A Touchy Subject

Perhaps one reason zombies are so popular is because they aren’t quite dead. It’s tempting to think there’s a chance we might not really die, so zombies give us hope.

Okay, so maybe that’s not it. Honestly, I don’t get zombies. But I do know we’re all going to die, for real and for certain, and none of us likes to look that straight in the eye.

It’s a hard thing to deal with, but sooner or later, we'll have to get realistic about it. Even if we don’t want to think about it for our own sakes, we should do so for our significant others, children, or other successors. Helping families and partners deal with the practical aspects of our demise won’t ease our transition into the next world, but it’s a good way to demonstrate our love for those we leave behind. 

The most important thing is to organize your affairs. Gather records of your assets, investments, and other properties and put them in one place, along with your will, insurance policies, lockbox keys, and any documents related to funeral and interment arrangements. Make sure your executors know who they are, and where to find the necessary papers so they won’t have to ransack your house and office.

Not sure of what they’ll need? Talk to your accountant or attorney about how to plan for the inevitable. It might seem a little macabre, but your loved ones will thank you later.

The Value of a Face-to-Face Meeting

According to a recent report, the IRS considers the internet communications of American citizens – not just Facebook posts and Twitter messages, but even personal email – to be theirs for the reading.

Though the Fourth Amendment protects your computer hard drive as well as physical letters in a file cabinet, the IRS insists it needs no warrant to access conversations you conduct electronically. The thinking is that these communications lose their reasonable expectation of privacy once they leave your computer.

In the 2010 case of U.S. v. Warshak, a Federal appeals court disagreed. Nevertheless, according an update to an IRS manual published months after the Warshak decision, the official policy remains unchanged: investigators can access anything in an account (except for unopened emails or voice mail stored with a provider for 180 days or less) without a warrant.

I wish I could say this is a joke, but sorry – April Fools Day is long gone.

It could be argued that if we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. But that’s not the point. Though there’s nothing juicy or incriminating there, I don’t want the government sniffing through my emails. Period.

A formidable array of major corporations as well as a broad spectrum of advocacy groups is asking for a change in the law that would specifically put emails under Fourth Amendment protection. But in the meantime – and even after they succeed – it makes me wonder: what’s the matter with good, old-fashioned face-to-face communications?

You’re reading my blog, so you know I’m not opposed to reaching out electronically. But there’s something to be said for looking someone in the eye, picking up on body language to “hear” what’s not said, and sharing a smile. Such personal communication is more complete, more meaningful, and more memorable than electronic words.  It shows your friends, family and people you do business with that you care enough to spend time with them.

We’ve probably all seen that lovely couple out to dinner who spend their entire meal on the phone with someone else! Or the teenager who sits at the family dinner table texting, while what should be an important part of her world turns without her.

In a society such as ours, it’s not always possible or practical to meet with people personally. But let’s not treat getting together like an odious chore, or view it with the same disdain we give an outmoded hairstyle. A face-to-face can build friendships and business relationships - it’s an investment worth making and it keeps the IRS from nosing around in our business!

Hey, by the way, are you free for lunch tomorrow?

Clutter Begone!

Let’s say you’re a business owner, and—at least where accounting is concerned—you realize you need professional help. Don’t worry, there’s no shame in that!

You make a few inquiries and find a numbers person who seems a good fit for you and your business. But your office is a jumble and you’re afraid you might be beyond help. What do you do? Throw everything in sight into a couple of bankers boxes and lug in the whole thing for your new accountant to figure it out?

Only if you want to get off on the wrong foot. Instead, try these tips.

If you’re wallowing in a mess and don’t know where to start, ask your accountant what she’ll need to get started. Then, wade in. Sort those papers into piles. If they’re not needed (ads and other junk mail), throw them in the recycle bin. If you’re not sure, file them away in a “just in case I need it” folder. Put the things your accountant asked for in three envelopes: one for assets, one for income, and one for expenses, and take them with you for your first face-to-face.

After you and your accountant have established what you expect from one another, you’ll have to continue to provide her with the ongoing information she’ll need to help you most effectively. That should give you an incentive to keep that paperwork from getting out of hand again.

