At some point in his or her career, every politician gets tarred with a catch phrase—and usually not a flattering one.

George Bush, Sr. is stuck with two. There was "Read my lips, no new taxes," of course. But only slightly less unfortunate was his dismissal of what he called, "The 'vision thing.'"

He was trying at the time to shake the impression that he was a competent day-to-day manager but he lacked any grander vision of where he wanted to lead the country. His choice of words and tone of voice didn't exactly help.

John F. Kennedy had a vision: "A man on the moon before the end of the decade." And it inspired the seemingly impossible. We had about 15 percent of the needed know-how when he made that declaration.

Bill Gates had a vision that there would be a computer on every desk in America. And this was back when most people didn't even know what a computer was!

Why vision matters
I once had a CEO look me straight in the eye and say he didn't really "go for" visions. "I put my energy into training," he said.

But training for what? I wondered. You do training without a vision, you're all gas pedal and no windshield.

A study at the Sloan School of Management showed that leaders who create, communicate, and implement successful organizational visions were more successful in EVERY measure than those who did not.

Three elements of a truly GREAT vision
Powerful, effective, propelling visions all have three things in common:

1. Short, simple and strong. Shorter is stronger. Take a given sentence and ask which words are pulling their weight and which can take a hike. Change vague expressions like "high-quality" and "world-class" into specific, powerful language that reflects your values. Simpler is also better. Use words a fourth grader could understand.

2. Visual. A statement that doesn't create a powerful visual image of the future isn't a vision. It doesn't give people anything to keep in their mind's eye while they work. You need a landmark on the horizon or you're driving blind.

3. Of service to others. Make sure your vision statement reflects an intense, focused drive to serve the needs of your customers, not just to "satisfy."

The human spirit will not invest in mediocrity. That's why a vision always starts with a bold and audacious idea. A vision statement is nothing less than an invitation for others to invest in your dreams and a promise to do the same in return. By following these simple rules, you can create the kind of vision that has been proven to power companies beyond what was ever thought possible.

Vision doesn't stop at the top
Once you've got your vision defined—your clear, concise, powerful, visual, service-oriented vision—don't put it in the drawer. Pour it all over your company. Let it seep into every nook and cranny of everything your company does. Put it on the lips and in the hearts of your workforce or it will never find its way into the wider world.

The turning point for a vision is when everyone sees it, gets it, and buys into participating to make it happen. And if you've built your vision around a bold and audacious idea, a ludicrous, unreasonable, captivating idea—like, oh, I don't know, going to the moon—people will throw their hearts over the bar with you to make that unreasonable dream a reality.

About the Author:

Roxanne Emmerich is renowned for her ability to transform “ho-hum” workplaces into massive results-oriented “bring-it-on” environments. To discover how you can create a 20/20 business vision, motivate employees, ignite their passion and catapult performance to new levels, check out her new book – Thank God It’s Monday. Now, you can get a free sneak preview at: http://www.thankgoditsmonday.com/preview_the_book/

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Merchant cash advance transactions are big business. In the past few years, the industry has grown from a few providers to what some predict will be an almost 10 billion dollar industry. Search engine results for “merchant cash advance” produce literally thousands of provider results. How do you wade through all of these providers to find the right one for your business? How do you get the best deal? Here’s a quick guide to a successful merchant cash advance transaction.

Only “merchants” can apply. A merchant is someone that owns and operates a business that performs credit card processing functions as a way to accept customer payments. Providers have different requirements regarding the length of time you need to be in business- many also require a certain sales volume for approval. Generally, you’ll need to have at least a few thousand dollars in credit card sales to qualify for a cash advance transaction.

You have to qualify. Cash advances have become a popular method of financing because the approval process is fast and easy. But be careful- just because you’re “approved” doesn’t mean you’ll be able to repay the advance according to the agreement. Many unscrupulous providers have been known to approve businesses they know won’t be able make repayments as scheduled in order to collect the fees and penalties associated with defaulting.

Service agreements set the terms. Once you’re approved for a business cash advance, the provider will send you a service agreement with all of the important information- your advance amount, the “safe” retrieval rate (based on your daily credit card sales volume), and advance fees should all be included in this agreement. Since a merchant advance isn’t a loan, it isn’t subject to lending or usury laws- providers can basically charge whatever they want for services, up to 50% or more of the advance amount in some cases. Be extremely wary of agreements with fees that kick in if sales volume drops below a certain amount (called daily minimum fees) or “balloon” repayment clauses that require payment in full if certain conditions are or are not met.

Repayment is taken from daily sales revenue. You begin repayment the day you receive your advance check, much like a traditional loan. Before you take out an advance, you need to make sure that your current sales volume is able to support the repayment structure specified in the agreement.

What happens next? If you repay your advance according to the agreement, everything is fine. Repayment is usually quick- you should have the advance balance paid off within several months of initiating the transaction. The service agreement governs potential defaults- most agreements contain some kind of a “balloon” repayment clause (see above) or give the provider the authority to place a lien on business equipment or property if you can’t pay back the advance. Providers have also been known withdraw money straight from a business checking account. Before you sign the service agreement, you need to make sure that you know exactly what will happen if you can’t repay the advance according to the terms.

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If you find yourself missing out on potential clients, contacts falling through the cracks, or not following up in a timely manner then your problem is simply a lack of an efficient contact management system!

So let me ask you:

1. Do you have a record of each of your clients/colleagues contact data, i.e. name, address, email, website, phone number etc.?

2. Are you following up efficiently and effectively when a potential client enquires about your services/programs?

3. Do you have a specific process in place for handling new client enquiries?

If you’ve answered NO to one or more of these questions, then you don’t have a suitable contact management system in place.

The good news...

This can easily be rectified! With a proper contact management system in place you will be able to:

* Keep a note of clients, potential clients, and colleagues contact information.

* Easily and effectively follow-up with a prospect.

* Locate critical client contact information quickly and easily.

* Build your business.

Sometimes the simplest contact management can be all you need so that you’re not letting potential clients slip through the cracks and you’re following up in a timely manner. When deciding on the most suitable contact management system for your business, there are three basic choices:

1. If you’re currently using Outlook it comes with its own contact address book, and Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 and above comes with Business Contact Manager. Outlook actually makes a good 'command central' for your business as not only does it store all your crucial contact management data, but you can also manage your emails, To Do list, tasks, and schedule follow-ups so you won’t lose an important contact again due to lack of follow-up!

