you can progress each time

How do you invest in your business relationships?

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

Thank you, Rosemary!

You’re irresistible!

ME “Liz” Strauss