I get this question a lot, both from people working in a corporate environment and people who have just started running their own business.

And the answer is “no, I’m not lonely at all”. Sure, I’m sitting in my house all day with my partner at work and the kids at school, but am I lonely? Not even close!

Yet I can see how the fear of loneliness could put some people off starting their own business, so I thought I would share with you some tips on how to eliminate any possible feeling of loneliness for those that may be experiencing it or those worrying about experiencing it.

Tip 1: Embrace your situation and utilise technology:

Technology doesn’t just open up new ways to doing business, it also gives you the opportunity to connect with anyone, anywhere, at any time. The other week it was pouring with rain and I took great enjoyment in the fact I didn’t need to leave my house. I sat at my desk, nice and warm and dry and conducted three client meetings through Skype, had a coffee catch up with a colleague in New Zealand and worked on my day to day business dealings in the middle of all that.

There was no hustling down the hall and into a crowded elevator with dripping umbrellas and grumpy people like most office blocks that day, I didn’t have to fight the traffic or use up my petrol and best of all I didn’t need to get dressed up for my meetings – it was fantastic. That’s what I mean when I say embrace your situation.

Tip 2: Maintain both professional and personal stimulation:

If the feeling of loneliness does strike you, remember you chose to start your own business, and it’s just that, yours. So stop what you are doing and call a friend / colleague for a quick chat or duck out for a coffee in the local cafe – you can make up the time later or squeeze it in, but you need to look after you.

If you find you’re missing professional stimulation and development rather than friendship, make the most of the many webinars that are now available online. Not only will this give you a networking and connection opportunity, you’ll also be learning something new for your business.

Tip 3: Working from home doesn’t mean you need to stay there all day:

It’s great to have days at home but you also need to make sure you get out there and meet other business owners. Networking events are well worth the effort when you do them properly. People do more business with people they have met face to face, so get out there and grow your business! Nothing beats meeting someone in real life, and your productivity and enthusiasm will grow, as will your client list!

On the days you’re working from home, make the most of it but also schedule in a skype meeting or two to keep your interactions going. Then on the days you’re out and about, make the most of it. Ensure your week is a mixture of both home days and outings and this approach will keep you focused, refreshed, far from lonely and proud of the decision you made to start your own business.

SEO is constantly changing, and we all know that understanding and working with Google SEO rules is essential for a small business owner. My business mentor, James Schramko, is an SEO master and I want to share the advice he has given me to make sure your site doesn’t get left behind with the recent updates.

Google recently introduced two new changes (called Panda and Penguin) and without going into the nitty gritty of what they are, the good news for us small business owners is that Google is trying to filter out junk on the web and de-index sites that were using blog networks to gain back links. What is important to know is that these changes may impact a lot of earlier SEO investments you have made.

Heres what you now need to do to ensure your site is approved and ranked well by Google:

• Make sure you have fresh content on your website. By regularly updating your content, Google will re-assess your site and you’ll make the most of your keyword rich content and increase your traffic and links. Try and keep your updates regular to keep the website vibrant and interesting.
• Take the time to write the content yourself. Not only will this ensure it’s more readable and a better representation of your business, it will also rank better.
• Install Google+ buttons on your site. While Google+ didn’t cause the splash that we all know Google was hoping for, it’s still a great way to get discovered and one that Google is focused on encouraging, and therefore rewarding.
• Social media profiles are more important than ever. Use one of the hundreds of widgets out there to connect your site to your Twitter and Facebook profiles. Not only is this new content, it’s also a great way to retain interest and connection with customers and potential customers.
• News content will place you above others. Issue press releases and include them on your blog often.
• Video marketing freshness will get you more exposure. Often Google will display a YouTube video or two at the top of their search results.
• Make sure you have “deep links” on your site. This means link to pages other than your home page, continue to interlink your pages and ensure you use a variety of words as the hyperlinks. The site is better connected this way, and more relevant to Google’s scanners.
• Fresh, original images will rank better, and give you an opportunity to name them using keywords, which helps your overall ranking. Google can’t read images, but they can read the scroll-over and caption text you add to them.
• Ensure your page titles are natural. Describe what your page is about and contain one main keyword per page.

I recommend you block out sometime to review your site to see if you’re using as many SEO opportunities as possible. And if you want a great SEO company to improve your ranking, you can always enlist the expertise of James Schramko’s team here.

For many business owners, working with people in different countries whether they’re clients or people you outsource to is normal. It’s also normal to make mistakes with time zones, and it’s very normal to spend far too long trying to calculate their equivalent time.

