There is plenty in the media recently about multitasking and our inability to do it effectively.  I’ve always considered myself a great multitasker and prided myself on being able to remember many things while working on multiple projects on and off throughout the day.  Now I’m a mom tracking 4 calendars besides my own, or maybe because I tend to store trivial information about people I meet.

The information isn’t trivial to the person it is in regards to…but it would seem trivial to everyone else.  For example early last week through an inquiry posted on Twitter I discovered someone I follow was going to be in a wedding soon and she was asking some fashion advice.  Friday I still remembered that conversation and wished her will in her isle performance.  She was absolutely flattered I remembered. To me it was just run of the mill politeness plus a random memory.

Anyway, I find myself remembering less lately. Specifically less of the important stuff.

So, I’ve started making more lists. (You’re thinking, “Did she just say more?”) Scary, I know. I’ve also started a scratch list at the bottom of my major to do list.  In a sense I use this as my parking lot so I don’t have to pressure myself to remember it later.

If it doesn’t get on the list, it doesn’t get done.

Besides my rabid listing I’ve started doing something else. I don’t multitask anymore.

If I’m on twitter I’m reading, browsing or tweeting.

If I’m writing a blog post I hammer the keyboard until the post is finished.

If I’m browsing through my reader I stick with it until my research itch is sated or I’m simply tired of reading.

Before I would be doing all three at the same time and maybe even have email up plus a client project I was working on open too.

Want to try it?

1. Pick a thing. Any ONE thing. If this is new to you pick an easy one for the early win!
2. Decide if you are going to work until completion (short tasks) or for a set amount of time (major projects).
3. Keep your parking lot handy and get to work.
4. Write down thoughts that distract you from the main task at hand.
5. Celebrate when you’re time is up or your task is finished. Celebrate doesn’t mean go shopping! It means take a mental break by eating a piece of chocolate.

Try it and let me know how it goes!

Nibbling away -

Sundi

Photo Credits: Mike Oliveri

While flipping through an industry magazine I found an article by David C. Miller titled, Are You in a Slump?

He outlined five fundamentals to get out of your slump:

1)  Take a break.  Sometimes we need to get away from our game and focus on other aspects of life.

2)  Take care of yourself physically.  If you’re not taking time to take care of yourself, you will find yourself in slumps more often.  Give yourself permission to exercise, eat right and get enough sleep.

3)  Master your mindset.  Our thoughts and beliefs directly impact how we feel and, ultimately, what we do.  Slumps effect our confidence. We must be vigilant to combat the beliefs that dis-empower us.

4) Do the “little things” every day.  Practice the fundamentals of your business or career.  This means doing the little things that have worked in the past.  Things like picking up the phone and following up on leads, writing an article or setting up a speaking engagement.  Identify three to five daily fundamentals that you know work and do them each day.

5) Get support.  Get the support of a friend, partner or coach to help you stay with the first four fundamentals.  No one gets successful alone.

A great list, surely!  May I add one small thing David?

This little trick I learned from Michelle at Here’s to You!  She was kind enough to let us use her location for a networking group I’m a member of and she even shared with us one of her favorite talks.  (By the way, Michelle gets it too!)

Along with self talk Michelle also discussed catching yourself when you are in a *powerful* frame of mind.  Cashing in on a powerful frame of mind means positioning yourself to succeed when you have the most positive energy to achieve success.

When do you think your most powerful juices are flowing?

Directly after a workout?

When you listen to certain types of music or specific songs?

While you are wearing a certain tie?

Make a list of times you feel powerful and start using these times to your personal and professional advantage.  If you all share so will I!  Some of them are pretty personal.  :)

Nibbling away -

Sundi

The following is about someone very near and dear to my heart.  Join me.  I think you’ll like it and be able to relate!

