Multitasking Is Not Cool!

June 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There was a time that I thought being able to do two or three different things at the same time was a great skill to have. On a phone call with a client while updating a spreadsheet with data while watching (more like listening) to Oprah give away goodies to her audience….  Can you imagine? That used to be me.

Inc.com published an article by Lou Dubois recently, and shares several ways to organize your business using Google.  Organizing all the goodness you come up with when creating can be hard to keep track of.  When creating, multitasking will cut down on your creative power by clogging up your head with too much good stuff. (Probably some bad stuff too!)

I learned back in November of 2010 to download often.  (MTH2010)  Downloading often (doing a data dump of your head) and using Google to hold the information for you as described in the article is genius! Not only will you avoid clogging up your brain, but your office won’t be clogged up with paper and debris from your brainstorming session.

“At any given moment, your brain can hold no more than 5 to 9 items at once in short-term memory, as Merrill notes in the book. As you need more space (when multitasking) and try to remember more, your brain pushes items into long-term memory, until they are needed again. That process is far from foolproof.”

So stop…slow down and refresh. Release all that goodness you’ve come up with today so you avoid overwhelm and watered down ideas!

Until next time…

Aspire!

Filed Under: Business Development, Business Skills, Time Management Tagged With: , , ,

What Does Your Talent List Look Like?

July 7, 2010 By 1 Comment

Being a wedding planner requires talent.  Chances are you already have one or two of them that you can apply to the job.  Mix that in with a good dose of the right learned skills and passion, and you are on your way!

Sit down and take a complete inventory of the talents you already bring to the table.  Be a VERY hard grader.  Why?  You need to know what situations you can handle and what you can’t.

Weddings are emotionally charged events.  Some say planners should also have some training in psychology and sociology.  Having exposure and being familiar with the human psyche is a plus in any career; having it when you’re a wedding planner is gravy! 

Another reason to be aware of your talents is because finding solutions to last minute problems is easier when you have a sense of your capabilities versus ones you don’t.  Know your limitations so that you can be prepared for any kind of situation.  Even if that means calling on someone else to help.

Think about the personality, inherent talent and skills of a planner that YOU would hire and work with.  What questions would you ask of her or him?  And finally, what would they have to be passionate about to win your business? 

An ideal list of talents might look like this: 

  • Works well with a team
  • Great at time management
  • An artistic eye
  • Calm and cool under pressure; compassionate
  • Able to think and make decisions quickly
  • Being a “forward” thinker; being able to see the big picture
  • Have a knack for details AND…
  • Knowing when getting caught up in the details, ruins the big picture
  • Being organized
  • Learning how to work well with others…clients, their families and vendors 

If you’re honest, you’ll agree that you either have these talents or you don’t.  Some of these things can be taught but most of them are traits people are born with. 

How do you measure up?

Aspire to Plan!!

Filed Under: Business Development, Business Skills

Cash Flow, Baby!

May 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

If you are using software like Quickbooks to track the finances AND you are keeping it up to date with the transactions in your business, then I’m sure you’ve utilized the reports to help you with this.  If not, I hope you are using something similar or at the very least, some sort of spreadsheet to track the flow of money in your business.

The reports from accounting software programs can be a little intimidating for some.  And if you aren’t using software, you still need something to help you “see” the money in your business.  A cash flow statement or worksheet is a little more simplified, and useful.  This might make some of you cringe but stay with me…this is important. I’ll make it REALLY simple so it doesn’t overwhelm you…

Let’s say it’s your very first month in business. YAY! Congrats!

You’ve contributed $500 to your business for Contributed Capital; You’ve closed your first two brides for full service planning packages with deposits at $2,500 each (you’re on a roll, girl!); which brings your Sales/Svcs Income to $5,000 for the month. Bride #1 will pay her balance in May and Bride #2 will pay her balance in June.

