Staying Foucsed at Work During the Holidays

While it’s hard to believe, the holiday season is fast approaching.  Christmas is literally next week and many wonder how the year flew by so quickly?  There is so much to juggle over the holidays – parties, shopping, traveling, planning and of course, work – so there is a good chance that you could lose focus at the office.  It’s easy to get overwhelmed at work during the holidays as there are so many competing demands placed upon you between your personal and professional lives.  Personal stress over the holidays often leads to work stress.  How do you cram so much into an already fully packed schedule?  It’s also difficult to stay focused at work when so many colleagues and managers are on vacation if you’re left behind to work over the holidays but this might in fact be a blessing.  Often there are fewer expectations and demands put on you at work over the holidays and things can be slow.  So how to stay focused at work over the holidays?

First and foremost, take a few days off for some “me” time.  If you have some vacation days saved up, use them.  Take those days to get your personal holiday affairs in order and do a little shopping or spend time with loved ones.  This will give you a chance to recharge your battery before you head back into the office.

Get some perspective and clear your mind.  Put tasks and projects, both personal and professional, onto paper and out of your head.  Create a to-do list and stay as organized as possible so that when you come into work, you can leave personal things at home and not have them be ever-present in your mind and that way you can focus on the work tasks at hand.

While it might be difficult, avoid multitasking.  Don’t work on both personal and professional things at the same time.  While maybe over a lunch break, you can head out to a local store to look for Christmas and New Year’s gifts or do some online shopping, don’t sit around the office and do it all day while trying to work on pressing office matters.  Break your day up.  Use your personal downtime post-work hours to focus on holiday pressures.  Don’t bring them to the office with you.

Start working on year-end projects early.  The holidays can creep up on you before you even have a chance to blink.  Start your holiday shopping earlier than you have in past years so that you can get a jump on work projects.  Don’t let everything sit until the last minute.  This only causes more unnecessary stress that you don’t need.

Leave your work at the office; don’t take it home with you.  We all have family obligations over the holiday season and it’s important to focus on them.  When you’re at the office, focus on your work and set goals to accomplish it before you leave for the day so that when you get home you can relax and have a clear mind to enjoy time with family and friends.  If you stay focused at work during the holiday season and meet your goals and deadlines between the hours of 9-5, you won’t be distracted when you arrive home.

Set reasonable boundaries and do what you can; don’t over-commit.  While it’s tough to stay focused on work with holiday parties, client events and “Secret Santa” exchanges, remember these things are supposed to be fun so only do as much of it as you can; you don’t have to do all of it. Prioritize and balance your holiday activities with your work obligations.  Don’t feel like you have to accept every invitation you are offered or feel like you have to go to every department lunch or gathering.  While being social in the office and spending time with co-workers is important, you don’t want to do it at the expense of the tasks you need to get done and the time you want to devote to pleasures outside the office.  Keep focused and maintain a good work-life balance.

Don’t overwhelm yourself.  Try and stay focused on “today” and don’t project into the future.  The trick might be forgetting about the “seasons” and keeping track of the task at hand.  Act like it’s a different time of year and you’ll see that you’re able to get more accomplished.

Lastly and most importantly, remember what the holidays are all about.  It’s supposed to be a joyful season, not one filled with unnecessary stress so don’t bring it upon yourself when you don’t have to.  The holidays are a time for celebration and reflection and a time to rejoice and revel in your accomplishments and personal joys.  A chaotic holiday season is not a choice; it’s a given so try and make the most of it.

So how have you been able to juggle your personal and professional lives during the holiday season?  Do you find it exceedingly difficult or have you learned tricks to balance both?  Leave a comment and let me know what you think and remember, enjoy this special season as much as you possibly can.  You deserve it!

Here are some articles you might want to check out about staying focused at work during the holidays:

“14 Ways to Stay Focused at Work This Holiday Season”: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/12/02/14-ways-to-stay-focused-at-work-this-holiday-season/

“Keeping Focused during the Holidays”: http://tweakyourbiz.com/management/2013/12/04/keeping-focused-holidays/

“How to Stay Focused at Work through the Holidays”: http://www.perwickstrom.com/advice/how-to-stay-focused-at-work-through-the-holidays/

“How to Stay Focused at Work this Holiday Season”: http://www.sunstoneonline.com/how-to-stay-focused-at-work-this-holiday-season

Until next time…

Branding Your Business

Branding is essential in small business as you try to compete against larger, more well-established companies.  There’s a lot more to your brand than just your logo or a catchy slogan.  Your brand is the entire essence of what you do, what you excel at and the experience your customers have with you.  The most successful brands build on a company’s strengths.  Therefore, it’s a good idea to start by evaluating what you’re good at, where you need to improve and what the values and goals of your business really are.  Branding is crucial when trying to attract new customers and clients alike.  Your brand is the face you put out into the world.  It tells the story of what your business stands for.  Without a strong focus on branding your business, no one will hear about you unless you do it right.  You have to learn to create a unique identity among the massive crowd of competition.  Branding is a way of defining your business both to yourself and to those you aim to target.  In essence, it embodies the identity of your business as a whole.