2. You can purchase stand-alone contact management software such as ACT! This is a very robust contact management system; the only downside – you can’t use it to manage your emails!

3. You can use an online contact management system – some of which are free. This is a good choice, particularly if you want to be able to access your contact data from any PC, anywhere. And if you are working with a Virtual Assistant it’s very easy for them to maintain and update your contact data too – they simply log in!

Which one to use depends on your level of expertise and which one will work best for YOU and YOUR BUSINESS.

Don’t let your business suffer due to an inefficient contact management system. Follow my tips above to choose a system that is right for YOUR business.

Online Business Manager & Virtual Assistant, Tracey Lawton, supports professional speakers, coaches, and authors to operate an efficient, organized, and profitable business. Learn how to create an efficient and organized office in 7 EASY steps, and receive free how-to articles at http://www.OfficeOrganizationSuccess.com.

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Leaders are using the economy as an excuse on a daily basis. Don’t believe me? Just ask your managers why now it’s okay to lay-off those employees who haven’t come close to meeting their performance objectives over the past several years. Perhaps your company could have avoided lay-offs if the entire team had been operating on all four cylinders. This is just one example of how companies are using the economy as an excuse for poor decisions. Here are some others.

Poor planning

You can blame employees for a lot of things. However, at some point you have to take responsibility for what is in your control. Here’s an example. Have you ever heard of a fast food restaurant that sells only pizzas, at an airport location, running out of food at 3:00 PM? According to those employees staffing the counter, this is not an uncommon occurrence. So who is to blame? Certainly not the people who are popping the frozen pizzas into the convection oven.

This is a planning and inventory problem. Not an economic problem. However, if you look at this company’s declining earnings and recent interviews you will hear them say that business is down because less people are going out for pizza. Maybe less people are eating their pizza because there is no food to be had. Is this really the way to increase profits in a down economy?

Creating new expectations

Everything appears to be on sale these days. It has gotten to the point where people will not make purchases unless there is a discount associated with the price. Is this really the fault of the economy? Or have businesses created an expectation among customers and clients that has created this new reality?

What if you were to offer a product or service that people felt was worth the purchase price, regardless of what this number was? What would that mean in terms of increased revenue and profitability? In spite of the economy, people are still purchasing luxury vehicles and are patronizing restaurants where they perceive the experience is worth the money spent. Customers are choosing cool electronic equipment over cheaper less innovative products.

Stop blaming the economy and start looking at your offerings. Are they appealing? Are you creating “must have” products and services? Are you providing consistent service? Are people invested in your product or service? Or have they moved over to you because you are the cheapest guy in town?

Improving your people

Companies used the excuse that there was no time to invest in performance improvement programs when the economy was humming. Now many of these companies have nothing but time on their hands. Would this have been the case if they had provided training for their leaders on how to effectively manage through periods of change?

These organizations can emerge from this recession even stronger than where they were before the decline. How? By preparing their organization for the recovery. This means investing in the training and development of managers and those individual contributors who are on the front lines with customers.

It certainly is a heck of a lot easier to blame the economy for the decline in your business. But by doing so, you will miss out on the opportunity to build an organization that can sustain itself and thrive in any economic climate.

About the Author:

Roberta Chinsky Matuson is the President of Human Resource Solutions (www.yourhrexperts.com) and has been helping companies align their people assets with their business goals. She is considered an expert in generational workforce issues. Roberta publishes a monthly newsletter “HR Matters” http://www.yourhrexperts.com/hrjoin.cgi which is jammed with resources, articles and tips to help companies navigate through sticky and complicated HR workforce issues. Click here to read her new blog on Generation Integration http://generationintegration.typepad.com/matuson/. She can be reached at 413-582-1840 or Roberta@yourhrexperts.com.

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Here’s a tough question: What’s the one thing nearly all business owners consistently overpay for?

The answer is pretty surprising: Postage costs. Stamps, shipping charges, even the time it takes to go to the post office can all add up, costing thousands of dollars or more each year, depending on the volume of mail you ship. Most business owners don’t know exactly how much it costs to mail a particular parcel- so they end up “over stamping” and overpaying- often by quite a bit. Postal stores and shipping providers have overhead costs to meet, too- you pay for these when you’re charged to ship an item.

You can avoid overpayment- and create big savings- by using a postage meter. A postage machine, or digital mailing system, can calculate postage costs precisely, so you’ll never overpay, and can be used in-office, saving you trips to have packages shipped from other providers. Here’s a quick guide to using a postage meter:

How meters work
Postage meters are leased, and work similarly to a parking meter. You “fill up” by making a payment, and postage charges are drawn against your balance. Most meters allow you to “refill” when necessary, and some calculate monthly charges and send a bill- similar to paying for electricity costs. In addition to paying the postage charges, you’ll also need to lease the equipment. You can choose machines with advance features (scales, document feeders) or a simple stamp machine that just prints postage stamps on your outgoing mail.

Features
Mailing machine equipment can be very simple (a stamp machine) or very complex- some machines fold, collate, stamp, and stack bulk mailings containing several different printed pages. If your business sends large bulk mailings, you could benefit from such a machine. Machines can also be fitted with equipment to ship packages- you’ll weigh the parcel and arrange for the pickup online in a few simple steps. No matter which features you need, you can take advantage of cost savings- with a postage meter, shipping costs can be calculated down to the penny for each mailing, so you’ll never overpay.

Costs and billing
Equipment leasing costs can range from less than $20 a month to hundreds for sophisticated equipment designed to handle large volume mailings. You’ll pay for the postage machine equipment (the meter) as one bill, and pay postal charges according to current rates. Some meters only allow you to “pre-pay” postage charges, while other companies allow you to “pay as you go,” where you receive a bill for both postage and meter use costs at the end of a specified period of time. Pay-as-you-go options usually carry additional charges or fees.
You’ll generally sign a lease contract that specifies your terms of use for the meter. Longer term lease contracts can be significantly less expensive- if you’re willing to commit to a longer period of time using the equipment, you’ll get a better monthly rate. You can also choose to purchase a maintenance or service contract that covers repairs or part replacements over the life of the machine.

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Get BACK IN BLACK (BI-B) and back in business by gathering- and using knowledge of your lost business - lost trades. The 5 step program for sales managers and directors shows you exactly how. And you'll see what a difference it could make to your profits if you start to convert lost trades to future actual trades. For more information on Business Intelligence Systems handling lost business visit: http://www.lost-trade-systems.com or you might want to read a newly published book: The Lost-Trade System.

