Chances are that the way you conduct an introductory meeting with a prospect is backward. Same goes with the way you introduce yourself in person at a networking event.  Same goes with how your website is set up. Let me explain.  When we work for someone else, including working in Corporate America, like me, we learned business best practices from the standpoint of the company. It’s more about the company, then the client, and then you. Things change when you own your own business. Plus, over time, and especially with the introduction of the internet, today’s prospects are looking you up online. But they’re looking for connection, respect, understanding, and value before they plunk down their

18. People Want What You Don't Use Spring cleaning started March 1. I’m using a tip I learned last year, when I moved 3000 miles. First, office supplies and old desks/chairs don’t sell at yard sales; however, one group of people, TEACHERS, need them all and then some. Through the BuyNothingProject.org (BNP), I found a teacher. She took it all and planned to leave what she couldn't use in the teachers’ lounge. From her gigantic smile, you would have thought that I had given her solid gold. A big win-win. Thanks to: Maria Marsala of . Read the other 19 tips here.

Start by creating (and sticking to) a schedule Do you use a schedule proactively to run your business? Or do you get to the end of the day and wonder where your time went? Not having a daily schedule causes lost time, wastes energy, and could lose you money. When you don’t have a game plan for prioritizing and completing tasks, you’ll find yourself easily distracted. And if you feel that your business is running your life, create and then stick to a schedule. Either before you leave work each night or in the a.m., depending on what works best for you, assess what needs to get done. But know that, because you’re proactively running your

Are you asking your brain to do too much?  It takes a lot of energy and time for our brains to shift gears.  I've seen stats ranging from ten to twenty minutes.  This means each time you’re interrupted by, let’s say, a phone call, it could take up to twenty minutes to re-focus on the task you were doing—IF you even remember what that task was! As I and my clients have learned, you’ll work much more efficiently and be more effective if you keep “like” activities together and take more "me" and "wind-down" time. Here are a few ways to start structuring your time so that you do more and feel more productive each day.