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Hello and welcome to this week’s Monday Minutes. Each week in this series I am going to share simple tips that you can implement quickly to help your business become more successful.

Monday MinutesThis week’s tip is all about Money Matters and we are going to talk about how to systematize everything in your business from invoicing to tax preparation.

There’s an all-too-common scenario: A seemingly successful entrepreneur is hard at work growing their business. They are working lots of hours, and their hourly rate is respectable. But the cash flow is slow or unpredictable.

Why?

Because they are working so hard that finding the time to actually take control of their money is impossible.

Invoices don’t get sent on time. Past due balances are ignored. Taxes aren’t done. And maybe worst of all, they have dozens of recurring payments that go out automatically each and every month, and they have no idea what they are or if they are even using the programs they are paying for.

Sound familiar? Sadly, that’s exactly what a lot of “successful” businesses look like. When you work at home, and you’re accountable to no one but yourself, it’s far too easy to let these little things slide until, like an avalanche, they have a devastating effect on your business.

The good news is, cleaning it up is easy, when you take the time to
put some trusted systems in place!

Start with your billing.

Sign up for (and use) a system like Freshbooks or Harvest, which will automate your timekeeping and produce invoices with a single click of a button. Then put your billing day on your calendar as an unbreakable appointment.

Log into your timekeeping app, generate your invoices, and click send. You’ll be done in a jiffy. Not only that, but most billing systems automatically send follow-up messages for unpaid invoices, so you don’t have to worry about tracking down those slow pays.

For expenses, use a single system. That might be PayPal or a dedicated credit card or even your business checking account. Whatever it is, be sure it has a reporting feature that will allow you to send monthly statements to your accountant.

At the end of every month, bundle that up with your sales report and your receipts, and send it off. When tax time rolls around, you’ll be sitting back with your feet up while everyone else scrambles to find documents and update their accounting system.

If you do your own taxes, then look for tools that will talk to each other easily. For example, you can download a Quickbooks file right from PayPal for super-fast reconciliation at the end of every month. That alone will save you hours of “doing the books.”

Two Simple Systems

Just putting these two simple systems in place can easily save you 10+ hours per month, but the even larger benefit is that the money work will get done. And what that will do for your cash flow is priceless!

If you like this post please comment, share and fill out the short form on this page to subscribe to my list so I can send you even more tips, information and blog updates that will help you grow your business online!

Thank you for reading,

mysig1

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Hello and welcome to this week’s Monday Minutes. Each week in this series I am going to share simple tips that you can implement quickly to help your business become more successful.

Monday MinutesThis week’s tip is all about Networking Like a Ninja

Networking gets a bad rap. Some people hear the term and run for the hill’s so to speak! But as a business owner you know that meeting and connecting with people in your industry is critical to your success, but are you doing it with purpose? Do you have a solid strategy in place, or do you just “wing it?”

Admittedly, most of us are firmly planted in the wing it category, we avoid it like the plague in some cases. But what if I told you that there are some quick and easy changes that you can make that can put even your most important networking tasks on autopilot. Would that help take some of the pain and fear out of the whole process? Of course it would!

So let’s go….

First thing - outsource the research: Hire a virtual assistant (VA) who can find and connect you with potential JV partners, affiliates, guest interviews, and all the other marketing options at your disposal. Don’t shake your head and say you can’t afford it. If you truly want to grow your business, you can’t afford not to! This will allow you to focus on the important stuff like networking and lead generation. You can get the job done fast and cheap on a site like Fiverr or eLance for a few bucks.

With a list of requirements, a good VA can spend an hour or two on Google and bring back a list of hundreds of people you can then reach out to. What would a list of 100 or even just 10 new JV partners do for your business growth?

You can automate the initial contact too: Create a script or email template to use when you first reach out to potential partners. Your VA can send this in an email or make a call on your behalf, but having the script in place will accomplish two things:

The process will be much faster than if you have to think about what to say.
You’ll be able to tweak the script as you go to get better results. Just like you split test your emails, you can test your outreach process as well.