She feels like she could take on the world today or any day for that matter.  A fluff of her hair, a good suit and a single coat of lipstick can take her very far.  She has worked hard to arrive at where she is professionally and you better take her seriously because she knows her stuff.  The executive coaching/organizational development world to a hot blond female in it is no joking matter.  The PhD, late nights, fights to prove she is smarter than her hair color would lead anyone to believe, years of OJT and unsolicited advances from clients or co-workers have brought her to where she is now.  Struggling to make a name for herself – just slightly short of ,and much more serious than, a very well known Dr. Phil!  (It doesn’t hurt to dream, right?)

She is a talented seller-got that from her dad.  It isn’t what she considers selling.  It simply comes naturally and she doesn’t even think about it or consider it a skill.  She sees herself as a problem solver and her clients appreciate that.  They don’t feel like they’ve been sold to or even pitched.  She is simply the solution to their problem and they simply thank her for it-sometimes handsomely!

Her client list is extensive and recognizable: Clif Bar, Microsoft, Kaiser Permanente, Colgate Palmolive, Fuji Hunt, Loves Travel Stops, Oklahoma State University, Aggreko, Eisai, Interwoven, Wrigley, just to name a few.  Problems from long-term executive coaching assignments to succession planning fall under her expertise.  She was never one to shy away from the usual team building or life coaching, and can even list a staff position at a nationally recognized nursing college to her list of “at a girls.”

Her days are filled with the meat of her operations: coaching calls, content development, research, meetings with clients, and local events.  But then there are the other things.  The messy ones.  Not that she isn’t good at them, if she applies herself.  The travel plans, email interactions for numerous things (participant lists, reminders, booking confirmations, assessment instructions, and the like), organizing the research, editing materials for workshops, rescheduling appointments for no-show client phone calls-none of which she minds doing.

Then there is the list of things she does in the wee hours of the morning at the absolutely last possible second she can get it done: compiling materials, boxing for shipping, updating her social networks, typing a blog post, sending thank you notes to clients, organizing expense reports from workshop trips, RFP research and submissions, proofing quotes and getting them to clients and, basically, ordering more pens for God’s sake!

It isn’t unusual for her clients to get emails from her at 3 in the morning, a most likely time for her to be up and working, and the least likely time for her phone to be ringing.  If she could only figure out how to download and print assessment results, while she packed boxes and her suite case and slept at the same time life would be so much easier!  Just last week she found herself sitting in a taxi in New York traffic headed for her next keynote speaker event while doing a coaching call she inadvertently forgot to move the following week’s call because of her trip to Dallas.  Details, details, details.  The client never knew she wasn’t at her desk but she had yet to realize she wouldn’t have time to type her notes up for the clients boss before their debrief the following week.

This week, today, right now, she is standing in line for an overbooked flight from Chicago with limited cell reception and her flight confirmation no where to be found-if she even remembered to pack the darn thing.  The last time she checked the big picture wasn’t the problem!  It was the crease in the napkin on the linen tablecloth of the buffet in the dinning room of the big picture that was driving her crazy.  The details of her consulting career hadn’t cost her a client yet and hopefully they wouldn’t, but she did know the details were costing her new ones.  She just didn’t have the time or energy to return half the phone calls she was receiving or follow up on any of the referrals piling up in her inbox.

Can you identify with this?

Did any of that mirror yourself?

If you answered yes to either question please click and fill out the swank form at the bottom of my About page.  That is all you need to do!

Nibbling away -

Sundi

PS – oh my goodness! If you need more encouragement then read this.

Even if you are a professional public speaker with many appearances in your history returning to basics is a great place to catch a fresh breath.  If you are new to public speaking these eight items should be at the top of your to-do list!

#1  Prepare.  I think the most important part of being a speaker is you have to look comfortable.  Granted,  I, as an audience member, don’t really care if you are but you need to looklike you are.  Being comfortable means being yourself.  If you aren’t acting yourself you’ll appear to be stiff and controlled rather than relaxed and casual.  The quickest way to get to relaxed is know your stuff!  When you aren’t worried about remembering your next point you’ll have more time to appear yourself.

#2  Check the digs.  Is the projector working?  What about the mic?  How do you get on stage?  The two people who can make or break your performance are the person doing your intro and the AV person.  Make sure you know them both on a first name basis.