Now let’s talk expenses. Your normal monthly expenses consist of $500 in salaries, $500 in other operation expenses and $100 in tax payments, bringing your normal, customary expenses to $1,100 per month. In addition, in the month of January, you decided to attend an educational conference in April but you’ve paid for it in advance. The conference fee is $500 and you’ve estimated other expenses for the conference to run you about $300.

Take a look at your cash flow statement:

January, February and March look good with regard to cash flow, but look what happens in April IF you don’t generate anymore sales. You’ll run out of money. Even if you decide to forgo the $300 you’ve allocated for conference spending in April, you will still be short by $300. The next time you will see an influx of money is in May when Bride #1 pays her balance.  (Provided she pays ON TIME!)

In the beginning it’s easy to want to spend money on all the nice “shiny objects” that grab your attention. Having this simple spreadsheet setup to show all the cash flowing in and out of your business will help you manage your cash so that you can make informed spending decisions in your business.

Still overwhelmed?  Call or email me so I can help.  Because if you are not paying attention to this part of your business, then you are setting yourself up to fail.  And I want you to succeed!

Until next time…

Aspire to Plan!
Filed Under: Accounting 101, Business Skills

Toot Your Own Horn With a Press Release

May 19, 2010 By 1 Comment

I was in the mountains yesterday and didn’t realize this post was MIA! Here ya go…

Ok, this challenge will stretch your writing skills…

I hear from many aspiring planners daily. Some talk about successes they’ve had; others talk about struggles they face. One thing is clear to me…getting the word out about their business and finding new clients to serve is a top priority.

I learned early on that in order to be known in this business you must first present yourself professionally and offer value. Press releases are a great way to do that. They cost you nothing except some time and creative writing. Sending them to your local contacts and the media is a great way to spread the good news about the wonderful milestones you’ve reached and what you are doing in your business. For instance:

-Did you just launch your business?
-Have you and your team recently donated your services at a local charity?
-Have you begun to offer a line of retail products to your clients?
-Did you hire a new assistant or intern?
-Have you re-branded recently?

Here’s the challenge: Write a press release about your business. Email it to amy {at} aspiretoplan {dot} com. Please insert the following into the subject line: “Aspiring Challenge-Press Release” The deadline for submission is midnight on Tuesday, May 25th.

The aspiring planners with the three most compelling press releases sent in will be featured here on the Aspire to Plan blog next Thursday, May 27th. Also, each of them will receive their choice of a $25 iTunes gift card or a $25 Amazon gift card.

I’ll be your biggest cheerleader, but you’ve got to come with it! So go ahead…toot your horn, girl!

Good Luck!
 
Until next time…

Aspire to Plan!
Filed Under: Aspiring Challenge, Business Skills

Why You Hate the Numbers and Five Reasons You Shouldn’t

May 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Talking about bookkeeping and accounting is fun for me.  Weird…I know.  It’s like a game for me…crunching numbers and figuring out what to do with the information is what I do and what I know.  That’s my expertise.

But…

I know y’all HATE the numbers…it’s OK.  You don’t need to learn how to love them like I do.  You are however, obligated to understand them.  Here’s why…

To avoid overdraft fees in your bank account - Don’t waste money by giving it to the banks…we’ve seen what they can do with our money…it ain’t pretty.  Keep that money in your pocket by balancing your books often.

To avoid being dis-organized at tax time – Shoebox filing is NOT the way to go.  Setup a simple, easy to use filing system so when it’s time to give an account to Uncle Sam, it’s easy and stress free.

To be able to make informed business management decisions based on the financial health of your company – This is key.  You can’t run your business efficiently if you don’t know when to increase or decrease expenses.  And you won’t know when to increase or decrease expenses unless you can “see” them in an organized way.  Utilize the reporting features in your bookkeeping software.  And if you don’t have Quickbooks or some other software to help you manage, then setup a spreadsheet to track money coming in and going out.