Step 1 - Decide on strategic use of using knowledge of lost trades to improve future performance. Making a smart strategic decision to change your workflow and your daily sales work starting by converting your lost trades to future won trades is now critical to the success of an organization; however the management of sales leads is often very haphazard. If you're spending a great deal of time and money acquiring sales leads only to fail to maximize on their potential. If you are losing countless deals and money you need to make a strategic decision and act now. And some of the most successful sales organizations in the financial sector have been doing exactly this for years.

Step 2 - Capture your lost trades (leads) effectively. Registering lost trades should be as natural as capturing an actual customer trade. Start capturing your lost trades in an Excel spreadsheet posted on the company intranet or by using a relational database and a web interface. About 75% of sales managers are using Excel spreadsheets - So Excel could be a core base for lost trades or enquiries that did not result in margin and revenue. Although using Excel spreadsheets should be a popular method for handling lost enquiries and storing this information, 68% of those who use it on a daily basis are unhappy with its performance. In order to move business forward, sales organizations should - on sight - find a solution to modernize and streamline their daily processes in a way. Believe me; the value of this lost trade database will only grow over time.

Step 3 - Start benchmarking your looses versus your actual trades. To drive business forward, retain customers and create sales, it is essential to understand what business you did not have - your lost trades - and compare it the business you did had, and visualizing long run loosing trends, using appropriate metrics. Using this ‘two ledger' approach will give sales reports detailed analysis of what needs to be done, this will allow you a detailed insight into the strengths and weaknesses of your teams performance, and to make informed business decisions. Ex: You will spot leaving customers before it happens

Step 4 - Create knowledge of lost business data to create new business. Use the information supplied by the graphs of long run losing trends to create knowledge about which of your customers are about to leave, which product are underperforming and which competitors are stealing your business to identify future areas to improve upon. Use this knowledge to take action to get back in black in step 5.

Step 5 - Take action daily based on your new knowledge to maximize your sales revenue and even reach for higher sales targets. It's easier to maximize existing opportunities if you have an accurate record of all enquiries from customers - Both your actual trades and your lost trades - You will in light the ‘dark side of the sales moon ‘and use these as sales leads that have reached a positive conclusion, retaining customers and cross-selling or up-selling. Manage these opportunities effectively using the right methodology and technology in your daily work in sales, and you'll see what a difference it could make to your profits.

About the Author:
Jesper Thorlund is an economist, BI advisor and systems developer. He has been working with business intelligence and data warehouse solutions for more than 12 years as a consultant in major financial and govermental institutions. He publishes and lectures on the strategic use of business intelligence and founded Lost Trade Systems - A BI Research Company, which specializes in bringing new insights and value to businesses by working methodically with lost trades. He co-authored the bestselling book Business Intelligence, From Strategy to Data Sources (2008), available as Business Analytics in English in the SAS Press Business Series, August 2009.

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BusinessAdvicePro: Long range plans, not yours, not anyone else’s, should be taken seriously. Long range plans NEED to have the flexibility to change or you should be ready to wipe them out completely. I personally feel long range plans are extremely difficult to make, too exact plans anyhow. Thus – if anyone asks me about plans, my most regular answer during the past 5 or 10 years has been – you mean something in the longer term than 3 hours? No idea. I can’t put myself to do such plans. Of course I know that I’m interested in learning about business and marketing. I’m doing that, most likely 3 more hours. But after that? Well, probably, probably or most likely also tomorrow and next week. Most likely. But it’s far from a plan, it’s an idea, a possibility. This is of course an extreme example but you get the point.

Max Gunther on planning ahead [BusinessAdvicePro]

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YoungEntrepreneur: The results are in from our latest YoungEntrepreneur.com poll! This time we asked you “How Do You Stay Motivated?” and you responded with some great answers.

The top seven results are:

#1) Read Inspirational Material

“Read blogs like TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Mashable, ReadWriteWeb and get myself excited over others success. I would tell myself “I can be like that person too and I want to be like him/her” Read books like “The Art of the Start” by Guy Kawasaki, “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne.”

#2) Passion / Strength From Within

“I think what keeps me motivated is the strength from within, knowing you are doing what you really are passionate about. I do connect with other blogs but in the end I just write what I feel is very inspirational to me without worrying what others think.”

#3) Picture The Future

“Picture my future if I continue to work for someone for the next 10~20 years. I will NOT have the freedom to decide when I wake up, when I go to lunch, when I get off work, when I get a vacation, how much money I make, where I live. Most importantly, I do NOT get to decide how big my computer monitor is. ook at my current financial situation and tell myself “this is not the way I want to live my life for the next 10~20 years””

#4) Review Your Vision / Goals

“I stay motivated in a couple of ways. Reviewing my vision, revising my business plan and setting new goals always gives me the push that I need to continue on my journey as an entrepreneur.”

#5) Listen to Inspirational Material

“Listen to podcasts about starting a startup. I’m a loyal listener to Andrew Warner’s Mixergy interviews. He does great interview with people who have already been through the trenches. Andrew does a good job at controlling the pace of the interview and tries to get as much information as possible for the listeners. Check it out at blog.mixergy.com”

#6) Surround Yourself With Positive / Accomplished People

“Surrounding myself with positive people or consulting my fiancee also helps a lot when I doubt myself.”

#7) Look For Small Measures Of Success

“When in the early stages of starting a business, I keep myself motivated by looking for other measures of success other than profits (ie: hits on a website, learning something new, etc…).”

“Like some of the other guys mentioned, I use small incremental targets.. and I take care to give myself a mental pat on the back."

How Do You Stay Motivated? - Entrepreneur Poll Results

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How do you spend more time on things that creates value in your career or business? How can you be worth more?

There are certain careers where the multiplication approach is already inherent in that business.

A very good example I can give you is the insurance business or financial planning. If you're a financial planner or an insurance agent and you sell an insurance policy, you are paid a commission. Now that is what we call active income.

But the next year, your client will have to renew the policy, and when your client renews the policy you get a commission on that renewal. And on the third year, when he renews his policy again, again you get commission on that renewal. And on the fourth year, when he renews again you get a commission on that renewal.

In other words, you sell the policy one time and you get paid again and again and again and again and again. So your value is multiplied. In fact, insurance agents and financial planners, in their fifth year in business, 50% of their income is passive, it is scaled in value. That's why there are insurance agents who make in excess about half a million dollars to $800,000 a year.

