Gettin' In "The Zone"

Being productive is always an important part of a person's day. Whether at work or dealing with everyday things.

The business owner, being a much different animal, has a much more difficult time with managing time, especially when they have 10+ things pulling at them at any given time.

But the technology business owner, is at an even bigger disadvantage when taming the time vampires that always suck their energy in every which direction. Why, because unlike the other "non-tech" people, we tend to have an obsession with multi-tasking since we think like a machine.

The problem is, multi-tasking and humans really don't mix. Actually, it really doesn't even exist amongst people. No matter how smart you are.

Unless you are setting a job to run itself, such as a backup, and leaving to do something else, you really can't do two things at once and call it productive. The example I just gave isn't even multi-tasking since it's not requiring you to actually think about the back up while you're doing something else. You have no involvement.

So what does this mean? Well, trying to do 2 things at once will always take more time rather than setting up a time frame (like an hour) to finish something and then moving to the next thing (ie two 1 hours tasks "multi-tasked" can take 2.5 hours or more to fininsh instead of just 2 hours).

Every time you go back to the second or third simultaneous task, it takes you time to get back up to speed. 1 to 5 minutes to get back in the groove can add up real fast if you switch back and forth between even 2 things a couple of times.

Although you're probably doing a ton of things someone else should be doing, like many business owners get caught up in, I want to point out to you how to at least save yourself some time. So here are a few things to do this year to help you get to the important stuff:

- Set up time frames to do things (1 to 2 hours blocks at the most) inside of an actual schedule, not just a "to do" list. Lists are a good start but a schedule actually makes things happens. We humans like deadlines and tend to stick to them when they're in our faces.

- Curb the emails (biggest time killer out there). If you have to run your business with you being the emergency contact for your clients or employees, don't do it via email. It's unnecessary and is actually slower than the good old phone. You should really only check your email 2 or 3 times a day unless you're expecting something important. In that case, you should have informed the sender that you need it by a specific time and that's when you check. I get arguments about this but there are ways around being "always on" for everyone especially through email. Too many non-essential and non-work emails are usually present and knock you completely off track. Being too easily accessible as a business owner is a kiss of death that many fall into the trap of.

- Do yourself a favor and schedule something to do as soon as you start your day and then check your email. Again, unless you are expecting something specific to be in that inbox AND are disciplined enough not to answer or start deleting the other 150 emails, don't even bother starting your day on the wrong foot by going right to your inbox. I know I lack that discipline and avoid this very bad idea.

These are a small few things to do that will surely make you more productive this year. Nobody can afford to waste time nowadays so do what you can to do the important stuff and not be disturbed in the process.

If you think you're ready for some more on time management, grab my book here. It will be a well spent $20 or grab the pdf version for a discount. You can't lose.

Have a very productive week. Feel free to comment back here on your results if you try anything out.


To Your Business Success-


George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach

Technology Small Business Owners- This is Our Time

Tomorrow we will have a new president in the US. What does the future hold with Mr. Obama at the helm?

Well, his ability to make or break small business is not as prominent as you think. But he can obviously make a positive (or negative) impact in certain aspects as they relate to taxes and other federal government controlled issues.

Let's hope Mr. Obama does the right thing and makes it easier for small business to keep employees and even easier to hire them.

But keep this in mind; we are the makers of our own destiny. That's what entrepreneurship is all about. In this country, we are free to start and operate our own businesses. As long as that is the case, then truly nobody else but you, the business owner, can steer your destiny.

Not the stock market. Not the US president.

Let me quickly show you the powerful network we're part of as small technology business owners. There are about 24 million small businesses in this country and only 17,000 large businesses. Even if each small business had no employees but the owner, we would still grossly out-number the the jobs created by big business.

Now that, my friend, is power.

If you get the chance to tell our new government what we entrepreneurs need to keep this country humming, make sure you take the chance to voice it.

Choose your destiny right now for 2009 and beyond.

Make a plan of action and excecute it.

Be ready to change course as needed (that's the beauty of small business that big business can't compete with).

Be open to work with others and get help from others to make it all happen (nobody says you have to be an island and those that aren't are the ones that reach goals faster).

These are the keys to making the most of our time as technology business owners.


To Your Business Success-

George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach

Has the Credit Crunch Hit Your Business Yet?

