7 Quick & Easy Money Making Activities to Do Every Day in Your Small Business That Only Take 10 Minutes or Less to Do!

As a business owner, it’s easy to get sucked into your daily grind or the big fat attention getting projects that put food on the table. However, there are so many other easy and fun things we can do to increase our profits and build great business relationships. I asked my friend, Katrina Sawa, to be our guest expert today and give us some simple ways to grow your business.

My advice is that you set the intention to come up with at least one inspired idea after reading her suggestions and put a twist on it that you’ve never done before. Do it with flair and innovation, while wearing your fun party hat! It’s the feeling behind the action that matters most. =)

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Focused on Moneyby Katrina Sawa

Money-Making activities are the #1 thing you should be spending time on in the day-to-day running of your business.

Don’t get caught up doing administrative tasks or time-sucking tasks that will never bring you customers.

Instead sprinkle in some of these quick and easy money-making activities among your big picture marketing plan and watch how more prospects come your way!

#1. Add (and send a personal message to) 25 people in Facebook or LinkedIn to your profile or fan page. [Read more...]

What do you and salmon have in common?

I rarely have guest posts but when I saw this article from Stephanie Rainbow Bell, I immediately asked for permission to share with you. Swimming upstream in your business will sabotage all of your efforts to be profitable. Downstream is where the fun and money gets served up with ease.

Perhaps that you (and I) spend quite a bit of our lives swimming upstream!

Salmon are "programmed" to reproduce in the same waters from which they were hatched. The problem is that they are hatched in fresh water, but live in salt water as adults. When their internal clock says it's time to spawn, they use their sense of smell among other things, to return to their birthplace, hook up with a mate and after making several nests (called redds) they eventually expire from exhaustion!

Sadly, some of us humans do the same - although without the clear purpose (reproduction) of the salmon.

That's not very Zen-like!

We have a purpose - to make life better for our kids, to build a business that will last, or whatever it may be, and we determinedly pursue our purpose with all the right and good intentions as we push ourselves from one goal to the next, one achievement to the next, one dream to the next. [Read more...]

Make Love With Your List

If you’re reading this it’s because you want to be uplifted. You want to get a nugget or two about how to grow your business better, faster and easier. And if I can potentially do that for you and it’s fulfilling for me, why wouldn’t I? It's especially rewarding for me if you become my ideal customer or client down the road.

And this is the reason I’m a big fan of having an email or address list, blog, YouTube channel or some other way of staying in touch with the people that dig what you have to say, teach, or show them. Having a ‘list’ (people who have said they want to receive information from you), is a fantastic way to keep past, current and future customers happy.

You create a mutual love affair when you are authentic and consistent in your connection with those that want to hear and see what you have to share.

Shy? Doesn’t matter. Not into online marketing? Doesn’t matter. Your industry doesn’t do stuff like this? Doesn’t matter. I don’t think there is any business that wouldn’t benefit from staying in touch with their peeps.

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Make the Most of Your Educational Investments

If you have a DVD, CD or digital training program in your possession that is sitting there waiting for you to finish it, raise your hand. I’m raising my hand right now. I have a marketing video series sitting next to my desk - half finished. It was a gift, but when I first received it, I was plowing through the marketing DVDs. Then I went to a Mari Smith live event to learn more about Social Media, joined a mastermind and moved on to other things. They’ve been sitting there for well over a year.

Here’s what I’ve learned about investing in coaches, mentors, and any kind of product that give you business or mindset training; they’re only good if you use them. And using them means more than just listening.

Here’s the only way to get true value:

  1. Be present while using your info product or attending a live session.
  2. Be very clear about the outcomes you want from your time spent.
  3. Block out time on your calendar for your learning, especially if it’s home study course.
  4. Block out more time in your calendar to implement the material.
  5. Ask questions of the instructor if you need more clarity on their process.
  6. Enroll in a program or coaching that will assist you in the implementation and create some form of accountability.

