Tools For Future Time and Money Saving

Day 20!  Happy Dance time!  Two-thirds of the way through the 30 Day Blog Challenge 

I'm beginning to wonder just what it is that I'll write when this challenge is over! I'm sure I'll find something because I actually look forward to writing now, and miss it when I don't find time.  I shall update my list of topic ideas and get busy on it soon! :-)

But for now...

State your top 3 tools that you already use, or will use, to save time and money in your online world more seamless.

So far, I don't really have any experience with online tools to make life simpler or aid in handling money but what I do know is, PAYPAL rocks!  I've used it many many times purchasing books and cd's from international sellers, items from ebay and transferring money to friends overseas.  It is secure, convenient and easy to use.  I love it.  If I were going to take on any kind of business dealings online, Paypal would definitely be part of my equation!

I have played with HootSuite before and can see that, as a business grows, using this tool to manage multiple social media avenues would be ideal for reducing time consumption.  I am sure it has far more features than I delved into, but as my blog/business grows, I can imagine and see the potential HootSuite has to help smooth the way and keep people up to date with what's going on in my sphere!

The third tool I'd have to say that I lean towards is InfusionSoft for email marketing, e-commerce etc.  I honestly know NOTHING about it except that several other small businesses that I know use it and I tend to feel that if its something they trust enough to use, then it may be a service I could too.  Naturally I'd do my research if and when the time came.  But what I have seen to date leaves a good impression.

There you have it!  Short and simple.

br />

Hot, Workmen Free Zone... Sigh...

Oh oh... Again Day 19 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge from The Suitcase Entrepreneur is a doozy that does not sit well on first glance  It is too businessy and out of my league.

But I'll answer it anyhow!

Which methods do you want to use to build your platform and increase your influence?

The sarcastic comedienne in me wants to procrastinate here by saying "by hollering at the hot workmen brandishing electric screwdrivers, of course!"  But anyway...

For this exercise, I am choosing to focus on the platform I have here and now, my blog.  Nothing too dreamy and future focused.  Just the "what I got".

If I am to grow what I have in this little corner of pixellated freedom, I simply need to keep on doing what I have been doing so far - regularly write and share my thoughts.  I simply need to layer post upon post upon post and see where it takes me, and what kind of readership it brings!

All of the questions to date have been making me think about what it is I have to offer, who I want to offer it to, what terms I want to offer it under and so on.  I have more direction and thought out detail than I have ever had.  But even so, I have a deep desire to just grow in whatever direction the light comes from and just see how far or wide (or weed-like) I can become.

If I let my writing here be free as well as follow the directions I do have planned, I hope to have enough structure, content and mystery to draw in those who have wings of their own and want to glide on my breeze.  I don't want to push, pull or "influence" but rather put out a little magic magnetism and enticement.

A beautiful image from
https://www.facebook.com/RainbowFarmPhotography

Friendly Teams!

Image from
http://www.123rf.com/photo_13411677_summer-landscape-with-daisy-field-and-blue-sky.html

Day 18's question is uninspiring!  This 30 Day Blog Challenge has had it' challenges but this is one of the bigger ones because I just don't 'feel' the question at all.

But that hasn't stopped me for the previous 17 days, so here goes...

What does your dream sales team look like and how will you ensure they help you buld your business?

See what I mean... VERY BUSINESS ORIENTED.  It is hard to think about what a 'dream team' of any kind would look like if you aren't quite sure what was in the dream!

But I'm just making excuses. I'm whining and not taking action that will inch me into forward momentum.

SEE I AM LEARNING!!!  :-p

My dream team would look like a thousand friendly faces that love what I do, say and who I am, in my sparkling glory and my cruddy blueness.  We all have the cruddy blueness and the best growth, I find, comes from the fertiliser that surrounds those days.  And I want those that follow me to not just be excited by the wonderful sparkling days but also by that growth that occurs in the warm sordid scrambling moments that feel like decay but are perfect conditions for flourishing.  I want to help people see the beautiful parts that make up the bulk of life, and the beautiful parts that hide in the shadows too.

So... I guess I envision an affiliate program of my own, promoting whatever it is that I end up producing.

I am very much people centred.  Big corporations don't excite my senses.  They actually turn me off most times.  I'm not into hoopla and catch phrases and marketing strategies (I don't think anyways... I don't have a lot of experience here to base anything on!)  I don't buy into brand names, don't know who celebrities are or what or who they are doing for the most part.   I don't pay any heed to mass media 9 times out of 10.  But I do love people, variety and natural progression.  I don't want to push and cram and bustle people along.  I just want a natural, beautiful flow of life, and marketing, if that is in my future.

