Archive for the ‘E Tips’ Category

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E Tip-Franchise Owner’s Tips on Work/Mom Balance

Friday, April 24th, 2009
Tammy Huinker, Molly Maid Franchise Owner

Tammy Huinker, Molly Maid Franchise Owner

Hello friends!

In my last post, I featured Tammy Huinker who has successfully built a Molly Maid franchise while working just three days a week so she could spend plenty of time  with her three boys.

I’m very close with my family (including my mom, dad, two sisters, and brother) and enjoying spending time with many friends. But I haven’t experienced the blessing of children yet so I thought I would turn the floor over to Tammy and two other mompreneurs for their tips on balancing their mom and business duties.

Tammy’s Work/Life Balance Tips after 14 Years as a Franchise Owner:

Set Your Hours: Tammy decided up front that she wanted to work strictly 8-5, and once she had twins, she decided to work three days a week. By making and keeping her goal of reducing her hours from corporate life, Tammy focused on “working smarter, not harder” and experienced her dream lifestyle.

Find and Keep Great Employees: At the beginning, Tammy brought in an employee that could cover for her when she was out of the office. By training and trusting her staff, Tammy gave herself the flexibility to work less.

Keep Expenses Low: To purchase the franchise, Tammy took an SBA loan but made it a personal goal to pay off the seven-year loan in just five. The first “fleet” car she bought was brand new, but she “never did that again.” Now Tammy purchases used cars and rented for 12 1/2 years before building her own facility.

Her advice for building a business without burning out: “Start Small and Work Up.”

Sounds brilliant to me! Stay tuned for Work/Life BrillianceTM tips from two more mompreneurs!

Elizabeth

P.S.–If you’re interested in taking control of your business so you have more time with your family, contact me to set up a consultation.

To find out more about Molly Maid, go to: www.MollyMaid.com. If you’re in the Ankeny, Iowa, area and are interested in house cleaning services, you can contact Tammy at Molly Maid Ankeny at 515-964-4111.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time empowerment coach who frees business owners to achieve their dream lifestyles. She specializes in empowering women business owners to achieve work/life brillianceTM

Inc magazine, NBC, and The Chicago Tribune are just a few of the places where Elizabeth has appeared, and she’s happy to be interviewed for your publication or broadcast.

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Posted in E Profiles, E Tips, Entrepreneurship, Mompreneurs, Relationships | 1 Comment »

E Tip-Shut Up & Cast Out the Voice of Overwhelm

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

This is what I would look like if I didn't shut up the voice of overwhelm!

This is what I would look like if I didn't shut up the voice of overwhelm!

For almost two years, I’ve aimed to build a business while working about 40 hours a week so I would have time for physical, relational, and spiritual health. But that doesn’t mean setting time boundaries is always easy for me. On a daily basis, I have to combat the voices in my head that tell me “You are not working enough,” “You are not successful enough,” “You are not making enough,” etc…..

Do you hear any of those  voices? Or if you can’t quite hear a voice do you sometimes feel an inexplicable sense of terror at the thought of actually taking time to relax or slow down?

If so, this exercise can lead to freedom for you. (It’s a cliff notes version of concepts in “The Worry Free Life.”)

  • Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper. Write “The Voice” at the top of the left column and “My Response” at the top of the right.
  • Start to write down all of the voices that you hear in your head in the left column. If they come out in the “I” form, rewrite them in the “you” form. For example: “I need to work all the time” should be translated into “You need to work all the time.”
  • Writing these voices in the “You” form exposes them as an outside force negatively influencing you instead of you identifying with these voices as your own inescapable thoughts.
  • In the right column, respond to these voices using this formula:
    For demands write: “Why should I (fill in demand)?”
    For statements write: “So what if you think (fill in statement)?”
    For questions write: “It’s none of your business!”
  • If you want to take your counter attack one step further, after your first response, write down truths such as: “I have the ability to choose when I will work.” and “I can succeed without working all the time.”

