Seattle Small Business Blog

Multi-tasking is a natural aspect of business for women business owners, especially those with families.

The fact is if you are a woman business owner, you are most likely already a multi-tasker of epic proportions. You know how to combine family, childcare and business tasks as a matter of course. Whether it’s carpooling, deliveries, and business errands, or phoning clients, babysitters and arranging multiple schedules, you think in terms of multiple areas of impact most of the time.

When your business is in your home you have additional challenges and benefits which your multi-tasking abilities can make work for you. You can handle household chores and meal preparation in between appointments, phone consultations, or writing that new piece for your monthly newsletter. You routinely make decisions which involve multiple areas of your life more or less simultaneously.

Taking that next step of how to apply your natural ability to enhance your business success is not so difficult, but it does require a new focus. You have to start thinking in terms of the various areas of your business the same way you think of the various areas of your life. You have to step back and get a little wider view of things.

The best way to do this is to set aside some quiet time when you will not be disturbed and really take a look at what it is you want your business to accomplish, in what time frame. Using the backward planning approach works very well.

Once you have developed your general goals, rework them into specific targets. In other words, take the generalized goal, say of “X number of new clients by X” and develop the set targets you’ll need to accomplish to reach that goal.

A project plan (target list) and work chart can be a very helpful tool for the next process of breaking down each target into the associated tasks required to fulfill each objective. Using these two tools, you can create the work chart for each specific area, and then see how the various targets are related. For instance, a new promotional pack for your business will have various components: brochure, logo, support materials, testimonial letters, perhaps a multi media presentation. Each of these items becomes a block in the project work chart, and completing portions of any one may provide materials for the others.

Once you have accomplished this you will have a clear picture of all the tasks required for each area of your business. Now the process of checking in on the larger picture as you work each day becomes a simple matter of using these tools to keep you on track.

Target lists and project work charts are tools often used by engineers as they develop a new piece of equipment, hardware, firmware, or software. First the targets or functions of each piece are defined and then the steps to creating each working component are laid out. By following this method, the relationships between the various targets, or, in this case, components of your business plan, are visible and easily identified.

This avoids getting the cart before the horse, or working on portions of the plan that cannot be implemented without other components also being in place.

The next step is to integrate the project work charts into a daily system of self check as you naturally group your work according to like tasks which can be accomplished in clusters of multi-tasking events. In this way you can significantly increase your progress and your business will thrive.

Once you have clearly charted targets for the business you can start to apply the multi tasking skills you aridly have to what needs to be done to make the targets happen.

The next step to optimizing your multi-tasking is to ask yourself where you do your best work. What gives you the most energy and creativity? What is the most difficult for you to tackle of the things that require your attention?

A professional counselor, in the midst of changing her business from one based on individual clients to seminars and group events met the challenge of having to think in ways unfamiliar to her by relocating her new event planning activities to her kitchen! She recognized that her most relaxing and enjoyable activity was preparing fresh foods for family and friends. When she moved her event planning to the kitchen, her natural confidence and creativity in that environment enabled her to expand her event planning thinking much more easily than she could in her office.

The food and her pleasure in its preparation, as well as her sense of well being and confidence in this environment gave her the creative energy she needed to expand her thinking and create new and different events for her clients. By providing herself with the support of her naturally creative environment, in this case cooking, she added to her creative power in an area where she had less strength and experience.

Often, by breaking up more mundane tasks with those which are more creative or inspiring, it is possible to keep your energy level higher than if you were to attempt to force yourself to do the “boring” task alone.

Learning your own personal rhythm and areas of your own natural creativity and enthusiasm and thinking in ways which allow you to tap into those parts of yourself you can greatly enhance not only the results of your work, but the sense of well being you find in your work.

Finally, as a multi-tasker, there is some danger that you can become too diversified and lose the focus and clarity of knowing what is most important in your business and in your life. By implementing target lists and project work charts as a guide to daily actions and updating them as each new target is complete you have a simple and effective system for starting each new day, and for meeting all your business objectives.

The daily action of a quick review of the target list and work chart also provides the added benefit of stimulating new ideas and inspirations to continue enhancing your multi tasking skills, keeping your work fresh, interesting and exciting.

Whether you own a small or large business, chances are very good that you can benefit from outsourcing some of your business functions to outside vendors. Ideally, you want to be in a position where you are working on your business, rather than in your business.

Running and operating a business positioned for growth requires many different key functions. For starters, you must handle accounting, administration, customer service, as well as sales and marketing. Many new small business owners attempt to tackle all of these functions on their own, and find that they work long hours and can begin to burn out quickly. By outsourcing some of your routine tasks, you can leverage your time to spend on the functions that you do best in order to grow your business.

