What Is Project Management? (And Why You Are A Project Manager)

What Is Project Management? (And Why You Are A Project Manager)
Many people have used the term 'Project Management' without
a real appreciation of what Project Management actually is.
If you read the textbooks they will talk about projects as
having a beginning, a middle and an end, which is the
essential and obvious difference from normal business
operations. Text books also talk about uniqueness, a
timescale, using resources and carrying a budget. They may
also talk about risk, issue and change management. But
what does all this mean in practical terms?

If you think closely about what a project is you will
probably arrive at four broad phases. 1)An Initiation/Start
which is the stage where you decide you need a project
2)Planning is the stage where you plan the project and map
out what is going to happen when 3)Execution is the stage
where you implement the project and things start moving and
4)Closure is the stage where you decide the project is
completed (and you pay the supplier).

These four phases are called a project lifecycle. This all
sounds very complicated and business-like, so let me
explain what it means in real terms.

Imagine your old kitchen fell apart and, over breakfast one
day you said to your partner 'I think it's about time we
had a new kitchen'. Assuming your partner agrees then
congratulations, you have just initiated a project (and
achieved the buyin of a key stakeholder!)

Next stage is the planning stage where you will probably
first decide your budget. Then chances are you will want to
decide what kind of units you want so you may go to a
kitchen supplier to provide the whole lot, or you may go to
individual suppliers for the units, cooker, fridge,
electrics, plastering, tiling etc. Once you have decided
on all of this you will agree a price and a schedule,
determine whether it is within your budget, (and if it
isn't you may go through the planning cycle again). You
will also need to decide the order your suppliers come on
site (you probably don't want the tiler to come before the
plasterer). This stage will probably take the most time
(it's all in the planning!)

Next you will enter the execution stage - which is where
all your suppliers will perform their part of the project
at the specified time to the specified budget (!) and voila
- your new kitchen will be installed.

And finally, you will want to close the project. You will
inspect the suppliers work, pay them, and then tie all the
payments up into your overall budget...... simple, eh?

Whether you are aware of it or not, you have project
managed the installation of your new kitchen and in doing
so you have invoked some simple project management
processes - the obvious ones are planning, budgeting,
supplier management, but you may have also unconsciously
invoked others. For instance you may have done some risk
management (say if the kitchen is not completed on time),
communications or stakeholder management (who needs to know
that the kitchen is out of action and when will it be
completed?), contracts management (agreeing the size and
scope and payment terms of the work to be performed ),
change management (what happens if you change your mind, or
you are forced to change your mind by unforeseen
circumstances). Wittingly or not, you will most likely
have invoked some or all (or more) of these processes and
more in the management of your fairly simple kitchen
installation project.

But what if the project was a house, or a supermarket, or a
factory? These would be far more complicated to implement.
There will be more suppliers involved, more money at
stake, a greater likelihood that things could go wrong and
therefore greater risk. There are likely to be more
stakeholders, more lines of communication. It is essential
that all these items are managed, all processes and
schedules documented - and it would be very sensible to do
this through a proven process. Why re-invent the wheel
when there are tools out there which have handled these
situations before.

And this is what a Project Manager does, and is where
Project Management Methodologies and Tools come in. A good
Project Methodology will provide all the tools, all the
processes so that you can document and manage your project,
whatever its size and scope. If you work for a medium or
large company chances are it uses a project methodology to
standardise the process. For the consultant or freelance
Project Manager there are methodologies and templates you
can download from the internet and start using straight
away.

----------------------------------------------------
Andrew Thompson has been a Project Manager for the best
part of 20 years delivering IT strategic projects. He has
an MBA and is PMI accredited. Andrew built his own website
in order to showcase the best Project Management articles
from around the internet (including his own!). Andrew
recommends MPMM as methodology of choice. View his website
at http://www.projectmanagementresourcebox.com

How to Handle High Maintenance Employees

How to Handle High Maintenance Employees
Have you a "high maintenance" employee....one who demands a
lot of your time? Every manager usually bumps into this
type of employee.

The first basic question to ask as you evaluate this
person.....are they a high or a low performer? You may
react differently given their performance levels. High
performers you may be afraid to lose. Don't be afraid of
losing an employee if their behavior is not acceptable for
the well-being of your team.

If you jump in early with counseling, you have a great
chance of helping the employee change their behavior.

Examples of high maintenance behaviors

-Seeking constant recognition

-Complains about others or the company

-Not satisfied with their responsibilities -Demanding
career growth

-Comparing their performance with others

-Challenging you how you treat others vs. them

-Challenges policies or procedures

-Unsure what to do.....constantly seeking your guidance

-You have to watch over them to make sure they are
completing their work

-non-verbal behavior such as rolling eyes or sighing

-add your own challenging interaction......

What to do and how quickly you respond depends on your
comfort zone and the culture of your company. You may be
more tolerant of demanding employees. Don't be too
tolerant, as an employee who is exhibiting a behavior that
is drawing negative attention is usually seeking
direction......this is your role as their manager.

If you don't deal with their behavior, you will give up a
lot of your productive time. The employee will also feel
out of control and they will negatively influence the rest
of your team. When you start noticing the constant
demanding behavior, I would suggest that you handle it
immediately.

High and low performing employees who are demanding can be
handled the same. As a manager, you may be more tolerant
of the high performer. Don't......your focus should be to
eliminate negative behavior that can affect your team and
business.

Some ideas to handle the behavior

Start tracking the behavior(s)....date, time, and
specifically what behavior was not acceptable.

Do some detective work.....what is causing their demanding
behavior? Maybe they do need some recognition, more
challenges or additional direction from you.

Sit down with the employee and have an open discussion. Be
specific about the behavior. Be open to their input. If
they deny or are defensive, state calmly that this behavior
exists and how can you help them solve their problem.

You could be the issue for the employee....don't take it
personally, but rather as information to solving a problem
for yourself and for the employee.