I know this sounds funny, but it works! I’m in the midst of building my time management coaching business and developing a couple of new products. This week, I’ve heard and fought off these voices of overwhelm in my head:

  • You are a loser.
  • You have to do everything at once.
  • You’ll fall behind.
  • If you don’t do everything at once that you can think of, you’ll fall behind.
  • You’re not good enough.
  • You’re not working hard enough.
  • It all depends on you.

I recognized these lies and responded to them using the above technique and was able to stay focused and move forward with confidence.

What voices of overwhelm are tormenting you? It’s time to tell them to shut up and cast them out with the truth! Please use this technique, check out the book, and if you need extra help, be in touch with me about a coaching consultation. You don’t have to conquer overwhelm alone!

Have a brilliant day!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time coach who empowers individuals  who are overwhelmed and frustrated because they want to achieve a life of peace and productivity but are struggling to make it happen. She helps  them set priorities, set expectations and set routines so that they move forward, feel peaceful and have time for themselves and the people they love.

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Posted in E Tips, Encouragement, Health & Wellness, Psychology, Resources, Rest & Rejuvenation, Uncategorized | No Comments »

E Tip-How to Set Prices Based on the Value of Your Time

Monday, April 6th, 2009

Charge What You're Worth!

Charge What You're Worth!

Time is Money!

Money is Time!

If you need more of both, remember this principle: The higher your hourly rate or product price, the less hours you need to work or products you need to sell to meet your financial goals.

My friend Brenda Stanton is doing a free preview call This Wednesday, April 8 at  8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on  The 3 Keys To Transforming Your Income And Finally Enjoying Being An Entrepreneur. (You can sign up for the phone call by clicking on this link: Free Teleseminar!)

Brenda will go into much greater detail on the whole subject of transforming your mindset on money and what you’re worth. But here’s my take on pricing your services based on a time management point of view:

-How much time can you work? Honestly evaluate how much time you can spend on your business each day, each week, each month.

-How much time can you bill? If you’re in a services business, it’s not uncommon to spend at least half of your time on non-billable tasks i.e. answering e-mail, networking, bookkeeping, etc. Depending on the structure of your product business, this percentage could be similar.

-How much money do you need to make? What are your monthly and yearly income goals? What does that mean you need to make on average each week, day, and hour? Or how many products do you need to sell on average each week and day?

-How much are other people charging? Do you know what’s the standard rate for similar product and service offerings in your industry? If not, who could you ask or where could you research?

Once you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to take a hard look at your business model. Perform these simple equations:

Hourly Rate x Hours You Can Work=Potential Income

Product Margin x Number of Products Sold=Potential Income

Do the numbers add up? If not, you might want to consider raising your prices, especially if you’re priced lower than others in your market. (It’s common for service providers to bill over $100/hour to compensate for their non-billable time.) Or consider offering higher value services or selling multiple products as a package so you can make more on each sale.

If the equation works but you’re still having trouble reaching your goals, work on sales strategies to increase your billable hours or products sold.

Remember–Your time is valuable. When you treat it that way, you claim your worth.

Have a brilliant day!

Elizabeth

P.S.–Do you need to speak with someone about how to maximize your productivity during the hours you can work on your business? Send me an e-mail: esaunders@RealLifeE.com and we’ll arrange a time to chat.

PP.S.–The 3 Keys To Transforming Your Income And Finally Enjoying Being An Entrepreneur will help you overcome your psychological barriers to making money. (You can sign up for the phone call by clicking on this link.)

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time management coach who empowers entrepreneurs to build businesses without burning out.

Inc magazine, NBC, and The Chicago Tribune are just a few of the places where Elizabeth has appeared, and she’s happy to be interviewed for your publication or broadcast.

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Posted in E Tips, Entrepreneurship, Internships & Jobs, Money & Finances, Psychology | No Comments »

E Tip-Balancing Business Demands

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Balance Leads to a Brilliant Life!

Balance Leads to a Brilliant Life!

Simple Work/Life balance is sooo yesterday.

Right now we’re dealing with Job-Business/Life balance or Business 1-Business 2-Business 3/Life balance.

Last week, I lead a time management strategies conference call with these fabulous entrepreneurs: Lauren Berger, Jason Duff, Doug Fath, Morgan First, and Michael Simmons. Each one of us has at least one, if not five, businesses and an abundance of friends and interests and passions.

As a young female entrepreneur who has run a writing business for 3 1/2 years and started a time management coaching company in 2007, I understand the challenges of balancing multiple items on the “work” side of the equation.

Here are some of my tricks for making time choices and using time strategies so you can succeed at building businesses and still have a life:

  • Identify Income Sources: Have a clear picture of what activity generates income and make sure that is a large part of how you spend your time. Also look for ways to generate passive income streams and/or increase your hourly rate.
  • Focus Business Development: Think carefully about what activities actually lead to income: is it networking at a young professionals event or at industry conferences, is it making cold calls or writing blog posts? If you’re pressed for time, only do the ones that bring results and limit your time doing these activities.
  • Say No (nicely): If someone asks you to do something that 1) Doesn’t generate income, 2) Doesn’t develop your business, and/or 3) Doesn’t interest you, tell them: “I really appreciate the offer, but right now I’m afraid it won’t fit in my schedule.”
  • Organize Your Responsibilities: The key to avoiding overcommitment is to have absolute clarity on your commitments and how you will keep them. This means having a calendar, a list of projects ordered by deadline, and written business development goals. It’s good to have quarterly, monthly, and weekly reviews, but I find nothing trumps reviewing these documents each morning. This allows me to set and adapt my daily priorities in light of the current situation. (If the CEO and Chairwoman of Xerox can find time to plan in the morning, you can too!)

I am PASSIONATE about empowering entrepreneurs to build businesses without burning out and am REALLY excited about unveiling a home study course on this topic this summer (All of the secrets of my coaching process in an easy-to-use guide!)

To brilliantly balanced lives!
Elizabeth

P.S.–If you’re a student, check out Lauren Berger’s fabulous blog post on How to Manage an Internship and a Job.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time strategies expert. Her time management coaching empowers entrepreneurs to build businesses without burning out. Elizabeth has been featured in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and on NBC.

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Posted in E Tips, Entrepreneurship, Internships & Jobs | 1 Comment »

E Tip-How to Take Control of Your E-Mail

Friday, February 27th, 2009

Elizabeth Grace Saunders, Real Life EDespite popular belief, e-mail does not have to run your life.

E-mail is not your boss. It is simply a method of communicating information, just like postal mail. Before the advent of all of our modern electronic “conveniences” there was an expectation that it would take a bit of time for you to receive information. No one ran to their mailbox every five minutes or had a panic attack if someone didn’t immediately receive and respond to their note. The expectation was that communication took time, and when people were able, they would respond.

Fast forward to 2009, between e-mail, IM, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and the multitude of computer and non-computer based communication options, many Americans have a serious case of information overload and Web-induced ADD.

Here is one simple strategy to conquer e-mail overload:

Set the expectation that you will only reply to e-mail once or twice a day.

I know this may sound crazy, but I’ve been doing it successfully for a couple of years and kept e-mail in its proper place. Here’s how:

1. If you have set the expectation that you will respond to e-mail in 2-seconds flat, set up one of these auto responders to start to wean people off of instant access to you.

2. Set aside a day to completely clear out your in boxes. (This could be shorter or longer depending on your backlog.)

3. At the designated time, sit down with a list of all of your e-mail accounts in front of you. Number them in order of attack.

4. Look at the first inbox. Select and delete all of the messages that do not require a personal response (updates, newsletters, feeds, ListServes, etc.). If you can’t bear the thought of deleting something because you “will read it” move it into a properly labeled e-mail folder.

5. Select and move all of the e-mails related to a particular project/person/topic that you need to keep but don’t require a reply into designated folders. (I have one for each client and each business development topic.)

6. Take a hard look at your inbox and make sure there is nothing more you can delete or file before starting to read e-mail.

