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Clear Out the Old and Make Room for the New – In Business and Life

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (5)

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

It’s the start of a new year. For many of us, thoughts turn to making resolutions – or at the very least finally tackling that messy closet, or those piles of papers, or organizing some aspect of your business. Because we all know how good it feels to have a nice, clean space with everything organized and in its place.

Plus, I’m a firm believer that if you want something new in your life you need to make room for it. Whether that means you need to clear things out mentally, emotionally or physically.

The hard part is making time to get it done. Because no matter how good it feels when you finish cleaning and organizing, it’s rarely something most of us feel like doing.

I find it helps to get reminders from outside myself as motivation. So here are a few of my favorite motivating quotes to help you get 2012 started right by clearing out the old and making room for the new.

“Clutter is stuck energy. The word 'clutter' derives from the Middle English word 'clotter,' which means to coagulate. And that's about as stuck as you can get.”–Karen Kingston

“Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.” –William James

“The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed-it is a process of elimination.” –Elbert Hubbard

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot.” –Michael Altshuler

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” –Confucius

“Make room for the new you. You may not have totally determined who the new you is going to be, but you probably have decided that there are some things about the current you, that you want to change. Well while you are working on what the new you will be, start 'cleaning out a room' for the new you to live in.

Get rid of the junk in your life both physical and mental that doesn't fit you anymore. Take things out of your schedule that are taking your time away from finding out what you want to do. By making room for the new you, you will create a vacuum that the new you will rush in to fill and you will be on your way to the top.” –Edward W. Smith, Sixty Seconds To Success

The most important thing is to get started. So pick a project, whether business or personal, then break it down into smaller parts and tackle one bit each day (or week until it’s done). When you stop letting unfinished projects drain your energy, and you create organization and space for new things in your life, you transform your world.

Here’s to an amazing year! May this one be your best yet!!

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Categories : Build Your Business, Entrepreneur Mindset, Systems, Work/Life Balance

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Are Your Business Goals Undermining Your Personal Goals?

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Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

2012 is just around the corner. If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you’re thinking about what you want to achieve next year.

Hopefully you’re also looking back and thinking about what worked and what didn’t, and what you loved about your small business and what you hated. Because that’s the only way to know what needs to change to make you more successful this year.

On top of that, all too often I see small business owners set business goals that are completely in opposition to what’s most important to them personally. For example, if you want to spend more time with your kids, but you decide to host a weekly radio show, your professional and personal goals are out of whack. That means you’re not likely to be happy with your results at the end of next year.

So the Business Lifestyle Architect in me wants you to look at what you really want and need in your life and your business. Then design your 2012 goals and plans to achieve both.

To help you with that, I’ve put together a series of 5 simple yet powerful questions you can and should be asking yourself.

Ready? Grab a pen and pad (or sit down at your keyboard), set aside 15 minutes, and get started.

1) What are your top 3 personal goals or priorities?

I’m not talking about business goals or how much money you want to make here. I just want to know what’s most important to you in your personal life. Is it getting or staying in shape, spending more time with family or friends, pursuing a hobby, traveling, buying a new house, something else? Be as detailed and specific as possible.

2) How do you plan to achieve these goals? Be specific here about the steps you plan to take or changes you plan to make. And make sure to include deadlines or start dates.

3) What are your top 3 business goals or priorities?

Again, be as detailed and specific as possible. Don’t just say “make more money”, or “launch a new product”… Say, “Get 10 new clients per month and earn an additional $100,000 this year”.

4) How do you plan to achieve those goals? Write a short synopsis of what you plan to do to make your business goals a reality. So if you want 10 new clients a month you might decide to start doing public speaking, or email marketing, or launch a new program, or create affiliate partnerships. Whatever it is you plan to do, list it out next to each goal, and again, be sure to include start dates and due dates.

5) Which, if any, of your business goals support one or more of your personal goals? If there are any that don’t, then you definitely need to rethink those business goals and how you plan to achieve them.

Because if all you ever do is focus on your business goals – or you look at your business and personal goals separately – I can tell you from experience your business will take over your life. So if you want to be both successful and satisfied as an entrepreneur, be sure you always consider both.

While it’s great to do this at year’s end, these questions are something I recommend you bust out and look at more than just once a year. In fact, I recommend you go through these bi-annually at a minimum; quarterly is better.

