We ALL have SO MUCH on our to do lists and rarely get them all done. Often there are those things on our lists that take us away from what we are really passionate about and want to be doing. Here are seven things that I do not do, so that I can do the things that I really need to do:

1-I don’t spend a lot of time watching TV

2-I don’t always cook from scratch–use natural/organic ingredients, but often semi-prepared meals from Trader Joe’s or Fairway

3-I don’t do laundry-I have a wonderful housekeeper who does this, which frees me up from hours of time being spent playing laundry roulette with my neighbors in my building’s laundry room

4-I don’t do my own hair—I learned early on that I did not have hair skills, so I get my hair done, and have been going to OUIDAD to keep my curls in check for 10 years now.

5-I don’t decorate-I keep decorating to a minimum–it’s not that I do not like design, paintings or fabric. However, my friends always make fun of me and often people ask if I just moved into my home or office, since I almost never have anything hanging on my walls or even colorful paint on the walls.

6-I don’t spend very much time on Facebook and when I do it is very intentional or when I have a little “down” time waiting in the doctor’s office, online at Whole Foods, or in a cab.

I want to do most of the things I listed above. I enjoy having homemade meals and seeing my apartment decorated. I would love to sleep past the sunrise and spend hours scrolling through photos of my friends and family on Facebook. But to do what is in store for me this day, I have to choose to NOT do some things. Continue Reading »

In this day and age where salaries are down, expectations and job requirements are high, it’s tempting to start a business on the side.  Not only can it fulfill a passion that might be missing from your full time gig – but the truth is that is can help pay some bills. I know I’ve read a few articles recently (check out http://bit.ly/ci4R4R and http://bit.ly/bXWYTm) that suggest even white collar workers who traditionally worked only one job are taking on side gigs or even starting their business in their off hours.

For some, it will be impossible to go this route.  If you have a high level executive position where you can run away with the company secrets, it’s highly unlikely that you could (legally that is) start a business outside of your full time employment.  There is probably a clause in your employment contract prohibiting it.

But for those who are not under those guidelines, there are many benefits.  Here are a few to get you started brainstorming your ideas: Continue Reading »

Many entrepreneurs use a Board of Advisors  when starting a new project or venture.  It can be helpful to have a group of people who can share insight or feedback for the idea and provide a sounding board for the entrepreneur.

But it’s hard to know who to approach when you are first starting.  And you may not have the “people capital” established yet to know how to ask a group of talented entrepreneurs, bankers, accountants, lawyers and other small business experts to support you with your business.  (Plus it takes time to coordinate schedules and plan the agenda!)

So I’ll recommend using an accountability partner as you start your business. Continue Reading »

If you’ve ever attended a networking event, you’ve probably been asked this question “So tell me what do you do?” Seemingly simple, this question strikes fear in the heart of many – how do you answer in a memorable way ?  In other words, will they REALLY remember at the end of the evening when they are staring at a stack of new business cards? Or does your card get tossed because they don’t remember what made your business valuable to them?

If you are an employee, you can share your company, title or industry.  Whatever you think someone will find memorable or impressive.  And it’s no sweat if it isn’t – unless you are a sales person. Continue Reading »

It’s that time of year when there are more parties per evening than there are minutes to  attend them.  You spend time scheduling the ones you want to attend (is it the work or the  friends event?), wrapping gifts,  buying holiday outfits – and measuring the time you’ll have to rest and recover from the celebrations.

This year I recommend that you use the opportunity of reconnecting with friends and family at Holiday gatherings from both a personal and professional aspect.  It is a great time to reconnect with your warm, slightly warm and lukewarm network. Continue Reading »

Part of the challenge of growing a business or your professional brand is developing a system to organize all of the mountains of information that you receive daily.

• Emails sent with upcoming events.  Can I attend?  What’s on my calendar that week?
• Tweets with cool links that you want to read…but you’ll need 20 min and that’s going to derail you from your other work.
• And let’s not forget webinars and video content with their funny stories or valuable information.  They are great but who has 20-30 min to sit in front of a screen and watch and listen?

This was my story yesterday.  And it’s pretty typical daily.  Before sitting down to work, there are 50 emails and 2 voice mails.  And many of them do deserve my attention.   That’s a minimum of an hour  -  not counting the research to answer the questions.  How are you supposed to fit it all in?  Continue Reading »

I recently had the most intriguing conversation with a client of mine who referred to his freelance job as a graphic designer as a “Side Hustle.” When I asked him what made it a hustle, or rather, what makes him a hustler, he replied: “In this economy, as a small business owner, I have to be very aggressive. I often spend hours on social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook, marketing and advertising my products and services.” I thought about my client’s response for a minute, and then asked: “If you are spending hours on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites, then how much time do you spend working?” He replied: “Very little actually, and I need help managing my time.”

I’m pretty sure many of us already know just how powerful and vital social media is to a small business. Social media is great in the sense that it allows for one person/business to have the ability to connect you with millions of potential customers from all over the world. This positive aspect of social media can also have a negative side if not used properly. I would like to discuss the term “Hustling Backwards,” and what you can do as small business owner to work more productively and efficiently.

Fabiola Joseph’s definition: “Hustling Backwards” is a term used to describe when a person is losing sight of what is important in a particular area, by allowing other irrelevant tasks to overshadow the goal at hand.

In this case, my client was spending more time on Twitter and Facebook than working on enriching his mind and actually building up his small business. I’m sure at some point in time, we have all found ourselves tweeting or updating our status on FB saying that we need to get off and get back to work. The most important lesson, and obviously the hardest for some, is to learn the two sure signs of when we have become distracted habitually.

Sign #1 – If you spend more than 5hrs a week (1hr a day) on social media sites.

Sign#2 – If you find yourself on social media sites for personal, non-business related reasons the majority of the time.

I personally use social media as a marketing tool to promote and advertise my small business. However, I do try to minimize the time spent online, and the content information posted. Again, I absolutely encourage the use of these sites. They are a great deal of help in today’s economy. I simply advise my clients to use them responsibly.

It’s normal to become distracted by the many things that can blur our vision, and let ourselves lose focus. However, the key is to quickly get back on track. My final advice to my client, and to every small business owner out there, is to continue learning and researching your target market…. in an intentional and periodic way. For just when you think you know everything there is to know about your business, something comes along that can change the entire game all over again. Just make sure that you are working smart, and not simply hard, by still giving yourself enough time to work in your business rather than just on your business. Remember, the goal is to keep delivering your product or service.

Sometimes I have the tendency to take on too much. While I am certain I am not alone in my plight, it is a bad habit I’ve been trying to break.

The classic Harvard Business Review case study, “Where’s the Monkey” by William Oncken, Jr., and Donald L. Wass highlights this exact dilemma we face daily in our professional lives, and suggests a mindset that will not only mold us into better leaders and managers, but better employees as well.

The title of the case, “Where’s the Monkey?” asks who is currently responsible for moving a specific project or task forward. The ‘monkey,’ metaphorically is the task at-hand, which jumps from one individual to the next as responsibilities change ownership.

Continue Reading »