When trying to determine whether outsourcing will benefit your company, you need to determine how much money your time is worth. A simple way to figure this out is to estimate how much money you would like to make in a year, and divide that into productive work hours. Most of us are only productive about 2-3 hours a day. For example, if you’d like to make $200,000 this year, and you work 3 productive hours each day, 5 days a week, then your time is worth roughly $260 an hour. With this scenario, you could benefit from outsourcing any function that you can pay someone to do for less than $260 an hour.

In order to outsource effectively, you must understand your own business and processes. Take some time to write down job descriptions for different functions, as well as the processes you use in your business to accomplish certain tasks (like how you enter your invoices and receipts, how you generate new leads and clients, etc.). As part of this exercise, include clear expectations of what you hope to accomplish. A clear vision and business plan is key to setting up clear expectations. Once you have written down the job descriptions, you’ll have a better idea of what you would like to outsource first.

There’s no hard and fast rule as to which job functions you should outsource first, but many business owners like to hand off the functions that they enjoy the least. If you really dislike customer service, you may want to find a customer service rep first.

You have many options when looking for companies or services that will handle your outsourcing needs. Check with others in your industry to see who they use to outsource their functions. Many outsourcing firms not only specialize in certain functions (like customer service), but also in certain industries (like real estate). You can use freelancers, virtual assistants, or any number of outsourcing firms.

Many business owners hesitate to outsource some of their functions because they want to have complete control over their business, or they believe that it will be too difficult to train someone to do what they need. If you fall into this category, you may want to try outsourcing some very simple, routine tasks to get started. It will be well worth the effort!

When choosing an outsourcing firm, or freelancer, make sure you set clear expectations up front. Share your vision about how you see that function growing your business, and offer incentives for work well done, or work done under budget, or before a deadline.

In addition, take time to properly document how the work should be performed. This can be done easily with screen capture video software, and/or written processes and procedures.

Taking the time to properly train and motivate your outsourced personnel will benefit your business greatly. By now, you will see that outsourcing some of your business functions will help free up your time to work on your business, rather than in your business.

The first challenge you will encounter on any teambuilding exercise is personal introductions. Members of the teambuilding course need to become acquainted with each other and the course leader. These initial exercises are commonly called ‘icebreakers’ as they break down any barriers between team members.

The most popular icebreaker is for the team leader to arrange the team members in a circle and ask them one by one to stand up and tell the group a little about themselves. Each member of the team will stand in turn and give their name and some brief details about their work and/or hobbies by way of an introduction. If the members of the teambuilding course work for the same large company, often it is a good idea to ask them to describe the department they work in and their job role. In this way it allows other members of the team to position them in their mind. Sometimes the team members may already have relationships that they are not aware of – possibly they have spoken on the telephone, or have emailed each other in the past as part of their job function.

Another great icebreaking activity is to assign each member of the team a partner whom they have never met before. The pairs are given a short time (10 minutes is suggested) to get to know a little bit about each other. The icebreaking task is then for each team member to describe their partner to the group.

At icebreaking sessions it is also a good idea for the team leader to encourage laughter. Laughter and humor are great icebreakers. Possibly each member could be given a sheet of jokes and asked to stand and tell their favorite joke to the group, and then give the reasons why they chose that joke. As well as breaking the ice this is a clever way of learning a little about a person – the reasons they give for choosing the joke will give a little insight to their personality.

Remember when leading a teambuilding session the importance of icebreaking. This is the most important part of the course and sets the foundation for the work you will do over the coming hours or days. Setting your icebreaking session around breakfast or coffee can help as these are natural times of social interaction – watch as team members help each other with the simple task of making and pouring coffee.

People are not born with any particular skill. We are all born afraid of falling and of loud noises, but after that everything else is learned. So it is to become a leader.

Leaders are made not born. Leadership skills are acquired over a period of time based on several factors. Here are 5 of them.

1. Leaders come in all different shapes and sizes. It is interesting to study effective leaders. At face value they are all different. They all have developed their own style based on their own personality and what works for them.

2. A true leader accepts responsibility. Everything from how they speak to how they act is part of being responsible. It is easy to follow them because you know where they are going and know they will lead you as well.

3. Leaders work at being leaders. They are always improving their skills and learning from the situations they are in. They study people and have learned how to effectively interact with them to get what they want.

