Cutting the Cord and Going Mobile

Some businesses like Yahoo! and Hewlett Packard are pulling back from the mobile worker model.  But for many small businesses and soloprenuers, the mobile office has some great benefits.  It can provide a cost savings by lowering overhead spent on office space; it can increase productivity by giving workers more freedom; and it can offer new promotional opportunities by allowing you to be face to face with clients.  If you're either new to the idea or want to jump in with both feet, you'll need to have a few items lined up to be successful.

Equipment
The first items of business for your mobile office are a laptop or tablet and a smartphone.  Tablets are lighter and offer a multitude of nifty apps to help you be more productive on the road.  But if your job or business requires a lot of typing or document preparations, you'll probably lean more towards a laptop.  The new Microsoft Surface may be a good option for people wanting a little of both.  What's most important is that the platform is reliable, designed for traveling, and has easily replacable parts like powercords.

A way to connect to the internet that is not dependent on WiFi is another necessity for being a truly mobile office worker.  That can be achieved in a number of ways. 

• You can purchase a pre-paid wireless card such as the Verizon Jetpack.  This allows the user the have a weekly or monthly charge with no annual contract.
• If you will be using alot of data, you might opt for a high-speed mobile access card with a data plan like MiFi from AT&T.
• Many tablets are sold with 3G or 4G capability built in, you'll simply have to purchase a usage plan to access that feature.

A comfortable bag is a must for the mobile office worker.  And if you will be traveling by air, it also needs to be TSA friendly.  Amazon offers a wide range of options to fit most telecommunters' needs.  Headphones will also be a necessity to help you get the most out of mobile teleconferencing a videoconferencing.

Software
The next crucial part of the mobile office puzzle is the right software for the job.  There are many cloudbased options available that make the wireless office an attainable reality.

• File Storage - Instead of carrying around multiple USB drives, make use of the cloud storage available from services like Dropbox, Microsoft SkyDrive, or Google Drive.  These services will let you access and share your documents from where ever you are and keep your documents backed up separately from your hardware.
• Video Capabilities - You will often need to meet with clients or co-workers face-to-face, even if you're not in town.  There are a variety of video/tele-conferencing services that allow users to do that including Google Hangouts, Skype, and GoToMeeting.
• Accounting & Billing - Expenses and billings will still need to be tracked while you're mobile.  Freshbooks.com and Quick Books on-line will give you the capabilities you need to run your business from anywhere.  Add a credit card payment accepter to your smartphone, and your one-person show is good to go.

Depending on your business model, you might also need to add on-line faxing services to your arsenal.  If you will be splitting your time between a home office and a mobile one, take a look at the services of GoToMyPC.com.  This is a subscription service that allows you to access your desktop computer from your laptop, tablet, or smartphone.  You'll have access to all your files and desktop items from anywhere you are.

Mobile officing may not be for everyone.  You need to be self-motivated enough to keep to a schedule even when there is no one looking over your shoulder.  But if you're a solo-prenuer, you probably fit that bill already.  Working in this manner can also make it hard for you to "escape the office" when you want to wind down.  Because you're always at the office, you are running the risk of overworking yourself because you never truly leave the office.  Setting up a schedule of off time and limits on when you will and will not be available can help to curb this tendency to be continually plugged in.

Technology is opening doors to increased productivity and freedom for both workers and employers.  With a few pieces of hardware and software, you too can join the mobile workforce and cut the cord.
 

Get the Most Out of iOS7

You've had a little bit of time now to start working with either your new iPhone 5 or the upgraded iOS7, and you might be wondering if you're getting everything out of it that you can.  Here are a few tips for improving your experience with the new platform.

Extending Battery Life
There are a couple of new features that may be draining your battery life in the background.  One is the Parallax setting.  This is the nifty new effect that makes your background look a little 3D.  But if the cool factor doesn't matter as much as the amount of time you can use your phone, you might want to turn it off.  Another one is the background app refresh.  This feature automatically updates apps and sucks battery power without user input.  If updating manually doesn't bother you, turn this feature off and save the power.  To access both of these settings, go to:  Settings-->General.  Switch the Background App Refresh setting to off.  For Parallax, go to the Accessibility area and turn Reduce Motion on.

