QR Codes Explained

May 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You’ve seen them, but do you know what to do with them?  They’re the funky little square things that look like they’re from another planet — think the matrix.

I’m talking about QR codes, or Quick Response codes.  Can you believe these little gems have been around since the early ’90s?  In 1994, a Toyota subsidiary in Japan, Denso Wave, invented the QR Code to track vehicles during manufacture.  The QR Codes are capable of storing more information than standard bar codes.  Of course, until the widespread use of smartphones this technology was solely for industry.  But nowadays, companies are using the QR Code technology in their advertising to consumers.

What information do these fancy little boxes hold?  They can hold a variety of information, something as simple as a website address to advanced as information about a wine and the vineyard where it’s made.  I recently went to the International Virtual Assistants Association live summit in Memphis where our summit passes had QR Codes on them.  The information on these codes was our contact information.  We all had fun scanning each other’s QR Code!  When we scanned the QR Code with our smartphone, that person’s contact information was then saved to our phone as a contact.  How fancy is that?!

According to a study by Internet Retailing, during the month of June 2011, 14 million mobile users scanned a QR Code or a barcode. Some 58% of those users scanned a QR or bar code from their home, while 39% scanned from retail stores; 53% of the 14 million users were men between the ages of 18 and 34.

What are the advantages of having a QR Code?  We are just beginning to use QR Codes regularly, but by having them on our print material, we can drive people instantly to our website or a special offer.  It’s much quicker for the reader to scan the code and go directly to the site, then it is for someone to type in a URL.  It’s like instant gratification.

How can you use QR Codes?  Your business — no matter what size — can use QR codes in a number of ways. You could have one on your website next to a product containing product details.  You could have one on your business card containing your contact details so it’s easy for someone to add you to their contacts on their cell phone.  Add them to any print advertising, flyers, posters, invites containing:

  •     A coupon
  •     Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn IDs
  •     A YouTube video
  •     Product details
  •     Contact details
  •     Offer details
  •     Event details

Well, now you know what you can put these QR Codes on, but what do you do when you see one?  If you have a smartphone like an iPhone or Android, you can download an app to your phone that will scan and read this handy, dandy box.  For my Android, I use QR Droid.  Just simply go to the marketplace and search for it, download and install it.

Whatever the QR Code is designed to do, that information will be translated to your phone.  It may send you directly to a website.  It could display contact information.  It could create a text.  It could display other information.

If you’re ready to create your own free of charge QR Code or find out more information, visit www.qrstuff.com.

Have any ideas for using QR Codes?  Share them on my blog!

Filed Under: Business Building Tips Tagged With: , , ,

Idea-itis

May 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I recently got back from an amazing event called Be The Change. What I love about these events is that I learn tons of things, get new ideas, find inspiration, build new relationships, discover opportunities for growth and, of course, uncover new paths to profit.

These events are amazing brainstorming sessions on steroids!

But there is a problem with them. Oftentimes it’s too much. You end up with a terrible case of “idea-itis”. You have too many ideas and after a day or two of excitement you find yourself overwhelmed, frustrated and in some ways in worse shape than you were before you went. And let’s be honest here, it doesn’t take an event to leave you feeling this way, does it?

The truth is that there is no way that you can do it all, even if you have a team of people helping you. The only way to create a thriving and sustainable business is to first, evaluate your options, second, decide which things you will do and which you won’t and finally, getting into action and doing!

Letting go of super cool ideas can be tough so here’s the three step process that I will be using over the next few days with my own to-do list and with those of my clients.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Building Tips, Productivity, Reaching Goals Tagged With: , , , , , ,

4 Reasons to Host a Virtual Event for Your Small Business

April 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Virtual Events

Virtual events are becoming an extremely popular and effective way to market your business, rejuvenate dormant clients and win new customers for your business. If you’re still unsure about hosting your own virtual events, below are just 4 of the reasons why you should consider virtual events for your small business:

1. Global Access
Virtual events provide global access to anyone who wants to attend your event. Live events require individuals to travel to the event, which instantly limits who will be able to attend the event and therefore who takes an interest in what your business has to offer. If your small business has a product or service that can benefit individuals that live anywhere, hosting a virtual event will effectively open your doors to the entire world, increasing your target market and the chance of winning new and valuable customers.

