Blog | Reduce the Chaos

Holiday Sales and Marketing Avalanche Survival Tips

Posted on November 26, 2017 by Susan

How can you be prepared for the holiday sales and marketing avalanche? We have some survival tips to help you. Every year the avalanche starts earlier. Most business owners have been busy the last few months getting their special offers finalized and scheduled to go out to their customers and clients.

Every year the amount of Holiday Sales and Marketing increases by an unimaginable amount. Bins of flyers are stuffed into mailboxes, billions of emails hit inboxes, millions of dollars are spent on TV and social media ads. With this deluge comes consumer overwhelm, frustration and for some, disgust at the commercialism.

Everyone is bombarded with special offers from:

Print marketing in the form of mailers and sales inserts filling the mailboxes
Radio and TV Commercials
Email marketing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday flooding inboxes
Social Media Posts, Ads and Videos on every social site

How can you survive all of that special offer overload and still manage to take advantage of the offers that make sense for you? Don’t give up, there is hope for getting through the holidays using a few survival tips. We have put together some of our favorites for dealing with paper, email and social media holiday avalanches.

Sales and Marketing Avalanche Survival Tips:

Print Offers:

Toss immediately into the trash any print offers from businesses you know you won’t buy from
Limit the amount of time you spend looking at the print offers
Only save the offers you are going to act on and save in a Holiday Offer file folder.

Radio and Television Commercials:

Radio: Listen to a playlist instead of radio stations to avoid the commercials
TV: Leave the room and do a chore while the commercials are running, watch a lot less TV, watch DVD’s instead or watch programs without commercials

Email offers:

Be selective about the emails you open
Delete the offers from your inbox immediately that you aren’t interested in
Bonus Tip: create a “Holiday Offers” email folder and move the offers you are intersted into the folder.

Getting too many email offers from a business?

Let them know they are sending too many emails.
Unsubscribe for the season, make a note and subscribe again after the holidays, if you still want to get their emails.
Unsubscribe from the emails, if that’s an option. If unsubscribing isn’t an option, mark the email as Spam (be aware that once you do this you won’t get emails from this business again)

Social Media Posts, Ads, Videos:

Some advice – Ignore them. That’s right, if you click on the ad or watch the video you are expressing interest in this service or product. This means you will see more of these types of product and service ads.

Sponsored Ads on Facebook in your newsfeed: if they don’t pertain to you and your interests, you can hide the ad and choose to see fewer of those ads. Why take time to do this? It lets Facebook know you aren’t interested in this product and saves the advertiser from wasting their money advertising to you.

For example: if you like pets and don’t have one, but you keep seeing pet product ads in your Facebook newsfeed, you can use the following instructions to decrease the amount of pet product ads taking up space in your newsfeed.

Instructions on how to hide a sponsored ad on Facebook:

While logged into Facebook, choose the ad that you don’t want to see in your newsfeed

Step #1: click on the three dots on the upper right of the newsfeed ad

Step #2: Click on “Hide Ad”

The “Help Us Understand What’s Happening” screen will pop up

Step #1: Click on the circle next to the best choice for you. We suggest the “It’s not relevant to me” circle

Step #2: click on “Continue” to go to the last screen

The final screen will appear (unless you chose “I keep seeing this” or “It’s misleading, offensive or inappropriate: in that case you will get other options to choose from, just follow the instructions on the screens.

To complete be sure to click the “Done” button.

Survival Tips 5 Step Action Plan:

Step 1: Know that the holidays are a prime time for businesses to bring in revenue and can’t stop the avalanche but you CAN reduce it.

Step 2: Make time in your daily schedule to handle the avalanche before you are become buried under it.

Step 3: Toss immediately any paper flyers you don’t need before they become a mountain of paper on the table.

Step 4: Delete any email offers that you aren’t interested in reviewing immediately. Set up an email folder to move the special offers to, then you can review at a later time to keep the email inbox clutter free. (Don’t forget to go back and review the special offer email folder and clean it out once the offers have expired)

Step 5: Unsubscribe from spammy marketers and from email lists you no longer want to be on.

