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Danny

When to Start Giving?

Tim Ferris, author of "The Four Hour Work Week", recently answered the question: when should I start giving: right away or wait until I'm rich?

I really enjoyed Tim's post. You can read it here:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/10/04/karmic-capitalist-should-i-wait-until-im-rich-to-give

Danny
PS. If you haven't read his book, it is well worth it. It is guaranteed to get you thinking.

A Wicked Example of Customer Service

Hello everyone,

I'm back from our vacation time and I'll be posting regularly for the next couple of weeks before I leave for the Olympics.

One of the things that we did on our vacation was to take in the musical Wicked in Chicago. http://www.wickedthemusical.com/ The musical itself was phenomenal and I highly recommend it. Before the musical started there was a great illustration on the importance of customer service and taking initiative.

When we got to our seats my wife and I noticed that there was a railing obstructing our view. This was frustrating as we had paid for full-price tickets, not obstructed view seats.

I spotted an official looking attendant who was clearly supervising the ushers. I approached her with the situation. She immediately went into blame mode putting all of the responsibility on the box office. She explained that the box office determines the seats. She stated that she could not do anything for me and that I would have to go to the box office. With only a few minutes before the start of the show there was not time for this if I wanted to catch the opening scene. I went back to my seat even more frustrated.

A couple of minutes later I saw another official looking lady who was also clearly a supervisor. I approached her with the issue. Her reaction was the opposite to the first supervisor. She immediately checked out our seats and apologized for the blocked view. She not only sympathized with us, but agreed that the seats should not have been full priced seats. She left us for a moment as she looked for other alternatives. Quickly she returned with two alternative seating options, both lower and better spots. Finally at the intermission she came and checked to make sure we were happy with our new seats.

The difference in how the two supervisors handled the situation was amazing. The first one left us with now solution, and increased my frustration level by how dismissive of our concern. The second supervisor made us extra happy with our evening and with how she resolved the situation. The theater is lucky to have the second supervisor. I've been recommending the show to everyone, something I may not have done if we hadn't had our seats changed.

How is your customer service? Do you go out of the way to take care of your customers? Do your employees? Employees need to be empowered. If you are employee, you can distinguish yourself and make yourself invaluable by providing great customer service.

Whatever your role, customer service needs to be your priority. Great customer service will create fantastic word of mouth for you and your business.

Danny

Motivation Through Procrastination

Another issue related to motivation comes when there are tasks you procrastinate on because you don't enjoy doing them.

Procrastination becomes a problem when you are procrastinating on projects that are important. Projects that are not important should be delayed or outsourced. The key is using the motivation tips you offer to get away from procrastinating on these important tasks.

If tasks are both important and unpleasant then moving through them quickly is key.

The following article has some great ideas:
http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/how-to-find-motivation-for-the-things-you-hate-doing/

Other ideas to beat this kind of procrastination:
1. Provide a small reward for yourself when you finish.
2. Do it first off in the morning before you move on to more pleasant tasks.

What other ideas have worked for you?

Danny

Develop a Marketing Plan For Your Business

Last month I wrote about having a REAL business plan for your business. (ORIGINAL POST HERE)

Part of your business plan should be a marketing plan. John Jantsch is the expert on small business marketing. Here are his thoughts on what should be included in a marketing plan:

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2008/06/18/how-complex-should-a-marketing-plan-be/

Danny

Self-Motivation

Motivating yourself is the key to many areas of life. If you are self-employed it is even more important.

Here is a good post on how to sustain your motivation over the long haul:

http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/sustaining-motivation/

Danny

The Secret - It's wrong, but it works.....

The Secret has been a powerful Best Selling book. It has also sparked lots of controversy. There are some things about the Secret that I like, but a number of things that I have a real problem with.

This post is a good explanation of why The Secret is wrong, and yet still works. You can read it here:

http://zenhabits.net/2008/06/why-the-law-of-attraction-is-wrong-but-why-it-still-works/

Danny

Why I Love My Home Business

One reason that I love my home business is because it gives me the ability to travel more. The residual income comes in whether I work or not, and it provides extra funds to travel more.

Here are some recent photos from our travels:

Prague

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126002&l=799ff&id=826085649

Cesky Krumlov – A UNSECO World Heritage Site in Czech Republic.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126004&l=dc003&id=826085649

Auschwitz & Krakow, Poland

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126012&l=5d5c6&id=826085649

Danny Gamache
PS. Because of the ability to delay posts, this post is going out while I'm sitting on a beach in Southern Turkey... :)

Urgent Personal Financial Advice

Seth Godin has a GREAT post titled "Urgent Personal Financial Advice". Some of it is pretty obvious, but his urgency is important.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/06/urgent-personal.html

Danny

5 Steps For Becoming a Better Networker

Here is another great post from "The Dumb Little Man" blog.

