Archive for January, 2015

Validating Your Business

You’ve decided that it’s time to start your own business. You started with a great idea, assembled a winning business plan and now it’s time to launch the business and let it fly.

One slight hang-up remains, however. In order for your plan to succeed it is imperative that your business does not appear to be a newbie. You will be competing against entrenched vendors who have something similar to offer and you know that in business credibility is key and that new clients are wary of committing their time, assets and/or money to a vendor that looks like they just opened their doors yesterday. If your competition is based in a traditional bricks and mortar location then you need to be as well. If for no other reason than to just level the playing field. A traditional bricks and mortar facility implies that a business has been around for a while and has staying power. It implies size, and strength and an attitude of professionalism.

But if you’re just starting out there’s a good chance that the money to get your own building and possibly hire staff so that you look in the eyes of your prospects to be as professional as you know you are, is not in the budget. So therein lies the problem, how does your business appear to the outside world to be established and professional without breaking the bank?

The answer is an executive office suite like the ones you will find at Executive Suites at Lakewood Ranch. With an executive suite you get one or more fully furnished offices, you get a staff you don’t have to hire, you get an address that reflects a business location instead of a residential location or P.O. Box. You get someone to answer your phone in a professional manner, you get access to business tools such as copiers, scanners and fax machines, and you get professional meeting rooms instead of Starbucks or a fast food place. And you get cleaning service, electricity, water, sewer, HVAC without having to contract for these services or pay deposits on them. You are not responsible for ongoing maintenance, if something breaks it’s someone else’s problem, not yours. And you get all of this for a short time frame and very little cash out of pocket.

In short an executive office suite validates your new business as a professional organization that is just as qualified as the other guys.

If your new business needs validation and you are located within Manatee or Sarasota counties then you should be talking to Executive Suites at Lakewood Ranch. We’ll have you looking professional and established in no time.

10 Productivity Tips for the Overwhelmed Entrepreneur

It’s the beginning of the year, a time for resolutions and one resolution you can make is to make yourself more productive in 2015. The following tips from Lara Galloway and Erin Babbler should help.

At any moment in a given day, we have push notifications, text messages, email alerts, phone calls, tweets, and even real humans vying for our attention. Not only are we busy in the present, but also our minds are often consumed with the future and all of the decisions we have to make.

While your to-do list is more likely to grow longer than disappear, the key to reducing exhaustion is to spend the time you do have productively.

Before we share some tips that will help, let’s first look at some of the things that get in the way of your productivity:

LACK OF BOUNDARIES

Most people aren’t great at establishing strong boundaries around their time, and they’re even worse at observing them. It’s important when you’ve scheduled time to do something to actually do it. Resisting answering phone calls, checking social media, or agreeing to have coffee when a friend stops by can be difficult, but also worthwhile.

DISTRACTIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS

Distractions happen for one of two main reasons: Either we fail to limit our exposure to them or they are an indication that we need a break. You need to learn to notice the difference, enforce those boundaries we  just mentioned, and allow time to rest and rejuvenate when necessary.

DOING IT ALL YOURSELF

We have many responsibilities and multiple roles in life and work. One of the biggest drains on productivity is that we take on more than we are capable of accomplishing.

It can be hard to relinquish control, but doing so gives us the opportunity to work on what matters most while allowing someone else to handle the rest. In addition to delegating, what sorts of things can  you automate or, at the very least, create a streamlined process to handle?

Set yourself up for success by creating and sticking to your boundaries, minimizing distractions, and getting over the idea that you’re the only one who can do what must be done. If you only apply these three principles without adding in any of the tips listed below, you will see a definite increase in your productivity.

If you want even more productivity, though, here’s how to get it:

CHUNK IT

How long can you stay focused on a task or project? Whether it’s 20 minutes or two hours, break your day into chunks of time and schedule tasks that can be completed in those chunks. Take short breaks between each chunk.

MAP IT

Project mapping is a great time management technique in which you plug tasks from a project into the available time slots on your calendar, just as if you were scheduling an appointment with a client. We get so overwhelmed when we have a massive project and a looming deadline. By mapping the project tasks out on our calendar, we set aside specific time to work on them so they get done.

CALCULATE IT

The Pareto principle, or the “80/20 rule” as it’s commonly referred to, says that 20% of whatever you are talking about is vital and 80% is trivial. Apply this to your task list: 20% of what you do will yield 80% of your progress. Out of all the tasks that must be done, can you pick out the 20% that will move you closer toward your goals?

QUARTER IT

On a sheet of paper, create a to-do list. Make this list as inclusive as possible. Divide a separate sheet of paper into four quadrants. In Quadrant 1, write down all of the tasks from your list that make you money. In Quadrant 2, write down the tasks on your list that make it possible for you to make money, like marketing activities. Quadrant 3 should include tasks that don’t make money but most be done. These are your business operations like email administration, managing the team and meetings, paying bills, etc. In Quadrant 4, list all of the activities from your list that are truly tasks that could be delegated to someone else or simply deleted from your to-do list altogether. Always challenge yourself to put at least 5 items in Quadrants 1 and 4, and spend your time focusing on doing the tasks in Quadrants 1 and 2 as much as possible.

TIME IT

You are likely more productive at certain times of the day than others. Schedule your hardest and most important tasks during your most efficient times of day, and save your easier/less important activities for your low-energy periods.

QUESTION IT

If you notice that certain tasks on your list never seem to get done, it’s time to question whether it’s worth doing at all. Can you move these tasks to Quadrant 4?

MAXIMIZE IT

Maximize your time by grouping together tasks that are similar. For instance, if you have client meetings, plan to run errands while you’re out. Then schedule multiple tasks you can do on your computer for another part of the day or a different day.

PLAN IT

Planning impacts your productivity in so many ways. Set yourself up for success by taking time to prepare for the next day. Study the time you have between appointments and deadlines and make a plan the night before for the tasks you will accomplish.

BREAK IT

As counterintuitive as it may seem, taking a break is actually a very effective way to be more productive. Take a shower. Go for a walk. Get lost on Instagram for 15 minutes. You’ll be refreshed when you return to your work.

FOCUS IT

When you’re overwhelmed with to-dos and need to get back on track, sometimes it helps to focus all your energy on the tasks you have to complete. This means letting go of some things you normally do to maintain life as usual. Housework, your favorite TV shows, or your weekly night out with friends might be a worthwhile sacrifice for the short term to allow you to focus all your energy and be more productive.

No matter how fast you knock things off your list, use your precious time on the things that matter most and you will feel more productive.

Lastly, and this is probably the best tip of all, locate yourself in a productive environment such as you will find at Executive Suites at Lakewood Ranch where productivity abounds.