Do what you love

Life is too short. We have all heard it a million times before, and often, when heard, our mind comes up with an agreement of some kind. When you hear - life is too short, do what you love, the mind often comes up with protests - I have to work, I can't eat beans to survive, I have to work to pay the mortgage etc etc etc.

Trouble is, if we continue to justify our 'being stuck in the rat race' how are we ever going to get out?

At the risk of generating hate mail - the hardest thing for me at the moment is trying to decide WHAT it is that I actually want to do with my life. I love being a business coach, helping people grow their business' and passion, but I also love training and riding my horses - maybe I could do something in this area. Once I decide, its going to be all bets off, gung ho, volcano Tanja doing everything I can to MAKE IT HAPPEN.

What is it that you want to do all day every day?

Then start taking the steps to making it happen,

With love

Tanja

Filled with gratitude

I have so much to be grateful for this week.

To kick start it, mother nature has cranked on the most exquisite day in a while - sunny, clear, about 21 degrees and a light breeze Ahhmazing :)

I am writing, writing, writing this week, because the countdown is on for me to go away for 2 whole weeks of riding my horse YAY. I am so looking forward to this, but on the same token, so grateful that I have so much writing to do. 2 books and 2 guests blogs and my own blogs - filled with gratitude that people want to read what I have to write :)

Noticing the little things (which really arent that little), a beautiful flower, a perfect day, a happy dog, a starry night - all things to make me smile.

Having so many positive people in my life, some of them I've never met, some of them I haven't seen in 15 years but thanks to facebook I see once a week, some of who I see often, and one who I wake up next to each day,

Love,

Growth,

Reflection,

Have a great weekend,

Tanja

Use your tools - Know what is out there just for you!

Making life easier is something that alot of business owners are seeking. You may not have the time to look around, but if you do, there are some incredible online tools available to make your life easier.

The first one that I like to use is Hootesuite this social media manager allows you to log in and update multiple social media sites all at once! If you have been avoiding social media due to time issues - this is the product for you. I can log into hootesuite, write a status update that will be uploaded to twitter, facebook, linkedin and my 2 facebook pages. And I can do schedule when I want them to update - going on holidays for a week, but still want to bring attention to your website - easy!

You may have noticed my newsletters come out via Mailchimp, this simple and effective tool allows me to write newsletters in HTML format, include images and instantly send or schedule to send in a week. With the added bonus of being able to store multiple newsletters - you can have your next 4 newsletters done and dusted today - set and forget!

Looking to outsource your webcontent, articles, newsletters or logo design (or anything else you can think of)? Check out the talent on Elance, Fiverr,Burnyourtodolist or Odesk. These sites have thousands of people listed with all sorts of talent. Fiverr is a heap of fun because it has listed all the things that people will do for $5! From unique gifts to recording a testimonial!

Online outsourcing is just another way to free up your valuable time. If your time is most valuabley spent meeting and greeting clients - then your focus should be to outsource everything that is not meeting and greeting clients.

Here's to a great week in business. Tanja

What your customers really think

What your customers really think!

You would like to know - wouldn't you? Then ask them - it really is as simple as that. You must be prepared for the good, the bad and the ugly though. Giving your customers the opportunity to give you feedback on your products and service allows you to get some honest feedback - which might just hurt - but will allow you to improve your service and not just keep existing clients, but retain new customers that come along.

Give your clients the option of returning the survey anonymously, or filling out their details. You can help clients want to complete your survey by offering some sort of prize or 'special offer'.

The value of a customer survey is often underestimated, though when you think about it - these people have chosen your service, experienced your service and continue to use your service - who better to comment on how you are going?

You can even create a survey for outgoing or previous clients - it doesn't hurt to ask for their feedback!

Choose your questions wisely - try to limit the survey to 10 or 15 questions and avoid questions about the actual cost of your service - you don't wan't people thinking that you are not confident in your prices. If you put in a 'comments' section they will be sure to tell you in here if they think you are overpriced etc.

Don't forget to add to the bottom of the survey a section for a testimonial for use in advertisements. For example "We would love to have your comment for use as a testimonial on our website - please comment below and write your name as you would like it to appear" *note - your personal information will not be given to a third party - all names will appear in the following format - E B Jones Coffs Harbour"

There are many options for sending out your survey - one that I like to use is surveymonkey.com

I would love to hear of your feedback!

What your customers really think

What your customers really think!

You would like to know - wouldn't you? Then ask them - it really is as simple as that. You must be prepared for the good, the bad and the ugly though. Giving your customers the opportunity to give you feedback on your products and service allows you to get some honest feedback - which might just hurt - but will allow you to improve your service and not just keep existing clients, but retain new customers that come along.

Give your clients the option of returning the survey anonymously, or filling out their details. You can help clients want to complete your survey by offering some sort of prize or 'special offer'.

The value of a customer survey is often underestimated, though when you think about it - these people have chosen your service, experienced your service and continue to use your service - who better to comment on how you are going?

You can even create a survey for outgoing or previous clients - it doesn't hurt to ask for their feedback!

Choose your questions wisely - try to limit the survey to 10 or 15 questions and avoid questions about the actual cost of your service - you don't wan't people thinking that you are not confident in your prices. If you put in a 'comments' section they will be sure to tell you in here if they think you are overpriced etc.

Don't forget to add to the bottom of the survey a section for a testimonial for use in advertisements. For example "We would love to have your comment for use as a testimonial on our website - please comment below and write your name as you would like it to appear" *note - your personal information will not be given to a third party - all names will appear in the following format - E B Jones Coffs Harbour"

There are many options for sending out your survey - one that I like to use is surveymonkey.com

I would love to hear of your feedback!

My guest blog on BUSTING OUT!

Here is the link to my guest blog on Busting Out!

http://bustingout.com.au/a-real-life-busted-out-journey/

Love the whole 'Busting Out' concept & am filled with gratitude at the opportunity to do a guest post! Thanks Renee,

x x

Tanja

Great Gossip and how to get more

Gossip is not something that is normally considered a good thing. But when you take a minute to think about it - we all love a bit of gossip now and then! We love hearing it, sharing it and spreading it. So what does this have to do with business? Your business needs to be the focus of (great) Gossip!

We have all done it - had an experience in a shop or business and let more than one person know about 'what happened'. Now unfortunately we are more likely to spread negative stories (we love gossip - but we love to have a whinge too!), and alot of the business advice you read or receive is focused on this fact. How about focusing on the fact that when people have a funny, odd or sensational experience - they will share that with friends too.

What can you do in your business to start the gossip ball rolling?

What your business services are will depend on what can you do, but some ideas may include;

Putting in a kids corner to keep clients kids occupied (parents LOVE it when their kids are entertained for 10 minutes), colouring in competition, giveaways, lucky door prizes, free delivery, carrying goods to the car for people, free wifi for clients, complimentary tea and coffee while they wait, up to date magazines and books, a library of books or equipment that is specific to your business that your clients can borrow, these are the basics - then you can add to this list the 'quirky'. How about giving everyone who comes in the door a flower on valentines day? An egg at easter (beware of allergies), the list can go on.

Think about who your business caters for, and then think about who else you cater for by default. If your business caters to kids - they have adults that bring them along - what are you providing for them? Your business caters to adults - they may have friends or family that come along - how can you cater to them?

Get the gossip cranking today!

Here's to a great week in business. Tanja