Naomi Dathan's Blog, page 10

Do the Next Thing

In your business, you are going to hit walls.  Not literal walls (hopefully), but intangible obstacles.  Maybe a client is making unreasonable demands, or reasonable demands you’re not sure you can meet.  Maybe an unexpected expense has you wondering whether you’re going to meet your expenses in the coming months.  Maybe you have too much work, but you’re overwhelmed and not sure where to begin.   Or maybe, for no reason you can identify, you’re just overwhelmed.

When you started your business, you were probably burning with enthusiasm and purpose, and that momentum probably carried you for a while.  Each new success injects another shot of intensity into that purpose.  But if you’re in business long enough, sooner or later you’re going to hit that wall.

This might feel like time to grab a tablespoon and pint of Ben and Jerry’s and tune into the Lifetime Movie Network, and that’s okay for like half a day, but then drop the spoon in the sink and let’s get going.  Times like these will make or break your business.  Your ability to press forward will define you.

So here’s what to do:

1.  Plan.  Look at your plan, if you have one, and revise it to meet the current situation.  If you don’t have one, make one.  Know your end goal and identify the steps that will get you there.  Don’t make a goal to “get 5 clients” because you can’t control who hires you.  Make a goal to pitch your business to 20 people this month.  Join a public speaking group or professional group to get you face to face.  Make a list of small, manageable steps that lead to your end goal.

2.  Do the next thing.  If you’re feeling overwhelmed, the last thing you need to do is dwell on what you haven’t accomplished.  Instead, dwell on that next, manageable step.  Make the phone call.  Send the email.  Order the brochure.  Just do that thing without going sideways or succumbing to the lure of Ben and Jerry.

3.  Cross that thing off your list.  It’s amazing how satisfying that is.  Although you haven’t achieved your end goal, that small success will start rebuilding your momentum.

4.  While you’re looking at your list, look at the next step.

5.  Do the next thing.  Etc.

Of course this isn’t exactly revolutionary advice — anyone could have told you this.  If you see me in the doldrums, you’ll tell me the same thing.  And you’ll know I already know it, just like you do.  But memorize and repeat the mantra anyway:

Do the next thing.  Do the next thing.  Do the next thing.

Cross that bridge when you come to it.

The Quest — The Right Plan For You

So your Quest is your vision of your financial future. Your Treasure Map is your plan — your solid, realistic plan for getting there. We spent the last two blogs talking about discarding bad plans. Now let’s talk about building a good one. There are a few things to consider:

1. TIME. Remember how we talked about the four (arbitrarily designated) stages of life? Your plan is completely dependent on which stage you’re in. If you’re 25, you can assure your financial security in the final stage by driving your car for longer and investing what would be a car payment into a good mutual fund. If you’re almost 50 like me, this plan will barely make a dent. And I’m already driving the car for longer.

2. EXTERNAL FORCES. To attain financial security in the fourth stage, you should pour yourself into building it in your twenties and thirties (the second stage). Unfortunately, we are often dealing with more pressing issues. Maybe you can pull it off as a working mom, but maybe your kids have issues that demand more time and focus. Maybe your spouse is sick and you’re holding everything together by your fingernails. Maybe your paycheck doesn’t stretch far enough to invest, or your degree just failed to do what your guidance counselor promised it would to — keep you gainfully employed.

3. REALITY. In the last two blogs, we talked about whether your plan was realistic. You also need to consider whether your actual quest is realistic. If you’re 52 years old and employed as a secretary making $11/hour, you probably won’t attain your financial quest of becoming a millionaire. Sorry. If you’ve decided to get out of debt by writing a best-selling novel, you can certainly control whether you write a book, but you can’t control how many people buy it.

4. YOUR ESSENCE. If you are 25 years old and get offered a job with decent pay, great benefits and the opportunity for advancement, awesome! You have a plan. But if you’re a musician who would rather practice than answer the screaming need of your bladder, taking that job won’t get you there. If you are deeply involved in animal rights, you probably won’t fare well at a factory farm, even with awesome 401(k) benefits. The essence of who you are is both a liability and an edge. You can only get so far trying to force yourself to be something you’re not. So even if it means you accept you’ll make less money, don’t try to be something that you’re not.

