Every day we are faced with hundreds, even thousands, of decisions.

Some are very simple – like whether or not to take another sip of coffee or to pick up a pencil.

Of course, some are a lot more important – like whether or not to run that orange light or walk down a dark alley alone.

Then there are the really big ones, like . . . buying a house, getting married, quitting your job, etc.

Most people think that there are only 2 options available to them – to say YES or NO.

But they would be wrong!

Failing to make a decision, is actually making a decision to postpone making a decision.  It’s called . . .

PROCRASTINATION

By not saying YES and not saying NO, they have effectively decided to just wait and see what happens.

Sometimes inaction is a decision that can have benefits, e.g. you might delay buying movie tickets if you are not sure if your friend will turn up or not.

It can also have a cost if the theater is sold out while you wait.

And sometimes, inaction is a decision that can can have a big cost, e.g. when you put off buying something important and the price goes up or they run out of stock.

Anthony Robbins says . . .

It’s in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

In the same way that a YES or NO decision has consequences, so does a MAYBE decision.

Whether we lack enough information to make a decision, or we are just gambling that circumstances will improve before we make a decision, the end result is the same . . . nothing happens, and we can get stuck in a limbo of doing nothing.

H. Hopf says . . .

Indecision is debilitating; it feeds upon itself; it is, one might almost say, habit-forming.

And why I am writing about this is because I see it regularly when people put off important business decisions like updating their website and doing SEO Search Engine Optimisation on the website that they have.

They know that they should not say NO, because it is just good business sense to do these things.

But they are also procrastinate on saying YES.  And Inaction is a Decision that they make by default.

What should you do now?

1.  If you have a decision to make, firstly, commit to making a Yes or No decision!

2.  Then commit to finding all the information that you need to make an informed decision.

3.  Then make a decision.

4.  Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

“If you put off everything until you’re sure of it, you’ll get nothing done.”
~ Norman Vincent Peale

Remember – Inaction is a Decision

This is probably the most valuable app that I have found for my iPhone in recent times.

Not a whole list of things to do – just one simple solution that is saving me minutes everywhere.

The app is called . . .

Dragon Dictation

And it magically converts your spoken word to text with about 98% accuracy.

That’s good enough to make it worth while having, and it will help you make the best use of your iPhone.

It is great for:

1. creating sms messages
2. creating emails
3. creating social media posts
4. creating any text on your iPhone

There are other apps that do similar things that I haven’t checked out.

So feel free to have a look around at what is available.

But what is important is that Dictation Software is becoming so reliable and accessible, that everyone, (and especially every business owner), should be using it to help save time.

And to get big thumbs off those little iPhone keyboards!

What should you do now?

1.  Go to the App Store and check out dictation software, including Dragon Dictation.

2.  Download it and start saving time.

3.  Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

If I have an idea, I write it down, although I usually carry a little dictation machine with me because I’m too lazy to write.
~ Tommy Shaw

Remember – you now know how to make best use of your iPhone

Do you really want Facebook to be your main or only web presence?

Will Facebook eventually replace Websites?
But more importantly . . . .

Do you really want it to?

The real issue is keeping control of your business and your web presence.

So . . .

Why is this an issue?

I have now heard of a number of instances, (of which Velvet Burger is just the latest), where Facebook has summarily deleted a Facebook account.

No questions or consultation – just gone!

Not without reason of course.

When you signed up for Facebook, you ticked the “I AGREE” box next to the pages and pages of their Terms and Conditions which you read through thoroughly of course . . . not!

So you probably don’t even know most of the reasons why Facebook can and will delete your account.

This happened to Velvet Burger and they lost everything, including almost 10,000 FB fans!

So . . . while Facebook is an important social media (read – marketing) tool, should you make it your main or only web presence?

We think NOT!

As you see in the attached image, (click it to enlarge), Velvet Burger set out to run a simple promotion to share a lottery ticket with people who shared their post.

Seems pretty simple and straight forward, and a good idea to get people to your page – but it breaches one of Facebook’s rules about running competitions from your Facebook page.

Bet you didn’t know that one!

You cannot run any form of competition, raffle or lottery from your Facebook page.

If you do, and you are discovered, your page disappears immediately and most likely will never, never, never, never, ever return.

Along with it goes all of your social connections and contacts . . . and your business.

And there are so many other things in all that fine print that we didn’t read.

So, again, do you really want Facebook to be your main or only web presence?

What should you do now?

1.  Be careful what you do on Facebook.

2.  Make sure that you have a great website as well as your Facebook page.

3.  Take every step to drive traffic to your website so that you build a list of clients and potential clients, (call them fans), on your website.

4.  Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

“remember that Happiness does not depend on who you are or what you have;
it depends solely on what you think.”
~ Dale Carnegie

Remember -

Do you really want Facebook to be your main or only web presence?

Here is another real-life email address story – an issue that one of our clients unfortunately experienced last week.

Make sure you don’t fall for the same trap . . .

So . . .

What was the problem?

The client’s son works in the business and was given an email account at the domain of the business.

In addition to his business duties, the son also ventured onto various games and other websites where he subscribed using his business email address.

The Result:

A flurry of spam emails.

Fortunately, we were able to solve the problem easily enough by issuing a new email address because the “infected” address had not been promoted to their clients.

One way to avoid this is simply not to register on any websites.

But that really is not practical, is it?  It defeats the whole purpose of what the internet is all about.

There are some simple steps that you can take to stop this happening to you.

• First and most important – do not use your business email address to register on websites – especially websites that you are not familiar with.
• Secondly, do not use your personal email address either.

Most of us have personal email addresses that we use to contact friends and family.  So keep them for that purpose!

So how can you surf the internet and access other websites safely?

It’s simple . . .

Don’t use an email address that is important to you.

There are several options:

1. Use one that you are happy to change periodically when it becomes infected with spam.
2. Ask your internet provider to set up an email alias for you on your account.
3. Setup a temporary email address at gmail or yahoo or . . .

What should you do now?

1. If you are going to go surfing, start by setting up some “temporary email addresses”.

2. That’s it!

3. Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

“You can’t let other people tell you who you are;
you must decide that for yourself.”
~ anon

Remember – Protect your email address!

Afterall, it is your email address.

It doesn’t seem to matter what legislation is put in place locally, because most Spam comes from overseas where our laws just don’t seem to apply.

So after grappling with this for some time, I finally decided to take the proverbial bull by the horns and do something about it . . .

So . . .

This is what I did

I researched some options and came up with SpamArrest.

I went with SpamArrest mainly because:

1. I knew quite a few people already using it, and
2. the cost was very small.

Click the image to find out more.

Here is what they say, (translated from geek-speak):

• Blocks 100% of automated spam
• Protect your existing email Inboxes
• Get a new email address (you@spamarrest.com)
• Use your favorite email program (such as MS Outlook or Mac Mail)
• Access email from anywhere using a webmail system.

Here is how it works.

. . . well, actually, I am not going to try to explain it here.

There is an excellent video on the website.

What should you do now?

1. If you want to cut the time you spend on Spam, search Google for solutions.

2. Or just go right here and check this out.

3. Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

“All that we are is a result of what we have thought.”
~ Buddha

Remember -

Arrest Your Spam now and save time.

Time and time again people tell me how much time they have spent trying to build their own website.

• All of the trial and error to get it right.
• All of the time spent reading up on technical stuff they’re not really interested in but have to know about.
• Most times ending up with a not-so-professional looking website.
• The time spent trying to make things work.

OK – I admit that I used to do this too . . .

I thought I’d save money by doing the books in my business . . . that is, until I discovered how amazing and how inexpensive book keepers really are!

Now I just put the receipts in a tray, and the book-keeper does the rest. Less worry and less cost to me personally.