Closing Background Apps
To close those pesky apps that are running in the background all you have to do is swipe up.  Double tap the home button and you will see all of the apps that are currently "on".  Simply put your finger on the one you want to close and pull it up.

Make Your Control Center More Secure
The new Control Center in iOS7 is handily available from the home screen, giving users easy access to common settings like airplane mode and wifi.  To get in to the Control Center, you just pull up from the bottom of the screen and it appears.  There is, however, the security issue that arises from that screen being accessible even when the phone is locked.  To keep potential thieves out of this screen, go to Settings/Control Center and turn off the Access on Lock Screen option.

Use Siri to the Utmost
Siri now has a more natural sounding voice and can either be male or female, based on your preference.  iOS7 has also made Siri more useful for returning calls, playing voicemails, and posting to Facebook.  You can even train Siri to pronounce things more accurately.  When she (or he) says something incorrectly, you respond with "that's not how you pronounce...".  Siri will ask for a better pronunciation and use your spoken response to suggest three alternatives.  You pick the one that is most accurate.

There's a Built In Flashlight
You can now get rid of that third-party flashlight app you've had for years; iOS7 has a built in flashlight.  To access it, swipe up from the bottom of your screen to enter the Control Panel.  You'll see the flashlight icon in the lower left hand corner.

Timestamps are Available for Individual Text Messages
There have always been timestamps for groups of text messages from a single contact, but now you can get those for each individual message.  To find this hidden feature, go to a conversation in your Messages and swipe to the left, the timestamps will appear to the right.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the cool new features and tricks available.  Take some time to poke around and get familiar with all the options out there.

A Virtual Administrative Assistant Can be Your Productivity Partner

Small business owners often find themselves mired in administrative tasks the take them away from their true function as CEO of their company.  You might be spinning your wheels doing day-to-day tasks that need to be done, but don't generate any revenue for your business.  Hiring a good Virtual Administrative Assistant, like Administrative Business Consulting, can help move you from overwhelmed employee to super-productive CEO.

First you will need to determine what your core functions are.  What are the activities that

are billable, actually bring in revenue, or set your business up for growth in the future?  Those are the things you should be concentrating on, and you should be delegating the rest.

Many productivity management techniques recommend a "brain dump" activity. This is meant to be a time where you simply capture all of the items in your head and on your to-do list, either hand-written or typed. Those items can become task lists, calendar appointments, or project folders.  A Virtual Administrative Assistant can help by organizing all of the information you've captured in to their appropriate locations.  Simply email your notes to the VAA, and she does the rest.

Blogs and social media are activities necessary to build your business, but the minutia of putting them together may not be a productive use of your time.  As the CEO, you should focus on the content of those posts.  Your VAA can then be assigned to handle the formatting, editing, tagging, SEO optimization, and final posting.  This same idea can be used for presentations and email campaigns.

Other activities that may be eating up your billable time and that are tasks that can be outsourced include:

• Travel and event planning
• Research for articles or marketing
• Setting calendar appointments for meetings and sales calls
• Anything that can be automated

Part of being a productive CEO is to identify your strengths and delegate the rest.  Fire yourself from jobs someone else can do and promote yourself to jobs only you can do.

 

Creating an Effective Sales Kit

Most small businesses have a website (if you don't, you should!).  That platform is an excellent way for potential customers to find you and get your basic information.  A good sales kit is an effective tool to help educate prospects about your business and will move them from leads to customers.

The main reason to meet with a client in person is to understand their needs and how your business can fill those needs.  The first (and most important) item in your sales kit is your active listening skills.  Think of the meeting not as a sales call, but as a fact finding expedition.  The client will usually tell you what services will help them the most.  Ask questions and keep track of the answers.  If you're paying attention and taking notes, you can easily present them with solutions based on what they've told you.