We hope you find these survival tips helpful. The intent is that they will help reduce some of the stress and overwhelm of the holiday season.

Posted in Business, Time Management | Tagged Business, Email Marketing, Holidays | Leave a comment

How to Turn Around a Zero ROI Business

Posted on October 1, 2017 by Susan

Do you know how to turn around a zero ROI business? The magic wand for business growth might work, however, for most business owners with a zero ROI, a lot of “magic” happens when time and effort are put into making their dream come true.

First, how did they become a zero ROI business?

For most businesses there is a simple formula they used to create a zero ROI for their business.

Do you have a business currently using this formula? The good news, there are solutions.

Second, not every business is right for you or your talents.

A good example of this came from a former client, who contacted me because they were trying to get a business going and wanted some assistance. They lived in a very rural setting, had very few contacts, were not tech savvy and were inactive on social media. Their budget was minimal and they were at a loss on how to grow their business. They were spending money to get their business going, but had yet to make any money. They were a ZERO ROI business. After discussing their options and the amount of money needed to grow their contact base in order to make sales, it was determined that the business was not a good match for their current budget or talents. They are now looking for something more suited to their talents.

Third, is evaluation of the business, what’s is and isn’t working.

When someone contacts me saying they need help to grow their business, there are a few general questions I ask them:

Where does the business currently stand with number of clients and income?
What are the current activities and platforms being used to grow the business?
How much time the business owner spends on the business now?
Is the owner is willing to put in the time and attention toward business growth?
What their budget is for growing their business?
What their goals are for the next three to six months?

Once these questions have been answered we have a better idea where the business and business owner are as far as current ROI. With this information it could also be easier for you, the business owner, to determine if your current or prospective business is viable and what efforts will be needed to go from ZERO ROI to a money making business.

Now that the current ROI has been determined, it’s time to choose – close the business or put the time and effort to turn the ROI of the business.

Time is of more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time. Jim Rohn

7 Steps to turn around a ZERO ROI business:

Get help – what you don’t know is hurting your business. Use Business “How To” Books, Business Resource Centers, Online Business Articles, and find a Business Mentor.
Goal Plans – begin with 30, 60 and 90 day goals.
Task Lists – set up tasks for meeting your goals.
Calendar – create deadlines for your tasks and add tasks to your calendar with reminders.
Delegate – hire people who can do the tasks you don’t know how to do, dislike doing, or take too much time for you to do.
Evaluate – keep track of your numbers, income and expenses.
Make adjustments – if something isn’t working, make changes to improve results.

After taking a good look at where your business currently is, as far as the ROI, you now have a better idea what kind of choices you have. Will you choose getting help and going forward or cutting your losses and finding something else?

Need assistance to move forward? An experienced virtual assistant can free up your time, take items off your task list and get them done. Want to find out what a virtual assistant can do to help you turn around your zero ROI business? Contact me for a consultation today at Reduce the Chaos.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Business, Business Solutions, ROI, Virtual Assisting | Leave a comment

10 Ways to Successfully Communicate with Your Virtual Assistant

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Susan

Think back to when you first hired your virtual assistant – you likely started out successfully communicating with each other, right? In the beginning, or the “honeymoon period”, communication with the new virtual assistant (“VA”) was great. But now things aren’t going so well. And now you are wondering, “Where did things go wrong?”

The most successful client and VA relationships are based on the concept that the VA is partnering with you, the client, to increase and grow your business. The focus is on working together as a team for the best possible outcomes for both of you. The savvy client asks their VA for their input and respects their expertise in the areas where they excel. And often times, a seasoned VA will be able to help their client spot potential missteps coming down the pike based on their experience with other clients.