Remember, life is for living – not just working. So use these questions to help you do more of the former while enjoying the latter more.

Got thoughts on this subject? Other suggestions? Please do leave a comment…

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Categories : Build Your Business, Business Systems, Entrepreneur Mindset, Work/Life Balance

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Another Round of Work/Life Balance Tips from the Experts to Help Overworked Entrepreneurs

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Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Any entrepreneur who’s been at it awhile knows it’s all too easy to let your business take over your entire life. Because there’s always more on your to-do list than any human can get done in a day (or possibly even a lifetime).

But unless you find ways of creating a bit of that elusive work/life balance, chances are you won’t last long owning your own business. Or at the very least you’ll be very unhappy doing it. Because you simply cannot work 60-80 hours a week, month after month, without burning out.

To help you become a successful AND happy entrepreneur, I recently solicited tips from more than 100 experts on productivity, time management, business/life balance, mindset and more. Below are a few more I thought were worth sharing. Enjoy!

Schedule your leisure and family time.

“Some entrepreneurs are so immersed in their businesses and are such slaves to their blackberries that they can never find time for "life". For many people like this, the best way to begin to tackle that problem is literally to SCHEDULE your leisure and family activities so the time is blocked out, i.e.: Mon – Fri 6 – 7 pm family dinner Thursday 5 pm – mani/pedi Sat. 1 – 4 pm, art museum w/ kids Sun. 5 pm call parents Like that, or they will never make space in their day. Sounds a little nuts, but it works.”

Lizzy Shaw, Owner/President – Lizzy Shaw Public Relations http://www.lizzyshawpr.com/

The best way to maintain business/life balance is to stay organized.

“The best way to maintain business/life balance is to stay organized. If you can get to the office and work effectively, you can leave when you need to with peace of mind that your day was productive. I write a list before I get to work so that I'm prepared and know what my day will hold. I try to avoid getting side tracked and I work hard to stay on task. There are always things that come up when you run a business, but referring back to the list gets me back on track.”

Deborah Sweeney, CEO – My Corporation http://www.mycorporation.com/

To avoid personal/professional burn-out, you must compartmentalize.

“There's no such thing as an underworked small business owner. You put your career on the line daily; you're predisposed to care about every detail of every issue. But to avoid personal/professional burn-out, you must compartmentalize. Billing and collecting aren't the best parts of the job, but you have to do them. Marketing and filling the pipeline may not show immediate results, but without them your business stalls. Be GREAT at delivering your product or service first, but then make time to be good at everything else as well.”

Cheryl Heisler, President – Lawternatives Career Consulting www.lawternatives.com

Get an iPad!

“While growing a successful startup over the past four years this tip has started to reverse the effects of my countless 80 hour work weeks in the past. Are you ready for the tip? Ditch the home computer and get an iPad. Seriously. It forces you to prioritize what you can accomplish in and out of the office. As a result, it empowers you to spend more time, less distracted, with what matters the most, your family.”

Paul Burke, CEO – TicketDerby, Inc. http://www.ticketderby.com/

You have got to start putting your "Life" before business…

“You have got to start putting your "Life" before business, or you will always be spinning your wheels, thinking "If only…….., then everything will be okay" —————-the universe will not cooperate with you if your head is in the wrong place. You take care of business, but you absolutely make sure you are giving an appropriate amount of time to your "life" which certainly, I hope, consists of a lot more than the "office or shop". The better you will feel about your own life, the better your business will shape up……….the business does not run you – you run the business”

Harris Glasser

What do you think about these tips? Got more to add? Please do share by leaving a comment below…

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Six Tips for Taking a Real Vacation When You’re an Entrepreneur

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

I grew up in the family business…My father was a veterinarian and my mother ran the practice. She always told me, “Once you own a business you can give up the idea of taking regular vacations or time off.”

For much of my life I believed her. So for my first nine years as an entrepreneur I didn’t even attempt to schedule much more than a trip home at the holidays. And I typically brought work with me.

That all changed after I taught my hubby to ski. Thanks to an idea I planted in his brain, he got hooked on us doing a heli-ski trip into a remote cabin for a week. At first I could not see any way to take off 9 days with no access to the Internet or cell service. I just couldn’t afford the loss of income.