Another example:

Only yesterday someone was telling me how she spent a couple of hours trying to set up email addresses on a website she had built.

I asked her how much money she might have made in that time if she had spent that time marketing and selling her products.

And straight away she understood what I meant!

I then suggested that because we are website professionals, we would have fixed the issue in a couple of minutes, costing much less than what she could have made in revenue by working on her business.

So, why do people think
that DIY will be cheaper?

So, why do people think that it will be cheaper to do it themselves?

1. They do not yet know about Hotpink Websites‘ fixed price websites.  All of our websites are fixed price so you know up front what it’s going to cost.
2. They think they will have more control over the website it they DIY it.  Our designers give you total control over the design and layout of your website, and we train you how to make changes to the site after it is launched.
3. They lack confidence in their product or service and their ability to sell it.  Get some coaching and training to improve your skills and your confidence. This is very important!
4. They really don’t understand how cheap a professional website can be, and how expensive DIY can be with their own time.

Sometimes – DIY Websites just don’t work out!

The Moral of the Story is . . .

Go out and make sales in your business right now, and get the professionals to do anything in your business that is not your core business . . . including your website.

What should you do now

1.  Work out how much money you make per hour in your business.

Think about where in your business you spend time that you could delegate or outsource.
- picking up supplies
- book-keeping
- cleaning the office
- building a website
- writing a client newsletter

Work out how many hours it will take you to do that non-delegated task, so that you know how much it is really costing you.

Find out how much it will cost to delegate or outsource the job.

Then decide what to do! DIY or Outsource.

2.  Believe it or not, you will easily spend 100 hours trying to build a website yourself.

So, if you make more than $15 per hour in your business, you should contact us about a website package.

3. Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

“”Minds are like Parachutes – they only function when open!”
- Thomas Dewar

Remember – Stop Wasting Your Valuable Time

Delegate as many tasks as you possibly can and focus on the things that are most profitable for you to do.

How cheeky is that !

An acquaintance recently suggested that I join her online newsletter, so I did.
As expected, I received an opt-in confirmation email.

And when I clicked on the confirmation link, I was told that my Subscription was Processed Successfully . . .

. . . AND . . . would I like to subscribe to these other publications.

At first I thought . . . how cheeky is that!

But then I got to thinking about my poor friend!

She was using a free auto-responder service, and was now paying the price by diluting and sullying her brand with MLM and internet money making schemes, and the like.

To quote a former Australian Prime Minister – “there is no such thing as a free lunch”. Eventually you pay the price somewhere.

And if you are using a free Newsletter service, they are going to be monetising it somewhere, somehow.

You just need to be totally aware of where and how.

Here is a screen shot of the Opt-In. (Click on it to see it full size.)

So talk to us now about a website package that has everything that you need integrated in the one place, including your Newsletter function, where you control what your clients see online.

What should you do now?

1.  If you are not sending a Newsletter to your clients, you should be!

2.  Check if your Newsletter system exposes your clients to other subscriptions, or just yours.

3.  Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

“”If all the soldiers in all the armies in all the world put down their weapons and picked up tools and started building sustainable, carbon zero housing for all the people of the world, our problems would be over and real life for all people would begin.”
- Michael Reynolds

Remember – you get what you pay for

When starting your newsletter, ask the question – Are they using your database ? ?

So when I first went into business I thought that I could make everything work myself.

I though that it would be easy . . .

How wrong I was . . . and how wrong so many small business owners are!

I thought that it would be easy for me – - – that

• I could do the books.
• I could write the adverts.
• I could do the graphic design.
• I could find the customers.
• I could make the sales.
• And then I could also do the work.

That was fine but eventually it started to wear me out and the business began to suffer as a result.

And I think that this is how many, if not most, small businesses start AND end.

The owner has a great idea and decides he, or she, has to do it.

Or perhaps a hobby or interest just evolves into a business.

And as the sole proprietor, there seems to be only one person to do everything – the owner.

