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Getting More Work DONE In Your Online Business
Copyright (c) 2005-2023 Willie Crawford
If you're anything like me, there never seems to be enough time to get all of the things done that you'd like to do. If your income goals are as high as mine (seven-figures,) then you also realize that you'll have a very hard time reaching them if you're trading time for money. I realized this second point when I first noticed all of the doctors and lawyers leaving those practices to start their own businesses. When I asked them why, they explained that they only got paid when they worked, and that the fact that they could only work so many hours per day was what limited their incomes the most.
Assuming you're not simply trading your time for money... working for a salary or at an hourly wage, how do you simply get more done?
First of all, you need to make sure that you're only trying to do the things that you should be doing. For most entrepreneurs that means doing things to grow and market your business. Most other work should be farmed out... subcontracted or outsourced to technicians. If you can easily hire someone to do it cheaper than you can do it, then YOU shouldn't be doing it.
Trying to do everything yourself is one of the biggest reasons I see most netrepreneurs failing. You simply can't be an expert at everything, or do everything yourself. You need to identify those things that will offer you the highest return on your most limited asset (your time), and then you need to focus on doing just those things.
Yes, you may need to understand how to do some basic things yourself at first. For example, when putting up your first website, it may make sense to learn some basic html or at-least how to use a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editor. If you can afford to hire a webmaster and programmers to do everything for you though, even learning those things may not be the best and highest use of your time.
My personal experience, like that of many of my contemporaries, is that I learned to use DreamWeaver to do my own webpages. I simply didn't want to be trapped waiting for my webmaster to make minor changes (that I knew would dramatically improve my bottom line) to a webpage. Good webmasters and programmers are often in high demand and very busy.
After I learned to do the basics, I also often fell into the trap that I want YOU to avoid. I want you to do two things. First, learn to say "NO" and secondly, learn to prioritize.
Learning to say "no" can be hard. It's human nature to want to do favors for others. We want to be liked. We believe that if we say "no" to requests for assistance, we will be liked less. Until you learn to say "no" when you have a full plate, others will control your time and decide what you do... when. You can't afford to put that much control over your time, your business, and your LIFE into the hands of others. So, it's critical to master the skill of saying "no" sometimes. You can do it politely :-)
Learning to prioritize is the second essential that you must master. Otherwise, you'll simply find yourself doing the easy, enjoyable things that produce little long-term benefit, while you ignore the very things that you should be doing.
There are a lot of systems for prioritizing, and you have to choose the one that works best for you. For me, it involves making a list of the things that I must get done and then doing the most important ones first. This takes firmness and being honest with yourself. You have to do the most important things first because, then, if something doesn't get done, it will be the less important things that you simply can't fit in.
In prioritizing, you do need to seek balance though. Things you probably don't want to compromise are your health and your relationships with your family. Make those a higher priority than business.
A common trap too many netrepreneurs fall into... one that I've fallen into, is offering to do too many things for others. In a phone conversation, or perhaps a discussion board thread, someone needs help doing something that is very simple to you. You try to explain to them how to do it, and they just don't seem to "get it." So you offer to do it for them. Before you know it, you find yourself doing the very things that you normally get someone else to do for you so that you can focus on better uses of your time.
Here's how I got out of the trap I just described... I often had clients who needed to get minor things done before we could get other goals accomplished. They needed to know how to do minor things like FTP’ing a file, making minor edits to webpages, or perhaps changing out a graphic. In the interest of expediency, I often offered to do these minor chores... until I saw how often they mushroomed into major projects. My solution.... I found, or created, video tutorials explaining how to do these simple task. I reasoned that it made more sense to just do the task once, and record it so that I would have it handy if needed again.
If you visit my site at: http://WillieCrawford.com/how.html
you'll find links to a few of these videos I did in Camtasia. These are flash videos on how to: 1) Copy and paste 2) FTP a file 3) Make minor webpage edits etc.
I actually have dozens of these but just share these few with you for illustrative purposes. Setting up something like this may be a great time-saver.
Very similar to the concept above, if you find yourself getting asked the same questions over and over again, perhaps you should set up a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section on your website. This will stop hundreds of emails or phone calls. Just make the link to it prominent on your website.
If you find yourself answering the same email questions, or requests, over and over again, set up email templates in your email program so that you have those answers handy. Then, often all you will need to do is pull up the template and change the name to respond quickly via email. You could also use programs that scan an email looking for keywords and then automatically send a response based upon the context of the email. That's a little advanced for this article, so I won't explain it here.
