7 Activities That Waste Tons of Time
September 12, 2009 by Dr. Letitia Wright
Filed under Featured Articles, Wright Ideas
Time wasters can be the downfall of any business. Especially if you are a Solo Entrepreneur. This article will cover the 7 things that waste tons of time and do not give you anything in return. You?ll learn to save time and keep your business growing.
1. Rabbit Trails: Here is how it goes, you get a great idea, and you jot it down and start writing out a business plan and who you want on the team. You write out the idea as much as you can, dreaming of the cash that will be flooded upon you when you launch this. An hour or two later, you look up and the work you were working on is still there. Yes, that boring work, is staring at you like Gieco Money.
The cure: Get small note book to jot down ideas and the basic nuggets for later. Just in case that idea really can make you $1 million dollars, you don?t want to lose it.
2. To do list: They just never, never, never, never, never ever end! You add to them daily, you add what you left out last week or last year. Most items have no priority.
The cure: Have a project list, then with each project, list what has to be done for that project. You can focus better and better monitor exactly where your project is.
3. Deciding: You have a lunch appt and somehow you wind up volunteering to find out which place is midway and priced correctly and has the food you can both eat without someone having a gastric emergency or rash.
The Cure: Let them decide. Once you agree to the time and write it in your calendar, tell them to pick the place and you just show up. If you look at the address and feel like that?s too far to go for that meeting, cancel it and talk by phone. Re-evaluate why you wanted to meet face to face. If it?s not going to create real business for you, why are you doing it?
4. Searching Craigslist: You want to find the one thing. Your business can use you, you can use it and you know someone on craigslist must be selling it cheap! You look on craigslist for what you want, like everyone tells you to. Six hours later, you feel like you know Craig personally, however you still have not found your item, because people are constantly listing new items, you have to keep re-freshing.
The Cure: Get a FREE craigslist reader and use it, it can sort for you while you do something else. It also keeps you from getting caught up in the scam ads.
5. Doing everything yourself: You are overwhelmed, your marketing finally paid off. You have got great new customers coming in and you are ready to pull what is left of your hair out!
The Cure: Virtual Assistants. Be clear on what you want done and know how long it should take someone, so that they are not charging you by the hour for nothing. Also if they have any contact with customers make several calls to them and listen to how they answer the phone. You want that person to help you continue to grow, not kill the growth.
6. The Telephone: You look over your schedule and realize you are spending too much time on the phone that is not productive.
The Cure: Timers: When you get on a call put on a timer, when it goes off, let the person know, you?ll have to pick it up later, you need to move on to your next appointment. This will train people to get to the point when they talk to you and not waste time. If the problem is YOU and not them, it will help you get to the point, go it?
7. Distractions: Depending on what you are doing and where you work, anything can be a distraction. The phone is not a distraction for me, I never feel compelled to answer it. I can let it ring until it goes to voice mail. If you are unlike me and feel like you have to pick up each call, turn the ringer off, so you can focus on finishing a task. That goes for email, tweetdeck and anything else that would make you stop what you are doing and do something else. The truth is this: multi-tasking does not work. I will not go into the brain science that proves it; this is something you can find for yourself. You have to remove what distracts YOU. It?s about YOU not me. Do not let anyone give you the list, make it yourself and start removing them one by one and find your productivity grow by leaps and bounds.
7 Activities That Waste Tons of Time
September 12, 2009 by Dr. Letitia Wright
Filed under Featured Articles, Wright Ideas
Time wasters can be the downfall of any business. Especially if you are a Solo Entrepreneur. This article will cover the 7 things that waste tons of time and do not give you anything in return. You’ll learn to save time and keep your business growing.
1. Rabbit Trails: Here is how it goes, you get a great idea, and you jot it down and start writing out a business plan and who you want on the team. You write out the idea as much as you can, dreaming of the cash that will be flooded upon you when you launch this. An hour or two later, you look up and the work you were working on is still there. Yes, that boring work, is staring at you like Gieco Money. Read more
How Hair Salons Make the Big Bucks
September 7, 2009 by Dr. Letitia Wright
Filed under Featured Articles, Wright Ideas
This article is for anyone who owns or wants to own a successful hair salon.
Hair salons have been around forever. They are mostly recession-proof because women will continue to get their hair done, even when they do not have a lot of money. It’s a small luxury they will not give up. Every great hair salon understands that the patron wants to be pampered. They want to feel special. Any amenity you can add to help them feel special without too high a price will make your salon overbooked.
Here are the crucial areas:
Phones and Reception: Have someone who is always happy and makes the patrons feel good. They cannot be easily frustrated or moody. They have to make everyone feel welcome and not ignore some clients while they chat and fool around.
Floors: A clean shop is special. It’s seems crazy to say that, however many shops have dirty floors and bathrooms. Everyone pretends they do not see the filth. As soon as a new shop opens, the people go to that one because it’s new. They are really there because it is clean.
Shop Talk: Some people like gossip, some do not. It’s as simple as that. A shop full of loud people will turn off someone who does not to hear that. A shop full of quiet people will turn off the person who is ready for some great interaction while they are getting their hair done. These types of clients do not mix well. Know who fits as a client and who does not.
Good Management: Have you ever been in a business where everyone hates the boss or the owner? It’s horrible and you do not get the best service. Get rid of the people who hate you and hate customers. It shows. You are not able to hide that with paint. Have people in the booths who love to be there. And love to be there every day.
Cash Flow: Policies should be the same for everyone. When you make variations for some people you will create resentment in others. This goes back to good management.