Another good example is the financial planning business, besides being an agent yourself, you start an agency and you recruit people within your agency. Every time that person sells a policy, you'll get a commission on their commission. So again your value is magnified and multiplied.

Here's my personal example.

There are many other trainers around in Asia, but one of the reasons why I'm paid more than a lot of the other trainers is because I create more value. A lot of trainers when they go out there and they speak they are just giving information and techniques.

For myself and the rest of our other trainers, we help people by touching them in different ways than just intellectually. We help people transform their own lives and we add a lot of value there

The next thing is scalability. No matter what you do, whether you are a chef, or feng shui master, you can scale your value.

Here's an examples on fengshui masters. Most feng shui masters are never really wealthy, why? Because most of them only give one-to-one consultations, thus there is no scalability.

But there is a particular fengshui master called Lillian Too. And she is very wealthy. Why? That's because she is able to magnify herself. She creates so much value for people. She does a lot more than what an average feng shui person would do. She knows where to focus her time where she creates the greatest value through writing books, selling, and providing consultations.

So as you can see through these examples, that only by multiplying and creating more value will one be able to achieve massive success in the particular business that they are in.

Adam Khoo is an entrepreneur, a best-selling author and a peak performance trainer. A self-made millionaire by the age of 26, he owns and runs several businesses in education, training, event management and advertising, all with a combined annual turnover of $20 million. His best-selling "Patterns of Excellence" is a complete step-by-step system that will literally program you for success in life.

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In December, I attended a two-day workshop on Manifestation and Abundance. It was a small group and part of the class included shifting beliefs and attitudes, especially ones that were beneath the surface, in the subconscious. Those deeper beliefs are harder to recover because they are not readily accessible through conscious thinking.

One of the exercises we worked with was asking ourselves the question, “What is it I really desire to manifest? ”

More money? A thriving business? Great vacations? A new car? Weight reduction? Vibrant health? A soul mate…..?

Imagine releasing the genie from the bottle and and given limitless wishes. WOW.

We broke into partners to support each other in creating our visions for 2009 (and beyond). What I chose to do was to close my eyes and ask my spirit to create my vision rather than to imagine what I thought I wanted. By inviting my spirit to create the picture of my true desires and having my mind step aside, I watched the vision take deeper form as my partner asked me questions. The clearer you are in what you wish to envision the better the Universe understands your desires!

My vision was very exciting. One thing I saw was sitting at a table with a line of people waiting to have me sign my new book. Their comments and feedback were high praises for the book and I could feel the joy of having accomplished what I intended when I wrote it. I can still feel that joy today because I know that the book is already written energetically and this year I will bring it into reality. (Giving myself a nudge on that one!) I also saw myself at peace and happier than I have ever felt in my life. I can still feel that too! It’s wonderfull.

While we visualized (sensed, saw with inner sight) what we desired to manifest, we were asked this question, “Was there any challenge or obstacle that came up in manifesting this desire?” In other words, anything that posed a potential roadblock? If there was, we were then asked, “How were you able to overcome, heal, resolve, transform (whatever word fits) that…….?” Those questions invited us to see what we might create in our future and showed us the path to overcome, heal, transform, resolve…whatever… before it happens. Have you ever looked at something in your past and said, “If I had known then what I know now….”

When you open to your inner wisdom and spirit and shift into a higher state of consciousness, you can develop the ability to tap into answers that affect future creations.

What are some keys to magnetize more good stuff into your life?

Here are a few:

1. Gratitude. Bless everyone and everything even if it is undesired. Look for the blessings and gifts in each experience that invites you to remember who you are. Anger, fear, judgments, resentments create blocks to flow. Genuine gratitude transforms negativity and fears and magnetizes good to us.

2. Embody the qualities of God. Unconditional love with everything and everyone you meet. When you find yourself reacting negatively, ask yourself, “What would love say?” Love is our true nature. Cultivate a loving, compassionate heart and attitude. You’ll see your life blossom.

3. Shift non-serving beliefs and attitudes that create constriction in your life. What you put your attention on, manifests even if is unconscious. Getting to the heart of subconscious beliefs can be tricky because of our conscious mind. Hypnosis and Theta healing are two highly effective modalities to transform beliefs and programs at the subconscious level.

4. Extend a hand to others. The UnitedStates was originally founded on the message of Brotherly Love. If you believe that we are all connected as part of the ONE, as I do, then you know that when we help others, we also receive the gifts. Look for opportunites to be of joyfull service to those who would benefit from your support. What goes around, goes around.

5. Follow your intuition. Listen to the nudges and whispers that come from within. Take time for meditation and spiritual practices that reconnect you to The Divine. The Universe is conspiring in your favor to help you have an abundant and happy life. Bring your instincts and intuition into your business practices.

Dr. Lorraine Cohen, President of Powerfull Living, brings more than 25 years experience in personal and business coaching, psychological counseling, and sales to thousands of spiritually minded business owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders from a wide range of industries. Learn more about Lorraine’s services, success products and programs.

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Article Contributed by Scott Glatstein

The best-laid strategic plans often go awry once exposed to the light of day and the rudeness and ruthlessness of reality.

Former President Lyndon Johnson understood that. He often told a story of a man who had applied for a job as a flagman at a railroad crossing. The man was told he'd be handed the job if he could pass a test consisting of just a single question

The applicant was told to imagine that he was a flagman at a crossing consisting of a single track when he suddenly observed the Continental Express bearing down from the east at 95 miles per hour. Coming from the other direction was the Century Limited at 100 miles per hour. With the trains only 500 yards apart, the man was asked, what would he do under these circumstances? Without hesitation, the would-be flagman responded that he would go and get his brother-in-law.

Puzzled, the railroad examiner inquired, "What good would that do?"

The job applicant promptly replied, "He ain't never seen a train wreck."

Clearly the would-be flagman didn't understand the overarching strategy of his potential employer (prevent accidents) nor his potential role in executing that strategy. Unfortunately, this is not unlike the current state of corporate strategic execution as evidenced by the train wrecks (AIG, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, and the automotive industry) we see everyday in the marketplace.

How would I know? Well, my name is Scott Glatstein and I help companies execute their strategies in the marketplace for a living. In fact, I've been doing so as a corporate executive and a consultant for over 25 years.

I even wrote about strategy execution in my book, "Strategy Activation: How to Turn Your Vision into Marketplace Success." In this book I present a breakthrough, holistic planning discipline that links strategic vision to marketplace reality.

