Clever Thinking

Okay, I know. I’m supposed to have started a blog and kept writing faithfully every day, or at least once a week…but always on a regular schedule. I get that. What I’m also getting though is that many people with many good things to say are terrified about starting to blog because they know that messing up is a very public act.

I say, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. If you don’t experiment, you don’t learn…or at least I don’t.

Perhaps I should be more worried about my image. After all, it’s been a couple of years since I last posted to this blog, and that does look pretty lame. Of course, I could say I meant to do that and to stay tuned for my next biannual creation…but that would be untrue. In fact, I’ve been busy.

Yeah, aren’t we all.

Well, yes, we are and that is not excuse. But I haven’t been falling down on the job either because what I’ve been busy doing is purusing the web, reading blogs, commenting a lot, deciding who to follow, watching how people I like following hold my attention, and then figuring out where everything fits into my business plan. I’ve read some books, taken some classes, talked with lots of people and just generally tested the waters. I also started a second blog, bedfordtowntaxi.com, which was more of a news site…an experiment in grass roots, hyperlocal journalism, and I wrote for an actual tree-killer local newspaper, managed a couple of websites for a big university career office…plus did lots of other things I won’t get into here. 

What I didn’t do, was lose sight of my goal: to be part of the conversation that goes on everyday on the web…and more and more, I am part of that conversation. 

And now, I’m also back here at my blog as I intended to be all along…only now, a little smarter, a lot more confident, and hopefully worthwhile enough in people’s minds that they will come take a second look, or a first look maybe…but will actually read the stuff I write and maybe even comment and share my stuff. 

What I’d really like people to follow though is my example. The web is an enormous churning beast, filled with all kinds of people. Some make a great impression, but if you watch them closely, reveal themselves as less worthy of your time. Others are consistently great and worth keeping on the top of your list. Still others struggle to stay in, or just appear and then disapper like spring snow.  The only way to see where you might fall in the fix is to take your chances. If you want to up the odds that you will be successful, it is just like anything else: you must continue to learn and grow, and also recognize that you are another imperfect being tapping those keys and trying to make your mark on this big messy networked information phenomenon.

Why outsource when you can do it yourself?

All the tools are there for you to do your own marketing, for example.  Social networking, analytics, word processing, web design packages.  There are even logo generators that let you buy a logo for cheap, cheap, cheap.  With all that computer intelligence, who needs to pay?  And yet, just last month, I heard a woman talk about growing her own marketing firm from a one-person operation, to a fully formed company that was ultimately acquired by another, larger company.  Her secret?  She said she got serious, first by getting out of her basement and renting office space, and second by hiring a marketing firm to do her PR and communications for her.  I asked how she could justify that since that was her business.  She said her business was building her business first, and that bringing in another firm to do her PR especially was important to helping her identify her real strengths and promote those.

 So is knowing how enough of a reason to stop you from hiring someone to do your marketing and communications for you?

Pros:

It’s cheap

It’s easy…or so you might think

You know your business best

It’s a great diversion from your regular work

Cons

It’s not free (your time is money)

It’s not efficient

It’s not as effective as having a pro do it

You may never get it done because it is for “fun”

You may never get your real work done because you’re messing around with stuff that is not your work

 So, what do you think?  When do you bring in an expert for marketing or anything else?  And when do you do it yourself?

Impossible you say?  No doubt.

I’m asked constantly these days how often I go to Facebook and what I do when I get there. If you’ve read my other posts about setting goals and keeping lists, you’ll know that I consider Facebook and social networking sites as tools that you use to help you meet preset goals.  If you’ve considered your goals and put them in writing, then it shouldn’t be hard to made social networking a part of your life.

That doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly find pockets of time to hang out and play Scrabble or that farm game everyone seems to be doing.  There’s nothing wrong with playing, of course, or spending time pouring over photo albums of your friends’ family gatherings, exotic vacation, or vintage family portraits.  It just takes time, and as you do with money, you need to budget that time, or you’ll suddenly wake one day and find yourself so far behind you may never dig out.

So, the question becomes not how much time do you need to use Facebook, but how much time you want to devote to Facebook each day….that’s right, each day.

Think about it.  Facebook (or whatever social networking tool you like) is only useful if you use it.  It’s about networking…that is, being out in a public place where you can meet and interact with people.  If you’re not there you’re not networking.

And don’t think that networking on Facebook matters less to your business than networking at sites that are considered “for business”…places like LinkedIn.  Friends and casual acquaintances can be your best supporters and sources for business…if you give it your time. Being there.  Letting people know who you are and what you do.  Staying because you are part of the fabric of the place rather than someone who drops in just to sell your wares…that all matters when you are using Facebook.

In her book, Thriving In 24/7: Six Strategies for Taming the New World of Work, Sally Helgesen talks about weaving a strong web of inclusion. This means moving throughout the various circles where you have connections, reaching out to people, and overall just staying involved.  Facebook is an exceptionally good tool for helping you do this…especially because your time is limited.  Think about it…on Facebook you get lots of exposure with no drive time.  And it’s as easy to communicate with friends in Europe and Asia as it is those who live right down the street.  This matters, not just for sales and other opportunities, but it helps make you better through an exchange of ideas.  Especially when you work for yourself or in a small group, Facebook can be a means of keeping yourself fresh and aware of what’s happening in the world away from the places you see every day.

