The Perfect Work\Life Balance: You Know You Want It - An Expose of a Stressed Out Entrepreneur

As an entrepreneur I’ve realized that the biggest problems we entrepreneurs face, is that we can’t get the work\life balance right. We’re either too involved in our work, working 16 hour days and trying to do it all; or we’re totally lazy, trying to procrastinate every little task. If that’s not the case, then we hardly have time to socialize with our friends, or spend some quality time with our family; heck, we hardly have time for our self either. There just isn’t a balance in our life; either case causes too many problems. And both cases are doomed to fail.

What happens is that there are too many roles and responsibilities we need to fulfill as entrepreneurs. From spending time with family and fulfilling the responsibilities we have to company duties, we just have too many roles that we need to step into. However, when we try to break down these responsibilities, everything gets a little too daunting and can result in great amounts of guilt being carried around because we just can’t seem to meet all the obligations.

Here are two lessons on what I have learned throughout the course of my business life about the best way to achieve a perfect work\life balance.

·         Line up your ducks

Procrastination is a word that entrepreneurs should stay well away off. It basically allows an entrepreneur to replace high priority duties with ones that are of low priority. This act is then followed with an emotional high that drains away every last drop of energy. Therefore, small business owners should not put things off for later; they should focus on a task and get it done. An easier approach to dealing with procrastination would be making a schedule and sticking to it. Start off by dealing with the big, time-consuming and non negotiable tasks, and then follow it with the less important activities.

·         Straighten up your priorities

In order to achieve the perfect balance between work and life is by getting the priorities straight. You need to figure out which activities require your direct involvement, and which tasks can be passed on to others. This way you’ll have enough time for both – work and life.

In order to set your priorities, you’ll need to delegate tasks as well. I know that most entrepreneurs feel the need to micro manage every single thing; however, this causes nothing but trouble. It will not only force you to work 16 to 18 hour days, but will also result in no substantial work being done.

However, with funds being low and tasks being too many, how would you delegate tasks and hire employees? Well, one good way of saving money and getting efficient work done is by hiring services that provide outsourced work. They usually charge peanuts compared to what onshore employees would charge, and it’s a lot less hassle as well. Now I know that it’s really hard to find the right outsourcing company that would provide work of the highest quality, but it’s not impossible. To achieve the perfect balance between your life and work you will need to make a few tough decisions, but in the end they’ll all be worth it. So keep your head high, and try to prioritize your life.

Failed to find a good outsourcing company? www.fetchatask.com

Why Innovative Thinking Might Just be an Answer to All Your Business Dilemmas - An Expose of a Stressed Out Entrepreneur

One good thing, amongst million others, that Steve Jobs did for the corporate world is that he instilled in entrepreneurs and the corporate giants a need for innovation. The first step he took towards forcing them to embrace innovation, was by introducing iTunes. With the introduction of iTunes, many record companies were forced to comply with the demands of selling their songs for the mere price of $1. Moreover, companies like Cingular and AT&T were also forced to redesign their products and update their services in order to appeal to the vast consumer base that used iPhones and iPads.

This just goes to show that innovation has always been an essential factor that determines the success of a business. Through innovative thinking, entrepreneurs get an edge over their rivals. And with competition being at an all time high, any kind of advantage over a rival is considered huge. So, let’s discuss some of the many reasons why small business owners need to embrace innovation and creative thinking in all facets of their business.

·         It is essential for a business to survive and thrive: Due to globalization and various other factors, businesses cannot just rely on providing their customers with quality services and quality products. Everybody and their dogs are offering similar services and product. Presently, every business has hundreds, if not thousands of rivals and competitors. Furthermore, since small businesses usually lack the financial means that are required to achieve many of their goals, they must search for creative means to make up for the lack of finances. So in order to make it big in the business world, entrepreneurs need to find some way to get an edge over their rivals. And how can they do this? You guessed it right, through innovative thinking.

·         You’ll be rolling in cash: Innovation not only leads to strategic planning but researchers have found that it is a major factor that leads to the formation of a solid business. Different studies have stated that 70% of small business owners think innovation is an essential element that played a major role in the success of their business. While some entrepreneurs may feel that innovation in any aspects of their business is a huge risk which might not pay off; if innovative thinking is coupled with some careful calculations and thorough research of the market, the risk factor greatly diminishes. And when these innovations do pay off, entrepreneurs find themselves as overnight successes. Think Steve Jobs. This man and others like him gave innovation a whole new meaning.

No entrepreneur denies the positive influence innovation has on their businesses; however, they’re more concerned about how they don’t have the time to indulge in such activities. If they take on every single task of their business, how will they find the time and the energy to focus on the core activities of their business? So if you feel that lack of time has been forcing you to sideline innovative thinking then it’s time to give off some tasks to experts. 

Having trouble in finding experts you can delegate certain tasks of your business? www.fetchatask.com

The “Musts” of a Good Business Plan - An Expose of a Stressed Out Entrepreneur

Developing business plans. Sounds pretty technical and a compete waste of time, right? Wrong. Business plans are like one of those understated, geeky guys who may seem like nobody in high school, but within the next few years they’re the ones who we bow down to. Same is the case with business plans. Initially, to an entrepreneur who’s starting a business, a business plan may seem like yet another chore that’s completely insignificant when compared to so many other tasks waiting to be tackled. However, this is where 80% of entrepreneurs go wrong. They underestimate the power of a business plan. Business plans are the reason why the chore tackling list of yours seems to get shorter and shorter. Why your work hours seem to decrease. Why you start spending more and more time at home. Why despite spending such a short amount of time at work, your business continues to expand at a pretty fast pace with success written all over it in bold letters.

However, once you understand the significance of a business plan, the next step is to quickly start making one. What are the main components of a good business plan?

·         Executive summary: It can comprise of one to two pages. It is one of the core sections of a business plan as it tells the reader what your business is about. It gives you a chance to convince your reader to invest in you and your visions, and to tell them why your business will be a success that everyone will write about. Its immense importance lies in the fact that this is the first section your audience will read, so it should be powerful enough to leave a strong impact. POSITIVE strong impact, obviously. Furthermore, since it’s a summary of your entire plan, you should write it in the end, so that you can fully summarize the strong points and assets of your business plan.

·         Description of your business: This section should come within two to three pages. In this section you’re supposed to expand on details which include everything – from business forms to business types and even permits that are required in order to function.

·         Products and services you’re planning to offer: This section also consists of around one to two pages and should thoroughly describe how you will construct your price points. This is the section through which you can create a connection with your customers so try to sell your brand in this section.

·         Marketing plan: Here’s MY favorite part. Marketing plan section takes around two to three pages, and is used to classify the market demographically. It includes it all – from competitors to customers and everything in between.

·         Organization and financial plans: The last component consists of an organizational chart and a financial plan. The organizational chart should clearly explain the management and other aspects, while through the financial plan you’re supposed to list your expenses and its like.

Have you memorized all this information? Yes? Well, time for the next step! www.fetchatask.com

4 Characteristics of Truly Awesome Entrepreneurs - An Expose of a Stressed Out Entrepreneur

The question that haunts every entrepreneur is whether he comes under the definition of a true entrepreneur. With scary statistics, such as one that claims 70% of businesses go downhill and ultimately come to an end within 3 years, it is inevitable that all business owners strive to NOT be a part of that unfortunate percentage. They strive to be a part of the fortunate 30% that sail through, not without difficulties obviously, but still those that end up turning their small businesses into empires. So what really turns an ordinary entrepreneur into a true entrepreneur?

·         He enjoys what he does:

This may sound like a clichéd statement from an 80’s movie, but the whole reason they’re clichés are because they’re true. What an entrepreneur wants out of his business is what he’ll have to put in. If, as an entrepreneur, your goal is personal gratification, stability and monetary gains then you’ll have to put into your business something that’s equal in value. Therefore, if you don’t enjoy your business, everything you put in, or try to put in, will be forced. A time will come eventually when the mere action of getting up in the morning to go to work will seem like a burden. This dissatisfaction and aversion towards what you do, will ultimately be reflected in your business’s success – or lack thereof.

