7 Ways To Increase Productivity - Tip 1: Evaluating Obstacles to Increase Your Productivity

As small business owners we juggle many tasks and must make decisions on issues that could effect the business for the long term. One of the most important assets, yes assets, to any business is its productivity. 

Productivity is defined in different ways, but I have narrowed it down to simply mean 'how much you can make your time work for you.' 

If you are a sole proprietor, this is life or death for your business because your earning potential is directly proportionate to your productivity. 

How can you increase your productivity? 

Here is the first of 7 ways you can increase your productivity which will undoubtedly make a positive impact on your business:

Assess Current Productivity & Evaluate Obstacles

Be honest. This is crucial for the remaining steps in increasing productivity as it is the starting line. Where are you now? Are you a person who works well for 4 hours and really wish you could add at least 2 more hours before a break, or are certain activities holding you back from really reaching your productivity goals?

If you are honest and find that you need vast improvement or moderate increase in your productivity, this is perfect timing to begin your improvements. 

A part of this step is to also honestly evaluate the obstacles that impede you from being as productive as you'd like. Obstacles may sound negative, but it could something essential to your life, like a child coming home from school, an unforeseen illness in the family that requires your attention, or just life in general. 

Anything that gets in the way of your productivity is an obstacle and evaluating them is the only way to mitigate their effect on your working ability.

After identifying your obstacles to productivity, I would rank them in their ability to distract you. For example, my son gets home from school at 2:30pm which is a definite obstacle to my productivity (though often a welcomed break), after identifying this, I would rate this high on my list of obstacles. 

Resolutions would include play-dates with other children, childcare, or me taking some time to spend with him and me returning to my work later on. 

If a social networking site is on your list as a high ranking obstacle, you may delete the icon from your bookmarks bar, set limits on how often you will log in per week, or go on a fast from these sites to break the habit. 

Set a goal for your productivity and benchmarks to measure success.

A benefit to this exercise is also uncovering obstacles that you were not aware hindered your productivity. After assessing that you are putting in 4 hours of work and you begin to look at what takes up the rest of your time you should be working, you may find the following tasks are obstacles, but you never noticed:

1. House chores - working from home may bring to your attention chores you overlook -- DO NOT start any chores when you should be working! Even though it is a necessary and constructive task, your goal is to increase productivity for your business (during working hours), not your home.
2. Phone calls, Visits - Does your friend begin a texting conversation with you daily at 10am? That is definitely detracting from your concentration, even if you are still managing to work, and is therefore an obstacle.
3. Impromptu visits - Does your neighbor think because you're at home, you are the perfect coffee buddy? Definitely set the record straight, nicely, of course :-)
4. Errands - We all have them, but they must be put in their proper place OR the time missed working made up during another time
5. Naps - Staying up late last night for your favorite television program is no excuse to call in to work, right? It is no more acceptable as an obstacle to your productivity.

My next post will reveal Tip #2 in increasing your productivity tomorrow. As small business owners, every opportunity to learn and grow will help us on the path to success.

ChrissyBiz Solutions provides clients with customized, results-driven web marketing strategies. Our primary business writing duties include: article marketing,  search engine optimized web copy, blog content, social media, press releases, and newsletters  designed to drive traffic to your website and influence buyers decisions when purchasing products and services.

Contact ChrissyBiz today to discuss the impact that web marketing copy can have on your business.

Continuous Improvement for Small Businesses

ChrissyBiz Solutions provides clients with customized, results-driven web marketing strategies. Our primary business writing duties include: article marketing,  search engine optimized web copy, blog content, social media, press releases, and newsletters designed to drive traffic to your website and influence buyers decisions when purchasing products and services.

Contact ChrissyBiz today to discuss the impact that web marketing copy can have on your business.

ChrissyBiz_Productivity

ChrissyBiz Solutions provides clients with customized, results-driven web marketing strategies. Our primary business writing duties include: article marketing,  search engine optimized web copy, blog content, social media, press releases, and newsletters  designed to drive traffic to your website and influence buyers decisions when purchasing products and services.

Contact ChrissyBiz today to discuss the impact that web marketing copy can have on your business.

First Personal Press Release -- Expanded Services for Clients

ChrissyBiz Solutions Announce Expanded Business Writing Services for Business Owners

SAN ANTONIO, TX - November 2010 - Chrissy Bryant has expanded services available to clients and explains the strategic advantages that these new services provide while giving them opportunity to reach customers once out of reach. Christian "Chrissy" Bryant wants to get the word out to small business owners that the face of marketing has changed.

“One of several reasons that many small businesses cannot compete is their lack of resources in comparison to their larger competitors,” Chrissy explains. The plight of the local and small business owner has not changed: providing services and goods to customers that really need them, but may not know they exist. Getting the word out about a product or service has been the most difficult task of business owners and until recently, few businesses have grown outside their comfort zones because of this obstacle. But the internet and consumers thirst for knowledge at the tip of their fingers has revolutionized the way businesses can market and reach potential clients.

ChrissyBiz Solutions hopes to reinvigorate the lost spark that some businesses have had in their marketing departments through press releases, article writing, and blog content services. The idea is not far-fetched, actually a New York times Bestseller by Robert Scoble entitled “The News Rules of Marketing and PR” has served as a catalyst for expanding services. Writing for small businesses in the past, Chrissy Bryant never acknowledged the advantage that these skills provide a company – especially one where the marketing department consists of only the owner and administrative assistant.