At the end of the discussion, create next steps and set a
date to follow up.

Remember, your employees want to succeed and require
direction from you. Those that won't accept your
management role and direction are not the right fit for
your team.

----------------------------------------------------
Pat Brill is the author of the blog "Managing Employees"
http://www.ManagingEmployees.net . You can reach her at
pat@TheInfoCrowd.com.

Maximising your job board exposure

Maximising your job board exposure
The growth in niche job boards, jobsites and recruitment
websites in 2008 is staggering. with many new sites coming
online every week. Whilst the cost of designing and
constructing a jobsite has fallen considerably in the past
few years, making that site visible and attracting a high
volume of quality candidates is getting tougher by the day.
To reach the top 10 on Google for a key phrase such as
Sales Jobs is a mammoth challenge and one which may take
years to achieve.

There is however a new route to maximising quality traffic
to the vacancies on a job board and that is the use of rss
feeds and xml feeds, particularly when migrating the data
to one of the many vertical job search engines, examples
include, Job Rapido, Career Jet, Simply Hired and Jobster
to name but a few. There are dual benefits to having your
vacancies on this type of site; one great benefit is that
the jobseeker can easily find results on the major search
engines for the specific vacancy that they are looking for
with a link to the vertical job search engine and a further
link directly to the vacancy URL on the respective jobsite.
The secondary benefit is the number of additional links
generated by all of the vacancies linking back to the
jobsite. Many of these sites are still free of charge and
for much lower cost that typical search engine pay per
click schemes sites benefit from highly targeted traffic,
this in turn gives a much better ROI.

Other means of distributing job vacancies and high quality
targeted traffic that should be considered are Google Base
and Feedburner, tests carried out using an XML feed and rss
feeds have shown a rapid increase in traffic from blogs,
forums, Yahoo and Google, all for a few minutes work and
zero cost.

The conclusion has to be that if you are currently one of
the hundreds of jobsite owners struggling to commercialise
your site or you are rapidly running out of money through
expensive PPC systems and online advertising, it would be
advisable to investigate these alternative sources of
website traffic and if you do not have the technical
understanding or expertise to carry out this work yourself,
speak to an SEO or Internet marketing expert.

To quote the Google Wemaster Guide "Quality guidelines

These quality guidelines cover the most common forms of
deceptive or manipulative behavior, but Google may respond
negatively to other misleading practices not listed here
(e.g. tricking users by registering misspellings of
well-known websites). It's not safe to assume that just
because a specific deceptive technique isn't included on
this page, Google approves of it. Webmasters who spend
their energies upholding the spirit of the basic principles
will provide a much better user experience and subsequently
enjoy better ranking than those who spend their time
looking for loopholes they can exploit.

If you believe that another site is abusing Google's
quality guidelines, please report that site. Google prefers
developing scalable and automated solutions to problems, so
we attempt to minimize hand-to-hand spam fighting. The spam
reports we receive are used to create scalable algorithms
that recognize and block future spam attempts.

Quality guidelines - basic principles

Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.
Don't deceive your users or present different content to
search engines than you display to users, which is commonly
referred to as "cloaking." Avoid tricks intended to improve
search engine rankings. A good rule of thumb is whether
you'd feel comfortable explaining what you've done to a
website that competes with you. Another useful test is to
ask, "Does this help my users? Would I do this if search
engines didn't exist?" Don't participate in link schemes
designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank. In
particular, avoid links to web spammers or "bad
neighborhoods" on the web, as your own ranking may be
affected adversely by those links. Don't use unauthorized
computer programs to submit pages, check rankings, etc.
Such programs consume computing resources and violate our
Terms of Service. Google does not recommend the use of
products such as WebPosition Gold™ that send
automatic or programmatic queries to Google. Quality
guidelines - specific guidelines

Avoid hidden text or hidden links. Don't use cloaking or
sneaky redirects. Don't send automated queries to Google.
Don't load pages with irrelevant keywords. Don't create
multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially
duplicate content. Don't create pages with malicious
behavior, such as phishing or installing viruses, trojans,
or other badware. Avoid "doorway" pages created just for
search engines, or other "cookie cutter" approaches such as
affiliate programs with little or no original content. If
your site participates in an affiliate program, make sure
that your site adds value. Provide unique and relevant
content that gives users a reason to visit your site first.
If you determine that your site doesn't meet these
guidelines, you can modify your site so that it does and
then submit your site for reconsideration."

----------------------------------------------------
Louise G is the Managing Director of Ianson Internet
Markekting and an expert in SEO and Internet Marketing for
Jobsites and Recruitment Websites. Find out more about
Internet marketing and SEO at
http://www.internet-marketing-ianson.com

Marketing Your Small business on a Tight Budget

Marketing Your Small business on a Tight Budget
Can you really market successfully on a tight budget?

Yes, you can! And you don't need a marketing degree to do
it either.

Most small businesses owners who are setting up or those
who are new owners are under fairly tight marketing
controls at the beginning.

LOGO AND STATIONERY PRESENTATION There are a number of
marketing processes that have to be done, such as business
cards and window signage to name a few, or in a virtual
business, a website set up.

First off, you will need to look at your own skills. Do
you have a sense of color co-ordination, are you great with
words, do you understand the meaning of 'ask the question'
in your advertising.

If you answer 'no' to these questions then you should be
looking at a copywriter to help you in this area. And you
may need to employ a graphic designer for an eye catching
business logo. A logo is so important as it is the 'face
of your business'.

SET UP A MARKETING PLAN Before opening up a business or
taking over a business, if you have bought one, set up a
marketing plan while you have the time to research costs.

It is so important that you start building up your customer
base as soon as possible and successful marketing is one of
the many ways of doing so.

You need to be able to effectively market your business and
your product, keeping foremost in mind the question 'WHAT
BENEFITS ARE MY CUSTOMERS GOING TO GET FROM MY
BUSINESS/PRODUCT?' You need to have this in your marketing
so that it is spelt out for your customers.