Similar to the Camtasia videos, if you find you’re explaining the same thing over and over again, you could also post an MP3 tele-
class recording online for your clients. You could also just set up a phone line with the recorded messages, instructions, or other information, and provide your clients with the phone number for listening to the recording. Many sales organizations use this idea for weekly training meetings, etc.
There are many other common sense things you can do to get more done. A couple of quick ones that I use are:
1) Just working smarter... i.e., I don't stand in line at the post office. My staff and I have arranged to just walk up to the counter and leave the containers full of mail on the counter. The clerk simply gives us more mail "buckets," and we buy postage in bulk or over the Internet. If we do need to actually talk to a clerk, we visit the post office during the least busy times of the day... NOT during lunchtime when everyone visits the post office.
2) Avoid time wasters such as spending too much time at online discussion forums. These can be great places to network, brainstorm, or do research, but make sure you're not just avoiding getting started on an urgent project.
3) Identify when you are most productive and use that time to do your most challenging work. Set aside times when you are least productive (based upon your natural body cycles) to answer email or return phone calls.
4) Stop procrastinating! Often we procrastinate because a task seems so large. Simply break it down into bit-sized steps and it will seem less ominous. Then choose a step and do it. Mark that step off your schedule to reinforce the fact that you are making progress :-)
5) Automate where possible using things like autoresponders and interactive web forms to dispense commonly requested documents. You can even use software to automatically update or change the content on your webpages. One such piece of software that I use and love is called "Traffic On Steroids." You can check it out at: http://WillieCrawford.com/traffic-on-steroids.html
These are just a few of the ways that you can get more focused and get more done. It's really just a matter of prioritizing and then doing it. Adopt just a few of these ideas and you'll be surprised at how much more you do actually get DONE! Without implementing a few of these suggestions you can't be successful simply because you'll never finish all of the tasks that you need to do.
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Willie Crawford is a corporate president, published author,
seminar speaker and host, tele-seminar speaker and host,
retired military officer, karate black belt, master network
marketing trainer, and lifetime student of marketing. He shows
people how to actually generate substantial income on-line
using very simple, easily modeled systems. An example of
such a system that you can study and duplicate is at:
http://HowToBeReallyHealthy.com
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Top-Level Category: Articles
10 Most Recent Articles Written by Willie Crawford
How To Have An Endless Stream Of Highly Qualified Free Leads (Part 2)
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2011-07-26 |
Word Count: 854 |
Page Views: 5272
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
In part-1, I mentioned how to publish on Kindle to create
free leads. Now here's the rest of the strategy to easily
get several books on your topic working for you as lead
generators.
How To Have An Endless Stream Of Highly Qualified Free Leads
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2011-07-24 |
Word Count: 675 |
Page Views: 5234
| Votes: 7 |
Rating: 1.86
Do you dream of having so many customers that you can be
very selective, and can choose only the ideal customers to
work with? Well, it's not a dream... for me and many
friends who have also discovered "the secret!"
Follow The Experts Who Do What They Teach
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-11-02 |
Word Count: 897 |
Page Views: 5539
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.40
As I'm sure that you realize, not all online marketing
experts are the same. Some are only interested in your
money, and they know that the quickest and easiest way to
get it is to sell you "the dream." Many so-called experts
have never done what they teach. They come online, survey
the landscape, and decide that teaching is easier than
doing.
How To Profit From Really Inexpensive Website Traffic
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-10-28 |
Word Count: 1200 |
Page Views: 5033
| Votes: 6 |
Rating: 1.17
All online marketers eventually realize that a steady flow
of targeted traffic is the very life's blood of their
online business. At that point some decide to focus on
generating free traffic via methods such as article
marketing and search engine optimization. That's how I
generated most of my website traffic for many years.
How To Earn An Online Living As A Writer
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-07-27 |
Word Count: 373 |
Page Views: 5033
| Votes: 6 |
Rating: 1.17
Since 1996 I've written over 1600 articles. These articles
have provided me with a decent living in numerous ways. Here
is how I've used the articles that I've written:
Your Internet Marketing Virtual Vending Machine Route
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-04-13 |
Word Count: 1456 |
Page Views: 5202
| Votes: 4 |
Rating: 2.75
When I'm being introduced at seminars and tele-events, the
emcee often points out that I have over 1600 websites. This
usually grabs the attention of audience members who have to
wonder why I have so many websites, and how I manage them.
So, let me enlighten you.
A False Economy I NO LONGER Practice Do You?
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-03-15 |
Word Count: 676 |
Page Views: 4971
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.40
Many of us go out and buy some of the best software and
hardware tools available. We read about some tool that could
easily DOUBLE our business, or TRIPLE our productivity, so
we wisely purchase it. After the purchase is made, the whole
process goes sideways...