And perhaps some help from family members, if you are lucky.

It wasn’t for a long time that I learnt and understood how to get more out my businesses.

It’s called Delegation and Leverage.

Getting Started

I found that the easiest task to delegate first was the book-keeping and accounting.

These days, delegating the accounting is almost an imperative because it is so complex.

And finding a good book-keeper was the next step to take.

Not Sure?

Not sure what you should delegate and what you should focus on?

Check out Your WD Profile here.  Drop me an email to discuss what it means for you.

Oh, but I cannot afford to pay someone to do those things for me!

Really ? ! ? !

How can you afford not to?

How can you afford not to go out and make more sales in your business?

Or looking after existing customers better?

And pay for the delegated tasks with the extra revenue that you generate?

Or perhaps it is the sales role that you need to delegate to someone more skilled than you at sales, so you can get on with building the “widgets”!

What should you do now?

1. Make a list of all the things that need to get done in your business that aren’t being done.

==> like building or updating your website!

2. Work out how much of your time they are taking

3.  Prioritise them – what is most important to get handled first?

4. Along side each, write down the benefits of getting this done sooner rather than later – including the extra revenue that you could generate with the extra time you will have.

5. Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

“Our lives improve only when we take chances
and the first and most difficult risk we can take
is to be honest with ourselves.”
~ Walter Anderson

Remember – Delegation is the Key

To DIY or not To DIY, that is the question no longer!

The theme of the movie “Field of Dreams” was that if you create something, people will turn up to use it.

There are many variations and interpretations of this theme, but the gist of it is that if you do what you are passionate about, people will show up to support you.

And in the world of the internet and the world wide web – it is pretty much like that as well.

But what does the “Building” entail?

Just as in the movie, it takes a huge commitment
of time and energy to have a successful website.

There is a lot more to it than you think!

So . . .

What does it take?

As in the movie, coming up with the idea is the easy part.

Being passionate about the idea is relatively easy as well.

Even creating the design and building the website itself is only the first simple step.

After that you need to know:

• how to use the website for active marketing
• how to use other resources to promote the website
• how to get traffic to your website
• what to do with the traffic when it gets there
• and a bunch of other stuff, to boot

And like Kevin Costner (Ray) in the movie, you are going to have nay-sayers and setbacks along the way, all trying to hold you back from success.

You will also have a lot of experiences and education along the way.

But the most important step that Ray took in the movie was a very simple step . . . and that was . . . to make a start!

And from that view-point, all things are possible.

So . . .

what’s it going to be for you?

Action or Inaction?

What should you do now?

1. If you have a great website giving you heaps of what you want, then do nothing.

2. If you want more from your website, (or don’t have one yet), start making a list of the things that you want it to do for you.

3. And quantify those things – put numbers on them.

4.  Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
~ Winston Churchill

Remember – Make a Start!

If you build a website, they will come!

A florist – giving  away commissions to florist websites.

Yes, this is a true story about a florist who came to us because they realised they were missing huge amounts of profit merely because they were not online.

Sure . . . they had a directory listing on a generic website which brought some business.

But they were also getting a lot of business from florist websites that were only trading online and referring the business to physical florists for delivery.

Great to be getting the business, but they were loosing out on the commissions they had to pay to the website owners!

The solution was to build their own website, which we are working on now.

The aim is to claw back some of the commissions that the website businesses were taking from them.

So, where are you missing out on profits in your business?

Are online businesses sending you business that you could be taking yourself, but have to pay commissions on instead?

Or are other businesses doing better than you online, and keeping all the profits to themselves?

What should you do now?

1. Do you know where your business comes from?

2. What percentage of your turnover is coming from your website?

3. Want some help or ideas? Just contact us at Hotpink Websites now.

Quote

“Imagine what you would do . . .
if you knew you couldn’t fail!”
~ Bumper Sticker

Remember – are you missing profits

Get your online presence working for you now!