Social Media engagement and information that buyers want to consume is the key to reaching those customers that type in your services on Google but cannot seem to find you. While it is not an overnight success, the amount of small businesses that employ these services have exponentially increased their visibility on the web and thereby increased actual sales. “The missing link between seller and consumer can be bridged with words – words that have meaning and provide answers.” Christian Chrissy Bryant received her Master of Business Administration from Devry University’s Keller Graduate School of Management. Having worked with small businesses in the past to help construct written materials relevant to the internal or external customers, she understands the struggle small business owners deal with between dedicating time to their business versus coming up with great ideas to market their businesses. As marketing and public relations lines have blurred, the idea is concrete, but execution is key.

Small businesses can outsource several services with ChrissyBiz Solutions individually or altogether. Some companies have great Facebook and Twitter engagement but lack a content-rich newsletter that will really get their clients excited about what they do. Others may not be seeing the response they desire for their newsletters and want to dust off their dormant blog. Regardless the business writing service, ChrissyBiz has a solution.

About ChrissyBiz Solutions

ChrissyBiz Solutions is a business writing consulting firm that provides relevant, superior written deliverables for small businesses. From internal memos to external correspondences and press releases to blog content, ChrissyBiz Solutions professionally constructs business correspondences for small businesses.

For more information, please visit: http://www.chrissybizsolutions.com

Company Contact:

Christian Bryant

210-370-7589

cb@chrissybizsolutions.com

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5 Must-See Tips To Help You Write Professional Business Emails

The day has long passed when business emails were considered an informal way to communicate with colleagues, customers, or management. 

We must always use professional business writing etiquette, understanding that a quick email might be copy/pasted, shared, or forwarded to anyone. 

We must also accept that emails are commonly used, but are also a formal and even legal form of business communication. 

How can you make sure that you represent your company and yourself in a professional manner without being unprofessional or too "stuffy"? 

Here are a few rules to keep in mind:

How To Use Your Vision and Mission For Your Internet Marketing Strategy

You may be wondering how vision and mission statements are relevant to your internet marketing efforts.

Creating vision, mission and strategy statements for your business are still necessary steps you will want to spend time on.



Your vision, mission, and strategy statements act like compasses for your ship at sea as they guide and direct decision making, organizational priniciples, and where to focus your efforts. 

In times of distress or when you are presented with opportunities, you can use them as checkpoints to make sure you are on course.

Vision, mission and strategy statements are also crucial to your small business internet marketing success. These foundational principles help anchor the business regardless of the conditions you will face.

There was a time when companies proudly displayed their vision and mission statements on their website. This trend has become less and less popular, though I am unsure why. 

So exactly why do you need to write mission and vision statements, and more importantly, how can they positively impact your web marketing online?

Vision and mission slideshow from Christian Dernbach
Vision

The vision statement of your company is where you want to be and where you see yourself in the future. What do you envision for your company, for your customers, for yourself?

Without vision, it can be very difficult to make decisions within your organization. Whether you are a solopreneur or a part of a small operation, vision is just as crucial. 

The vision statement does not need to be elaborate, rather concise and clear.

Example: ChrissyBiz Solutions will provide professional internet marketing services for small businesses and nonprofit organizations through it's one-stop-shop business model.

Learn more about vision statements here with more examples.

Mission

The company mission statement is equally as important as it narrows down why you do what you do, and what you hope to accomplish by doing it.

• What is your mission statement? 
• What motivates you to do what you do? 

Your mission is what motivates your operation even when times are difficult or you are confronted with a difficult decision. 

Mission statements should be inclusive, honest, and purposeful.

Example: To offer affordable, valuable, and result-driven solutions for small businesses and nonprofits.

Click here for more information about about mission statements examples.

Strategy

With the mission and vision statements now clear, you can begin to develop your strategy for marketing your products and services online. 

Where you see your business and why you do what you do can be very helpful in determining your internet marketing strategies.

For example, nonprofits may want to invest more time on Go Fund Me than small businesses because of the way it is designed and the audience it appeals to. 

Though it is crowdfunding for anyone's use, startup funds for nonprofits are more accessible than startup funds for business on this platform.

Similarly, LinkedIn caters more toward professionals than Facebook, and provides more valuable business opportunities and leads for small business and nonprofits.

A successful web marketing strategy incorporates the vision and mission so that time and resources are maximized. You will be less likely to jump on the next bandwagon when you know where you want to go and why you want to get there.

Small business web marketing can be time intensive or extensive, yet more productive when in sync with company values.

You might find it necessary to outsource some of the business writing associated with it so you are able to more fully focus on your gift.

Tools for any internet marketing strategy might include:

• Pay per click advertising
• Email marketing campaigns
• Blogging for your business
• Blogging for your nonprofit
• Newsletters  
• Social networking for business also known as social media networking
• Free offers online such as a free Ebook for download
• Online article marketing
• Press release writing and distribution
• Free webinars
• Youtube video marketing

Your written vision and mission statements should be where you can easily access and see them daily. The internet is a massive place, growing at lightning speed, but your written plan gives you direction and puts you at an advantage. 

Have you written your vision, mission, and strategy statements yet? If not, it's never too late!