2. Cheaper Costs – Bigger Profits

Running a virtual event is substantially cheaper than the expense involved in setting up a live event. There is no renting of exhibition space, large halls or finding venues. Also, you won’t need large amounts of staff and you won’t have to worry about additional costs such as supplying refreshments and so on.

3. Statistics Show You What Works
With live events, it can be hard to know who attended, let alone what they actually looked at or had an interest in. With virtual events you have the invaluable chance to capture the details of exactly who attended, what they were interested in and many other statistics that will help you to optimise your next event and also follow up on visitors with the potential of generating extra business.

4. Increased Convenience
Virtual events are often times more convenient for both you and your customers. It allows customers to access your event when they feel the need and from wherever they happen to be, therefore making them much more likely to actually attend compared to if they had to endure a long drive or simply didn’t have the time. It also frees up your own time as it allows you to still be on your premises and also cuts down on set up times and so on, therefore making sure that you don’t take your eyes off of your daily business.

Filed Under: Business Building Tips Tagged With: , , , ,

How’s It Going So Far?

April 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s officially springtime and while many people use January 1 as a date to spur them into action, I find Spring is when my brain really kicks into gear and I get down to business.

In order for me to get myself moving I first need to set the stage and clear away the winter cobwebs with a good spring cleaning. What I’ve noticed is that I tend to do the same things to help my business and life grow as I do in the garden.

Here are four things that you can do this spring for your business, life and garden to make them thrive.

    1. Clean up the debris. First you have to set the stage. In your garden you get rid of the branches that fell during storms, leaves that came down after the last raking and the shells from the acorns that the squirrels munched on during the winter. Now is also a great time to take a look at your desk, workspace and to-do list and get rid of the junk. Ask yourself if the things you have around you are things that will help your business thrive or if they are things they just ended up there?
    2. Prepare for new growth. You break up the earth and spread fertilizer in the garden. Now is also the time to prepare your workspace, mind and calendar. Are there programs that you want to invest in to help you grow? Are there things that you are in the middle of that you want to wrap up so that you are ready to move on? Are the things you are doing and have around you fostering creativity or stifling it?
  1. See what’s growing. You check to make sure that your plants have survived the winter and that you still like what you have growing. Now is the time to look around and make sure that the projects that you have lined up still make sense for you. Was the idea a good one when it was planted? Is it still a good idea? Is it time to let it go? Is it time to give it all you’ve got to make it flourish?
  2. Decide what you want to grow and see if it fits. None of us have endless space, and even if you do have room, the space doesn’t always suit the things you want to grow there. So, while you look over the things that you want to do, see if they fit into your plan. Do you have the time, space and environment you need to devote to these projects to make them grow? Does it make sense for you to spend your time and energy on them?

When you give your calendar, to-do list and things a good spring cleaning you will set yourself up for a business and a life that thrives.

But there’s one more piece … do you have the help you need? My garden will not look the way I want it to without someone to help me mow the lawn, move rocks and keep up the beds. My business would not function the way I want it to if I don’t get the help I need there too. Some of the help I use is a coach, a support network, equipment and training in skills that I may be lacking or want to brush up on.

What help do you need to make your business and life run better? What skills do you want to learn or sharpen? Go ahead and share your thoughts below.

Filed Under: Business Building Tips, Productivity, Self Improvement Tagged With: , , , ,

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

April 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You’ve heard the saying before “Action speaks louder than words”.  Perhaps you’ve even said it yourself to someone, or at least thought it.
And it really does.  We can say anything we want to do.  We can make all the to-do lists in the world we want to make.  We can have all these grandiose plans for our business.  We can ask the Universe for a successful business.

But unless we take ACTION, none of those intentions in the last paragraph mean squat.

You might be thinking to yourself, “There’s only so many hours in the day and so much I need to be doing” and that’s okay.

Make your list of what you want to do.  Prioritize that list by importance.