My New Top 10 Free Website Traffic Generation Methods - Part 1
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-03-10 |
Word Count: 885 |
Page Views: 5612
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 1.20
In 2008, I wrote an ebook that revealed my most effective
methods of generating free website traffic. As online
conditions and technologies change, I feel it's now time to
update that ebook. However, instead of revealing my new top
10 free website traffic generation methods in ebook format,
I'm going to do it in a 10-part article series.
The End Of Dumb Affiliate Marketing
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-02-09 |
Word Count: 921 |
Page Views: 5077
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 1.20
One of the saddest things that I witness day after day is
affiliate marketers who really struggle to make sales. They
send out email after email, promotion after promotion, yet
often make very few sales. This is not only sad, it's also
needless "practice bleeding." Making affiliate sales is
easy when you know the secret. It's even very scientific
and does have fairly predictable results.
Are Your Websites Secure Or Is The Back Door Wide Open?
Written by: Willie Crawford |
Distributed: 2010-02-02 |
Word Count: 722 |
Page Views: 4592
| Votes: 2 |
Rating: 0.50
One of the topics that all of us online business people are
aware of but usually don't feel totally on top of is
website security. Coming from a background of having spent
over 20 years in the U.S. military, and having spent four
years as a software tester, I have a greater awareness of
the need for continuous vigilance in this area than your
average marketer.
All of Author's Articles on this site: Willie Crawford Articles
Most Recent "" Articles
Ann Arbor, MI Offers A Lot Of Year-Around Family Fun
Written by: Jeb Maxwell |
Distributed: 2010-01-20 |
Word Count: 595 |
Page Views: 4757
| Votes: 8 |
Rating: 1.25
Ann Arbor, Michigan is the home of the University of Michigan, a
leading institution of higher education. Ann Arbor is a wonderful
place to visit. The University is co-mingled with the city and
greatly expands the cultural places and events available in the
area.
Flowers Are The Perfect Gift For Father's Day
Written by: Wesley Berry, AAF |
Distributed: 2008-02-20 |
Word Count: 486 |
Page Views: 5927
| Votes: 17 |
Rating: 2.24
Dads everywhere have Sonora Smart Dodd to thank for getting
Father's Day started. In 1909, Sonora sat in a church in Spokane,
Washington listening to a sermon expounding on the virtues of
motherhood. But, as she sat there, she thought about how special
her own father was since it was he who raised her after the death
of her mother.
Finding the Adventure in Travel Again
Written by: Helen Bergstein |
Distributed: 2006-05-11 |
Word Count: 718 |
Page Views: 4397
| Votes: 14 |
Rating: 2.64
If you want to experience adventure at every level of your next
trip, you need to go beyond the usual resorts and places to stay.
If you're like most travelers, personal safety remains a priority,
especially in today's world. A growing number of savvy travelers
have found the perfect balance between adventure and comfort.
7 Tips to Hiring a Good DJ for your Party
Written by: Kamau Austin |
Distributed: 2006-05-11 |
Word Count: 563 |
Page Views: 5305
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 1.36
If you want to have a party that everyone will be talking about
for days and years later, hire a good DJ to run your music and
light show. Hiring a DJ can actually be fun. Just follow these
simple tips, and you are sure to have a fabulous DJ for your
party.
Building your Credit to get a Mortgage
Written by: Kamau Austin |
Distributed: 2006-05-11 |
Word Count: 840 |
Page Views: 5363
| Votes: 17 |
Rating: 2.24
You are thinking about purchasing real estate. However, you are
not sure if your credit is good enough to get a mortgage. There
are things that you can do to build your credit so that it is
worthy of any mortgage that may interest you.
1569 Unique Ways To Get A Free Lunch
Written by: Steve Robichaud |
Distributed: 2006-05-07 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 3624
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
Everywhere you turn - T.V., Radio, magazines, or the Internet,
someone is talking about government grants. What's the real
story? Does the government give away real money, to ordinary
people, to use for whatever they want? Let's take a closer look:
Don't Wait to Start Your Marketing Strategy
Written by: Jo Fulkerson |
Distributed: 2006-05-07 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 3907
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
Your novel is finished, you’ve had it edited by a professional Editor, and you’ve done the rewrites. What? You haven’t had an editor edit your work yet? This is a must. There are many editors advertising in Writer’s Digest.
NEVER Reply to an eGroup Post!
