April 2009

"The only limits are those of your imagination," Anonymous                 “Donna-Marie’s business planning workbook is exactly what every small business needs. Using easy to follow strategies, Donna-Marie takes you through step by step what you need to think through, plan and implement in order to establish your small business. I fully recommend the Business Planning Workbook to anyone considering starting up their own business.” Ingrid Cliff, Heart Harmony.

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Welcome to our April 2009 newsletter. Can you believe it's April already? We're already into the second quarter of 2009. This year seems to be going by even faster than the years before.

Life is as hectic as usual around this place at the moment... and I wouldn't have it any other way  :-)  I am loving the work I've been doing and especially my role of mentoring online business owners. It's so exciting to be able to teach a few concepts, then watch that student put the strategies to use with their own ideas to build something that is profitable, but most importantly, to see their dreams come to fruition.

We're also busy planning a trip to New Zealand in July. I'll be attending World Internet Summit from July 23-26 but will also be enjoying some relaxing time out with family, all while celebrating my birthday!

In this month's newsletter I'll give you 3 good reasons why multi-tasking  is not all it's often cracked up to be, along with sharing a few bits and pieces that I hope you'll find helpful in your own business.

Enjoy! 

 

 

 

Cover Girl Material:  

 

Yours Truly is a cover girl (no, not just in my dreams!)

I’ve been featured in the Inspiring Women section of the special ‘Business Planning’ edition of the Business Mums Magazine. Plus, I managed to get myself on the cover too! How cool is that?

If you’re interested, you can read the feature article, Donna-Marie’s Plan, here. Or visit the Business Mums Magazine site to purchase your own copy of the magazine.

 

 

 

 

Feature Article:

3 Top Reasons Why You Should Stop Multi-Tasking Now!

Multi-tasking -- it sounds like an oh so productive word; but is it?

A lot of people think that it's good to multi-task. It somehow seems more productive. After all, you are getting more done in the same amount of time… or are you? Often what happens is you do more things, but you complete less. Evidence is showing that multi-tasking is not always good for success in small business. When it really counts, you are better off focusing in on one thing and getting that done before you move on to the next.

 

1. Multi-tasking -- The Time-Eater

More and more studies are showing that multi-tasking significantly cuts into the amount of time it takes to accomplish a set of tasks. While it may seem like you are doing more because you are attending to more projects or responsibilities, in actuality it is taking more time to do each one, as opposed to the amount of time it would take if you were not constantly switching gears and just attended to one task through to completion. Research shows that by multi-tasking your way through tasks that require cognitive thought it takes twice as long for each project as it would if you were to do each job in sequence. Multiple accomplishments seem efficient, but in actuality they are exactly the opposite.

 

2. Multi-tasking -- The Quality Stealer

Not only that, but by dividing your attentions and continuously switching mental gears you are stealing from the quality of the tasks you do accomplish. When you multi-task, experts say that you lack a level of connection to the project that you would have if you were to concentrate solely on it, which does seem to make sense. Not only that, but that loss of focus increases mistakes, which increases the time that must be spent on producing a clean product or project, and increases the time that needs to be devoted to correcting those mistakes. This is, in part, why multi-tasking is such as time-stealer.

 

3. Prioritising And A Little Multi-Task Indulgence 

It is becoming increasingly clear as multi-tasking is further studied that the most efficient way to work is to prioritise goals and projects, and dedicate time and attention to each, completing tasks totally. It's a faster way to produce a high-quality result, and a better way to approach time management.

Does all this mean that multi-tasking is always bad? Not necessarily, say the experts. They say that the less cognitive thinking and awareness that a task requires the better candidate for multi-tasking it may be. So while answering emails and writing a sales report at the same time is not encouraged, it can be okay to clean the office windows as you chat casually with a business associate. But when it counts by and large multi-tasking in business is more counter-productive than anything, and if you are a staunch multi-tasker, it is time to re-evaluate your true level of productivity.

                     

My Free Gift To You:

 

I know a lot of people I mentor are always full of questions about Pay Per Click advertising such as Google Adwords, wanting to know how to get the best value for money from their campaigns, or just wondering if it's even worthwhile bothering with.

 

So to get you all the answers you are looking for, I recently interviewed Google Adwords specialist, Arran Robertson.

 

In our 30 minute interview Arran shared some awesome information about how to set up an Adwords campaign, including some little-known tips and secrets that even many of the top Internet marketers don't know about!

Now Arran will be selling this interview along with a transcript of the recording but as a special gift to you, we are giving you a copy of this interview for free. That's right... zip... nada... zilch... nothing.

 

Download your copy of this Google Adwords interview now.

 

 

Keeping In Touch With Clients, Family And Friends Made Easy With SendOutCards:

Fast paced, busy and hectic is the norm of today’s business world. Time is precious, and quite often it is difficult to remember that the little things like building relationships with your clients in such a way that they feel special because you delivered them something personal, can be something at the bottom of your ‘to do’ list.

One way that you can use relationship marketing to build your business fast is to SendOutCards to your clients. The surprise element of receiving a card in the mail that may simply say ‘thank you for being our client’ is something that will long be remembered by your clients. SendOutCards prints it, stuffs it and mails it - all for less than a greeting card at the store! Not only can you create personalised cards for any occasion you can think of, they can even have your very own handwriting on them and a photo of your company logo, or better still, yourself!

Visit SendOutCards today and sign up to send a free card so that you can see how this fabulous form of marketing will benefit your business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting Blog Post:

Here's a recent post on my blog that I thought you might be interested in: What Do You Do When You're Down? Get Back Up!

This brings tears to my eyes and is incredibly powerful. If ever you need some motivating or things are getting a bit tough and you feel like giving up, go watch this video.

 

I hope you've enjoyed this month's newsletter. Remember, if there’s a particular topic you’d like to know more about, please email me and let me know. 

If you're one of the many who celebrate Easter or who are about to start school holidays, I wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable holiday and hope you enjoy the break.

Here’s to your success in small business!

Warmly, Donna-Marie