What’s the first step you need to take to move FORWARD to complete the project?  You don’t have to complete the project in one sitting, so depending on the size of the task, break it down into multiple sittings — maybe an hour each day for two weeks.

Now, do YOU have to do it all?  Can you hire someone to help you with any particular task or project?

In my last blog I wrote about synergy and how two people can accomplish more than one, so make sure you have the support in place to help you move forward and take action.  That support can come in the form of a mentor, coach, Virtual Assistant, accountability buddy or multiple people.

Your hopes and dreams don’t mean anything unless you move forward and take action!  What are you doing in your business to take action?

Filed Under: Business Building Tips, Productivity Tagged With: , , , ,

Do You Have Synergy?

March 22, 2012 By 1 Comment

Earlier this week I was transcribing a church sermon from last Sunday.  The pastor told a story about a Canadian breed of horse (yes, that caught my attention!).  It went like this:  Several years ago in Canada a new breed of horse was produced.  After these horses had grown to maturity they wanted to test the strength of the horses.  They took a horse and found that he could pull an 8-ton force.  Then they paired this horse with another horse and figured together they could pull 16 tons, maybe 18 tons.  However, they were amazed that the two horses together could pull a 30-ton force.

How can two horses pull 30 tons when one horse could pull only 8 tons?  It makes sense according to the scientific law called synergism.  Synergism is defined by dictionary.com as “the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions, etc.”  So two things (or people) working together produce a far greater result than those things (or people) working independently.

Are you working alone in your business?  Are you spending too much time trying to get an ezine done?  Are you trying to update your website and searching for just the right plugin?  Are you bewildered by Infusionsoft’s many capabilities?  Are you struggling to stay focused?  Are you starting projects that never get finished?  Are you moving from one shiny object to the next?

We all need help.  We cannot go it alone.  We need people beside us who can help guide us and teach us.  We need people who can help execute our projects.  And we need people who can cheer us on.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Building Tips, Virtual Assistants/Assistance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Are Your To-Dos Overflowing?

March 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

What’s a woman to do? I mean really?

It might seem like a very simple thing, but one of the things I find increasingly difficult to manage is my to-do list. Like many of you, my to-do list will include things I need to do for my business, for my clients, my team members, committees, as well as those personal to-dos for my family and me personally. I’m one of those that work best by actually writing my to-dos down in my planner so I can check them off – BUT, I also like to be able to see them all in an online environment. In my search for the ultimate online to-do list, I came across https://workflowy.com, an amazingly easy way to create and segment your to-do items in an outline format. It might just be the list I’ve been looking for … and to make it even more enticing, it’s free!

In WorkFlowy’s own words “WorkFlowy is an organizational tool that makes life easier. It can help you organize personal to-dos, collaborate on large team projects, take notes, write research papers, keep a journal, plan a wedding, and much more.” With WorkFlowy, you can create an entire list of to-dos just like you would create an outline, segmented by subject or by whether it’s for your business, clients, personal, etc., and can be expanded or collapsed based on that criteria. Each to-do within each segment can also easily be added to and/or marked as done. Very simple, but when you see it in action, it’s awesome because it’s a very visually organized system that lets you see what needs to be done, when and where in a nutshell. It’s a little difficult to try to explain exactly how WorkFlowy works, so you’ll have to trust me on this one. Just go to https//workflowy.com, open up your free account and check it out. There’s a video on the home page called WorkFlowy in 45 seconds. The video will show you how it works so much better than I could ever explain. Once you start using the system, you’ll understand why they call it WorkFlowy!

Filed Under: Business Building Tips, Productivity, Self Improvement Tagged With: , , ,

Stopping the Cycle of Automated Vacation Reminders

March 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I know you’ve seen them.  Those automated responses that say “Thank you for your email.  I’m on vacation until March 12th and will be in touch after that date.”  Or the ones that say “Thank you for your email.  I’m checking email two times a day.”

Okay, great.  It’s always a good thing to know if someone’s on vacation so that I don’t expect a response, or when someone is only checking emails twice a day so I’m not sitting on pins and needles waiting for an answer.

