Q. Dear Meggin, you suggest that we hire someone to do things that can be done by someone else. How does one assess how much money to throw at the problem (as one former professor suggested) in our need for more time?

One of my key principles is that I can always get more money but I can never get more time. The only way to, in essence, give myself more time is to buy myself out of some tasks – by hiring someone else. From the first year I was an assistant professor (and deeply in debt from graduate school, just moved, husband didn’t have a job yet, etc.) I hired a student worker. My husband sort of wondered if I’d completely lost my head but I said, “I’ll never get promotion and tenure if I’m spending my time running back and forth to the library (this was 1988), running copies, etc. I need to be working on my classes and writing.” It was the start of some excellent investments.

Q. I fret over every dollar, wasting time and sometimes spending money on things (better chair/desk/little treats) would save time, but how does one figure out if: 1) one can afford it, 2) how much money it is cost-effective to spend? I heard that one should assess how much one’s time is worth per hour and if someone can do things for cheaper than our hourly rate, that’s one way of getting to the number. What do you suggest?

Part of what you can ask yourself is “What is it costing me NOT to get some help (or a better chair, or a new desk, etc.?” “What am I NOT doing because I’m running copies, calling moving companies, packing boxes, etc.?” “What is the BEST use of my time – in the big scheme of things?”

It’s really pretty amazing how little you can hire people for – and some excellent folks. That’s the good news of 9% (or more) unemployment. There are some great people looking for work. There are also tons of stay at home moms who want some flexibility in their work day. 2 of the women I hire are moms. I also hire project work from people all over the world (using www.elance.com).

What happens when your calendar is just crammed? Should you quit using a calendar? Should you just pitch the calendar?

No, of course not. You have to figure out how to make more room so you can get your projects done. The way that you make more room is by eliminating part of what is already there. You can do that by implementing one or more of the following:

1. You can move some tasks, projects, appointments that are scheduled for the next week, month, or longer into the future. You have to decide what period of time is overly-crammed and start taking a good hard look at what you can move to the future.

2. You can assess that some of what you thought needed to be on your schedule (or in your to-do list) really doesn’t need to be there. You make that assessment by realizing that some of what is currently there is not as important as other tasks and projects that you want to accomplish.   Note: Just because you eliminate something doesn’t mean that it is not important at all, it just means that it is less important – now – than what you need/want to be doing instead.

3. You can minimize your involvement on some projects or other commitments that you want to keep. You are not dropping the commitment altogether, but you are shrinking it. If you put your mind to it, I have faith that you can find something to minimize but still not eliminate it completely.

4. You can figure out if someone else can take over all or part of some aspect of what you need to do. Regardless of whether you are trying to clear out some of your personal or professional commitments, consider delegating out at least a portion of one or more of those scheduled items.

5. You can ask for some help. If you have children and someone else lives in your house, ask that person for some extra help for the few weeks or months. If you have some friends who “get it,” do some trade-off time with them. You take the “crew” one Saturday and your friend takes the crew the next week. If you have projects at work that could be shared, see about figuring that out, with the idea that you are lessening your involvement and the time commitment.   Note: You aren’t shirking your duties. You are committed to accomplishing goals that are important to you either personally, professionally or BOTH.

So, take a good look at your crammed calendar and apply one or all of these 5 tips. Make some space so you can be more productive on what is most important.

6. Take it one day at a time. You are making changes today. Tomorrow you can continue. Today, just focus on the change you’re making…today.

7. Consistency. The more consistent you can be with implementing your replacement habit, the better it gets and the more likely that it truly becomes a habit. For example, if you want to have two hours of uninterrupted time each morning to work on your highest priority projects (thus replacing the habit of allowing the telephone and email to distract you), then turn off your email and the ringer on your phone the minute you get to work (or leave it off from the previous day).

8. Remove temptation for the old habit. Your old habit has probably been around for a period of time (or it would never have become a habit). If checking email all day is a habit, which it is for MANY professionals, then turn off your email program for at least 50 minutes of every hour. Build up to having it off for 100 minutes of every 2 hours and then go from there.

9. Change your environment. If you have decided that you want to process everything through your physical inbox (instead of having a whole office that appears to be an inbox), then get an attractive and serviceable in-box container and place it within easy reach of your main work space. Start by putting everything in there that has not yet been processed.

10. Get back on track if (when) you have a mishap. That’s all you need to do. It happens, but you’re committed to making a positive change for yourself.

Peaceful, predictable productivity is the result of a number of positive habits. You’ll get there. Use these  tips to support you in your positive changes.

You may have heard the quote from Mike Litman: “People form habits and habits form futures.” If you are ready for a future that is more productive, consider these first 5 of 10 tips to help you form your new habits – and thus, your future.

1. Choose one habit to replace. It may be that you have 3 or 4 or 12 or 13 that ultimately you would like to change. Just pick one at a time. One of the reasons so many people establish resolutions at the beginning of the year and then fail with those is that they choose too many – or they don’t follow the next 9 tips with the one they chose. Read on…

2. Realize that in most instances, you replace one habit with another practice, so identify the replacement practice. For example, if you have been in the habit of running late to everything, then your replacement habit is leaving for every meeting, appointment, class, or child carpool 15 minutes early.