I feel that it would be an honour to be recommended to others.  It would be a blessing if those others purchased anything I might produce, as a result of that recommendation.  I think it is only fair, just and respectful to acknowledge that wonderful support.  Sharing the love by spreading the word for exchange for a few dollars is a win for everyone involved.  It is quite beautiful really. Not only does it ensure the growth of a business, it creates financial flow to everyone involved, circulates information, that I create, more widely than I could ever possibly achieve alone, but most importantly it creates community and TRUST.  Who can't love that idea.

And it would all happen in an organic flowing natural way rather than a contrived, glossy package with a mind-achingly catchy jingle to keep you awake at night!

The only other part of a dream Sales Team that I can envision would be the involvement of friends and family to support me through the process of creating something to actually market.  Encouragement on "good" and "great" ideas, or "perhaps you should rework that!" suggestions would be crucial.  But choosing the right people to support me is essential too.  Picking only the real "supportive" members among my circle and leaving the ones who could shrink my shine to fulfil other roles in my life that they are more suited for!  It's all about delegating! :-)

So... for a topic that didn't inspire me, I think I did ok! Don't you?

I Want Community. Who Wants To Play Along?

Day 17!  I am loving these high teen numbers!  It's so amazing to me that I, or all people, have stuck to this 30 Day Blog Challenge this long!  I usually give up on things like this much sooner, particularly if I'm not all that 'into' the theme.  In this instance, I'm not all that into business building, but its been an educational ride nonetheless and my interest is beginning to be piqued!  Just what could I do here?

So today's topic...

What three steps can you take to build trust and credibility online for you, your brand and your business?

My first answer to this is keep active and in the spotlight!  Keeping on blogging like I have done, with regularity and something of interest to say. This will keep whoever is already looking, coming back, and will encourage new people to join!

Keeping active will mean following up on my ideas for taking this blog in a new direction and cultivating others.  I am absolutely up for that challenge!

My second response would be to keep up with my Facebook page for this blog and perhaps expand into other social media avenues. This certainly won't deter people from coming here to visit and spend a few minutes (or dare I dream - a few hours?) reading.  If I make people aware that this little blog exists, and keep people reading after their first visit, not only will my blog readership grow, but my own credibility will grow as a natural consequence!  My gut says that social media activity is very important here.  The blog is where the action is, but there is a strong possibility that the socail media networks is where the INTERACTIVITY and TRUST will grow best of all.

My final thought on what I can do is to take any and every opportunity that comes to my attention to promote my blog.  Even taking up this challenge has increased my reader stats and thus, the knowledge that I'm here, in my little corner of the world wide web.  I think keeping active and getting the word out as much as possible, in any way, can only be beneficial.

I'm looking forward to interaction the most.  I want to know what readers think and feel and if they want more or less from me.  I want comments...

Comments people, please?

I started this blog for me.  But its slowly morphing into something new.  It would be nice to know who is on the journey with me and if they want something in particular from the ride too.  Perhaps I can make us both grow!  No harm in asking, right?

Image borrowed from http://community.us.playstation.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/178389i1307B19E9F1AF045/image-size/original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1

 

Teams Make Light Work

Day 16! This is actually going quite quickly, and despite being business oriented, I'm enjoying it!



Today's topic is:

How will you build a team round your vision and work smarter instead of harder? 

I actually love this question because although its intent is to make you think about your business vision, it could actually be applied to any part of your life.  It encourages you to think about what you value, what skills you have, what talents you need those around you to exhibit and how you can make it all happen.

The first thing I imagine that you'd need to have BEFORE going after your team is to know exactly what your vision is.  

So for me, at this moment at least, it would be to have a happy loving family, a comfortable home, enough time and money for needs to be met and a few creature comforts and fun to be had. It also means having purpose in my life, right now that is motherhood and undertaking my study.

What do I bring to the table to make this vision a reality?  Love, desire and passion to make it happen, the ability to plan and coordinate the implementation of plans. The energy and enthusiasm to pitch in and do the hard work that's required to make the plans take shape.  The tenacity and enthusiasm to delegate and manage others to help keep the ball rolling.

I also acknowledge that I don't have these abilities every day of the week...  

This means I need tools and people to help me.  

Guidelines, rules, routines, incentives and rewards.  Plans with stepped out strategies of achieving them.

But all of that is hard going if you don't have a team to help bring it to life.  It is possible to do it alone.  Millions of people create a vision single handedly.  But I have to wonder if they could have made their vision that much more significant and sparkling if they shared the work...