7. Click on the first message in your inbox. Take the appropriate action (i.e. read, reply, forward, etc.), and then immediately delete or file it. It CAN NOT remain in your inbox. If you need to remember to complete a task related to that e-mail, put a note on your to-do list or calendar and then file the e-mail.

8. Continue down the list of e-mails until you are entirely done with the inbox. The only time you are allowed to spend time scanning the entire inbox is if you can respond to multiple messages with a single e-mail. (For instance I replied to five of my client’s messages sent on one day with a single e-mail response.)

9. Repeat this process with the rest of your e-mail inboxes. The psychological relief will be sublime!

10. Develop a personal system of responding to e-mail just once or twice a day so you can stay on top of e-mail on a regular basis without having it constantly interrupt you. For instance, I block out 1-2 hours every morning to clear out my business e-mail inboxes. Then for the rest of the day, I am free to complete projects. I send e-mail when necessary, but try to only scan my inbox a couple of times a day and only respond to e-mails that are truly urgent. Otherwise, they have to wait for my morning e-mail purge.

According to Lauren Berger, the Intern Queen, this is the best piece of advice I ever gave her! I hope you’ll experience similarly brilliant results.

Be brilliant TODAY!
Elizabeth

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time coach who empowers individuals  who are overwhelmed and frustrated because they want to achieve a life of peace and productivity but are struggling to make it happen. She helps  them set priorities, set expectations and set routines so that they move forward, feel peaceful and have time for themselves and the people they love.

She also does women in business keynote speeches about how to have confidence, present yourself professionally, and work effectively with men and women in the business world.

Elizabeth has been featured in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and on NBC, and is happy to be interviewed for your broadcast or publication.

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Posted in E Tips, Entrepreneurship, Internships & Jobs, Resources, Social Media & Technology | 2 Comments »

E Tip-3 E-Mail Auto Responders to Break E-Mail Addiction

Friday, February 20th, 2009

THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: E-Mail Addiction Has Reached Epidemic Proportions. If You Don’t Take Proper Precautions, It Will Soon Take Over the Planet.

Seriously. According to a Kings College study that Tim Ferriss often cites, e-mail and phone distractions lower people’s IQ more than drugs. Crazy!

In response to this national crisis, I have been developing a Complete E-Mail Detox Program that will be revealed next week. But to get the ball rolling, I wanted to share a few effective e-mail auto responders that can help you break the vicious cycle of treating your e-mail message indicator like a fire alarm.

Once you set the expectation that you will not immediately respond to e-mail, these auto-responders will become unnecessary. But for now, the e-mails below can be your “patch” during the detox process.

To brilliant e-mail control!
Elizabeth

E-Mail Auto Responder #1

Tim Ferriss provides a form e-mail auto responder in Chapter 7 of his book The 4-Hour Workweek. This e-mail corresponds with his suggested method of checking e-mail at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.

E-Mail Auto Responder #2

This is an auto responder used by Mitch Matthews, a trainer, coach, and connector extraordinaire! Mitch says it’s helped him to psychology let go of the compulsion to constantly respond to e-mail.

Subject Line: “Thanks for connecting! Re: Subject Line of Original E-Mail”

Text:

Hello!

Thanks for your e-mail.

I’m sending this to let you know that due to a number of exciting
projects, I am only checking and responding to e-mail once a day.

You and your e-mail are important.

So… if you need an urgent response, please call the Matthews Group,
Inc. toll-free number at 800.491.5316.

If it is not urgent, know that I will respond to your e-mail as
quickly as possible.

Thanks again for connecting and thanks for understanding this move
towards greater effectiveness.

Have a fantastic day!

Mitch

–
Mitch Matthews,
Coach, Speaker & Connector

www.akickinthepants.com

p: 800.491.5316
f:  515.221.3801

Check out these “kick” connection projects:

www.doyouQ.com

www.BIGdreamgathering.com

E-Mail Auto Responder #3

This is an example of an auto responder from Patrick Combs, an amazing speaker and coach who is on on the road frequently. It lets people know that he cares about their message but might not get back to them immediately.