4. Leadership starts at the top, but is best achieved when developing a team atmosphere. Leaders know they can do better when people are working together for one common goal. Sharing in leadership is part of this process. Making everyone accountable for what they do, but judging success on the overall efforts of everyone.

5. Situations call for different types of leadership. A well-rounded leader is able to adapt to their surroundings and lead accordingly. Coaching a football team is an example of this. Sometimes the players need a kick in the rear and other times they need a pat on the back.

6. Leaders are respected for what they have accomplished in the past. A real leader can speak from a position of practical experience and know they will be listened to because they speak from that vantage point. A respected leader is able to command more from his people than a leader who is not.

7. Leaders seek opinions and compile ideas before forming a game plan. Good leaders know that they cannot come up with every idea that will work. By allowing input they are able to make a more responsible decision.

As you can see leaders have skills and they use them to accomplish something every single day. You can become a good leader if you are willing to work and to learn how to become one.

Teambuilding can be an important way of developing your businesses most valuable assets, its employees. Especially when hiring new employees or starting a new business, building a relationship within your team is of prime importance.

There are many companies that offer teambuilding courses, both residential and in house. Teambuilding courses can be expensive, so let us explore the options so that you are sure to choose the right teambuilding exercise or teambuilding course for your staff and company.

In-house teambuilding, done on the site of your company, is the cheapest option as you have no accommodation fees to pay. If you need to keep the cost really low there are many teambuilding guides available on the internet that will allow your human resources department to create their own teambuilding course suited to your companies needs – all without employing an external teambuilding consultant.

Having a teambuilding consultant visit your company for a day or a week (the length of course is something we will discuss in a later article) can be cost effective however if you have no spare resource in your HR or personnel department. This can also be more convenient for employees who may not prefer to stay overnight away from home.

Teambuilding exercises usually begin with an icebreaker, which is a term used to describe a ‘getting to know each other’ session. Each person will usually be asked to stand up and describe themselves in some detail. This is often surprising even when you have worked with a person for many years as there may be many things that you did not know about them.

Other exercises throughout your teambuilding course will focus on interaction between members of the team. Common exercises include building bridges or crossing rivers. Tasks undertaken on teambuilding courses should be ones that would be impossible to complete as an individual, but easily manageable as a team working together.

Often members of a team will be struck by how simple exercises draw on the different strengths of team members. One person in the team may be a natural leader, another has good analytical or engineering skills, and another may have great communication or personal skills. All different skills come into play and will be brought out of your team members as they work through the exercises.

Often after teambuilding sessions members find they have new found skills to apply to work situations, and are ready for new challenges, which is great for business!

Whether it involves talking with your teen about sex or drugs, your spouse about finances or housework, or your employee about attendance or performance issues, the prospect of initiating a difficult discussion is daunting to many, if not most, people. Mix in the tendency to procrastinate tackling unpleasant tasks, then feeling guilty about putting something so important off, and you can wind up feeling even more miserable and anxious about the impending conversation. You might even lose sleep over it.

Initiating such a discussion doesn’t have to be nearly so painful. With the proper mindset and some preparation, you can learn to handle even the most difficult topic with ease and confidence. The following tips will enable you to do just that.

1. Realize that by having the discussion, your goal is to benefit others as well as yourself. Whether or not he shows it, your teen will most likely appreciate that you care enough to talk to him about things that concern or matter to you. In the case of the employee with the performance issue, she will have an opportunity to correct or improve on it, or face consequences. In either event, the other members on your team will certainly appreciate that you took steps to address the situation, because they will see the poor performer either stepping up to the plate or terminated.

2. Focus on the possible positive outcomes of having the discussion sooner rather than later. The employee’s performance could most certainly improve. Or you may have the opportunity to replace a poor performer with someone more willing and able to do the work and follow company or departmental policies. Either way, the performance of your team as a whole will benefit, which will be a positive reflection on your own performance.

3. Prepare for any possible reaction to the discussion. Have contingency plans for handling any behavior or response to what you have to say, whether it be anger, denial, silence or disbelief. Knowing in advance exactly how you will deal with any of these will give you the confidence you need to proceed. Understand that you cannot control a person’s reaction, and in many cases you cannot predict it either. But you can always prepare for any possibility.

4. If the topic for discussion is an especially difficult one for you, have a reward planned for yourself when you complete it. Take a half day off to do something you enjoy, or treat yourself to something you ordinarily would not. After all, you just accomplished something that doesn’t come easily for you. You deserve something special.

Following these tips will not make handling difficult discussions any more fun, by any means, but doing so when the necessity arises will make you a better and more competent communicator, manager, parent and/or spouse. And who wouldn’t benefit from that?

