| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
RBC Life Insurance Seeking Help
Where does the time go? Billable time. As a consultant, your practice may be doing reasonably well; you're charging $100-150 an hour. As an independent consultant, you're probably also doing everything from grinding the coffee to editing the umpteenth draft of your brochure. To understand where you spend your time, list and categorize all your activities into clerical, professional and other suitable groups. Calculate how many hours you're spending on each-daily, weekly, monthly, annually. Some you enjoy, some you're really good at, some are a pain in the neck The point is, no one is paying you to do them. The more time you spend on client work, the more you bill. The more you bill, the more money you have available to pay someone else to take care of the stuff you'd rather not do or should not be doing yourself. The time you spend on unbillable tasks makes you a very expensive clerical worker. Keeping the cash to yourself sounds good, until you really think about it. You wouldn't pay a secretary $150 an hour, but that's precisely what you're paying yourself. Your time is valuable and should be spent earning money or on activities that grow your business like marketing or product development. The rest is just overhead-costly overhead. Can you afford not to hire someone? And, it's not just the on-going clerical and administrative stuff you can be helped with. Many of our own clients come only after having spent hundreds of hours trying to create their own marketing materials. Entrepreneurs strongly resist giving up any responsibility. You know the refrain, "If it's going to be done right, I've got to do it myself." They struggle endlessly with business plans, and similar activities unrelated to their field of expertise. You may indeed ask, who better? The answer is, your professional colleagues. They may charge the same hourly fee, but the job is done in much less time and they bring objectivity and fresh ideas. This is not only less expensive in the long run, but these things will also be done better. The repercussions of doing a inadequate job on your business plan, marketing materials, accounting, etc. can be severe. Certainly, keep an eye on things; but don't spend more time than you must. Leave the grunt work to others. Hiring clerical and professional help is practical, and necessary-if you want to squeeze the most out of your practice. Keith Thirgood, Creative Director, Editor Thrive-on-Line http://www.capstonecomm.com Capstone Communications Group Helping businesses get more business through innovative marketing Markham, Ontario, Canada 905-472-2330 Subscribe to Thrive-on-line http://list.capstonecomm.com/mail.cgi?f=list&l=thrive_on_line
MORE RESOURCES:
Texas Instruments to host investor conference call on power management - MarketWatch (press release)
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Problem Solving - Think Cleopatras Ass Picture the scene. Anthony pops down to the guardhouse, partly because he wants a break with the lads, but also because he has a problem. 5 Surefire Ways to Bring Your Business Objectives Full Circle with Technology All small to mid-sized company owners want to know where their dollar is being spent when it comes to computer technology in their organization. The challenge is for them to get the information they need to make the right purchasing decisions. Developing Your Mission "The best Leader is one who knows how to pick good people to do what he or she wants done and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." - Heidi Richards -Mission statements describe the purpose of an organization or a sub-group of it. Enhancing the Motivational Climate of Your Workplace It has been well documented that employees' productivity and job quality increase when we are made to feel welcome at work. In other words, when the motivational climate is enhanced to meet their needs they produce quality work at the 100% rate. Employee Motivation: Make Everyone A Cheerleader For Your Company Do you manage by walking around? What do you see? People excited about their job or people just going through the motions? Here are seven ways, that do not cost much if anything, to turn the "it's just a job" employee into one that is powered up and willing to give their best every day.Spend time out in the field. Morale Boosters: Feed the Troops First When economic conditions turn tough or when the heavy work load seems never-ending, leaders tend to forget the "basics"-building commitment beyond the paycheck. It's the small things everyday that can bring down morale and it's the small things everyday that can raise performance. Setting Direction Within an Organization FINDING DIRECTION: An organization can't succeed without direction. Direction means having clear goals and guidelines; set goals and guidelines for staff to follow. Employee Performance - If You Want the Best, Get Personal! This is a story about a man and three dogs.I walk a lot - usually for about half to three-quarters of an hour most mornings. Examining the Relationship Between Employee Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction Researchers have undertaken numerous studies to look at the connection between customer and employee satisfaction. A majority of these studies were able to uncover a correlation between employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and profitability. Create Your Methodology Based on a Standard Framework - Part One OK. So you have decided that your organization has to improve the way in which it works. The Idol-Makers The end of the television season in May included the usual array of cliffhangers on shows like "Alias," the departure of Noah Wylie from "ER" and the finale of the highly-rated "Everybody Loves Raymond" after 210 episodes. On the last day of "Sweeps," more than 29 million people tuned in to see the crowning of the fourth "American Idol. Managing Change - Get it Right In any event, getting the process right is a vital component. The credibility of the change managers will be scrutinised closely enough on the issue itself, with all processes in place. What Consultants Want You to Know (But You Never Ask) I've been both a CEO and a consultant, so I've seen from both perspectives what goes right and what goes wrong when a consultant comes in to a company. Generally the CEO or the manager who hires the consultant tells the consultant what he or she wants. What Is Business Sense? What is the principal thing you need to succeed in your business today? Money. Sure, you need it, but it is not the main ingredient for success. Problems with Group Decision Making DECISION BY AUTHORITY RULE: Many groups start out with-or quickly set up a power structure that makes it clear that the chairman (or someone else in authority) will make the ultimate decision. The group can generate ideas and hold free discussion, but at any time the chairman can say that, having heard the discussion, he or she has decided upon a given plan. Organisational Culture for Continuous Improvement I have been working with leading Business Improvement guru, Tim Franklin, preparing the PR for his latest book which offers an introduction to Continuous Improvement (CI) at beginner level, encompassing Lean, TQM, Six Sigma and the other related methodologies of CI.He was developing an analogy of a geographic expedition to describe Continuous Improvement. Crisis Management Essentials - How to Communicate Effectively During a Crisis, Emergency or Disaster A crisis, emergency or disaster can happen at anytime and anywhere.Just ask the residents of Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory. How To Turn Business Losses Into Cash Flow When the typical new business operator starts a business, they concentrate on making the business succeed. That is necessary but not the only thing that a business operator should concentrate on. Check Your Communication Skills Use this check list to assess your communication skills.Focus* Do you pay complete attention to others when they are speaking? (A wandering focus discourages open communication. Get Out Of The Stone Age: Give Leadership Talks 160 years ago, the newly invented electric telegraph carried the first news message. The message zipped 40 miles in a flash over wires from Baltimore to Washington, D.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