Here's What I Learned During My 25+ Years Executing Corporate Strategy:

1. Organizations who have mastered the intricacies of translating strategic vision into marketplace execution are, far and away, more likely to outperform competitors in key areas like:

- Revenue growth
- Profitability
- Customer satisfaction.

This is particularly true when the economy falters. When money tightens consumer confidence falls and commerce slows. As a result customer needs and expectations change. Every spending decision becomes an exercise in deploying limited resources. Whether it's a consumer considering a night out on the town or a manufacturer trying to preserve margin the decision to spend money is not taken lightly. And the tolerance for imperfect execution melts away.

2. The old disjointed execution methods don't work anymore.

Historically, work has been divided into two parts: strategy and execution. Top executives wrote the marketplace strategy, which always looked good on paper. Everyone else was supposed to execute it. However, many necessary steps and important questions were usually skipped over when moving from theory to implementation. For example:

- Would employees be able to implement the marketplace strategy given the new expectations placed on their performance?
- Can the company execute its strategy within its existing culture, reward system, or fundamental workflow processes and systems?

If you want to succeed in today's difficult marketplace than you need to break down the historical wall that exists between strategy and execution.

3. Corporate strategic plans fail when there is no disciplined approach to their execution.

Strategy has to be more than a feel-good presentation shared with your managers, shareholders and the media. It has to be woven into the fabric of your organization. This means you must go beyond articulating the typical strategic plan. You must translate your marketplace strategy into specific employee roles and create the infrastructure and processes that enable them to fulfill those prescribed roles.

4. Strategy fails when companies fail to recognize that existing tools and methodologies will NOT enable success.

It's difficult to implement a new strategy without changing the way your organization works. Too often, though, we redefine employees' roles with little regard to the systems and processes that guide and enable their work. Your business processes and systems must meet the demands of your new strategic vision. Do your customer-facing and internal workflow processes enable the customer experience defined by your strategic vision? Do your tools facilitate communication and information sharing across the organization and enable the completion of the specific tasks that deliver your marketplace vision? Pursuing a new strategy with old capabilities is a recipe for disaster.

5. Strategy execution can improve as executives streamline daily activities and realign them so they are in harmony with the company's overarching go-to-market strategy.

I bet every division across your organization thinks it's different and therefore needs its own unique tools and workflow processes. In most cases that's just not true. While customization may be appropriate in some instances, one must not lose sight of the broader organizational advantages of standardization. Consistent information and task tools support a consistent approach to the marketplace and allow employees to move seamlessly from one part of the organization to the next with less training. In short, standardization can bring more organizational flexibility and consistency to operations. And internal consistency drives consistent marketplace execution.

These difficult times call for a disciplined, thoughtful approach to execution of strategy in the marketplace. I created the Strategy Activation® planning approach to facilitate corporate strategy execution excellence. Apply it to your business and you will achieve higher revenue growth, profitability and customer satisfaction.

About the Author:
Corporate Strategy Execution Consultant Scott Glatstein, President of IMPERATIVES, LLC turns market opportunities into record-breaking profits with effective marketplace strategy planning & execution. Now for the first time, with his new book, "Strategy Activation: How to Turn Your Vision into Marketplace Success," Scott unveils his groundbreaking plan for higher strategic profits. Get your FREE SNEAK PREVIEW at: http://www.strategyactivation.com

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“It takes courage to demand time for yourself. At first glance, it may seem to be the ultimate in selfishness, a real slap in the face to those who love and depend on you. It’s not. It means you care enough to want to see the best in yourself and give only the best to others.” - Shale Paul

I advocate prioritizing self-care. In fact, I’m a broken record about the importance of being self-ish. (I’ll be writing more tips on this topic too). Are you cringing at the idea or thinking, “I’m just too busy? Are you nodding your head yes because you know it’s important and you don’t make the time in your day?

Have you been taught that putting yourself first is wrong or bad? You might have first-hand experience of having people judge you, withhold love or affection, or punish you in some way when you did something just for you?

Do you hear about people who are held in high esteem because they have always self-lessly been there for others? In our society, people are often applauded and emulated for how they are always there for others. I wonder…. are they also there for themselves? Do they allow others to be there for them as well? Are they great givers and poor receivers? How about you?

Here’s the point…….

When we continually give our time, energy, attention, ……to others without replenishing and nurture ourselves, we move closer to a “burnout” state of exhaustion, confusion, irritability, resentment, anger, destructive behaviors… that can lead to health or psychological problems.

Who wins there?

No one, especially you.

Make self-care a priority by practicing self-ishness. Create a new positive definition for self-ish that gives permission to value yourself AND be loving with others. We teach people how to treat us by our example. Do you wish to communicate to others that your needs, value, and worth are unimportant? If you’re a parent, is this what you wish to teach and model for your children?

It’s time to challenge and replace some of the beliefs and behaviors that have been handed down for generations that repress our authentic self from fully and joyfully emerging!

Say yes to yourself and others because it brings you joy. Say yes because you choose to rather than out of guilt or fearfull obligation. Say yes because you want to be of loving support and assistance rather than because you feel you “have to”.

Answering the calling of your needs, heart, and mind will help you respond to the calling of others. When you become self-ish you’ll have the extra reserves (time, energy etc.) to be generous with others. Be open and willing to make changes in your personal and professional life that “feed” and lift your spirit, rather than depleting you. When feeling conflicted, ask yourself, “What would respect my intentions of taking care of myself in this situation?”

1. Spend the next 7 days doing something very, very selfish every day. Do something each day that brings you joy and pleasure (even a guilty pleasure if you want!). It can be anything you want – that is your gift from you to YOU. I don’t mean doing something for someone else because it makes you feel good (or better about you, ok?). '

2. Say no because you feel like it. Refer to my article on saying no for some help!

3. Have a special gift or talent? Create a setting for that to flourish. Everyone will benefit.

When you take care of yourself, the people in your life you care about will experience the best of you rather than what’s left of you. If you start feeling guilty see the guilt as a sign you are on the right track. Making changes aren’t always comfortable at the beginning - for yourself and those around you. In time, people will adjust. By modeling a healthier way of being, you invite others to take more responsibility for their own happiness and self-value

Obviously you must practice discernment when making changes in your life. The rewards for taking better care of your self are boundless. You’re worth it!

Dr. Lorraine Cohen, President of Powerfull Living, brings more than 25 years experience in personal and business coaching, psychological counseling, and sales to thousands of spiritually minded business owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders from a wide range of industries. Learn more about Lorraine’s services, success products and programs.

