Are You a Good Manager?
We are all managers! Whether you think you are not, you are a manager. You manage your time, your work/life responsibilities, and who knows what else. Your personal life may involve managing domestic chores, relationships or volunteer activities. In business, perhaps you have clients to manage, or bosses, scheduling, and so on.
How do you rate yourself as a manager of the things you manage? I have been in management in some capacity or other for most of my 30+ year career. One thing I’ve learned is that as times change, and the way of things change, you’ve got to be prepared to change with it. The way I managed things thirty years ago may not work today.
Here are some articles and websites I’ve found that you can utilize to assess your management skills:
I hope you find these helpful.
Oh, and if you have some great management tips, I’d love to have you share those as well!
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Which Email Marketing Program Should I Use?
When I first started working virtually, One of the first things I was overwhelmed with was the many different email marketing programs available. Oh my gosh, which one to use!!
The first email I sent out for myself (rather than for a client), I formatted using MS Outlook. Needless to say, I had a very small list at that time. Well, it turned out to be quite an embarrassing disaster!
I know that everyone has their own preferences, and some people might like to switch, but it’s often easier to stay with what you are familiar with, and where you’re list already resides.
I’d like to share some of my own thoughts and observations on some of the email marketing programs available.
Some of the more basic programs, which are quite affordable (starting at about $20/mo), but limited in their capability, include:
- www.aweber.com
- www.icontact.com
- www.mailchimp.com (this one has a free account option!)
Take it a step further, to what is referred to as a One Shopping Cart. These range in price from around $30-$100/mo. Depending on which level you’re at, they can include email marketing, shopping cart, merchant account and affiliate program setup. Some examples are:
- www.oneshoppingcart.com
- www.practicepaysolutions.com
- www.3dcart.com
- www.zen-cart.com (this is a free one!)
And then there are the more advanced programs that help you really break down and target your specific lists with very targeted campaings. These can range in price from about $200-$1,000/mo. A couple of these are:
- www.salesforce.com
- www.infusionsoft.com
A couple of tips:
- Before you commit to any program, take a good look at your needs (both current and potential future) and try to settle on a program most likely to fit those needs. It really is a pain to try to switch everything over to a new program.
- Most of the programs offer a free trial period. Even though all of the features may not be available with a free trial, by all means, take advantage of it to see if it might be the one for you.
- Check with your web hosting company. Many of them offer free or very affordable solutions to their customers.
If you’re still unsure, Let me know. I’d be happy to do some brainstorming with you to try to narrow down the one that might be best for you!
You’ve Gotta Back Up Your Computer
Folks, I can’t stress enough the importance of having a backup system (or 2) for your computer; especially if you work virtually, as I do. My computer is my lifeline. If it goes down, I will be inconvenienced with having to spend money either on repairs or a new computer, and the time involved to get it working again. But I can go to sleep each night with the security of knowing my files won’t be lost.
If you don’t have a backup system in place, I encourage you to research your options. Here are some ideas:
- Backup all of your files to a flash drive. They range in price from about $10-40 depending on the size (the size being in GB). If you don’t know how much space you need, you can look at the properties on your C: drive and see how much space is being taken up. I have a lot of graphics, videos, documents, etc. on my computer, and a 4GB will easily hold all of the contents of the “My Documents” folder.
- Burn all of your files to a CD.
- Purchase an external hard drive. They range in price from about $60-$180, again, depending on the size. This is a good method of backing up your applications as well as your files. Most applications are too large to save to a flash drive.
- Use an online backup service, such as www.carbonite.com (very affordable, and does automatic backups), or www.myotherdrive.com (They have a free version but you have to manually backup files.).
You may use a combination of methods. For example, I have an external hard drive that I back up my entire system to once a week. I use this in combination with backing up my files to www.carbonite.com. I use my flash drive to backup my QuickBooks each day.
Only you can decide what works best for you. Just make sure you have something in place, preferably before you’re computer crashes and you lose everything–believe me, the cost of a backup system is much smaller than the cost of losing all of your files!
More on scheduling…
OK Folks, here’s the skinny (no pun intended). Since I’ve gotten my scheduling under control (see my earlier blog), I’ve lost 6–that’s SIX–pounds! How, you ask?
Well, here’s my theory:
- I’ve been able to schedule a regular time to get my daily exercise in, whereas before it was hit and miss.
- My eating habits have improved, in that they are more regular, and I’m paying closer attention to when I eat and what I eat. Before, I might work straight through until I was starving, and then pig out.
- I’m less stressed, because I’m more productive throughout the day. I’m not going to bed at night and tossing and turning for not being able to turn off my thoughts about what I didn’t get done through the day. I believe this has an effect on several physical aspects, weight included.
So there you have it-I’m am experiencing benefits I never even expected!
Good for me!
5 Traits of a Good Leader
Scheduling Naturally
It’s All About Teamwork
Orchestrate Your Social Networks
Stepping Out on a Limb
Cleanout, Throw Out, Organize
