The other day I wrote an article about how I was clearing the clutter and today I found an excellent blog post that you should really check out all about clearing the clutter …

Declutter – Organising Queen

It is surprising how many people don’t use the easiest and most effective tool for success … The Daily Task List. When I prepare my daily task list I actually prepare it the night before. This way I don’t think about it all the things I have to do the next day all night long. How many times have you been laying in bed thinking “Oh, I have to remember to do that tomorrow”. By preparing your task list the night before you alleviate the worries that come from mentally trying to think of everything you have to do the next day, while trying to sleep.

Here are some tips to preparing your daily list:

- Describe the task so that you will know what it is that needs to be done, but in as few words as possible (NOTE: add in whatever details will assist you in knowing that task. For example “Write letter” can seem very vague, but “Write letter to client re: new prices” is something that at a glance you don’t have to stop and think about what it is that needed to be done).

- Give the task a level of importance. Is this something that is urgent or is this a task that you would just like to have done.

- Estimate the time you might need to complete the task. This will better help you in planning your day.

- Prioritize your daily list so that you know what things need to be done first, second, etc. depending on time lines, deadlines and other factors

- Ensure that your list is flexible – leave room for additions or deletions as necessary.

Most importantly just start using one. You will be surprised how much more organized you will feel and how much more productive you will be. By planning for your day, you are more likely to use your time wisely in the day and you will accomplish so much more!!

Good luck and I would love to hear how you make out with your daily task lists.

When you make a mistake do you ever stop to learn from that mistake? My husband has a favourite response when our kids make mistakes …. he always ask them “Did you learn something?” If they respond no then he always says “Well then you will probably make the same mistake again”.

I always tell my children that I would rather they admit to their mistakes and we can deal with the consequences rather than trying to hide the truth. Let’s face it, the truth always seems to have a way of coming out anyways. My children know that the punishment is worse if they are caught trying to hide something or are caught lying about something. Many times it is hard as a parent to remember the lesson that I am trying to teach them and try to remain calm when they make mistakes. It is not that they are not punished at times for these mistakes, but they understand that hiding it will result in a harsher penalty. I believe I am preparing them for the “real world” and this lesson will make them great (not that they aren’t already wink, wink)!!

This lesson is important to bring into our businesses. No one person is infallible … we all make mistakes. It is what we do with those mistakes that will distinguish those that grow from those that remain stagnant. When you take the time to analyze your mistake and determine the best “course of action” to ensure that this mistake is never made again, it is then that you will allow yourself to grow as both a person and a business owner.

Many people try to hide from their mistakes or blame others, but it takes a “big” person to stand up and admit they made a mistake. When you do admit your wrongs, others are more likely to trust in you and want to help you to learn from that mistake.

For my business, I offer a 100% guarantee. When something isn’t quite right I think it is important for my clients to let me know that I am in the wrong. I pride myself and my business on providing this guarantee. It does mean that I must take the extra time to make sure that things are “perfect”, but I believe my clients deserve nothing less.

I have made mistakes and some of them have been very costly, but my clients have all appreciated the fact that they know I don’t hide from the mistakes I make and in fact they appreciate that I am human too.

Dear Affiliates of The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Thriving Business:

Are you looking for some extra spending money for the upcoming holiday season? Until December 31st, as an affiliate of The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Thriving Business, I am going to give you a whopping 50% for each and every sale that you make through your affiliate link. That is $25 for each and every sale you make!!

So how can you promote my book? Here are just a few ideas:

• Blog about my book on your personal or business blog (use the buttons or links already created on your affiliate tools webpage).

• Include an article in your next newsletter or blog post about why someone should create a Thriving Business. (An article with your affiliate link has already been created on your affiliate tools webpage).

• Add a resource button in your newsletter, on your webpage or in your marketing materials.

• Send a notice to your subscriber list about my book.

So good luck, and I will make it my personal guarantee that any books you sell prior to December 15th are paid no later than the 19th of December in plenty of time for some holiday shopping. (Note: any sales made after December 15th will be paid the first week of January as usual).

Thanks again and happy promoting!!