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GigaOM FoundRead: Regardless of the title your company’s top technology executive uses — CTO, CIO, Chief Product Officer or VP of Engineering — your company will ultimately look to this person to produce the software and technical products upon which your business success depends. Through our earlier career experiences (at Quigo, eBay and PayPal), and now through our consulting practice (AKF Partners), we’ve noticed that there are five consistent reasons why a tech executive fails.

Perhaps the most commonly assumed “failure scenario” is that the CTO is simply not technical enough to inspire confidence in the engineering team. This is not the case. In fact, it is actually rare that a CTO is removed because he or she lacks technical acumen. The truth is that your senior technology officer does not need to be the brightest technical mind in the business, except, potentially, during the startup phase of your company. Over time, he or she need only be geeky enough to challenge the strongest technical minds in your company to add value to technical decision-making. Most often, we find that senior executives come to a bad end when they spend too much time relying on their technical brilliance and not enough time cultivating other important aspects of their job.

The Top 5 Tech Exec Failure Scenarios we list below are not mutually inclusive, but they all support one very important conclusion: when technology executives fail, it is not because they lack an individual skill. It is because they lack an an adequate balance of the many technical, operational and leadership skills necessary to make them a complete manager.

5. Failure to Build World Class Team
4. Failure to Execute
3. Failure to Lead/Motivate/Inspire
2. Failure to Manage Operationally
1. Lack of Financial Acumen

F|R: The Top 5 Reasons Tech Execs Fail [GigaOM FoundRead]

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Are you feeling overwhelmed, stuck or do you find yourself procrastinating? Do you typically load your plate by taking on too much and expect to handle it all? Are your goals realistic or a bit too ambitious?

There are times when tipping over your plate and letting things drop so that you can start over is the best choice.

Consider eliminating all goals for 30 days and slowly add back selected old ones plus new ones. Use this 30 day period to delegate, dump, finish, or streamline areas of your business or personal life.

Steps:

-Make a list of everything that is undone or not progressing the way you want. Include things you feel pressured about or anything your feel you should, could, have to, or ought to do. Add all goals, projects, roles, routines, and things you consider both minor and essential to your life.
Drop 50% of the items on this list permanently. Yup, you heard me. Creating space to re-evaluate what you really want allows you to make a clear decision about what you choose to add back into your life.

-Deliberately reduce the emotional or time invested in the remaining 50% so that you have some “you” time and space for self –care, re-energizing, having fun…..

-Slowly add only the items back that you really want.

-Clearing your plate of all goals, promises, shoulds, have tos..etc for a brief period creates the room to focus on what you really want rather than what you think you should want or do.

Bottom line: Choosing this strategy can be a great way to realign priorities and assist you in having more ease in your life. Doing a clean sweep can jumpstart enthusiasm and motivation when focused on the things you deeply desire and choose to pursue. This can be a fun process that supports you in working smarter rather than harder.

Dr. Lorraine Cohen, President of Powerfull Living, brings more than 25 years experience in personal and business coaching, psychological counseling, and sales to thousands of spiritually minded business owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders from a wide range of industries. Learn more about Lorraine’s services, success products and programs.

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This article contributed by Michelle Ulrich.

To ‘Do-it-Yourself’ or Not to ‘Do-it-Yourself’, that is the Question!

We live in a do-it-yourself society. We want to save money by doing tasks we don’t even enjoy, but are we really saving money?

Take Chef Michael Elliston who lives in Puerto Rico as an example. He hired someone to design his website, but it ended up being a template where he entered the information on his own. His professional image was certainly not improved by his lack of web design knowledge or multiple grammar and spelling errors. That’s when he decided to hire a trustworthy and skilled Virtual Assistant; someone who could visualize and project his professional image in a much better light. He is very happy now and can focus on cooking, which is his passion (and livelihood)!

Michael’s story is the same all over the world. We don’t concentrate on what we do best; we are conditioned by society to do everything by ourselves. What do you love to do? If you are doing almost everything EXCEPT the one thing you love, you are wasting your own time and your potential income on that time.

A few tasks to outsource to a Virtual Assistant: • Bookkeeping • e-commerce - shopping carts • Ezines - online newsletters • Graphic and web design • Remote Office Management

Virtual assistants are truly resourceful. Just ask a VA today about your ideas and even ones you might think are impossible—you’ll be surprised at the results!

About the Author
Michelle Ulrich is the Chief Villager and founder of The Virtual Nation, an educational destination for Virtual Professionals around the globe. Michelle is an avid believer in giving back to her industry and she does this by offering coaching, teleclasses, resources, and tools, in addition to providing a community of learning, a nation of culture, and a virtual village for her members. Education is the foundation of her organization as well as for her own personal and professional development. Michelle has been a community college instructor teaching a Virtual Assistant certificate program online. Aside from coaching and teaching, she is also a speaker and soon-to-be author on the subject of Virtual Assistance. She maintains her private practice where she specializes in working with authors, coaches and speakers who struggle to keep up with e-commerce and new technologies. Clients can check out her services at www.virtualbusinessmarketing.com, while Virtual Assistants can find her over at www.thevirtualnation.com. She can be reached by telephone at (916) 536-9799 in the Pacific Time zone.

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Are you confused?

I was working with a member of my Business Mastery Advisory Board on some issues about her business and inconsistent attendance at her board meetings.

As we talked it became apparent to both of us that we did not know what success met to this individual.

Her conscious mind wanted more money. She associated having more money as a way of having to work less so she could spend more time with her daughter.

Her subconscious mind was telling her that the more you work the less time you will have to spend with your daughter.

So she would work really hard and build a book of business then drop out of sight for a while wonder how she got so busy. What we came to understand was that she had a hard time delegating because of some situations that occurred in her past so she felt she had to do everything herself.

As a result of this discussion we did two things that got her focused and clear. The first was to create a delegation process so she felt comfortable. Many people confuse delegation with abdication. Delegation is knowing the who, what, where, when, and why of the delegation process so there is no confusion. Abdication is delegation without follow through.

The second thing we did is help her prioritize what she needed to work on and what could be delegated. Two months after this discussion we talked and her stress level has dropped, her work load has dropped but she has more business.

The big benefit to her in being involved in the Business Mastery Advisory Board is that she had someone to hold her accountable. Through this accountability process she has made major changes in her life and business.