But what happens when every single time you send that person an email, you get the same automated response?   In some instances all in one day, you send an email, you get the automated response, then the person responds, you respond, you get the automated response, the person responds again, you respond, you get automated response…you get the picture!  How annoying is that to receive those multiple automated responses?!  If you’re using automated responses, there is something you can do to fix it. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Building Tips Tagged With: , , , ,

Videos On Your Website – Do You Need Them?

February 16, 2012 By 2 Comments

I said I wouldn’t do it…I had all the excuses in the world of why I wouldn’t do it, too, but I recently started.  “It” is videos.  I’ve only done three, but each one I do gets easier and easier.  It is becoming a very important part of any business with an online presence.

How many times do you visit a website and there’s a video?  That number continues to grow, and there are some pretty significant reasons for that.  I recently watched a webinar hosted by Lou Bortone, Online Branding Specialist, Video Pro, and Visibility Expert.  He shared some interesting statistics with us.

  •     YouTube is the second biggest search engine
  •     60% (and rising) of all web traffic is video (by 2013 Cisco reports that this number will be 90%)
  •     Websites with videos are 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of a search
  •     Visitors stay two minutes longer on average on sites with videos
  •     Visitors are 64% more likely to purchase on sites with videos
  •     Websites with videos sell 45% more

With these numbers how can you afford NOT to have a video on your site?  Videos help set you apart from your competitors.  Videos also increase your credibility and visibility.   We all do business with people we know, like, and trust.  Videos are a great way to help that process along.  Have you ever watched a video and felt a connection with that person?

You can use videos to attract clients, open new opportunities such as joint venture partners, any number of things.  Videos also increase your social media exposure.

You don’t need to spend a fortune to create your videos.  Using your laptop webcam or purchasing a separate webcam for your desktop will work.  The software comes with your webcam.  You install it and then can use any type of video editor to add captions at the bottom, if you want.
Your videos can be short — 1 to 2 minutes is fine.  If you want to do a longer one, break it up into different sections.  Don’t try to record too much at one time!  And remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect.  It’s okay if you stumble over a word or have to look at a note while you’re talking.

Here are a few ideas for recording your video:

  •     Series of tips
  •     Welcome message on your home page
  •     Explanation of specific service or product
  •     Motivating people to sign up for your teleseminar or webinar
  •     Thank you message to clients
  •     Drive traffic from Facebook or YouTube to your site

Still not comfortable being in front of the camera?  Then consider doing a slide presentation and narrating it.

If you’d like to check out my YouTube channel, click here!  If you have some other ideas how to use videos, I’d love to hear them!

Filed Under: Business Building Tips, Virtual Assistants/Assistance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Writer’s Block — Oh, My!

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You have a blog and you have an ezine.  You know you need to post to your blog and communicate with your email list regularly.  But what happens when nothing comes to mind?  That happened to me just this week.

I normally get my Tuesday ezine article/blog post to my assistant on Fridays so that she can set it up in Aweber and post it to my blog for Tuesday morning distribution.  I sat at my desk all day Friday, thinking in the back of my mind, “I need to write my article.”  Friday night came and nothing was written.  I thought about it Saturday, but still nothing.  I’ll admit it…Sunday came and I had horseback riding on my mind and my article was nowhere on my radar.

Then here comes Monday, which was full of client calls and work that needed to be done.  I have that nagging, impending deadline fast approaching — and still no idea what to write.  Well, not really no idea.  I was having ideas but nothing was resonating with me.  I also have a list of article ideas that I write down as they come to me so I can refer to them later, and none of those were really calling my name either.   I asked team members for ideas…still nothing.  I read through some ezines from other folks that were in my inbox.  I listened to part of a recorded teleseminar.  Still nothing.

What did I do?  I baked cinnamon rolls, ate some, and then walked 2 miles.  My health/nutrition coach would not be very happy with me about the eaten cinnamon rolls, but I walked 2 miles to make up for it, so maybe she won’t get on me too bad on our weekly call tonight!  One of my goals for 2012? To lose weight, eat healthier and be more fit. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Building Tips, Productivity Tagged With: , , , , ,
« Older Posts