Are All-Nighters the Key to Business Success?

I went to bed at 4 o’clock this morning.  Well, I didn’t so much “go to bed” as click “send” and fall over, hoping someone would have enough sense to wake me after I hit snooze for the third time.

In my opinion, no one over the age of 30 should be up past 1am without a really good reason: taking care of someone sick, running out of a burning building, watching a Top Chef marathon.

Heavy duty makeup was a requirement. As I used a used a trowel to apply cover-up under my eyes, I reflected on the circumstances that led me to spend so many hours typing and listening to the puppy snore.

Yesterday I had an 11am meeting with a client during which I thought we’d agreed on deliverables and timing for said deliverables. Through an ugly confluence of miscommunication on both sides and changing circumstances on the client side, the client let me know at 4:30pm that priorities had radically altered. The piece of the project I had committed to finishing by the end of next week now just HAD to be done by 9am.

Uh-huh.

Fact: All-nighters weren’t that much fun in college, but I was too young and dumb to know it then. I’m older and wiser now.

Of course, I did the obvious: I stayed up, drank too much caffeine, and got the work done.

But as I gently smudged mascara along my cheekbone this morning, I started wondering when the last time was that I had treated my own business as important enough to pull an all-nighter.

Er, never.

All-nighters are not a great solution.  But making your own business an unshakable priority is crucial to long-term success.

Some of my Tips for Making Your Business a Priority

• Ask someone to review your marketing plan (or strategic plan, etc.) and set a date for that review. You’ll get helpful feedback and the deadline will help keep you on track.
• Mark off “sacred time” on your calendar for Your Business related activities. Stay off Facebook, don’t check email, avoid Twitter (yeah, I know, I know!). Don’t schedule client meetings in that time; don’t let others push you to ‘give up’ that time.
• Make a list. Have a plan. Whether it’s a list of items to-do or the commitment to write for half an hour, know what you want to accomplish.
• Don’t over commit. If you have one hour and a list of 478 items to complete, you’re unlikely to feel good at the end of your hour.
• Celebrate your successes!

What are your tricks for making time to work on your business?

 

Judi Cogen is a principal at J Grace Consulting. Her expertise is as the Selection Strategist, helping companies choose the right employees for the right job–reducing the costs and time investment associated with turnover. You can frequently find her chatting on twitter. Won’t you join the conversation? 

It Takes a Village…

Earlier this evening, someone sent out a tweet about a village. I’m not entirely sure what possessed me, but I sent the following lines into the twittersphere one line at a time.  I’d love to hear your thoughts about what a village can do.

It takes a village…to raise a child.

It takes a village…to build a tourist trap.

It takes a village…to make billboards worthwhile.

It takes a village…to have a village store.

It takes a village…to give a big city a comparison.

It takes a village…to have that great little diner.

It takes a village…to house the village idiot.

It takes a village…to have a sense of humor.

It takes a village…to have the right kind of ice cream parlor.

It takes a village…to appreciate these tweets.

It takes a village…(fill in your own chorus here).

It takes a village…because we’re all too lazy to do it alone.

It takes a village…because who has the time or skills on their own.

It takes a village…to have a great 4^th of July parade.

It takes a village…to find enough people for a good game of poker.

Yet it only takes me to clog up the twitter stream…

What’s your idea for It Takes a Village…?

Judi Cogen is a principal at J Grace Consulting. When not riffing on Twitter or email, she helps coaches and consultants grow their businesses—tapping into a village full of resources.

How to Become an Expert Spammer–9 Tips to Annoying Those Around You

Dear Mr or Mrs Spammer Wannabe,

After years of watching various versions of junk/spam come through on various electronic sources, I believe I have finally put together a comprehensive plan for you to be the most hated bot in cyberspace.  Simply follow these simple tips, and you too can have everyone roll their eyes when your name pops up.