After a successful consulting career, Ron Finklestein has spent the past 6 years building his business AKRIS LLC and helping entrepreneurs and business owners build their businesses by helping them solve the tough problems that hold them back. Ron is called The Small Business Success Expert by his clients because of his passion for their success and his knowledge of business.

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Small Business Branding, by Drew McLellan: Have you ever had the experience of driving along, paying attention to something off in the horizon and next thing you know, you’ve driven to that spot? And it wasn’t where you meant to go?

The same phenomenon can happen in your business. Most business owners I met pay a lot of attention to what their competition is doing. We definitely need to keep an eye on the competitive landscape. But there’s a very fine line.

The danger in keeping track of the other guys is that you lose track of your own path. We tend to move towards what we pay attention to. And you don’t want to let your competitors determine your marketing strategy. That’s a quick way to:

* Deplete your resources
* Look like you’re playing the “us too” game
* Lose the momentum of your key messages

You want to be the leader in your industry, not follow someone else. The best way to beat your competition isn’t watching what they do. It’s doing what you should be doing.

If you have and follow a marketing plan — you can enjoy the best of both worlds. The marketing plan keeps you on your course. Heading in the direction you have determined. When you know where you’re headed and keep checking the map to see that you’re on course, you can afford to peek at what the competitors are doing.

Just make sure you’re following your course, not theirs.

Is your competition luring you off-track? [Small Business Branding]

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One of the best time-saving strategies I've implemented is my client conversion system. You know the drill; a potential client comes along and emails/calls you asking about your services. You spend time responding, maybe even putting a detailed proposal together, and then you never hear from them again! Not even a thank you for your email!

This is one area that’s a huge time drain for solo service professionals, but one that is so important – you need paying clients so you have to spend time responding to them.

What if there was a way you could respond to clients yet at the same time not waste hours of your precious time on this activity only for it to result in never hearing from said client again?

Well, there is! And I’m going to share it with you in this article by giving you my three steps on how to create your own client conversion system.

Step One – Capture Their Name/Email Address

If a client comes along and they’re not quite ready to work with you, you need to have a way of capturing their details on your website so that you don’t lose touch with them – that way they’ll get to know more about you and your services, and when they are ready to work with you, you’ll be right there!

You do this by giving away a free taste of what it is you do. This could be a report, audio, mini ecourse, or some other type of freebie that is given away automatically in exchange for them giving you their name and email address. This is known as building your list. Once you have your list in place stay in touch with them regularly through publishing an ezine.

Step Two - Have A Defined Process For Working With New Clients

Look at what you currently do when you receive an email/phone call from a new client. Write down all the steps in that process, and come up with ways as to how it can be systemized.

For example:

* Do you find that potential clients are asking the same questions again and again? If so, set up a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on your website that answers all of these questions. (Hint: this could also be your free taste that the client will sign up for.)

* Do you require that all new clients have a telephone consultation with you beforehand to ensure that you are a good fit for one another? How can this process be streamlined?

* Or, do you require a potential client to fill in a questionnaire prior to speaking with you on the phone?

List everything that you currently do and come up with a system for streamlining the whole process. You could also include elements that you would like to do but haven’t yet implemented.

Step Three – Put Your Client Conversion System In Place

Now that you have documented the process for handling enquiries you need to put your system in place that will allow you to handle client enquiries in the most time-efficient manner.

This is the system I use and recommend, and one that will filter those enquiries for you:

* On your website tell clients what your process is for working with new clients, i.e. contact me to schedule your complimentary client consultation.

* Have a contact form on your website that client’s can fill in when they’re ready to schedule a complimentary call with you.

* Create an email template to respond to those clients who would like to schedule a complimentary consultation. You can also use this template for those email enquiries you get, or as a script for a phone enquiry.

* If you have a series of questions that you would like answers to before your call with your client put these together into a Pre-Consultation Questionnaire which you can send to your potential client ahead of your call. (This again is a good way to filter the serious from the not-so-serious clients - the not-so-serious clients will not want to spend their time filling in a questionnaire prior to your phone call.)

* Create a document/email template for your questionnaire – put it in a format that is easy for the client to email back to you.

* When they respond to you to schedule their call attach your questionnaire, confirm the appointment, tell them when they need to return the questionnaire by (24 hours before the call is a good timeframe) and tell them what number to call you on.

Having a process like this in place will filter the serious from the not-so-serious clients, saving you a huge amount of your time and streamlining the whole client conversion process.

Remember: You are the expert at what you do. Your clients are coming to you for your expertise, so lead them with your systems. Tell them what your processes are. Let them work to your systems.

Online Business Manager & Virtual Assistant, Tracey Lawton, supports professional speakers, coaches, and authors to operate an efficient, organized, and profitable business. Learn how to create an efficient and organized office in 7 EASY steps, and receive free how-to articles at http://www.OfficeOrganizationSuccess.com.

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Business Entrepreneur: Whether you’re thinking it’s Spring Cleaning Time or time for an annual checkup, your business needs to undergo a checkup each year. No matter how large or small your business is, you cannot gauge the effectiveness of any changes you’ve made without analyzing the benefits and bottom line.

Here are 10 questions to get you started:

• How do your year-to-date sales compare to the last couple of years? Don’t be satisfied if you managed to match them because if sales stayed the same then you’ve achieved zero growth. With inflation, this flat growth line is a warning sign for more trouble down the road.

• What percentage of your business is from repeat customers? This is important to know because if it’s too low, then it needs to be improved. The estimated cost of getting a new customer versus retaining an existing one can be as much as five to one in terms of dollars spent. Keeping customers is more cost-effective than constantly seeking new ones.

• How long has it been since you offered a new product or service? Loyal customers like to see you changing and progressing with the times. If you’re stuck for an idea, ask your customers what they need.

• Do you consider marketing and advertising expenses or investments? How you look at the money spent in these areas affects your willingness to spend money at all. Would you look at prescriptions as a waste of money? Marketing is really investing in you, your vision, and your company. The old adage that you must spend money to make money is true, but you must spend it wisely. Spend it on ads that are pulling responses and orders, and if they’re not maybe you need to change publications.

• Do you know what PR is and how to use it to positively position your business in the media? I’ll bet that at least one of your competitors does. Nearly every mention of a company or business in the newspapers and magazines is a direct result of publicity efforts. Being quoted or featured in an article speaks volumes to your clients and readers who are your potential prospects. A good PR consultant can do that for you and show you ways to extend the shelf life of that article beyond its publication.