Knowing your ROI – One of the major indicators your management reports will give you is whether or not you are getting a healthy return on your investments.  For example; you paid $500 for an ad in your local wedding publication.  If you don’t track the revenue dollars and where your leads came from, you’ll never know if that $500 investment was worth it.  Include a coding category for lead sources when coding your sales dollars so you’ll know where to increase or eliminate where you spend your marketing dollars.

With a streamlined, efficient bookkeeping system you’ll have more time to work on the creative, “glam” parts of your business.  Let’s face it…working on the “business” of running your business is not our favorite thing to do.  Having systems in place allows us to “set it and forget it”!

So get crackin!  Or hire someone to do it for you :)
Until next time…
Aspire to Plan!
Filed Under: Accounting 101, Business Skills

Effective Marketing

May 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Creating the marketing “copy” for your website and business collateral can be tricky. One thing I’ve noticed is that many service providers…including ones in the wedding industry…most ordinary providers all sound like everyone else.  Boring!

When creating your marketing materials, there is one thing that is very important when describing your services. Always talk about the benefits as opposed to the features of your product or service.  It’s a surefire way to stand out among so many.

For instance…

My service is coaching aspiring wedding planners and speaking on the subject. When I coach planners, the benefit they receive is that they will begin their businesses with the right business, marketing and operational plans so that they are successful from the start. They attract more brides, feel more at ease when speaking to others about their business and they learn how to operate their business efficiently.

What benefits do you provide for your clients? Be sure to talk about them often in your marketing…otherwise, you’ll sound like ever other planner out there. And you want to stand out, don’t you?

Until next time…

Aspire to Plan!

Filed Under: Business Skills, Marketing

Organizing Your To Do List

January 28, 2010 By 1 Comment

Many times, when we sit down at our desks to begin the process of organizing our day and write out our “to do” lists, and we think about all the tasks we want to get done over and above our normal workflow, overwhelm sets in. Happens to me all the time. You too, huh?

The solution is very simple…break things down based on priority and the time it takes to do them. Tackling the most urgent, least time consuming tasks first will clear your mind and free you up to tackle those more pressing tasks.

Sounds easy, right?

Let me show you…

Here is a list of things I’d like to get done next week:
1. Create subject outline for newsletter and blog posts for March
2. Send welcome packets via email to potential clients
3. Finish writing chapter 5 of book (shhhh…Yes, I’m writing a book!)
4. Purge office of 2009 magazines, articles and other non-essential paper
5. Prepare for client coaching calls
6. Review/revise notes for Feb. 22nd speaking engagement
7. Book hotel and car for Vegas and Atlanta
8. Build draft of new ATP website
9. Finish services, FAQ and contact pages for SMW website
10. Finish interview questions for featured February and March featured teleclass guests

I use an Excel worksheet to do this (because I just LOVE Excel!) and I can sort my tasks when I’m done based on how I label them in the spreadsheet. I try to limit myself to no more than 10 tasks a week. Any more than that will interfere with my regularly scheduled work like client coaching, email, marketing, etc.

First I label each one with an A = Must be done this week; or B = Should be done this week but can be moved to an A next week.
I’ve designated 6 items above as A’s; #2, #3, #4, #5, #7, #10; and the rest are B’s. Next I enter how long each task should take in minutes.

This is an estimate and is often something I don’t spend a lot of time on. Just throw a time length on it and move on.

Next, I sort the list by priority and time and voila! (I built in a cool macro to do this.) Now I have a nicely sorted list of tasks and a roadmap to get it done. I usually print this on Sunday night and write in my notes for the resources/people/tools I’ll need to finish the task.

After that, its easy. Just do all of the A’s with the shortest task time first, and so on.

What tools do you use to organize your daily or weekly tasks? If you’d like a blank copy of my worksheet, email me and I’ll send it to you!