Then finally we just did it. And it was fantastically refreshing and rewarding. I came back more excited about my business than ever. And the best part was…I was busier when I returned than I had been when I left. I even managed to make money thanks to some product sales!

Since then we’ve taken at least one big ski trip every year, plus a couple week-long vacations in the summer. In fact, I just got back from a 17-day, completely unplugged, trip to Europe (That's me in a park in downtown Barcelona). And once again I was busier when I returned.

Truthfully, most people admire business owners who make time for a personal life and take vacations. Your clients and customers likely will too. Goodness know your friend and family will appreciate it!

Since I know how daunting the thought of taking a real vacation can be, today I wanted to share a few tips that have helped me make these trips a reality…

1) Outsource your email: One of the best uses of a Virtual Assistant is to have them check your emails when you’re out of town. Or, simply add them as a contact in your vacation email in case someone has something urgent or important that needs attending to.

2) Automate communications: Blog posts still need to go up, ezines need to go out and some social networking updates should occur while you’re gone. That way you don’t lose any traction or momentum.

How to do it? Use a combination of an email autoresponder service to preset ezines, leenk.me to automatically push blog posts to your social networks, and hootsuite.com to preset other social networking updates. Sure, you have to get a jump on things to do this in advance. But it’s worth it.

3) Automate scheduling: I LOVE my online scheduling service, Tungle.me, for letting prospects schedule phone and in-person meetings online. It helps ensure you’re busy when you get back from vacation. And it saves time when you’re in town too.

4) Promote something: Have a sale, or promote a new program, service or product, while you’re out of town. Start the promotions before you leave to be sure everything is working properly. Then let it keep running while you’re gone and you can earn money when you’re not working. Or have loads of hot prospects eagerly awaiting your return.

5) Add in extra days: Always set your work schedule so that you’re not available for at least one day before you leave and after you get back. Then use this time to finish up last minute tasks before you go, and to settle in and take care of emails when you return.

Doing this greatly reduces the stress of taking time off. And it lets you ease back into real life so you don’t lose your wonderful vacation buzz right away.

6) Just do it: As an entrepreneur, you can always come up with a million reasons why you can’t take time off—that to-do list isn’t getting any shorter, after all. So you just have to commit to a vacation and schedule it in.

Everything will still be there when you get back. But I promise you’re going to be in a much better position to deal with it.

Once you start taking vacations on a regular basis, you’ll realize it’s totally doable. Not only that, it’s the best thing you can do for your business, your clients or customers, your family, your physical and mental health and your life.

How often do you take time off from your business? Do you have any tips or thoughts to add on this subject?

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Categories : Build Your Business, Business Systems, Entrepreneur Mindset, Work/Life Balance

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Yet More Tips from the Experts to Help Overworked Entrepreneurs Get better Work/Life Balance

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (1)

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

One of the hardest parts about being and entrepreneur is figuring out how to have a successful business and a life too—especially if your business is growing or changing. It quickly becomes a lot like that plant Seymour from “Little Shop of Horrors”. No matter what you do, or how many hours you work, it’ll always be there saying “feeeeeeed me.” But what it wants is your time and energy (and money of course).

At some point you have to say no or it WILL suck you dry physically and emotionally.

But if you want to be both successful and happy as an entrepreneur, you have to find a way to. To help you achieve a bit of that elusive—but necessary—work/life balance I recently solicited tips from more than 100 experts on productivity, time management, business/life balance, mindset and more. Below are a few more I thought were worth sharing. Enjoy!

You don’t have to be in charge of everything.

“As an entrepreneur with a small business it's a natural tendency to want to keep your eyes and ears on every part of your business. However, that doesn't mean you should be in charge of every aspect of your business. Our office stress level reduced dramatically when we took a look at the activities that we hated doing and then outsourced them to qualified professionals. After all, being an entrepreneur is supposed to be about having fun while making money!”

Shari Alexander – Expert Message Group, LLC http://www.expertmessagegroup.com/

Keep one calendar for everything.

“My advice to others is to keep ONE calendar and ONE to-do list that covers all aspects of work and life. Each evening–in preparation for the next day–I look at my to-do list and prioritize it. What are the top things that need to get done tomorrow? Things like volunteering in a child's classroom, going to the gym or taking the car for an oil change may be more important on a particular day than some of the business items on the list.”