Follow these five steps and you will become a better networker. If you are a better networker, you will grow a better business.

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/11/5-steps-to-becoming-better-networker.html

Danny

Ten Things You Didn't Know About Facebook

Guy Kawasaki has a great guest post from Jesse Stay, co-author of "I'm on Facebook--Now What???: How to Get Personal, Business, and Professional Value from Facebook".

I'm a big fan of Facebook and this article shares some great tips:

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2008/04/ten-things-you.html


You can find me on Facebook here:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=826085649

Danny

Three Steps to Financial Independence

The "Simple Dollar" blog has a good post about the steps to financial independence. Following these steps can be a great strategy for growing your home business.

Step #1: Freedom from financial reliance on loved ones

Step #2: Freedom from financial reliance on creditors

Step #3: Freedom from financial reliance on employment

By building a part-time home business that provides residual income you can use the residual income to complete steps #1 and #2 all the while developing your future income through step #3.

Personally I like adding an extra step between steps #2 and #3. Step #2 could be freedom from reliance on creditors other than your mortgage. Step #3 could be freedom from your mortgage including an emergency fund.

You can read the article here:


http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/06/01/financial-independence-as-a-goal/

Danny

Free Copy of Duct Tape Marketing & Free Webinar

John Jantsch, author of "Duct Tape Marketing" is offering a free webinar for small business owners. This would be newsworthy enough on its own, however it gets even better! Not only do you get the webinar training, but you also get a free copy of his book.

The website is here:
http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2008/06/04/the-best-things-in-live-are-free/

Unfortunately I'll be on vacation and away from internet access at the time... :(.

Enjoy!

Danny

Beware: Gifting Programs

One type of home business that you need to beware of are often called "Gifting Programs". While these programs vary significantly, they generally involve receiving tax receipts for your initial "gift" (or investment), and you can also earn money by referring others and helping them "give" money. These companies are (almost ?) always illegal.

A recent version in Canada involved a company which gave tax receipts for much larger amounts than the donations that were given.

You can read the story:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/30/f-banyancharity.html

Whatever the case, beware of these "opportunities" that makes "giving" sound like it can make you a profit.

Danny

Seth on Persistence

Seth Godin has a great quote on persistence. He write:


"Persistence isn't using the same tactics over and over. That's just annoying.

Persistence is having the same goal over and over."

Very powerful.

The original quote is here:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/03/persistence.html

Danny

Creating A Timelog

Time management can be very difficult for people who work from home. It is easy to get distracted, to get caught up working on things around the house, or to let interruptions get to you.

One way of improving your time management skills are to keep a timelog If you keep a timelog for a week, you'll find many ways you can improve yourself. I've done this a couple of times in a past and have always found it useful. I'll be doing it again shortly.

Here is a very good post on how and why to run a timelog:

http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/11/19/why-you-need-to-run-a-timelog-and-how-to-do-it/

Here is the original source post:

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/11/do-you-run-timelog.html

Danny

Staying Motivated and Productive

Here is a very good article about how to stay motivated and productive. For most everyone in a home business this can be a challenge and this article provides some wonderful tips.

As you'll see if you read my comment in its comments section, I have a few problems with point #4, but the other 9 are gems!

http://freelanceswitch.com/freelancing-essentials/10-lessons-every-successful-freelancer-has-learned/

Enjoy
Danny

Be Interested in Others

A while back, my wife and I went for supper with one of her friends. It was someone she hadn't seen in a long time (several years). During that time my wife's life has changed significantly. She has changed jobs, moved countries, and gotten married to name a few things. We spent a couple of hours with her friend visiting. The entire time we talked about him. He told us all about his life, job, and relationships. Not once did he ask about my wife's life, her job or her move. Not only that, but he never asked questions about me - someone he had never met. Now thankfully my wife and I (especially my wife) are good at asking questions, so we actually had things to talk about the entire time (well he had things to talk about.... ).

How would you have felt if you were in our place? Chances are you would be a little surprised and disappointed. My wife's friend didn't show any real interest in her at all.

If you want to win friends, develop good relationships and a network, one of the most important tips is to be interested in others. Ask questions, learn about them, and show genuine interest in who they are. Following this tip will go a long way towards success.