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The ONE Next Step

If you’d like to get a big juicy project moving forward and have a great time doing it, today is your lucky day.

Your first step is to bring to mind that project that sits incomplete but nagging the corners of your mind daily. Or maybe it’s the project you know you should begin but it feels too hard, too big or that you’re not big enough for it.

In order to have this article mean more than a nice five minute break from your work, it’s better if you play this process (that I’m about to take you through) with a project that you feel emotional connection to (doesn’t matter if you feel positive or negative about it).

Got something in mind? Good.

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Flashpoint – Ignite your Six Figure Business!

You want more from your business … right? More ease, flow, profits, ideal clients, fun, passion. More of the good stuff. The dream. The vision.

You’ve reached the tipping point. It’s time to do something different. You’re ready for action …

Ready to shift gears, change your beliefs, and generate high-octane results.

It’s time for you to feed the spark of desire and fully lean into your vision, not with force, but with power and divine intention.

If you know you want to think bigger, need an edgier perspective and want support in this journey … then it’s time for:

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It’s You or Them but Somebody Needs to Fix It

ItGÇÖs You or Them but Somebody Needs to Fix ItIf you’ve ever had an issue getting rockstar results from the people you hire or partner with, you’re not alone. They show up late, miss deadlines, fall off the grid with no communication and do subpar work. Even some of the decent team players have their moments where they fall down on the job with no great excuse.

It’s happened to me too.

I get an endless flow of questions from clients about what to do when someone else’s shortcomings impact their business.

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The Biggest Mistake Business Owners Make

The Biggest Mistake Business Owners MakeOne of the first things you are told as a business owner is that you must have a business plan. I agree. I’m a fan of long-term and right now plans. But that doesn’t guarantee you profits or growth. Many people file that puppy in a drawer or stash it in the depths of their computer. Then it’s out of their mind until January 1 of the following year.

If the plan doesn’t get you immediately buzzing with energy and ready to get into inspired action then it’s not a good plan.

Now, I love to watch business owners get fired up about their projects and planning. But here is where they fall down, they think productivity is the way to make a successful business happen. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Kicking butt on your plan will probably yield you some nice accomplishments. But at the end of the year, you may only be a little richer and not much happier or free.

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Practices for a Peace-Filled Business

Practices for a Peace-Filled BusinessIn the last week alone I’ve heard these statements from business owners:

  1. I feel like a 1/2 ton of rocks are piled on my head by day end.
  2. I need an intervention.
  3. My customers act like their hair is on fire and it’s my job to put it out.
  4. I have a million excuses why I'm not taking action.
  5. I’m constantly dodging bullets.
  6. I've been all twisted up lately.

I don’t know about you, but at one time or another I’ve definitely felt similar things.

You feel like burying your head in the sand and telling everyone to go away. If you were bolder and, in particular, more profitable, you'd book a flight to Fiji and stay there for a month or two.

Before you slide deeper into the muck, take a step back from the craziness of your business. I know you may feel out of control or that you can't pinpoint an ideal solution, but it may be simpler than you think to find some peace.

Back in 1998, I created my very first product. The Art of Practice audio is utterly simple, yet a life changer. A practice is anything that you do over and over. It’s such a deep-seated pattern you may not even see it as a pattern but “just the way it is.”

High achievers and entrepreneurs have a tendency to blame their team, economy, lack of knowledge, time and/or money for the problems they experience in their business. You never do that, right? I’m going to assert that you change the entire mode of your business operation if you adjust your practices.

I recently worked with a client who felt like his head was going to explode due to lack of competent people on his team, long hours and no time to work on the business and make adjustments.

We came up with two solutions. One was a short action list to eliminate a few of the immediate problems and then two, was to create a Peaceful Practice List. This is a common solution for almost every powerful client I've ever had. It seems like the more they achieve, the less happy they become because their practices revolve around getting more stuff done and never being present in the moment.

