Learn to Love the P Word…Planning

Learn to Love the P Word…Planning

by | Blog, Business Plan, Systems and Procedures

Learn to Love the P Word…Planning

Are you a naturally organized person? Did you get that special organizing gene at birth? Lucky you!

Keeping all the aspects of a coaching business organized and running smoothly is difficult at best, especially if you don’t have a system or a plan of what to do when. Even if you have a big picture plan of where you want to be in five years, you need a daily plan to get those admin tasks completed along with your marketing tasks and your content creation. It’s enough to make your head spin, right?

Daily Task List

Creating a plan of action or a daily task list will keep you organized and focused from the moment you sit down to do work. You know exactly what has to get done, without question. You’ll know when you need to write blog posts, when to send emails, when to do your billing, and when to schedule your client calls. I’ve been using Todoist for a little while now and I find it really helpful and easy to work with.

Make Yourself a Client

As much as you want a full coaching calendar, leave some space for yourself to complete your administrative tasks. Running your business is equally as important as caring for your clients, so make your business tasks a priority, including your content creation. Blocking time is a popular way to schedule longer tasks, such as blog post writing or email marketing. Set aside an hour or two, write up those posts or emails, get them scheduled, then move on to the next list item. If you block enough time, eventually you’ll start having two or three (or more!) pieces of content ready to publish at any given time, which will relieve some stress.

Eliminate Writer’s Block with a Content Creation Plan

No more sitting at the computer to write a blog post only to stare at a blank screen with no thoughts. Schedule some time on your calendar to plan out your writing, video recording, or other content creation; not only when you’ll get this done but what topics you’ll discuss. Create an editorial calendar and make note of important topics or themes. Is there a big event coming up in your city or in your niche? Write about it. Interview panelists and speakers. Become an affiliate for those companies sponsoring the event. Are you planning the launch of your signature product? Schedule special content around the launch date.

Outsource Your Content Creation

If creating content isn’t your strength, hire a copywriter to do it for you. But keep in mind, you still need to have a plan or an editorial calendar. This way your writer has firm deadlines to meet and you will have a stress-free outsourcing experience.

Want Some More Help with Planning?

If you’re tired of “flying by the seat of your pants” when it comes to creating a plan, click here to schedule a call with me. It’s all about working smarter, not harder when it comes to creating content and good habits.

How to get organized for the new year

How to get organized for the new year

by | Blog, Systems and Procedures, Time management

I hope you a great Holiday with your family and friends! My Christmas was spent with family where we had delicious food, some karaoke singing, loads of laughter and lots of memories to cherish. 

Today here in Canada is Boxing day, a day full of great after Christmas sales. Who doesn’t love a good after Christmas sale no matter where you live.

…Before I get into that, tell me… are you ready for 2018? 

Are you feeling good about the New Year and its possibilities?

Have you ever looked at a fellow entrepreneur and wondered how they manage to get it all done and organized, well the answer might surprise you.

They’ve got good systems.

It’s true. The most productive people all have one thing in common: they don’t reinvent the wheel, instead, they’ve figured out the best, most efficient way to do every task, and they create a system to do just that.

No matter what business you’re in and what projects you find yourself tackling, a systemized approach will help you:

  • Work faster and produce more
  • Produce higher quality results with fewer mistakes
  • Easily outsource the tasks you don’t like to do

Here are 2 tools that will help you get better organized for 2018

The Magic of Templates

Oh, how I love templates! How many times do you answer emails from potential clients? What about responding to customer inquiries? Or mailing your JV partners about an upcoming launch?

These tasks and more become effortless when you create fill-in-the-blank templates that can be re-purposed for specific situations. 

Templates can be as simple as a “canned response” in your email client or help desk, or you can use software such as Text Expander (for Mac) or Phrase Express (for Windows). You might even create a template document in Dropbox or Google Drive to house all your templates for easier access.

While templates will undoubtedly save you time, the real beauty is that once they’re created, you can easily outsource things like email. Simply instruct your assistant on the proper use of your templates, and you’ll be free to do other, more important things.