In today’s day and age, the internet has completely changed the way many people approach employment. This is because the internet has greatly expanded the ability for companies to outsource work. Really, this should not come as a surprise. The laptops and personal computers that a person owns in the home are really no different than what you would find in an office setting. In some cases there might be a need to purchase certain software to perform the required duties. This however, is hardly an impediment that is difficult to overcome.

Yes, the ability to work from home has created a number of advantages for many people. But, it is important to never lose sight of the fact that certain activities must be employed in order to make a work from home venture successful. Often, people ignore these criteria and do so at their own peril. So, let’s look at the most important aspects of making telecommuting successful.

Find a Schedule and Stick To It

Don’t pay any attention to those lame television commercials professing the ability to sleep until noon and still make mega bucks. Working from home is not about working at your leisure. It is about working without travel and overhead expenses. Haphazard, lazy schedules are extremely self defeating. Don’t use your telecommuting opportunity as a “goofing off” opportunity. Draw up a schedule and stick to it. Success will soon follow.

Set Up a Specific Work Area

Don’t try to do your work lying in bed with our laptop on your chest. This is a be “no-no” because it really cuts into your ability to be efficient. Instead, set up a particular section of the house as a work area. This will provide the cohesion and organization needed to make the workday effective.

Dress for Success

Similar to the aforementioned workspace tip, it is also important not to dress too leisurely when working form home. Remember, anytime you are too leisurely in your approach , your ability to be efficient will be limited. You don’t have to wear a suit and tie or your power outfit, but you should wear something conducive to a professional approach to your work.

Keep an Eye On Those Tax Deductions

If you are employed on contract as opposed as an employee, be sure to take those special deductions related to working from home. For example, you can deduct a percentage of your rent or mortgage based on the amount of space your work area takes up. The other expense deductions can add up so be sure to keep tabs on what you spend related to your work.

As you can see, there are some things to keep in mind when setting up to telecommute. When the basics are followed however, it can be a win win situation for the employee and the employer.

Leadership abilities come naturally to some, but for many, leadership skills have to be honed and developed. Observe the following requirements to improve and build upon your leadership skills.

Be Committed & Responsible

People are more likely to follow you if they perceive you as committed. Show commitment by following through on your promises. Accept responsibility for your successes and failures – playing the victim is not an option. Follow up on issues and review projects regularly to make sure you have done all you can. Keep an eye on projects so that you can head off problems.

Don’t accept failure. Look for ways to turn failures into successes. Think outside the box and make an effort to improve your weaknesses.

Education and Training

If your level of education is holding you back, bite the bullet and sign up for the appropriate course. A curious mind is an asset, as leaders are expected to have a good standard of education and general knowledge. Choose a topic and spend half an hour a day researching it – this should build your knowledge base.

Positive Mental Attitude

Be the best you can be by spending time on self development. Condition your mind to reject negative attitudes – try NLP (Neuro-Linguistic programming) to channel your mental energy. Read self-help and motivational books, and the biographies of prominent leaders. Immerse yourself in the arts: do an art appreciation course. A commitment to positivity will bring about that relaxed countenance that many successful leaders exhibit.

Inner Circle

Besides your family, cultivate an inner circle of people who build you up. In your work environment, surround yourself with colleagues you can trust; people who have the right skills for the job. Spend time with friends who make you feel good about yourself.

Be Disciplined

Always arrive early for appointments. This shows that you are disciplined and respect other people’s time. Seek the support of your family in everything you do.

Be Courageous

Strength and courage in the face of adversity is a must. Trouble comes with the territory but be determined to face it off. People will respect you more if you show courage.

Optimize Communication Skills

People make assumptions about your level of education based on the way you speak and write. When speaking, pay attention to the way you form sentences and pronounce words. If need be, do a business English course.

In written communication, avoid long, drawn out sentences. This is frowned upon, as it represents the old style of business communication. Plain English is now the acceptable standard for business English. Sentences should be short and contain simple phrases. Know your audience and tailor your communication appropriately.

Keeping your employees motivated with high morale is the most important function of a supervisor. This article provides a list of actions that can be taken to keep employees producing for the success of the organization.

The first three suggestions are related to the physical characteristics of the work place:

1. Make sure that the work place is clean and well-lighted.

2. Give employees the proper equipment (furniture, computers, machinery) to perform their jobs efficiently and comfortably.

3. Design the work flow such that there are few bottle-necks and downtime.

The following are suggestions for keeping employees’ morale high:

1. Reward employees with the highest rank and status justified by their aptitude, performance, and contribution to the success of the organization.