So, what you will need to be focusing on is how to get this
marketing done at the best price for the best job. To do
this you can contact the relevant suppliers or you can
research other businesses that have great logos and copy
written ads to find out who did the work for them.

KEEPING COSTS UNDER CONTROL Initially you will need to keep
the spending under very strict control, but even as your
business grows any money spent on marketing needs to be
measurable and this needs to be considered when writing a
marketing plan. Keep away from risky marketing first up,
but as time goes on you may wish to spend a small amount on
a calculated risk.

MARKET TO SUIT YOUR PARTICULAR BUSINESS It is so easy to be
talked into marketing of different sorts, either by another
business owner who has run a successful campaign, or by a
sales representative trying to get you to commit because of
a deadline.

Placing ads to meet a deadline is a NO, NO. If you end up
in this situation step back and say that you will go in the
next one. There is nothing more certain of doing bad
advertising when it is compiled on the spur of the moment.
With media advertising, always try and work at least one
month ahead so that you market to suit the climate, a
specially good priced item you have or what ever it is, but
think ahead!

Just because another business owner has used a certain type
of media, or for some other reason has had a successful
campaign, it may not suit your business. You need to
research it and see if the price is right, if your client
base is going to be reached and if you have a product or
service that suits.

INTERNET MARKETING In time you will need to look at
internet marketing as this is the way of the business world
today.

With ANY marketing you plan ask yourself: "Is this the most
effective marketing I can do for the best price?"

----------------------------------------------------
Kaye Dennan has been a business owner for over 25 years and
has learnt many techniques for successful business
marketing. You can get help for your marketing ideas and
marketing plan from MARKETING MUST DO'S FOR EVERY SMALL
BUSINESS at
http://ebooksnowonline.com/internet-marketing/marketing/
(includes ebook and audio)

FREE Press? (How to get major columnists, journalists and reporters to talk about you in their artic

FREE Press? (How to get major columnists, journalists and reporters to talk about you in their artic
There's no doubt that at some point in your career you've
had a new product to sell, a new service you're offering or
some other piece of news that you knew would make a great
story in a magazine or newspaper which could provide some
great free marketing for you. The next thing that probably
crossed your mind- how could you make that happen?

For most people, the problem is that they stop right there,
at the "wondering" stage and just have no idea how to go
from having a great story to tell to getting written up in
a local or national publication. Well, not anymore! We're
going to take care of that problem right now by showing you
how to get noticed by writers so you can open the door to
free press.

Let's look at this issue with an example that you are
probably more familiar with first, then, we'll tie it back
into the subject at hand: getting free press. If you want
to do business with someone, you usually have to connect
with them several times and create a relationship of some
kind, right? There aren't many people left in this world
who hear a message for the first time and bite right into
it. There's simply too much clutter flying around to take
notice of everything, so most of us have to be reminded of
the same message 7-9 times before we take notice of it.
These writers are no different: so, what you have to do is
try to find a way to start a conversation with them and
build a relationship. It's no different than you would do
with any prospect in your business. So, let's look at how
you can introduce yourself and start a conversation.

Most publications publish the email address of the writers
at the bottom of each column and oftentimes they even
solicit a response. You will usually see a tagline that
reads something like:

Questions or comments about this article? We'd love to hear
from you! To let Jon know what you think of his article,
email him at jon@JonDoeNews.com

How many people do you think actually take the time to
email these authors? Right, not many. We even know some
authors who wonder if anyone ever reads their columns!
They're dying to have somebody give them some feedback or
correspond with them. They often just want someone to take
notice of them, so this is where you can score some major
points. Just take a few minutes to send the writer an email
letting them know what you thought of their article. Just
look at it as if they just started a conversation with you,
laying out their entire point of view, and now they have
paused and are waiting for you to give them an answer. It's
that simple. Even a short email that simply says, "hey,
great article! I can't wait to read some more of your
work!" is a great start.

Most authors of major publications also have blogs in
addition to their columns where they write on a more
regular basis. And most of these blogs allow readers to
post comments on the blog. So, run a Google® search for the
author's name or look in the publication to see if you can
find a web address for their blog. If you find one, go to
the blog address on your computer and bookmark it or
subscribe to it by email or RSS (Really Simple Syndication
- explaining this technology is beyond the scope of this
article, but it's a great technology that streams news and
articles directly to you without you having to ever go back
to the source to get it. Check it out, it's great!). Be
sure to check at least every few days to see what they are
blogging about. Whenever you have something to say about
their blog, you can post a comment. It's the same concept
as emailing them after you have read one of their columns,
but, you don't have to wait for the next publication to be
printed, you can keep up-to-date and keep "the
conversation" going whenever you like.

Once you have started some ongoing dialogue with a writer,
and have started to build a relationship, don't you think
they might pay attention to you when you have a story for
them? They sure will! Good luck and let us know about your
success from using this strategy.

----------------------------------------------------
WANT TO REPUBLISH THIS ARTICLE? You can, as long as you
include this blurb with it: JW Dicks & Nick Nanton,
TheBusinessGrowthLawyers.com, publish the Business Growth
ezine covering topics that every business needs to know.
Get more FREE business growth tips now at
http://www.TheBusinessGrowthLawyers.com

What you may not know about SPAM

What you may not know about SPAM
I'm not going to talk about how to GET RID OF SPAM in your
inbox; I'm not going to talk about SPAM, the food (if you
can call it that?). I'm talking about accusing others of
SPAMMING.

You know I advocate doing your own ezine almost 100% of the
time. And for the most part, this is a great part of your
marketing. Of course we are becoming bombarded with more
and more ezines, newsletters and articles and such every
day in our inboxes.

Some of you (or not you, but other people...) may be just
getting tired of it all right?

