What To Do About Never Ending To-Do Lists

If you’re an entrepreneur, chances are you have a never ending to-do list about a mile long. And it’s easy for that to cause stress and frustration (and maybe even feelings of inadequacy). Here are three ways to deal with it.

1)    Admit it will never all be done. It just won’t. So quite working all hours in a futile effort to do it all, or feeling overwhelmed or guilty when it isn’t.

2)    Break it up. Giant to-do lists are hard to deal with. So break yours down in order of importance. Then each day make a shorter list of just what you’re going to do today, starting with what is most important.

3)    Outsource albatross items. You know those tasks that need to be done, but you somehow never seem to get to? Those are albatross items on your to-do list because they’re a burden on your psyche. Either admit you don’t need to do them, or hire someone else—like a Virtual Assistant—to get them done

5 Easy Ways to Upsell Your Products and Services

By Stacy Karacostas -

5 Easy Ways to Upsell Your Products and Services

1) If you sell and ship products, put an ad or coupon for a related product or an upgrade in the box.

2) Send new clients a thank you card with a promotion for or mention of one of your other services.

3) Put a sign up in your store or office announcing a new offering or special deal. Just make sure it doesn’t get lost in the clutter. And ideally train your staff to point it out.

4) Send targeted follow-up emails to clients or customers offering them a related product or service (you can do this automatically with a good email autoresponder and shopping cart)

5) On your Website, offer an added discount for buying two products or services together (Amazon does a great job of this by always offering a second book on the same subject below your main selection).

Remember, upselling is really just a matter of offering something else your customer is likely to want, based on what they’re buying now. Simple as that.

You’re doing your clients a HUGE disservice if you don’t tell them you have something else they may want or need. And you’re leaving money on the table in your own business.

Are You Upselling?

A while back, my hubby and I were on our way back from one of my speaking engagements, and decided to pick up dinner to go. So we called one of our favorite teriyaki joints (Seattle’s Best, on 1st Ave S), to place an order.

Since it’s a little out of the way for us normally, we hadn’t eaten there in a while. So we were rather excited to have it conveniently located on our route home.

Then life got even better…

The woman who took my husband’s order asked if we’d like brown rice instead of white!

Now I don’t each much white rice. But I love brown rice! In fact I’ll order it every time if given the option. So this was a very pleasant surprise.

My husband said yes right away even though it cost a bit more. And boy was it good! This place has the yummiest teriyaki sauce, and it is divine on rice (white or brown).

I can say for sure we’ll now be going out of our way to eat there more …And I bet we’re not alone.

My husband and I were very impressed from a sales and marketing standpoint too. Because they’re clearly paying attention to changes in people’s eating habits, and changing their menu to suit. And they’re making sure customers know about this new option…They actually asked for the upsell!

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Upselling doesn’t have to be hard or uncomfortable
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With the simple act of asking if we’d like their newest menu item as a substitute, Seattle’s Best made $1.90 more. And now we’ll be there more often, and spending more money each time to get that fine brown rice.

All they had to do was let us know this option is now available, and boom, they grew their business. Best of all, I’m thrilled to have spent the extra money.

This was upselling at its finest. And it’s most simple.

What’s interesting is that big companies and chains often train their employees to ask if you want to make it a combo, add fries with that, try their new dessert, etc. Yet it’s rare to see this done in small restaurants (or any small business).

Which is silly. Because it’s one of the easiest things to do. And almost any business can do it (not just restaurants!).

When I worked in my parent’s animal hospital, we boarded pets. And we always asked if clients wanted their pets bathed before going home. More than 50% said yes.

Added convenience for them, more revenue for us!

The key here is…We were trained to ask.

All too often small business owners (or their employees) just don’t ask. Maybe because they aren’t comfortable selling.

Or they feel like they don’t have time to train employees in this much detail.

Or don’t know how to get the employees to do it.

Or, even worse, they think the employees are asking, when in reality it’s not happening (When was the last time you had a “secret shopper” call in to see what employees really say when they answer the phone???).

In the last case, the poor business owner is usually left thinking the promotion isn’t working. Or the new product or service is a dud.

When in reality clients don’t know it exists!

The bottom line is, you have to let people know about other options, or you probably won’t sell very many. Thankfully, you don’t even have to be there in person to do an effective upsell.

Is Your Business Viable?
By Stacy Karacostas – Thu, 07/01/2010 – 10:14am.

My next door neighbor is always talking about leaving her job. She’s very artsy craftsy, and had been making all kinds of different knit, sewn and stitched items—from hats to little beaded bags, to funky zipper pulls.

Each time she starts work on a new type of creation, she says “This is gonna be the one that lets me quit my job.”