1. Do not address your communication to me personally.  By all means, refer to me as Mr or Ms—I find it sets the stage for the close, meaningful relationship we’re going to have. Even better, please just throw in my e-address with a bunch of others (preferably folks I don’t know) so that I can understand immediately exactly how important I am to you.
2. Use really English bad and spelin g worse. Nothing makes me want to get involved with you like having to work hard to figure out just what it is you are saying.  After all, if I have to decipher your message, I’m spending more time looking at it, right?
3. Make the offer a spectacular one.  You’re competing with the guy who has money in Nigeria that he wants to give me because I have a great email name and with the woman who wants to let me know that I’ve inherited $18 million ‘just because.’ Promise me thousands of followers and endless income with no effort. Creativity counts! Since it’s all hoo-ha anyway, you might as well make it interesting hoo-ha.
4. Tell me I am perfect for your affiliate program.  This links heavily to #1.  When you tweet me and 3 other people and tell me you have the best affiliate program for me with absolutely no details, well, I’d just be a fool not to sign up, right?
5. Be sure to write frequently. Nothing says “I Spam You” like sending multiple unsolicited contacts each day.  Better yet, make it hourly so I know I am super important to you.
6. Send porn or use other inappropriate language. It would be best if you could time those so I open them when at least one of my kids is around.  It’s gratifying to have important teachable moments.
7. Still without knowing me, imply that I have significant problems only you can solve. You know the ones—like when you decide I need to file bankruptcy, fix poor credit, buy a new house (under $10K), sell a time share, lose weight, clean my colon, extend my auto warranty, cure baldness, own a new home alarm system, foreclose on my new house (under $10K) with the new alarm system, un-sag my wrinkles, paint my new home (under $10) with the new alarm system that I’m taking to foreclosure.  It saves us both so much time when you decide what’s important to me and I don’t have to bother thinking.  In fact, I’m considering ripping out all my hair just to try the cure baldness product—how could I not?
8. Encourage me to pass your nonsense along to my friends and threaten me with dire evil if I don’t. Don’t bother telling me how much luck or money I’ll have if I push the “send” button, just get right down to the ugliness that will befall me, my family, and my vegetable garden should I dare to delete your message without inflicting it upon tens of thousands.
9. My new favorite: write to me in a language I don’t speak. Just got one in French. I took some French in HS (back in the Paleozoic era) and I remember just enough to know that this individual is offering me massive money just because I’m on the internet.  For all I know, he may want to fix my baldness too.

But whatever format you decide to use, the most important thing is to get going. Do not wait for content, graphics or slick sales talk. If you do that, you’re missing the whole point. Spam early, spam often, spam pointless!

Just leave me out, OK?

Judi Cogen is a principal at J Grace Consulting. When not dodging spammers on Twitter or email, she helps coaches and consultants grow their businesses—without spam.

Soccer–7 Rules for Surviving the Season

Each coach treats his or her soccer team differently, and different leagues and age ranges all have different cultures, habits and rules.  However, over the years of learning the game of “futball,” I have compiled an LOR (List Of Rules) for the kids to make the season more enjoyable for us all.

1. Cleats (or “boots” if you’re speaking British) are to be taken off before you enter the house.  You may remove them in the car or in the laundry room, but under NO circumstances are you to wear them into the kitchen where we have hardwood floors that were re-finished several years ago and I have no intention of going through all that dust again for a LONG time.  So take off your cleats before going inside.
2. If your cleats (or “boots”) are wet, muddy, caked with grass, or otherwise messy, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. We do not have a shoe-cleaning fairy to magically clean them for you.  And we are not going to buy a new pair just because yours are a bit dirty or soggy.  So please, don’t even ask.
3. We have purchased an extra large commercial size bottle of Fabreze. Use it! On cleats, on shin guards, on your soccer bag—pretty much anything that can’t go in the washer is a good target.
4. Speaking of your soccer bag, when you throw it down on the kitchen floor because it is too heavy for you to carry a few extra feet, you accomplish several things (none of them good). You risk scratching the kitchen floor (which I may have mentioned is a no-no), you are offering the Puppy a new game called “See What Fun Things Are In The Soccer Bag,” and you are clearly attempting to kill your mother as the likelihood of me tripping over some portion of your gear is  breathtakingly huge. To be clear—find another home for your soccer bag.
5. Do not ignore your soccer bag or its contents. When it is half an hour to game time and it will take 15 minutes to get to the field and you are supposed to be there 30 minutes early and you choose that moment to yodel that your uniform isn’t clean, there is not much I can do except offer you the aforementioned bottle of Fabreze. This is also not the time to mention that you don’t know where your left cleat has gotten to, that everyone has agreed to wear a green stripe in their hair for this game, or that I am responsible for snacks for the entire team.
6. You are old enough to put water into a water bottle all by yourself.  You are old enough to tell time.  Therefore, you are old enough to have your own water bottle(s) ready to go on time.
7. Just to be clear: watching professional soccer games on tv does NOT constitute studying and therefore is not a substitute for doing actual homework.

Most importantly, please remember that this is just a game.  Do your best, but have fun. Encourage your teammates, even when they don’t play up to your standards. Be polite to the coach and the referees.  Play safe—and have fun.

What are your rules for soccer season?