Yvonne Weld
Author – “The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Thriving Business”

P.S. If you are not yet an affiliate of my book, here is the link to become an affiliate:

Affiliate Program for The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Thriving Business

When you market to a client, it is imperative that you answer the question “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM) because, let’s face it, we are in a society where we have been conditioned to take care of Number 1 first (and why not … we all deserve that!!). If you want your potential client to take a serious look at the service or product you are offering, they need to know that they are going to get some value from purchasing from you. Even more importantly they need to be reminded constantly of the value they are continuing to receive.

Marketing Materials
The very first place that your client will be looking to answer WIIFM, even before they agree to do business with you, is within your marketing materials. If the front page of your website does not speak to their pain or entice them to look further, you have lost your opportunity. If your business card doesn’t quickly explain to a client what you do and why they need you, you have lost your opportunity. If your 30-second infomercial, doesn’t tell that potential client why they can’t live without you, you have lost your opportunity.

Give your potential client a reason to keep looking and to keep listening. Speak to their pain and answer how you can ease that pain. Tired of suffering from backaches? You need a chiropractor. Struggling with paperwork? You need a Virtual Assistant. Don’t know a debit from a credit? You need a bookkeeper. Make sure all your marketing materials and your infomercial answer your client’s questions and entice them to want to hear and/or read more. Keep them excited and interested in what you are going to offer them to make their life easier.

Making the Sale
So you’ve gotten the potential client to hear how you can make their life easier and they are interested in what your product or service has to offer them. Now what? Now it is time to close the sale and “seal the deal” as they say. When you are “closing the sale”, make sure that you ask probing questions that you know your product or service can solve. Be ready and know ahead of time what the usual objections are to your product or service and then answer the questions before they are asked. Give the client every reason to know that they cannot live without your product or service because life with your product or service is going to be so much better. Paint them a picture of how life will be once they make that purchase.

Service and/or Product’s Value
So the client has agreed to make the purchase … now is the time to make sure that your product or service delivers. Make sure that you deliver on every promise you have made. This is the best way to get your clients talking about you and referring others to your product or service. A client is more likely to talk to others about a product or service that has made their lives better, easier or more exciting. If your product or service excites, eases or enhances, then you are sure to get your clients talking.

When you answer your client’s question “What’s in it for me” they will be sure to spread that word when they hear of other’s with that same question. If you take it one step further by following up and thanking that client for their business you will truly create a thriving business and even more importantly a base for referrals!!

One of the things I love to do with my spare time is internet research. As I posted earlier this week, I am working the Get Client’s Now 28 day program. In that blog entry, I stated that I was going to be finding blogroll sites. Well, thanks to my friend Patty Dost I was given a few links and boy did I hit the jackpot.

Here are some really great business blog listing sites:

I Blog Business
All Business
Blogflux – Business Blogs
Small Business Blog Directors

While researching the last blog site, I came across Virtual Business Connection and was amazed at the tricks that she has on her site. So today’s blogroll entry is going to Cynthia Morse. Thanks Cynthia for all your great resources. To my faithful blog readers, you should really check out her blog.

When I first started my Virtual Assistant business I thought I was pretty savvy and well informed of what technology and the internet had to offer. Wow was I surprised to know that I really didn’t know anything!

Every day I am hearing of a new and easier way to provide a service for my clients. How do I accomplish this? It is easy, I stay informed. I belong to association forums such as VANA, CVAN and the REV where I am continually learning and reading of new and interesting technologies that are available to make life easier. I research and ask questions and I am always on the lookout for ways to enhance my services.

Finally, I am never afraid to ask for help. If I can’t figure something out or if I am not 100% sure how to do something I can ask many of my friends and associates and I guarantee one of them has a solution for me. It is in keeping with these simple steps that I am able to maintain my thriving business.

So what can you be doing to keep yourself informed and on the “cutting edge” of your industry?

As small business owners, we seem to want our marketing campaigns to work overnight. We open our doors to our new business and just expect that the Clients will line up to do business with us. However, this is most definitely not the case in most situations.

So what are you doing to attract clients? More importantly, what systems do you have in place to ensure you are spending your marketing dollars wisely? If you have a website what are you doing to ensure people are finding it? Do you take the time and steps necessary to draw the traffic to your website? If you are networking, what are you doing to ensure that you are just not another face at the networking event? Do you take the time to establish relationships? If you are relying on word of mouth what steps have you taken to ensure that your clients are talking? Do they even know that you want them to talk about you?