Here’s a practical way to keep the clutter in check: Get yourself a couple attractive containers—pretty baskets, boxes, bins, or whatever appeals to your style and décor. Put them in a handy place that’s easy to access. One is for receipts (documentation of money you’ve spent) and the other for income (sales invoices and bank deposit receipts). 

Now, whenever either of these comes into your hands, don’t just toss it aside – put it in the appropriate container! Make sure every deposit receipt is stapled to the appropriate sales invoice(s) or other record of where the payment came from.

Do this religiously. It only takes a few seconds each day, but saves a ton of frustration later on.

At the end of the month, slip the contents of those bins into two envelopes and drop them off with your accountant. She’ll take care of the rest—and you’re on your way to the No Drama Zone!

Time Management IV

Time. Its boundaries are not elastic. It has no pause button, no speed setting, and you can’t reboot when it seems to go haywire.

As we’ve seen, there’s no way to actually manage time. However, in our last three posts, we’ve looked at some practical ways by which we can make the most of its inexorable flow. Today, we’ll look at three more tools.

Beat it at its own game. Time is limited, so set limits for your tasks. There will be certain constants in your day, such as reading/answering emails or returning phone messages. Though you have to do them every day, that doesn’t mean you have to do them all day. Set a reasonable time limit for each activity and stick to it faithfully.

Organize your systems. How much time do you spend looking for files, whether electronic or physical? Sloppiness is first cousin to your old nemesis, Ima Timewaster. Time spent getting things organized is an investment that will more than pay for itself in time saved later on. Just make sure the systems you put into place are logical and efficient so you’ll be able to use them effectively on a daily basis over the long haul.

Wait productively. How many times have you sat and waited, fuming about all the better things you could be doing? Your frustration was justified; no one benefits from thumb-twiddling. That’s why, wherever you go, you should take something with you—reading you need to get caught up on, a list you need to make, a report you have to review. Today’s technology makes this easier than ever before. But even if you have an analogue mind, you can carry a pad of paper and a pen for jotting notes to yourself or making a list of groceries you need to pick up on the way home.

Time might not negotiate, but neither is it particularly clever. If you know its limitations and keep an eye out for its co-conspirators, you’ll be able to outsmart it. We hope these tips will help.

Time Management III

We’ve been talking about the myth of time management and the not-so-mythical twin villains, Ima Timewaster and Busy B. Interruptus. It’s not time we must manage, remember, but our activities; and these girls are adept at tricking us into running down the clock with fruitless pursuits.


Alertness to their wicked ways is the first step toward thwarting their plans. Here are a three other tools:

Plan your attack.  In other words, prioritize.

If you’ve set short- and long-term goals, you’ve already begun. But it needs to be done on a micro-term basis as well. That is, daily. 

Set aside the first part of each morning for a fortifying round of planning, and let no one and nothing interrupt you. Reviewing your progress to date, set your daily agenda accordingly. Schedule your most demanding tasks for your most productive time—and you know better than anyone else when that is. Are you a morning person? Do you get a burst of energy at 3:00 pm? Does your brain function at peak efficiency between 10 and 11:30 am? Whenever you’re sharpest, that’s the best slot for your biggest challenges and creative endeavors.

Delegate. One of the unmanageable aspects of time is the fact that, no matter how you try, you can’t make it stretch. Work wisely with the hours you have, but don’t try to do the impossible. Sometimes, not everything will fit in your schedule.

Being your own boss is one thing, but you don’t need to be your own secretary, accountant, publicist, and customer service department as well. What’s your particular area of expertise? Why did you establish this business? Probably it had something to do with something you love, something that no one else can do like you. If that’s the basis of your company, then that’s likely the work you should be focusing on—it gives you the best return on your investment.

Is your day filled with drudge tasks, necessary duties that detract from your main purpose, or mundane things that others might be more efficient at than you? Those are the tasks you should outsource. Yes, you’ll have to pay someone to do them; but it will free you to pursue the real money-making operation of your business. For financial as well as emotional purposes, delegating makes good, practical sense.