Helgesen says, “change is constant,” and she’s right.  It is the one thing we can count on.  There is no way to keep up with every change and every resulting opportunity, but upping the chances of seeing opportunities as they arise through change is largely a matter of being out there, talking with people, and noticing what goes on.  If you miss something, no problem.  You will.  You can’t do everything.  You can’t even read every post.  But if you allow yourself a set amount of time each day, or better yet, several times a day to visit Facebook and scan the updates, you will be much more likely to notice things that relate to you and your work than you would be otherwise.

Several times a day! you gasp.  Yes several, because it is easier to keep to your time limits if you visit often, scan the most recent posts, and then move on to your next task. Allow a little time to make comments as you see fit.  Even clicking those little “like” icons now and then helps make your friends aware that you are there…that you are paying attention. If something comes up that looks interesting and needs follow up, schedule it in.  Make a note on your calendar, and allot time to check out interesting items.  You may also just allow enough time each morning to not only scan Facebook but to spend a half hour or so following up anything interesting.  Nothing interesting happen one day??? (unlikely, but possible), then don’t worry.  Consider it found time…and maybe play that cute farm game or something.  But beware.  Just as Facebook has increased exposure to more ways to increase our personal and business connections, it as also increased opportunities to procrastinate.

So, you have to ask, am I the master of my time or is Facebook?  If it’s you, then take the initiative.  Budget your time and make it work however you see fit.  Visit Facebook several times a day, but keep it to no more than a ten minute session each time.  Scan the updates, follow up if you schedule time for that, or write follow ups into your task list as action items and assign specific windows of time for addressing them.  It’s that simple.

Not convinced?  That’s okay.  I believe Facebook like so much of what is on the Internet these days has an emotional component as well as a practical component.  In a coming post, I’ll be interviewing a psychologist and talking more about Facebook, social networking, and how to make it all work for you without driving yourself crazy.

Sure, we all know we’re supposed to do it, but the idea of goal setting gets taken for granted too much I think.  No matter who you are what you do, it’s never enough to just have a clear idea of what you need to do in your mind. You’ve got to commit it to writing, and you’ve got to think through the differences between goals, objectives, strategies, and techniques.

This post is just about goals.  I’ll talk more about other things in later entries.

What characterizes a goal is that it is specific and it is measurable. It is fine to have a dream of building a small business, but that isn’t a goal….at least not until you add some definition.  For example, for this dream, your goal might be to build a small bookkeeping business that will allow you to work with clients in the health care industry, maintain a flexible schedule, and limit travel.

Where dreams can be fuzzy, beautiful….perfect even, goals are clear, concise, and while not imperfect, certainly based in the real world.

To get to the goal stage, try sitting in a chair.  Close your eyes.  Then picture yourself as you will be when you achieve your goal.  Imagine where you will be sitting.  Who will be with you.  Coworkers?  Employees?  Clients?  Do you have an office?  Equipment?  A nice desk?  A certain type of software?  Imagine looking at your bank account, or at least the kind of lifestyle you might be enjoying.  What kind of income will you have?  How will your business benefit you?

Keep asking yourself questions and adding to the picture of you having reached your goal.  Then, before you do anything else, write down what you see.

There is something very powerful about writing down your goals.  Be patient.  Try to include as much detail as you can.  It isn’t that things won’t change.  They could…and probably will.  Still, writing forces you to consider details that might have been lost or missed when you were keeping everything in your head.

Write in a list format, outline, or paragraph or outline…whatever makes you comfortable.  If you’re so inclined, you might even consider drawing a detail picture where you lay out the details of your goal.

Post your goal on your desk in a frame or on a bulletin board or on your office wall.  Use colored paper, big fonts, or pictures you clip from a magazine…whatever helps make your goal real, important and present in your life.

If might sound hokey, but it really does work.

One last point…avoid making your goal something like “going to school,” or “learning to use Facebook.”  These are valid strategies, but for most people they really are not goals….not ends, but rather means to an end….and something we’ll be dealing with as this blog continues…

Lately I’ve been mired in the technical aspects of what a blog should do and how to balance the mix of media available.  There is so much out there right now and so many ways to spend your time that my focus has come increasingly to the problem of time management.  How do you juggle all of the competing demands and opportunities that exist with more coming into view everyday?  It’s too easy to get sucked from one thing into another and not really get anything done.

The first step is the same as with any good time management scheme:  consider your goals.  Be specific.  What do you care about and what do you want to do?

For example, if you are a small business and your goal is to bring in 5-10 new clients over the following four quarters, write that down.  Set strategy to get there, for example, improve your online presence and network more effectively.  Your goals will come from there, i.e. improve your website, start a blog, join an industry group, etc.

Give weight to your goals.  If you work 40 hours a week, what percent of your time should you devote to each goal, and in what order.  It’s just like budgeting–it’s easy to overspend time, especially with so many goodies enticing you.  Putting everything in writing helps remind you of what time you have available, and keep track of where it’s going.

After that, it’s a question of discipline–sticking to the budget so to speak.

If this sounds simplistic, well it is…I could write a book about it…and maybe I will.  For now, stay tuned.  I’ve been spending lots of time finding out about time management solutions for people who want to use social sites but feel there is no way to fit it into their busy lives.  I’ll be sharing what I learn and putting together lists of tips and techniques that will help you make the most of the tools at your disposal.