2. Provide salary and wages based on the employees’ performance and value to your organization.

3. Provide a meaningful annual review which includes recognition for work accomplishments and an honest assessment of areas where the employee could improve.

4. Give employees effective feedback on their work, including giving reasons for work assignments, the assignments contribution to the organization, and how the assignment contributes to the success of the organization.

5. Delegate as much authority to employees as they can handle effectively.

6. Provide positive incentives rather than negative incentives.

Consider the following actions related to communicating effectively with your employees:

1. Listen to employees–really listen.

2. Allow employees to air their grievances–even if they reflect on your perceptions of your own performance.

3. Give credit for actions, ideas, and suggestions for improvement to operations. (Never take credit for actions or ideas of your employees.)

4. Organize your operations so that everyone can make a contribution by offering suggestions for improvement. Consider all suggestions seriously. If you find that the suggestion can’t be implemented, give a full reason for not adopting it.

5. Show a genuine interest in each employee without becoming a bore.

Now that you’ve been presented with a series of actions that you can take to improve the morale and motivation of your employees, here’s one more important point to remember:

Each supervisor comes into the job with a set of attitudes and behaviors that have developed over a period of years. In most cases a new supervisor needs to take stock of his or her attitudes and behaviors that might not be effective in their role as a supervisor.

Most new supervisors don’t take the time (or even realize the need) to assess their skills related to being an effective supervisor.

Let the list above serve as a checklist of areas where you need to make improvements to be successful as a supervisor.

Would you believe that you can have fun at work and increase your effectiveness? The happy fact is that this is true.

In the offices and often even at home, we make notes on small pieces of paper, use paper clips, staplers and other stationery. The standard stationery comes in boring standard colors and implies boring work.

You can easily make a few changes to make this fun and yet get your work done. Get different colored post-it notes, colorful folders, colored clips amongst other things. Make a visit to the stationery supply store and you will be amazed at the number of fun things you can use at work and at home.

Your to-do items can be written on post-it notes. You can use different colors for different projects. Prioritizing is easier with post-it notes as you can physically arrange and re-arrange post-it notes when prioritizing them. If you wrote a list, then you may need to rewrite when re-prioritizing.

It will also be fun, if you can have a clipboard that stands on a base. You can stick the post-it notes on it and it will stand up above any clutter that may be on the table. It can also be moved around.

The post-it notes should be organized in a certain pattern. One way can be the most important ones go on the top left hand corner and the least to the bottom right corner.

Add drawing to the notes. If you are writing a report, then draw a symbol that indicates a report. A drawing of a personal computer can indicate that you need to do some computer related work. There is no fixed picture to indicate each of these activities that need to be done. Let your creative self have fun with this.

What will really make a great impact is to celebrate the completion of each activity. Normally, people will just draw a line across to indicate that an activity is completed. You can draw a star to indicate a job well done. Draw a champagne bottle being opened. Be like a child and you can have great fun with this.

A physical calendar is another item that you can have lots of fun with. Use different colored highlighters to differentiate activities.

Choose a vibrant color for holidays. Stick some pictures based on where you will be going for your holidays.

Allocate different colors for different projects. Here again you can draw pictures or use stickers. Writing can be in different sizes and styles and also in different colors.

Celebrate work finished by giving yourself stars. This way, when you look back, you can easily see the successes that you have enjoyed and feel good about them.

Remember, just completing a job is successful. If you finish it ahead of time and get very positive feedback, then give yourself more stars and accolades.

Do not be overly tough on your self, and give yourself a star only on a rare occasion. Remember that you are doing all this to motivate yourself and have fun on the job.

Are you one of those type of people who like to leave piles of papers, related files on your table or on the locker beside you? Meaning you do not organize them and put them away and only take them out when you need them.

There is good news for you. Apparently, there are some of us who work best in this way. Although papers and materials are scattered, these people are able to scan quickly and pick up exactly what they want.

Beware anyone who tries to help by organizing the materials. You are in for trouble as the clutter is needed for these people to perform the activities well.

So, if you are one of those people who has a messy workplace and finds it difficult to keep things organized, it may not be a bad thing.

You can also have fun at work by having a few of your personal items that might make you feel good. It could be a photo of your loved ones, it could be a little gadget that you like to play with to get your creativity going or just some goofy toy that brings a smile to your face.

Being in a place that reflects you and your personality helps you to feel at home and deliver better work than in a sterile office environment.

Just look around your workplace and you will be able to find some ways to have fun at work. Effectiveness and productivity increases as a result of having fun at the workplace.