I’ve found the most efficient time converter available online. It’s called World Time Buddy. It’s quick, efficient and fantastic.

Just head to their website, type in the cities you’re trying to work out the time for. A bar appears and you just need to move the red rectangle box left or right to get the time difference. In the free version you can view up to 10 locations at a time. This is a wonderful way to schedule meetings quickly and efficiently.

As we move into an increasingly online and globalised business world, I’m sure this tool will quickly become a favourite of yours too.

You’ve probably noticed that a lot of websites you visit have a live chat function. Have you thought about installing this function on your website? The opinion among my friends and peers is mixed, some people love getting instant answers, while others find the function intrusive.

Have you experienced a live chat function from a website owner’s point of view? While it may seem like a potentially time consuming customer service instalment, there are a lot of benefits you may not be aware of for the business owner. I want to share the reasons why I installed it, and why I recommend business owners do the same.

I have LiveChat installed on my website and this is why I love it:

• I can see every visitor that lands on my website in real time and what pages they go to. This is enormously valuable for me to understand the journeys my customers go on through my site. It lets me know which pages are working, which are losing people and what they’re looking for.
• I’m there. If they get confused, have further questions or just want to make contact, I’m available. The fact I can instantly respond to their questions means there is less risk they’ll forget about my services or lose interest in the time it takes me to email them back.
• It’s a relaxed and non-pushy way to make contact with interested people and potential customers. I’m not pushing them for email addresses or contact details. They don’t feel hunted, and I don’t feel uncomfortable. It’s all about information and education, which benefits the customer and builds goodwill towards you as the business owner.

Yes, I know I can use Google Analytics to view my visitors and their journeys through the site. But watching them in real time is exciting. Looking at the log at the end of the day and seeing exactly how many people visited my site and where they went is morale-boosting, and don’t we all need that every now and then?

The one less-than-perfect aspect of live chat is that it’s live. You need to be at your computer and available throughout the day. But my guess is that you are anyway. Most small business owners are on call and contactable throughout the day. And if you’re not, LiveChat has the feature for your website visitor to leave you a message if you are not there or alternatively you can invest in a Virtual Assistant or similar to respond to questions for you using set responses you’ve created. Make sure you get them to print the log at the end of the day so you can see your traffic.

Live chat is about knowing your customers more, and being in control of your website and message. It’s about offering easy and effective service in a non-aggressive way. For the reasons above and my own personal experience, I highly recommend it.

This question always makes me smile. Whether it’s from corporate employees or extended family at a BBQ, it just shows how different the world is for business owners and non-business owners.

As a small business owner, even if you aren’t working on your business all the time (i.e. sitting at your computer, meeting clients or making calls) you’ll still be working, you never switch off from your business. You’ll be thinking about new solutions or ideas, strategising about the best way to make a new deal or even just thinking about how to get through the admin.

So when I get asked, “Do you work full-time in your business?” at yet another BBQ, I smile and say yes. I don’t always explain that running your own business is a 24-hour, 7 day a week gig, that depends on who I’m chatting with. But the repetition of the question made me think about the efficiency advice that I could give small business about how to cope with the often-overwhelming task of running a business.

Acknowledge that your business will consume your life

This doesn’t mean you’re doing business-owning wrong, nor does it mean you’re doing it right. The time you invest in your business is not as important as how efficient and effective you are in that time. Make the most of every minute with good systems, clear goals and regular reviews. 

Take breaks from your business

Just like a farmer, you need to step back for a bit every now and then. You can sow the seeds, but you can’t hurry them along. Stepping back gives you the time to reflect on what you just did and see if there are ways to improve that process, and prepare for the next step as efficiently as possible.

Invest in your most important business resource

You. No one can run your business like you can, and no one knows it like you do. No one else is in the position to spot and realise opportunities like you can as the business owner. So allow yourself time to focus ON your business rather than always working IN it. Take a birds eye view of your business and the processes and assess what’s really working and what’s not, make changes if necessary or come up with new ideas and trust me, your business will thank you for spending time on it.

Relax. Seriously. Just do it.

Don’t just set aside exercise time (although this is important) also make sure you have time to relax, both mentally and physically. Read a book or magazine that’s not about business, go for a walk, get a massage, go kayaking, anything you can do to get out of your house and office, and put new ideas and sights into your mind.

Working on your business is a full time job, but you can do it better once you realise you don’t need to be at your desk every second of your life.