Since this packet will be the face of your business that you leave with the prospect, don't skimp on the materials.  Have folders, letterhead, or any other static pieces professionally printed.  You can print any pricing sheets (or items that may change frequently) on letterhead using a laser printer.  A sales kit is also a good place to put promotional marketing materials such as pads, pens, and calendars with your company's logo and contact information.

The first page a prospect needs to see in the packet should highlight your business's unique story and how you are different than the other companies delivering your service.  Use this as an opportunity to set yourself apart from your competition.  Make your organization stand out as the obvious and reliable choice.

Other items to have in the kit are:

• Current sales literature (brochures, sale flyers, business cards, etc.)
• List of frequently asked questions
• Diagrams or exercises to demonstrate your services to the prospect
• Testimonials from or list of past satisfied clients
• Press releases
• CD Roms or DVDs highlighted your services
• Proposal

You can put these together yourself, or you can have a Virtual Administrative Assistant service such as Administrative Business Consulting get these items ready for your meetings.  A good way to think of your sales kit is as a hard copy of your web site information.  It's something you can leave with the prospect so that it can be referred back to at their convenience.  

Joining Up to Grow Your Business

As professionals, we get asked frequently to come to meetings or sit on boards of business and civic groups in our community.  We obviously don't have time to be part of all of them, so it's important to sort out what kind of group it is, how it fits in with your business or philosophy, and how it can help you grow your presence in the area.  There are generally six different kinds of business organizations that can help you grow your organization through networking.

Casual Contact Networks
These are business groups that usually have large membership bases, with no restrictions on how many people from each profession can join.  They often meet monthly at large luncheons where guest speakers discuss things like current business issues, upcoming legislative sessions, community affairs, or other local interest topics.  Evening social mixers are usually a part of belonging to a casual contact network.  An example of this sort of organization is the Chamber of Commerce.

Belonging to the Chamber of Commerce does give you an opportunity to meet a large number of contacts from your area at one time.  You can spread the word fairly quickly by attending their events.  However, that means that you may often be face-to-face with your competitors when networking at Chamber events.  Also, fees for joining are based on the number of employees in your organization, so make sure you've calculated the costs up front.

Strong Contact Networks
This sort of group generally meets once a week and restricts membership to one person from a given profession.  The meetings are very structured for the main purpose of passing referrals between members.  A great example of a strong contact network is Business Network International (BNI).

BNI meetings open with a free networking session, then go on to short presentations by all the members.  Then the focus turns to referrals that have been given out during the past week.  I personally belong to a local BNI chapter, and I cannot say enough good things about my experience there.  Joining BNI requires a solid weekly attendance commitment, as well as a requirement to speak at each meeting and share referrals.

Community Service Groups
Community service groups serve the dual purpose of letting you give back to your community while making business connections and getting great PR.  The primary purpose of these organizations is to serve the community, but working on service projects exposes you and your business to other professionals interested in the same issues.  You get the chance to start building long-term friendships that become the solid backbone of word-of-mouth businesses.

Examples of community service organizations are The Boys & Girls Club, Rotary Club, Habitat for Humanity, and the Lions Club.  Think about what personal concerns or causes you're interested in, and find a club that fits that philosophy.  Be aware that joining a community service group will often have volunteering requirements, so take that in to consideration.

Professional Growth Groups
Groups of people often gather based on a training or growth need they have.  Professional growth and development groups might focus on a specific are or on leadership as a whole.  They offer a great forum to show other professionals the skills you have and the skills you are willing to work on.

I belong to Toastmasters, and it has made a huge difference for me professionally.  I have learned the speaking and leadership skills needed to step out of my comfort zone and be a business owner.  It has also provided me many opportunities to network to members within my club as well as members from all over the state.  Toastmasters is a self-paced program, but you are expected to participate in meetings as often as possible.

