Are You Spending Too Much Time Replying to E-mails?
April 28, 2009 by yelena
Filed under Burning Questions, blog
Q: I’m getting absolutely buried in the incoming e-mails. It takes me over an hour every day just to go through them and send out meaningful replies. What can I do to save time while still being helpful to my contacts?
A: Most time consuming e-mail messages are the ones with questions in them. Coming up with a good answer and putting it together into a spell-checked and formatted… Continue reading
Business Blog ROI
People want to know what the Blog Return on Investment will be for a business blog before they begin. Asking that is no different than asking what a website ROI will be. Everyone is different.
A better way to look at Blogging Financial Return is to work backward. Begin with the outcome you want. And when we say outcome, we mean financial outcome – not traffic… Continue reading
7 Things You Should Not Do During Recession
At every networking meeting I go to (granted, I don’t go to too many), at least one person mentions that the business is slow now, much slower than the same time in previous years. Now, as I am new to this whole business ownership thing, I’m yet to get fully booked. And yes, at times I have days when I don’t put any billable hours in. That is to be expected… Continue reading
Do You Know When to Outsource?
Most small businesses and solopreneurs use outsourcing only when they don’t have the knowledge, skills or equipment to handle the tasks themselves. I call it the “absolute advantage” outsourcing. If you ever hired an accountant, a web designer or a lawyer, you are familiar with this concept.
Of course, most of the time, entrepreneurs have both the software/tools and the knowledge to get the work done themselves. … Continue reading
7 Reasons Social Networks Are a Waste of Time
April 14, 2009 by yelena
Filed under Burning Questions, blog
Q: I have profiles on several social networking sites. But I don’t think they can help my business and I really don’t have time to waste. Twitter seems especially useless, yet I keep hearing about it. Am I the only one who hasn’t drank Kool-Aid yet?
A: Yes, Twitter et al. are a huge waste of your time if
- Your target audience is not on Twitter, LinkedIn
Get Great Articles Without Going Broke
According to Elance Online Work Index, issued in February, article writing is in the Top 5 most-requested skills (other 4 include graphic design, PHP, MySQL and logo design). Even though I do not bid on Elance, I’ve noticed a lot of interest in article writing services.
Of course, the problem is article writing is expensive. Good writers charge significantly more than $10/hr. And cheap ones crank out… Continue reading
Disappointed with Social Networking?
April 2, 2009 by yelena
Filed under Burning Questions, blog
Q: I’ve been on Twitter for a little while and find it, like other social networks, to be a great go-to place for advice and learning from others. But does it really help you grow your business?
A: Many business owners get rather frustrated when they don’t see any tangible results from all their social networking efforts. All the new knowledge, inspiration, and free downloads are great. But what’s… Continue reading