Well, nowadays, every actual ezine or newsletter you
receive SHOULD HAVE an unsubscribe link somewhere in the
body of the email to make it really easy for you to not get
it anymore. If they don't, they need to (see
www.spamlaws.com).

I'm not referring to regular emails people will send you to
follow up from meeting you or sending you quick one-time
info though, this does not fall into the same category as
an ezine. As a weekly ezine author myself, I would
appreciate it if you no longer want to receive my ezines
(chock full of great marketing content or not) if you
simply UNSUBSCRIBE from it instead of REPORTING ME AS SPAM.

Did you know that each time you dump or move someone's
email from your inbox to your 'spam box' that YOU'VE JUST
REPORTED THEM AS A SPAMMER?

Now, that's just not very nice is it? How hard is it to
simply unsubscribe really? I mean, the sender probably did
meet you out somewhere and thought you'd honestly want to
receive their info. Either way, we are all just trying to
do business, not to get you angry. Therefore, can't you
just be nice and simply unsubscribe and NOT REPORT THEM?

Reporting them as spam actually hurts a business and I'm
sure if you knew you were 'hurting' them online, you would
not do it, right?

That's all I wanted to say. I've been 'reported' a few
times since I started my ezines almost 4 years ago, not a
lot, but enough to take offense. Especially since I
specifically ask everyone I meet if they want my ezine with
free marketing tips and networking calendar and they always
say yes. If I don't talk about it to them when I'm out,
then I send them a follow up email suggesting they sign up.
It's not my fault if they DON'T REMEMBER???

I'm one of the honest ones of course and there are some
that aren't but for all of those dishonest people or people
who may have gotten your email through another source -
KARMA WILL GET THEM!

Thanks for listening and please be respectful of others and
you will earn respect from them in return.

----------------------------------------------------
© Copyright 2008 K.Sawa Marketing. Katrina Sawa is an
Award-Winning Relationship Marketing Coach who's helped
hundreds of small business owners take dramatic steps in
their businesses to get them to the next level in business,
revenues and life. She offers one-on-one coaching, group
coaching and do-it-yourself marketing planning products. Go
online now to get started with her Free Report and Free
Audio at http://www.jumpstartyourmarketing.com !

What Stops People From Taking Action And How You Can Get Back Into Action To Get Results

What Stops People From Taking Action And How You Can Get Back Into Action To Get Results
As a business and life coach, I have found that the biggest
barrier to success is an internal barrier that stops many
people from moving forward. This internal barrier affects
all areas of life, from business and making money, to
having successful and fulfilling personal relationships,
and living a healthy balanced lifestyle. Whatever the goal
for a person, forward progress is essential in order to
reach these goals. Without forward movement, stagnation
occurs. By choosing stagnation instead of forward
movement, the person is ultimately choosing backward
movement - this backward movement caused by losing time and
momentum toward chosen goals. This internal barrier must
be addressed in order to assure that results are achieved.

So, why do people get stopped from taking action and from
moving forward toward their goals? The answer is quite
easy. It all comes down to FEAR. When people stop, they
are inwardly fearful of something. Perhaps it is a fear of
looking bad to others, not knowing what will happen next,
not being clear on choices, or perhaps there are questions
about safety or overall health and happiness. Whatever the
reason for the fear, fear itself can be paralyzing.

A wise man once told me something that I recite to myself
each and every time I feel fear - "Fear doesn't mean stop,
it means pay attention." When I feel fear, I do stop
momentarily to pay attention to the cause. What am I
afraid of? It is this awareness and the next steps that I
take that help keep me in action despite the fear. Follow
the Acronym F.E.A.R., and you too will be able to feel the
fear and move forward at the same time.

F - Formulate a Plan. When you feel fear pay attention to
the cause of the fear. Fear is there to keep you safe. It
is your subconscious mind letting you know that there may
be a danger. Don't ignore it. Instead, find out the cause
of the fear and determine what you can do about it.
Formulate a plan to keep you safe and to make you
successful. What needs to show up so that you can
guarantee that this fear will NOT be realized? What needs
to show up so that you can and will be successful?

E - Examine All Options. What choices do you have? Will
these choices keep you safe, get you positive results,
and/or help you move forward with little or no consequence?
When you know all of your choices, you can choose the best
choice possible based on the circumstances you are
encountering.

A - Assess Your Safety. Ask yourself if you have done
everything within your power to keep you safe. When you
have a plan and know your options, you can assess if you
are going to be safe or will you still be in danger.

R - Respond Accordingly. If your plan will keep you safe,
then you can stay in action by feeling the fear and doing
it anyway - knowing you have controlled everything you
can. If your plan does not prevent you from staying safe,
you can take a calculated risk or change your goal. There
are times when fear is legitimate. Listen to your gut as
it attempts to keep you safe. There are times when it is
appropriate to make new decisions and there are also times
when you will be safe and you need to simply feel the fear
and move forward anyway.

Fear is a real motivator and ultimately it can lead to
success or failure. So, pay attention to it. Stop
ignoring the fear. Pay attention to it, understand it, and
believe that fear does not need to be a motivator to stop
action. By understanding why people feel fear and then
what to do to move past it, you have a new success tool
that will help you and the people you help to keep in
action and get results. So the next time you feel fear,
follow the steps above and move through the fear to get the
results you now want.

----------------------------------------------------
Shelley Herzog is co-author of How to Coach A Fish: 12
Weeks of Incredible Coaching. Known as the Wealthy Coach,
she helps life & business coaches create lucrative coaching
practices quickly & easily. For more information, go to
http://www.TheWealthyCoach.com .

3 Quick Tips to Banish Your Bookkeeping Blues!

3 Quick Tips to Banish Your Bookkeeping Blues!
Are you one of those people who are guilty of just stuffing
your receipts into a folder and thinking 'I'll sort that
out when I've got time'? Do you need a more organised
bookkeeping system, nothing too flash, just something
that's simple and easy to manage?