Leigh Steere, Co-founder – Managing People Better, LLC www.ManagingPeopleBetter.com

Take a real lunch break even if you work from home.

“As a copywriter and media buyer, not only am I a 'solopreneur', I work from a home office, where the lines between work and life can become very blurred. Much of my time is spent seeing clients in their place of business, but on in-office days, one thing I insist on is taking a real lunch break: up to a full hour away from my desk, when I let telephone calls go to voicemail and do not check email. This gives me a chance to unplug, regroup, and get back to business with a refreshed focus.”

Carole Holden, The Media Fairy – http://www.themediafairy.com/

Eliminate, delegate, outsource and automate (clearly this entrepreneur and I are cut from the same cloth)

“Take inventory of all activities that you do throughout the day, week, & month. Go through a "peel the onion layers" in this order: What can be ELIMINATED? Then DELEGATED/OUTSOURCED? If something can’t be eliminated or delegated, what can be automated?”

Paul Tran, Founder – Point B Capital Corporation http://www.paulttran.com/

Schedule personal time just as you would a business appointment.

“Many entrepreneurs are workaholics, which makes it hard for them to achieve work-life balance. A tip I give to my clients is to schedule personal time just as they would a business appointment. Put it in the calendar, block out the time, and treat that time slot just as if it was an appointment with your top client. We cannot serve our clients if we are burnt out, therefore scheduling time to maintain balance is just as important, if not more so, than any other task or appointment.”

Laura Waage, Business Coach and Consultant – Entrepreneur Success Tools http://www.entrepreneursuccesstools.com/

What do you think about these tips? Got more to add? Please do share by leaving a comment below…

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Loads More Tips from the Experts to Help Overworked Entrepreneurs Get better Work/Life Balance

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Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

Every entrepreneur with a thriving business eventually discovers there’s always more on the to-do list than any human can get done. That makes it really tough to achieve a decent balance between business and your personal life.

But if you want to be both successful and happy as a small business owner, you have to find a way to achieve a bit of that ever so elusive balance. Otherwise you’re going to end up burnt-out and exhausted. Worst case you’ll end up closing your business down.

To make it easier for you to balance your business and your personal life, I’m sharing tips from more than 100 experts on productivity, time management, business/life balance, mindset and more in a series of blog posts. Below are a few more powerful ones. Enjoy!

Get a calendar system that works – then use it!

“It's important to find a calendar/scheduling system that's going to fit your lifestyle and your needs. But more importantly is using that system to create better balance when it comes to your business and your life. Are you living to work? Or would you rather be working to live? Prioritize the things that go on your calendar. Does your son have a baseball game? Plug it in. Are you taking a family trip? Plug it in. Now, take some time to realistically plug in when you will work on your business, and when you will work in your business. It's easy to overcommit, so on top of everything else make sure you plug in time to take care of YOU! Whether it's exercise, haircut, or just sitting down to catch up on some reading.”

Michelle Poteet – The Productivity Boost http://www.theproductivityboost.com/

TTOAT: Technology turn off at ten!

“We practice this as our home on every level during the week…laptops, computers and phones, all off! 95% of the time the tv is too, but sometimes we go a wee bit past the 10pm deadline on the TV, only if something super amazing is on!”

Morgan Cullen, Creator/Editor – Casa Cullen http://www.casacullen.com/

Five steps for using values to create a healthy work/life balance:

1. Identify your core values (i.e., truth, adventure, beauty, wisdom, bliss).

2. Look at each activity you are doing (marketing, boards, volunteer, etc.) to make sure each reflects your core values and are not things you think you should be doing.

3. Discard those activities that are not in alignment with your values.

4. Purposefully select activities that DO support your values. You will find like-minded people there!

5. When asked to take on a task, project or role in the future, evaluate the request against your values before saying yes.”

Kirsten Meneghello, J.D., Life Coach – Illumination Coaching, LLC http://www.illuminationcoachpdx.com/

Set clear goals for the upcoming week each Sunday.