Nikki White, a leading business efficiency consultant, today announced the launch of a new product “ProcedureAssist” which, as the name suggests, is designed to help small to medium-sized business owners to overcome the main challenge that holds their business growth back.

As White explains: “When you look at a typical fast food restaurant, the key to their success is not necessarily that they use the best ingredients or that they have a world-renowned chef – it is their ability to relentlessly execute every process in the business with accuracy and consistency time after time resulting in very low error rates and highly satisfied customers.” Small business owners need to take note of this and replicate these learnings.

“If business owners set up smarter procedures, or in many cases any procedures at all, just imagine how much better, more productive their business would be. says White. “Business owners would be able to spend more time thinking strategically about their business and staff would feel more supported and autonomous thus leading to considerable increases in productivity. Not to mention the fact that a business owner can take a leave of absence or even a holiday, stress free knowing their business can run profitably without them.”

Procedures are one of the least sexy but most important factors in business growth. Charismatic business owners, great networking and well-thought out products can only carry a business so far, before the weight of running a business begins to hamper performance. ProcedureAssist, is a thorough, step-by-step guide to devising procedures in a small business including; how to create procedures, how to implement them, how to look after and include staff while doing so, and the different methods to actually recording procedures.

Many business owners find themselves conducting tasks that result in resentment of their own business, such as; photocopying, mail, responding to generic emails asking for information already available on their website or even explaining something to a staff member multiple times. The frustration they feel in these situations stems from the fact that they know they’re wasting their time. Procedures are all about systematizing the tasks that eat up hours of a business owner’s day where they could be meeting new clients or planning a new product or service.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), small enterprises account for 52 percent of all U.S. workers. “Through my years of experience, I know that the major issue holding small business owners back from big growth is getting through the day to day work, and finding the time to grow their vision,” says White. “I created ProcedureAssist, to educate business owners about the benefits of streamlining their businesses, and to support them to free up their time with efficient systems. My passion is to help business owners be successful in their chosen business and ProcedureAssist is a first step to achieving this.”

ProcedureAssist is made up of six modules that are delivered online through videos and PDF. The cost of the product is a one-time payment of $79 available from http://procedureassist.com/.

Most people who know me understand that I’ve been passionate about procedures for decades now. And yet I get this question remarkably often and the answer is “Yes. Yes, you really do.” While procedures take a bit of time to set up, the right procedures will actually liberate hours each week for you.

What was the last task you did that made you resent your job, life or your decision to launch your own business? Photocopying? Mail? Responding to generic emails asking you for information already available on your website? Maybe it was explaining something to a staff member again, even though you think it’s self-explanatory?

That frustration comes from the fact you know you’re wasting your time. Procedures are all about systematising the tasks that eat up hours of your time that you could spend meeting new clients or planning a new product or service. As the business owner and heart of your business, you are the best at this, and have the passion and commitment to get it done.

But do you have the time? Does your mind have the time to roam around the challenges and opportunities in your business, and come up with new ideas, or are you trapped in the minutiae of the day-to-day admin?

Procedures are the most effective and sustainable way to get more time in the day. Like everything, they take time. That’s why I created ProcedureAssist, so that the time you invest in creating procedures is targeted. In 6 modules, I walk you through which procedures to create, how to do so, how to implement them and most importantly, how to review them and get the most out of them.

Find out more information about ProcedureAssist here. And if you still don’t believe me that procedures are important for your business, I’d love to chat about the specific nature of your work, and see if there aren’t some procedures that would turbo-charge your work that you’re not aware of yet!

Leave me a comment below and we’ll discuss.

I’ve just launched a new product called ProcedureAssist. As I was designing it, I got quite excited about the boost we could see in Australian small businesses if they all used the right procedures, and freed up more of the business owner’s time.

But not every business owner is as excited about procedures as I am. It’s been fascinating seeing the reasons people give for why they don’t have procedures. Here are the top five most common reasons I hear.

My business is too small to need procedures

This is a great reason, if you’d like to stay that small for the rest of your career. But most of business owners would love to get their products and services out to more people, would love to be growing their bottom line, and would love to be spending more time doing the bits of their work they love, such as meeting with clients rather than cleaning out their database.

I’m the only person in my business, so I don’t need procedures

This is a very common misconception. And it is a misconception. Procedures aren’t just about managing your staff, they’re also about analysing how you can work better as well. From little tips and tricks to streamlining everyday tasks to scheduling in those tasks that you worry about being on top of constantly, procedures are primarily about being strategic and smarter with your time and energy.