Until next time…

Filed Under: Business Skills, Time Management

Planning One Day At a Time

January 5, 2010 By 3 Comments

Make a date with yourself today to sit down and create a schedule for the next week. I dare you! Set aside some time to sit down and “schedule” what you are going to do for the next 7 days. No, really…I mean it. Here’s why…

We sometimes wake up each day and take the day as it comes. When this happens and we don’t plan how our day is going to play out; whatever happens from one minute to the next is really related to someone else’s agenda, right? Why not take control of your day and carve out time to do those things that YOU want to get done? This way you aren’t bound by each issue that comes your way.

Now don’t get me wrong…there will certainly be instances where you will need to take a break from your agenda and attend to something or someone outside of your planned task…I get that. If you are a stay at home parent, your 3 year old that wants a bandaid for his “ow-wee” isn’t going to understand that you have to finish writing a blog post by 2pm…NOT gonna happen! But wouldn’t you feel more comfortable knowing that you have a plan to stay on track even with these kinds of necessary interruptions? You’ll know exactly where to begin again because you’ll have a schedule!

I use a set schedule each day to work on my business. Mondays are business development days. I only work on those things that build or enhance my business. Things like writing articles and blog posts, finding and researching speaking engagements, setting up conference calls, etc.

Tuesday’s and Thursday’s are usually marketing and networking days. Wednesday’, Friday’s and Saturday’s are for client and vendor meetings. Now of course, this schedule is flexible when it needs to be but I’ve setup boundaries that I really try to stick to. It helps to keep me on track and helps to educate others on how I operate my business.

Now on each of those days, I always work in some social media time. Can’t go a day without touching base with my virtual friends! But I’m very careful because 30 minutes can turn into 3 hours very easily.

Now go do it! Spend the next 30 minutes or so writing down everything you want to get accomplished today and tomorrow. Oh what the hey…Go ahead and map out your whole week!

I DOUBLE dare ya!

Until next time…

Aspire to Plan!

Filed Under: Business Skills, Time Management

How to Negotiate Successfully

August 25, 2009 By 3 Comments

Negotiation can give many people the willy’s! (Wow…haven’t used that term in a long time!) Just thinking about it can cause anxiety, butterfly tummy, etc. Negotiation, however, can be fun – not to mention profitable – when done right.

As a wedding planner, this is one of the services many of your clients will need you to be an expert at. It’s one of the ways you can help your client save money so it pays to be a successful negotiator. Just think of the wonderful testimonial you get!

Here’s how:

Step One – Become Comfortable
Once you’re truly comfortable with negotiation, you’re better able to think outside of the box and to be creative with possibilities and solutions. Removing fear and discomfort helps you look at all sides, not just what you have to offer but what your potential partner has to offer as well.

Step Two – Be Prepared
Decide in advance, what you want to walk away with and try to determine what the other party wants to walk away with. It is likely that somewhere there can be an overlap or a give and take. Successful negotiation happens when you know exactly what is important and what you can live without – it’s an opportunity to collaborate and build a mutually beneficial relationship.

It’s also important to know what you’re going to do if the two of you are unable to come to an agreement.

Step Four (Oops…Step Three) – Listen
Listening, really is the key to a successful negotiation. Rather than heading into it with a aggressive stance, be ready and willing to listen to what the other party needs. There may be some points that you were unaware of. If the other party can tell that you’re really taking their concerns to heart, they may be more willing to work with you.

Step Five (Oops…Step Four) – Practice
Your mom was right, practice does make perfect. Practice negotiating and you’ll not only become more comfortable with it, you’ll get better. Consider every communication you’re involved in as a mini negotiation. Evaluate what you want to get out of it, what your partner wants to get out of it, and how you’ll both come to a mutual agreement.

Negotiating can be a powerfully positive experience for everyone involved. When you look at it as collaboration rather than a competition, it becomes an enjoyable experience. There really are win-win situations out there just waiting for you.

Until next time…

Aspire to Plan!

Filed Under: Business Development, Business Skills