Text:

Ah, your email has arrived but alas it might take me time to respond. So…

If you need an immediate, time sensitive response please contact me through my office: [office manager's e-mail address] or (858) 759-6994. Phones are more fun anyways.

If you have my direct line, feel free to call me. And…

If you are seeking my coaching, might you consider my coaching program? It puts you on the phone with me on a regular basis and you can ask me anything you wish. It’s less than $1/day. www.coachedbyPatrick.com

Many blessings,
Sharing Success,
—————————————
Patrick Combs
(858) 759-6994
www.coachedbyPatrick.com
www.goodthink.com
And on FaceBook
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=554560093

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a trainer who focuses on “Time Strategies to Create a Brilliant Life in a Burnt-Out World.” She teaches others how to control their time instead of letting it control them and practices what she preaches by running two businesses in just 40 hours a week.

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Posted in E Tips, Entrepreneurship, Internships & Jobs, Resources, Social Media & Technology | 1 Comment »

E Tip-How to Fold a T-shirt in 2 Seconds

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

OK–it take 2 minutes and 13 seconds to watch this video, but if you work in retail, do a lot of laundry, or simply want to dazzle and amaze your friends, you should check it out:

It was recommended on Twitter by Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek fame.

Enjoy cool moves like “the flick” and “the flop and fold” and save time in the process. (Plus when you fold clothes right out of the drier, you don’t need to iron or re-launder them to get out the wrinkles.)

To brilliant–and fun–time strategies!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a trainer who focuses on “Time Strategies to Create a Brilliant Life in a Burnt-Out World.” Women in business and Gen Y professionals enjoy her fresh take on succeeding in business and life by controlling their time instead of letting it control them. Brilliance trumps burn out!

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Posted in E Tips, Home & Entertaining, Resources | No Comments »

E Tip-How can I KEEP “First Things First”?

Monday, February 9th, 2009
Tonya and I use effective time strategies so we can enjoy activities like a 3-hour lunch last Saturday!

Tonya and I use effective time strategies so we can enjoy activities like a 3-hour lunch last Saturday!

This year, I will be different.

This week, I will be different.

Today, I will be different.

We tell ourselves again and again and again… but often we don’t see any lasting change because we don’t develop systems that will help us to be different. Many people like the idea of “Put First Things First” from Stephen R. Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, but how many people do you see consistently maintaining the important when the urgent starts to encroach on their lives?

Well, when I saw the “First Things First” document and checkbox list to match from one of my mentors, Tonya Ramsey, I was blown away! I knew I had to share her approach with you.

Here’s an outline (that I picked up from Tonya) about how to clearly define what’s most important to you and then translate it into a system that you can do on autopilot on even your least motivated days.

First Things First Plan

Mission Statement: Write down in one or two sentences what you would like to see in your life. It doesn’t have to be eloquent. Even a bulleted list of items like: relational, spiritual, physical, and professional wellness is a good start.

Specific Goals: For each main point, write down specific goals, and if necessary, subgoals. Here’s a great example of how Tonya turns her mission of making family and friends a priority into specific steps:

1. Implement a Sunday planning time to schedule weekly commitments to connect with my family and friends
a) Phone son/daughter-in-law on cell driving home from work.
b) Set weekly visit with grandchildren.
c) Assign one friendship for the week
d) Schedule dinner out with family one night/week

2. Mentally schedule 15 minutes each night to focus on talking with my husband.

Tonya has specific goals and actions for each area of her life. (Clarifying exactly what you want is a huge part of the process.) But where Tonya really supercharges and cements her plans is through a weekly “checklist” that includes all of the “first things” that she wants to accomplish in a week.

I have an example of her weekly checklist at the bottom of this post. And feel free to e-mail me for a “Customizable Weekly Checklist Excel Sheet” and start to experience the joy of turning “first things first” into a lasting part of your life. Basically, in the left column you write down your “Core Priority Activities,” such as get up at 6 a.m., exercise, or do a weekly planning meeting. Then next to that goal you have a box for each day and at the end a box with your “Weekly Goal,” like four checkmarks (i.e. days) in the row for healthy dinners.