Danny

Getting Ahead

Seth Godin has a great post about the difference between trying to get ahead by beating the system and trying to get a head by working the system.

We see this all the time in the home business world. People start a new business and try to re-invent the wheel. They look for any shortcut to get to the tip. These people think that they know how to do things better than those already successful in the company.

The thing is, sometimes these people do get some quick success, however it is always short lived. Those who want do develop a long-term residual income will work within the system, following the path set forth by others. If and when you pass the people who at the top of the company then, and only then, have you earned the right to blaze a trail. Until then, work the system that exists and you will achieve the results that others have.

Here is Seth's Post:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/05/the-spirit-of-t.html

Danny

Tip For The Frequent Traveler

If you travel long distances frequently, this will be great news for you: Fasting can eliminate the effects of jet lag!

I know I'm going to try it.

For the full article go:
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2252042720080522?sp=true

For a short version, and my source go to Boing Boing:

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/26/fasting-may-prevent.html

Danny

Improving Your Social Skills From History's Greats

I came across this great post at The Positivity Blog. It goes through history to find great quotes that teach a lot about social skills - and I might add about leadership. The article is well worth reading, but if you don't have time at least read all of the quotes.

Article is here:
http://www.positivityblog.com

Danny

7 Steps To Improving Your Leadership

Here is a great post!

What amazes me is how many this list will work for people in any business, career, or avenue of life. I think people should print out this list, and post it in front of their desk. Following that take 2 minutes every day to skim the list and remind yourself of things that are important!

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/11/7-simple-tips-that-will-turn-you-into.html

Danny

A Real Business Plan

Most people who have a home business do not have a business plan. Even the people who have a business plan often don't have an active business plan. These people may have created a business plan when they started their business but likely haven't looked at it for a long time.

An active business plan is a plan of attack that you can work from on a daily basis. To do this you need to have an overarching business plan. You should develop the overarching business plan and then review it AT LEAST once each year, perhaps two or three times a year.

From your overarching business plan you should be able to plan your week and from your weekly plan you should be able to plan daily.

This also clarifies your planning time. You should spend about one day twice per year focusing on updating your active business plan. This should be in a private location where you can think, reflect and not be interrupted. Then you can spend about one hour each week planning the upcoming week, and lastly spend about 10 minutes each day planning the following day. Keep focused on the activities you have planned in your overarching business plan.

This should keep you on track!

Danny

7 Steps To Small Business Marketing Success

Here is a great podcast from John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing. It provides great ideas that are applicable to pretty much every type of small or home business.



You can read his full post here:

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2008/05/21/7-steps-to-small-business-marketing-success/

Danny

What if the Pope Was Coming?

What would you do if you received a phone call that the Pope (or the Queen or Tiger Woods.... etc.) was coming to your business TODAY? What would you do? What you do differently? What would you do the same? How would you get ready?

Take a few minutes to think through those questions and then read the great post by Seth Godin here:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/04/the-pope-is-com.html

Danny

Working Around The World

A very interesting and valuable read is "The Four Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferriss.
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/

While I hold a higher value to "work" than Tim does, I really appreciate many of his ideas.

One of the best concepts is that in today's world you can often work from anywhere. That means you can work from home instead of the office. It also means that you can travel the world and work while you do it.

For the month of May, my wife's work has taken us to Istanbul, Turkey. Thankfully, my job and businesses are such that I can accomplish a lot on the road. In fact I will likely accomplish more in May than I would have if we had stayed at home. On top of that, I can use spare time to visit the wonderful sights of this historic city.

I still need to get better at working while traveling. I didn't bring our VOIP phone, and having it would have been helpful. I have missed out on the ability to pick up the phone a few times. Thankfully between email, Facebook and instant messaging I'm getting the communications I need out.

Where would you like to work from? Is it from home, or around the world? Does your job allow you to do that? If not, what could you do to supplement or replace your income?

Danny

Get Started Now

I haven't posted too much lately. That needs to change. As with anything the biggest difficulty is getting started. The only time to start is now! So I'm starting now.

What are you starting now?

Here is an article to help you get started.

http://successfromthenest.com/content/the-only-time-you-can-start-is-now/

Danny

Money Can Buy You Happiness

A recent study from researchers at UBC and Harvard found that money can buy you happiness, but only if you do one certain thing with it.

Do you know what that is?

Read this article to find out:

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/03/20/happiness-money.html

Danny