• Are you listed in the yellow pages? If you only have a line listing, consider including a small ad in the yellow pages. If you can afford it, it will pay dividends throughout the year.

• Do you teat your regular customers better than your drop-ins? You should. If your customers don’t feel special when coming to you for products of services, why should they remain loyal to you? Have a customer appreciation day or a special invitation only sale for your regulars. Create a mailing list of your regulars. Send occasional post cards or greeting cards for special events or just to keep in touch. Learn to recognize them on sight and greet them by name when they visit you.

• How long has it been since you really talked to one of your customers? Just as you appreciate when your Doctor takes time to talk to you, your customers will appreciate you if you take an interest in their needs. If you have a service business, have lunch or coffee periodically with some regulars – even if they only contact you once or twice a year. The personal touch in an impersonal world will be remembered.

• How is your business doing compared to your competition? Every company, no matter what the size, has competition – even home-based businesses. Is their business growing or downsizing? Is their pricing or service better than yours? If so, what can you tell potential customers about the price difference? Think about how you can improve your service to meet or exceed your customer’s expectations.

• Are your employees happy? Don’t ask them directly, but observe them throughout the day. Watch, listen and learn. Employees who like their jobs don’t watch the clock for quitting time, aren’t habitually late, don’t have poor body language, don’t spend time on personal phone calls, and don’t look like they never smiled. Observe how they interact with customers. Not everyone is a match for direct contact with the public, so make sure you don’t have an employee who is driving business away.

Business Checkup [Business Entrepreneur]

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Blogtrepreneur: As an online entrepreneur you will always be faced with more tasks that you need to get done than you can manage. There will always be new ideas and opportunities that are tempting to pull you away from other things you are working on. Prioritizing your work is extremely important to achieve efficiency with your time and to get the most accomplished. Whether you are working full-time or part-time with your online ventures, you will need to recognize what tasks on your to-do list are most important and urgent.

Here are some tips for getting more out of your time by prioritizing your work:

1. Have a strategy

You need to have a sound strategy that will keep you moving in the right direction. An effective strategy will help to keep you focused and avoid distractions from activities that don’t fit with what you are ultimately trying to accomplish.

2. Recognize what makes you money

I think most online entrepreneurs, and definitely bloggers, face the challenge of identifying what work will actually produce an income. If you are going to make money through freelance blogging for example, writing posts for other blogs is what will produce your income. Using social media, reading other blogs, and participating at community sites will all help the cause, but none of these things will directly put money in your pocket. As a result, your income-generating work should take priority.

The important thing here is that you recognize the significance of activities according to how much money they can produce for you. Make sure that you are dedicating the majority of your time to things that will make you successful.

3. Set goals

One way to keep yourself on track and working on the most important activities is to set goals. For example, my monthly income goals keep me focused on the work that will help me to meet those goals. Whatever your goals may be, make sure that they will lead to your ultimate success.

4. Schedule your time

Once you have set your goals, schedule your time accordingly so that you will give yourself the chance to achieve those goals. Scheduling your time for specific activities can help you to reduce the amount of unproductive time, and it will force you to decide what work is most important and worthy of your time.

5. Use to-do lists

Each day there are so many different things fighting for my time, but with a to-do list I always know what is most critical and what I need to get done first. If I get everything on my list done then I can move on to other things. I like to write out the list at the end of the night (making a list for the next day) or first thing in the morning before I start any work.

6. Focus on one project at a time

Try to resist the urge to start something new until you have achieved some success with your current project(s). Be realistic with how much available time you have, and make sure you are giving yourself a chance for success at anything you attempt.

7. Get organized

For most of us, doing some of the day-to-day tasks of running an online business can become more time consuming than we would like. Usually some improved organization would help. Whatever areas are the most time-consuming for you, evaluate to see if there are areas for potential improvement in organization.

7 Tips for Prioritizing Your Work [Blogtrepreneur]

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As a solopreneur there is always an endless list of projects that we want to work on or need to complete in order to grow our business. If we don't plan properly and build in time to work on these projects we can very quickly become overwhelmed, and in the end we don't complete anything.

This first quarter I've launched two products, revamped my website, hosted a teleclass series, and launched a new service, all of which have been achieved without sacrificing client work, and without staying up until the wee small hours of the morning!

So, how do I achieve all of this, and still manage to have some free time?

Quite simply, I plan! And today, I'd like to share with you my top five tips for planning for success!

1. Create a Project Planner. I have my own one-of-a-kind List Building and Marketing Workbook that I use to plan which projects I am going to work on and when. This spreadsheet is at the heart of my business; I keep it handy so that I can refer to it often, and I update it on a regular basis.

It sets the scene for projects that I want and need to complete for the year, although I don't necessarily plan out the whole year in advance! I plan by quarters. That makes it much easier and more achievable than trying to plan out the whole year, although I may add projects to my planner well in advance!

2. Create a Timeline For Your Projects. Are there some projects that you can't complete or begin work on until you've completed a previous one? For example, one of my projects this year is to set up and run an affiliate program for my products; however there is really little point in me working on the affiliate program until I have some products to sell! So first I need to create and launch the products, then work on the affiliate program. So when planning for this, I know that I can add affiliate program set up for at least six months ahead.

3. Set Aside The Time To Work On Your Business. I have one day a week that I set aside for business development and marketing activities, such as developing info products, writing my newsletter, submitting articles, or some other activity on my List Building and Marketing Workbook. On this day I don’t do any client work (if a client has an urgent project then I may have to rethink) but as a general rule this is the day and time I have set aside to work on my business.

4. Plan The Time For Client Work. Set aside specific days/time each week that you are available to work on your client and income generating activities so that they do not get overlooked. Put this time down in your calendar so that you will stick to it.

5. Do Not Allow Yourself To Get Distracted. The truth is I only have a very limited amount of time during which I can work with my clients and work on my business. The time I do have I protect it closely and really focus on what it is I need to do, whether that’s client work or working on my business. During this time I won’t let myself get distracted by going off and reading emails, becoming involved in discussion groups, or even running personal errands.

By really focusing and making the best possible use of the limited time you have available, you can can achieve A LOT! I know I do!

Online Business Manager & Virtual Assistant, Tracey Lawton, supports professional speakers, coaches, and authors to operate an efficient, organized, and profitable business. Learn how to create an efficient and organized office in 7 EASY steps, and receive free how-to articles at http://www.OfficeOrganizationSuccess.com.

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