Image: SXC.hu

Managing a successful support team takes a project manager who is willing to not only work on developing their team but also developing themselves. Below are a list of areas where a project manager should either currently excel in or are developing in as part of their skillset. This list is based on the acronym “L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P”:

• Listening.
• Encouraging.
• Adapting.
• Delegating.
• Energizing.
• Realistic.
• Shaping.
• Helping.
• Integrity.
• Principled.

As you review these 10 skills that a project team leader should possess, keep in mind that if you don’t possess a skill, you can learn it, refine it and then incorporate it into your skill set. It all about teamwork and team building as you manage your project team. So also look for some of these skills in your team members as a way to continue building a firm foundation for your team.

Post from: EveryJoe

How To Manage Your Support Team

Image: SXC.hu

To help you think about a few things when using social media, I have created a short list below:

• Respect others and don’t SPAM with links.
• Don’t always push information our to people, connect with others by responding to others.
• If you come across helpful information, be willing to share it.
• Be open to answering questions that you friends may ask.
• Look at ways where you can automate or manage your social media efforts.

As you apply these simple 5 tips to your social media efforts, you may find that you will make great connections. To help you learn more about using social media, watch the video below.

Post from: EveryJoe

5 Tips On How To Use Social Media Wisely

Brand extension is the process of using different avenue to promote your business. According to Wikipedia.org…

Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category.

So let’s look at a few example of companies who have been successful in creating a brand extension:

• Eddie Bauer: clothes, automobile and housewares
• Nike: shoewear and clothing
• Proctor & Gamble: bodycare, health products and housecare products
• Coca-Cola: different soft drinks
• Disney: partnering with food establishment to advertise their movies

These are just a few of the successful brand extensions that major corporation have accomplished. For smaller businesses, you can look into applying the following things.

• Joint venture with someone who is in a different industry to advertise each others products or services.
• Checkout local businesses who may be willing to partner with you to allow you to extend your brand to their products.
• Look into providing freebies with your brand on it to different non-profit organizations.

Post from: EveryJoe

Ways To Extend Your Brand

Image: SXC.hu

Being able to piece together how you will communicate your brand to your target customers is important. Just as the image to the right shows, every piece counts. In branding, good habits count and can help you successfully communicate your brand.

Below are a list of good branding habits that can help as you communicate your brand message.

• Incorporate your brand message on all your promotional items.
• Have a common message when communicating with others
• In your communication with others, whether online or offline, be very professional in that you do not argue with others.
• Make you and your brand know on social media networks such s Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn.
• Look for opportunities to share your brand message online and offline.
• Be consistent when you are communicating your brand message.
• Create brand awareness by looking at possible joint ventures to co-brand.

Each of these branding habits are different ways that you can inject good and effective branding habits into your business. To help you learn more about good and effective branding habits, I have included the video below.

Post from: EveryJoe

7 Good and Highly Effective Branding Habits

Image: SXC.hu

Having your family support your business is important because:

• They can be your sounding board for ideas.
• If you manufacture items, they can be your initial team of workers.
• Family members can help you with organizing your home office
• Create business activities around family time.
• Create specific tasks that family members can complete to support your business.

These are very simple things that you can do to incorporate your family into your business. Another key point is that you make sure you delineate time and space in your home for running your business. According to DNB.com in the small business section…

The key to running a successful home-based business is the support of your family. Instead of having to face these responsibilities alone, you can integrate your family into your work by giving them certain tasks to help you or by instituting “safe zones” where you can work in peace and where they cannot enter unless there is an emergency.

Post from: EveryJoe

Does Your Family Support Your Business?

Image: SXC.hu

If you choose to use social media to search for a business partner, then let me share a few things that could help you in your search.

• Create a list of skills or traits that you want your business partner to have.
• Then you can use different social media networks to assess those you are considering such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.
• Don’t be afraid to use search engines to research your potential business partners.
• Ask for recommendations that you can talk to about the potential business partner.

As you apply these simple things to finding your business partner then you are able to create a solid foundation for your partnership. In the video below, there are key things shared that can help you in your search for a business partner. One of those things is that it is a good idea to create synergy with your business partner regardless if you are total opposites or very similar.

Post from: EveryJoe

Using Social Media To Find Business Partner

Image: SXC.hu

If you are experiencing a hindrance in your social media efforts, maybe you need to make some changes. Below are a few things that can help you identify if your social media efforts are stalled:

• Have you found that you are losing Twitter followers as quickly as you add them?
• Are people not attending your teleseminars even though you heavily advertise them?
• Have your mailing subscriber slowed down?
• Have people on your mailing list stopped purchasing suggested products?