10 Ways to Successfully Communicate with Your VA:

Ensure communications are clear regarding expectations, duties, tasks and deadlines the VA will be handling for you.
Do your best to respond promptly to emails from the VA and answer all their questions, or indicate a time you can respond back to the VA on a particular item.
Be sure to read the VA’s entire email and email back as appropriate, asking for clarification when needed.
Consolidate questions and responses into as few emails as possible.
Consult with your VA regarding which programs will work best with the systems that you already have in place before purchasing new programs.
Respect the VA’s work hours and their preferred communication channels.
Schedule regular planning sessions and updates on projects to make sure you and your VA are on the same page regarding next steps and priorities.
Keep your VA apprised of your schedule for communication purposes: when you will and won’t be available, will be on vacation, or if you are going to be out of the office for extended periods of time.
Communicate upcoming projects and service needs well in advance, checking with your VA for their availability prior to scheduling a time-intensive project.
Keep in mind that your VA has a preferred communication style and will need clear instructions in order to perform your tasks efficiently.

When you, the client, and the VA have an honest and courteous communication system in place, it benefits your business and the continued positive relationship with your VA.

Are you and your VA experiencing any of these communications issues:

Are you experiencing difficulties communicating with your VA?
Where did it all go wrong?
Are you wondering why the communication with your VA isn’t working?

Over the last few years, I have witnessed and experienced some patterns in communication that lead to frustration for both the client and the VA. These patterns often lead to the both clients and virtual assistants not succeeding.

10 Unsuccessful Ways to Communicate with Your VA:

Responding to VA communications containing urgent questions or demanding info about your projects days later or ignoring the communications altogether.
Missing your scheduled planning sessions and check-ins with your VA.
Giving conflicting, vague or incomplete instructions, logins, or other information, making it difficult for your VA to complete tasks assigned.
Purchasing a program or system, without consulting with the VA prior to purchase, assuming that the VA is familiar with a program and that it will work with programs you already have in place.
Not giving your VA prior notice for large projects coming up and/or setting unrealistic project due dates.
Using bullying, demeaning or shaming verbiage when communicating with your VA.
Requesting multiple tasks be completed in a communication to multiple people and not communicating clearly which person is expected to handle each task.
Assigning your VA a task, then jumping in and trying to perform the task yourself, undoing hours of VA work or breaking complex systems.
When communicating edits that need to be made: not including the location of the item to be edited or clearly giving the VA information on what needs to be changed.
Sending several emails in rapid succession instead of bundling several questions or tasks into a single communication, causing communication chaos and time-consuming tracking down of information spread through several emails.

Keep in mind that the key to harmony in any relationship is clear communication. Like any other relationship, each person plays an important part in making the relationship positive and productive.

“A conversation not grounded in honesty is not real communication.” ~Ismail Royer

Where can communication with your virtual assistant improve?

When you hire a professional virtual assistant and successfully communicate in a positive, clear manner, the partnership will be a win/win for both of you.

For information on communication styles check out my blog post, “What Is Your Communication Style?”

Posted in Business | Tagged business emails, Communicate, Communication, Customer Service, Virtual Assisting | Leave a comment

Social Media Is Like A Ballet Performance

Posted on December 25, 2016 by Susan

Do you wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a ballet? Have you considered that Social Media is like a ballet performance?

Recently I went to see the Nutcracker Ballet with my daughter and I was very impressed by the performance, the skill of the dancers, the attention to detail. Most important of all, the organization and dedication that went into putting on each performance. I have a deep appreciation for the effort that goes into putting on any type of performance. I have some insight into the massive amount of organizing and choreography that goes on behind the scenes to give an exceptional performance, this ballet performance was stellar.

After the performance I started thinking about the parallels between a ballet performance and social media management. The level of organization, expertise, dedication and training that goes into social media to keep consistent quality content posted to a business’s social sites is very similar to that of putting on a ballet performance.

Social media management is like a ballet performance in a variety of ways. When I think of the putting on a ballet performance, there are always some key elements that come to mind.