Be consistent. Nobody likes to feel stuck in a rut, but it’s good to establish a routine. Most of us go to bed and get up about the same time each day and take our meals on a fairly regular schedule; it’s good for our minds and our bodies. Similarly, it’s good for our business to establish a routine and to stick with it. Put systems in place and keep them running smoothly.

You’ll be more productive on a daily basis and will be able to get through crises with a minimum of panic.

Putting these three concepts into practice can send Ima Timewaster and her Busy B. sister out into the cold, looking for someone else’s time to disrupt. Don’t bother to wave goodbye; just say good riddance!

Time Management II

Last time, we cautioned you to beware that sneaky co-worker, Ima Timewaster.

Today, let’s identify her twin, Busy B. Interruptus. This engaging person is often thought to be one of the good guys. But despite her innocent appearance, she’s a serious threat to productivity. She’s always flitting here and there, never resting—but somehow, never accomplishing anything.

What’s your defense? Stop her with your trusty weapon, Goals. Set your sights on where you want to be by lunch, by the end of the week, or next quarter. Then, once embarked, stay the course despite Busy buzzing in your ear. Having reached that destination, proceed to your goal on the next horizon. 

A number of tools are available to help you with this. These can be anything from stone-age calendars and lists to specialized software. Many can be web based or accessed by smart phone and can also be tailored to fit your specific needs. Some of the top names: Replicon, BillQuick, Harvest, and ClickTime. Investigate the time-management possibilities and choose the one that best fits your situation and work style.

So, do you know where you’re headed? Plot your course, take off, and don’t let the Timewaster Twins waylay you.

That’s not all the tips we have, but you’ve got enough to chew on for now. We’ll pass out more next time. In the meantime, we wish you happy travels!

Time Management

Do you realize “time management” is a misnomer? It’s a myth. Time is inflexible; it moves inexorably at its own speed no matter what we do. Though we can’t force time to work for us, it is possible to take control of our work and arrange it to fit the time frame available.

This is especially important for business owners, who often fill multiple job descriptions in a typical day. If you feel frenzied but never seem to accomplish anything, what you need is not more time, but better organization. Realizing the problem is with your habits rather than the clock is the first step toward taking charge of your work day.

Grasp this concept, and you’re armed and ready to search out your archenemy, the sneaky Ima Timewaster. Whispering lies in your ear (It’ll only take a moment or Let me just check one thing), this thief steals your productivity. Track your daily activities and train yourself to recognize her subtle disguises wherever she lurks. These can be such innocent activities as emailing, surfing the net in the guise of “research,” personal phone calls, or repetitive tasks that can and should be automated.

What do you do when you spot her? Sometimes the little trickster will dart from one hiding place to another. The best strategy for rooting her out is to clear away the underbrush, one shrub at a time. Make a conscious effort, for instance, to make no personal phone calls at work this week; while you’re at it, limit time-sucking chit-chat in business calls and stick to the business at hand. Next week, just say “no” to your favorite computer game, or make wise use of the TV remote’s “Off” button.

Happy hunting. In our next post, we’ll share a few more goodies from our bag of tricks. 

Our Gift to You This Holiday Season

Holiday stress got you frazzled? Here’s a gift for you.

When faced with the pressures of life, emotional turmoil is only one aspect of the problem. Hormones like adrenaline and cortisol accelerate the heart rate, tense major muscle groups, and can even thicken the blood. All that can be beneficial as a short-term thing, when you need that “fight or flight” edge adrenaline is famous for. But bathing in those hormones over an extended period can cause cardiovascular disease and other illnesses. Prolonged stress is simply unhealthy.

What’s the solution? Quit your job, leave your family, and live on an island paradise? We don’t advise it. Sometimes, attempts to get away from it all merely create a new set of stressors. As long as we’re alive, we’ll have problems to deal with. The trick isn’t escaping the drama, but knowing how to deal with it.

Our gift to you this holiday season is a three-pronged key to reducing the damaging effects of stress in your life.

1) Find your stress buttons.

Usually we think of this in broad terms. For instance, many people will tell you that money is a major stress trigger.  But that’s too vague. What is it, specifically, about money that troubles you? Do you have too much month at the end of the paycheck? Does mounting debt make you suffocate? Are your accounts in such disarray you don’t even know where you stand? 

