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Getting Sh#t Done: How to make the most of your weekends

4/23/2016

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By Christine Caddell
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If you're like me, you have a bunch of aspirations to get all this stuff crossed off the To Do list every weekend, only to be disappointed Sunday night that 2/100 things were completed (or nothing at all). But what if you could have a relaxing, fun weekend AND get some shit done? You can! You just need to get organized by following this simple approach:

The Approach

If you consistently dedicate 8hrs per weekend to work on your project/business, you can really maximize your efficiency on the two days that matter most and see some real progress towards your goals.

MONDAY "Get Organized" - 30min
Do some planning early in the week so you can digest it all week and gather supplies/resources needed on the weekend.
  1. List tasks. What do you want to get done on the weekend? 
  2. Estimate time per task. Then multiply each estimates x 2, since it always takes longer than you think
  3. Prioritize. You've only got 8hrs on the weekend, so identify the most important items to finish

FRIDAY PM "Get Started" - 1hr
  1. Block off an hour after work to get started on something. Create some momentum and that way Saturday you'll be able to quickly pick up where you left off
  2. Get to bed early! Save the partying / late night for Sat night if that's your thing

SATURDAY AM "Early Bird Gets the Worm" - 4hrs
  1. Get up EARLY. For us that's 4am so we can have 3'ish hrs before the kids wake up. TIP: When kids do wake, cue Cheerios and Sat am cartoons (I mean it didn't kill us as kids right?)
  2. Rest of the day is yours to enjoy

SUNDAY PM "Over half done, don't blow it off now" - 3hrs
  1. Dedicate another 3hrs in the afternoon or evening to finish up your tasks

REPEAT 
Start the cycle on Monday again, but ensure you spend a few minutes to evaluate how things went the previous weekend. Did you get everything done on your list? Get honest with yourself, why not? How can you do things differently next weekend so things go better?


References:
$100 MBA Show Podcast: How to Make The Most of Weekends to Build a Business
Blog Article: How to Make the Most of Your Weekends to Grow Your Side Business

The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking: A Thorough Spring Cleaning Checklist
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2 Key Elements of Web Marketing for Small Business

4/5/2016

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By Christine Caddell
Recently I stumbled across the $100 MBA Podcast, which broadcasts  daily 10 minute business lessons for the real world. If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend. A recent episode with guest speaker Adam Franklin summarized the world of web marketing extremely well and thought I would share.

As a small business owner, yes you have a website but do you really know the key elements of your web marketing strategy? It can be overwhelming, but really there are only 2 main things to focus on:
  1. Your website
  2. Getting people to visit your site
2 Key Elements of Web Marketing

1. How good is your website?

This is your 'piece of land' that you own in the Internet universe, a virtual place where people can get to know you, trust you and eventually buy from you. First impressions are important. A hideous unusable website shows a lack of quality so make sure your 'house' is in order and properly represents you before you invite people over. 
  • How do they get to know you?
    • Website look/feel: 
    • Website usability: remember 60% of web traffic is mobile now
  • How will they learn to like you more, trust you?
    • Your blog... free no risk valuable content, 
    • Lead magnet (i.e. eBook, template): create a landing page to capture email addresses in exchange for your eBook
    • Email marketing: most effective way to stay connected with people
  • Once they know/like you, they start to trust you more and are more likely to  "buy" from you i.e. become a customer

2. How do you get people to your website (in-bound web marketing)?

If you build it they will come? I often chat with small business owners who are disappointed to learn that after investing a bunch of time/money on their website, their website traffic is still very low. There are millions and millions of websites, so how do you help people find yours?
  1. Google : optimize your website for relevant keyword phrases (SEO)
  2. Backlinks (inbound links) : this is a link on somebody else's website that points to your website. Links from popular, credible websites is a powerful signal to Google that your website is trustworthy and has authority and thus Google ranks your website higher in search results
  3. Social media / content marketing : this includes Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Periscope, even Podcasts, email marketing. These are all types of social media platforms, different ways to publish and distribute content..... i.e. share the content you've created on your blog to which attracts people back to your website which allows them to know, like, trust and buy from you.

So to recap the 2 key elements of web marketing: ​

  1. Website: so people can get to know, like, trust you
  2. InBound Links: Google, Backlinks, Social Media / Content Marketing

$100MBA Podcast
How Your Web Marketing Universe Fits Together
Listen to Podcast
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