9 key elements of a Ballet Performance:

Plenty of behind the scenes organizing, planning and work is done prior to the performance
Several people are involved in each performance
People are carefully chosen for their skill and expertise
Background and props are chosen to enhance the story
Practicing and adjusting is done to get the key elements just right before going public
Timing is a key element in every performance and carefully planned
The performers play to the audience
Participation by the performers and the audience makes for a better experience
People come back for more when they have a good experience

When I think of the managing social media each week, there are always some things key items that come to mind.

9 key elements of Social Media Management:

Organizing, planning and scheduling is done behind the scenes
The business and the social media manager work together
Social media managers are chosen because of their skills and expertise
Images are chosen with the audience and the brand in mind
Posting and images are adjusted to make the most impact
Timing of posts and tweets is a key element and carefully planned
The posts and tweets are created with the audience in mind
Participation by the business and the audience makes a better experience
An active and interesting social media site keeps people engaged

There are a lot of similarities in the key elements between social media management and a ballet performance. If any of the key elements are missing in either case, the results would be similar.

Can you imagine a ballet where there is no planning or choreography, where every person went onto the stage and did what they felt like doing that day? There would be a lot of twirling and fancy costumes but it wouldn’t make much sense to the audience. A confused and disappointed audience would leave and they would be unlikely to return for another performance.

Now imagine if this was done on social media. Wait! You don’t have to imagine it! I am sure you have watched businesses doing this same thing, posting with no planning and when they felt like it on their social sites. I am sure that you notice when a business puts zero time into planning posts or event promotion. If the business only spends time posting what they “feel like posting” that day or not posting for days/weeks at a time, you will notice this when you visit their sites. How about the business that posts only about THEIR business or they post the same thing every week? The results in all these cases, would be much the same, a confused and disappointed audience.

Social media managers can use the key elements of putting on a ballet performance to help improve their social media strategies.

5 Key Strategies for Social Media Management:

Review the key elements of your social media management.
Find areas that need improvement, then put a plan in place to improve those areas.
Always keep the audience in mind when creating posts and choosing images.
Test and make improvements as you go.
Engage with your audience.

Are some of the key elements and strategies missing from your social media management efforts?

Every aspect of putting on a ballet performance takes time, effort and dedication. Having a consistent and engaging presence on social media takes time, effort and dedication too.

If the social media management is going well for your business, congratulations. However, if you are like many other business owners and the social media aspect of your business needs some improvement, then you have some decisions to make. Not everyone wants to put the time and effort into managing their businesses social media or have the skill sets necessary. Finding people that are skilled to partner with you and your business would be the first step into having an active and engaging social media presence for your business.

Want to find out more about how we partner with you to have a consistent and engaging presence on social media? Check it out here.

Posted in Business, Social Media | Tagged Business, Facebook, Social Media, Social Media Management | Leave a comment

Keep the Focus on Them, Not You

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Susan

There are various schools of thought when it comes to doing business, one of them is “Keep the Focus on Them, Not You”. The old, in your face, sales model no longer works. The philosophy behind “Keep the Focus on Them, Not You” is about building relationships first, then making the offer. This approach to doing business has proven much more effective.

Doing business can happen both in person and on line. Knowing that the same social rules apply to both is critical for your business.

Think about this: Would you walk up to someone at a party and say, “Hi, I am Mr. Jones”, then as soon as the other person introduces themselves, launch into a product or service sales pitch? Most people would be appalled if you did.

Have you ever met someone that, as soon as you were introduced, launched into a lengthy dialogue all about them, their goals and dreams, their shortcomings, illnesses, how great they are? I am sure you have and your reaction was probably to get away from that person as quickly as possible, avoiding them as often as possible in the future.

Both of these examples of behavior are no more acceptable to potential clients on social media or in an email than they would be at a holiday party.

The savvy business owner knows that making a connection with a potential client or customer comes first, both on line and in person.

Four Tips for Focusing on Them:

Whether on social media or in your emailing efforts, make sure what you are talking about is of value to your clients. Ask yourself if what you are sharing is of value to the client or customer?
When sharing about you as an example is great for connection, just make sure it is only part of the whole, otherwise the information becomes “all about you”.
When sharing behind the scenes photos or information, keep in mind the viewer is doing business with you.
Consider whether sharing this information will give your clients and customers more or less confidence in your ability to serve them?

