| Greetings!
Wow, it's late November 2009 already? The year and the decade are rapidly becoming history. Many of my readers already know this, but I'll say it anyway. When you're in business for yourself the time seems to go by even faster than when you had a day job. This is especially interesting in light of the fact that the days are often longer.
For those of you who have never had a day job, trust me on that one!
Anyway, now is a time to give thanks. This is easy for me since I give thanks to God all through the year for the innumerable blessings in my life, which always begins with my family.
I'm also very thankful for my business and all the people associated with making it what it is today. To you, my reader and faithful supporter, thank you. I will do my best going forward to continue to honor your support.
And now, this month's issue of Build and Balance before taking time out for a break.
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Are You Following Up?
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 I've been thinking a lot lately about follow up and how important it is to a business. It's a critical success skill that cannot be neglected.
It's been my experience that most people understand the value of follow up, but don't always honor the clear understanding. Take a moment to check yourself right now. Are you following up consistently? Are people thanking you for following up? Are people remarking how good you are about following up?
If you answered yes to all three questions, then you are exemplary in this area and you're likely reaping the rewards of such with thriving partnerships, a laudable sales closing ratio, and a very satisfactory client retention rate. Good for you. Keep it up.
If you answered no to any of the three questions, then there's probably room for improvement. Especially when you look at the business metrics that can rise when you're good in this area. Make this a goal for the next 90 days and do whatever it takes to become remarkable at it. You'll likely be amazed at how it affects your business and your own sense of control over it.
One tip to make it easier, relax on making new commitments and prospecting. This is where many people go wrong.
If you'd like to read more about this area of business, I've written some recent blog posts about it and have recorded some short videos, which will soon be posted up to my Learning Hub area of my website. I just may do a seminar on this next year as well. Let me know if it's one you'd like to attend and I'll see to putting it together.
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Take Care Of Yourself
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 If you are all about being a productivity machine, then you may find that you don't like to stop and take time to see the doc. You get the postcard reminders in the mail and just ignore them. Is that you? Then this is for you.
Balance doesn't always refer to taking a vacation or spending more time with your wife and kids. It's also about balancing the use of your physical resources with taking care of them.
Stephen Covey says something related to this point in the 7 Habits book. Habit 7 is Sharpen the Saw and it's described thusly:
Take time out
from production to build production capacity through personal renewal
of the physical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual dimensions.
Maintain a balance among these dimensions.
I'm just referring here to the physical dimension. Business owners often push themselves hard for extended periods of time. It's hard to take a break to make an appointment for a check-up with the eye doctor, dentist and GP, but do it we must. As with our cars, waiting for a breakdown to occur first is generally the more expensive route.
I was planning on working all day today, but then had a flash of thought that I should go to the eye doctor. I'd ignored the reminder postcards for months because I knew my eyes were fine. But, did I really know? Of course, not.
Well, now I do and that makes me feel a little better about myself. Next up, the dentist! How about you? Which physicians do you need to make an appointment with?
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Time Saving Tip of the Month - Fujitsu ScanSnap
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I know that some of you skip right to this item because you're all about being more productive and saving time. Well, this month's tip requires a pretty hefty outlay, but I think it's worth it. The Fujitsu ScanSnap is really just a VERY good scanner. So why is that a time-saving tip? OK, two main reasons for me: 1. I can scan and email docs to people lickety-split. How lickety is split? How about 20 pages a minute? And did I mention double-sided? It comes with a full version of Adobe Acrobat 9 (which costs $236 on Amazon). So, your scans are turned in to pdfs instantly, too. 2. I don't save non-essential paperwork anymore, but scan it instead. The reality is that I have space in my office for a lot more digital paperwork than physical paperwork. With the ScanSnap I'm starting to get out from under the mountain of paper that comes across my desk each month. The ScanSnap Deluxe Bundle is one of the rare items on Amazon that gets 5 stars even after 30 reviews. That has to tell you something. If you've been thinking about treating your professional life to a scanner that epitomizes the concept of work smarter, not harder, this is the unit for you. You can find the one I bought here on Amazon. If you'd like to actually buy one, you might consider finding it through the Amazon search box on my blog since I'm an Amazon affiliate. Creating affiliate income through your websites will be the topic of a future Build article. Email me if you have any questions about this item. I've had it for a few months now. |
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Thanks for reading this month's issue. Please forward it to someone else who could benefit by reading it.
I want to express my deep appreciation to those of you who are doing business with me or referring business to me. I could not be here without you. Thank you.
Remember that true fulfillment comes when you build and balance.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Michael Neuendorff
The Growth Coach
P.S.
If you've read this far, then I have a speical bonus for a few of you. I read Entrepreneur and Forbes magazines. I'm going to resubscribe to them soon with special offers. If you'd like a free sub to one of the two, then email me your mailing address and you'll get a year on me! First 2 respondents for Forbes and first 1 respondent for Entrepreneur.
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| Upcoming Events & other resources |
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| Your Growth Coach |
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Michael is ready to work with you to grow your business. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Let's start right now!
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| My Network Spotlight |
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I believe in the power of a strong network and maintain it by giving referrals to professionals I know, like and trust. In each issue I spotlight people in my network. I encourage you to do business with the people listed below. If you need a product or service not featured, please contact me for a referral to a qualified professional. Beds and Furnishings Bedroom ExpressIra Fruitman 415.583.2221 Comm'l & Residential Architecture Gumbinger Avram ArchitectureNoemi Avram, AIA 650.579.0995 Home Loans Real Estate Financial ServicesSally Adam 415.292.1979 In Home Care Service SUNRISE CARE at HOMERebecca Cervania 415.933.1141
Weeds by Wilk
Sue Wilk
650.888.2120
Life and Long-Term Care Insurance
New York Life
Weezie Harwood
650.356.1075
Local Advertising
San Mateo Daily Journal
Jerry Lee
650.344.5200
Mercedes Benz Repair
MB Garage
Janet Stewart Migliore
650.349.2744
Personal Training
Nucleus Personal Training
Tania Cinquini
650.504.3675
Property Management
Wilbur Property Mgmt
Yuko Lee
650.847.4342
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