For some people this will be the perfect solution for turning their priorities into measurable actions. For others, something this extensive may be a little overwhelming. You might want to start off with a short checklist like “exercise,” “leave the office by 6 p.m.,” and “call a friend.” Then make a target number of “checkmarks” for the week and see how you do. If this system works for you, you can start to add more activities to the list.

Wishing you an end of frustration and a beginning of brilliant, lasting change!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a trainer who focuses on “Time Strategies to Create a Brilliant Life in a Burnt-Out World.” Women in business and Gen Y professionals enjoy her fresh take on work/life balance as succeeding in business and life.

This is an example of a weekly checklist that can help you KEEP "first things first"

This is an example of a weekly checklist that can help you KEEP "first things first"

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Posted in E Tips, Psychology, Resources | No Comments »

E Tip-How to Write an Effective E-Mail Update

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Real Life E LogoAs promised, here’s an example of my most recent e-mail update and some tips you can use when you reach out to your network. (Note: These are my opinions on how to efficiently keep in touch with a broad personal and professional network, not how to do regular, formal customer contact.)

When you write an e-mail update…

  • Keep it Real: Make sure the e-mail sounds like you, not a form letter. It’s OK to show your personality as long as you follow basic grammar rules and avoid potentially offensive language.
  • Keep it Relevant: Hit the high points of what’s been happening to you professionally and, if appropriate, personally (new baby or new spouse could be relevant–latest doctor’s appointment, not so much). If people want more detail, they’ll do a follow-up e-mail or call.
  • Keep it Clear: If you’re using this to market yourself as a business owner or simply as an up-and-coming professional, make sure that after reading the e-mail people know: what you’re doing, how to find out more, and how to help you.
  • Keep it Grateful: Thank people for how they have played a role in your success, and ask them to be in touch. If they send you a note or call, reply promptly. It’s important to give before you receive.

Bonus E-Mail Tips:

  • Thursday is one of the best days to send e-mails and have people open them.
  • BCC everyone on the e-mail instead of putting them in the “To” section
  • Remove people who ask to be taken out of your address book ASAP (Most people will love you keeping in touch, but some won’t.)
  • Links to your Web site or blog encourage people to find out more.

Now that you have a few basic tips on writing an e-mail update, here’s an example:

Subject Line: New Year, New Elizabeth

To: & From: Lines: My E-mail Address (BCC: Contacts)

Text:

It’s that time of year again… it’s cold (if you’re up North), there’s no major holiday for a couple of weeks, and your New Year’s resolutions are starting to lose their luster (ugh… do I have to go to the gym this morning?).

So I thought it would be the perfect time for an installment in the adventures of Elizabeth Grace Saunders ;o) What exactly has happened over the past year?

That’s a good question.

In short, I’ve visited 20 states for personal and professional travel, including 40 days of leadership training in northern Minnesota and 9 events with the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour.

In the midst of all of this gallivanting around the country, I continued to write magazine articles, marketing materials, and ghostwrite books with my company Grace Communications Inc.

Also, I spoke to over 1,000 individuals with my training, speaking, and coaching company, Real Life E.® (You can check out my new website, blog, and sign up for a newsletter and RSS feed at www.RealLifeE.com.)

My training helps women in business achieve work/life balance through “Time Strategies to Create a Brilliant Life in a Burnt-out World.” This encompasses how to change your mindset, focus your energy, and organize your schedule so you can increase your productivity without upping your hours.

And I’ve had a blast presenting “High Heels: How to Advance in Business Without Losing Your Skirt” to college students. In this talk, I cover embracing who you are as a woman, gaining the professional edge, and working effectively with men and women.

As a complement to my speaking and training, I also offer coaching, particularly for women in transition and female entrepreneurs. (If you or someone you know could benefit from this training, speaking, or coaching, please let me know. I’m here to help.)

I’m thankful for the past year, and I look forward to a brilliant 2009. Most of all, I am so grateful for the role each one of you has played in my life—both big and small. My greatest joy over the past 12 months has been starting or continuing my relationship with you.