·         He takes everything he does seriously:

A true entrepreneur knows that motivation is the key to his success. Another cliché, I know. Don’t roll your eyes yet because like I mentioned above, clichés are clichés for a reason. So motivation is what keeps an entrepreneur in line. It keeps him focused on his goals and the roads he needs to take in order to get to those goals. This true entrepreneur is wary of all naysayers, skeptics, and all those people who take pride in raining on his business’s parade because he knows that keeping his nose to the grindstone will grow his business. And that’s what he does.

·         His planning is immaculate:

Another thing that guarantees a true entrepreneur success is that he plans everything. Immaculate planning at every phase of the business is essential. Planning includes everything – from researching and compiling data to analyzing each and every business situation. If an entrepreneur has a plan (or two) to fall back on, he’ll always be well prepared for any and all disasters. It also provides a way of measuring how close (or far) an entrepreneur is to achieving his goals.

·         He is prudent in managing his money.

Cash flow is the lifeblood of all businesses. It is needed everywhere – from purchasing inventories and paying for services, to marketing a business. Hence, in order to increase the revenue and keep the cash flowing, business owners need to manage their money wisely. A true entrepreneur knows that the key to increasing his yearly revenue is wisely managing the cash he receives from his clients (income) and the cash he spends on his business operations (expense).

In order to become a true entrepreneur, you need to adopt the characteristics mentioned above. A little practice, a tiny nudge here and there, and a whole lot of positive attitude will see you safely through the dreaded start-up years and help you sail breezily.

Already possess these characteristics and looking for the next step? www.fetchatask.com

Controlling Time: An Impossible Feat? - An Expose of a Stressed Out Entrepreneur

“Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week.” – Charles Richards

Time management is impossible. There I’ve said it. It’s not possible to control time because the clock will always tick. The seconds will always turn into minutes and the minutes into hours and so on. Hence I repeat; it is not possible to control time. So no matter how important you are or which part of the world you reside in, time remains the same for both of us; you and I both have 24 hours in a day. What differentiates us is how we spend those 24 hours.

How some people manage to turn into millionaires and others do not is not really a mystery. Time has been given to all equally. How productively we use it, is what’s worth pondering.

Do you use your time productively or have you been wasting it?

How does an entrepreneur figure out if he has been wasting time? How does he understand which activities are worth spending time on? Similarly, which activities constitute productive activities?

Productive activities are those that directly generate revenue and sales. If you’re engrossed in mundane tasks such as fetching office supplies, fixing computer issues, or even learning about the latest SEO updates, then unfortunately you’ve wasted all that time. This is because none of those tasks are directly involved in generating revenue. They’re all tasks that someone else could easily do for you as well and that too at a very inexpensive rate.

Productive activities include negotiating lucrative contracts, attending business lunches and meetings, talking to clients, performing services, etc. These activities not only generate sales, but are also responsible for increasing your clientele. Technical jargon aside, ANYTHING that either earns you money or is increasing your customers and clients is considered productive.

Doing something more is actually doing something less.

Basically, performing a certain task well does not turn that task into an important one. Similarly, exhausting yourself over a certain activity doesn’t make it important either. Entrepreneurs tend to rationalize the belief that spending time and effort over an unimportant, mundane task will make it important. This is where they go wrong. In order to manage time and become successful, entrepreneurs need to understand that expending time and energy into a mundane task is just going to waste their time AND money.

So what should be the next step?

The next step is planning. Strategizing and planning are two things that go hand in hand with time management. You, as an entrepreneur, need to prioritize your work. You need to know what the core activities of your business are. And once you’ve established all that, then you need to have a game plan. This is how you’re going to use every second of your work time efficiently and effectively.

 “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”- William Penn

Searching for the next step? www.fetchatask.com

What to Ask and What NOT to Ask: An Expose of a Stressed Out Entrepreneur

The whole world keeps on discussing the various benefits of regularly updating your website. They even talk about how outsourcing the website maintenance plan is an effective way towards success. So we’ll skip this. What we’ll talk about is how hiring the WRONG outsourcing company can be the mother of all nightmares.

Picking the right website maintenance company is the factor that helps you reach your business goals ASAP. However, if you hand over website maintenance to the wrong company, you’ll end up with nothing but headaches.

How do you pick the website maintenance company that is right for you and your company? By asking these 3 essential questions!

