Email is a simple, helpful form of communication.  However, if we aren’t careful, email can slurp up too much of our time, drain us, and distract us from more important tasks.

Some tips to consider:

1) Only check email twice a day.

2) As your business grows, ask an assistant to screen your emails and answer what they can without you.

3) Save lower priority emails in “to do this week” file and respond to those on Fridays.

4) Do not, and I repeat, do not discuss or debate sensitive issues over email.  Either let the issue go or pick up the phone and call.

“Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve their greatest success.” – Stephen Covey

Steven Covey “introduces” my chapter on how to build your support team in my book Flourish! 10 Easy, Elegant, and Essential Marketing Strategies for Solo- and Micropreneurs.

The past few of weeks have been “off” our regular routine in that my Mum sold her house of 36 years and has decided to move to South Carolina, I was vacationing in New Hampshire the next week (pretty much unreachable), preparing for and attending my sister’s beach wedding for 70 people last week (we served as wedding planner), Mum bought a house in SC and my primary assistant is on her honeymoon this week.

With all the personal stuff going on, you’d think that nothing’s been going on in the business. . .truth is, I’ve been hosting teleseminars, client consulting, signing a new client, hosting a 30 Day Blogging Challenge, writing my ezine, mailing out over 50 handwritten cards, putting up a new site, getting ready to launch my signature system, etc.

Read the rest of this post »

Delegating is one of the best ways to handle working mothers stress and give yourself more time, energy and money. It’s also a key element in getting important things done to move your business forward.

I am such a believer in the importance of delegating and having a team of people to support you. I come from the mindset of a mother of three children with so much to do. I know that many of the women entrepreneurs I talk to certainly relate to this – you’ve got a business, you’ve got children so you’re pulled in various directions.

I had a chance to speak with Erin Blaskie, The VA Coach, about how to delegate to a virtual assistant so  you can work so much more effectively. A virtual assistant (VA) is someone who assists you with everything, from administrative things to technical things to even personal things. They’re “virtual” because they work out of their own office and connect with you online or over the phone instead of working out of your office.

Read the rest of this post »

Do you ever have those times when you’re neck deep in personal things and business commitments that you feel like you’re sinking in quicksand?

Despite my best efforts, that’s where I have been the last couple of weeks.

I probably shouldn’t share that with you because I know that some of you tell me that you are “in awe” at how much I get done and still keep a level head. But as a friend said to me this week as I found myself lamenting to her: “So you mean you’re human?”

Human indeed.

Read the rest of this post »

A critical component of creating a 6-figure income, working part-time, is expanding what you delegate. There is no way around this one.

I can tell you that I saw big leaps in my income when I hired someone to assist with what drains my energy at home AND in my business. I now employ an assistant to drive my kids, grocery shop (love this one!), do laundry, pay bills, and wash our cars. For my business, I employ an experienced virtual assistant, web assistant, audio assistant, and bookkeeper.

You can only focus on what YOU love and do best if you delegate the smaller pieces to others. Lots of entrepreneurs get stuck with trying to do it all and it’s a shame because nobody can “do it all” and remain happy and energized.

Read the rest of this post »

You’ve probably heard of books like The 4-Hour Work Week and The E-Myth. They teach entrepreneurs how to delegate and liberate themselves from the day-to-day operations of their business so they can do what they’ve always dreamed of doing — sit back and watch the revenues roll in. It’s the great American dream – right?

Here’s something few people talk about … when you get to that point, what do you do with yourself? Sure, you think you’ll travel, you’ll see the world, you’ll take up golf or painting. And that’s all great. But if you’re a work-a-holic who has finally been able to delegate the majority of the day-to-day tasks of your business, there’s a lot of junk that goes on in your head when shifting from “doing” to “being.”

Read the rest of this post »

How can you focus on being the top of your niche when you’re busy doing piddly work?

I’m looking around at the high cost of not delegating and it’s not just chomping up hours in people’s days, it’s killing their profits.

When a prospective client contacts me to say she’s learning how to put up a Wordpress blog, I usually ask, “Why? Why don’t you hire someone to do that?”

Yes, I know, money. And if you’ve been around long enough you know that spending your time on tasks you can delegate costs you opportunities, focus, and more.

Read the rest of this post »

Are you working too hard in your business? If you’re an entrepreneur, you probably are, especially if you’re in the early stages of your business building. And you’re not alone.

Here’s an example from my own client files:

I was recently working with a client who was a real go-getter, very serious about being in business for herself, and marketing only to a more affluent clientele. She wanted to increase her reach into that market online. And she was considering adding article marketing to her mix.

Read the rest of this post »

The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a very busy time of year for everyone, but for overwhelmed and time-starved solopreneurs it can be even more challenging.  In article, I’m going to share with you five tasks that you can delegate right now, so that you can claim back some time and focus on doing what you do best.

Very often solo business owners know they have a need to partner with a Virtual Assistant (VA), but are not really sure how a virtual assistant can help them grow their business – they don’t fully understand what services the VA provides. This is usually discussed during the client consultation process, but sometimes the client can still feel a little overwhelmed and are not sure about delegating their workload – in fact that is how one of my clients felt recently!

Read the rest of this post »