Latest Articles
- How to Get the Most Out of a Business Health Review with Your Accountant
While working with my clients and as Program Manager of the Entrepreneurial Assistance Program I have a common theme presents itself. How do I figure out how my business is doing? As a business owner I need to know the answer to this myself. So when I meet with my accountant, I want to give him the most up to date and accurate information. Thus providing the data he needs to help me make sound financial decisions. Your accountant can do this for you but they will need “information”.
- Planning For Success
So why is planning important? Without it you will waist a considerable amount of money, time, and resources. You can’t get where you want to go if you don’t know where you want to end up. Working with clients I usually find businesses that have grown ad hoc and call me when their inefficient back office operations are hampering growth. By developing a business plan you can prepare for growth and potential risk or problems. Therefore you are responding to your environment not reacting. Also, having a solid plan gives you a tool for making decisions.
- 10 Key Factors in Choosing Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM)
One of my favorite topics we teach in class is how to compile information that can be used to make smart business decisions. What usually comes up during class is many start-ups and existing companies know they need a tool to help them with collecting and using information but do not know where to start. This article’s focus is the ten key factors to help you choose the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for your company.
- 10 Tips for Creating a Data Goldmine
I have been working with many clients who have their information in a database but are unable to get the information they want or know where to find it. Usually the culprit is a series of issues that come together to create the perfect storm of inefficiency. The tips below will help you to prevent this storm and maximize the information in your database to increase productivity and profits.
- How to Make More Money in 2012 with Data Driven Decisions
I have mentioned in many of my articles about metrics. Things we use to measure success and how far you are from reaching your goals. Data is much more than that – it is a valuable tool to make solid business decisions. It also helps you to save as well as make money. Below are some of the metrics you can use to help grow your bottom line in 2012.
Mind Mapping and Efficiency
I recently did a speaking engagement for the Orange County Youth Bureau and exposed the young adults to the concept of mind mapping. If you have never done this technique it is very useful and efficient. In a matter of less than 5 minutes, we were able to create a mind map for a paper this young man took two hours to get done. You can use software for this or just a simple piece of paper.
When I am developing a seminar it is much easier for me to mind map what I would like to discuss. I draw a circle in the center of the paper. That is the name of my seminar. Then I draw a line (leg) from the center and that is one of my main topics. I do this for all the main topics. From the main topic leg I then draw little lines with the sub-topics. If you break it down further than this it is time to add a new leg. Your mind map ends up looking like a spider. Now prioritize which topic you want to go first, second, third, etc.
This would also work with a project. If you are procrastinating there is a good chance you are doing it for a reason. The young man I described above procrastinated over an hour because he did not know what to write. When we got done mind mapping his paper he knew exactly what he should write about. He told the group it would have taken 30 minutes if he had used a mind map.
What ever the name of your project put that in the circle. Then just write down on the legs what pops into your mind that needs to happen. Do not worry about prioritizing. Just let you mind formulate a plan. Then you can expand on each of the legs the sub-tasks. Now prioritize what order to do the tasks. When you let your mind flow freely it will give you the information you need and help you get where you want to go.
If you have a more complex project you can use software. Wikipedia has a great list of mind mapping products. Complements of Criss Ittermann, Eclectic Tech - there is free mind mapping software available at freemind.sourceforge.net. Use the version that works best for you.
Let me know how you use mind mapping.
I use FreeMind (http://freemind.sourceforge.net) for projects, for website structure diagrams I can pass to clients, for organizing workshop or seminar data, and even for preliminary business plans.
I prefer software, though I could use paper, because it's easy to move items from one branch to another, and to collaborate with others since FreeMind is a cross-platform application (Windows, Mac, Linux).
Here's an example mind map courtesy of Wikipedia: