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4 Steps To Properly Leverage Your Time – Barb Stuhlemmer – S2Ep20

Written by Robin Thompson on . Posted in Podcast, Productivity, VIP Backstage Pass.

Leverage Your Time - Tina Dietz & Barb Stuhlemmer

How To Properly Leverage Your Time w/ Barb Stuhlemmer

Time is the one resource we can’t renew and we can’t get back. We’re always looking for more time for both business and pleasure. So what’s the deal? Why do we all seem to struggle with time?

In the past, Barb Stuhlemmer and I talked about the differences between an entrepreneur struggling to get by and someone who is already very successful-how each group deals with time is a BIG differentiating factor. Barb returns in this episode to talk with us about dealing effectively with time and how you can properly leverage your time…without getting a clone.

Barb is a Master Business Strategist whose goal it is to inspire Ambitious Business Growth so entrepreneurs, that are super-visionaries, can reach the million and multi-million dollar mark in their business and live their biggest dreams. Barb provides strategic guidance in her business BLITZ Business Success to create Product & Client Identification Plans (what to sell, how to price it, where to sell it, and who to sell to), helping successful business owners, who are driven by big ideas, create new paths in their business and life so they can truly enjoy what they do and successfully live in their passion all the time.

What You'll Learn From This Episode:

  • The importance of having systems to manage your time
  • How managing your time can make a huge difference in your life
  • Why the term “Time Management” can be controversial
  • What you can do differently to manage how you go through time
  • The importance of creating a strategy for what you really want to do
  • Four easy steps to better manage your time
  • How to keep track of your time (without hating it)
  • What tracking your time allows you to assess
  • Determining your time goals
  • What are “S.M.A.R.T.A.R goals?”
  • The importance, as a business owner, to leverage someone else's time
  • The role your kids play in leveraging your time
  • Good systems to use in your business to better leverage your time
  • Using automation to better leverage your time-you don’t have to be technical
  • Barb’s legacy for the world.

Featured on the Show:

StartSomething-Show-Stitcher-SubscribeStartSomething-Show-subscribe-with-itunesGoogle-Play-Music-en-badge-webStartSomething Show Tina Dietz

3 Ways Entrepreneurs Kill Their Productivity

Written by Robin Thompson on . Posted in Blog, Business Development, Leadership, Productivity. 2 Comments on 3 Ways Entrepreneurs Kill Their Productivity

How much time do you spend collecting information, certifications, and more training? Yep, these are some of the ways entrepreneurs kill their productivity.

ways entrepreneurs kill their productivity - Tina Dietz

There has rarely been a better time in history to start a business. In 2013, more than 135,000 jobs were added to the US market and guess where nearly half those jobs came from? SMALL businesses. To really make it as an entrepreneur you need tremendous tenacity, top notch networking skills, and a no-fear approach to sales—even in the most heart-centered of business ventures. But if you’re reading this, I’m probably not telling you anything new yet, and what you want is to break through to the next level of time and money freedom in your business.

Every industry I’ve worked with-and there have been more than 20+ industries internationally-has its own unique quirks and challenges. However, some very common trends arise when it comes to how you’re likely to sabotage yourself regarding time and your productivity.

Productivity Killer #1: The “Perpetual Expert”

Collecting information is only useful if it is immediately practical. If you have a client who has a question, look it up. Google is your friend, and problem solving when there’s actually no problem is a drain of time, energy, and resources. The brain only retains about 10% of the information that it is exposed to, so chances are you’re going to have to look it up again anyway if you need it at all. Your time is better spent finding out what your ideal clients need, and focusing on filling those needs in a targeted and concise manner.

Productivity Killer #2: Having an Open Schedule

There’s a difference between being available and being a 24/7 hotline. Have a policy that you will always return communications within a certain amount of time (say 12, 24, or 48 hours) and honor that policy. This gives you room to breathe, builds trust with your clients, and also sets clear expectations. People value a service more when they know they have to plan for it, and most “emergencies” resolve themselves or quickly become non-emergencies if you don’t feed the energy of a knee-jerk reaction. Limit checking your email and voice mail to 2-3 times a day for a half hour at a time. Unless it’s someone you’re waiting to hear from, don’t pick up your phone when it rings. These practices will have you focus on your most important tasks and keep your responses to the point.

Productivity Killer #3: Being Too Friendly

This goes for both colleagues and clients. Obviously you don’t want to be a jerk, but it’s completely doable to be kind even when you’re setting a boundary or saying no. Gossip, social media, and instant messaging, and other kinds of chitchat can wipe out hours of your day, leaving you frustrated and scrambling to get your priorities handled. The same goes for meetings. Start by wearing a phone headset (in the case of an office setting) or putting a “please do not disturb” sign on your office door if you have one (even at home) to reduce distractions and interruptions. Minimize your time in live or phone meetings by partnering up with a colleague and trading off going to meetings and taking notes for each other. As for clients, steer clear of personal entanglements. If you’re with a client who is on a roll with a personal story, reach over and give a gentle, compassionate squeeze to their shoulder or hand and say, “you’re really going through some difficulty right now, so why don’t we take a step back and see where I can best help you.” You can then redirect the conversation to a more solution-focused place. Don’t be afraid to interrupt them, they will thank you for it later.

Can't wait to hear your thoughts. Let me know in the comments if you have any of these “killers.”

5 Digital Essentials to Run Your Business From Abroad

Written by Robin Thompson on . Posted in Blog, Business Development, Productivity.

If you are thinking of working online abroad, here are some essentials you'll need that I learned while living in Costa Rica and working from there.

Digital Essentials to Run Your Business From Abroad - Tina Dietz

In the last 3 years we’ve changed locations with our family 7 times between the US and Costa Rica, with a sprinkling of Canada. Have you considered ‘going mobile’ with your career or business? If you are, a good Internet connection is going to be on your top list of essentials. Did you know that the average download speed in the US is 33.1 mbps and the average upload speed is 10.3, but in Costa Rica the average download speed is 5.3 mbps? As for uploads, well, you don’t want to know. Here are some tips on dealing with internet while working and living abroad.

Tip #1

When planning your travel, find out what the internet speed is where you’ll be renting, and if it is a shared connection. In Costa Rica specifically, I’ll now only live places where Tigo is offered, because they allow you to increase your internet speed up to 20 Mbps. To run a household with two adults and two kids who have heavy computer usage, we find that 10 Mbps is enough to keep everyone pretty happy. I also recommend bringing your own router, as electronics can be massively more expensive outside of the US and Canada, so you may have a good internet connection…but a router that only allows you to work 5 feet away from it. Not fun when you want to be working by the pool or the beach!

Tip #2

Power outages happen, so I recommend that you have a battery backup whether you travel or not. We have more power outages in Florida than we ever did in Costa Rica! You can plug in your router as well as your computer or other essential electronics to these handy dandy devices. These beauties have saved my bacon more than once when the power went out while I was in the middle of a live interview or webinar. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about from Amazon (non-affiliate link, I chose it because it’s highly rated and similar to the one we have).

Tip #3

Have backup locations with decent WiFi connections. I have standing agreements with several friends to share their internet connection in case of emergency wherever we’re living. I also scout out free WiFi spots within the first week of moving to a new location, usually at coffee shops, libraries, and restaurants.

Tip #4

Request to pre-record interviews, teleclasses, and webinars rather than do them on a live feed. Many radio shows will give you the option to do live or pre-recorded, and you can still be on the line for a webinar or teleclass to do Q&A, welcome people, etc. even if your assistant runs a recording of the main content from a different country.

Tip #5

Never rely on having just one way to communicate. Overall, Skype is overall still my favorite communication software, although Zoom is a close second — I use it for calls, team meetings, client sessions, and interviewing guests for the StartSomething Show. It’s less bandwidth heavy than Google options, and more robust than the call feature in Facebook Messenger, and far less infuriating than Magic Jack (I could write an entire article on the evils of Magic Jack). But, there have been times when Skype wasn’t happening, so I had a backup of using my Google Voice number through my laptop, which is also generally reliable and good sound quality, and Zoom as well.

Since we began our travels we’ve had more time for family and pursuing our interests, as well as experiences that money simply can’t buy. I’ve gotten much more laid back about things not going as planned, which has led to less stress and more deep satisfaction with life. At the same time, at the beginning of our travels…hoooboy, I was not prepared for the amount of “I need a plan B!” that I was going to have with technology. Hopefully, with some of this advice, you’ll get to the good parts even faster.

NOTE: Source of the average upload speed 

Check out the free class I put together for you on the​5 Keys to Unlock Your Business Oasis and learn how I freed up myselfAND my family to do what we love and live where we want.

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