Written by: BIG Mike McDaniel |
Distributed: 2006-05-07 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 5158
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
eGroups are collections of people subscribed to a
common (discussion list) address. When one member
sends an eMail message to the eGroup address, it
is automatically sent to everyone else on the
list. As subscribers open and read their eMail,
discussion threads take shape with additional
posts and replies. The attraction of eGroups is
the ability to join in at your convenience as
opposed to the confinement of live chat rooms.
Reasons behind Shoulder Pain
Written by: Jessica Horowitz |
Distributed: 2006-05-07 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 4955
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
Pain between the shoulder blades, or any pain for that matter,
is your body's way of notifying you that something is amiss. You
should never ignore it and hope it will *go away by itself*.
There are a multitude of possible causes of pain between the
shoulder blades. We'll discuss common ones in this article and
start with the most serious conditions first:
Effective Managers Need To Coach
Written by: Wendy Hearn |
Distributed: 2006-05-07 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 4435
| Votes: 4 |
Rating: 0.75
Bearing in mind the fast pace of business today and the
need to stay competitive, it's essential that managers
should be effective. They need to be especially
effective with their people and this requires learning
to coach. For most managers, coaching has been added
to their role anyway, but the majority haven't received
any training in coaching skills.
Most Viewed "" Articles
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY - LIFE'S BIGGEST QUESTION
Written by: Richard Sparky Bryan |
Distributed: 2006-05-07 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 13810
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
When did Americans stop taking responsibility for their own
actions? My friend agreed
that the slide began in the late 1960's with the growth of the
drug culture.
But he was quick to emphasize that although the sixties began
the slide, the real sharp slope did not arrive until the 1990's.
Along about 1993, the slide began to sharpen. It was not until
early 1998 that the slope became a steep cliff.
High Thread Count Bed Sheets. How Many Threads Does A Bed Sheet Need?
Written by: Liz Beresford |
Distributed: 2004-09-14 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 6588
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
High thread count bed sheets, often called percale, are much
advertised, but what exactly does 'high thread' count mean? You
know that it means quality and comfort, but do you know why? It
used to be considered good to have thread count of 180-200 but
thread counts of up to 1000 are advertised these days.. So what
is going on? Does high thread count always mean better quality?
Is there an optimum thread count, and if so what is it?
Muzzling the Motor Mouths: Silence Workplace Windbags
Written by: Bill Lampton Ph.D. |
Distributed: 2005-12-01 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 6331
| Votes: 4 |
Rating: 0.50
During my twenty-three years in management, I dealt with
blabbermouths frequently, so for the last ten years I have
advised clients on how to silence the workplace windbags.
Here are my suggestions for muzzling the motor mouths:
Better Than Botox is there a Safer Substitute?
Written by: Kamau Austin |
Distributed: 2005-09-08 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 6227
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
Women since time immemorial have always looked for ways to
enhance and prolong their beauty. This of course becomes more
difficult as they age.
12 Ways to Promote Your Business And Website for Free
Written by: Ivana Katz |
Distributed: 2005-03-29 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 6197
| Votes: 3 |
Rating: 0.33
You are very excited!! You have finally created your own
website!! But the trouble is customers aren*t knocking on your
website door. Why? The most probable answer is...
Transform Your Work Area into a Homey Environment
Written by: Ted Roberson |
Distributed: 2006-02-24 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 6031
| Votes: 4 |
Rating: 1.25
Nothing enables one to think and work better than a comfortable
working environment. Especially if you have a sedentary job,
you've got to have little knick knacks around that will enliven
your spirits or which you can look at for inspiration or just
to zone out in relaxation.
Flowers Are The Perfect Gift For Father's Day
Written by: Wesley Berry, AAF |
Distributed: 2008-02-20 |
Word Count: 486 |
Page Views: 5927
| Votes: 17 |
Rating: 2.24
Dads everywhere have Sonora Smart Dodd to thank for getting
Father's Day started. In 1909, Sonora sat in a church in Spokane,
Washington listening to a sermon expounding on the virtues of
motherhood. But, as she sat there, she thought about how special
her own father was since it was he who raised her after the death
of her mother.
Sell Yourself, Not Your Products or Services
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2004-05-03 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 5650
| Votes: 2 |
Rating: 0.50
Sell yourself, not your products or services. The point we
need to make is that your products and services will change
over time as your business adapts to the realities of the
marketplace.
Building your Credit to get a Mortgage
Written by: Kamau Austin |
Distributed: 2006-05-11 |
Word Count: 840 |
Page Views: 5363
| Votes: 17 |
Rating: 2.24
You are thinking about purchasing real estate. However, you are
not sure if your credit is good enough to get a mortgage. There
are things that you can do to build your credit so that it is
worthy of any mortgage that may interest you.