It is fine and dandy to establish a good marketing plan, but please, please ensure that you have a good evaluation plan in place as well to make sure that your marketing dollars are not wasted and you have truly taken the steps to grow a thriving business.

Last week I was faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to discontinue my working relationship with a client. I truly didn’t feel that I was the best fit for them nor were they the best fit for me. As always, when dealing with whether to end a working relationship with a client, I wondered if I was making the right decision. However, just the thought that I wasn’t sure it was the right relationship was enough of an answer to me that it was time to move on.

I don’t think enough can be said about finding your “ideal” client. If you spend the time making sure to only work with people you love and do things you love then you will continue to love what you do. It is so true that those clients that I call “suckers” … you know the ones that drain all your energy and that you really don’t like either the work you are performing for them or their personality clashes with you … can make you dread coming to work each day. It’s important to keep in mind that we all started our own business to be our own boss; so take a stand and make sure to surround yourself with clients that you know you are going to enjoy working with.

When deciding whether you want to work with someone don’t ever be afraid to say no. Trust your instincts and if something doesn’t feel quite right it is quite okay to turn them down. Just because they want to work with you does not mean you need to work with them. Your perfect client is probably waiting right around the corner. My best advice to you is to please don’t ever “take on” a client out of a sense of obligation or need. You should only be “taking on” clients that you know will fit into your business profile and future goals. By doing this you will not only be creating a career you will love and enjoy, but you will ultimately be creating a thriving business.

So even though I closed the door on this one client, it was amazing how quickly another one opened and in walked my ideal client, doing the tasks I love to do and in an industry I know inside and out!! Please make sure to remember that when one door closes watch for that other door to open or even a window!!

Having financial stability is important to everyone. Passive income is a great way to increase the bottom line without increasing your workload. Coming up with ways to do this through your business can be difficult. Here are a few suggestions for you to consider so that you can spend more time with family or do something that you enjoy and stop worrying about making enough money to make ends meet.

Subcontracting
If you have enough work coming in to keep you busy, why not subcontract some of the work out? It’s a win-win situation for everyone. The work gets finished in the timeframe requested by the client, the subcontractor is able to have an income and possibly learn new things to add to their services and you still have money coming in for all your marketing efforts for obtaining new clients.

Remember at some point your busy is going to get so busy that you won’t have time to keep up. At that point you will have two choices; turn down work or utilize subcontractors. By putting in systems now before you truly need their help, you can find subcontractors that you can depend on when you truly need their help.

Affiliates
Affiliates are another form of passive income. If you find products geared toward your target market, start doing some research to make sure that it’s a product that you feel you can truly stand behind and will help your clients. Sign up to be an affiliate so that, not only do your clients gain knowledge of products that they may need, you also receive money when they purchase them.

Also, if there are products that you’ve used or read and you would definitely promote these products, sign up to be an affiliate. Since you have used these products or read these ebooks, you can show individuals how they’ve helped you and what they can do for others. People will rely on your judgment and your knowledge and purchase these products through your affiliate link.

Ebooks
Write an ebook or a special report on a topic you know about or have learned about. You can add your own affiliate program for the ebook so that others can sell it. That way, the ebook is not only making money for you but for your affiliates as well. Everyone has something to say so take a good long hard look at what you are an expert in and profit from that knowledge. Although there is a lot of work to writing an ebook, if you write on a topic that others are interested in learning about, the income can be generated for an unlimited amount of time after the book is released to the public.

Advertising
Offer advertising space in your newsletter, ezine or ebook. The more subscribers you have, the more individuals or businesses will want to advertise. Remember that as your subscribers list increase you can keep increasing the advertising rates, after all the more potential targets the advertising company can reach the more they will be willing to spend on advertising.

Google Adsense
If your site is reaching a lot of individuals, add Google ads to your website. Each time someone clicks on these ads, you receive a commission.

Photography
If you’re a great photographer (or even an amateur with a repertoire of really great shots) you could check into selling your photographs to a stock photography clearinghouse and then receive royalties from your photos.

So remember, there are a number of ways to add passive income to your business and free you from working so hard. After all creating a business wherein you continually have to work harder to bring in profits is not healthy; use your imagination and start profiting from those things that take little to no effort to get those dollars flowing into your bank account. You just need to put forth a little effort to reap the rewards and start thriving.