Judi Cogen is a principal at J Grace Consulting. During the fall, when she’s not helping her clients grow their businesses, she can generally be found on the sidelines of one of her children’s soccer games trying to remember whether the offsides rule applies. You can follow her on twitter @JudiCogen.

Dabble Part II–How to Get Your Clients to Value You

The  discussion about “Dabbling” vs offering real value to clients, began with me spluttering over a cup of coffee with a new client who was undervaluing his own expertise.

Here are some specific tactics to use to help your clients value your services more.

First, you need to value your products and services before your clients will.  If you don’t believe you’re worth your fee, if you don’t believe your products offer a superior solution or better value compared to everything else on the market, if you are not positive that your clients will be worse off if they don’t engage you, why on earth are you doing what you’re doing?  You must completely believe you offer the best solution for your clients if you expect people to buy from you.

Second, practice—out loud—telling others about your exceptional program.  Think “strong and confident.” Use a strong, confident voice; strong, confident words; and strong, confident body language.

Third, evaluate your phrasing. Listen for phrases that undermine your clients belief in you. Move away from “I’ve done that once or twice” to “yes, I’m quite comfortable in that area.”  Avoid “I suppose I can figure that out” to “my clients rely on me to find solutions to their business problems.” Shun twitchy eyes and stuttering for calm, confident replies.

To grow your client base, you must believe in yourself and the product(s)/service(s) you offer.

Judi Cogen is a principal at J Grace Consulting who helps clients grow their businesses by introducing entrepreneurial principals.  You can learn more at her website http://JGraceConsulting.net. You can also follow her on Twitter at JudiCogen.

Value vs Dabble–You are Worth More than a Dabble

Sam is a new client of mine who specializes in PR for medium size businesses.  Throughout Sam’s career, he’s been fortunate to work for clients in several different industries.  “I’ve dabbled here and there,” he tells me.

Dabbled? DABBLED? I snort Starbucks out my nose as I try to squawk and swallow at the same time.

“What do you mean ’dabbled’?” I splutter as I try gracefully to recover.

“Well it’s not like I’ve spent my entire career in any one area,” he says wiping droplets of decaf mocha latte (tall) off his papers and eying me uneasily.

Regaining my composure, I begin to ask Sam about his career.  Turns out, he has a lot of experience and expertise. “But I’ve done work in so many different areas,” he protests as I try to point this out, “how can I possibly be an expert?”

How indeed.

All too often, we evaluate ourselves on a scale of what we don’t know or what we haven’t done, rather than what we do know and what we have accomplished.  Additionally, since some skills come easily to us, we don’t always recognize how valuable they are to others.

As it turns out, Sam’s best clients don’t hire him to be mediocre at things outside his skillset.  They valued him highly for his core talents.  They love his ability to convey their unique message, his dedication to helping them solve their business problems, and his wide range of knowledge.

To his clients, Sam is a gem they would never let go. But as he undervalued himself, potential clients were wary of hiring him. To grow his business, Sam needs to be able to communicate his wide range of expertise to his potential clients.  (See Part II for specific tips on how to do this.)

Dabble? No. Value? Yes.

Judi Cogen is a principal at JGraceConsulting.net.  She specializes in entrepreneurship and solving business problems.  She can also be found on twitter (http://twitter.com/JudiCogen) and LinkedIn.

Worded Wonder or How Words are the Glue that Binds and Blinds

Less than 24 hours until we are due to depart for family events in a different time zone and this is the conversation in our house.

Me:  Do you know what the dress is for the weekend?

Him:  What does it matter, all the events are at my sister’s house.

Me:  No, they aren’t, but what does that have to do with anything?

Him: Well, we’ll be at my mom’s.  Won’t she know where everything is?

Me:  What are you talking about? 

Him:  Can’t we just figure it all out once we’re there?

Me:  How—exactly—are we supposed to pack?

Him (light vaguely dawning): Oh, you said “dress” I thought you said “address” …

Me:  Right. So.  Do you know what the dress is?

Him: Um, no …

Me:  SO HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO PACK?

The conversation might have continued on like that except just then my head exploded.

The above conversation with the Hugs was a completely unintentional word scramble, but it got me thinking about other words our family has twisted or created.

Like “f-d” which is code for dessert and comes from when the BoyChild was little.  When asked “What are you eating for dessert?” he would respond by saying that the cookie was his “f’dessert.” For dessert. One word. Noun. Shorthand for parents: f-d.

Or the term “oversplode” which the GirlChild invented the day she was watching the pot on the stove and it, well, it oversploded.  Can’t argue.