Presently, my team includes:

• My Husband - Bread winner, cooking, parenting, yard work, supermarket runs, chief fixerupper, other duties as required
• My Friends - Support, mentor, kick my ass, dry my tears, have my back, help me dream and bring me wine and/or chocolate, give me permission when I can't give myself permission.
• My Children - Give me reasons, create work LOL
• My Family - As for friends with the addition of bringing lasagne, playing taxi and emergency childcare
• My Teachers (all of them, including Natalie right now!) - They teach me and support my growth
• Service Providers that I depend upon - Childcare, home delivery shopping, public transportation etc

Now if I had a business, I know I'd need a more refined support team who fulfil delegated tasks.  Some of those people I may have no relationship with beyond those delegated tasks besides a, "hi, how are you?" said out of courtesy.  But they would be a part, and a valuable part, of making my vision come to be, none the less. They would be a valuable part of the team.  

So too would be my clients, customers and followers.  As my children are my purpose right now, they would be my purpose in a business model.  

To develop the team you need to look at what you have, what you need, what you want and find just who it is, and in what way, you can meet all the requirements to make what you dream a reality.

It isn't weak or lazy or a sign of lack of commitment to let others help create your vision.  In fact it is strong.  It is smart.  It is efficient.  You get to pool your own talents and resources into what you do well and love the most while knowing that the other stuff that matters, is being well taken care of by others who have those specific talents and who are lit up by those things.  It makes sense!

Newsletters Prevail Over Junk Email!

Day 15! The half way mark for the 30 Day Blog Challenge!

Today's topic is a little bit of an adaptation on the actual topic that Natalie Sisson has set out.  I'm not quite ready to tackle my own mailing list but I'm ready to dream...  So...

If you had a mailing list for your blog/business, what content would it include? How frequently would you send it out? What purpose and value would the email have?

So I just wrote a whole bunch of stuff and realised it was filled with BITCHING ABOUT EMAIL NEWSLETTERS!  Apparently I have issues! LOL

I deleted what I wrote.

Instead of torturing you with my ranting, I am opting to summarise in point form my irritations.  I wonder if you can relate?

• Too many! (Particularly if you're reminding me of something for the umpteenth time!)
• Too messy! (If I have to read a ton of filler or search for the good bits in a sea of crazy fonts, advertising or junky graphics, you've lost me!)
• It's just FILLER - no good stuff!
• Too SALES PITCHY! (I'll buy if I like what you have to sell, not if you cram it down my throat!)

What is it that I LOVE about email newsletters?  Good wholesome meaty VALUE in each edition that I love to open and read.  That I will skip over a dozen others to read!  I love to expect good stuff inside and find it easily. I want to SMILE when I see that subscription in my inbox. I want to smile even bigger when I read it.  And I want to LOOK FORWARD TO next time!

My time is valuable (even if I am a procrastinator... LOL) and I don't want to waste it deleting 1000 emails and potentially great value content, simply because of one of the above occurring one too many times!

If I had an email list of my own... I would want the following:

• To SMILE as I wrote the newsletter
• To have GREAT FEEDBACK about my newsletter
• To FEEL GOOD about the whole process

Image from www.letterboxproject.com

I would provide a clean, brief, interesting and informative newsletter.  I imagine it to include an update of what's going on or recently occurred, maybe something funny or inspiring, a suggestion or tip or two and all formatted in a simple, easy to follow manner that is repeatable and dependable.  If there's QUALITY content I don't think there's any need to send out more frequently than every 2 weeks UNLESS something BIG is about to happen! If what you offer is LOVED then you won't be forgotten.  In fact, I believe you'll be craved!

Branching Out to look at Business Modelling!

Ok, so I had the weekend off blogging.  We were birthday-partying instead!  Fun tun fun!

But I'm back and ready to catch up.  So onto Day 11 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge!  The question to answer this time is, tricky, to say the least.  Again, no business...  But...

Which business model is best for you and what one revenue stream is most feasible.

I am going to tackle this in a futuristic tone. Mostly because I know that IF I were to pursue a venture at this moment it would look significantly different from what I would love to create later.  This is due to my commitment to motherhood.  I'm not able to commit the time and flexibility right now as I will when all my children head off to school.  So I will focus on my dream, and not this moment.  It will give me a clearer picute of where I need to steer my imagination for later.

Part One:  What business model?

I'm a people person, a helper and a healer.  What I want to do is assist others to create better, happier, healthier lives.  It feels useful and fulfilling to support others.  It feels expanding to learn from others as I support them.

With this in mind, I can only imagine building a business that centres on me and my ability and willingness to help others.  It needs to promote my skills as a helper as well as my compassion and capacity for empathy.  It has to be all about what I can offer others to make their world better.

Due to the nature of the work I want to focus the majority of my effort on, a personal one on one type of assistance is essential. It pivots on my active involvement.  It will mean my being there, interacting, to provide a service.

Of course, I can supplement my lifestyle with other avenues of work and income.  Running a business that requires my own ACTIVE participation does not preclude me from creating other things that could be used by others to help themselves, or bring joy.  It does not mean I can not sell or promote products created by others.  But it is where I want my focus to be.  I love making a direct difference and seeing first hand, the results.