5. YOUR POTENTIAL. Your potential is often confused with your essence. “I’m not good at math” isn’t your essence. Maybe you haven’t done well with math thus far, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have the potential to become an accountant if you love business processes. Maybe you are only 4’11”. Your potential as a professional basketball player is limited. Your potential as a professional in the world of sports is NOT limited — there are comparatively few people who actually work on the court.

The bills are flying at you, time is rushing by and you still need to get dinner on. I know you’re thinking, forget this part — I just need to get to work!!!! Take a minute. Or a week, or a month. Do your research. Be introspective. The quest matters, but it should reflect who you really are. Don’t listen to limiting voices, but vet every angle and potential challenge carefully. Your future deserves care and consideration. So turn off the world, engage every internal power you have, and make a plan that will get you there.

Take the time to make a solid plan, so you don’t end up in a bind.

The Quest — Multi-level Marketing

We’re talking about finding the best possible plan to reach your ultimate Quest (in the business context). Here I want to address the touchy subject of multi-level marketing.

This piggy wants you to do your due diligence before signing on with an MLM.

My business quest has been the same since I was 19 — attain financial security. It has been a rocky road, partly because I made some bad plans and partly because that quest had to take a backseat to quests that were more important. But even in the backseat, the quest was always present and nagging. Because, bills. Groceries. Smart kids headed to college. So a tried a lot of things while dealing with more pressing circumstances, and one of them was multi-level marketing.

Why do we go into multi-level marketing? Almost always, it’s a combination of genuinely liking the products and a belief in the financial potential. You don’t need a degree, you can work around your schedule, and you can make money! Money, money, money!

Of course you make money on each of the products you sell, but if you want to succeed in the business, you need to hire others to sell under you. It’s a pyramid – you get a percentage of what you sell, a smaller percentage of what your hires sell, an even smaller percentage of what their hires sell. At the sales meetings, the DM’s talk about making the team succeed, but no matter how much your “team” thrives, you only make money if your particular pyramid is selling and growing continually. So you sell to your friends and family, sign a few of them on and then start applying the pressure. They need to sign people too. It’s a bit of an ego trip, having other people “report” to you. If you’re aggressive enough and have aggressive enough friends, you might make serious money. A few people really do.

But most of us won’t. Most of us will exhaust our list of friends and families after a few months, and find ourselves making a monthly pinch of money from repeat buyers.

I’m sorry to be negative, but multi-level marketing is an area where you really have to be willing to “Kill Your Darlings.” Practiced salespeople will promise you that if you follow all the steps they give you, read all the literature and memorize the spiels, you will succeed. Many people going into multi-level marketing are doing it because they really don’t see other great options. Either they don’t have a degree or the degree isn’t helping them. All of the traditional jobs pay a pittance or the logical career options won’t accommodate their situation, whether it’s family responsibilities, physical limitations or other issues. This makes them vulnerable to the promises.

Due diligence, people. If you love the products enough to sell them around the office for a little pin money every month, great. But if you think this is your path to financial freedom, do your due diligence. Hit up Google and, just like we described in the past blog, try to prove it’s a BAD idea instead of looking for proof to reinforce your hope.

Don’t be disappointed if you discover that your MLM isn’t the answer. Be happy. You’re smarter than a lot of us who learned it the hard way. And if you’re already going this route, do your due diligence anyway, and cut your losses if you need to.

You’re on a Quest. You need a plan, a Treasure Map, if you will. So let’s make sure we have a good one!

The Quest — Kill Your Darlings

Think of it as a Quest. You’re a hobbit, Hercules, Harry Potter, The Mariner (Waterworld. I don’t care. I love that movie.) Anyway, your life is a quest, and you win the quest by reaching the future you want.

What is the future? The degree that you’ve thought about a million times? Getting your business in the black? Financial security in the last fourth of your life? The ability to hand your kid enough money to pay cash for college?

Ahhh, dreams. Beautiful dreams.

Maybe.

When we were little, they told us we could be anything we wanted to be. But it’s not really true. You’ve seen the pitchy kids on American Idol, right? They genuinely believe that they have a brillian future of stardom ahead of them, but Dawg, all of us watching us know they don’t.

So let’s assess your dream.