1.     ‘What assistance do you need from me?”

“Not much”. This is the right answer. This is because if you’re paying this company a certain amount of money to get the work done, then the work should be done without any babysitting being required. However, this doesn’t mean that the work shouldn’t be in accordance with your goals and your company’s philosophy. You should let the website maintenance company know what you need and what your wishes are, but the real work has to be done by them.

So if the potential website maintenance company gives you a plethora of things that they are going to need from you on every little task, then run in the opposite direction as fast as you can.

2.     “Can you suggest a marketing plan for my company?”

If they say “yes” and then blow you away with some amazing marketing strategy that would attract a huge number of visitors, then you’ve got your man. Or rather company.

You will find that many web maintenance companies will do whatever you ask them to but their services will be limited to doing just that. One thing you should know is that merely acting like a robot is what differentiates a mediocre company from a top-notch one. Top-notch companies offer so much more then just doing what you’ve asked them to. They give you the best of strategies to get your work done in the most effective way possible so that your website can attract the maximum number of visitors.

3. Are you an expert at SEO? 

“Yes”. This would be a good answer. And if they say “obviously”, then this is an even better answer. Because SEO can easily make or break your website. Even the smallest issue – like a link that doesn’t wok correctly – can have a huge effect on your website. You need to form a good relationship with the search engine spiders and for that you need someone who knows their way around SEO. So make sure the company you hire has at the very least their SEO basics right.

These are the 3 essential questions that business owners searching for a good website maintenance company should ask before selecting one that fits their bill. There are other basic questions – such as the time they would take to incorporate the changes in your website and the amount of money they’ll charge – so make sure you ask them all and don’t stop until you’re fully satisfied by their answers.

Searching for the perfect company? www.fetchatask.com

Am I Really Productive? An Expose of a Stressed Out Entrepreneur

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the famous book “Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant: Guide to Financial Freedom”, summed up the importance of system in the best way possible.

"Think of these business systems as bridges. Bridges that will provide a path for you to cross safely to financial freedom. Let's take a dentist. A dentist spends years in school learning to become a self-contained system. You, as the client, get a toothache. You go see your dentist. He fixes your tooth. You pay and go home. You're happy and then tell all of your friends about your great dentist. In most cases, the dentist can do the entire job by himself. The problem is that if the dentist goes on vacation, so does his income. True business owners can go on vacation forever because they own a system, not a job. If the business owner is on vacation, the money still comes in."

I love the part in this quote where he tells us that we can take vacations while handling a business and still stuff our pockets with green bills. Now, who wouldn’t want that? I know I would. But, how many of us are actually working to make it come true? Sadly, very few.

Every successful business has a story of how their passage from barely-functioning business to a full fledge money-making-machine consisted of several systems functioning efficiently and saving valuable time. This valuable time was then used for keeping up with trends, figuring out ways to knock the rivals out of the race and increase sales and revenue.

But how do you distinguish between productive time and wasted time?

Productive time is the time that directly generates your revenue. Every single minute that is not directly producing income is a wasted minute. According to a study of Fortune 500 CEOs, it was reported that most of them had only about 28 productive minutes a day. Shocking, isn’t it?

If this is the amount of time we’re truly making productive, then we’ve got a huge problem at hand. Most time is generally wasted on doing tasks that are not even related to our business. With the business world being in the clutches of Internet, most businesses have websites through which 70% of their business is conducted. However, for small business owners, this poses a big problem, as they don’t have systems. They fail to make their time productive and end up wasting too much time on non-profit building activities, such as tweaking their websites, checking website stats, answering phones, and even reading an article that condones all these activities. Productive time on the other hand consists of developing products, marketing services, setting up deals, and their likes.

And there’s something even better than productive time. Super productive time. Super productive time is when you have systems in place that handle your money making activities, such as creating a system for handling the website, creating another system for marketing your product, etc.

So how do you turn your productive time into super-productive time?

By leveraging. Leveraging is when you work less while making your present business activities more profitable. While there’s plethora of information regarding the methodologies of leveraging, etc., it all comes down to just one thing. Having efficient systems in place. What website system do productive entrepreneurs use? www.fetchatask.com