Some terms stem from simple mispronunciation.  In our family, the phrase “really and truly” means you must absolutely stop teasing or obfuscating and tell the truth.  The GirlChild, to this day, pronounces the phrase “Reallyan Trulyan.” Please don’t correct her—I love it.

Then there’s “boofnana” instead of banana (which has no real origin except silliness) and shoozles for shoes (ditto) which go on toezles. 

Many misusages come from when the children were little.  Like when the GirlChild was wisely commenting on how eco-friendly we were and announced that Daddy was taking the composers out. You know, the composers are what goes in the compost bin. To compose.

Or the California city known within our home as Fran-Sa-Sisco.

Some words take on a new meaning because of a single incident.  For example, the GirlChild and I were playing Boggle and she found the word “hoax.” I hadn’t found it, and like any good parent I looked for a loophole to keep from losing the point.  I insisted that she was too young to know that word—until she defined it for me.  So now “hoax” can also mean “Child doing something very clever.”

The list goes on and on.  These are just some of my favorites.

Anybody can use the standard words listed in Webster’s. For us (with the exception of “oversplode” which should be in the dictionary), using our own words helps cement us as a family.

Reallyan trulyan.

Judi Cogen is a principal at J Grace Consulting. When not consulting or listening to her children invent new words, she can be found helping people learn how to be entrepreneurs.  You can follower her on twitter @JudiCogen. 

Going Bananas!!

My dog sitter, Dee, thinks I’m crazy.  (OK, she’s not the only one who thinks I’m crazy, but that’s a different story.)  Recently, Dee opened my freezer to find enough frozen banana pieces to ensure the entire monkey population in the western hemisphere will never go hungry.  Since we have The Puppy and not a monkey, she decided I was a little loony. 

This year we were fortunate enough to be given about ¾ of a case of bananas.  Just for the record—that’s a lot of bananas.  We like bananas.  But that is a lot of bananas.  So a little creativity was called for.

Here’s what I have learned in my banana research which has consisted of talking to three relatives and watching an entire episode of Iron Chef.  (If you feel the need even more information check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana.).

1. Bananas are wonderfully healthy.  Not only that, they taste good.  To people and dogs.
2. Bananas are considered ripe about 4 days after I consider them to be perfect. When they are technically “ripe” I consider them to be technically “mushy.” The worst part about this is that I have to tell the Hugs he’s been technically correct about banana ripeness all this time.  (I still think they’re mushy.)
3. Harry Belafonte’s rendition of the “Banana Boat Song” (Day-O. Da-a-a-ay-O) is still the best banana song ever.  Harry Chapin’s “30,000 Pounds of Bananas” is a close second.  What is it with “Harrys” and “bananas”?
4. Bananas do not have a ridiculously long shelf life. And it is tough for a family of four to make significant progress on eating ¾ of a case of them.
5. The Puppy loves bananas. He can not only distinguish the sound of a banana being broken from the bunch, he can tell that I’m the one doing the separating.  (I’m the only one who shares with him.)
6. Frozen banana pieces are better than ice cream. (My opinion only, don’t get excited.  It’s just I’m not particularly fond of ice cream.)  Just peel the bananas, cut into 1 inch coins, freeze on a cookie sheet, then dump into a plastic bag.  The Puppy likes frozen banana pieces too.
7. Recipes.  There are countless recipes for banana bread (I’m including my favorite below), banana pudding, bananas foster, and other banana desserts.  But I can’t find any recipes for a savory banana dish or a main course with bananas. (On Iron Chef most of the savory dishes used plantains—and I couldn’t find the recipes for the Iron Chef Bananas episode anyway.)

So I froze bananas.  And I baked banana bread.  Several loaves.  But I’m putting out a call for great banana recipes.  What’s your best way to deal with all this fruit without Going Bananas?

 

Judi’s Banana Bread

2 Cups sifted flour

1 tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

½ C shortening

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1½ C mashed bananas (3-5 bananas.  I generally use 5 and don’t worry about the “measurement”)

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 C chopped nuts (if you happen to like nuts in your banana bread, which I don’t so I leave them out)

Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. 

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs and beat.  Add bananas and then dry ingredients.  Add vanilla and nuts.  (NOTE:  somehow, this recipe challenges the size of my mixer.  So I generally add the dry ingredients before the bananas.  Not sure why. I’m no culinary expert.)

Bake about 1½ hours at 325° in a greased 2 quart loaf pan.  Test center for doneness. (NOTE: my oven runs a little hot, so I bake at 320° and test at about 1 hour and 15 minutes.)