Is it a viable idea? Maybe you have a business concept or a product that you think is going to change the world. You believe it in with all your heart. Awesome. Some of the best stuff comes from our heart. But now let’s engage the head. Talk to people. Not your mom, but people who know and will tell you the truth. Is it a viable idea? Will people love it? Will enough people love it? You can pour your heart and soul into an idea that doesn’t pan out. Examples:

a. I knew a high school principal who decided to get his doctorate. It cost him upwards of $30,000. He got a slight increase in pay and now the kids have to call him doctor. Was it worth it?

b. I once had a business idea to revive the Tightwad Gazette. Amy Dacyczyn had once sent out newsletters about extreme ways to cut the budget. Since she had stopped producing them, I thought I’d pick up the slack with more current information. Brilliant idea. I would make a mint. Or . . . not. To vet the idea, I called information, got the number and actually spoke with Amy Dacyczyn, who gave me a much needed dose of reality. Thanks to the internet and about a million blogs, my idea would have virtually no audience. Cost of this business research was about $4.21 in long distance. Savings — millions of drops of wasted sweat poured into a wasted pursuit.

c. I once had a business idea (a lot of my conversations begin this way) to start a catalog store called “Pretty House.” I would sell hand-crafted household items. I actually invested in a business $41.50 checking account on this one (I was very young) before I discovered that cottage industries don’t have much of a chance against manufactured products.

We writers love to quote Faulkner (or Wilde or Welty, depending on who you ask): “Kill Your Darlings.” It doesn’t mean drown your poodle. For writers, it means, be willing to sacrifice well-written passages that don’t contribute to the finished work. For business people, it means, be willing to sacrifice pretty, pretty ideas that your research indicates won’t pan out.

So, research your plan — you’re pretty, pretty plan. Don’t try to prove that it’s a good idea. Try to prove that it’s a BAD idea. If it’s way too easy to prove you’re on the wrong track . . . it’s because you’re on the wrong track. I’m sorry, but wouldn’t you rather know now, before you spend $41.50 on a business checking account?

The whole world is covered with water. The whole world! How cool is that!?

What is Your Quest?

The average life expectancy in the US is just shy of 79 years. So let’s say 80, and look at your life in four pieces. You’ve got 0-20, which is largely about snugglies, schoolwork and setting forth on your own. Then 20-40 — work and family. 40-60 — work and family are slowing down if you’re lucky, and 60-80, which varies based on a lot of factors.

We all have different circumstances — advantages from birth, talents, IQ’s, mistakes with long reaches, accidents and family. But the one thing we have in common is that we’re alive (unless you’re reading this in heaven. PM me), and that while we don’t know how many days we get to be alive . . . there are too few. Too few days to savor the smell of freshly diapered babies. Too few days to see all the different landscapes of the earth. And too few days in the first three parts of our lives to feel prepared for the last one.

I’m in the third of the four parts. It happens to be the best so far — I love my work, my relationship with My Tom, my other relationships. I came out on the shiny side of some very harsh circumstances — I’m a better person for having gone through them and I like how they refined me. My kids are nearly grown, and while I hate knowing those sweet baby days are over, I’m happy and relieved to see that they are turning out well.

Nevertheless, that last forth looms. Will my knees hold out? Will my finances stretch to the end? Where will I live?

This is universal, so I’m writing to you.

What stage are you in? How are you preparing for the next stage? If you are in the second stage, you might feel like you have a million years before you turn sixty. I’m here to tell you, it’s actually closer to like fifteen minutes. If you’re in the third stage with me, you might be scrambling, trying to prepare.

WHAT IS YOUR PLAN?

If you haven’t got a clear, defined plan for your future, it’s time to develop one. You should have a plan for all of your pursuits — family, money, other goals. But this blog is focused on your business, so let’s spend a couple of blogs doing this.

Your life.

Manufacturer Streamlines Information System, Step by Step

“Mommy, Mommy! I got a star on my picture!”

The voice comes tinny over the desk phone. Mommy punches the speaker phone so she can keep entering data while she talks. “Honey! That’s great! You worked so hard on that.”

“When are you coming home? I want to show it to you.”

“I have to work late tonight, sweetness. I’ll have to see it . . . ” She trails off, distracted by the numbers on the screen in front of her, but the kindergartner finishes for her:

“After the database rollout. I know.”

The elevated stress levels. The overtime. The lost data. That one lady who insists that change is Bad! Change is always bad! And she shouldn’t have to deal with it!

