Category: New Business Development

Delegate

I can’t do everything
related to
my Romance Novel business myself.
That’s just not possible.

I delegate tasks
like creating covers
(packaging)
and editing
(quality assurance)
to other people,
people I trust.

This gives me more time
to be creative,
to write,
to work on the next book
(the next product).

Rosario Dawson,
co-founder of
Studio 189,
shares

“You don’t have to be
the expert in everything.
Be specific about your task.
To delegate well is critical.
Make room
so you can be creative,
so you are not always
in the development space.”

Delegate what you can.
Focus on the rest.

Working Around Meetings

A salesperson loved one
has infinite meetings.
Every spare moment
in his calendar fills up
with them.

So he blocks time
in advance
for sleeping,
for eating,
for working out.

And he blocks time
in advance
for completing non-meeting tasks.
He doesn’t know
what those tasks will be
but he knows
there will be tasks
and he will have to complete them.

Hannah Diop,
co-owner of
Sienna Naturals,
shares

“As the CEO,
my 9-4ish hours
are dominated by meetings,
so I need to block hours
in the evening
to actually think
and get “my” work done.”

Block hours in your calendar
to get sh*t done.

When Things Go Wrong And Excess Emotion

My first reaction to bad news
is extremely dramatic.
I think the worst.
I get angry with the world.
Sometimes, I cry from frustration.

None of that is helpful
in the situation.

So I walk away from it,
from other people
for a few moments.

I indulge my drama
in a private space
(like a bathroom stall),
and then,
when I’m calmer,
I return to the situation
and address it
with a clear brain.

Issa Rae,
one of the co-owners of
Sienna Naturals,
shares

“When things don’t go my way,
I rarely react in the moment.
And if I do,
I tend to regret it.
I usually take time
to process it,
be mad,
go off in my own space
and vent,
and then try to find solutions
and/or a Plan B.”

It is okay to wait
a few moments
before reacting
to a bad situation.

Purge your excess emotions
and THEN handle the issue.

Your Top Five Priorities For The Day

I’m a big believer
in to-do lists.

I always have
a to-do list for the day,
usually with less than 10 core tasks
I need to complete.

It helps me focus on
what is truly important,
limiting the distractions,
and I feel productive
when I cross off items
on my lists.

Ellen Bennett,
Founder of
Hedley & Bennett,
shares
“We keep a shared to-do list
that holds
what I need to tackle
and remember.
It also holds
my top five priorities
for each day
that keep me on track.”

What are your top five priorities
for today?

Warning Of Updates

My webhost, like most webhosts,
updates backend systems
every so often.

They never warn me
they are doing this.
I will try to access a site
and nothing works.

This stresses me out.
I think the worst
– I’ve been hacked
and I freak out.

When I contact the webhost,
they’ll then tell me
that, of course, it isn’t working.
I have to update X and Y.

Learning from this example,
I now warn blog readers
in advance
when I am updating
the look of my blog.
This reassures them
they are still reading the same blog.

Warn users
before you update or change things.

Track Cumulative Effort

I donate toward
the planting of some trees
every month.
That monthly number isn’t very large.

I, however, also track
the lifetime-to-date,
the cumulative number of trees
I’ve helped plant.
After years of giving,
that number is now HUGE.

I’ve helped plant
the equivalent of
an entire forest.

I’m proud of that number.
I feel good about
making that difference
in the world.

Right now,
there’s likely something small
you’re doing every day/week/month.
Maybe it is social media posts
or
number of words written
or
cans of soup given to the food bank.

Consider tracking that effort
over time.
I suspect you’re making
a bigger impact
than you believe.

Asking For Opinions

I see this ALL the time
– Someone posts
their plan
on social media
or in an open group.
They ask others what they think
of that plan.

And then they argue
with people
who suggest modifications
to their plan.

This is frustrating
and a waste of time
for everyone.

If you want everyone
to agree with your plan,
don’t post it on the internet.
Someone will ALWAYS
disagree with you there.

Send the plan to people
who always agree with you,
who always cheer you on.

If you DO want to hear
possible problems with your plan,
don’t argue with people
who point out these problems.

That will shut down
discussion.
There might be bigger problems
with your plan
you now won’t ever hear about.

If you ask everyone for their opinions,
expect to hear
a wide range of opinions.

Have A Print Backup

Last week,
I needed to cross a border.
The border guard’s system was temporarily down.
But I had a print copy
of…well…everything
and he let me through.

I always have print copies
of my boarding passes,
my vaccination records,
my COVID tests,
other documents,
for exactly that reason.

Service goes down.
Files get deleted or go missing.
Some people prefer to see print copies.
Things get f*cked up.

Don’t rely on digital completely.
Have print backups
whenever possible.

Celebrate The Milestones

It is human nature
to always want more.

You set a goal of earning
$1,000 a month in sales.
You achieve that goal
and immediately bump it to
$2,000 a month.

That’s normal.
That can be healthy.

But please celebrate
that first goal achievement.

Take a day or two
and relish it.
Treat yourself to
a nice dinner
or a fancy piece of chocolate
or something else.

Use that celebration
to fuel yourself
for the next goal achievement.

Celebrate every milestone reached.

When Systems Go Down

Your system WILL go down.
That’s a certainty.

What is uncertain is
WHEN it will go down.

This is one of the reasons
I build buffers into
my project timelines
and
offer books on pre-order
and
do as much in advance
as possible.

I also have a list of tasks
I can do
when systems
are offline.

While I wait for someone else
to restore the systems,
I switch to these offline tasks.

Plan for your systems
to be down.
That WILL happen.