Whether the trigger is financial, familial, job-related, or otherwise, once you isolate it, you’re better equipped to meet it head-on. If you’re not sure how, don’t be afraid to enlist the help of an advisor, be it a financial planner, a family counselor, or a professional organizer. That’s what they’re there for!

2) Slay the dragon of self-defeat.

Once you grab the bull by the horns, you might find the critter has some unexpected allies. Interruptions, unplanned expenses, illnesses or injuries, car breakdowns, or sewer back-ups are just a few of the things that can make you lose your grip. When sewage happens, your mental response is vital to staying above it.

In these tense situations, beware of the “woe-is-me” attitude that casts you as a helpless damsel in distress. For example, instead of thinking This could only happen to me! or I don’t have time for this, see yourself as a stalwart knight who’s up for any challenge. This is unexpected, but I can manage it or I can adjust my schedule and it’ll work out fine.

3) Know when to take a breather.

Some days, no matter what your attitude, everything seems to go wrong. At such times, the best option can be simply to take a break. Separate yourself temporarily from the stressors to whatever degree is practical. The distraction can give you a chance to regroup, think more clearly, and ease the flow of stress hormones surging through your system.

Phone a friend who always makes you laugh. Work a brain-teaser, or write a poem. A longer-term solution might involve exercise. Take a brisk walk, go to the gym, or enroll in yoga classes. Get out and play in the sun. These activities relieve stress and also fire up the brain’s reward center. People who exercise regularly show greater self-confidence during stressful situations and are calmer in general than those who neglect physical activity.

Life happens; there's nothing we can do about that. Our wish is that this gift can help you take charge of your life in the coming year.

A Parable

Your philosophy professor sometimes uses visual aids to explain a concept.

Today, he stands before the class, an empty gallon jar on the podium beside him. It reminds you of a store your grandmother used to take you to sometimes, where they sold pickles in bulk. Your mouth waters at the memory of biting into that sour, juicy cucumber.

As you wonder what’s up with the pickle jar, he opens a box of golf balls and places them, one by one, into the jar until it can hold no more. He looks up at the class. “Is the jar full?”

Of course it is; anyone with eyes can see that. “Yes,” you all say, though personally, you’d like a pickle.

He nods, then sets the box down and grabs another from behind his desk. This one is filled with pea gravel, which he pours over the golf balls. He stops two or three times to shake the jar to allow the pebbles to filter down, but he keeps pouring until all the spaces are filled with gravel.

He looks up again. “Is the jar full now?”

You and your classmates glance at one another sheepishly; you’d all thought the jar was full before! He’s right, though; it wasn’t then, but now it is. “Yes,” you all say.

He nods and picks up yet another box. When he tips it over the jar, you see he’s now adding sand. Which, of course, fills in all the tiny spaces between the gravel. Clever.

You all anticipate his question this time. Almost before he asks, “Is the jar full now?” you answer, “Yes.” Because now, of course, it surely is.

But your professor’s not finished yet. He takes the Styrofoam cup from which he’d been periodically sipping and pours the coffee into the jar on top of everything else. When it’s all trickled to the bottom, he pulls another cup from behind the podium and empties it in, too.

You all laugh. It was a neat trick.

The professor scans the room, meeting each student’s eye. “Anyone care to tell me what lesson this illustrates?”

The student in front of you, who happens to be on the golf team, raises her hand. “Even when you hit a lot of balls into the bunker, there’s still room for coffee?”

You all laugh again, including the professor. But he shakes his head. “Though that’s true, it’s not my point.” He lays his hand on the jar. “This is your life. The golf balls are the things that you hold most dear, whatever that may be. Golf, for some—“ he gestures toward the student in front of you. “And for others, God, family, friends, whatever your passion. The things that you value so much that if everything else were lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.”

You nod. That makes sense.

“The pebbles represent other things that matter, like your job, house, and car. Without them, your life would have big gaps. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. Things that might be good or fun, but if they didn’t exist, you’d be none the emptier.”

He picks up the box that had contained the sand. It was still more than half full. “If I’d put the sand into the jar first, I’d have had no space for anything else. No gravel. No golf balls. Same thing is true of your life. Spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, and you’ll have no room for the important things.”