3. Forget the 21-days-to-change-a-habit maxim. It might take longer and it might take less time. It takes however long it takes.

4. Put in systems to support your new habit. If you want to leave your office desk clean and tidy at the end of each day, then set a timer or have your assistant notify you 20 minutes before the time you plan to leave your office – with strict instructions to get your desk contents processed in the next 15 minutes or so.

5. Decide if you want to make a commitment or a promise about your new habit only to yourself or if you want to include someone else. Only tell another person if it will help, not if it makes a burden. Support is one thing. Nagging or comments intended to make you feel guilty is something else again.

Peaceful, predictable productivity is the result of a number of positive habits. You’ll get there. Use these tips to get started and to support you in your positive changes.

https://www.2placesat1time.com/index.aspx

We all need to delegate and this looks like one resource that will give us some support!  Let me know your experiences with this group.  I’d be interested.

If you want more ideas and direction on delegating, here’s a link for a 3-part teleclass I recorded not long ago:  http://meggin.com/DeputizeThenDelegate.php

Q:  My current company is my original brand. I have invested a lot of time/money/energy promoting this brand and it is doing fairly well. It is 100% of my income and I am spending around 75% of my time supporting and maintaining it (that is a 12-16 hour day/6-7 days a week). And the income is not enough to support this business and my personal expenses 100%. That is why I am still trying to build this business.

A:  I can imagine this…Hours wise, I’m right there with you, too.  Running your own small business is WAY more than a full-time job, at least frm my experience.  Also, you have invested a great deal in your brand and what you offer.  Recognizing that right now, this is where your income is coming from is important, as is knowing that you have to have to generate more income in order to live (and eventually not work this many hours because you’re hiring others to help you).

Q:  Because of people like you who have been successful taking their businesses on-line through teleseminars/webinars, mentoring groups, ebooks, etc. I am on this fast track of repurposing my knowledge. I designed a new business venture that requires a lot of my attention and time. It does not earn any money but sucks money daily.  I want to develop this new business which will generate income and my plan is for this entity to become the 75% and the other (my current business) 25%.

A:  This new venture is something you have been working on for the least few months.  It sounds like you are really ramping up to get this in front of many folks – and to generate significant income for yourself.  Having the goal in mind is the first step, and next is strategizing ways to get it there….

Q:  I am torn between paying the bills, getting new customers, keeping my existing customers happy and devoting my time to this new venture. I am torn between the multiple personalities and their needs. How can I make this transition without jeopardizing my current business? How can I keep everyone happy (personalities and customers) without killing myself?

A:  If only I had simple answers…which I don’t, but I’ll try to give you some thoughts on this.

1. Start to allocate your day to the different parts of your business. Set a timer and when 4 hours is up (or whatever time you’ve determined) then stop working on that part of the business and switch to the other. 

2. Figure out what parts you can delegate out to others. It’s amazing how inexpensively you can get someone to help you. Make a list of every single thing (personal and professional) that you need to accomplish. Then begin to think realistically if you are the ONLY person who can do that thing. If not, start to consider the alternatives. 

3. Realize that you will never keep everyone happy. If you can let that go, it helps. The main person you need to keep happy is yourself. If you are unhappy, stressed out of your head, and you’ve made yourself sick by working and worrying too much, then no one is helped or happy about that. Can you make yourself a priority? 

4. Figure out which of your customers are profitable and which ones aren’t. There are some low-level customers that you may need to let go/refer out/etc. You only have so much time and some of your clients are carrying their weight as far as paying you for your expertise and experience. Have you run an assessment to see who is ‘worth it’ as far as your time goes and who isn’t?

The most important thing I want to reiterate is to make yourself the priority and then line up the others after that.  Remember, you have an enormous service to offer people and you will attract those who belong to you with your energy and positive sense of yourself and your business.

And, to make sure you are productive in your personal and professional life, you’ll want to access the resources at

**http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com

(c) 2009 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., “The Ph.D. of Productivity”(tm)

Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do via seminars, workshops, writing, coaching, & consulting.

Can you give us more information about using teenagers to run errands for you? For example, how much do you pay them? Do they sign a contractor agreement? What type of tasks do you have them do? If you don’t know them well, do you visit with their parents first? Any information about this topic would be appreciated.

Here are some of my responses to these questions:

I pay young people anywhere from $3/hour – $11/hour–depending on a few factors.

• Age
• Type of work they are doing for me (how much skill is involved)
• Whether they are just starting to work for me (and are unproven at this point) or whether they have already shown themselves to be excellent workers.
• Whether they have a driver’s license (which also indicates that they would be older) but this changes some of what I can have them do and also the expectation I have of their responsibility level. Generally, if the teen is doing errands that involve driving, I also pay mileage (50 cents/mile).

Here are the kinds of tasks I’ve had teenagers do:

• Stamp, label, and stuff envelopes.
• Stamp & label postcards.
• Input addresses, etc. on the computer (update mailing lists and the like).
• Internet research (finding names & addresses, etc.)
• Delivering products (Paper Tiger software, for example).
• Put together packets of handouts for workshops.
• Collate notebooks of materials for workshop participants.
• Insert my business cards into letter openers.
• Make games that I was going to be using at workshops.
• Pick up cleaning, mail, books, etc.
• Assist me in my off-site storage unit where I keep workshop materials, books, and other items that I use in my business (so helping clean things, move things, get items in order, etc.)
• Stand at my Pitney Bowes machine and run lots of envelopes through there.
• Burning CDs
• Basic website maintenance

So you can see, it’s quite a range–some is fairly low level and some is higher level.

At this point, I have not had them sign an independent contractor agreement if they are under 18, but I do have them sign their “hours” every week when they turn them in. I pay the teen weekly either in cash from my company’s petty cash account or I write a check from the company. Either way I can track it for expenses.

In every case of a young person I’ve hired, I know their parents (or one of their parents actually works for me and is “subcontracting” the work out to their own or neighborhood kids). I think knowing the parents is smart for a number of reasons; I also believe that parents would want to know YOU because their child will be working with you.

Hiring young people benefits you, your organization, and the teenagers. They learn responsibility and what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. Plus, they are earning money, which also helps them out!! As the teens you’re hiring prove themselves to you–then give them more responsibility and more money. Make them ask for a raise. That, all by itself is an important lesson, especially for young women.

Be sure to check with your own legal advisors as to what you should do in your situation and in your state. You want to be spending your time focusing on important tasks, not dealing with the IRS because you didn’t follow the correct procedures.

I would like to start delegating things like going to the store, either for personal or business purchases. If we want to use a credit card for these purchases, how can the people who work for us use the credit card if their name is not on the card? Also, some stores only allow “members” to shop. If I am a member at one of these stores, how can I get access at this store for the people who are working for me? 

I have several possible answers (all of which I have used) to this series of questions:

1. For someone who is a “new” person in terms of just starting to work for you, just give them cash and then they can give you the receipts. I have found that this works fine for purchases under $100 or so. For the people who are long-time independent contractors, I have them keep petty cash on hand.
2. If the person you are delegating to is going to make a larger purchase for you, then make arrangements at the stores to have them charge your credit card or to have the store bill you. This is part of why it’s nice to have relationships with people you do business with. For example, I have worked for at least 15 years with my local printer so when I make requests about handling the bills, there is no question about it because they know me.
3. Once you have found someone who will be working extensively with you, I suggest getting a credit card for this person. I don’t do that right off the bat, needless to say, but once I know someone and know that she will be working for me for some time (and is trustworthy, etc.), then I get her a credit card on my account. This allows that person to go to stores and make purchases and to go online and do some of my ordering for me. So I love this option. It’s not one to rush into, but it’s been fabulous to know that I have a few people that are trusted at this level and they can take care of more tasks than if they didn’t have a credit card that was billed directly to my account.
4. Most of the “big box”/membership stores, like Sam’s and Costco, will allow you to get another card, especially if you have a business account with them. So one possibility is to do that. The other is to check with the people you’re hiring to see if they have a Sam’s or Costco (or whatever) kind of card. Sometimes, they already have a membership and they can get into the store with their card.

Remember, to grow your business, delegate out as much as you possibly can so that you can focus on your primary functions. Finding others you can trust with cash and credit cards is worth the effort (and the checking out!)

Once again, I’m PUSHING all of you to hire a VA (virtual assistant). I have been listening (yet again) to a teleseminar about managing your life as an entrepreneur and the person cannot emphasize enough about why we all need to hire out our lower level tasks & responsibilities so we can focus on our higher level ones…

And, I wanted to let you know about a new company (new to me):  http://cybertary.com/ I first learned about them because they found one of my articles on http://ezinearticles.com, asked if they could use it in one of their newsletters (and I now have several that they’ll be using in upcoming issues.  Also, they’ve asked me to do a webinar for their franchisees, which I, of course, will be doing.

So, check out their website…they have a free consultation, so what is there to lose?  And they also have some great free tips:  http://cybertary.com/public/Cybertary/free_tips.php.  You might want to take a look.

Just a suggestion.

Meggin | 8/20/08

3 Steps to Get the Help You Need
Once you apply the 6 Figure Principles, you’re bound to hit success!

At some point in your business, you’ll have a new problem. You’ll have more work than you can handle on your own and you’ll need HELP.

Every practitioner and coach who has a viable niche, a viable marketing message and uses the 6 Figure Principles will eventually get to this point. Following these 3 Steps will help you to get Top Quality People to join your team.

Step 1: Get Clear About What You Need Help With

Make a list of ALL of your business tasks. Now, evaluate which tasks are NOT your Genius. Circle everything you would love to give away.

Imagine giving away all of the $10-20 per hour work in your business. What would you do with that time? See more clients? Put more energy into getting more clients? Administrative work is the first place to look. Consider giving away bookkeeping, payment processing, paperwork, customer service, etc.

Step 2: Get Clear About What You’re Looking For

You’ll get clear by writing down

of your new team member