Some Obvious “It’s all about Me” examples:

Message on Facebook from someone, whom you just met, about their essential oils, or beauty product, or other MLM business.
Email from a business coach with a video taken in her master bathroom (her favorite place) and a drawing on the mirror for building a business.
Email from a business coach showing a picture of all her office clutter while wearing a handkerchief on her head. The whole email was about her getting organized.
Every post on a business page is advertising their product or service.

For some people, putting everything out front for their clients and customers to see, works; and for others, it has had far from positive results. Everyone must choose for themselves how much and when to share behind the scenes content.

When you keep the Focus on Them, Not You, there is more opportunity to connect, making friends and gaining clients or customers.

Posted in Business | Tagged Business, business emails, SocialMedia | Leave a comment

5 Signs That Disorganization Is Affecting Your Businesses Bottom Line

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Susan

As a business owner, are you seeing these 5 Signs That Disorganization Is Affecting Your Businesses Bottom Line? Did you know there is a direct relationship between your bottom line and your ability to manage your day to day business tasks?

Think about the customer’s experience from their perspective when they do business with you. Then consider the people you do business with and how organized or disorganized their businesses are.

Have you done business with people who:

Forget meetings or reschedule meetings at the last minute due to poor time management?
Procrastinate until the last minute in order to pull an event together, causing stress for everyone involved?
Don’t track invoices and payments?
Miss deadlines to provide needed information for tasks?
Lose payments or pay late because they don’t have a system for handling payments?

We have all experienced these things that disorganized people and businesses do and been affected by them.

Signs Being Disorganized Is Affecting Your Businesses Bottom Line:

Sign Number 1: Money isn’t flowing into your business steadily

You forget to invoice clients when a job is completed.
Don’t know how much your clients owe you each month.
You often work several hours over client retainers.
No follow-up system for clients who owe outstanding balances.

Sign Number 2: Deadlines are frequently missed or pushed back for client tasks

Clients are unhappy at your delays and are losing money because of them.
No system is in place for tracking client tasks and deadlines.
Clients often ask for discounts or refunds because of missed deadlines.
You get multiple emails or phone calls per day about missed deadlines.

Sign Number 3: Communications are missed or not answered for days

You receive angry phone calls or emails from clients asking why you haven’t responded to their communications.
Potential clients tell you they found someone else because they didn’t hear back from you.
Current clients tell you they went to someone else because they didn’t hear back from you.
Costly mistakes are made because communications from clients weren’t read and implemented.

Sign Number 4: Clients are complaining about your disorganization and not referring people

There are very few referrals or none at all from your clients.
Negative reviews and comments are made on social media about your business.
You are hearing from other people that clients aren’t happy with you or your business.

Sign Number 5: Your business has an unusually high client turnover rate for the industry

You are constantly trying to replace clients that have left.
It is harder and harder to replace the clients that leave.
You do not have a system in place to onboard or maintain your clients.

Now for the good news – if you answered yes to any of these 5 signs then you have taken the first step in changing this – Awareness! Once you are aware of a problem then you can come up with a plan to make positive changes.

The second step is Acceptance: So, how many of the signs listed above are a part of your own business practices and how much money is it costing you each month, each year? Knowing where you are at on any of these signs of disorganization is a key pivoting point for you and your business to improve you’re your financial outlook.

The third step is Action: Not everyone is good with every task and that’s why a smart business owner gets help for those areas they don’t excel in, so they can shine in the areas they do excel. The cost of hiring someone to take care of the details is far less than having unhappy clients, losing clients and the lost revenue from both. Think of the bottom line and what your business needs to thrive.

Posted in Business | Tagged Business, business organization, disorganized | Leave a comment

Annoying Things Business Owners Do On Social Media

Posted on October 23, 2016 by Susan

Are you on Social Media to promote your business? Then you will want to avoid these annoying things business owners do on social media. Social media is just like any other public place, a business owner is always being watched and people are forming opinions. Consider what your customers and clients dislike in face to face interactions, most of those will hold true on social media.

If you want to increase your following on social media there are some things to avoid. Experienced social media managers avoid these things and advise their clients to not participate in them. They know how damaging these can be to your online business reputation. Once someone stops liking or following you on social media, it is doubtful they will be using your business services.

What is a client or customer worth to you this year? For the next 5 years? What will it cost you when you participate in some of these annoying behaviors on social media? Thinking through what you are sharing or posting before hitting the share button could make a difference in your bottom line.

Recently some people once again posted the Facebook privacy hoax copy/paste item on Facebook. When told that it was a hoax and not true, they told me: “it can’t hurt” or “what does it matter if it’s not true”. That told me a great deal about their personal disregard for the truth and basic understanding about the harm that can be done in spreading false information. If your business has ever been at the receiving end of someone starting and spreading false information, you know how devastating this can be. Would I do business with these people after these responses? The answer is a resounding NO.

There are several things you can do right on social media and one is to be courteous in your responses. Check things out before sharing them to see if they are true. Taking a few extra minutes to do some fact checking might save you from hours of having to undo the damage.

If you find you have accidentally posted something that is not true, apologize and then DELETE the post so it doesn’t spread. Commenting in the stream that it’s a hoax doesn’t work, most people won’t read the comments, only share and spread the hoax further.

When you are posting, liking and commenting on social media, think about whether this action will have a positive or negative impact on your business.

Wondering what some of the annoying things might be? This list of “15 Random Things NOT to Do on Social Media” from Social Media today is a great place to start.

Posted in Business, Social Media | Tagged Business, SocialMedia | 1 Comment

Social Media as a Bridge – from Your Business to Your Customers

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Susan

Are you using Social as a bridge to communicate with your customers? Social media is not intended to be a one way communication tool, like the advertisements in a magazine, but more like a two way bridge from your business to your customers. A smart business uses social media to connect with and listen to their clients, or customers.

When a business is only focused on advertising and selling on their social media, the opportunities for that business are decreased and reflected in the customer’s lack of interaction with the business on their social sites. On the other hand, when a business engages in providing things their customers want, asking for their client’s opinions, they get much more engagement. Customers want to be heard and they want their opinions valued.

Businesses that don’t change with the times or listen to their customers end up going out of business as their customer population decreases. Different age groups prefer different methods of communication. Offering a variety of ways to communicate with your business is essential, especially when you want to reach the under thirty-five age groups. For instance, Millennials prefer texting or messaging over using the phone or email. Seniors prefer picking up the phone. Bridging the gaps in your business communication lines can make a difference in customer satisfaction and continuing to attract more customers.

Bridging the gap with social media provides many benefits for the business as well as the clients or customers.

What can businesses gain by using social media as a bridge to their clients?

~ Insights into what the customers or clients really want

~ Quickly spot changes and trends in the marketplace

~ Open communication with the customer for better customer service

~ Quicker response time to customer needs and issues

~ Happy customers or clients will equal increased revenue and referrals

What if your business isn’t on social media?

~ Your customers and clients ARE on social media and may be talking about your business

~ You won’t know what clients and customers are saying about your business

~ You won’t be able to respond on social media to their comments – positive or negative

~ Others with similar businesses are on social media and using it to connect with your current clients and customers

We often tell our clients that being on social media is like going to a very large cocktail party where people are there for a variety of reasons. Savvy business owners know how to leverage opportunities. When businesses remember this and use a more social approach to their offerings they can reach their ideal clients. If you are a business owner and not a social person, hire someone who can and will be able to manage your social sites.

How can your business use social media as a bridge to your customers?

Posted in Business, Social Media | Tagged Business, Communication, Customer Service, SocialMedia | Leave a comment

DIY Email Newsletters Gone Wrong!

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Susan

Have you received emails that were obviously a DIY Email Newsletter Gone Wrong? What did you think when you opened the email? Recently I received a DIY Email Newsletter Gone Wrong. This email was from a business owner that I had not heard from in a while. Out of curiosity, I opened the email and was dismayed by what I saw. To protect the sender I have recreated a similar email using my own email program. The original email had a video in place of the picture, otherwise they are very similar. This is a great example of what not to do when sending an email newsletter. What impression do you think this left on the recipients of such an email?

Have you ever decided to do something yourself so you could save money? Did you think it was going to be easy to do and the project went really wrong? Maybe you decided to repair a leak in the bathroom or to build your own website. Sometimes DIY projects end up costing you more time and money than if you had hired a professional. Plus, DIY when it comes to business, can potentially cause even more damage to the business before the professional is called in.

DIY email newsletters all have a few of these things in common:

The business/business owner(s) look unprofessional.
They tell the receiver that the company may be having quality control issues.
Give the impression that the business owner is having a problem getting/keeping quality assistants.
Creates the impression they are trying to do something themselves they are not proficient at doing.
Can cause large quantities of unsubscribes from the valuable contact lists.
The receiver may also speculate on why the business is not hiring a professional.

Newsletters done by professionals have these things in common:

The banner and images are sized to fit and have adequate space between them and the wording.
The font and colors match the business or organization branding.
The look and feel of the communications are consistent.
Social Media Icons are easy to locate.
All the links work and go to the correct place.

There are some great email programs out there today that you can use to reach your ideal clients and keep in touch with your contacts. Many of the programs are not user friendly and some are. All of them take a bit of time to learn, since they are all a bit different. These program also make changes on a regular basis. Do you have the time to spend learning the programs and creating your own newsletters? For those who want to let that particular task go, assistance is an email or phone call away.

Generally speaking, the time it takes you to do a task you might not be familiar with doing could take you 3 or more hours while hiring someone who is proficient and versed in the task will not only save you time and money, it will save your sanity and headaches down the road.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged DIY, emails, newsletters | Leave a comment

What Are You in The Habit of NOT Doing?

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Susan

Most of the information written about habits when it comes to business is written about forming positive habits. This leaves an important part of business habits that are rarely talked about. That area is the area of what you are in the habit of NOT doing for your business. That’s right, I did say “habit” in reference to something that you aren’t doing regularly for your business. You probably spend a lot of time talking about what you are doing or going to do for your business, but it is those things that you do NOT do habitually that can make the difference between succeeding or failing both with your business and with life in general.

Being consistent with something is usually thought to be a good thing, but in the case of being consistent with NOT doing something for your business, it can be destructive.

A great example of a habit of NOT doing things for your business is NOT keeping fresh content on your website, blog and social sites. Every day I come across social sites, blogs, and websites that haven’t had new content added in weeks, months and in some cases it’s been years!

Which leaves me wondering if the business is:

Still in operation?
Outdated and behind on current trends?
Able to handle my requests quickly?
Disorganized or inconsistent?
So busy they can’t update these items, and if so, will they be too busy to serve my needs?

When it comes to your business, you know you want prospective clients asking positive questions about your business rather than any one of these negative questions when they visit your social sites or websites. If you said “NO” to wanting your potential clients or customers asking these questions, read on…

What is the solution to take care of the things you are NOT in the habit of doing in your business?

Determine what you are currently doing for your business, then list what tasks you are NOT currently doing that need to be done.
List which items can be delegated to a virtual assistant.
Get in the habit of delegating the “NOT” done tasks.

Turn the negative into a positive. To change what you are in the habit of NOT doing, if you do NOT have time to get the tasks done, then find someone else who can take on those crucial tasks and turn them into Getting Done tasks.

Successful people know when and what to delegate, that is how they got from where they were to where they are now. They understand the purpose and value of hiring people to take care of the NOT done list.

The cost of the tasks being done by a virtual assistant are usually far less than the cost to your business when those crucial tasks are left NOT done.

Want to take the “NOT Getting Done” list and turn it into your “Getting Done” List? Find out how at Reduce the Chaos

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Reduce the Chaos