It sinks into your mind like sand filtering down through the pebbles.

“Now,” says the professor, “who would like to articulate today’s lesson?”

The golfer raises her hand. “Where life’s priorities are concerned, golf comes first.”

You all laugh again, but the professor sobers quickly. “If that’s your passion, you can make that choice. But for the rest of us, it would look a little different. The lesson is this: we must first fill our lives with the things that are most critical. Our family, our health, our faith. There will be time for the other necessary things, like doing the laundry or changing the oil. But give priority to your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

You rub your jaw. Yes, it all makes sense. But you have a question, so you raise your hand.

“I get that,” you say. “But what’s with the coffee?”

The professor smiles. “Glad you asked.” He picks up one of the empty cups. “No matter how full your life is, there’s always room for coffee with a friend.”

Makin' a List, Checkin' It Twice

The winter holiday season is fast upon us, for better or for worse. But before we make our gift (or Grinch) lists, we business owners have another important matter to attend to: collecting documentation for our visit with our CPA.

You have made an appointment, haven’t you? And you’ve scheduled it for well before the end of the year? Because it’s important to discuss your situation now, so you’ll know if you should do anything to reduce your tax burden (such as buying equipment or funding a retirement account) before December 31.

Let's say your appointment is set for just after Thanksgiving. What will you need to take with you? That depends on your individual circumstances. The following list isn’t comprehensive, but it’s a good start:

o   Your most current business Profit & Loss  and Balance Sheets.

o   Estimates of your expected income/expenses to complete the year.

o   Anticipated Schedule K-1s from other companies you may have an ownership in, and W-2s from other companies you may be receiving income from.

o   Anticipated cash balance at the end of the year. As mentioned above, you may need to go ahead and purchase now those large items you have planned for the future, in order to reduce your 2012 tax liability.

Note to business owners with inventory: Don’t take your computer’s word for it that you have X number of items A, B, and C. Take a physical year-end inventory to monitor “shrinkage” caused by theft (whether external or internal), breakage, or whatever. We'll will need accurate information to prepare your Business Personal Property Tax return.

Finally, don't forget to make a list of questions and issues to discuss with your CPA, like: 

o   Any “life change” you have experienced in 2012 – marriage, divorce, new baby, adoption, new dependent, etc. 

o   If you’ve sold your home, bought a home, made investment gains or suffered losses, made new investments in a partnership or company… just to mention a few.

o   Questions about how upcoming changes in tax law will affect you, such as those associated with Obama-Care.

o   If you’re approaching retirement, you might discuss whether to take Social Security as soon as you’re eligible or if it would be more beneficial to wait.

Once you’ve made your appointment, created your list, and located the pertinent documents, you’ll be able to relax, kick back, and 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

On Not Being a Turkey This Season

November. The word evokes a variety of images: Turning back the clocks. Bare tree limbs chattering in chill winds. The warm glow of a stuffed turkey on the table with the family gathered round. Gorging on feasts of college football. Organizing your financial records.

Say what? You mean that last isn’t part of your typical November? Maybe it should be; tax season’s just around the corner, you know.

Whether that groan was in response to what I just said or from overeating, buck up and get moving. Much like the mess in the kitchen, bookkeeping responsibilities don’t go away if you ignore them. Let them sit too long and strange, fuzzy things can creep out of them.

But this strikes no fear into your heart because you’re already on top of things, right? A place for everything and everything in its place, color-coded, arranged newest-to-oldest, clearly labeled, and bound.  Kudos! We love our OCD friends.

For the more relaxed of us, though, there’s still time. We don’t really gain an hour with the passing of Daylight Savings; those sixty minutes merely shift to another part of the clock. Let’s put them to use for something other than sleeping. You’ll be glad you did when you pull up your tax forms and have to decide what numbers to put in the boxes.

Better yet: if you set up a simple system this year for keeping organized in the future, you might be able to actually sleep that extra hour next November.