Cool thoroughly. (NOTE:  It cuts much better if you allow it to cool.  In fact, it’s better the next day.  But if you have teenagers around when you’re baking you may not have that luxury.  It still works.)

Wrap in foil and keep in refrigerator.  Best for slicing after at least one day.

 

Judi Cogen is a principal at J Grace Consulting. When not consulting or baking banana bread she can be found on twitter @JudiCogen.  She is not a culinary expert by any stretch of the imagination, but the Banana Bread recipe seems to work fine.

Accountability? Who Me?

There are lots of different accountability systems.  There is no right or wrong or perfect system.  The important thing is to find time to take care of those things that are important to our business or our life that we never get around to taking care of.

We all know that when it comes to the unforgivably big things, we find a way to “get it done.”  After all, we’re not going to miss a client meeting, forget a child’s birthday party, or miss the kickoff of the Superbowl (especially if the get-together is at your house).

But there are a host of things that we somehow manage to escape getting done.  Maybe it’s getting caught up on our expenses. Maybe it’s taking the time to write the next newsletter. Or write employee reviews. Or take the child shoe shopping. Or fix the kitchen faucet.

Whatever things you (or your friends, colleagues, or clients) are putting off, the trick is to find an accountability system that works for you so that you can get them accomplished.  The sense of relief that comes from finally “getting it done” is astonishing to many of us.  We don’t realize how much of a burden it is to not do something. But the task nags at us and drains much needed energy.

• Some people find that blocking out time on their calendar for specific tasks and treating that time as “sacred time” which cannot be interrupted or used for anything else allows them to complete their goals.
• Others find that having an accountability partner or team to which they report on a regular basis keeps them on track.  Maybe it’s a group your meet, email, or call weekly.  Maybe it’s a meeting with a coach or business advisor that keeps you focused. Maybe you are lucky enough to have a colleague, assistant, administrator, or VA who insists some of the less fun chores get done.
• Still other people find that making a list and not moving on to the next task before completing the one at hand does the trick. Perhaps you simply refuse to end the day (or the week) with a task undone.
• How about putting all the task for the day on post it notes on the wall, and only pulling them down when the task is complete. Go wild and use different colors for different topics or level of importance.

These are just some of the accountability strategies my clients use.  What are your favorites?

Judi Cogen is a principal at J Grace Consulting http://jgraceconsulting.net/. You can follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/JudiCogenor email her at Judi@JGraceConsulting.net.

Accountability (Put Your Oxygen Mask on First Before Helping Your Children with Theirs)

Accountability: it sounds so simple:  Do what you say you’re going to do.  And we will generally do whatever it takes to ”get it done” for our clients.

• Need to stay up until 2am getting a proposal ready that you promised to have first thing in the morning?  No problem.
• Have to spend an extra hour learning a new computer trick to solve a problem?  Consider it done.
• Set the alarm half an hour earlier in order to meet with a new prospect at her convenience?  Of course!

But when it comes to holding ourselves accountable to complete tasks necessary for growing our own business, we’re usually not quite as dedicated to the cause.  We allow things that we know are important to our business to drift down the “to do” list.  It’s not that we don’t think they are important—we all know they are.  But client fires have to come first.  Then there are family obligations.  And staying current in our industry.  And checking email.  And balancing the checkbook.  And, and, and.  The list of things for a small business owner to do is endless.

Have you ever made an agreement with a colleague that you’ll each get something done before the next time you meet?  This is a great attempt at accountability.  All too often however we go to that meeting with a sheepish grin saying, “I was going to try to cram the task in today before I came to meet you…”  The task still looms, waiting to be done, you feel mildly guilty about not having gotten to it, and the real damage is that your business didn’t receive the attention it deserves.

Take a lesson from the airline industry.  At the beginning of every flight, the attendant demonstrates the seat belt operation and then goes on to explain about the oxygen bags.  No matter what the exact spiel, the gist of the message is put on your own mask before attending to your child.  For those of us who are parents, this feels somewhat counter intuitive, right?  All our parenting genes scream, “take care of the kids—I’ll tough it out for a few minutes!”  Of course, the airlines are right—we are in a much better position to help our children when we are breathing calmly and safely.

So too are you in a better position to help your clients and your family when your business is breathing calmly and safely.  There are things that you have to do to be successful that may not be fun or easy for you, but are no less the oxygen that will allow your business to continue to breathe. 

Find an accountability system that works for you and stick to it no matter what.

Judi Cogen is a principal at J Grace Consulting http://jgraceconsulting.net/. You can follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/JudiCogenor email her at Judi@JGraceConsulting.net.