How Many Hats Are You Wearing?

Are you trying to do more and more with the same (or less) resources? Are you doing the job that someone else used to do - on top of the job you were already doing?
If you are the boss, there isn't a lot you can do to lessen your workload without hiring an assistant our outsourcing/automating some of the general administrative tasks

But, what if you *are* the assistant, and the boss is piling more and more on your plate? Communication is key. Try these strategies to keep a happy work relationship and prevent overwhelm/burnout:

- Ask for clarity in your job title, role in the business and responsibilies - in writing if possible. That way if things change, you have a guideline to refer back to.

- Know not only what you are expected to do, but why and by when. Knowing the underlying intention can help prioritize tasks.

- If you are given an 'emergency' task, check in whether it is more important than what you were working on already or if it should wait.

- Ask for feedback, don't wait for someone to offer it. Know how your progress and success will be measured.

- Identify if there are things you need to know in order to perform better & make a plan to get the information or build your skills. Usually, these tasks must be done on your own time, but add value to you not just in your current job, but future work as well.

- Keep things in perspective - there is only so much you can do, so just focus on doing the best you can. If you can't meet an expectation or deadline, let the boss know right away!

- Find ways to chill. Take a 5 minute stretch break, eat outside (weather permitting), have a dance party in your head. Try to keep work from taking over your personal life as well.

Know that the skills you are developing now may help you run your own business one day!

list your NY business for free at NY B2B Online
http://ping.fm/0PSF6

"There is one certain criterion by which you can measure your success: the degree of peace that you feel within yourself" E. Tolle

Using QB Data for Business Management

You spend time, effort and money tracking and entering all the receipts for your business - isn't it time you got more out of it than just an Income Statement?

July 2009 New York Enterprise report by Alan Badey gives six tips to get the most from your data to analyze business performance.

http://nyreport.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Feature.showFeature&FeatureID=382

- keep it simple! make sure you are tracking what you need to know, but don't waste time tracking details you will never use. Find the metrics that work for you.

- use the data you already collect to "tally and compare" over a period of time, e.g. don't just look at last month, look at last month compared to last year. Look at this month compared to this year-to-date, and compare to last-year-to date.

- ask key employees for contextualizing input (any unusual events that would make the numbers better/worse than normal)

- create a budget & then update/change as more information comes in.

- use data to identify fraud

Ask your bookkeeper to help you identify what you should be tracking and help you read the reports to better understand what your organization financial reports are telling you!

Facebook: Groups vs. Pages

Mashable is a great Social Media guide site.

When I realized I had no idea what the difference between a Facebook Group and Facebook Page was, or which I should have for Moxie, I checked their site and found this article:

http://mashable.com/2009/05/27/facebook-page-vs-group/

It was nice to know I'm not the only one with this confusion!

Pages are more like a corporation - managed by a person, but not necessarily connected to the personal profile. Pages are also indexed by Google.

Groups are more like clubs & offer greater control over membership, but are linked to your personal page (posts show as come from you).

Given how much personal interaction I have on my Facebook, I've decided to go the Page route. Find me and become a fan!