When gathering your yearly records, do you scrounge around the kitchen, laundry room, and den searching for errant papers? Once you find them, see where they’ve tended to congregate. That’s where you should put a meeting place for them—a box, a large envelope, or whatever works best. Keep it accessible and use it daily, and organization will be easier in subsequent years.

But when choosing the right depository for your records, bypass the bushel basket; there’s no need to keep every scrap of paper that crosses your palm. How can you know what’s important? For a starting place, get out last year’s tax return and see what you needed to prepare it. Then add documentation for any new real estate transactions, inheritances, investments, losses, etc.

To make things even simpler, separate your business records from personal, if applicable. For a home-based business, some of these might be the same, such as if you claim a portion of your real estate and utilities as business expenses. In our next post, we’ll discuss tax planning with your CPA before the end of the year so there are no surprises! Call and make an appointment now for December.

Oh, yeah, one more thing: while you’re at it, don’t forget to organize your electronic files too. Sure, the computer has a handy search feature, but that’s only for emergencies. It’s more efficient to be able to put your cursor on what you want the first time.

Wise decisions concerning time investments are as important as financial ones. With the days growing shorter before tax season descends, let’s take both seriously. You’ll be thankful you did.

A Glassful of Attitude

Little things matter big time.

But then, we’ve known that since we were kids. Remember the Little Engine That Could? Attitude made the difference between his getting to the top of the hill and sliding down backward.

Choices are important too, of course. We talked earlier about how following self-imposed disciplines and wisely choosing our proverbial hats can help keep chaos at bay. But our attitude is what directs our choices.

It’s not as cut and dried as the proverbial half-full or half-empty glass. Sometimes we see the glass is half-empty, but know it can be filled again.  This is neither blind naiveté nor stormy pessimism. It’s the sort of realism that accepts the facts and takes positive action.

When the level of wine in your life’s glass is sinking, what do you do about it? Do you drain the glass, and then, refreshed, put it in the sink and go your way? Refill it then take it to your desk to sip from as you work? Water a houseplant with the remainder?

What if it slips from your hands and breaks? Do you go to pieces with it, or clean up the mess and look for another glass?

Everyone’s wineglass holds a unique vintage. Only you know how the analogy relates to your situation. Whatever the parallel, it’s a good idea to analyze your circumstances impersonally, as you would a glass of wine. Decide the best course of action based on the opportunities available, and implement that choice as you’re able. Remember, it’s a glass of wine, not whine.

Your realistic attitude can determine whether you live a drama, or a dream.

The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph ~unknown

Life's Circumstances

The disciplines we keep.

            Discipline : behavior in accord with rules of  conduct;
                  behavior and order maintained by training and control

We all want our lives to be more balanced. More organized. More 'together'.

Sometimes it is events that are beyond our control that keep us from realizing our goals; this is true in our personal lives, as well as our business lives.
But quite often, if we take a good hard honest look at our lives, our lifestyles, and our habits, we can see that the habits we keep are sabotaging our own good intentions.

Take for instance: My goal is to save money. Oh, lets say I want to buy my dream car in a year, and I want a nice healthy down payment, or want to pay cash. I faithfully deposit money into savings... but three months down the road it just doesn't seem to be adding up fast enough.

Are my habits holding me back? Do I need to develop discipline in this area?
Ok, so I grab a note pad and start keeping track of where my money is going. Hmmm. $4 a day on machalattefrappycoffee..... no big deal, its only $4, right? WRONG. In a week its $28...a month, $117.60 and wow! in a year I'm spending over $1400 on foo-foo coffee!!

This is where discipline comes into play. It is hard to be painfully honest with ourselves. Sometimes making sacrifices is really uncomfortable. But really, it is simple. It is a matter of priorities. 

It is easy to endure that discomfort if the reward is greater than the cost. 
Examine your lifestyle and more importantly, your habits. Are your disciplines such that you are sabotaging your own success? Are they keeping you from reaching your goals?

Many of life's circumstances are created by three basic choices: the disciplines you choose to keep, the people you choose to be with; and, the laws you choose to obey. ~ Charles Millhuff

Choose Your Hats Wisely

If you are in business for yourself, you wear many hats. OK, many, many hats. Sometimes you wear many different hats all in one day, and often you may find yourself wearing many hats at once! It's not too far-fetched to find yourself at times, wearing the wrong hat for the task at hand. (I hate when that happens!)

