Taking Smart Risks

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but it’s something worth repeating… if you are in business there is going to be some kind of risk involved.

The idea is to manage the percentage of risk, so you are not playing Russian Roulette with your money or your company’s future.

To achieve that a clear strategy has got to be part of the mix, along with a healthy dash of defining objectives. Ask yourself these questions every time you go to jump at an "opportunity"…

• What is my objective (to raise brand awareness, promote a new service, use as a loss leader to up sell something else??)
• Is this the right venue for the demographic market(s) I want to reach?
• Is the timing right?
• Is the message clear, on point and motivational?

So many entrepreneurs hire me after wasting thousands of dollars and tons of time because they embraced the scattered "onesie" approach - trying a little of this, buying a bit of a "sure thing" (which usually is an ad or direct mail package that is price driven and touted by some unrelentingly pushy salesperson.)

The result: untold dollars down the drain, and little if no response. I know, because in my first entrepreneurial leap ( back in the late 80’s as a co-owner of a new retail store) I made many of those mistakes. It took some time but through lots of in-the-trenches reading, attending workshops, asking questions, observation, and testing, I developed a winning branding, messaging and sales system, which produced millions in new revenues!

So, save yourself from some major headaches and do your homework before you embark on any more marketing misadventures. And if this is not your gig, work with a team who can keep you on point and give you sensible direction. They include professional marketing consultants, graphic designers, webmasters and copywriters - these are the folks that other successful entrepreneurs engage because they can assess the landscape, make strong recommendations and produce winning campaigns.

While you still may be entering uncharted territory, this way you’ve got a parachute on before you jump.

Making Time in ‘08

(Revised from March 17, 2007 post)

Okay - so there are only 24 hours in a day, right? So how do you “make” more time? It’s not as hard as you think.

With just three simple steps, you can create the time you need to do stuff that keeps getting put on the back burner.

A) Take one week and track your time. No cheating - make a log that counts every second, from the moment you wake up to the moment your exhausted head hits the pillow ( I did not say this was going to be painless, did I?)

B) Take a hard look at all the time you wasted ( like the 30 minutes you blew surfing the net for travel deals when you should have been working on a project, returning phone calls, etc.). See how much of your time is dealing with e/mail … sorting, tossing, answering, etc. I bet right now you let yourself get involved with email at least 10 times a day, if not more … Effective time management can rescue you from this trap.

C) Take command of your life! Yup, Stage Three is the best, because you get to create the work-flow chart that meshes with your personality, your job and your responsibilties. And that very simply means you must allocate those precious seconds, minutes, quarter hours, mornings, etc. in a very deliberate, methodical manner. Keep in mind three things you must do each day - review tasks, sort by priority, allocate defined time to attend to each task. By embracing this self-produced time allocation system you will actually be able to take control, work more effectively and keep organized!

A well-organized schedule for at least 3 days a week should be something that includes:

1. Lunch time away from your desk, even if it’s a half an hour
2. Short breaks, one mid-morning and one in the late afternoon
3. Defined times to return and make phone calls
4. Prescheduled times to check, sort and toss emails
5. Calls or emails to follow-up on new networking leads

In between this new regimen, make sure you plan at least one full hour where you can work without interruptions. The last two days can be earmarked for catch up work, intensive sales calls, uninterrupted project time, special networking events or client meetings as needed.

It will take 21 work days to get this whole new approach integrated into your daily routine, so that you are comfortable with it. Studies have proven that this is the minimum amount of time it takes to firmly establish a new regimen. It may seem nonsensical, even annoying, but you will be fighting yourself as you move through this adjustment period. Do not turn back! This new system will work better than the daily frantic pace you have most probably gotten used to.

Know that each day will throw you an assortment of curve balls. But if you actively start to manage your time, you can create a customized system that allows for more effective & more productive workdays, which is never a bad thing!

Old Habits Die Hard

Greetings!

As you can see it’s been awhile since I’ve added some thoughts here. Blogging was supposed to be a new activity that I would post to on a fairly regular basis … Yeah. Well, I had good intentions … which brings me to my topic.

The fact is, we are creatures of habit and changing a pattern of behavior is much easier said than done. We do lots of stuff by rote, without stopping for a second to think about anything. Take your morning routine, the place you stop in to get your coffee (or tea), and (for the ladies) how you apply your makeup. Putting on makeup, what’s the big deal, you say?? Trust me on this, it was ridiculous how long it took me to reverse my morning regimen once I got a new prescription . . .

My point - changing a rote pattern takes determination and concentration, and moments when we have to literally stop what we are doing and think about what the next step is before we make it. The process of implementing even the most simplest change (like the order of stuff that needs to be done when putting on makeup) is mildly annoying at the least and downright exasperating to the point of chucking the “better” way of doing things …

So - is it any wonder that we balk at changing systems, vendors, operations,or employees that are not cutting the mustard etc., in our businesses??

What a headache, right??

Fact is, change is necessary and for the most part lots of new thought processes, systems, vendors - whatever - can help our businesses run better and make our lives less stressful in the long term.

Once you make a plan of action, cut yourself a break in the implementation process. I intend on posting at least 3 times a week from now on, but that means I have to break my pattern of frittering away time (under the guise of doing research, keeping up-to-date with trends and resources; which I am, in fact, doing for very good reasons.) Realistically though it’s gonna take me about 3 weeks to go from the stop- and-start of breaking old habits, to creating new ones.

Bottom line: In order to accommodate the various new initiatives I’ve put on my 2006 to-do list (like blogging, writing my book, and podcasting) there are going to be a some bumps and glitches along the way, for about 21 days, before things start to go smoothly. If I don’t start now another month will go by and … Well, you get the picture. I’ll still be doing what I always did!

Wishing you the best of luck of on your re-patterning challenges!
Pattie