“Every Sunday night I make an outline for the upcoming week, listing the goals I’d like to achieve each day, Monday through Sunday. I tend to make these goals ambitious but also realistic. This way, when you achieve each of the days objectives, you will have peace of mind, knowing that you’ve done everything needed to keep your business strong, and by organizing and structuring your business needs on a daily/weekly basis, you will have more time to balance and include the activities of your personal life.”

Michael Grandinetti – Michael Grandinetti Magic http://www.michaelgrandinetti.com/

Declare a 24-hour "no electronic screens" period one day a week.

“No iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or laptop for 24 hours. Use the time to truly be in the moment with those near you, whether its your family, your barista, an old friend or a stranger. Powering off for a day is a challenge, but it keeps me grounded.”

Scott Hepburn – Media Emerging http://mediaemerging.com/

What do you think about these tips? Got more to add? Please do share by leaving a comment below…

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Categories : Personal Development, Work/Life Balance

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More Tips from the Experts to Help Overworked Entrepreneurs Get better Work/Life Balance

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Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

All work and no play makes any entrepreneur stressed out, exhausted and burnt out. But it’s way too easy to let your business eat away at your personal life. But if you want to be both successful and happy as an entrepreneur, you have to find a way to achieve a bit of work/life balance.

To help you do exactly that, I recently solicited tips from more than 100 experts on productivity, time management, business/life balance, mindset and more. I’ve been sharing the best of these in a series of blog posts. Here are a few more I thought were worth your time. Enjoy!

Take “serenity breaks” every hour…

“Google, Yahoo, Monsanto and IBM all encourage employee meditation because it helps bottom line and streamlines business life balance. Whether you consider yourself religious, spiritual or secular, there is some compatible way to train your mind to be deeply present with moment to moment experience instead of resisting it and burning out. Business owners would do well to take two to three minute "serenity breaks" every hour or so for stretching, prayer, exercise, meditation, reading a favorite Rumi poem or Bible verse, etc. Small intervals of calming and grounding activities add up below the level of consciousness and culminate into a centered, blissful and productive state.”

Tom Von Deck, corporate meditation trainer – www.DeeperMeditation.net

Manage your life the same way you manage your business.

“Choose at least 2 things you want to devote your time to every day aside from work, and dedicate specific time for them each day. Make a public commitment to the people affected, whether family or friends, and ask them to hold you accountable if you fail to meet your goals for work life balance. If you have trouble keeping the schedules you set, add incentives for yourself with personal rewards and penalties for meeting your goals each week.”

Charlie Belmer, Founder & CEO – Golem Technologies www.golemtechnologies.com

Always remember that you are in charge of your time and how you spend it.

“Don't let Social Media, your ToDo lists or your creative impulses become the boss of you or override your personal life priorities. Set up a daily schedule for how you will run your business day to day and commit to it. To design your schedule, log all of your business and personal activities for one week. Then review your log, organize your tasks and use that to create a daily routine that will keep your business and personal life in balance.”

Susan Liddy, MA, CEO Susan Liddy International www.susanliddy.com

Take stock of your goals and activities

“Work/life balance is essential to well-being. First, clarify your vision. What do you want your life to look like? Write it in detail, review it daily, consider it your ultimate guide. Next, inventory your activities, personal and professional, and ask yourself if they move you closer to your vision. Those that don’t need to leave your life. Those that do need to be scheduled. Seriously, if you don’t schedule things they wont happen. Make appointments with yourself for both work tasks and pleasure. Leisure time is critical, it refuels you so you can be a better business person.”

Kelly Jayne McCann – Perfect Order Organizing www.perfectorderorganizing.com

To balance your business and personal lives, first define "success" for yourself.

“Keep that definition in mind as you decide what things you will do and what things you will let go. It will also help you keep joy in your life, because you will connect the tasks you do to the success you're working for. It's the difference between "I am carrying bricks" and "I am helping to create a great building."

Mark Chussil, Founder and CEO – Advanced Competitive Strategies, Inc http://www.whatifyourstrategy.com/

What do you think about these tips? Got more to add? Please do share by leaving a comment below…

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Less Really Is More – In Business and Marketing

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Thursday, May 26th, 2011

I was just reading one of Rich Schefren’s articles, “Duct Tape and the Ultimate Key to Success”, in the Early to Rise newsletter about the need for simplicity in your business in order to achieve success. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Because in my quest to work only 2.5 days a week, I’ve had to seriously look at the value of every strategy, tactic, product and service.