Launching a new information system can be traumatic for everyone involved. It can also be costly, as customers get frustrated, estimates get miscalculated, and overtime hours for staffers grappling with the new system accrue.

This is why one Greater Cleveland manufacturer, already having growing pains from a mini-boom in business, was worried. “We’ve just acquired this huge new contract,” a manager explained. “It’s great for the bottom line, but we’re building trust with these guys. We’ve got to have a way to track everything, but we can’t afford a screw up.”

Done, and done.

“What’s the most critical information challenge you have right now?”

He didn’t have to think about that for long. “We need to be able to quickly produce accurate estimates for the different projects. We’ve got the part costs coming in from one place, the lab’s stuff coming from another and way too much information stored in people’s heads.”

The built-in flexibility of Filemaker allows for continual expansion, so the solution was simple — a rollout done in stages, starting with the number one concern: getting those estimates into an automated, accurate process. It takes very little time to set up connectivity with MySQL sources (the lab), and not much longer for an Oracle source (the parts supplier). The most time consuming aspect: “downloading” the data in people’s heads into a comprehensive, consistent process. Finally, training the users. Filemaker Pro is an intuitive application, but it’s not always easy for users to change how they’ve been doing tasks since birds started flying.

This is where the manufacturer will see the biggest advantage of a gradual rollout. Prism Database Design provides one-on-one training, “cheat sheets,” instructional videos, on screen instructions and a help call line to ensure that every user is confident and practiced. Clients will receive seamless, professional assistance, and will never have to hear the fumbling, “I’m so sorry . . . we just changed to a new . . . ” Best of all, when it’s time for the next step (tracking trials, in this case), the solution will work the same way. The manufacturer will already have in-house experts — practiced users — who can answer quick questions.

And, to finish the entirely fictional anecdote that begins this blog:

“I can’t wait to see it!,” says Mommy. “I don’t need that expensive time-and-a-half pay to do an effective job for our clients — I’ll be home in a half an hour!”

The system is fast. The development is fast. So this guy can take his time to strategize and make smart decisions about his next move.

Working Mother Dream Jobs — 100 Great Choices

Are you juggling motherhood and working?  If you could summon Business Fairy and put in a request for your dream job, what features would you ask for?  Back up child care?  Extended maternity leave?  Telecommuting and Flex time options?  Management training and opportunities?

Based on these and other criteria, Working Mother Magazine compiled a list of the 100 best companies for a working mother.  Is there one near you?  (or that you could telecommute to?)

You have angered Business Fairy. No maternity leave for you!

Work at Home: Strategies for Success

Whether you’re self-employed or a telecommuter, at the end of the day you want to feel like you’ve given your career your best.  Here are some strategies to keep you moving in the direction of SUCCESS:

Dress for success — especially on days when you’ll be dealing with others.  Sandie Hampton is a self-employed specialist in traditional and digital media communications in the Greater Akron area.  “Put yourself together,” she advises.  “Even if no one is going to see you all day long.  I had a call yesterday with a prospective client, so I put on my business clothes and got ready for work.  It affected my tone and my confidence, and that comes across even though they can’t see me.  And I got the interview I wanted.”
Take your work seriously and insist that others do too — You’re not home to have chats over the back fence or run your aunt to the pharmacy.  You’re home to do a job.  Go to whatever length you must to make that happen.  I once had such a friendly neighbor that I started parking my car at a nearby business to avoid visits during working hours.
Have a Sacred Work Space.  Even if you work at the dining room table or on the couch, have a designated place for all of your work materials, files and loose papers.  Make it clear to everyone in the house (except the cat, obviously) that the space is off-limits.  They may not grab paper from your printer to write a quick note or borrow your stapler or pens.  If they discover that the cat has stolen your pens, they must return them as soon as the cat is done with them.
Set regular work hours.  If you need to pick up the kids at three, then schedule for that and the after-school snack/catch-up chat that follows.  If you build in realistic rhythms, you’ll be less anxious and more productive.
If you have a babysitter at home, make your boundaries very clear.  Because you’re home, you can comfortably hire a young teen to care for your kids, knowing you’re there in case of an emergency.  But you’ll need to be very clear on the definition of “emergency,” and you’ll probably need to have a routine and supplies in place to help him or her keep them occupied.
Plan ahead for social contact.   Conversations with 4 year olds can be very entertaining, but they won’t meet your daily recommended allowance of human contact.  If you work at home, you’ll need to make sure to have prolonged contact with other humans on a regular basis.  Go to church, hit up MeetUp, join a Women in Business group or schedule lots of lunches with friends.