Follow my tips below and you'll soon have that simple and
easy-to-manage bookkeeping system that won't bring you out
in a cold sweat whenever you hear the words 'tax return'.
And I promise you, it works!

1. Gather your supplies!

Get hold of a large ring binder, divider cards,
A4/letter-sized paper, stapler, pen, all your business
receipts and invoices, plastic folders and a large coffee
(or whatever else you prefer!).

Then lock yourself away for a couple of hours.

2. Get Organized

You now need to organize your ring binder into the
following sections:

Invoices - Unpaid -- this section is for your outgoing
business expenses that have not yet been paid i.e. supplier
invoices. Write on the top of each invoice the date it
needs to be paid by and place all unpaid invoices in 'date
to be paid' order with the earliest one on top.

Invoices - Paid -- this section is for your outgoing
business expenses that have been paid or you've paid at the
time service was rendered, i.e. that ream of paper that you
bought from the office supplies store. Staple each receipt
on to a blank piece of paper rather than just putting them
directly into the ring binder. This just makes it easier
to see at a glance all your receipts and you can also make
notes on the paper. Also write on the top of each
invoice/piece of paper the method of payment.

Receipts - Unpaid -- this section is for all your invoices
that you have sent to clients that have not yet been paid.
Write on the top date payment is due and put them in date
order so that it's easier if you have to chase overdue
invoices.

Receipts - Paid -- this section is for all your invoices
that have been paid. Write on the top the date it was paid
and how it was paid i.e. cash, check, credit card etc.

Bank Statements -- this section is self-explanatory! Just
keep everything in date order.

3. Schedule It In

Now that you've got your system in place, schedule in each
week/month to keep your bookkeeping binder up-to-date. In
between updating place all your receipts and invoices in a
plastic folder so that everything is together when you come
to update your system--it would be too time-consuming to
add each receipt as you get it!

What Next?

Depending on how far you want to handle your own accounts,
you can either hand your very organised bookkeeping binder
over to your accountant at the end of the financial year
for them to prepare your final accounts, or you can
maintain your own books with the use of financial
accounting software.

Either way, you've now got a bookkeeping system that is
simple and easy-to- manage and won't cause you to break out
into a cold sweat at the very mention of the words 'tax
return'.

----------------------------------------------------
Office Organization Expert, Tracey Lawton, teaches
professional speakers, coaches, and authors how to operate
an efficient, organized, and profitable business. Learn
how to create an efficient and organized office in 7 EASY
steps, and receive free how-to articles at
http://www.OfficeOrganizationSuccess.com

#1 Marketing Strategy: Your Marketing Message

#1 Marketing Strategy: Your Marketing Message
Your marketing message is what forms the background of all
your marketing strategies and communications. If your
marketing message is weak, unclear or poorly crafted, then
it doesn't matter what specific marketing tactics you
use...your prospects and customers won't take notice.

The goal is to have a well-written, targeted marketing
message that resonates with your target market. You want
them to see or hear your marketing message and get an
instant reaction of "Hey, that's for me". You want them to
go to your website, give you a call, send you an email, ask
someone about you - you want them to find out more about
you and the solutions you offer.

In other words, a great marketing message means you'll have
more and more qualified prospects contacting you, generate
more and more business, and make you happier and happier!

So what exactly is your marketing message?

Your marketing message is more than a USP (Unique Selling
Position), or value proposition, or your tagline or brand.
It is a complete message that describes what you do, who
you do it with, what problems you solve and what solutions
you offer.

You want your marketing message to grab your prospect's
attention, show them how you can solve their problem, why
they should trust you and why it's in their best interest
to do business with you.

Your marketing message should "speak" to your prospects and
clients by appealing to their "hot buttons". The problem
or issue that triggers emotional reactions that keep them
up at night, trying to come up with some solutions.

Prospects and customers who are exposed to your marketing
message (via your website, elevator speech, business card,
brochure, special report, sales letter, direct mail, etc.)
should have answers for the following questions:

1. Is this product or service for me?

2. Why do I need this service or product?

3. What will I get from this product or service?

4. How will this service or product change how I'm feeling
right now?

5. Does this product or service really work?

In order to ensure that your marketing message is the best
it can be, and answers the above questions for your
prospects and customers, you need to do some homework.

In order to craft a successful marketing message, you have
to understand your target or niche group, the problems they
have and their motivations to buy. You also need to know
what sets you apart from your competitors and what
solutions your products and services provide.

So your marketing message actually encompasses several
different aspects:

1) Target market - who is your message and marketing
communications directed to? What is the personality of
your potential audience?

2) Problem - what is the issue or concern that frustrates
your prospects and clients? What's not working for them or
could work better?

3) Solution - what solution can you provide to alleviate
your target market's problem? What will your customers
experience from working with you/buying your product?

4) Benefits - what are all the ways that your product or
service helps your client? What are the actual results?

5) Uniqueness - what is unique about your company's
offerings that make a difference to your potential and
current clients? How are you different from your
competitors?

Creating a dynamic and effective marketing message is key
to your business's success. If you don't take the time to
do this important marketing step, then you'll most likely
end up sitting in an empty store or office, or in front of
an empty email inbox and wondering why your marketing isn't
pulling in any customers.

----------------------------------------------------
Jody Gabourie, The Small Business Marketing Coach, delivers
simple, innovative and powerful marketing strategies to
help business owners find and keep their most profitable
clients. To learn more about how she can help you take your
business to the next level, and to sign up for her FREE
special report, ezine and articles, visit her site at
http://www.JodyGabourieMarketingCoach.com

10 Classic Resume-Writing Mistakes to Avoid

10 Classic Resume-Writing Mistakes to Avoid
Is your resume generating disappointing results? Have you
been sending your resume for positions that you know you
are qualified for, but the phone remains silent? If so, you
might want to check it and revise it against these ten
common errors.

1. Including an objective statement that tells the reader
what you want.

If there is one major rule to keep in mind as you write
your resume, it is that all of the content should be
written to be employer-centered. Objective statements that
tell the reader what you want are inherently self-centered.
The more modern way of providing focus for your resume is
to include a summary or profile section. A profile is
fundamentally different from an objective in that it is
employer-centered, conveying to the reader what you offer
them, rather than what you want from them.

2. Writing your resume to be intentionally broad in scope.

Many people will write a broad resume out of fear that
focusing too precisely will exclude them from certain
opportunities. Unfortunately, this strategy almost always
backfires. Resume readers are notoriously lazy and give
your resume only a few seconds at most before making the
decision to screen it out or screen it in. If you are lucky
you have 15 seconds to clearly convey your focus (level and
type of position you are seeking) and how you would add
value within their organization. If your focus is ambiguous
and you haven't made it crystal clear how you will "fit" in
the company, you certainly expect the reader to make the
effort to figure it out.

3. Including a generic profile/summary statement.

While it has become common and even expected that your
resume will include a profile/summary statement, far too
often they are just generic statements that do nothing to
differentiate the individual from their competition in the
job market. What is it that differentiates you and make
your contributions to the companies you have worked for
better and unique than your peers? What is the value
proposition that you are making to the reader of your
resume? What sets you apart from the competition and what
uniquely qualifies you to meet the needs and solves the
problems of the employer? Additionally, it isn't enough to
tell a reader that you have certain abilities or traits;
you must show them through examples of past achievements.
Prove impact! Forget about cliches and jargon. Soft skills
are often important, but even those should be backed up by
specific accomplishments that illustrate them.

4. Describing your job scope and responsibilities in detail.

Think about it: Being "responsible for" doing something
certainly doesn't mean a person does it. What a person is
supposed to do and what they actually do are two different
things. Many people make the mistake of selling features
(responsibilities) rather than benefits
(achievements/results) in their resume. It is very
important to place the emphasis on achievements,
quantifying results whenever possible. Document the ways in
which your work have benefited your employers and quantify
whenever possible. By including past achievements and
results, you demonstrate your future potential. Always
remember, you won't get hired for what you know how to do,
you will get hired for what you do with what you know how
to do.

5. Focusing solely on the achievement and forgetting about
the results.

Just telling the reader that you have achievements isn't
very effective unless you present them in terms of the
results and benefits they have produced for past employers.
You should always try to think in terms of the "so what" of
your achievement. What did you improve, save, increase,
enhance, etc? What impact did the work you do have on the
companies? At the root, every single job is designed to
solve a problem, save money, make money, or improve
efficiency. It is crucial that you understand and be able
to communicate the impact of your performance. Whenever you
can do so, you should use numbers to illustrate your
results, but even if you are unable to quantify
achievements, the emphasis should still be on the
results/benefits of your work.

6. Writing an autobiographical style resume.

Your resume is a marketing document. It is not an
autobiography. While the decision about how far back to
date your resume really depends on the individual
circumstances, generally it is standard to go back 10-20
years. If experience earlier than that is still relevant,
you can always summarize it in a couple of sentences
without the use of dates. Always think in terms of
relevance and impact. Does a particular piece of data or
achievement support your personal brand and value
proposition? Does it help promote your qualifications in
relation to your current career goals? If not, you probably
should not include it. In fact, by including irrelevant
data, you dilute your focus and make the recipient wonder
if you truly understand the position you are targeting. If
you feel really strongly that particular data may be
relevant to at least SOME recipients, you can always create
an addendum that you choose to use selectively.

7. Including personal information.

If your resume is meant for the U.S. market, it should not
include a photo, your birth date, mention of unrelated
hobbies or interests, info about your family, info that
reveals your religion, or any other similarly personal
data. Including such data in a resume meant for the U.S.
market may actually eliminate you from consideration, as
hiring decision-makers may be concerned about
discrimination suits.

8. Using a template design for your resume.

You should never use a template to create a resume. Your
resume should be uniquely designed to highlight your unique
qualifications and selling point and to set you apart from
other candidates. If you use a template (or a format that
looks like a template), you ensure that your resume will
simply blend in with all the rest. To really compel action,
your resume MUST attract immediate attention and present an
unquestionably professional appearance. Create an
eye-catching design, but forego the templates!

9. Using the same structure and resume writing techniques
that you were taught in college ten years ago.

A common error made by experienced professionals is
overemphasis of education. As an experienced professional
your history of accomplishments and proven ability to
produce and deliver results is far more important than your
degrees. Only new graduates with very little or no
experience should list education at the beginning of the
resume. The most important thing is that you prioritize and
organize your selling points, listing categories of primary
importance first. The best structure in almost all
circumstances is a combination reverse chronological order.
This includes a profile/summary section, a reverse
chronology of your work history and achievements,
education, and other qualifications such as professional
affiliations.

10. Listing all your achievements in a section separate
from your career history.

It is critical to show progression and a consistent,
repeated ability to produce results. By listing your
achievements separately from your career history, you lose
this. Go ahead and use specific achievements to illustrate
the value proposition and personal branding that you convey
in your profile. In fact, it is crucial that you do so.
But, for the most part, the majority of your achievements
are best presented within the chronological and situational
context in which they happened. In other words, go ahead
and include a SUMMARY of achievements that are selected to
illustrate your value proposition and brand, but the body
of your resume should also include achievements and results
that illustrate your impact in each company or each
position.

Do you still feel at a loss about how to improve your
resume, even after reading these tips? If so, consider
hiring a professional resume writer. Hiring a resume writer
is an investment, but it is an investment that will often
pay you back many times over by dramatically shortening
your job search, positioning you to win coveted positions,
and preparing you with the pitch you need to negotiate top
compensation.

