What's In Your Tool Chest? (2-1-13)

Develop simple tools for making your solo biz run better.

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In this issue... What's In Your Tool Chest? CopyKatz Creative Creates Clever Contest Good Stuff for Solo Professionals Forward to a friend... Share:

February 1, 2013 #310 Hello! Running a business involves lots of mundane repetition. Mundane repetition. It's probably unavoidable, but it can be streamlined. Today's newsletter offers a few suggestions that you can put to use right now. To listen to today's edition (5 minutes, 29 seconds), click here. Click here to subscribe via iTunes. The permanent link for this newsletter is here. All the best, Michael J. Katz Founder and Chief Penguin Blue Penguin Development, Inc. What's In Your Tool Chest? My friend Andy came to Boston on Tuesday. He lives in LA and sent me an e-mail to let me know he was coming to town: "If you're free and interested, I'd be glad to buy you dinner." Between you and me, I wasn't sure if his invitation meant that he'd be eating along with me, but a free meal is a free meal, so I took my chances and said yes. He told me he was staying at the Westin Hotel in Copley place, so I suggested Legal Sea Foods, a terrific restaurant that never disappoints. We agreed to meet at 6:30. I arrived about 10 minutes early so I had a seat at the bar and ordered a beer. 20 minutes later he hadn't shown up, so I sent him a text: Me: Here at Legal! Andy: Seated Me: Stand by I grabbed my half-full glass, walked into the restaurant proper and started looking around. No Andy. So I asked a waiter: "Have you seen a guy sitting by himself in here somewhere?" Nope. As I made my way back to the front entrance, things were starting to click together. I asked the hostess: "By any chance, is there more than one Legal Sea Foods in the area?" She smiled and handed me a small slip of paper. I confess that for one fleeting moment I thought maybe it would be her phone number, but no, it was walking directions to the other Legal Sea Food. I thanked her, sent a quick text to Andy and gulped the remainder of my beer. Eight minutes later, we were sitting down to dinner. Now I don't know why the people at Legal feel the need for two restaurants so close together. Some people go years between seafood meals; certainly the rest of us could afford to hang on for three more blocks. Whatever the reason, clearly I was not the first person to make this mistake. The prewritten slip of paper was a smart idea - one that made the hostess's life easier by her not having to keep repeating walking directions and my life easier by not having to remember them. So, what kinds of simple, efficient tools have you developed for your business? If you find yourself creating things from scratch, over and over again, it might be worth considering. Here are a few that I rely on, to help get you thinking: Directions to my office. I don't get a ton of visitors, but after typing it into an e-mail a few times, I developed a one-sheet direction page complete with a map, instructions for parking and my contact information. I e-mail it to people the first time they come. Standardized cards. "Congratulations on the launch of your newsletter;" "Thank you for the referral;" "Good to meet you." Using an online service called Send Out Cards (my affiliate link) that automates the sending of snail mail cards from my computer, I've set up a number of standard templates. I customize the messages each time, but the format is done and ready to go. Service descriptions. I've got a handful of client programs that I offer. These are invariably customized for different people and different situations, but here as well, I begin with a standard template that I modify. New client questionnaire. I ask new clients to fill out a 30-question (or so) questionnaire about their company, goals, approach, clients, etc., before our first meeting. It helps them begin thinking about our work together and gives me greater insight into who they are and what they need before we begin. Plus, it gives them the (accurate) impression that I've done this many times before. Newsletter sign-up form. Speaking to a group is a terrific opportunity to grow your newsletter subscriber list. If they like you, you can easily walk away with 75% of the room signing up. I've got a form that I pass out and that I've fine-tuned over the years to make this as productive as possible (click "reply" to send me an e-mail and I'm happy to share it with you). Here's the bottom line. Lots of solos don't bother developing these kinds of simple tools and systems - they think they're only for big companies and big projects. Not me. The way I look at it, the more efficient we can get managing repeatable, often mundane aspects of our work, the more time there is for eating seafood. How about you? What simple tools have you developed to help your business run more smoothly? Click here to share. Share: Forward this newsletter

CopyKatz Creative Creates Clever Contest Speaking of repeatable and mundane, CopyKatz Creative, the copy writing business that I run with my son Evan, has a new feature: We call it, The Newsletter Field Trip (catchy, I know). The Field Trip invites readers to send us any piece of "business writing" - bio, web site, marketing piece, radio ad, cease and desist order, etc. We'll give it a look and, twice each month, select one lucky winner to be featured and (gently) critiqued in the CopyKatz Creative newsletter. If you think your writing has what it takes - or, more accurately I suppose, what it doesn't take - click here to send us something. In addition to earning the admiration of their peers, those featured will receive a cat-themed gift, a custom-written haiku and 10,000 points of no monetary value. Good Stuff for Solo Professionals How to be a Leading Expert Wednesday, Feb 27th 2 PM EST Michael Katz's Tactical and Practical Solo Professional Breakthrough Year Starts April 9th (put your name on the wait list and get the early bird price) Beyond Social Media: (Simple) Relationship Marketing for Solo Professionals Wednesday, May 22nd 2 PM EST Pricing Your Professional Services Wednesday, June 12th 2 PM EST 5 Weeks to a Magnificent E-Mail Newsletter Starts Wednesday, October 2nd 2 PM EST Click here for a list and brief description of the services I use, trust and recommend in running my business. (Hint: You can use them too.) I specialize in teaching solo professionals how to get clients easily. More details on my consulting and coaching services here. More details on my on-demand products here. More details on copywriting via CopyKatz Creative here. Call me: 508-497-0900 Email me: ContactUs@BluePenguinDevelopment.com Web me: www.BluePenguinDevelopment.com Send me a lobster: One Ash Street, Hopkinton MA 01748 You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from me, please add contactus@bluepenguindevelopment.com to your address book today. To subscribe to this newsletter, send an email with your request to: ContactUs@BluePenguinDevelopment.com Your privacy is important to me. But not as important as my income. Ha, ha!! I am just kidding. I never rent, sell, share or even think about your name with anybody else in the room. Read our privacy statement Copyright ©2013 Blue Penguin Development, Inc. All rights reserved. You may reproduce this article by including this copyright and, if reproducing it electronically, including a link to www.BluePenguinDevelopment.com. You must also make a loud penguin noise at noon (EST), each day while the article is in use (costume optional). No penguins were harmed in the production of this newsletter.

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