Save your health, sanity and relationships by creating your own Peace Rules. If you knew that you were going to die in the next year if you didn't restructure the way you do business, what would be your new practices?

Here are some examples:

  • Exercise before going to the office
  • Hire ideal team members or don’t hire at all
  • Leave white space on your calendar
  • Increase the money you put in your savings monthly or bi-weekly
  • Take no appointments on Monday, Friday or both
  • Set regular business hours and honor them
  • Create daily goals based on your yearly business plan
  • Create daily goals the night before
  • Take a lunch break
  • Check email no more than three times a day
  • Close your office door for specified periods of time with no phone calls, emails, or texts
  • Clean your desk daily or weekly
  • Do a daily appreciation journal or Speed Dial the Universe Journal
  • Never lower your rates or prices
  • Only accept ideal clients who are thrilled to work with you

Creating peaceful practices in your life will support your business. There is no way you can create more profits and life balance if you’re practices support chaos. Be honest with yourself. Are you accepting less than ideal anything in your business?

Clarifying the new practices won't be difficult. The struggle for business owners is in the implementation. The things you must do for peace might seem counterintuitive for success. They're not. It's the only way to achieve real success.

‘Having it all’ means that you get to have flow, efficiency, fun, joy and profits. Would you settle for anything less? Ever?

Jeanna Gabellini, is a Master Business Coach who assists high achieving entrepreneurs, corporate leaders & their teams to leverage fun, systems and intentionality for high-octane results. An entrepreneur for 20 years she has a treasure trove of kick-butt tools to give you peace & profits.   A Gift For You! Get your complimentary Business Building Audio CD “Transforming from Chaotic Entrepreneur to Conscious Leader” for the entrepreneur who wants to be a SUPERpreneur: http://www.masterpeacecoaching.com/freecd

There’s a System for That!

ThereGÇÖs a System for That!While discussing life problems when in the company of fellow iPhone users, you’re bound to hear, “I bet there’s an app for that!” And there usually is an application that will help solve whatever issue or bad habit you want to correct.

The same is true for your business. Name any irritation in your biz and I bet you can create a system that will smooth the rough waters.

Think of your top 3 problems right now. I’ll name the ones I see most from my surveys of entrepreneurs.

  • Increase cash flow
  • Attract ideal clients
  • Create a website (or makeover current one)
  • Create and launch new product or service
  • Pay off debt
  • Create marketing plan
  • Create business plan
  • Get out of overwhelm

While you may think that there is some secret formula that you can’t access to get your perfect solution, there is nothing farther from the truth. Systems play a key role in having a breakthrough in every topic I mentioned above. Plus, you can use systems to have continued success and flow.

As a business coach, I help my clients find systems that will work with their natural work style. A system has zero value if you won’t use it or your team isn’t on board. It’s important that it is easy to follow and implement while making your life easier once you’re in the habit of using the system.

My intention is to light a fire under your bum to create a least one new system as a result of reading this, then implement it in the next week. Are you willing?

I’ll give you some examples of systems you can use. It’s up to you to fill in the blanks or get with your business coach or mentor to fine-tune your ideal process. I could write a 1000 page book on this topic, so I’m very aware that I’m not giving you as complete of an answer as I’d like.

If you already have systems in place, think about how you could radically change it if you were to think like a RockStar CEO. If you could create the most efficient, easy and bold system, what might you change?

Increase cash flow:
Last year I created follow up emails for all of my products. Now when a customer orders a product online, though a series of emails, I make sure they use what they bought, motivate them to implement the information and suggest other products they may benefit from. A lot of writing up front, but now my autoresponders do all of the work.

If you contact potential customers through emails, phone conversations or in person, I’d create a structure for when, how and what you’ll say. Do you have a system for tracking the conversations?

You can also create a system for increasing cash flow and attracting your ideal clients that involves a personal process that you do every day to amp up your vibe. Do an activity that totally gets you in your power zone.