Checklists Prevent Mistakes

It might seem counter-intuitive, but when you do the same tasks repeatedly, it’s easy to miss an important step. You might think you paid your affiliates this month—you might even remember doing it—only to look back and see it was never completed.

But when you create checklists, it’s suddenly much more difficult to miss an important task.

You can easily create checklists for all your common tasks and projects using nothing more than a text document or you can use Wunderlist, Google Keep or Todoist to name a few.

If you’re managing a team, checklists in your project management system such as Trello or Asana allow you to see exactly what tasks are complete, and which are still outstanding.

Templates and checklists turn smart business owners into productivity superstars, and it’s easy to get started. The next time you answer an email you’ve answered before, save your response. The next time you set up a new product in your shopping cart or create a new opt-in page, take the time to record the steps. These documents will make future projects easier and faster to complete.

Now back to boxing day… I want to help you get better organized for 2018, so, I am offering the 12-month marketing calendar program for only $77, click here to buy it now.

This 4-module program will help you plan your entire year, get clarity on when you’ll launch your programs, help you deliver high-value content that builds relationships, and helps you earn money.

Click here to get the 12-month marketing calendar program for $77

PS: This course includes every step you need to take to make this year your best business year. It’s time to put your big ideas into a custom-fit plan without having to stress over when, where, and how – ever again (at least not for the next 12 months)!  Click here to BUY the 12 month marketing calendar program Now!

Scale Your Business with these 4 Automated Systems

Scale Your Business with these 4 Automated Systems

by | Time management

There comes a time in every entrepreneur’s journey where you realize you simply cannot do it all by yourself.

I know that when you’re just getting started you need to be the “chief, cook and bottle washer.” But as your business grows, it becomes obvious that trying to do everything is only going to lead to:

  • Frustration (when critical tasks don’t get done and deadlines are missed)
  • Burn out (when you’re working yet another 12-hour day)
  • Overwhelm (when your to-do list is longer at the end of the day than it was at the beginning)

I know that there are many ways to combat this business-growth obstacle, but one of the best is automation.  I want you to imagine a completely hands-off system that works for you even when you’re spending time with your children or even hiking on a remote mountain.

But there’s a more important reason to automate: it helps you scale your business. Think about it, the less manual work you have to do, the more time you have to do the money-making tasks such as networking, marketing, and client support.

1. Paid Traffic

Chasing organic traffic is a true exercise in frustration. You’ll spend all your time creating content for your blog, other people’s blogs, YouTube, social media, and other web properties. All that content creation leaves you little time to work with the clients you’re trying to attract.

Instead, you can invest in some quality paid traffic, and get off the endless content creation train. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

2. Email Funnels

What happens when you get a new subscriber or if someone buys a product? Do they just sit in waiting on your list until you have time to send an email?

While broadcast emails have their place—especially in time-sensitive promotions—be sure to also set up an autoresponder/sequence series to:

  • Welcome new subscribers and help them find their way around your site (and your offers)
  • Nurture buyers so they know they’re in the right place
  • Make additional offers based on what someone has already purchased or shown an interest in

And the best thing? Once your autoresponder is set up, it will continue to work even when you’re not.

3. Social Media Management

Yes, it’s important to be personable and engaging on social media. But that doesn’t mean you have to log in to Facebook just to post a link to your latest blog or YouTube video. Automate that kind of update and save yourself hours of time each month. Not only that, but you won’t have to worry about missing an update, either!

4. Calendar Management

If you have clients, partners, a team, or are often asked for interviews, then an automated calendar is a must. Rather than endless back-and-forth emails trying to find a mutually available time slot, simply send your calendar link and let your client, project manager, JV partner or anyone else choose a time that works for them. Your appointment will automatically appear on your calendar, and you’ll even get reminders (if your calendar supports that).

There are dozens of options for automating every aspect of your small business. As you grow, you’ll find new and better tools to make everything run more smoothly. For now, though, implementing these four ideas alone will save you hours of time every month.