Professional Associations
Professional organizations, or "knowledge networks", have existed as long as there have been professions.  The primary purpose of these organizations is for people in a certain industry to get together and exchange information or ideas from that field.  If your goal is to use this type of group for networking, look for ones that contain your potential clients or target markets.  Ask your best customers what groups they belong to as a starting point for your research.

Some examples of this type of group are:  Certified Life Underwriters, American Bar Association, and National Speakers Association.

Women's Business Organizations
Obviously, these groups are not going to be for all business professionals.  Women's business groups can be both casual or strong contact networks, but they are focused on networking first and foremost.  They often offer a non-threatening forum for woman who are new to business and networking.  Check for organizations based in your local area such as Women Entrepreneurs of Alaska, to get the most from your membership.

In your time-strapped week you may not feel that you have time to participate in any of these associations.  But if you're serious about building a word-of-mouth business, there is no quick fix.  Consciously consider all of the options and what will be the best fit for your business mission and your personality.  Check with your peers and mentors to see what groups they belong to, and visit a meeting.  Get out there and join up to grow your business.

Ending the Scourge of Unproductive Meetings

We've all been there: you've just sat through a 3 hour meeting that never seemed to get to a point and leads to no actions or decisions.  It basically wasted everyone's time and didn't accomplish anything useful.  But what about those rare occasions when we're party to an effective meeting?  It's a night and day difference.  We leave energized and fired up, as well as having a sense of direction and accomplishment.  There are a few easy things that you can do as a facilitator that can turn your meeting from the first kind to the good kind.

Good meetings do not just happen because the key players all get together in one place.  They have to be structured to be successful.  During meeting planning, preparation, execution, and follow-up, think about these criteria:

• The meeting should meet an objective
• The meeting should take up a minimum about of time
• The meeting should leave the participants feeling that a sensible process has been used

Be very clear about the objective and have a good idea about what a good outcome would look like before holding the meeting.  Use this sentence as a starting point:

"At the close of the meeting, I want the group to..."

The last part is your objective.  Also really think about who should be in attendance at the meeting.  Identify your key people and eliminate people who don't have a part to play in this particular project.

Everyone's time is very valuable and limited these days.  A productive meeting is one that is streamlined as much as possible.  Have an agenda with clear start and stop times that drive the meeting activities toward your objectives.  Ask all participants to come prepared to discuss their portions of the meeting or with any questions they have about others.

If your participants don't feel that any thought has been put in to a meeting, they are far less likely to be engaged.  This will stall the whole thing and leave people feeling that it was a waste of time.  Show the group that there has been a sensible process utilized by sending them the agenda BEFORE the actual meeting date.  Ask for their feedback on the times and the topics, you might be surprised about what they really want to talk about and accomplish.

During the meeting, there are some things the facilitator needs to handle to ensure that everything keeps moving smoothly.  Make sure no one person is dominating the conversation.  If that happens, make a point of asking others for their input.  At the end of each agenda item, summarize the discussion and ask for confirmation from other participants.  Make note of other items that are off topic but that need further discussion.  Watch the participants' body language for clues on when to take a break.  If you don't take those clues, you will lose their attention and the momentum of your meeting.  Keep the group on topic and make a list of tasks generated with the names of who is assigned to them.  When closing the meeting, summarize the next steps and let the participants know that you will be sending out a written summary.

The written summary is a critical follow-up piece to a successful meeting.  Collect any notes that were taken, and use the agenda as your guide for writing the summary.  The summary should include what was discussed, things that will be discussed at the next meeting, action items, and assignments.  This will also be the road map for your next meeting on the same topic.  You will be able to go directly to the action items and hold the assignees accountable.

Sometimes meetings are not in person affairs, but web based collaborations.  All of the same rules listed above apply, as well as a couple of extra considerations.

