Time Mastery: Resource Rolodex

Transcription

Gaining extra hours in your day is not just about creating better personal habits – it’s also about
using the right resources for the right purpose – at the right time.
Using resources to track your time can help you not only eliminate “wasted” hours, but also:

Bill clients more accurately

Help you feel justified in raising prices to fair market value (an oft-voiced problem for at
home freelancers)

Identify “black holes” that swallow up time unnoticed

Help you see repeating patterns that need to be changed
If you find yourself constantly bewailing where your time went, tracking is a good way to find
out.
And you’ll also be able to see which chunks of time are directly billable to a project – and which
ones make you no money, directly, at all. (If you’re already billing by the hour, this may not
apply to you.)
1 Copyright © Shannon Cherry & ShannonCherry.com. All rights reserved.
Timers 101
1. On The Job – If you need heavier-duty features such as the ability to track mileage,
create and edit invoices, include more detailed billing data such as addresses and
project type (e.g. hourly versus fixed rate), then you might prefer Stunt Software’s On
the Job:
2. E.ggtimer – On the other hand, if you just want a simple alarm system that alerts you
when you’ve spent X hours on a project, you can’t beat E.ggtimer:
3. Chrometa – This app allows you to track time you don’t spend on the job.
If you feel like you’re working 24/7 but you seem to get very little done, you may need
to track those lost moments when you’re not on the job. (It’s rather like tracking all
those invisible calories that “don’t count” – the samplings while you’re cooking, the six
double-double coffees, the “dollop” of whipped cream on your pumpkin pie, etc.)
Chrometa is easy to use – you don’t have to input any data – but you do need to
observe a few tips and rules, to make sure it runs accurately.
(Read a detailed review of how it works at Groovy Post.)
4. TraxTime – Want to keep it single-purpose simple? One of the easiest ways to track
your time – both for yourself, and for billing purpose – is this handy App from Spud City.
TraxTime is breathtakingly easy to set up and use, and there is a thirty-day free trial:
And its one surprisingly useful extra feature? It does allow you to assign tracking codes
to your activities. For example, say you have one client called Tom Boxley and another
called Advac Inc., your tracking codes code look like this:

TB005
(Tom Boxley)

AV027
(Advac Inc.)
5. Elapsed -- This mobile multiple-timer App is now free for your iPhone, but if you don’t
care for its appearance and functionality, you might wish to check out its fiercest rival,
Timer, instead.
If you are like a good chunk of the population and like to do everything with your mobile, then
using a mobile Timer is probably your best option. With Apps like Elapsed and Timer, you can
time everything from your washing machine cycle to your workout to how long it should take
you to write a blog post.
If you have a different type of mobile than the iPhone, check out the App store for your
particular device.
There is bound to be a timer App in its App store.
Templates 101
Other time-saving resources you can use include Templates – pre-filled standard forms and
form letters you can customize to your business in just a few words or lines.
Keep all the Templates you use for your business in a Master File – and keep a second copy of
this folder on your desktop as your “working” folder. That way, if you accidentally over-write a
template, you can just instantly copy a new master version straight over to your working file.
The key to using Templates: Save the newly-opened Template with its specific, client-related
file name straight away, before over-writing a word.
You can find Templates for almost any purpose:

Form letters

Press releases

Time Sheets

Fax covers

Agendas

Budgets

Schedules

Lists

Memos

Calendars
And much more.
And you can find free (and paid) Templates all over the net…
6. MS Word Templates -- To access MS Word’s selection of Templates, select “File>>New”
and browse through the rather limited selection of documents:
If you don’t see the type of Template you want, you can easily search through MS Word
online for more Templates.
But MS Word isn’t your only Template option…
7. Google Doc Templates – You can also find Templates for free at Google Docs, but these
vary wildly in quality, since they are user-generated.
One advantage: You can instantly narrow your search criteria in a number of ways. You
can search by Category, by Type, by Language – and there are even suggestions for the
“Hottest” Templates (by “Most Users” and “Highest Rating”).
The best thing to do? Try them out. Some Templates aren’t worth the download – they
begin to malfunction the moment you try to customize them. Check for the ratings – a
Template that has more than four stars and more than three reviews is usually
workable.
You can also preview any Template, to see if it’s what you’re looking for at a glance:
If you don’t find what you’re looking for among standard free Template options such as
MS Word and Google Docs, simply run a Google search with parameters such as these:
You can then pick and choose from the results…
Once you find a Template site that looks promising, there’s one more precaution to
take, since you don’t want to land unwittingly on a malware-laden site – check for
“Reviews” in your Google Search bar.
Services 101
You can also find resources that are home-related, rather than business related. Here’s a
sampling of services that can save you real time. There may be a fee – but you will need to
balance that fee against how much you can actually make if you don’t spend two hours grocery
shopping, for example.
Service Fee
My Time
Profit
Netgrocer cost: $25.00
2 hrs. @ $23 per hour = $46
$21.00
There’s also an intrinsic value beyond the monetary – your concentration and focus isn’t broken
by having to leave your office and go deal with mundane tasks like grocery shopping. You’re in
your office to take calls or field inquiries about your services – and you’re better able to stick to
your desired work schedule. (You’re also not at the mercy of weather and you’re saving gas
too.)
Here is a sampling of resources that can save you time:
8. Netgrocer – An online grocery storing “delivering nationwide and to APO/FPO
addresses. This company is one of the most popular of its type, and delivers via Fedex.
Netgrocer also features specials, so it’s worth following them on Facebook and checking
out the deals before you write your list.
In addition to “regular” groceries, you can also choose from Natural and Organic, as well
as “Health and Beauty” products. Their Departments are listed in their left-hand,
vertical menu.
The average delivery cost is usually about $25.00 for a $160.00 grocery order.
9. SendOutCards -- This online gift and greeting card company will add a special touch to
your business marketing – and to your personal relationships.
How it works: You can pick and choose from postcards, greeting cards, gifts – and
customize them to the sender.
Your card or gift is ordered online and instantly physically mailed to the recipient. (You
can even upload a sample of your handwriting, to create your own custom font!)
The cost is minimal – and the savings can be tremendous.
SendOutCards describes its mission as: “To help millions of people act on their
promptings and provide a vehicle for financial success”.
This company stamps, stuffs and sends out physical mail for you – and there’s a wide
selection of products and cards to choose from.
10. Staples -- You don’t even need to leave home to go get office supplies. You can have
companies like Staples deliver right to your door, if you live in Canada or the United
States after you’ve shopped from their online catalogue.
You’ll also find specials and deals – some of them quite spectacular – that you won’t find
in the physical store.
Says one busy copywriter: “In fact, I’ve physically shopped at my local Staples store –
when I was checking out printers – only to be told to go home and order it online,
because I could save forty dollars that way.”
Do check references and reviews, however, before you use an online shopping service.
Some are better than others – and some seem to gain more positive feedback in certain
areas of the country.
11. Fat Wallet – Even if you shop such mainstream and well-known sites as Amazon and
Drugstore.com, you may wish to do so through a service such as FatWallet, which
provides extra levels of savings (through special deals) on top of existing ones.
Outsourcing 101
This guide wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t deal with contracting out work to other service
providers. We’ve mentioned outsourcing several times – but where do you go, to find reliable
and professional contractors?
12. oDesk – This is the place to go if you want to find admin support, web and graphic
designers or App developers.
With oDesk, you can either post your project publicly and select from bids contractors
make… or you can find a contractor who seems to be your ideal candidate, and contact
him or her privately.
You can also specify if your job is a fixed contract at a set rate or by hourly rates. The
latter is not necessarily risky: You can “cap” the number of hours per week or per
project, and oDesk offers a guarantee that you will only pay for hours worked.
Most contractors with oDesk have been vetted and you’ll be able to see feedback. It’s a
fairly reliable place to find the right skilled personnel for your specialty task – but
always, always check references.
13. Fiverr - This resource is a little more risky, but it does provide a ratings and feedback
system, so common sense should prevail here: Avoid anyone who has complaints
against their name.
The premise rests on skilled (and sometimes unskilled) specialists giving you samples of
their services for five dollars per project.
The quality does range all over the map, from people who want to make a personalized
video for you as Santa to graphic designers offering you your own logo for five dollars.
With the latter type of contractor, do remember that they are providing a taste of their
wares: Their regular rates won’t be that low. They are hoping you’ll love what you get
and use their regular services.
(With people offering such wacky services as dressing up their pet rabbit in any doll
outfit you please, they are usually just looking to make a quick – and often rather
desperate – buck. They’re in it for the one-time-only, whereas professional like graphic
designers or copywriters are hoping you’ll come back and stay as a regular, recurring
customer.)
You can search Fiverr by keyword and/or category/sub-category, which makes it quick
to locate the type of service you’re searching for.
Payment Concerns – How do you protect yourself from being ripped off?
Look for an outsourcing company such as oDesk, who keeps all payments you make in escrow –
meaning the payment is not released to the contractor until you’ve seen it and “signed off” on
the job.
Some services accept PayPal. Some do not. Expect to pay by credit card, ninety per cent of the
time.
If you’re going with a private contractor, try to avoid paying large amounts up front. If your
project is in the higher fee range, negotiate a thirty-to-fifty per cent non-refundable retainer up
front, rather than paying the entire fee in advance. Not many online contractors nowadays will
work “on spec”, where they are not paid a penny until you’ve seen and approved of the
contractor’s body of work.
You are hiring a professional who has to make a living, just as you do: And you are hiring his
expertise and skills.
Make sure you (a) check references (b) use a contract, detailing such specific items as fixed
rates, delivery dates and contact protocols.
Word of Mouth – Never underestimate the power of personal references. If you want to find
the perfect person, ask industry peers or members of your closed mastermind forums or social
networking specialty groups.
People tend to recommend the best, if they’re going to recommend at all: It looks good on
them to be the hero – as well as proving they’re the expert in your common niche. And anyone
who works online knows that resource personnel such as virtual assistants have – and need –
more than one client. (Many VAs outsource, themselves!)
They are especially likely to recommend their own-highly prized VA if they, themselves, can
only use the latter for small time periods: In which case, it’s not you they’re trying to help so
much as they are trying to strengthen the bond with their prized VA.
Run searches against your proposed outsourcing contractor in Google, using qualifying search
parameters such as “review” and “complaint”.
Time Versus Saving Money
One final word before we go, however: You do need to realize that there’s always a pay-off;
and it’s not the same for everyone. You have two diametrically-opposed factors affecting your
decision, when using these suggested online resources and others – Time versus Saving Money.
Sometimes saving time will be important to you. And sometimes saving money will win out (i.e.
doing it yourself).
Only you know the right choice for you --- but you’ll be all the more certain to make it if you
keep this “Time versus Saving Money” factor firmly in mind.
For example, on one particular day when you know you have some leeway on a project, going
to the drugstore yourself and browsing and sampling cosmetics (maybe picking up a coffee on
the way home) can make the perfect Mental Health break.
On another day, when you’re sick as a dog and don’t want to get out of your fluffy slippers and
jammies, or you have an impending client deadline and you’re a day behind, the best option in
the world might seem like using Drugstore.com to deliver what you need (or even your own
local drugstore).
These are just some of the resources available via the net. You can pick and choose, and tailor
a mix of resources that work best for your lifestyle and business.
You work online – so use them wisely and well.

Time Mastery: Resource Rolodex

Transcription

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