#3  Be an early bird.  Don’t hide outside the venue.  Get in there!  Meet some people and become familiar with the room.  If you wander while you talk then you’ll want to find a path which is comfortable and you’ve moved through before.

#4  Respect = Nervous = Normal.  When you aren’tnervous you should worry.  You’ve reached a comfort zone and you aren’t pushing your inner excelerant any longer.  Nervous is good.  Don’t try to dull it with food, beverage or other chemicals.  Specifically caffeine or alcohol.  For a T on the MBTI I’m pushing it here so bear with me…just be in the emotion and enjoy it.  You heard me.  Enjoy it and be appreciative of the fact you are a challenged professionally and care about what you do.

#5  Plan B is just as good as Plan A.  Do you know why?  Because there simply is a Plan B.  Ask any speaker who didn’t have a Plan B (and ended up needing one) how good it would have been and the answer will always be great!  Think of anything and everything that can go wrong and have a plan for it.  Easy ones like your presentation time being cut in half.  And even the harder ones like the bulb in the projector goes out.

#6  Cut your stuff in half.  I’m not talking about your words.  I’m talking about your handouts and your presentation.  PowerPoint can be a slave driver so learn your presentation without it and realize everything you say doesn’t need to be on the screen.  I’m more a fan of transitions and time to absorb a thought than paper and pictures!  Besides, the planet would love less handouts.

#7  Start and end together.  Who likes to lose audience members as you go along?  I thought not.  Start slowly with simple points, build through the middle and wrap up with a crescendo.  If you begin with your heavy thoughts you might lose half your audience.  At the end they’ll be looking at each other for the finale!

#8  Snub your unwanted self-talk.  Look for a good time to be had by all.  You set your self up for failure when you expect p.e.r.f.e.c.t.i.o.n.  Your audience doesn’t expect that.  You forget your second point and your notes suddenly flutter to the floor – the back door to the room opens and in walks your self-talk.  I’m not talking about the one with the halo.  I’m talking about the dude with the pitch fork.  The audience wants to be engaged, entertained and taught.  Now that…THAT you can do!

Nibbling away -

Sundi

I am sure we can all agree on these:

• The economy currently sucks, right?
• Lots of us are losing, or have already lost, jobs and/or income, right?
• Plenty of you are either thinking of starting your own business, or already have, right?
• Theoretically speaking, you would want your new small-et-awesome business to look and act like a well-iled machine with the least amount of money spent, right?  (Because none of us have buckets of money stashed in the basement, yes?)

Why would you go somewhere else when you already know ME?

No, seriously!  Did you know I proof, beautify, print, bind and ship your training materials directly to your client?

Did you know I do newsletters and email campaigns?  And that I do proposals, contracts and RFPs?

Did you know that I can help you stay organized by booking your travel, setting up office systems and maintaining your vendor relationships?

Did you know that I would rather work for people who already know me?  Yep, I sure would.  Because I love all of you, and it would give me no greater joy than to help you make your small business the most awesome small business ever!

So, I’m completely serious here.  You need to hire me.

And if you can’t hire me yet, you need to talk to me about it.  Who knows, you might be able to afford me and you will never know unless you try!

Nibbling away -

Sundi

PS – Another person who gets it helped me write this blog post.  You should check out Rachael at Antiethete.

If you don’t normally start a book on p. 116 then you should hit these posts first: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.  Hey, if you normally start a book on p. 116 then you’re cool, carry on!

This is it!  The end of the Even freelancers need a team series.  You made it!  When you finishing reading this go check out Freelance Folder and get yourself a copy of The Unlimited Freelancer.  That way you won’t miss one single little tidbit – besides that your favorites are sure to be slightly different than mine.

Before I get on with the series I have to tell you a story.  Well, really I just want to share part of on email with you.  I received it yesterday from a potential client of mine.  Since then I’ve wondered if she has been reading my blog.  It is official!  I’m part of a team!

Following an email from Sundi, I realized Shirley could help with some design work and allow Sundi to do the work she is good at and allow me to go ahead and keep working on my own work!  Shirley and Sundi – I hope you will work together to be my North Work Team!