7 Tips to Hiring a Good DJ for your Party
Written by: Kamau Austin |
Distributed: 2006-05-11 |
Word Count: 563 |
Page Views: 5305
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 1.36
If you want to have a party that everyone will be talking about
for days and years later, hire a good DJ to run your music and
light show. Hiring a DJ can actually be fun. Just follow these
simple tips, and you are sure to have a fabulous DJ for your
party.
Highest Ranked "" Articles
Finding the Adventure in Travel Again
Written by: Helen Bergstein |
Distributed: 2006-05-11 |
Word Count: 718 |
Page Views: 4397
| Votes: 14 |
Rating: 2.64
If you want to experience adventure at every level of your next
trip, you need to go beyond the usual resorts and places to stay.
If you're like most travelers, personal safety remains a priority,
especially in today's world. A growing number of savvy travelers
have found the perfect balance between adventure and comfort.
Freedom- or Burden of Choice?
Written by: Patsi Krakoff |
Distributed: 2004-09-30 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 1100
| Votes: 7 |
Rating: 2.57
Everyday decisions have become increasingly complex due to the
overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented.
A trip to a typical supermarket reveals enormous choices such
as 85 different crackers, 285 types of cookies, 230 varieties
of canned soup, 80 different pain relievers, and 360 kinds of
shampoo. Does this improve the quality of our lives?
Building your Credit to get a Mortgage
Written by: Kamau Austin |
Distributed: 2006-05-11 |
Word Count: 840 |
Page Views: 5363
| Votes: 17 |
Rating: 2.24
You are thinking about purchasing real estate. However, you are
not sure if your credit is good enough to get a mortgage. There
are things that you can do to build your credit so that it is
worthy of any mortgage that may interest you.
Flowers Are The Perfect Gift For Father's Day
Written by: Wesley Berry, AAF |
Distributed: 2008-02-20 |
Word Count: 486 |
Page Views: 5927
| Votes: 17 |
Rating: 2.24
Dads everywhere have Sonora Smart Dodd to thank for getting
Father's Day started. In 1909, Sonora sat in a church in Spokane,
Washington listening to a sermon expounding on the virtues of
motherhood. But, as she sat there, she thought about how special
her own father was since it was he who raised her after the death
of her mother.
Testimonials and Reviews Increase Your Real Sales Potential
Written by: Bill Platt |
Distributed: 2006-02-10 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 2934
| Votes: 9 |
Rating: 2.00
The one essential ingredient for online success in
any endeavor is gaining your prospect's trust.
7 Tips to Hiring a Good DJ for your Party
Written by: Kamau Austin |
Distributed: 2006-05-11 |
Word Count: 563 |
Page Views: 5305
| Votes: 11 |
Rating: 1.36
If you want to have a party that everyone will be talking about
for days and years later, hire a good DJ to run your music and
light show. Hiring a DJ can actually be fun. Just follow these
simple tips, and you are sure to have a fabulous DJ for your
party.
Ann Arbor, MI Offers A Lot Of Year-Around Family Fun
Written by: Jeb Maxwell |
Distributed: 2010-01-20 |
Word Count: 595 |
Page Views: 4757
| Votes: 8 |
Rating: 1.25
Ann Arbor, Michigan is the home of the University of Michigan, a
leading institution of higher education. Ann Arbor is a wonderful
place to visit. The University is co-mingled with the city and
greatly expands the cultural places and events available in the
area.
How to Decorate Your Home on EBay
Written by: Pamela Cole Harris |
Distributed: 2005-09-14 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 2162
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 1.20
If you are on a budget (and who isn’t?), a wonderful place for
find home decorating accessories is auction sites like eBay. But
before you go a’baying, here is some advice...
The "Proprietary Blend" Nutritional Supplement
Written by: Will Brink |
Distributed: 2006-02-10 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 3514
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.60
In a nut shell, I went onto cover each of these common marketing
terms that are used to sell supplements to unwitting consumers
and explained each in detail as to what I view as their common
misuse within the market place.
Brink's Unified Theory of Nutrition
Written by: Will Brink |
Distributed: 2006-02-24 |
Word Count: 0 |
Page Views: 2324
| Votes: 5 |
Rating: 0.60
Regardless of the topic, a unified theory, seeks to explain
seemingly incompatible aspects of various theories. In this
article I attempt to unify seemingly incompatible or opposing
views regarding nutrition, namely, what is probably the longest
running debate in the nutritional sciences: calories vs. macro
nutrients.
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Total Views: 2414
Article Rating: 1.00 of 5
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