Probably the most crucial element to branding your business is knowing specifically why you are in business in the first place.  Try to keep focused.  Don’t try to be a “jack of all trades.”  While it might be tempting to offer as many products as you can, try to keep a specialized focus so that you can eventually grow to become one of the top competitors in your industry.

Clearly define your brand promise.  Your brand is a statement about your business.  Let your customers and target audience know what they can expect of you with each interaction.  A brand’s promise is based on something you can prove and stand behind.  It’s grounded in your company culture and philosophy and atmosphere.

Target whom you want to serve.  You can’t serve everyone so really get to know the audience you are going after.  Your brand needs to connect with people.  You have to show your customers and clients alike that your vision is in line with what they need and want from you.

Don’t try and be something you’re not.  Be honest and authentic about who you are with your brand.  Stay as consistent and focused as possible with the message you are sending out to the world.  If you’ve clearly defined who you are, authenticity should come easily.

Differentiate yourself from the competition.  Knowing what you do best enables you to convey your message more effectively to your target audience.  Be aware of both your strengths and your weaknesses.  Research those already in your field and try to do something different that enable your business to stand out in unique and innovative ways.  Try to find a personality for your brand that the competition isn’t already projecting.

Truly understand your product.  In order for others to stand behind you, you have to know what you, in fact, stand for.  Get to know your product intimately and learn what makes it distinctive and desirable to your target audience.

Remind your customers about your brand frequently.  Get on social media and try to target a vast audience.  Write blogs.  Think about making speaking engagements.  Gather a large email list.  Make sure you’re constantly reaching out to your customers and keeping your finger on the pulse of what they expect from you.

Develop a consistent voice and unique personality.  Send one message to the world.  Your customers want to know why you stand out and why they should stand behind your product.  Have one vision and stay true to it.  Think of your brand as if it’s a person.  Every one of us is an individual who is made up of stories, beliefs, values and purpose that define who we are.  The same is true of your brand.

Dare to be innovative and bold.  As a small business owner, you’re not tied down to larger corporate politics and bureaucracy which prevents you from being flexible.  This flexibility allows you to better serve the ever-changing needs of your customers.

Be intriguing.  Generate buzz around your brand and customer loyalty will follow.  If you generate intrigue, people will be more likely to try and unearth what it is about you that makes you stand out.  Remember people like to revel in telling others what they’ve discovered.  Pay attention to your customers and make their word of mouth an ambassador for your brand.

Lastly, think visually.  People are attracted to things that please their eye.  Use bold colors and graphics when promoting your brand.  Great first impressions leave great lasting impressions.

So what have you learned here today?  If you’re reading this as an entrepreneur, how have you branded your business to stand out from larger competition?  If you’re an established company, how have you kept your branding ideas fresh throughout the years?  Leave a comment and let your voice be heard!

Here are some articles you might want to check out about branding your business:

“How to Set Your Brand Up for Success”: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230242

“The Basics of Branding”: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/77408

“The New Rules of Branding Your Business”: http://www.inc.com/guides/2011/01/new-rules-of-branding-your-business-online.html

Until next time…

How to Recruit Top Talent for Your Business in Innovative Ways

As every entrepreneur knows, it’s extremely difficult to recruit top talent for their start-ups just as it’s difficult for current business owners to do the same for their already established companies.  By owning a start-up, you need to be extremely careful and diligent in your search for top talent and be innovative in your hunt.  You need people who are not only efficient in the way they work but also will be willing to stay with you for the long-haul and hang in there with you and believe in your efforts to make a go of your business.  Entrepreneurs need employees who will help foster and build a corporate culture that are in line with your ideas for the atmosphere and face you want your new business to project to the world.  Searching for top talent has become more inventive especially with the growth of social networking and online resources.  You can use creative ways to find top talent through such methods.  Again, it can be very difficult to find top talent as it’s been reported that six out of 10 small businesses struggle to find employees to fulfill their company’s needs.  So how to recruit top talent in business in an innovative way?  Below are some fundamentals that will help you get there.

