Well, in the last 2 weeks since this multi-week series was started, our frugal government has shown us yet another way, albeit likely the easiest way, to generate money and make extra ‘green’: Just print more and more… and more! But for those of you who do not have a Treasury printing press or whose colored printers may be on the fritz, read on.
Alright, now for the final thought and conclusion of this three-part post on making your office (and therefore yourself) more money- as more ‘green’ will indeed help to save the planet (or at least help us pay more taxes)!
The fourth way: Investing. Whereas the stock market and real estate are more volatile than ever, and mutual funds and hedge funds are synonymous with four-letter words, I am speaking here of investing in yourself. You are one of your company’s greatest assets and one of the few it has that can grow, learn, and appreciate in intrinsic value. So pour into yourself, invest in you: a lot of time, a little money, a plethora of pertinent knowledge, and some intuitive insight. You will produce greater dividends than any stock market could ever deliver- for you and for your company.
(I would also direct you to Feb. 13’s post, ‘How to Upside-Downtime’.)
Grab a book, Ask Jeeves, take notes, question things, spend time alone, be quiet, learn from others, take classes or seminars, THINK, broaden your horizons, turn the tv off, and start investing in your knowledge, in your future, in you!
Thanks for reading; until next Friday,
Jason Weaver
www.ExecutiveSearchandPlacement.net
Jason@ESandP.net
Friday, March 20, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Make Your Office ‘Green’ (Part II)
Now for the continuation of my monetary metaphor powered ‘Green’ post from last week. I wanted to provide a couple more strategic ideas for you to implement to bring your company- and therefore yourself, more revenue even in these difficult economic and slower market driven times. Again, these are not mystifying or genius ideas, but it is all too often the basic things we overlook and do not implement.
Third, Cost Cutting. As fundamental as it gets, huh? Now before you laugh and click the X in the corner, let me share a couple of integral thoughts in respect to this point. While getting the costs we all incur (both professionally and personally) down to a more manageable level is vital these days, it is similarly crucial to ensure you are NOT cutting necessary costs. If you get cost-cutting-happy than it is easy to start slicing and dicing some of the expenditures that are directly or indirectly connected to revenue producing activities. Focus on doing away with superfluous costs that actually make a difference and whose dismissal won’t cause ill-will (NOT coffee and two-ply TP!) To delve in deeper, you should NOT cut back on the revenue producing expenditures to the point of affecting their ability to keep producing the normal results. These would entail technology, marketing, incentives, necessary travel, market research, professional associations, etc. Cutting wasteful spending is the key, the spending whose existence does not directly contribute to the bottom line nor affects it in a positive way.
Remember and implement the old adage (to which I have added a continuation), “A penny saved is a penny earned… as long as it’s not a penny that is bringing in other pennies.”
And due to some time constraints and demands, I will share the 4th and final way to Make Your Office ‘Green’ next Friday. Thanks for the many e-mails and responses to me; I appreciate the encouragement and am very glad these posts are helping a lot of you!
Thanks for reading; until next Friday,
Jason Weaver
Jason@ESandP.net
www.ExecutiveSearchandPlacement.net
Third, Cost Cutting. As fundamental as it gets, huh? Now before you laugh and click the X in the corner, let me share a couple of integral thoughts in respect to this point. While getting the costs we all incur (both professionally and personally) down to a more manageable level is vital these days, it is similarly crucial to ensure you are NOT cutting necessary costs. If you get cost-cutting-happy than it is easy to start slicing and dicing some of the expenditures that are directly or indirectly connected to revenue producing activities. Focus on doing away with superfluous costs that actually make a difference and whose dismissal won’t cause ill-will (NOT coffee and two-ply TP!) To delve in deeper, you should NOT cut back on the revenue producing expenditures to the point of affecting their ability to keep producing the normal results. These would entail technology, marketing, incentives, necessary travel, market research, professional associations, etc. Cutting wasteful spending is the key, the spending whose existence does not directly contribute to the bottom line nor affects it in a positive way.
Remember and implement the old adage (to which I have added a continuation), “A penny saved is a penny earned… as long as it’s not a penny that is bringing in other pennies.”
And due to some time constraints and demands, I will share the 4th and final way to Make Your Office ‘Green’ next Friday. Thanks for the many e-mails and responses to me; I appreciate the encouragement and am very glad these posts are helping a lot of you!
Thanks for reading; until next Friday,
Jason Weaver
Jason@ESandP.net
www.ExecutiveSearchandPlacement.net
Friday, March 6, 2009
Make Your Office 'Green' (Part I)
Now some may assume the title of this post is in reference to transitioning your office to a more environmentally friendly place and protecting the eco-system with your work space. Not to disappoint, but this will be about something more immediate and likely more crucial for your personal future than using your sleeve in lieu of Tissues or working from candlelight instead of using that 75 watt bulb or trying to connect that hamster-powered generator to your laptop. This ‘Green’ is in regards to one of life’s most critical sources of power: the Greenback- our very own US Dollar.
As of late, for many people, it has become increasingly difficult to generate revenue for their company, which often times directly affects them on a personal level as well. There are any number of actions we can take and things we can do to be more productive and help our company (and therefore ourselves) be more profitable. So please, think and come up with these on your own and more importantly, implement them! But to give you a start, I am going to take this week and the next couple weeks to offer several thoughts on increasing the revenue you generate for your company and how to ‘Make your office Green’.
This week, I will focus on two simplistic but very effective ways to accomplish our task at hand.
First: New Business Development. Now some may think this is up to the marketing department or to the VP of Business Development; well, it’s at least in part up to you! New business is NOT just business from new clients; it is new business, period. This comes (and should be in large part) from old and current customers. To do this, it doesn’t mean simply ‘not neglecting’ them, it means diligently serving them, following up, and following through- ensuring that they are not just satisfied, but are happy.
Remember that getting new business from past or existing customers saves a lot of marketing dollars, and it is much quicker as you don’t have to start from scratch. They are (or should be) already sold on you and the services/products you offer. Due to this, it should be much easier for you to glean new business from them. Nurture those relationships and always strive to under-promise and over-deliver!
Likewise, always be looking for new clients- even if it isn’t in your personal job description. If you have done a good job with past customers, you have earned the right to ask for referrals of new clients from them. The power and reach of the Internet is both extensive and ever-growing; so network on there in the many facets that are readily available, and extend your company’s breadth by getting the word out to others.
Second: Work Smart. This has much to do with being effective and efficient. The mantra of working hard from the last generation still resonates- and for good reason; but it is all but futile if not combined with working smart. I am right-handed, so for me to write notes left-handed would be hard work- but similarly less-effective, less efficient, and much dumber for me to do.
Many know the basic principles of time management, so I won’t reiterate all of them here; but if you know them, DO THEM! Identify your priorities, focus on them first, and complete them. When the biggest stumbling block to efficiency and effectiveness rears its ugly head (that would be distractions and disruptions), remain focused! Allot yourself appropriate breaks at certain points along the way to completion (not random times throghout the day), and embrace every distraction you can at that time.
Also, don’t just do things the way you always have. It is too easy to get into a habit of accomplishing tasks the same way every time. The result is the same- and probably good; but often times there is a faster (and sometimes easier) way to do that if we put some thought into what we must do and how to get from Point A to Point Z. Plus, doing this gets those mental juices flowing and bodes well for additional creativity; it adds a little newness and diversity to our rote daily tasks.
Thanks for reading; until next Friday,
Jason Weaver
Executive Search and Placement
Jason@ESandP.net
As of late, for many people, it has become increasingly difficult to generate revenue for their company, which often times directly affects them on a personal level as well. There are any number of actions we can take and things we can do to be more productive and help our company (and therefore ourselves) be more profitable. So please, think and come up with these on your own and more importantly, implement them! But to give you a start, I am going to take this week and the next couple weeks to offer several thoughts on increasing the revenue you generate for your company and how to ‘Make your office Green’.
This week, I will focus on two simplistic but very effective ways to accomplish our task at hand.
First: New Business Development. Now some may think this is up to the marketing department or to the VP of Business Development; well, it’s at least in part up to you! New business is NOT just business from new clients; it is new business, period. This comes (and should be in large part) from old and current customers. To do this, it doesn’t mean simply ‘not neglecting’ them, it means diligently serving them, following up, and following through- ensuring that they are not just satisfied, but are happy.
Remember that getting new business from past or existing customers saves a lot of marketing dollars, and it is much quicker as you don’t have to start from scratch. They are (or should be) already sold on you and the services/products you offer. Due to this, it should be much easier for you to glean new business from them. Nurture those relationships and always strive to under-promise and over-deliver!
Likewise, always be looking for new clients- even if it isn’t in your personal job description. If you have done a good job with past customers, you have earned the right to ask for referrals of new clients from them. The power and reach of the Internet is both extensive and ever-growing; so network on there in the many facets that are readily available, and extend your company’s breadth by getting the word out to others.
Second: Work Smart. This has much to do with being effective and efficient. The mantra of working hard from the last generation still resonates- and for good reason; but it is all but futile if not combined with working smart. I am right-handed, so for me to write notes left-handed would be hard work- but similarly less-effective, less efficient, and much dumber for me to do.
Many know the basic principles of time management, so I won’t reiterate all of them here; but if you know them, DO THEM! Identify your priorities, focus on them first, and complete them. When the biggest stumbling block to efficiency and effectiveness rears its ugly head (that would be distractions and disruptions), remain focused! Allot yourself appropriate breaks at certain points along the way to completion (not random times throghout the day), and embrace every distraction you can at that time.
Also, don’t just do things the way you always have. It is too easy to get into a habit of accomplishing tasks the same way every time. The result is the same- and probably good; but often times there is a faster (and sometimes easier) way to do that if we put some thought into what we must do and how to get from Point A to Point Z. Plus, doing this gets those mental juices flowing and bodes well for additional creativity; it adds a little newness and diversity to our rote daily tasks.
Thanks for reading; until next Friday,
Jason Weaver
Executive Search and Placement
Jason@ESandP.net
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