It doesn't matter if you are a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker....all businesses have specific tasks that are segmented into their own little 'niche.' A few examples? Client relations, sales, services, administration, marketing, advertising and record keeping.

So what is it about hats? It is not uncommon for business owners to think, "I can do that."  Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't. Trying to do too much, often leaves you feeling stretched thin, like you are caught in a whirlwind and just can't gain ground. And you can't! Very few can do it all, and do it well!

As a business owner/Entrepreneur you have to decide which niches in the business you can fill.. and fill well.  Think hard about which hats you can wear consistently, and which hats would better serve your business if someone else was wearing it!

Which hats are most effective for you, and most productive for your business?

If you need to be with clients or providing services in order for your business to grow and thrive, how is that achieved if you are wearing the administrative office hat? It is easier now to hire others as the resources to handle tasks than it has ever been.

An experienced and savvy marketing pro can put your business right in front of your target market, saving you both time and money in wasted efforts. Nothing is less effective than trying to reach the wrong market! 

Think you are going to buy a bookkeeping program and keep your own books? Think again....you still have to have bookkeeping skills and knowledge...or all of the money you've saved will go to pay for someone to make sense of it all come tax time!

For a small fee, a personal assistant or concierge could run your business errands...trips to the print shop, the office supply store, etc. All tasks that need to be done, but they can certainly waste valuable time and leave you drained when instead you could be spending time with clients or prospective clients.  

Think about your hats. Decide which hats you can wear, and wear well...and think of the impact it has on your business. Hire someone else to wear some of your hats if you need to. Choose your hats wisely.

Who is going to let me?

The question isn't who is going to let me?....It's who is going to stop me??!!

No one would dare stop you but you!!

How's your Vision?

If you want to be in a bigger, better game, you have to "see" or think bigger and better.  Given a realistic, reasonable but methodical time frame and specific accountabilities, your dreams can come true.

When is the last time you checked your vision?  Just like life in general, business can become routine and stagnant if we are content just to settle in to the same ol' same ol' every day.

When you look at your business, do you see exactly what it is at this moment? Do you see the routine of tasks and chores, or do you see today as a stepping stone on the path to bigger and better things?

In order for your business to grow into something bigger and better, you must have a vision. But just having the vision is not enough to make it happen. According to Loral Langemeier, author of The Millionaire Maker, there are three things you need to go from vision to motion....

~ your vision needs to be exciting enough to energize you
~ your vision should be reasonable, yet doable
~ your vision should never compromise your values

So now, how's your vision?

Savoring a Balanced Life

Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure ~ unknown


Is your life balanced so that you have experiences to savor, and do you have time, and take the time to enjoy them to their fullest when they arrive?  Or are you too busy 'enduring' drama-filled experiences, that you don't even notice the wonder in your life?


If your life feels like one thing after another to 'endure'....maybe its time to step back and take a look at what changes you can make to take control of those events. Certainly, we can not control everything that happens in our lives. We can control our reaction, our behavior, and the way we respond to these experiences.


Creating an intentional balance in your life will lessen your moments to endure, and gift you with experiences to savor!

The problem with drama.....

Living in continual chaos is exhausting, frightening. The catch is that it's also very addictive. ~ Lorna Luft

The problem with chaos, or drama, is that it is addictive. We often don't realize how swept up we are in it. It becomes so much a part of our daily lives that we don't realize the disruption it causes us.

Just like stress, we accept it as a normal part of living. We often don't even recognize it as part of our routine, until it is removed and we can finally take a deep breath in relief. But really, do you want to spend your life in a whirlwind of "putting out fires"? Because that is usually how drama effects our lives.

I've heard that hindsight is always 20/20, but wouldn't it be nice to have foresight that was equally as good? At the time of year when many make resolutions to make changes in their lives, now would be a good time to resolve to take steps to eliminate the drama from your life.

Easier said than done, sure! But taking small steps to first recognize the drama in your life is a start. Taking steps to eliminate drama from your daily routine will create a calmer, more peaceful life....