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Small Biz Survival
  • How I manage email and stay at inbox zero
    Best of | entrepreneurship | organization

    How I manage email and stay at inbox zero

    August 8, 2012August 27, 2014

      Gmail users, head to this article: Using Gmail’s Tabbed Inbox wisely.  Outlook users and others, read on… I manage email a bit differently than many people. I keep my inbox clear, and most of my email automatically sorts itself into easy-to-process groups. That means I spend less time on email every single day. How filters…

    Read More How I manage email and stay at inbox zeroContinue

  • mistakes | organization

    How to use social CRM and why

    July 30, 2012August 27, 2014

    A person emailed me about small town retail development a while back. I recommended he talk to Mandy Vavrinak and listed her email address. He emailed back, asking for more information about her. I thought to myself, “What more could he need?” That’s me with Mandy Vavrinak,At the 2011 Social Media Tulsa Conference. If he’d…

    Read More How to use social CRM and whyContinue

  • entrepreneurship | organization | planning

    Another business plan alternative: your calendar

    July 2, 2012August 27, 2014

    Reader Carrie Bodeman at As Good As New sent this alternative to traditional business planning. You might like it too. –Becky  Sometimes you have to look back to see forward. We keep a daily log of all activity so I can look back several years at a glance.  We print out a blank calendar and each…

    Read More Another business plan alternative: your calendarContinue

  • entrepreneurship | organization

    Almost half the year is gone; time to review your goals

    June 29, 2011August 27, 2014

    You can’t score a slam dunk if you don’t know your goal. We’re coming up on the halfway point in the year. How are you doing? Great? Not so good? Or can’t tell, because you don’t have usable goals? Goals are the basis of all your plans.You have to get good at goal setting and…

    Read More Almost half the year is gone; time to review your goalsContinue

  • Best of | entrepreneurship | organization | planning | Small Biz 100

    My Weekly Planner

    January 10, 2011August 27, 2014

    After I told you about my project folder, Jen asked for my day-to-day planning tool. So here it is: a simple weekly calendar. Before I start my work week, I review the projects in my project folder and assign the next actions to particular days on my weekly planner. I use the six most important…

    Read More My Weekly PlannerContinue

  • entrepreneurship | finance | organization | tax matters | tools

    Easy small business bookkeeping

    December 28, 2010August 27, 2014

    Time to get your business finances under control. I recommend you do it the easy way: make the computers do most of the work. I’ve long been a fan of Outright. It asks you to track only the minimum of detail required to do your income taxes. (As a sole proprietor, that’s a Schedule C.)…

    Read More Easy small business bookkeepingContinue

  • entrepreneurship | organization | planning

    What counts as Income Producing Activities

    December 13, 2010September 28, 2016

    Income Producing Activities are those actions that move you towards your business and income goals. So why don’t we spend our time working on exactly those things? We Get DistractedWell, there are as many reasons as there are minutes in the day to get distracted. And, well, we have so many options. What shall I…

    Read More What counts as Income Producing ActivitiesContinue

  • entrepreneurship | organization | planning | Small Biz 100

    My cheesy productivity folder

    December 1, 2010September 28, 2016

    I’ve been asked about the simple folder I use to manage all my many projects. I call it cheesy because there really is nothing special to it. I just picked a way that worked for me. Let me walk you through it. Each week, I use this folder to review my projects as I plan…

    Read More My cheesy productivity folderContinue

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