Is that not the coolest thing?  Some people are getting this teambuilding thing.  Yah for freelancers everywhere!

Alright, enough party!  Back to the series…

We talked about the Big Question and the Big Answer, suggested reasons why you should work with others, asked another Big Question (to which only you know the answer), busted some myths, covered the different ways to build your team and now we are going to talk about building the relationships of your team.  Amazingly enough it will sound similar to being a good employer with a few freelancer tweeks!

• Reward people.  If the job was well done then say so.
• Reward people more.  If it is frequently top-notch then take the next step to show even more appreciation.
• Relax.  We’re freelancers!  Not co-workers.
• Be prompt.  Don’t be the thing that keeps your teammate from hitting the deadline you imposed!
• Be a team player.  A freelance team is way less competitive than a team in Corporate America.  You’ve picked each other after all, so act like it!
• Accept feedback.  This isn’t criticism.  Your teammate genuinely likes you.  Really.
• Offer feedback.  Life is just better on a two-way street.  After all, if you live on a one-way street, half the time you venture out you’re traveling the opposite direction of the way you wanted to go!
• Give testimonials.  You’ve used your team members services so act like a customer.  Talk them up so they can truly build their business.
• Be sympathetic.  Because freelancers tend to work off hours we all understand a call on a Sunday afternoon might interrupt a family dinner.  Be sensitive to their boundaries.
• Take a day off.  If your team is local make time for ‘tinis together.  Now this is teambuilding in the true sense of the word!

That was the list from Mason and James.  You know I have two cents, right?

Since becoming an itty biz owner I’ve met some of the coolest people.  Seeing these cool people grow a great business gets me all excited.  I’m not talking about just clients – I’m talking about real people I get genuinely excited to see succeed.  There are tons of successful itty biz’s out there and the world is a better place because of it!

Build your biz, build a team and conquer the world!

Nibbling away -

Sundi

Would you really want to start a book in the middle or end?  I thought not.  Check it all out: part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

Mason and James, authors of The Unlimited Freelancer, refer to cross-sourcing and hiring freelancers as “hiring an otherwise equal freelancer to complete a task for your business.”

This was a new twist for me because in the past I’d just thought about all of it as outsourcing!

Here are some examples they provide for cross-sourcing:

• skilled graphic design.
• copywriting, ebook authoring, and blogging.
• project management and oversight.

Their point which really hit home for me is cross-sourcing is a way to put your business on an even plain – filling in the cracks when you’ve neglected your sales funnel and reining in the wild times when your stars really align.

OK, who doesn’t love that!  I can’t think of a single freelancer I know who doesn’t go through growth spurts and down times which they had no conscious intention of creating.

Now I’m trying to decide if I should throw this in for good measure or not.  Who out there doesn’t know what it means to partner?  You know, when you meet a cool person, come up with a cool project together, hammer it out, then launch it in all its co-built coolness!  Yeah, you get half the money.

Guess how you find these people you’d like to outsource, cross-source and partner with?

Chances are good you already know them!  It goes back to the whole six degrees of separate concept.  You might need to a small shift in how you think and talk.

Go through your CRM and think about people differently than when you first entered the contact information.  Who do you remember sharing conversations with around similar business ethics and beliefs?  Think of at least one person who you thought was just cool.  If the two of you were in a room together what stellar ideas could you create?

Now think about something you’ve always wanted to do.  Something that is a bit dreamy and pushes your skills way over the top!  Call the person you know who seems to know everybody and tell them what you want to do.  Ask if they know someone who could get it done with you.

Start talking about collaborating when you are at networking events or interacting with potential clients.  You just never know what team member might come out of the wood work!

Nibbling away -

Sundi

Hold it!  Please start at the beginning … See The Big Question in part 1.  See more reasons to work with others in part 2.  See the next Big Question in part 3.  Because I know some people who read my blog CAN’T STAND suspense you can go to Freelance Folder and buy The Unlimited Freelancer right now!