If you have a moment, I would love to hear about what’s new in your world. I look forward to continuing our conversation.

Kind regards,

Elizabeth

P.S.—If you want to hear from me more often, subscribe to my blog RSS feed or monthly “Brilliant Time Strategies” newsletter.

P.P.S.—I respect you and your inbox. If you would prefer not to receive e-mail from me, just send a reply with REMOVE in the subject line, and I’ll take you out of my address book. Thanks!

Elizabeth Grace Saunders
Time Strategies Trainer
P. 847.732.3536
esaunders@RealLifeE.com

Real Life E ®
Dream! Dare! Discover! ®
www.RealLifeE.com

Grace Communications Inc.
Capturing Your Vision
www.gracecommunicationsinc.com

If you send this type of message out once or twice a year, you’ll be able to keep in touch with your ever expanding professional network without having to spend every waking moment on your Blackberry.

To brilliant networking!

Elizabeth

Time Strategies Trainer

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Posted in E Tips, Entrepreneurship, Internships & Jobs, Relationships | 1 Comment »

E Tip-How can I efficiently keep in touch with contacts?

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

Elizabeth Grace Saunders, Time Strategies TrainerOne of the greatest professional assets is who you know and who knows you. According to a study of over 600 MBA grads, with 56 % earning over $100,000, “Fifty-eight percent of respondents believe a person skilled at networking could see a “significant, substantial or dramatic” impact on income — even up to a 100-percent increase.”

That means “soft work” like networking can have a pretty substantial ROI.

Also, the source of the study, UpMo, pointed out that despite popular opinion, having a “wide net” of contacts can offer more value than only focusing on a few, deep connections.

This is really good advice, but for someone trying to maintain a sane schedule, it can seem very overwhelming to try to keep it touch with hundreds or thousands of people.

I’ve seen the power of networking in my own career and have developed these “triage” strategies for efficient, yet personal communication:

Top Tier:

  • Weekly Conference Calls–Every Monday at 10:45 a.m. CT, I touch base with two other young entrepreneurs–Lauren Berger and Morgan First. They keep me motivated and inspired and moving ahead on business development.

Mid Tier:

  • Monthly Mentor Calls–I check in with Tonya Ramsey, a business and personal mentor who listens to me talk through my thoughts and shares her wisdom. (Time: 1 hour Memory Cue: Next call scheduled through e-mail immediately following completion of a call.)
  • Monthly Coach Calls–I check in with Mitch Matthews, a business coach with A Kick in the Pants who helped me launch Real Life E® and now does “monthly maintenance” calls (Time: 30 minutes Memory Cue: Next call scheduled before the end of the call.)
  • Monthly Key Contact E-Mail–I send out an e-mail to a few business professionals who have offered me solid advice and asked me to keep in touch about my progress, like Lindsey Pollak. (Time: 15-30 minutes to complete Memory Cue: On monthly repeat in my Palm Z22.)

Bottom Tier (very important, but not very close contacts):

  • Mass Update E-Mail–Two to three times a year, I send a “here’s what’s happening in Elizabeth’s world e-mail” out to people in my address book who might be interested. In college, I sent these out to let people know when I had a new internship or when I was laid-off and looking for a new job. I find that even reaching out to people once every six months keeps them feeling connected to you and invested in your career. (Time: Because of my number of contacts, this can take about 4 hours Memory Cue: Typically send out anniversary updates for Grace Communications Inc. in October, Real Life E® in January, and sometimes send out a summer update (if there’s something super fabulous going on ;o)

In addition to using these strategies, I also do some networking on social media like:

These tools and using more formal communications like newsletters through iContact can definitely help you keep in touch with professional contacts. But I’ve found that my “triage” approach has really brought excellent quality results in both the corporate and entrepreneurial world.

Later this week, I’ll post my most recent update so you can get a feel for the kind of message I send out.

To maintaining a brilliant network without burning out!

Elizabeth

Time Strategies Trainer

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Posted in E Tips, Entrepreneurship, Internships & Jobs, Relationships | 8 Comments »

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