Three Tips for Increasing Productivity

March 5th, 2010

If you’re serious about getting more things done, it’s time for a major mindshift. It’s time to stop being a “doer” and start being a “producer.”  Here are 3 tips to get you started on changing your mindset to accomplish more in your life.

1.  Change Your Mindset and View Yourself Differently
Before you can make a change in how you run your business, you must first see yourself differently. Rather than clinging to the idea that you have to do everything yourself, consider how Oprah Winfrey runs her show. Can you imagine Oprah sitting down and calling prospective guests to book them for future shows?

Of course not! She has producers to line up each show’s content. Those producers, in turn, break down what needs to be completed and assign it to other people. They understand that Oprah brings unique skills to the show and it would be a waste to have her booking talent. Surrounding herself with great teams of producers to get things done is one reason Oprah has become so successful.

2.  Visualize and Plan Your Team
Even before you hire some help, you need to visualize and plan your team.   Think about those big projects you don’t have time to start. Outline how you’d like them to be. Break down those projects into smaller bites and imagine what kind of person could take them over. Imagine how much more smoothly your business would run if you weren’t taking care of every detail.

That’s an important point to reach, you need to visualize and plan what you can delegate.   Let go of the idea you’re the only one who can do every little task. That change shifts you from being the doer to being the producer.

3. Start Delegating
Once you’ve visualized and planned your team, start making it your reality. Get serious about breaking down the work you’re doing now into individual tasks. Let go of the idea that you have to do it all. Choose a task that’s wasting your time, that you don’t enjoy doing and that someone else could do easily. Find a way you can afford to have someone else to do it.

Take another look at projects you’ve been putting off. Determine what’s keeping you from getting started. Decide which pieces someone else should be doing. Visualize the project from start to finish, the way a producer would do. And then find the help you need to get it done. That’s the only way your business, and your income, can expand to the next level.

Being in business for yourself can be overwhelming, especially when you’re stuck in “lone ranger” mode. Allow yourself to visualize what life would be like with a competent team helping to achieve your goals. Learn to look at your business the way a producer would, and you’ll finally experience the satisfaction of getting it all done.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Three Tips for Increasing Productivity

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Home Business, How To Make Money, Internet Business, Marketing, Personal Productivity, Success Secrets, Systems, outsourcing | 1 Comment »

Real Life Success Stories Call

February 16th, 2010

People ask me all the time ‘Bernadette, I can see that your marketing strategies clearly work for YOU, but what about other people? Do your techniques work for them?’

The answer is ABSOLUTELY these strategies work for all types of businesses, and I’m ready to PROVE it to you with a special ‘Success Stories’ call I’m hosting this Wednesday 17th February

Get ready to meet:

• The mother of 3 who launched a new program and generated €30,000 in just 67 days (without even having a website!)

• The successful business owner who was frustrated with the margins in his traditional business model and approached me to help him repackage his expertise into a product that he could sell on ‘auto-pilot’. Sales so far stand at £75,000….

• The former financial adviser who started a business from home that now generates £100,000 a year – even though she works just 25 hours a week and balances running her business with looking after her young son….

Results like these are QUANTUM LEAPS, not incremental gains, and we’ll show you EXACTLY how they did it on this special call: http://clientmagnets.com/successstories

Register NOW to join us. You’ll be inspired by the amazing results they have achieved – in record time.

See you on the call!

http://clientmagnets.com/successstories

Real Life Success Stories Call

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Posted in Advertising, Business Plans, Business Success, Home Business, How To Make Money, Law Of Attraction, Marketing, Niche Marketing, Online Marketing, Sales Motivation, Success Secrets, Teleseminars | No Comments »

It’s my birthday – again!

February 8th, 2010

I’ve just finished a meeting with my team and Brandon, my customer service representative has informed me that many of you are ‘chomping at the bit’ to hear a replay of my ‘Virtual Birthday Party’ call I did last Saturday.

We know this call struck a chord with many of you who attended live. It got pretty ‘raw’ in places as I pulled back the curtain and revealed exactly how transformative the past 12 months have been for me.

Well the queen has two birthdays, so I can too! And the good news is we’re offering a one time replay of that call, this Tuesday 9 February.

Amazingly, many of the requests came from people who already attended the live call and simply want to hear it all over again. That’s what tells me this was a special call, because in all the years I’ve been offering teleseminars, I’ve never heard that request.

Here a just a few of the comments received:
‘I got off the phone feeling empowered for the first time in months.  So a HEARTY THANK YOU for all that you have been through, for sharing your story, for being a champion, and for giving me hope that I, too, will create a new reality for my life.  God bless you richly for your faith. You have truly inspired me today.’

‘Quick thanks for telling me about Bernadette and her Stepping Up programme. I participated in her teleseminar that she did this past Sat (on her birthday!) and a) felt a connection with her,  just like I did with you, b) was v. impressed by what she was offering and c) felt like she had read my mind (re: my goals for my business and myself) and was speaking directly to me!’

‘I want to congratulate for the call today , it was  – for me – 300% more valuable and the way you presented it gave me the confidence to be in the right place. I could relate to many things you said. And it is  – again — one of these amazing things of synchronicity that I came across your program ….’

Here’s where to register so you can get all the details of the call.
Click here for details and to register http://www.clientmagnets.com/steppingup/

This call was truly LIFE-CHANGING for those that heard it, so make sure you join us for the replay.

It’s my birthday – again!

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Posted in Business & Money, Business Plans, Business Success, Home Business, How To Make Money, Law Of Attraction, Marketing, Online Marketing, Success Secrets, Systems, Teleseminars | No Comments »

NOW Is The Perfect Time To Build Your Business

February 7th, 2010

Have you heard the joke about the tourist who is driving around Ireland and stops to ask a farmer for directions? The farmer leans into the car and says, “Well, you know sir, I wouldn’t start from here.”

Like all good jokes, there’s an element of truth about human psychology in his answer. Most of us wish that we were starting from somewhere other than the place that we’re actually starting from.

When you think about starting your business, have you said any of these things?

If only I had more experience.
If only I was younger.
If only I got started earlier.
If only I had more money.
If only I was self-employed.
If only I had more time.
If only I wasn’t committed to this other project.

Always remember that where you’re starting from is a lot less important than the direction you’re heading.

Everyone who is running their own business had to start somewhere. And a lot of them started in much more challenging situations than yours. Whether you have situations, reasons or excuses, they all boil down to the same thing. They are stopping you from moving forward.

So, if you’re in a successful business, but tired of trading your time for money; if you’re pressed for time and want to break free of your existing revenue model; if you want to learn to earn revenue through products and passive streams – you’ve got to begin somewhere.

Stop finding reasons why right now is not a good time for you to start. Stop using your current circumstances as reasons to justify staying where you are. Right now is the perfect time to start to improve, grow and expand your business. Right now is the time to stop procrastinating and stop making excuses.

You can start your information empire from any point. Yes, where you start will influence the steps you take and the order in which you take them. But, the point is that you can start right now, from right where you are.

You may be familiar with Jim Edwards, an online information marketer. He sells e-books, among many additional things, in his information product funnel.

Jim started his information empire from probably the most challenging situation a person can be in. He was bankrupt, worked full-time, lived in a trailer, and had precious little free time to build his own business. But, he carved out time every day to come up with marketing ideas, write sales copy and work on the mechanical nuts and bolts of his business.

Because he couldn’t afford resources, he worked a lot of long hours by himself – 16-hour days or even longer.

You probably aren’t starting from a situation as dire as Jim’s. His is an extreme example that even when the situation is really tough and challenging, you can still take the steps and get started.

The only difference between you and someone who is running a successful information empire is that they decided to start, no matter what their circumstances were. You can learn from their examples.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

NOW Is The Perfect Time To Build Your Business

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Home Business, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Personal Productivity, Small Business Ideas, Small Business Marketing, Systems | 1 Comment »

3 Tips to Successfully Balance Work and Play

January 27th, 2010

Are the edges getting blurred between your work life and home life? If you work from home, it’s really easy for those edges to get blurred. You might, for example, find yourself checking for responses to your tweets when you should be spending time with your family. Or maybe you feel the pull of work because your office is right there at the top of the stairs. Whatever your situation, you must set some “hard edges” between work and personal time if you’re going to work from home successfully. Here are three rules for defining hard edges between work and play.

I. Set Firm Work Days: Working seven days a week is a common mistake of work-at-home entrepreneurs. That’s a real mistake, because no one can maintain that level of intensity long-term.

Decide how many days per week you’re going to work, and stick to it. Here’s why this is important: the work you have to do will fill the time you spend doing it. In other words, if you allow yourself to be sucked into working late nights and weekends, you’ll adjust your workload because you know you’ve got lots of time to do it.

On the other hand, if you say you’re going to work just three days each week, you have to adjust your focus to get things done in less time. If you want to have time for something besides work in your life, create a hard edge between business and personal time by setting firm work days.

II. Reserve Time for Yourself: It may not seem logical that setting aside time for yourself each week actually improves your productivity, but it does help. An important aspect of setting hard edges between work and play is allowing time when no one requires anything from you.

You should especially pay attention if you’re a work-at-home parent. By setting a time when someone else is minding the children and you’re not working in your business, you allow yourself to refocus. It also gives you time to do those things you never seem to get scheduled in your personal life.

Whether you take a whole “You Day” each week, or just a few hours, decide now to set firm time that’s all yours. It will make you a happier and more productive person.

III. Stick to the Schedule! It’s all well and good to say you’re only going to work four days each week and take Wednesdays for yourself, but sticking with that schedule takes resolve. It’s so easy when working from home to read “just one more email” or let a project stretch into family time.

There’s no amount of money that can replace time with your family. Allowing your business to encroach on that time probably won’t even improve the strength of your business.

For your own health, and the health of your business, delineate a hard edge between work and play, and then stick with the schedule you set. You’ll be amazed how much you’re able to get done when you have less time to complete it. And your family will benefit from the time you set aside just for them.

When you work from home, you have the freedom to call the shots, to decide when and how you’re going to work. That is, after all, one of the reasons you own your own business, isn’t it?

Rather than allowing your business to control your life, decide what work schedule suits your situation. Let hard edges, not blurred edges, define how your business and personal lives blend. Doing so is a big step toward being truly successful.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

3 Tips to Successfully Balance Work and Play

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Home Based Business, Home Business, Personal Productivity, Small Business Ideas, Success Secrets, Systems, Words Of Inspiration | 4 Comments »

Role Models Help Develop Your Business Model

September 8th, 2009

When you turn to someone for help or advice, you more or less expect that person to make your situation, whatever it may be, better. They may not be able to fix the “problem” completely, but asking for help from a particular person because they have knowledge or experience in the area in which you’re having trouble is a wise decision.  Your ultimate goal is to come out of the situation with more clarity and knowledge than you had when you went in.

That’s what a good role model does – or should do. Set a good example for you to follow and provide you with the basic knowledge and guidelines you need to follow in their footsteps.

It’s the same for your business. One of the most important things you can do in order to make your business successful is to model the people and businesses that are already producing the results that you want.

The odds are that these successful people and businesses have stumbled upon the same road blocks you have, asked the same questions, made the same mistakes. So, whatever you think your limitations are, whatever you think has been stopping you from growing your business, they can help you to blast every one of your excuses right out of the water.

Do you need to get your message out to a bigger audience? Then model someone who knows the most effective way to network. My friend, Carrie Wilkerson, for example, whom you may or may not already know, is very well known with social media. By that, I mean things like Twitter and Facebook.

And she is big into relationships, with about 65,000 followers on Twitter.  She uses social media to be herself, but to be herself in a much bigger way. And so if you wondered about how you could share your message with a larger audience, then Carrie, or someone like her, is a great person to show you how to do it.  (Carrie is a guest speaker at my upcoming More Leads, More Clients, More Sales event)

The key thing is to look for a role model who not only excels at what you need, but can give you practical steps and advice to follow. Another thing about modeling people and businesses that are already successful, is to choose those that are coming from the same place as you. By that, I mean model businesses and people that share your values and your attitude, and your lifestyle.

If you are a single parent with four children, trying to manage your own business, emulating the successful business model of someone who is married with no children is not likely to result in the same success for your business. The great thing is that you’re always going to have plenty of different role models to learn from.

When you find the ones that have the same attitude and values that you do, they are generally more than happy about sharing what they’ve learned with you.

I guarantee there is somebody out there that is going to be able to show you a roadmap that’s right for you.

Role Models Help Develop Your Business Model

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Home Based Business, Home Business, Internet Business, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Motivation, Words Of Inspiration | 1 Comment »