We’re pretty efficient anyway, so there is no need

I have to say, I love hearing a business that is proud of their efficiency. But the issue with this comment is that it’s only true at this moment in the business. If someone gets sick, has to leave the company or even just is having a rough time in their personal life, the focus you rely on to keep your team running disappears. You’ll also find that as you grow, responsibilities will get spread around the team, and you need everyone to do the same tasks to the same standards every single time. If you’re already working well, then capture that moment and systematise it for the future.

I don’t have the time

If you’re already thinking this, you desperately need to create procedures. No one likes the advice “you’ve got to go forward to go back”, but you do need to pause, assess how you’re getting everything done and discover the faster ways to get it done. I like to think of it a quick trip in a helicopter. Set aside the time, clear your mind and really look at your business. Trust me, you’ll see where you can save time, and using ProcedureAssist will show you how to see every single opportunity, including those you might miss.  You’ll also feel more energised, because you will have taken stock of your business, why you decided to create it and found more time.

I’m not the right person to do this, and I can’t afford a consultant at the moment

Starting your own business takes a lot of initiative and guts. Usually people start a business because they know they’re really good at something, and they want to use that skill because they love doing it. It’s rare to hear one of their main skills is efficiency and procedure creation (trust me, it’s one of mine so I know it’s not common). But you are the right person to create the procedures. No one knows your business’s story like you, and no one knows your capabilities better than you. I created ProcedureAssist to equip everyone, in any business, with any skill set to set up their systems with quickly and effectively. It’s only $79, because I know budgets can run tight in small businesses.

Smart procedures that fit your business are essential for sustainable growth. Do yourself, your business, your team and your family a favour, and make the most out of every minute you have at work.

I don’t want to alarm you, but the time may have come to overhaul how you’re storing your documents. As your business evolves, especially with the addition of staff/increasing your outsourcing, or as you begin to develop other products or services, you’ll find that the documents you use most often will change.

How long will it take?

I recommend you schedule 30 minutes every 6 months to review how you’re  storing your documents. The good news is that with this time already set aside, you’ll probably have a mental check-list of documents you need to make more accessible. Commit that mental check-list to paper (or Evernote or a word document) and you’ll find it’s a quick and satisfying process.

What should I look for?

There are 3 questions to ask yourself:

1. Are you clicking on any folders that don’t need to be there? Often this is occurs when people are saving documents and end up accidentally creating folders within folders within folders which only contain a couple of documents at the bottom level. This is a common mistake and one that can be easily fixed by moving the documents into the correct folder level and deleting the rest.
2. Are you looking in the wrong folder for particular documents? This occurs when you have overlapping folders, or simply too many folders with similar names. Excess folders also occur when you’ve over-organised yourself. Naming your documents clearly and moving them into simple, broad topic folders will save you time.
3. Are there documents you use regularly every day? Why not copy them into a specific high level folder, so they’re only two clicks into your upload rather than twelve? That way your documents are still stored properly, but you’ve also got the key ones in easy to grab places. 

Why should I bother?

Your documents are one of the your most valuable business resources. Storing them well, keeping them accessible and updating and understanding how you use them will keep your mind sharp, and you’ll also be more aware of what you’ve already spent the time and effort to write down.

Extra clicks and searching through files won’t save you hours, but it will save you from getting distracted or frustrated during every-day tasks.

Google is exceptional at instantly pumping out the most relevant search results for the terms you’ve typed in. It even corrects your spelling so if you’re searching for a name or brand you’ve heard but not seen written, you can usually find the result sooner or later.

But what about if you’re searching for an obscure name, a book you’ve only heard a quote from or a more generic term? You can save time when searching for lesser-known terms by utilising quote marks.

Quote marks tell the Google algorithm to search for that exact phrase. No corrections, no dropped little words (such as ‘and’, ‘to’ or ‘for’) and no near-enough-is-good-enough results. This means you’ll avoid websites that have better SEO rankings for similar words to your exact target.

Quote marks are especially valuable if you can recall a specific phrase. Met someone you need to follow up, but can’t remember there name? Can you remember a specific phrase they used about how they introduced themselves, what services they offered or even a client they mentioned? Searching a combination of these with a closest remembered name will be a faster search than just searching their name or job description.

Looking for a particular guarantee for a product? Don’t just type in “rent photocopier, warranty”. Type in “rent photocopier, ‘3 year warranty’”. This means Google will proffer the best match for photocopiers you can rent that come with a 3-year warranty.

It sounds simple, and it is. But it’s a step we often miss because we’re used to Google finding what we’re after so easily. Now you can find what you’re after easily, and faster.