If you could answer “yes” to at least two of the questions above then you might need to make changes to the way you are using social media to grow your business. Some of the change may mean that you look into the way you advertise via social media website. Or you might have to rebrand your social media efforts. One of the best things you can do is hire someone who specialize in social media integration or implementation so that they can help you restart your social media efforts.

Post from: EveryJoe

Are You Hindering Your Social Media Efforts

Image: SXC.hu

As a business owner, one of the things that you may face is the end of a connection to a client or vendor or a project. To help you tactfully deal with it, I have created a list below of a few things that you should keep in mind:

• Don’t be mean. Even if the other person is mean to you.
• Keep your cool and not get out of control with your emotions.
• Make sure that all financial matter are finalized. Ensure that you and the other party agree about the amounts and that they are processed.
• If you have an agreement in place, follow the specified steps for ending your working relationship with the other person.
• Always hold a final meeting to discuss how things will be handled as you end the relationship.

As you face the end of a working relationship, don’t look at it as a negative. Try to find the positive in it so that you won’t get frustrated. Yes it may be hard on you especially if your income is being affected. I’ve experienced this as a business owner. I have found that the best thing to do is not dwell on what you have lost but look forward to the opportunities that will open up to due to the loss.

Post from: EveryJoe

How To End A Working Relationship

Image: SXC.hu

What I mean by this is that when you develop a partnership by merging with another business owner that you should try to work into the agreement that you will keep some type of autonomy for your original business. You can view this as a safeguard in case your partnership ends. Your new partnership can have its own brand message while at the same time you can keep the brand message going for your original business.

Now let me preface the above with the fact that if your new partnership doesn’t allow for you to keep your original business running as is then you should look for ways that you can create a separate business that won’t clash. As you develop your partnership along with the new brand, one of the things you should keep in mind is how you will merge the brand message of both businesses.

To help you understand better how to build your brand with a partnership, I have included the video below that talks about: “When you want corporate partnership, you need to link up who you are, who you are at your authentic core with an organization that reflects the same brand.”

Post from: EveryJoe

Branding A Business Partnership

Image: Flickr and ♥ China ♥ guccio

I was then able to check the status of my appointment as week as find out more details about the company I chose to use. The company was Balanced Body Massage which is owned and operated by Deborah Hays Arellano. My finding is that Schedulicity would be a good benefit to any business that uses scheduling to manage client appointsments.

Below is the second part of the interview.

Who else is in this space? What/who are you competing with?

There is no other company with a web search capability, but there are an array of online scheduling services that help you schedule everything from a conference room to your neighbors lawn mower, or an appointment. Much of what is available to our market today started as an “enterprise application”, basically an appointment book that resides on the service providers PC. Which means you still have to call to book an appointment. There are some software companies that extend the ability to book appointments through a service provider’s web page, but none that offer scheduling to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

What does your service do that is unique, compared to competition? What features make you distinct?

• Mobile schedule manage from an iPhone or Blackberry – you don’t need a PC at work! Clients can schedule on the go too.
• Online scheduling with no limits – unlimited SMS, appointments and its free to clients
• We manage recurring and split appointments, all the nuances that service providers love about traditional scheduling
• Integrated email marketing module that enables meaningful communication with clients
• Sophisticated multi-provider functionality to handle multiple services, schedules and needs
• Client management database, client history, tagging, notes, etc.
• Dedicated client scheduling portal where clients can manage all their appointments

Why do you think you’ll be the online scheduling solution of choice?

Because we’ve designed this solution from the needs of both the consumer AND the small business owner. We’re the first to think of what everyone needs and we help everyone get the convenience and ease of use they want!

Tell me a bit about your company, it’s uniqueness and ability to bring this to a national marketplace?

We’re growing at a rapid pace already in cities around the country. What happens is that a service provider signs up and consumers fall in love with the convenience and then want all their service professionals to make scheduling this easy. We are the only place where anyone can schedule what they want in seconds and this idea is catching on fast!

What are you doing on the marketing front to drive growth? Is there something different you do?

We genuinely want to help small businesses be successful. We think this is at the core of what will make us successful. If you follow us on Twitter or Facebook, you’ll see how we do this.

What are your plans for the future?

We want to be everywhere clients and small businesses need us. Whatever, whenever, wherever.

Post from: EveryJoe

Scheduling Software: Schedulicity, part 2