----------------------------------------------------
Nationally certified resume writer and career marketing
expert, Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive
Career Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents
http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP
Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com

Michelle has
empowered thousands of professionals all across the U.S.
and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of 101
Before-and-After Resume Examples
http://www.before-and-after-resumes.com

What Business Leaders Can Learn From Camp Counselors

What Business Leaders Can Learn From Camp Counselors
Think back to the carefree days of summer camp. Remember
the excitement of meeting your counselor? If a counselor
jumped into an icy-cold creek, it's likely the rest of the
campers followed. Your counselor had the entire cabin
cheerfully scrapping dried spaghetti off plates as part of
clean-up duties. A majority of the camp experience
correlated to the counselor's attitude and behavior. In the
same way, the leadership style of camp counselors transfers
over to the world of business also.

Camp counselors display leadership. They are the ones
saying, "Let's get this cabin cleaned up so we can win the
Pink Flamingo award!" Yes, the familiar "Management by
Walking Around" has its merit. Yet it also takes a leader
to make suggestions, set an example and actually do
something to inspire employees and attendees. As a
professional speaker, I frequently work with business
people. A few months ago, I arrived early to set up my
props for my keynote. The meeting planner and her committee
stood in the ballroom, deciding where to place balloons for
decorations. She asked questions such as, "Should we put
balloons around the head table?" What do you think about
balloons next to the main door? Should the red balloons be
separate from the blue ones?" "Anyone have any ideas?" Well
meaning as she was, attendees were waiting to enter the
room while 200 balloons waited to get blown up and placed
around the room. Sometimes business professionals are so
busy making sure they work as a "team" that no one takes a
leadership role. Someone with camp counselor leadership
would encourage some discussion, and then say, "Look, we
have 20 minutes to get these balloons up before people
arrive. Jeff and Marion, would you take half these balloons
and put them by the entrance? The other half can be placed
around the head table. Thanks! " In some cases, leadership
simply means taking control and delegating people to do
certain tasks.

Camp counselors encourage risk taking. It's a good thing
mothers aren't at camp to see their children harnessed on a
zip line zooming across a canyon. Instead of telling
children, "be careful", camp counselors are yelling, "You
can do it!" Way to go!" Counselors encourage risk taking.
Job seekers at Microsoft are frequently asked, "What kind
of risks did you take on your last job? What did you learn
from that experience?" Microsoft looks for people willing
to take a risk, knowing it could result in a new product or
service. Are brainstorming sessions at work predictable
and well... a little boring? Show your employees are
willing to take risks. Jimmy Johnson, a coach for the
Dallas Cowboys said "Do you want to be safe and good, or do
you want to take a chance and be great?" Camp Counselors
are fun! When a counselor is placidly floating in an inner
tube, only to be tipped by a group of ten-year-olds, what
does he do? A camp counselor laughs, spits water from his
mouth and begins dunking all the campers within reach. The
water churns with flailing arms, tipped inner tubes and
peals of laughter. For the next week, campers giggle and
say, "Wasn't that cool how we snuck up behind Steven and
tipped him from the inner tube?" The group has a lasting
bond, knowing they shared a fun experience together. I've
worked with groups where people are hesitant to ask their
supervisor a question because he or she is so stressed out.
Try putting some fun back into the workplace. This
doesn't mean everyone must wear red noses and blow kazoos.
How about asking people to come to a staff meeting with a
picture of their favorite pet? Put up a bulletin board so
people can display pictures of their new cat or their
beloved Rover wearing a pointed party hat. Give out simple
awards such as a Good and Plenty candy bar to someone for
always having plenty of good ideas. Celebrate some
untraditional holidays such as National Bubble Wrap Day or
Ugly Tie Day. A bit of fun and light-hearted humor goes a
long way to increase attendee productivity and enjoyment.

Next time you are looking to improve your leadership
skills, why not invite a college student who was a camp
counselor last summer to lunch? Have them share their
insight in how they manage to inspire, educate and motivate
groups of energetic children. The counselor's tips might
help you inspire, educate and motivate fellow employees.

----------------------------------------------------
Silvana Clark is a business speaker, encouraging businesses
to reduce stress and increase productivity by adapting the
"Camp Counselor" style of management. Her lively,
interactive training sessions give practical ideas on
motivating staff and incorporating humor in the workplace.
S'mores included! http://www.silvanaclark.com

silvanac@msn.com

10 Ways For Every Hospitality Operator To Boost Their Image

10 Ways For Every Hospitality Operator To Boost Their Image
Every day I am amazed at just how little attention is paid
by some hospitality operators to how their businesses are
portrayed.

Often it's the small details that let down the whole
enterprise - the out of date brochure with photographs
taken years ago, the badly written A-board or the old
fashioned sign (probably broken).

Research indicates that you have about 20 seconds to make a
first impression. In that time your prospect has had a
chance to view your product and weigh up in his or her mind
whether or not it meets their expectations.

Address these 10 aspects of your business and you will
certainly be on the way to boosting your image:

1 Colour

Colour is energy and it affects our mood and influences our
behaviour.

Angela Wright is a colour psychologist and she used to run
a hotel 'We quickly learned how to use colour. Blue never
works in a restaurant. A little bit of red in the bar
worked well. Green seemed to work pretty much anywhere. Too
much yellow in a bedroom and you'd have bad-tempered
guests'.

In looking at how colour is used in print or decoration it
is not enough to just refer to blue or red, since there is
no such thing as a universally attractive colour. It is the
variations in each colour that are important since two
variations of the same colour can have completely different
effects. Our response is not to one colour but to colours
in combination. Choose a palette of colours and stick to it.

2 Photography

Nearly everyone has a digital camera and thinks that they
can save money by taking their own images. But photography
is an art and great photos will repay your investment for
years to come.

Just look on any of the third party hotel internet sites
(Booking.com, LateRooms.com etc) and you will see hotels
trying to boost weekend occupancy by showing images of
their conference rooms. Bizarre!

3 Names

If your business is already running then the name is
usually OK unless it had terrible reputation and you are
changing markets. Who can say that VW made the right
decision to stick with the Skoda name?