Here’s the thing though…

I asked her how long it took to make one, 4” x 4” beaded bag. She said probably 20 hours. When I asked what she thought she could charge, she said maybe $25, and that there was a company selling something similar out of Asia for $9.

When I pointed out that the hours to dollars ratio didn’t look so good, she said “Oh, well I don’t care how much time it takes me.” I, of course, suggested that if she really wanted to leave her job, she might want to think more carefully about the value of her time (I suspect she needs to make more than $1/hour to survive).

On top of that, she is constantly making all this different stuff without ever finding out if anyone would even buy it. Because flea market tables are too expensive and she hasn’t been able to take good pictures of her wares to post on the Web.

I mentioned that she could attend a local networking breakfast or two with no-cost marketing tables—that way she could put out her stuff and see if anyone is interested. But she hasn’t done it and I suspect she never will.

So she continues to set her hopes on one of these accessories being her path to self-employment. Yet she has no idea whether any of her products are viable or how she might sell them. Let alone whether or not she can use them to create a business that pays her bills.

This is not a recipe for success.

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Is your business viable?
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If you don’t know the answer to the question, don’t feel bad. Most entrepreneurs I run into are like my neighbor—they have absolutely no idea.

How do I know this? Because most entrepreneurs I’ve met haven’t taken even the basic steps towards figuring out what their business costs might be or how much of their products or services they need to sell to make a good living.

If you haven’t answered the following questions, you may run into severe cash flow problems. In other words, your business—as it is today—may not be viable. It may just be an expensive and time consuming hobby.

So take a few minutes to go through these and see how you’re doing…

1) What are the overhead and miscellaneous costs of running your business (this is rent, utilities, employees, office supplies, bookkeeping, etc.)?

2) What is your salary (If you don’t take a salary yet, figure out what you need to make to cover your personal expenses and use that number)?

3) What are the manufacturing costs (or time costs if you deliver a service) associated with the business?

4) How much do you anticipate each client or customer will spend with you per purchase and per year?

5) Based on number four, how many customers do you need to cover all of your expenses?

Once you know the answers to these questions, if your business still looks viable you’re in good shape. If not, don’t despair. You may just need to rethink what you are doing, how you’re doing it, what you’re offering and what you’re charging. Then retool your business until it’s making the kind of money you want, need and deserve.
Entrepreneur, Small Business, self-employment

What It Really Takes To Build A Successful Business

So here’s the deal…After 16 years and six business, I’ve learned a thing or two about what it really takes to build a successful business. And I’ll tell ya, most of what my Mom told me—and most of what I believed going into the first four—turned out to be dead wrong.

In each of my early businesses, the busier I got the more of my life I gave up. Soon I was working ridiculous hours but I didn’t have a whole lot in my bank account to show for it. I was basically chained to my computer.

Since my vision of success was working 25-30 hours a week and having plenty of time to ski, mountain bike, kayak and travel, I wasn’t too happy about the whole “you gotta give up your life to start a business” concept. But I did it. And frankly, it didn’t get any better until I decided to hell with that! There had to be another way!!

Thank goodness I found it! That’s why I created my newest business, The Unchained Entrepreneur. I wanted a place to share what I’ve learned with entrepreneurs everywhere.

Below are ten of the key business beliefs I’ve developed that helped me unchain myself from my business. I hope they help you start creating the business—and life—you’ve always dreamed of!

1.    Anyone who wants to have a successful, thriving business—and a fulfilling personal life—should be able to. Remember, it’s your business and your life. You have the power to make them be any way you want.

2.    Marketing isn’t an optional expense. It’s a mandatory investment in the success of your business.

3.    Sleep, get exercise, eat healthy, enjoy a hobby and take care of yourself. You always attract more success when you feel your best.

4.    If it isn’t fun make it fun, don’t do it at all, or find someone else to do it for you!

5.    Success is not defined by how many hours you work in your business, but by how many hours you’re able to spend NOT working in it!

6.    It’s better to be yourself versus what you think others want you to be—even in business. These days the best branding is personable, authentic and unique.

7.    Spend some time unplugged each week. Go out in the woods or a park or a lake somewhere where you can hear yourself think. Voice mail and off buttons exist for a reason.

8.    While it’s always good to do research and analysis, at some point you just have to trust your gut, make a decision and take action.

9.    It’s not what happens that matters, but how you deal with it. Changes that seem forced on you are almost always a good thing for your business in the long run (IE “The universe knows more than you do. Stop fighting it.”).

10.    The very things that scare you the most when it comes to marketing and growing your business are probably the things you most need to be doing.

Want a whole big batch of even more detailed, practical tips and wisdom to help you get started building the business—and life—you’ve been dreaming of?

Grab a copy of my FREE “Success without Shackles Starter Kit” here: http://theunchainedentrepreneur.com/