Hi Tina

We had our host tell us that too many aol people had called us spammers and I ended up having to move my email stuff (Autoresponse
Plus) to another server because my current host told me that I had to delete all my aol people. (I have a membership program so that didn't seem like an option.)

I have also noticed that my open rates are much lower than they used to be so I think it may be time to clean the list. I have never cleaned it. My list is about 4800 and those have come over 5 years.

Do you have suggestions? How to do that? Have you guys done it?
Wondering what I'd use for a subject line to get them to opt-in again... I haven't sent out any newsletters in about 6 weeks now - I was kind of scared to after that happened.

I am considering double-opt-in ...right now I have single opt-in but I am not sure that would make a big difference to the people who (I imagine later) call me a spammer.

Anyone who has an ezine knows the challenges of getting blacklisted these days... my answer to Casey:

Who is your host? It seems odd that they would tell you to 'get rid of aol or else' sorta thing. Most hosting companies these days have someone who is pretty much working f/t to get themselves off any blacklists... ie: we are with Hostgator and whenever we get 'blacklisted' by an ISP we just tell them and they do their thing to get it fixed. This is so common these days, I don't think there is any such thing as not getting blacklisted from time to time. Tis the reality of hosting...

As for cleaning your list, honestly I don't think I would worry too much about it. If you ask people to re-opt into your list it is pretty much a guarantee that you will lose half your list if not more (much more in many cases). Regardless of a good subject line asking people to re-opt, those emails will go astray or people will miss them for whatever reason... I've seen it happen many times. There are people who may not read your emails everytime, but still want to be on your list... those are the ones who will miss the re-opt in request for sure.

Does your broadcast system have a way to track bounces at all? If yes, you could set it to track bounces (invalid email addresses, returned emails, etc) and get those off your list. We use ListMailPro for all our ezines which has that feature... you can say 'if an address bounces x times remove it from the list' and it does a clean up that way. So a cleanup would be based on actual undeliverables, and not requiring someone else to re-opt in to your list (take out the human element! hehe).

I do really well participating in programs - get way more done than most people - and there's a program I'm considering doing for the rest of this year which will support me in that. But what I really need is help with strategy in my business. I'm very action orientated, and very detail oriented, but can't see the big picture so easily.

I'm looking at options for coaching or a program - may end up doing the one I'm considering but want to be open to other possibilities too.

I know I need to do things differently if I want different results - and I'd like to create a strategy that will support my vision of incorporating traveling and just maintaining my business from where I am - rather that working the hours I work at home.

Anything come to mind?

My answer to her, which you may find helpful as well...

One thing that comes to mind Vicky while reading your email is the thought of 'training yourself out of your business'... making your business as automated as possible (via online tools, shopping carts, fulfillment services, etc) and building a great team to take care of the rest.

I'm not sure what your business looks like right now, but the toughest part of this process is usually getting ourselves in the headspace for this. As small business owners we tend to do so much of everything ourselves, by necessity in the beginning and then by habit as our business grows. Which of course creates a business tied to us, even when we want to escape at times!

One thing I like to do is start asking myself a question during my day to day biz activities - Am I the only person who can do this?

Ask yourself this question throughout the day, whether you are coaching or marketing a class or picking up your mail... the key is to get in the habit of asking, and then of course to keep track of your answers.

There are some obvious answers, such as say bookkeeping... for most of us this is a big NO and we look to hire someone to manage our books.

There may also be some 'not so obvious' answers... say with coaching. For a lot of coaches they think that they are the only ones who can do the actual coaching in their businesses. At face value this is true, but really...
hiring associate coaches could be an option for a business. Maybe not tomorrow, but it can be something to work towards in the future and to just keep in mind for now.

Pay special attention as well to those spots where ego may be getting in the way... we all have certain things that we know we are 'the best at!' in our businesses. And really, it may be true that we are the best at those things... but is 'the best' necessary for all things? Maybe if you passed something off to someone who does it 'almost as well' it is still a job well done AND then off your plate.

When you get in the habit of asking that question, you start to build a list of things that you can remove yourself from. It may take a few months or even years to really remove yourself from the equation, but having a list gives you something to work towards.

Interested in expanding your business team?

Join me for July's Advanced Coaching Group on the topic of:
Increasing Your Biz Capacity | Hiring, Managing and Retaining Your Core Team

Whether you are making your first hire, or looking to expand your existing team... we will be taking a good look at:

- how to decide what elements of your business to hire for, and what to keep doing yourself
- where to find the best people to hire for your business
- how to get new team members trained quickly and efficiently
- the key to managing your core team, including the Who's the Boss of You material
- ensuring that your team members stick around, and keeping them motivated

A pretty meaty topic, but oh so essential for your business growth. If you are interested in joining us for this topic click here to register.

a) hiring your very first VA, and new to the whole process
b) hiring another VA after having been burned the first time around by a bad experience or
c) hiring to replace a current VA, who has had to quit or move on leaving you with a need to fill quickly!

There's a few little things I recommend paying attention to that can tell you alot about a potential hire, before you even have a conversation! I use these tips all the time in hiring VAs for the Multiple Streams Team (MST), and those who fail simply don't join our team. ;)

• How fast do they respond to my email? In most cases your first contact with a potential VA will be through email, so take notice of how fast they respond. Is it within a day? Or does it take them days to get back to you? If it takes them longer than 24 hours that raises a red flag for me (weekends excluded of course).

  Being that VAs work virtually they need to be on the ball with email correspondance, and if they can't reply in a timely manner before you hire chances are it will become an issue after you hire.

• What kind of response do they send?
  What is the style of writing in their emails? Do they have a 'good' voice and a complete response? Or are they sending you incomplete or sloppy responses?

  Let's say i'm sending an email request to book a time to chat about working with us and have provided some days/times we could chat. A VA who replies and says "Thanks for the opportunity, yes I would love to chat. The best time that works for me is X, etc..." is just the type of response im looking for. Vs. someone who says "sure, call me sometime next week". In that case I wonder if they even read my email?

• Do they show up for your scheduled phone call?
  I'm honestly surprised how many people do *not* show up for a scheduled phone call... this happened to me again just today. When someone is a no-show, I will pop them an email to say "hey, I thought we were scheduled to chat today... want to reschedule?"

  If I get a response that says "hey, let's talk now instead" or one of my all time favorites "i was out walking my dogs, can we talk tomorrow?"... that person is immediately crossed off my list. This says that they don't respect my time and our agreement, which reflects what a working relationship could be like.

  If someone responds and says "oh my goodness, i'm so sorry! i totally forgot to put this in my computer" or "my apologies tina, i had to go pick up my son from school cause he was sick"... if it is a good reason or they truly apologize i'm willing to reschedule a call (but just once! ;)

• Send them a little 'get to know you' reading project
  Required reading to join our team is to read Andrea Lee's book Multiple Streams of Coaching Income. This is what I call our 'get to know us' project, just to make sure we are a fit for each other. Once i've talked to a potential VA who looks like a fit I will send them a PDF copy of the book to read along with a 'mini-quiz' to ensure they understand the concepts.

  Be sure to give them a deadline, a week or so depending on your timeline and the length/depth of what you are sending them. If it's an article a day or two is plenty of time. If it's a full size book (such as MSOCI which is over 300 pages) a week or so is reasonable.

  Do they meet the deadline you agreed on? Or better yet, do they finish early? We've had some people read the book within a day of our initial conversation, which shows some great initiative! Of course, if they miss the deadline without a good reason to do so this is another red flag for me.

That's it! These items are short and sweet, but oh so telling.

(This is one of my all time favorite articles from Andrea... a 'common' topic but she takes a really simple and effective approach to customer service.)

In the world of online business, it's still remarkably easy to distinguish yourself with a little customer care.

This means an opportunity for those who wish to seize it.

Today's lesson is based on several recent coaching sessions with one-on-one clients. In them, the clients have impressed me with their pursuit of that special "X" factor that will make their companies truly great. In these discussions, customer service always comes up.

If we were to talk about this topic as it applies to business offline, I'm pretty certain you would already have stopped reading. The topic of customer service has been covered so many times from so many different angles as to be completely banal.

But when it comes to the online business world, there are a few things that if not original, are not being said clearly or often, and represent an opportunity for you to make your mark in the mind of your customers.

Whether You Admit It Or Not, You Like Speed, and So Do Your Customers

Much of this is because we've learned to do our work using machines that don't need sleep. But when it comes time to ask a personal question on the Internet, that's a different story. In a time when so much standard information comes so quickly, it's the big irony of our age that anything outside the standard takes forever to figure out.

Best to pick up the phone in that case, in my opinion.

But this is where the opportunity lies, for online business owners like us who want to bring value to our customers.

Forgoing the idea that everything should be automated, instead make sure you include a customer service element in your business that is fast and personal. Instead of trying to do absolutely everything through Frequently Asked Questions lists, help desk tickets, etc., do the 'unthinkable' and marry online speed with a truly personal touch.

Build some email templates, set a few ground rules, and hire a part-time customer service helper. Then watch yourself shine in a sea of mediocrity.

First, Build Some Quick-and-Easy Email Templates. (Even if you only use them yourself.)

To get started building and using email templates, review Lesson #04. When in doubt, always specify the first and last parts of the email for your helper to use. Those will generally stay the same and set the tone of the transaction. It's the middle part of the email that will change case-by-case.

For example:

Hi [Customer First Name] and thanks for writing. I'll be happy to help.

Regarding this, yes, [Insert Middle Part of Email Containing answers/solutions or information about what you are doing to get those to the customer]

I hope that helps. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to let us know okay? Thanks!

Warmly,

[Helper's First Name, email and website address, and any short promo tag line or graphic.]

Note: An important part of the sample template above is "Regarding this, yes..."

What are these three words for?

It's an easy way for you to build rapport with your customer. "Regarding this" indicates you have heard their question. The response becomes personalized to them. You can replace this phrase with something more if you wish, such as "Regarding your question about the deadline for registration, yes" or "Regarding your concern about the busy tone you received on the bridge line...

The word "Yes" gives you and your customer a common footing from which to communicate. By agreeing with them from the outset, you indicate you have understood their request and signal that you will be forthcoming about answering/resolving/helping. Let's round out the examples.

Hi Sally and thanks for writing. I'll be happy to help.

Regarding your question about the 39 Lessons, yes, registration is still available.

Regarding your concern about which merchant account to sign up for, yes, it's a complicated decision for sure.

By building these three simple words into your email correspondence, you will see a marked improvement in your ability to build relationships with your customers.

For more ideas on how to build a template library, again, review Lesson #04 where members can copy text directly from a few templated emails.

Then, Set A Few Simple Ground Rules.

This is where it starts to get fun.

Best when approaching this to make it a game. How many people can you shock each day, with how quick your customer service response is to emails?

Now, I hear your questions already. "How can we be so quick, Andrea?" "All the time?" "That's just not sustainable, I'm not online all the time."

All valid points. And let me address them here.

First ground rule. Whether it's you who is answering the emails for now, or someone you hire (see next step) make it a policy to answer your newest emails first. "Skim the top" of your email inbox. As the customer emails pop in, grab them, insert email template, answer and hit send.

Second, do the easiest ones first. Some emails inevitably require some research, for example investigating a refund request with your merchant account. That email might take several minutes to answer, whereas others might take 10 seconds. So answer the emails that are simplest first. This eliminates delay completely for certain types of email.

Third, don't be afraid to answer very briefly. If the middle part of your email only has one sentence in it, great! In some circles, Internet Marketing gurus recommend their mentees stick to a one line response to all emails, which can also work.

As you finish the quickest emails, then gradually work through any backlog you have, again, answering the quickest first. The theory behind this thinking is that if someone has already waited a few hours, you've already passed the point of shocking them with how responsive you are. That opportunity is past.

Continue to play the game of shocking as many people as you can, by skimming the top of your email inbox. As you handle those, move on to the slightly older requests. In most cases, you'll still be responding within a reasonable time frame, which is 2 business days.

Ground Rule Four, always respond promptly and completely to emails regarding money. Whether that be refunds, affiliate questions, referral fees or other, do yourself a favor by treating your customer's money with the utmost respect.

And Ground Rule Five, always thank your customers when they rave about your customer service. If you've come this far, you're certain to have created some incredibly happy-to-be-shocked customers. Now thank them, get permission to use their comments as testimonials, and move on!

Definitely plan to find a part-time helper. (It's going to be more expensive for you NOT to hire one.)

If you've been a small business owner for some time, whether online or off, I'm sure you've heard of the "E-Myth" a book written by Michael Gerber. In it, he talks a great deal about the importance of working "on" your business rather than "in" it.

If you were the owner of a small store, it would be more important for you to decide on how to bring more customers into the store, than to work the cash register, right?

The same thing applies online. While you will be fine to answer emails for a certain amount of time, make it your plan to hire help. At $10/hour, and with a good set of templates and ground rules, you can put some nimble fingers to work for as little as $200 a month, depending on the volume of requests.

We covered "How to Hire Online Help" in Lesson #01, but when it comes to part-time customer service help in particular, let me add a few additional pointers:

>> Be sure to hire someone who naturally spends quite a bit of time online.

This may be a student, a work-at-home-mom, someone who is studying a lot online or a virtual assistant whose business it is to be online, supporting a handful of business owners like you.

>> Be sure to hire someone who is naturally positive.

Customer service is all about positive relations. If the person helping you is not consistently and regularly upbeat, you have an uphill battle on your hands. Do yourself a favor, hire positivity for this role.

>> Recognize that this is a high-churn role.

Customer service is notoriously difficult to retain people in. I choose to flow with this universal fact rather than fight it. Even the most positive of people is going to need to be cycled out of customer service after 3, 6 or perhaps 12 months. Especially if your business is moving quickly with lots of things going on, be ready with your strategy to quickly and easily freshen the customer service help you retain.

This doesn't mean heartlessly discarding the previous person, though. Simply move them into another spot in your business that requires other help. That may be administration, website help, writing, or other tasks. And yes, move the person sooner than you think necessary. (We'll cover how to train staff in a future Lesson.)

More than anything, Customer Service - especially online - is a matter of your mindset.

It's a sad fact, but true. In the virtual world, it can be deceptively easy to forget your customer is #1.

Take a moment and remember how lucky you are to be working online, most likely from the comfort of your home, with your family surrounding you. Done right, your business will allow you to never commute another day in your life. How is this possible? Many things, but first and foremost, let's not forget our customers.

Because we rarely "see" our customers, it can be easy to forget them. We never hand them their change, or smile as we ask them how we can help. When they complain, we don't see their faces, so we may not take them seriously.

Online or not, our customers are real people. And face it, most of our competitors have forgotten that. There is a great sea of mediocrity out there when it comes to online customer service, as I'm sure you've experienced personally. So take advantage of the opportunity to distinguish yourself among online businesses, and treat your customers like the sun.

With a little shift in mindset, you'll distinguish yourself considerably, and your customers will become your greatest advocates. How's that's for something to put in your marketing plan?

"create raving customers...grow business."

Sounds like a winner to me.

A Final Note...

I reserved a brief negative pointer for last. This is a concept I think of as "the 2 percenter."

From time to time, you are going to encounter a customer who is an incredibly squeaky wheel. If fact, experience has confirmed that about 2% of customers will fall into this 'squeaky wheel' category. Whatever you do, even going the extra mile or bending over backwards...doesn't seem to please them. They continue to complain, ask for more from you than many of your other customers combined, and always come back with less than a smile.

This kind of person is the "2 percenter" and between business owners, let me say this bluntly...just don't bother.

As soon as you identify a "2 percenter" (you'll get good at doing it quickly) cut your losses. Politely refuse to become entangled in this irreconcilable relationship.

If they have paid money for services, cheerfully refund them saying simply, "Thank you, but this isn't the right program/service/system for you. So sorry. I hope you're able to find something that suits you better elsewhere. The very best of luck to you."

Then move onto your other customers, and savor the joy of making sure they are absurdly happy.

In this recording you will learn:

• what emails to answer asap, what can wait and what to delete!
  
• how to setup a folder system in 10 minutes
  
• a no-brainer way to sort emails automatically and get them out of your inbox
  
• using autoresponders to answer your most common/repetitve questions
  
• how to use your inbox to help manage your daily activities

Class Recording & Notes are just $27 - includes MP3 file and PDF version of Notes

>> Click Here to Buy Now

You will receive a confirmation notice within a few minutes that contains the recording and notes information.

Clean up those inboxes once and for all!

You have one week from today to enter, rules are simple. Just go ahead and clean up your inbox using the 5 Steps we learned in this class. When you are done, report back to this page and let us know by posting a comment below. Be sure to tell us what you started at and how many emails you are down to (can anyone beat Pam's 4 emails as of this morning? I know I can't!)

All entries posted by next Wednesday, June 27th will be entered into a draw for the product of your choice from the Multiple Streams Store.

Go go go!

But after having been interviewed by Tim Ferriss last year while he was writing this book (i'm on page 136), and having a total of 10 hours available while on a trip this past weekend... I decided to grab myself a copy and dive in for the trip.

Tim's book is called The 4-Hour Workweek (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/) and is an exploration of what he calls living like the 'New Rich'.

What is the new rich? It is living and working free of the restrictions of time and location... creating a lifestyle where you can pretty much live anywhere, work when it fits your schedule and still make a living.

The theme of this book is right up my alley... as i've been working this way now since I left my downtown corporate job in 1999. So I certainly applaud Tim's message... and he does a *great* job of illustrating how this can truly be done in today's day and age regardless of whether you are a business owner or employee. Anything is possible.

And yes, Tim does work 4 hours a week. I'm certainly not at that point, but after reading Tim's book I took a look at my hours & income last year... and i've been working an average of 16 hours per week and have literally tripled my income in the past few years. Now, to shave another 12 hours off each week... hmmm.

I came away with a few great ideas for my business, particularly around automating a few more things and hiring some folks for our online store. Basically to get me out of the picture even more (ala the EMyth which is another great book).

This book will especially appeal to anyone who dreams of traveling more (or at all!) while still working for a living. I especially loved the story of the guy who was working his job while in China for a month... and his boss didn't even know. And how much more productive he was while doing so... funny how getting out of the office can really boost efficiency.

The thing I love the best about this book though is this - whenever someone (friends, family) look at me strange when I try to explain that "yes, I do what I like, work from home, set my own hours and make money at it at the same time" I can hand them this book and say "read this". And if they still don't get it, well i've done all I can. ;)

Anyhow, if the idea of working just 4 hours a week appeals to your... or if you just want to work less and make more then go ahead and grab a copy of Tim's book. I think you'll enjoy it.

And the answer is yes, you can be both a VA and a Coach BUT not for the same person at the same time.

In our experience, mixing VA services and coaching with a client does not work... expectations get too mixed up and cloudy. Is the client expecting you to 'coach' them or to 'do stuff' for them?

For example, one of our coaches was working with a client on various projects, including creating a book. This particular coach also provided book writing services, and so he also offered to help with the 'doing' side of the project as well.

What would happen is that it wasn't clear who would be doing what. During coaching calls the coach would ask 'did you get this accomplished?' and the client would say 'I thought you were doing that?'... you can see where this gets messy yes?

And beware, it can be tempting to cross that line from time to time. If you are working with someone as their coach resist the temptation to do so! This can be especially tough if you are a 'get it done' person by nature... I know I have to reel myself in here with my coaching clients. ;)

However, if you are working with a client as their VA chances are that some coaching may 'slip through the cracks' inadvertently at times. This just seems to happen when we are a coach, it's in our nature.

This isn't quite as dire as it is with a coaching client, however do try to keep the coaching in check... for the simple reason that you are being paid as a VA and not a Coach. A good VA does end up coaching their clients a bit from time to time, but you don't want to become their full time coach at a VA rate.

So please pretty please, keep the 2 separate to save yourself any headaches and to ensure a clear and successful coaching relationship with your clients.

It is, of course, a treat to hear from Peggy... who is just an awesome lady all around.

And her new website gave me such a kick that I just had to share it.

From Brief to Thong - Break free from life's panty lines and thrive in a Thong!

Talk about a great BOP statement, sure grabs your attention no? (BOP = your Bold, Outrageous and Provocative stance in your niche market. Step #8 in the Multiple Streams Model)

Her target market is mom entrepreneurs, which is of course close to my heart. :) She is offering a variety of coaching services, including the Inspiration and Panties New Year's Coaching Club (hence the subject line of this post, I couldn't resist!)

I also had an extra chuckle thinking of the first and only time I bought thong underwear. I was in highschool - 16 or 17 years old - and strangely enough my thong disappeared after I put it in the laundry basket. I can only assume that my mother 'disposed of it' when she went to do laundry, hehe. Can't say I blame her, thinking of my own daughter Sam wearing a thong when she hits her teens... harumf. ;-)

So ladies, are you ready to start off the new year in your best pair of panties? Maybe dare to break out a thong?

And for the gents... no panties of course, perhaps a nice pair of boxer shorts instead?

It's a 'socially conscious' Visa card, with a great philosophy:

Some people say money is evil…

We say “how” money is used determines the effect.

Love it!

And they have a super cool rewards program... instead of collecting 'travel around the blackout dates points' or 'buy a blender points' you can use your points towards things like yoga retreats and charity donations.

And they even have some funky designs for the card, sure beats my boring ole gold Visa card... yawn.

Sign me up!

I saw a commercial the other day from Sears that I thought was super cool... you can 'hire an elf' to do your shopping for you. I'm not 100% sure on exactly how it works, but from the commercial it looked like you give your elf a list of who you need to buy for, they come up with ideas and gather the items for you, you pay and are gone.

Here's a snapshot from their website with the details.

Brilliant, yes? On so many levels...

First of all, they are simply reframing what their retail staff are already doing... to help you find what you need. With the extra added service of actually collecting the items for you. Same job, different (and much more fun!) title.

And instead of them having to approach you in the store to ask the dreaded 'can i help you?'... you are instead going to them and saying 'be my elf!' and happily handing over your shopping list.

Which of course means that shopping can be much easier for you, with someone else doing all the grunt work.

And of course, Sears gets the benefit of you buying a whole bunch of presents from their store...

I'll say it again... brilliant! It's almost enough to make me want to shop at Sears, which I so rarely do... now that's good marketing.

(For those not familiar with the term 'lurker', in the world of teleclasses it refers to someone who is on the bridgeline but doesn't say anything.. they just 'lurk' in the background and listen.)

It makes me wonder, what is the relationship between lurking and success?

I remember back in my CoachU training days, I was the *queen of lurking* on my training calls. I attended all my classes, but rarely spoke up or participated. To be honest I was usually multitasking, tsk tsk!

My coaching business never really took off either... coincidence? Hmmm.

Now, in my work as an Online Business Manager for various clients I *rarely* lurk. I'm usually totally engaged or actually leading the class itself (lurking while leading, don't think that could work! hehe).

My OBM business is a success, where my coaching business was not.... double hmm.

I think that lurking may indicate a level of unwillingness to fully engage or commit... in the class itself and perhaps in our businesses as well.

So are you lurking on your classes or participating?

If you aren't participating, why not? What is stopping you?

There could be various reasons, but I wonder if those reasons are also affecting your overall business success? Triple hmmm.

It's worth taking a look at, and possibly making an effort to 'unlurk' from time to time... even just to say 'hello'. :)

(A little secret... this picture is about 5 years old, but it still does look like me, I swear! It was the only 'professional print worthy' photo that I had on hand.)

And being dubbed a Digital Diva... I consider myself many things, but rarely a diva (is there any such thing as a diva who works in her jammies?). So allow me this moment to bask in my diva-ness. :)

Care to read the article? Here it is in PDF format... the writing is a bit wee and blurry from the scan.

It was for a senior's lodge in Detroit... and they weren't advertising the lodge itself. What they were advertising is their real estate service. For anyone moving into the lodge, they provide complete real estate support to help sell their current homes. Everything from getting the house in tip-top shape to the actual sale of their home.

Now how brilliant is that? Talk about truly putting themselves in the shoes of their niche market and looking to see how they can serve in a bigger way. I can imagine that *many* of their potential clients don't want to deal with the hassle of moving... to the point that it may be stopping them from moving into a lodge even when they would like to.

So by offering their own real estate professionals to their clients everyone wins - people get the support they need to make their home sale smooth and the lodge gets new clients in the door sooner.

If I was selling real estate I would be looking to partner with my local senior homes in just this way...

My biggest question at this very moment is how do you respond to questions like these [the quick question email] when you ask them? Personally to every individual e-mail or with some kind of template response?

Hey, you asked. ;-)

I do try to respond to each email that comes in personally, as it is a great opportunity to connect with people and provide value. Although I have to admit that this isn't always possible given how busy we are at times (I have been delinquent in answering some emails lately, tsk tsk).

And I would look to respond personally vs. using a templated response... just because a templated response can come across as 'canned' and may be a turn-off.

There are a few ways to make responding as easy as possible:

• Pick a day of the week to respond to these emails. I like to do this on a Friday afternoon as I find it a fun way to wrap-up the week.

• Whenever I answer a question I also post the answer at my blog. Which means that when someone asks a similar question in the future I can point them to the blog for the answer, vs. re-answering it again. Great way to save time AND also build up your blog content.

• Look at each response as an opportunity to create a sale. If you knew that the person on the other end of the email could potentially become a buying customer, would it be worth the 5 or 10 minutes it takes to reply? But of course!

Tip #1: Get a like-minded business community in place for yourself... a place where you can bounce ideas for your business, get support when you are unmotivated, ask questions and just plain ole whine and complain when need be. :) This could be a business coach, business partner or other working moms who understand the joys and pitfalls of business. (The Mompreneur network!)

Tip #2: Draw a solid line around work and home/family time (especially if you work from home). It is super easy to fall into the trap of 'working all day long' if you aren't careful, so pick the times when you work and the times when you don't... and try to stick to them as much as possible (always exceptions of course). ie: Make a commitment to not work weekends, or if you need to work on the weekends while you have the support of hubby to babysit, say you will work 'Saturday morning from 8-12'.

Tip#3: Hire help for the administrative stuff. Your time is at a premium, so keep yourself focused on the money-making tasks that *only you can do* and hire help for the rest. Most new business owners think that they need to do it all - especially in the beginning - when really your business needs your focus where it should be (marketing, delivery of products/services) and not on administrative stuff. Ask yourself throughout the day "Is this something that someone else could do for me?" and make a list... then hire someone to take care of those things. Budget can be a concern in the early days, however consider that hiring someone can actually make you money in that it frees you up for money making activities.

Tip#4: Stay in touch with the joy and passion for your business. Especially important for us moms, as it can be super easy to just let business slide in light of other priorities if we aren't enjoying ourselves... why are you doing what you do? And if you aren't enjoying yourself, what can you change to make it more enjoyable?

Tip#5: Kiss and hug your kids everyday! After all, they are why we do what we do.