Remember that your reputation comes from how you run your
business, not from the name. Who would have thought that a
hotel called 'Holiday Inn' would become one of the most
successful brands in the corporate market? However do make
sure that you avoid any negative connotations.

4 Typography

To have a coherent image your typography must have a unique
personality. Although it may seem simple to 'just choose a
typeface' there are so many options for getting it wrong
that you will soon recognise a page layout that has been
set up by an expert. Have a graphic designer give you a
sample design template to use as a standard and then make
sure that this is followed each time you produce a piece of
print.

5 Logo

A logotype is set of words in a determined type font.
Legibility is imperative, as is its use on signs, letters
and T-shirts. Logos need to be distinctive but also
durable. You can use recognised typefaces or design
something entirely new and individual. Whatever you use, it
needs to express your positioning and your personality. The
colours you use will also be an expression of the palette
that you chose to represent your hotel.

6 Paper

Your use of certain types of paper is an expression of what
you are trying to achieve with your target market. For
instance, using a piece of flimsy 80gsm paper will not be a
very good advertisement for a gourmet dinner at $100 per
person. Look at the competition and see where you fit.
Brochures that are 12 pages and have tissue paper
interleaves might give a misleading impression about your
great value budget hotel!

7 Wording

Every hotel has to develop its own personality and the
words you use reflect this. Whenever you write text keep
the copy simple and direct. Humour is always interesting
but can be a little aggravating if you try too hard. Quirky
works well if it is done well, but only if it reflects you
and your business.

But do be careful. I received a mailing from Virgin Media
(a cable company) that said '...it's a doddle for one of
our nice engineer types to pop round and make it happen.'
Oh that it were true!

8 Outside

The outside is what prospects see first so, if it puts them
off, they will never know what the inside is like.

There are many different types of signage material. Plastic
suits fast food outlets and traditional wooden signs suit
pubs and country house hotels. Keep the wording simple and
to the point and make sure that these words are readable
from the road and well lit at night.

9 Inside

Once clients or guests are inside you don't want to destroy
the image that they have already built up about your venue.
This is where your colour palette comes in and needs to
guide every decision you make about the soft furnishings
that you use.

Ensure you constantly check out the atmosphere to make sure
that it is warm enough, smells good and is not too noisy.

10 Consistency

Consistency in communication builds value. For instance,
your recruitment adverts need to have the same style as
your promotions. Any and every communication from you needs
to be instantly recognisable as being from you, either in
the consistent use of your colour or the way that the words
are laid out.

Make considered choices about all these 10 aspects and your
business will definitely prosper.

----------------------------------------------------
Michael Cockman is a marketing mentor to the hospitality
industry. To find out how Michael's fixed-price graphic
design service including logos, stationery, brochures,
menus and signage could benefit your business go to =>
http://www.HPSCreativeDesign.com
Contact:
Michael Cockman
Hotel Profit Systems
7 Chancerygate Business Centre
Transport Way
Oxford OX4 6HE, UK
Telephone: +44 (0)1865 772394
michael@HotelProfitSystems.com

Sales Writing: How Desperate Are You In Your Marketing?

Sales Writing: How Desperate Are You In Your Marketing?
Whenever you write any sales material, the best ones are
those that make an offer. You make an offer to the reader
to give something in return for the reader's money (or
time, or attention or whatever you want from him or her.)
But really, how desperate are you to make the deal? Mind
you, I don't mean to make the ad or sales letter sound
desperate. That would definitely scare everyone away. I
mean desperate in a different way. Let me explain:

You're presenting something in front of the reader- your
product- that he or she is willing to spend money on. The
offer is the MOST important part of the ad.

Why? Because the offer is the most fundamental part of any
transaction. When you are creating the ad, the mindset has
to be that you won't leave until you have the money in his
pocket. You have to make an offer that the other person
CANNOT refuse, and use psychology to get the person to feel
good about buying whatever you offer. That's the element of
desperation that you have to work with.

Imagine the following scenario:

You are stuck in a life-and-death situation where you need
$30 in the next hour to pay off a terrorist. John, an
ordinary guy, is in the same room as you with $30 in his
pocket. He doesn't know what's going on, and you don't want
him to. You've got one sample of your product, and you're
trying to sell him your product so that you can get that
money. He's planning to leave the room any second. You're
that desperate. He doesn't care who you are or what you do.
Somehow you have to appeal to him, hold his attention right
now with the words that come out of your mouth, and sell
your product. What would you say in order to keep him in
the room and get him to give you his money for your product?

That's the kind of frame of mind that you have to have in
order to compose the sales pitch to sell your product. The
famous successful copywriter Gary Halbert said you have to
imagine that you're writing to some half-sleeping slothful
couch potato, and your words have to fill him with enough
fire to get up off that couch and do something about what
you've written!!

Most ads don't even bother to motivate the reader, which is
a key goal of the ad. What a pity since it means that your
money has been wasted on the advertising. Only when the
reader acts and does what you tell him to do, then your ad
proves its worth.

In a nutshell, your offer has to do a few things- to show
him that:
(1) You understand his desires or his pain that he wants to
solve.
(2) Your product is the best one for him.
(3) You know what you're talking about regarding the
product.
(4) You're the best person to buy from.
(5) He will get a better deal from you than anyone else
(6) What he's getting is so risk-free that he'd be silly
not to accept it.

These 6 steps above are just one variation of a few
processes that an ad can take a person through in order to
get him or her to buy. But in the end the main question you
have to be able to answer the question that is in his head
"What's in for me?" . You have to be able to answer the
question very clearly, and in a way that he believes
whatever you say so that he or she feels comfortable buying
from you.

----------------------------------------------------
Joseph Browns is a freelance copywriter who specializes in
both online and offline marketing strategies. If you wish
to learn more about how you can get more customers, please
check out his free report at
http://www.thesalescrafter.com/get-report.htm (note:
there's no "l" after the .htm)