You can also automate the follow-up: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, create an email or phone script to help speed the process. You or your VA (or your email autoresponder series) can send out a series of emails to follow up on that initial connection.

Why not automate your scheduling too: Use a service such as TimeTrade or ScheduleOnce, you can easily set up your calendar with your preferred times for interviews, webinars and such. Give your JV partners links to book time with you, and the meetings will automatically appear on your calendar. No more endless back and forth to discuss potential meeting times, just a single click, and your potential partner can choose the time that works for both of you.

Here’s a hint: make sure to use your calendar diligently, because if you don’t you want to run the risk of someone scheduling time with you when you already have another commitment.

Will it take a bit of work to get these systems in place? Sure it will!

But once you get everything set up, you’ll find that attracting and working with JV partners, guest experts and others is much easier and more streamlined. Not only that, but with the time you save, you’ll be able to concentrate on creating new products and services. Or maybe just hang out with the kids or take some time off.

If you like this post please comment, share and fill out the short form on this page to subscribe to my list so I can send you even more tips, information and blog updates that will help you grow your business online!

Thank you for reading,

mysig1

 

Check out last weeks Monday Minutes here!

Don't forget to check out this weeks sponsor DIY PLR
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Hello and welcome to a new weekly series, I am launching to help you grow your business online. Each week in Monday Minutes I am going to share simple tips that you can implement quickly to help your business become more successful.

Monday Minutes

Listen to this post:

[sc_embed_player fileurl="http://lisamcope.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/monday-minute1.mp3"]

Today's tip is all about getting more exposure for your business by guest posting. It is a great way to improve the visibility of your business and it comes with quite a few other benefits including being a great way to build a solid online reputation and get your business noticed.

If you aren’t sure what guest posting is, it’s simply the process of creating content and publishing it on another person's website. It is a great example of content marketing at its finest.

The idea of guest posting isn't anything new or exciting, but it is still a very viable way to get noticed by consumers who are interested in what you have to offer. It is a win-win situation; the owner of the blog gets a free content to share with its visitors and you get the opportunity to tap into their audience.

Here are a few fast and simple rules for creating guest posts that get results.

- Stay relevant

While guest posting gives you a lot of freedom as far as the topics go, it’s important to keep your target audience in mind as you write. You also have to make sure that it is relevant to the readers of the website where you want it to be published.

Before you begin writing take some time to determine your goals for guest posting. Do you want to boost your SEO by creating backlinks to your site? Do you want to become known as an authority in your field?  Do you want to get more traffic to your business website, office or store?

Once you know what you want to achieve take some time to research a list of websites in your niche that accept guest posts or articles and then read a few of their posts; this should give you a clue as to the type of content they like to publish.

- Quality matters

Always focus on providing quality content. Did you know that many guest posters are invited by the website owners? Once you become known for the content you create you will be amazed how many people will seek you out and ask to publish your content. Imagine getting asked by popular websites in your niche to post on a regular basis. With every post leading to even more opportunities for you to get your business in front of new (potential) customers.

- Follow guidelines

Most websites that accept guest posts will have their own rules regarding the type of content they accept. They will often outline their posting guidelines on a dedicated page. Make sure you read and understand their terms completely before submitting a post. If you don’t adhere to the rules, the content you worked so hard on will most likely not get published.

This is especially true when it comes to including links within your posts. Every website will have different rules at to what they will and will not accept. For instance, some may not allow contextual linking while others will. Some will let you include affiliate links and others won’t.

However most will allow linking in the BIO or byline. This is where you will get your chance to shine, (with your shameless plug) include links and contact information for your business, so make sure you use it well!

Lastly, if you want to increase the chances of being accepted try to get noticed by the website owner. One way you can do that is by being active in their community. Take time to comment on their latest posts and be helpful to other readers on a consistent basis. While this may seem like a long process it can really pay off in the end especially if you can get published on a high traffic site. Just imagine the exposure you will get and it will keep you motivated!

Click here for a free worksheet that will help you write your blog posts faster!

If you like this post please comment, share and fill out the short form on this page to subscribe to my list so I can send you even more tips, information and blog updates that will help you grow your business online!

Thank you for reading,

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