I am looking at everything I’ve ever done, offered or thought about doing, and asking:

How much work does it create for me to do?
Do I have to spend money on outsourcing to get it done? If so, how much?
Am I offering too many options or trying to add too many bells and whistles?
How much net revenue does it bring in?

Because, I, like so many of my entrepreneur clients, want to offer tons of value. I want to give everyone an option that works for them. But when I try to do that, I end up making things more complex, difficult, time-consuming and expensive to implement. And I may end up offering so many options I confuse my prospects and they walk away.

Years ago as a copywriter I learned to edit ruthlessly—cutting at least 30% from any rough draft. And I try to do the same ruthless editing in my business. But I still struggle with making things too complex in an effort to give more. And I see others struggle with the same.

Here’s an excerpt from Rich’s article explaining why this is such a huge problem:

“When you fall in the love with the complex, you run the risk of spending more time learning than earning. Building knowledge instead of your business. Analyzing instead of taking action. It means more work, more hours spent strategizing and developing, and making less progress toward your goal. No matter how much efficiency you think it may add, no matter how much you may think it saves you, complexity always adds to your bottom line costs…

… When you focus obsessively on creating a bigger and more complex system, you naturally shift your focus from your goal to the path to achieve it. You start focusing on the "How" instead of the "What." It misdirects all your efforts and resources.

Rich also asks an important question to determine if you’re in love with the complex:

"In an effort to make my business more productive, am I more likely to add more steps or options to it or am I more likely to strip something out of it?"

Take a hard look at the actions you've taken in the past. Beyond the start-up, how big has your business grown? Not in terms of revenue and customers but in terms of tasks and workload.

…More complex does not mean better. What more complex does mean is more demanding. “

Yep. Couldn’t agree more. Been there, done that, done with that. Thanks to the Internet and all the options it offer, it’s WAY too easy to get sucked into complexity. Into building endless Webpages and Websites. Into offering everything under the sun in an effort to make everyone happy—and ideally make more money.

If you do this, in the end, the only one who won’t be happy is you. Because you’ll be working WAY too hard for WAY too little money. The people succeeding are the ones who’ve narrowed their focus—and stay focused.

Are you trying to be everything to everyone? Do you want to have something everyone can afford? Do you cram more and more in to offer more value? Is doing this sucking away your time, energy and money for little returns?

Step back. Look at what you’ve built, and what it takes to keep it running. Simplify. Do more with less. Focus on a few, key, activities and offerings. Then use your newfound time to get out and enjoy life!

Read the rest of Rich’s article at http://www.earlytorise.com/2011/05/09/duct-tape-and-the-ultimate-key-to-success-2/

You can learn more about Rich Sheferen at http://www.strategicprofits.com/

You can subscribe to Early to Rise at http://www.earlytorise.com/

What do you think about simplicity in business? Are you prone to over-complicating things? What have you done about it? Please do share by leaving a comment below…

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Categories : Build Your Business, Business Systems, Entrepreneur Mindset, Practical Marketing, Work/Life Balance

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Winning the Battle with Your Email Inbox

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Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

Lately, I’ve been waging a serious war against my overfull Inbox. And I think I’ve been winning (at least now I only have about 50 emails waiting for me each morning instead of 150!). But when I read Natalie Sisson’s article “7 Secrets to Making Your Inbox Your New Best Friend” I realized I had only won the first battle, but now, thanks to her advice I’m armed to win the war.

So of course I had to share this article with you!

7 Secrets to Making Your Inbox Your New Best Friend
By Natalie Sisson

If you are like 99.99% of the people in this world who have more than one email account to take care of then I can almost guarantee that your inbox is out of control. Not surprising really given we send 2.8 million emails per second!

In fact I’d go so far as to say you approach your inbox with a certain fear or even dread every single day because you can’t keep on top of all the emails you receive. And you’re not alone. Do you know how many emails we send every second?

2.8 million. That’s right 2.8 million.

No wonder you are overwhelmed by your inbox. What the heck are we doing sending that many emails? Whatever happened to the good old telephone? Well the fact of the matter is that email is still one of the most valuable business tools around.