• Multi-tasking is a no-no during a web conference - Your attention should be on the meeting just like it would be at an in person session.  Don't take phone calls, check emails, or social media.  If participants are not paying attention the meeting will take longer and be less productive.
• Remind all participants to choose a quite location for the meeting - Sitting through a web meeting at a noisy cafe is a bad idea.  You'll miss important information and others will be able to see (and possibly hear) everything that is being discussed.  Ask participants to use their offices or some other quiet location for logging in and taking part.  You, as the facilitator, should also observe this rule.
• Get to know your platform beforehand - The day of your meeting should not be the first time you log on to the system and try to navigate the tools.  This is a time waster and lowers the confidence your participants have in the meeting.  A few days before, run a test meeting with all of your facilitators.  Figure out any glitches and how to solve those during the test meeting.
• Clearly define the roles of the facilitators - Often during an electronic meeting, there are multiple facilitators: someone presenting, someone running the question board, someone driving the screen, someone taking notes, etc.  Have the responsibilities of the different facilitators clearly defined during your test meeting.  This will give a more professional appearance to the meeting.

Meetings can be tedious and pointless, but they don't have to be.  With a little forethought and attention, they can be a useful time for your business or organization.

Getting the Most Out of Business Cards

Being a small business owner and a member of many networking and community groups, I find myself the recipient of many business cards.  These are full of information for connecting with potential customers and vendors.  Handling those cards (and my own business cards) can help grow my marketing reach and my client roster.

First let's talk about how to use your own business cards to increase your networking effectiveness.  You should keep a handy stash of your cards everywhere; in your purse or wallet, in your car, on your desk, and anywhere you might run in to other people.  Invest in a nice holder for your cards so that they stay wrinkle and crease free.  I bought a nice little metal holder for $3 from my local Target store, but you can find leather holders or even ones that have engraving on them.  The key point is to get something that you will actually carry around with you.

Make sure that your cards are clear and present a clear and professional image.  Have easy to read contact information.  I've included a QR code on my cards that allows smart phone users to simply scan all of my contact information using their camera.  I used a free on-line QR code generator, but there are also apps available that will do the same thing.  If you have team members working for you, get them their own business cards.  They will act as another arm of your marketing plan.

Be generous when it comes to handing out your cards, hand them out at least two at a time.  Don't get cards that are so expensive that you are loathe to give them away.  You should feel comfortable posting them on bulletin boards, using them to introduce yourself at social functions, and using them as scrap paper to give people notes on.  Another good idea is to include a business card with all of your correspondence, even when you're paying bills.

Then there are all of those business cards you collect from others along the way.  Sometimes they may feel overwhelming, and you just push them aside.  How many of you have a stack of rubber banded business cards that has been sitting in your desk for months?  Don't let those opportunities pass you by!

Here are 4 easy steps to getting the most out of a business card that you get:

1. Put it in context - Make notes on the back of the card about the event and details of your conversation.  Also note any follow-up or action items that you promised during the encounter.
2. Store it in a set place during the event - Put the cards collected either in your wallet, purse, or notebook pocket so that you can easily access it later.  Keep these cards separate from your own cards to avoid having to rifle through a stack to hand your's out.
3. Review the card after the event - 24 to 48 hours after the exchange, review the card for context and any action items that need to be completed.  Loading the cards in to your address book is key at this juncture.  You can then either send a follow-up email or even a handwritten note.  Entering the cards and sending notes is a great assignment for your Virtual Administrative Assistant service such as Administrative Business Consulting.
4. Connect to your new contact - Find the new business or person on LinkedIn, facebook, or any other social media platform that they are active on.  Connect to them and ask them to connect to you.  This will grown your marketing reach even further.

Now for the elephant in the room--REFERRALS.  When you hand out your cards, don't be afraid to ask for them.  It can be as simple as saying, "I'd really appreciate it if you would pass my information along to anyone you think might benefit from my services."  This gets the other person thinking about what you do and who they know.  And offer them the same.  Let them know that you will keep their card handy and that you will let others know about their business.  You're more likely to get referrals from someone who feels like you'll give them out.

Now dig that stack of cards out and start connecting!