Word Constructions

Pages of note

Refer to older posts…

Top 10 business saving tips

Published 19 September, 2010 | By TashWord

Lately I’ve heard a few business owners talk about ways to save money in their business so here are my top 10 tips for saving money without scrimping on product/service quality.

review your recurring costs (such as website hosting, bank fees, phone rental and internet service) – it amazes me the difference in prices for the same service so it can be extremely worthwhile to compare what’s available
look for energy efficient options – even if you don’t think the environment is an issue, low energy light bulbs, efficient heaters and the like can save you money especially if you have big premises and/or a lot of staff. This includes things like adding curtains or blinds rather than have temperature gains/losses through windows
compare suppliers periodically – they don’t all adjust prices the same way at the same time and some will offer you great ‘honeymoon’ rates but not be as competitive later. Even if you don’t change suppliers, it will keep you in touch with reasonable industry rates as a reference and negotiating tool
consider who you outsource to – the cheapest price is not always the most cost effective option (putting aside cheapest isn’t always best!) If Sally charges $100 an hour and Mary charges $80 but Sally is twice as fast, paying Sally will probably be the cheaper option. If Sally can also do another task it may be cheaper to use her for both as she knows your business and is already working for you.
send statements and reminder invoices soon after an invoice is due – you will generally get better results for less effort if you ask for money when the project is fresh. Debt chasing is a waste of your resources
buy cheaper when it doesn’t impact on quality. For example, if store A and B sell the same product at different prices with the same level of service, buy from the cheaper store. Likewise, buying 100 pens is often cheaper per pen than buying 10 of them.
recycle and reuse as much as possible. In bigger companies, a fortune can be saved if you use old letterhead or with compliment slips as staff note pads; use the back of envelopes for calculations and scribbles instead of paying for notepads; print drafts on the back of old papers; use incoming packaging to package your products.
turn everything off! Make sure the last person out turns off the lights, get everyone to turn off their computer and monitor at the end of the day, turn off monitors when away from your desk for more than 10 minutes, turn off printers and scanners overnight, and so on – you may be amazed at how much this can save over a year
be prepared and communicate clearly with suppliers and service providers – wasting their time will cost you money
monitor your marketing – if an ad isn’t helping your business then it is a waste of money (and that could include free ads!) Even ads that are working may be made less expensive (smaller size, less frequent use, etc) so try and compare the results

What other ways have you used to save money in your business? How much did it save you?

Posted in bit off track, business info & tools | Tagged costs, money, review, save, tips | 1 Comment

Document registers

Published 17 September, 2010 | By TashWord

Does your business have a document register?

It sounds a bit dry and perhaps a bit overly interested in details, but a document register can save a lot of time and keep things simple and consistent – I’ve certainly seen this in action as Communications Manager for companies with many forms and standard letters.

What is a document register?

A document register is simply a list of every document the business uses as standards. It can include forms, letters, marketing flyers, information guides, fact sheets, website banners, promotional articles, stationery items and eBooks.

If there are many documents, it is usually worth dividing into categories (list all the forms then all the flyers for example).

Document registers can also be a handy way to communicate with new team members – they can see what exists to help them learn about the business and ensure they don’t ‘reinvent the wheel’.

How does a document register work?

In its simplest form, the register just lists the documents so it’s easy to see what exists.

More complicated but infinitely more useful are registers that include a code for each document. These codes are changed each time a document is updated so the register becomes a reference for ensuring you have the most recent version of something.

And a record to spot any documents that are perhaps a bit old and overdue for a refresh.

Document register tips

Here are a few points I’ve learned from using document registers in different companies:

have only person with access to change the register – someone senior may also have access as a back up but limit updates to one person for control
keep the register easily available for all staff to view and occasionally remind people to check they have recent versions of documents
include everything, even if you don’t add a document code to it
add a notes column so you can note details about who designed or printed each document
keep it separate to stock records
make sure you use clear names for each document – ‘product guide’ or ‘insurance letter’ are a bit vague so ‘whatsit product guide’ and ‘accept insurance letter’ communicate more clearly
have a procedure that includes regular reviews of the documents register – both to ensure it is kept up to date but to note any documents that haven’t been updated in a while. use the notes column to record reviews even if documents aren’t actually updated

Any questions on who to make use of a document register?

Posted in business info & tools | Tagged access, code, document, recent, register | 1 Comment

Chaos contentment or stress?

Published 17 September, 2010 | By TashWord

Are you stressed by what’s happening or how you see what’s happening?

Michelle Grice posted about being content with the chaos as a major goal she is working on. Instead of feeling out of control and powerless with the chaos that comes with running a business from home with young children, she is learning to accept the chaos as part of her life. The acceptance obviously doesn’t remove the hassles of deadlines being 2interrupted by sick kids, etc, but it does reduce the stress and discomfort Michelle feels about such hassles.

It is an interesting point – our attitude is a major factor in how stressful we find situations. And it can also have a flow on effect. Continuing with the work-from-home-mum example, if she is overwhelmed with work she will get stressed and be irritable when her children want her attention. On the other hand, if this Mum accepts she will be interrupted and is less stressed by it then she is likely to deal with the children more positively. And that makes the children more relaxed (and stops her feeling terrible about negative interactions later!)

Like most people, I understand Michelle’s feelings of chaos; I do work from home with young children for a start and it can be chaotic and overwhelming at times. Having to do lists is one thing that always helps me create some order from the chaos.

Further than to do lists, writing a list of what is chaotic and stressful has a number of advantages:

you get a lot of it out of your head so there is psace to think!
seeing it written down may show there is less that you thought
it allows you to be more objective and set priorities
it gives you a list of areas to work on – maybe once you see it written you may realise you DO have the power to change something

What other ideas do you have about changing your perception of chaos? Or about changing some of the chaos itself?

Posted in bit off track | Tagged attitude, chaos, content, list | Leave a comment

Document codes

Published 9 September, 2010 | By TashWord

Do you manage a lot of documents? Do you worry about old versions getting confused with new versions?

This is why you see a document code on many documents, especially those from major organisations. They make it easy to tell one version from another at a glance – this is known as version control and can save a lot of problems.

Where do document codes come from?

There is no central system for giving documents codes – each business makes up its own system and introduces it as it is the business who needs to use the codes.

What does a document code include?

While there is no single coding system, most codes will include the date as that is the simplest way to determine how old a document is.

Other than that, it is up to you how the code is created. The complexity of your code will also depend on the number of documents you deal with – a few documents can be numbered 1 to 20 for example, but a large number of documents may be better divided into types and then given a number (e.g. F1 is form 1 and L24 is letter 24).

Tips for creating document codes

Here are a few tips from the systems I have created and used in the past:

include a version number so it is easy to refer back to previous versions. Particularly useful if two versions come into the same date period!
leave a gap between numbers so it is easy to add related documents later. For example, application form is F1 and change of address form is F5 so you can later add an increased cover application as F2
use dots rather than slashes to separate sections of a code – slashes can be misinterpreted by scanning software. So try 09.2010 instead of 09/2010
group like documents for simplicity, and consider naming them differently
if documents change fairly regularly, use month and year, not just the year in the codes
choose a consistent spot to place document codes – e.g. bottom left corner of the last page. It won’t work for all documents but it helps to have a starting point
record the document codes so it is easy to update them and to know which version is the most recent

Posted in business info & tools | Tagged code, date, document, system | 2 Comments

7 tasks to delegate for your blog

Published 3 September, 2010 | By TashWord

Some time ago I wrote a post about building blogging skills based on a list by Chris Garrett (on a blog that is no longer live unfortunately).

One of his tips was to delegate, and this was picked up in the comments of that post so I thought I’d list some ways delegation can help your blogging:

pay someone else to write some or all of your blog posts
have regular guest bloggers in your blog. For example, I used to have a web designer include articles in my newsletter.
use RSS feed to collect some relevant material to add to your blog (similar to a guest blogger but totally automated!)
write the posts yourself but get someone else to enter them into the software, adding keywords, categories, etc
have someone else manage your blog and website – software updates, adding new graphics, collecting stats, etc
finding ideas – have someone else research topics your readers are interested in so you have a list to work from when it is time to write
outsource multiple tasks so you have more time for blogging – think about your bookkeeping, filing, writing, graphics, negotiations and sales

While it isn’t something to delegate, I would also suggest keeping a notepad or computer document handy to note ideas at any time. Any time you think of something to blog about, write it down so you don’t have to spend time with bloggers block – and you don’t face the frustration of knowing you had the perfect idea yesterday…

How do you ensure you have enough time for blogging?

Posted in blogging | Tagged blog, delegate, time, write | 1 Comment

Expert presenters

Published 1 September, 2010 | By TashWord

Do you think the Internet (and all the associated media that has followed) has changed our perception of an expert?

We all love ‘big names’ and are more likely to pay for a concert or conference with someone we know of than a complete stranger. And many organisers of events get caught up in finding a big name to draw crowds.

Yet I don’t think you have to be a big name to be an expert and some of the best presentations I’ve been to were run by people I hadn’t heard of before. Not every successful person is rich or famous, not all great business people own/work in the corporate world, not all talented people are widely recognised, and so on.

Getting back to my first question, is the net changing some of these perceptions? I think so as people in traditional ways were not recognised as experts or ‘worthy’ of teaching us can now share their knowledge and skills through articles, blogs, newsletters, tweets, webinars and more.

If you are thinking of attending an event, does the ‘size of a name’ influence you greatly? Would you Google (or use social media searches) the presenters to find out more?

Posted in business info & tools | Tagged expert, perceptions, presenters | 2 Comments

Social media relationships

Published 28 August, 2010 | By TashWord

My last post was about networking with a bottle of wine, so I thought I’d also aim it more specifically on social media as Chris did in his original post.

Using social media (facebook, twitter, blogs, You Tube, etc) is in many ways exactly the same as more traditional networking and socialising. Building these relationships depends on being friendly, listening to people and showing interest.

Even the differences are based on the same principles, they use technology to reach those aims. If you met someone at a party, you would answer them by talking; in social media, it is still polite and expected that you answer but you might do so by posting a comment or retweeting instead.

So some social media networking tips are:

be generous with links – if you like something add the link to your blog, tweet it, write about it in Facebook, and so on. It costs you nothing but time, it actually gives you something to write about and is likely to help the creator
visit other people’s blog, Facebook wall, twitter profile, You Tube channel and so on. You can learn more about them than just responding to their emails and comments, and they will probably appreciate you leaving comments when you visit
if networking for your business, broaden your topics – chat with people about other interests (if you network in real life, you’d probably have some references to the weather, the food, the venue or major news/sports of the day, so why not on social media?)
link all your social media outlets – it makes it easier for someone to find what they want but also helps your Twitter followers discover your blog readers, etc.
give more often (by a long shot) than you promote or sell; Chris Brogan suggested a 15:1 ratio – what do you think is a good ratio?
share information on how to socialise online – you don’t need to tell people how to talk but not all your customers and contacts know the purpose of # in a tweet or how to embed a video in a blog
remember to touch base frequently – just like friends drift away if you don’t see them much, online contacts will forget you if you don’t tweet for a month or so.

I’m not a social media expert (closer to the beginner end of the scale really) so I’d love to hear your tips for maximising social media networking…

Posted in Business Communications, business info & tools, social media | Tagged link, networking, social media, technology | 5 Comments

Bring wine when networking

Published 26 August, 2010 | By TashWord

Would you really take wine to every networking event? Probably not so let me explain…

Chris Brogan wrote a story in his blog about social media and not being ‘that guy’. In short, the story is that if you’re going on a picnic with friends take a bottle of wine rather than just coming along and eating everyone else’s food. Sounds obvious in that context doesn’t it?

The same principle applies in networking (Chris was specifically referring to social media but I am putting it together with all networking). People will respond better if you give something of value rather than if you just try taking.

So if someone at an event or on a forum says “I’m having trouble writing some promotional articles“, I could answer with “What questions do people often ask about your industry? Answering those questions is a good place to start your articles. Here are some tips in my blog.”

Or I could be that guy and answer with “I write articles – you should pay me. Did you know I could also write your website and I …”

Effective networking is about building relationships rather than selling yourself.

Here are some networking tips off the top of my head:

hand out business cards to selected people rather than everyone in reach
remember things about people you network with – jotting down some notes soon after helps – to show you are interested
be generous and show an abundant mentality – tell others about great promotional opportunities, give your opinion and expertise, link to other blogs/websites whether or not they link back, and so on
smile! It’s much more inviting than a scowl, and it can even change your voice if you are on the phone
introduce people to each other. For example, a friend mentions needing a plumber and you met one last week at a networking event – give your friend those contact details. It also means introducing people looking alone at an event too
use people’s names – it means a lot to them and using it soon after hearing it helps you to remember it, too
don’t be afraid to ask for help (not for business mind you) as it shows you are human and you give people a chance to help. Maybe you ask for referrals to a service, opinions on a decision you need to make or for understanding a technical issue. Pretending to know everything and be perfect is likely to alienate people than attract them

What other tips do you have for effective networking?

Posted in business info & tools | Tagged networking, value, wine | 4 Comments

Coddling the right clients

Published 23 August, 2010 | By TashWord

If you’ve been in business a while, the chances are you’ve had at least one annoying, energy-sapping client. So, like me you will probably appreciate the following comments from Seth Godin:

The challenge of winning more than your fair share of the market is that the best available strategy–providing remarkable service and an honest human connection–will be abused by a few people you work with.

You have three choices: put up with the whiners, write off everyone, or, deliberately exclude the ungrateful curs.

Firing the customers you can’t possibly please gives you the bandwidth and resources to coddle the ones that truly deserve your attention and repay you with referrals, applause and loyalty.

Next time you are having trouble with the idea of sacking a client, or refusing to take on a particular client, remember that doing so gives you more energy to do a great job for those clients who will truly appreciate it.

On the positive side, the time consuming clients I have had in the past have helped me better value my time and espertise, and taught me what to look for in people I want to work with.

Who would you prefer to coddle?

Posted in business info & tools | Tagged appreciate, Clients, sacking, service | 1 Comment

What are people searching for?

Published 17 August, 2010 | By TashWord

Look at your web stats and some of the keyword tools available and find out what terms people are really using to find your website.

Are they the words you expected? More importantly, are they the words you are using in the content of your site?

For example, you have an article on your site about Crimson Rosellas but discover most customers search for information on red parrots (because they don’t know the name of the bird). It isn’t hard to add red and parrots to your list of keywords in the site meta data and adjust the article itself to include ‘red parrots’ at least once.

Having relevant keywords is good; having relevant keywords that your potential customers actually use is much better.

Have you played with keywords and seen positive results in website traffic? Share your story 🙂

Posted in web content | Tagged keyword, people, search, using | 2 Comments

Welcome!

eBooks to read