Attracting ideal clients:
I’ve created a process, with Eva Gregory, to attract 5 Star clients. It includes writing down every little thing you’d want to have in a client, from the way they treat you to paying ahead of schedule. I also use this process for attracting my ideal team members, gardeners, house cleaners, etc. You can create a checklist for what they need to have, in order for you to say ‘yes’ to them. Do not say yes to anybody who will put coin in your pocket!

Do you have a welcome packet ready for all of the new clients you’ll be attracting? Do you make it easy for them to pay you? Do you describe their hot issues on your website and in other marketing so that they know you’re speaking to them?

Launching new products, services and websites:
Projects like these usually include many details and moving parts to complete. They also require help and a learning curve. All of this means they will take longer than you expect and longer than the experts tell you. Whatever system you use, you must chunk down the steps into doable size actions over the course of a month or more.

I personally like to do a data dump from my head onto paper. Then I talk to any contractors or team members who are going to help me, to find out what they say are my most important priorities for the project.

Then I do a mind map of sorts. Break down the projects into categories like:

  1. Create my intention for what the new product, service or website will do for my customers and what it will do for my business.
  2. What is the main message?
  3. What are the topics I will cover?
  4. Write content
  5. Plan for how I will market
  6. When and how will I launch with pizzazz
  7. Calendar out when I will work on the project and for how long

Business and marketing plans:
Find a format that will inspire you to do it every year. I’ve used many fill-in-the-blank business plans from popular books and eventually created my own 1-Page HELL YES Business plan. I believe in one-pagers because it keeps things simple and you can post in on the wall or keep on your desk year round. Carve out time to do it In a day or in one-hour chunks until it’s done.

The business owners in my live event did theirs in one-hour total. It was easy because they’d spent the previous day and half getting clear on their vision, issues and solutions. That’s what YOU should do first, too!

Then calendar your inspired actions monthly and weekly by checking in with your plan. Do the same with a marketing plan.

I’m old school. I like to do everything on paper. First I write down my calendar of launches … what classes, programs and products I’m going to launch in the upcoming year. I use a month-at-a-glance calendar and then write in when email promotions need to be sent to promote each launch. Then I create an email to my assistant with the schedule listed and she starts connecting with other business owners in the industry who will help support my launches.

Overwhelm:
Overwhelm is a perspective. Train yourself to focus on the ‘now’ moment and give yourself less to do each day. I’m a HUGE fan of using Stephen Covey’s 6 Big Rocks to organize my daily tasks. All of my clients use my Speed Dial the Universe journal to get grounded and prioritized for the day. It IS a system.

Prioritize by using your business and marketing plan and chunking things down into small bites. We also use online systems for reminders (I like Google calendar). I can’t live without my Day Runner organizer (I told you I was old school!).

Debt elimination:
Make a plan or don’t complain. A plan will make you feel in control. The system can be as simple as making double the minimum payment on your smallest debt each month. See? Systems can be easy.

When I was knee deep in debt and making about $3000 a month (not enough to even cover my expenses), I used a spreadsheet to track the balances owed on each debt. I focused on appreciating every dollar that my debt went down each month. Nine months later I was debt free (a miracle in my eyes!) and doubled my income that year.

Just to set the record straight, all problems come back to you. You must shift the way you relate to your business to make real change. Use systems to support the transformation.

Jeanna Gabellini, is a Master Business Coach who assists high achieving entrepreneurs, corporate leaders & their teams to leverage fun, systems and intentionality for high-octane results. An entrepreneur for 20 years she has a treasure trove of kick-butt tools to give you peace & profits.   A Gift For You! Get your complimentary Business Building Audio CD “Transforming from Chaotic Entrepreneur to Conscious Leader” for the entrepreneur who wants to be a SUPERpreneur: http://www.masterpeacecoaching.com/freecd