While using outside recruiters and headhunters is often still important, many small businesses simply don’t have the money and resources to pay the fees that come along with that type of search.  One way to avoid this is by networking.  Often in social settings, you are able to meet people whose personalities mesh best with your company’s culture.  Networking enables you to meet people in your industry who might know of others they’ve worked with in the past that are currently looking for employment.  Others in your field understand the type of new hires you are looking for and can make strong recommendations and necessary introductions to top talent.

Utilize social media as a way to find top talent.  If you’re not already part of the digital revolution, get involved and quickly!  Social media can help your business reach thousands of people and provide you with a larger pool of candidates and enable you to cast a wider net when looking for top talent.  Twitter and Facebook are two fabulous online sites that are especially excellent for advertising job roles and gaining feedback from your target audience.  Of course, LinkedIn is also a great resource for your recruitment efforts.  It might in fact be the best platform of them all as its more business focused then social.  LinkedIn also provides you with a service where you can actively seek out candidates by searching on specific key words, giving you access to thousands of candidates with the stroke of a keyboard.

Try on campus recruiting at college and university job fairs.  Sometimes it’s not just about experience.  It’s about effort and drive which many young candidates have.  They are eager for work and tend to work hard to prove themselves in a growing company setting.  They have an interest in helping companies build their reputations in the marketplace and reach their ultimate goals.  While you might have to nurture young talent, it’s not an effort wasted.  In fact, you should look at it as an investment and one that is valuable.

You might even want to think about sponsoring workshops for industry professionals.  Hosting seminars for people who are thriving in your niche area is a very effective way to attract top talent.  It gives you the opportunity to see potential new hires in action and get a sense for how their minds work and how they think in terms of strategy and goal setting.

Another great way to attract top talent is by offering internships at your company.  Establishing such a program allows you to identify top talent early on before the competition has a chance to snag them away.  If they do well, give them a sense that they could be offered permanent employment with your company upon graduation.  A college student who is willing to learn and work hard can be molded into an ideal match for your business.  If you are agreeable to putting in the extra time and effort to train them, you can earn very loyal, bright candidates that are highly equipped to help your company grow and reach its future goals.

Create competition in the interview process.  Give a sense to potential new hires that they are in essence, trying to win the job and beat out others.  Consider doing multiple rounds of interviews to make the process seem more difficult to indeed get the job.  If you put the idea in a candidate’s mind that they are competing against others to win the job, it makes them work harder and gives them stronger motivation to in fact get the job.  If you indeed offer a candidate a job after fostering this sort of competition in the interview process, it might make them more grateful that they’ve in fact earned the job and will encourage them to work harder to keep it as they feel it was difficult to get it in the first place.

Illustrate the goals and values of your company to potential candidates.  Show them that your company is indeed a place where people can thrive and have the opportunity to move up quickly through hard work.  Show them that you foster a creative and independent environment where they won’t be micromanaged and will be trusted enough on the value you see in their own skills and abilities to do a good job on their own without constant hovering or them feeling like they’re always looking over their shoulder to please management.

Make sure your advertisements for open positions are thorough and truly lay out what you are looking for in a candidate.  Be specific about skill sets and the attitude needed to succeed at your company.

While it might sound strange, consider advertising at a lower salary and then be open to negotiations later on in the process.  Sometimes candidates with the least strong skills focus solely on the money whereas top talent look for opportunity and growth potential.

Lastly and possibly most importantly, look for go-getters.  It’s no secret that as an entrepreneur, you might not always have time for extensive training of new hires.  Look for candidates who seem to take a proactive approach to their jobs and can learn on the fly and pick up new skills quickly with little direction.  Talented recruits are often those who can shoulder a lot of responsibility without a lot of mentorship.

While it’s often extremely difficult to find top talent these days through unconventional methods, it just so happens that it’s often most effective, particularly for entrepreneurs with limited access to time, money and resources.  Use some of the ideas suggested above and you might find that you are more equipped than the competition to find top talent through innovative ways.

If you’re already an established business owner, what did you find were the most useful methods for finding top talent in a competitive marketplace?  If you’re a young entrepreneur just starting out, what suggestions did you find most useful today?  Leave a comment and let’s start a conversation and bounce ideas off one another.

Here are some articles you might want to check out about original ways to attract top talent for your business:

“Crowdsourcing Hidden Talent: How to Recruit a Diamond in the Rough”: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/04/business/crowdsourcing-hidden-talent-how-recruit/

“How to Attract Talent to a Small Company”: http://guides.wsj.com/small-business/hiring-and-managing-employees/how-to-attract-talent-to-a-small-company/

“How to Recruit Top Talent”: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/78598

“Where to Find Top Talent”: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-12-16/where-to-find-top-talentbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

Until next time…