This might drive Mason and James crazy but I’m chopping their list, 7 Myths About Outsourcing.  Some of these myths really hit home for me so I’m going to address them.

Myth 1: Outsourcing means hiring cheap labor.
Myth 3: Outsourcing equals cheap quality.
Myth 4: Outsourcing means hiring overseas.

Wowza!  Outsourcing has nothing to do with what someone charges, the quality of work they do or where they live.  Simply put you are hiring a source outside your company to do something for you.  Period.

Sure, you could find it cheap if you wanted to…just like everything in life, you get what you pay for!

Cheap quality – no way!  From my perspective the stuff I send out represents me and my ittybiz OR my clients’ ittybiz to their clients.  Hello?  Is there a faster way to put yourself out of business?  Just find the right fit.

I know some top notch virtual assistants who work in the UK, Spain, England and Canada.  There is nothing wrong with hiring overseas, across country or across town – if the work gets done and you are satisfied I don’t really see that it matters where your service provider resides!

Myth 6: Outsourcing means loss of control.

OK, I’ll give you that one if you’re a control freak.  If that is the case then find a perfectionist with the freelance skills you need.  Again, fit.

Myth 8: Outsourcing is expensive.  (Yes, I know I said the list was 7 – this was their bonus!)

Let me put it to you this way.  Say you make an average of $400 an hour as a speaker, trainer or coach.  How long do you think it would take you to build your own website; write your own sales copy; or print, bind and ship your next batch of workshop materials?

For simplicity sake we’ll use the easy example - at least an hour to write some new sales copy but you could find someone to do it for you charging $100 an hour.  Which do you choose (a) pay yourself $400 for the copy or (b) pay a freelance writer $100 for the copy and save yourself $300?

Say you sweeten the deal by spending that hour on follow up calls with past clients and book a gig from your efforts.  What is your personal ROI on saving $300?  Do you see where I’m headed here?

More team building to come!

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Sundi

Who doesn’t like to save money?  You guys know about my thing with F R E E!

Here are some things to get the ball rolling…

$50 Spa Gift Card (Time sensitive, until June 19)

Free Harlequin Romance Audio Book Download

Symbol Signs Font, Good For Designers

Take Dad Out For Dinner For 60% Less

Save $75 Off Blogsville Blogger’s Conference

This will be my younger brother’s first Father’s Day…what a special day indeed.  Happy Father’s Day to all of you who have touched some one’s life in a special way.

Nibbling away -

Sundi

The series was inspired by The Unlimited Freelancer from Freelance Folder.  Missed The Big Question? Go back to part 1.  Need more reasons? Go back to part 2.

The next Big Question

What do you want?  Wouldn’t it be great if life was as easy as dining out?  Of course, you might be limited to what was on the menu but you’d pretty much get what you ordered.  There is no menu here so dream big!

This question is so important because you have to decide this before you can figure out what you are missing .  If you don’t figure out where you are headed you won’t know what you need to get you there.

There is no Big Answer

Or maybe I should say there isn’t ONE Big Answer.  Nothing you say could be wrong at this point.  Your answer will be unique to you.  Just don’t say you want to suffer alone forever and you’ll get there by yourself!  If that was your answer go back to the beginning and start over.  It’s ok, successful people start over all the time.

Based on your answer you could decide you want someone who provides the same services you do because you like working with people and bouncing stuff around gets you juices flowing.  Perhaps a potential client on your radar is too big for you to tackle successfully alone – have you ever presented in a tag-team fashion?  It is energizing and adds a great twist for your attendees!

The Unlimited Freelancer suggests a few options here:

Someone who offers identical services…like my example above.
Someone who offers related services…sales copy writer and a press release writer.
Someone with services in a related industry…content writer or coder in your graphics design business.
Someone who can handle various small tasks…a virtual assistant to increase your efficiency and free time.
Someone who can improve your business…what you need now in order to get ahead faster.

Deciding where you are and where you want to go is a very important step before you start building a team at random.  Spend some time here.

Nibbling away -

Sundi