I don't know about you, but not long ago even my credit lines were decrease for no good reason. Even if you're like me and did nothing wrong and still have good to great credit, "the man" is covering their backsides.

My good friend Lathea Morris and her husband Morlino of The Credit Alternative are putting on a free teleseminar this month to help you battle this credit crunch and help you not suffer through losses of much needed capital.

See the details below:

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Sign up for the free teleseminar here (limited spots) http://financialcrisis.eventbrite.com/


When American Express decreased the line of credit of financial experts, Lathea & Morlino Morris, they were surprised. Although they had predicted banks would take this type of action to minimize risk in light of the current economic crisis, they had not predicted they would slash limits of consumers and small business owners with good credit. So, despite great credit scores, a solid credit history, making timely payments and keeping careful track of each charge, the Morris' too, are victims of the credit limit ax.

Find out need to know information and how to protect yourself during this financial crisis. Join Lathea & Morlino Morris, co-founders of The Credit Alternative Group, LLC., "Smart Credit Moves" financial columnists for the Herald News NJ and co-creators of The Complete Credit Management Toolkit 3.0 as they present in an easy to follow format the options you have to Keep Your Home and Effective Strategies For Managing Your Credit & Debt during these challenging economic times.


Sign up for the free teleseminar here (limited spots) http://financialcrisis.eventbrite.com/
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Happy to pass this along to you all.

To Your Business Success

George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach

Are You Nervous About the "New Technology Consultants" on the Block?

There's a lot of buzz in the technology business world about the recent employees being shed by the big boys. And there will probably be some more.

Although I am pretty certain that has more to do with getting rid of unnecessary fluff that has been there for years (with the opportunity to axe without being questioned) more than economy reasons for the tech companies. But there are a few important things to keep in mind about these happenings.

Yes, maybe the small business technology world will be flooded with new "consultants", but it will be very short lived. And it will only effect others in the tech world that are "consultants" and not business owners. You aren't one of those people, are you?

Here's why. First, from a legal standpoint, unless hiring an independent for a short burst gig like 6 months or so, you can't do it. Hiring an independent that makes more than half of their income from one source is not a consultant. They are called "employees".

This isn't the 80's and early 90's. Fed and state government entities have been cracking down on this for a good 10 years now and the past few years have been major eye openers to business owners. It may have started with businesses that typically hire illegal immigrants but I have witnessed professional service providers getting nailed left and right recently with techs, consultants, and sales people.

Second, no SMB owner in their right mind is going to trust an ex-big business worker with taking care of their business needs, especially in this economy. They typically know little to nothing about small and medium sized businesses needs or how they work. There is no track record or stability available from them. And like I've said before, if the value for the dollar layout isn't there, businesses are not going to pay for it.

Last, let's do a reality check here. A very, very small percentage of these former employees turned consultants want anything to do with running or owning a business. They didn't choose to jump into your world on their own. They were pushed out and are trying to make a living while they look for another job.

These people are, and want to be, employees. They shouldn't be considered as any kind of competition to you unless you also don't really have a business and add no value to your clients.

Actually, this may be an opportunity to pick up a good employee or two if you're in a position where you need more headcount to get you out of the "tech grind" and work more on your business instead of in it.

Keep building your business by way of structure and profits, eat the lunch of your cowering competitors, and forget about the possible "new consultants" unless you want to take them on as new employees.


To Your Business Success

George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach

Quick Note on an Exit Planning Webinar

Just a quick post to start out the week. The normal "chock full of information" post will be on board in a day or two.

If you have not yet had a chance to participate in any of my exit planning webinars in the past 6 months that I've done in various venues (Harry B/SMB Nation, Stuart Selbst/Securemycompany.com), or my own hosted webinar on the subject last month), then here's another chance.

It's all about building a business this year and an exit strategy of selling your business (whether you ever really think you want to of not) is the key to money in your pocket now AND in the future for retirement even if retirement means just shutting the doors and riding into the sunset.

I will be doing my Exit Strategy: "Run It Like You're Gonna Sell It" for Maximum Profit NOW and Increased Business Value for the FUTURE webinar with the ICCA on weds 1/21 at 8pm EST.

Here's a quick low-down from the site:
Do ANY of these terms come to your mind regarding your business on a daily basis?

Insurance Security Retirement Profit

Unless your business is really a hobby and you don't need the money, it's impossible to not have at least 2 of these on your mind every day.

Whether you would like to believe it or not, if you own a business these terms are what you are operating your business for. And whether you ever PLAN on selling your business, PLAN on growing beyond what you can handle as a solo-entrepreneur or neither one, setting your business up as if you were going to sell in the near or distant future is the only way to do it right.

Why? An exit strategy of selling, regardless of whether you WANT to give up your baby or not right NOW or EVER, covers all four of these points...

What's the current value of your business?
What are potential business buyers looking for and how does that pertain to you whether you ever plan to sell or not?
How can you maximize your business value to you and to a buyer (even if you're a one person show)?
What positives can happen NOW as a result of structuring your business for a FUTURE exit?

As a business owner of any size business at any stage in its life cycle, you have nothing to lose and a tremendous amount of insights to gain from this webinar.


So there you have it. Here's the link if you are interested

http://www.icca.org/community.php?Webinars

If you can't make this live webinar, shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do about access to a recorded version.


Hope to "see" you there.


To Your Business Success-

George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach

Our "Recession" & Your Technology Business

Is the country in a recession? By definition, the answer is yes.

Are we anywhere near a depression or in as bad a situation as the media likes to throw at us so they have stories to report? Uhhh, that would be a no.

To repeat myself from other posts, as technology business owners catering to other businesses, it's not a bad place to be at all. Unless of course you don't provide for your clients a business asset and intelligent/necessary business resources.

If you're just another hole they are throwing money into (or at least that's what they're thinking because your value is not apparent), then I take it back. You are actually in trouble.

But that's depressing so I will continue on with the assumption that you do, in fact, provide a tremendous business value to your clients.

OK, so let's point out a good thing or two about a slumping economy. First, as history states, the worst of times often produces the most wealthy people when the economy turns around.

The Great Depression created many Millionaires. Some of which are now Billionaires. How can that be? Well, some people didn't lose all of their money and were poised to buy up the stock of surviving large businesses and banking institutions that were bound to grow immensely.

The second group of people are what is interesting to a technology business owner though. This group figured out how to provide needed resources to those looking for ways to survive. Or they jumped into a brand new business by making up entirely new products and services to accomplish this. They were the ones that did well and were sitting on top of the wave as the economy came back on an upswing.

With that said, I want to give you some tips on how to not just survive in a down economy but actually come out of it ahead of your competition as they take cover and "hope" that their clients don't drop them as an unnecessary expense.

Tip #1: Although now is not the time to pull your money out of dwindling investment funds, you should most certainly be investing the money you are earning now in yourself and your business. I'm referring to education and tools for your own business operation.

Tip #2: Don't sit back. Time management, client management, employee/sub management, marketing, sales, finances and metrics. Systematize and automate. Keep moving forward with your infrastructure. Think of it this way: you have the chance to keep controlling your own destiny as a business owner. Closing shop and going out to get a job isn't an option right now because they aren't there (and it really shouldn't ever be an option as an entrepreneur).

Tip #3: Stay connected with thought leaders, mentors/advisors/coaches, mastermind groups, networking/business associations, etc. People are doing well in many places. It's a safer place to be and easier to do well in numbers versus all on your own. That goes for any time, but now especially.

Tip #4: The government is not setting aside any bailouts for your business. So unless you have a big inheritance coming your way or can predict the next big lottery ticket winning numbers, you'd better have a plan in place to add revenue streams, make more from current clients, have a marketing system in place for new clients, and have your business ready to handle both decreases and increases in business.

Tip #5: Be serious about your goals this year. Seriously. Don't just write them down. Make an actual structured, realistic plan with a timeline to reach those goals. If you get stuck on how to get it done, get help! Put metrics in place to measure business health and to see how well you're doing in reaching those goals. Use industry and peer benchmarks to see how well you are beating up your competition.


When money is flying, it's no challenge to be in business for yourself. 2009 WILL BE a challenge and the true business owners will survive. Those with a self made job will not. Harsh but true.

The resources and tools are out there but nobody is going to twist your arm or convince you to use them. Check your ego at the door, stop wasting time reinventing the wheel, and start working "on" your business more than "in" it.

You know what you have to do. This year, get out there and do it.



To Your Business Success-

George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach