Organize, Schedule, Prioritize your SO-HO days

I constantly hear from new SO-HO owners how busy they are, how tired and so many hours put into the business without much reward.

I have asked one small home business owner to run his day by me, perhaps I can help him get his day more organized.

His day starts at 9-10 when he wakes up, then he goes over his e-mails (which get to 200 or so per day), messages on the phone with inquiries, snail mail, magazines…..by the time he focuses on the “real” deal is already past bedtime……Sometimes deadline missed and customer left without being contacted.

All the tasks that this SO-HO owner performs are vital to his business, but do you work for your computer or web site, or your computer/ web site works for your?

ORGANIZE:

E-mail. Use an e-mail program that allows you to set rules and automatically file information by urgency. All Windows based computers have a free program Outlook Express ( so you do not need to spend money on the Outlook which is the big brother of the OE)

Set folders, rules and spend your time only reading the MOST important messages that are vital to your business income. Tuck the free offers, newsletters, news, friends, family, and other non essential information for later if or when you have the time to go over. Yes, it is important to keep up with the news and all the other messages and subscriptions you have signed up for, but is it worth loosing a prospect because you have not gotten to his message in a timely fashion?

If you have a web site and do have forms and contact information that flows, set rules for these items as well in your e-mail program. If you set up your forms correctly and mark a subject on each form, it will be just as easy as any other e-mail to create rules for.

Create auto responders from your e-mail program so when e-mail comes in with a specific subject (ex. newsletter subscription, inquiry about service/ product,) create and e-mail specific to subject, that will be sent once the request comes in. Make folders and rules in your Outbox as well. This way you can check what inquiries came in and what have been answered automatically.
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Make technology work for you, instead of the other way around.

SCHEDULE:

Set a schedule, and stick with it. Run your business as you would run your employment. Set a time to open and close, and stick to the schedule.

Start your day with checking messages on the phone, schedule call back time per priority of call, go over your e-mails, then tackle the service or product that needs to be moved. Do your bookkeeping, invoicing and mailing once you are through the “service” part. Now you are ready to read your news, do that training that you have signed up for, or just take a break and relax…..

PRIORITIZE:

Never leave today’s task for tomorrow. Once you have decided task is important, tackle it, finish it, and move on.

Customer request is always a PRIORITY. Call, answer the e-mail, send the product or finish that report (service). Then call up or send e-mail to customer with status.