If you want to sustain working at home long term, make intentional choices to deal with the inevitable challenges and give yourself the best odds of shining success.

To contact Sandie for your communication needs, you may email her at stambas@earthlink.net.

Dammit Jim — I’m a database developer, not an artist!

Work at Home: 26 Career Options

If you already have a profession, you probably already have a sense of whether your industry supports telecommuting.  If you don’t, or if you’re willing to change it up, you might consider some of the following options:

Writing.
Virtual Assistant.
Medical Transcriptionist
Translator
Web Developer/Designer
Call Center Representative
Travel Agent
Tech Support
Teacher
Editor
Market Survey Researcher
Nurses
Public Relations Specialist
Tax Preparer
Graphic Designer
Website Tester
Film and post how-to videos
Corporate English Trainer
Search Engine Evaluator
Actuary
Business Intelligence Analyst
Compensation Analyst
Non-profit Director
Grant Writer
HR Recruiter
Online Fitness Coach

Some of these jobs require some training, which you may also be able to do at home.  Most importantly, be very wary of SCAMS.

Whether it’s a table or a desk, in the end what matters is getting the job done.

Work at Home: The Good and the Bad (and the Ugly, of course)

Let’s start with the ugly.  Mirrors.  Mirrors are not always your friend when you work at home.  There is something satisfying about doing the hair, the makeup, the clothes and going out the door feeling all put together.  I’ve managed it twice in my life, and it was great.

If you passed the Pro/Con exercise in the last blog, it’s time to consider the advantages and disadvantages of working from home.  The advantages are easy, so let’s get a running start with those:

Advantages of working at home:

It’s easier to integrate work life with home life.  You can work late so you don’t miss the pageant the next day.  If Babycakes gets the sniffles you don’t have to call off.
It saves money.  My Tom and I are getting by on one car these days, and it’s saving us a ton in insurance, car payments, wear and tear on the car and gas.  If something comes up where we have to have another car, we can rent one for much less than a payment on having one all the time.  I also don’t have the expense of eating out or maintaining a large work wardrobe.
There are fewer distractions (if you’re doing it right).   At work, you’ve got the rehash of Walking Dead on your left, a not-so-private private conversation on the right, and the maliciously appealing candy dish straight ahead.   At home, you have control of your environment.  If you don’t have control of your environment, I strongly suggest you get control of it during your work time.  Hire a sitter who keeps the little guys at her house, or work in a coffee shop.
You save time.  Many workers spend an hour or two just navigating to and from, coping with the stress of weather and traffic.  Imagine what you could do with that time!  You could learn to speak Mandarin.  You could hand knit adorable sweaters for all the dogs in your extended family.  You could actually fold and put away laundry instead of assembling size 4T outfits directly from the overflowing basket of cleans.  It’s the stuff of dreams . . .

Disadvantages of working at home:

You may have relatives.  When I was writing my first book, I designated 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for writing.  “Call me before or after then,” I told everyone.  “Or I will ignore your call.”  Unfortunately, if you ignore the call, some people will show up to check on you.  Every.  Single.  Day.
The house will talk to you.  Other people won’t hear it, so don’t mention it or they’ll worry.  Your house will whisper things like, “My grass is so long we’re going to get a letter from the city.”  “Dishes dishes dishes need washed.”  “You’d be so much more productive if all these toys were put away.  Sorted by color and size.  But they could use a scrubbing first.”
You’re out of the loop.  An awful lot of business decisions happen informally, not in meetings but in short exchanges while waiting for the elevator.  If you’re at home, you’re not in a position to influence those decisions or even realize they are happening.
You’re isolated.  On the Homebody Scale I score around a 4,345,555,111,086.   And a half.  But I admit there are days when I’m out and see the easy camaraderie of co-workers and miss it — that feeling of being on a team.   I sometimes think the perfect situation for me would be go into an office two days a week and stay home the rest.  As long as I could pick the days.  And change my mind at the last minute if I see a snowflake or my cat looks lonely.

He’s feline so sad that he climbed into the fireplace. This is a cat-astrophe.