That’s why 39.4% of marketing industry executives called Email Marketing the most powerful advertising channel for their business (according to Datran Media’s 2010 Annual Marketing and Media Survey) and why 63% of respondents would like to increase spending on email marketing in 2011 (according to a January 2011 survey organized byBtoB Magazine),

Businesses will continue to use email to keep you informed, educated and in their sales funnel cycle. They will work on ways to constantly improve how to market to you and get you to opt-in. You will continue to sign up to receive newsletters and daily email summaries from them as a result and because you want to stay ahead of the curve. You want instant information at your fingertips in real-time.

In addition you will continue to send more and more email and get more replies because you know it’s still one of the most reliable forms of communication around.

So how do you win this battle of the inbox?

Read the rest of the article on Natalie’s blog:

I'd love to know your thoughts on this, and any other suggestions you have for winning the Inbox battle. Please do leave a comment below…

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Categories : Business Systems, Work/Life Balance

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Entrepreneurs, what do you do when “never have time”?

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

I hear it all the time from clients… “I’d love to start a blog or ezine, but I don’t have time”… I really should call and check in with my clients, customers or patients, but I don’t have time”… “I know I need to create a marketing plan, set some goals, create process docs and get organized; but I don’t have time”…

The same refrain echoes when it comes to personal life too. I hear people say all the time… “I want to start working out, but I don’t have time”…”I’d love to spend more time with my family, or have time to start a family, but I don’t have the time”… I’d really like to make more home-cooked meals, but I don’t have the time.”

Clearly, I could go on and on. My guess if you haven’t heard yourself saying these things, you’ve certainly heard friends and family say them.

The thing is, the more you say you don’t have time, the more that become your true reality. If you don’t think you have time to do this or that…Well, you don’t.

But we all are given the same number of hours in a day. Some people just make better use of those hours. It’s all about priorities, planning and a smidge of self-discipline.

Because you COULD do any of these things. You could probably even do all this and more. It’s just that you have to make whatever it is you want to get done a priority.

To do that, you have to get crystal clear on your most important goals as well as exactly where you’re spending your time right now. Then be ruthless in your decision making and action taking.

Start by answering the following questions:

What are your 3 biggest business goals?
What are the top three tasks or actions that will help you meet each of your goals?
What are your 3 biggest personal goals?
What are the top three tasks or actions that will help you meet each of those goals?

Now that you know what goals are most important to you, and what it will take to get there, it’s time to see where you’re actually spending your time. That way you can decide if you want to use your time differently.

What are the top three biggest time sucks in your average day or week?
According to your answers to the above questions, do any of these get you closer to achieving your business or personal goals?

If you answered no, then it’s time to see how you can cut those out of your day. Or at the very least minimize the time required. Because some of those time sucks may still need to be done even if they aren’t directly moving you towards a goal.

So think about what you can outsource, what you can automate and what you can simply stop doing. Look at trading with someone else if that makes sense. Consider sharing a job or task—like marketing your business or even chauffering the kids to soccer practice.

Most importantly, every single time you get ready to do something, stop and ask yourself:

Does this get me closer to one of my goals?
If not, does it really need to happen anyway (some things do, like paying bills)?
If it does, is there any way I can do it faster, systemize it, automate it or delegate it to get it off my plate?

Listen I get it. When you’re crazy busy just trying to keep up it’s easy to say you don’t have time to take a step back and do goal setting and planning. But that’s exactly what’s going to create more time for whatever is most important.

If you just keep charging ahead, doing, doing, doing, you’re only going to keep adding more to your plate. Eventually you’re going to find yourself exhausted with little to show for it.

So schedule time each week to take a break, step back from the day-to-day grind, gain clarity and make plans. Then keep your most important goals in mind, and do what leads you towards them first and foremost.

Are you struggling with never having enough time? Have you found a way to get control of your schedule, and achieve your business and personal goals? Please do share by leaving a comment…

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Categories : Build Your Business, Entrepreneur Mindset, Outsourcing & Delegating, Work/Life Balance

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© 2011 Stacy Karacostas. All Rights Reserved. The Unchained Entrepreneur ™ | Marketing and small business growth ideas for overwhelmed entrepreneurs solopreneurs consultants coaches speakers from Seattle, Washington based Practical Marketing Expert and Business Lifestyle Architect

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