Inspired Marketing
Marketing Tips and Resources to Build your Business
May , 2010
In This Issue
Featured Article- How To Decide What Junk Mail To Keep and What To Do With It.
Born To Read Book Review
Who is Smallbizbuilder?
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Trudy Van Buskirk, owner of Smallbizbuilder is a small business marketing coach, trainer, author, writer, and resource (she knows people, books, etc). Trudy has "do-it-yourself" products or can do the marketing she suggests for you.
Think About This Question .....

How do you run your home - based business? What would you add to this list?



Follow-up Links


Do you have lots of "organizing ideas" but never get around to designing the forms you'll need to implement them?

I've already done some for you. You can start using them right away!

They only cost $9.95 each. Each comes with instructions.  And the best part is that they're either done as spreadsheets in word processing program so you can use them repeatedly.

 Check them out at the

Smallbizbuilder website under the button called "Products"

They're called "Forms Booklets".
























































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It comes  once a month from Trudy Van Buskirk..

Greetings!

Do you work at home? When you started did you see yourself taking client calls wearing your "comfortable" clothes, being more efficient, having fewer interruptions and more time with your kids? Did the differences between work life and home life become hazy? You're not alone.

You really should do some laundry before you write that proposal. You have an hour before a meeting: should you balance your books or clean the kitchen? And remember to call that client back right after you empty the kitty litter box.

Read on to learn how to be successful at both your business AND your home life ...
How To Run Your Business From Home AND Be Successful. 

Come into the "real" world of the home office: unforeseen distractions, a lack of structured time, and a perceived loss of identity. But don't give up the dream just yet! By putting into place a few simple ideas, you can reap more of the rewards of working at home. Here are 10 simple ways to help you stay on track.
 
1. Separate Your Space.
 
Keep a separate, distinct work area in your home. If you don't have a separate room, at least define an area, and know that when you're in it, you're in "work mode."
 
2. Structure Your Time.
 
As your business and personal time mesh, it's more important than ever to structure your day. For example, if you regularly take a walk or go to the gym, try to do it every day at the same time. Value that personal appointment with yourself -- even when you're very busy. It will actually help you keep your business on track.
 
3. Outsource All You Can.
 
When I began my business, I made the mistake of doing all my own administrative work. Whenever you start thinking, "Well I can just do that myself," STOP. Streamline your business, making everything as automatic as possible. Use outside services to stay focused on your *real work*. Avail yourself of a virtual assistant, messenger service, webmaster, bookkeeper, etc. Save your time and energy for your brilliant ideas!
 
4. Use Technology to Your Advantage.
 
In-person meetings are very valuable when appropriate, but schedule them sparingly. Try to do most of your business via phone, fax, and e-mail using the best equipment you can afford. For most of us, when we're out of the office, we're not bringing in the bacon! So it's important that you can communicate flawlessly from where you are. Get separate lines/services for your phone, fax, and Internet!
Ask your phone company about getting "distinctive ring" for your business number. Also, voicemail is better than an answering machine because if you're on an important call and don't want to be disturbed, other callers can still leave you a message.

5. Group Your Errands.
 
Group your meetings and errands together to minimize your out-of-office time. Make a list in the morning of all the outside tasks you need done for the day, and attempt to complete them in one trip. Even better, designate just one day a week as your "blitz" day for errands and meetings. Plus, then you only need to get dressed up one day a week!
 
6. Stay Focused.
 
Make your workspace off-limits to other roommates or family members when you're working. For you animal lovers, this may go for pets as well.

Keep all personal paperwork such as bills, magazines, and to-do lists out of sight, so they won't distract you from your work projects.
 
7. Beware of Yappers.
 
Many of your friends and family will be immediately delighted when they learn that you have a home office. They picture you lounging on the couch, eating potato chips, and waiting for their calls. When they call you simply to chat, politely remind them that you're working, and ask them if you can call them back after your day is over. It may take them a while, but they'll eventually get the idea.
 
8. Know Your Natural Cycles.
 
Keep track of your productivity compared with the time of day. For example, if you find you're more alert in the morning, use this time to make important calls and do your creative work. Take advantage of your natural cycles. If you feel better after an afternoon nap, go for it! (I'm a BIG proponent of the catnap. In fact, I may start a support group.)
 
9. Know How and Where You Work Best.
 
To bring out your best work, make your environment perfect for YOU. How do you work best? With plenty of breaks, or with no interruptions? In silence, or with some light music in the background? On a couch with your feet up on a coffee table, or at a business desk in an ergonomic chair?
 
Also, find some places you can do work when you need a change of scenery. How about the library, the park, or your neighborhood coffee shop? When you need to do serious reading, thinking, or editing, a different place will help you think more clearly.
 
10. Take "Social" Breaks.
 
Feeling sluggish, lonely, or out of sorts? Arrange  for at least one social break during the week. Schedule breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even just coffee with a client, vendor, or friend. Join a business networking group, or sign-up for social activities such as dance class or recreational sports league. Don't hide away -- it can be self-destructive!.


Keep learning, and until next time. 

Trudy Van Buskirk
Born To Read Book Review

FREE is the book for this issue. When I first heard about this book then read the review I had to get it and learn more. Where did "free" in marketing come from? Chris Anderson is the author of The Long Tail and the editor in chief of Wired magazine so I knew it would teach me something. And it did. Anderson not only gave me food for thought but a different way to think about "free" as a marketing tool.


As usual I own the book AND and have read it.

 

FREE. The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson


We're all familiar with the concept of free. But did you know that it's one of the most powerful marketing tools of the twentieth century: giving away one thing to create demand for another. The first to use it successfully was Frank Woodward who devised a plan which made gelatin or Jello as we know it today a household word. To quote Anderson ..."'free' is a word with an extraordinary ability to reset consumer psychology, create new markets, ... "free" didn't mean "profitless." ... (It's) a "loss leader."


We understand the "free" premise. Things aren't really no cost. Eventually we pay for them somehow.. Cell phones are free but we pay for the air time. "Buy 2 and the 3rd is free" is another way to say that it's one-third off each item.

But what if free really means free? Anderson suggests that there are three prices - something. nothing, and less than nothing. Huh? He goes on the explain what he means and gives many real-life examples. He even has a chapter called "You Get What You Pay For" And Other Doubts About Free.

He even has a section at the end of the book to choose the "freemium tactic" that works best for you and your product or service and a bit where he lists 50 Business Models Built on FREE!

All in all, it's filled with examples that make you stop and think  and even say "I didn't know that." It makes you reconsider some of your assumptions.


Buy this book and read it and use it ...



ook and read i

Buy this book and

A Quote For You ....
""When you give someone a book, you don't give him just paper, ink, and glue. You give him the possibility of a whole new life."

Christopher Morley
1890-1957, Novelist, Journalist and Poet

Trudy
Phone 416-778-9976 or email me at [email protected]
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