Cathy Stucker - The Idea Lady

Attract Customers and Make Yourself Famous

You Get an Extra Day

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february 29We all say we want and need “more time.” Well, tomorrow we get it. Because this is a leap year, February has 29 days instead of 28. What will you do with your extra day?

Use the day to enrich yourself. Start by thinking about some of the things you claim never to have time for. Whether that means spending more time with family and friends, grabbing your camera and going to the park or the zoo, reading for pleasure, etc., use your leap day to do something that will help your heart and soul.
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Focus Gets Things Done

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Bright shiny objects (BSOs) are the little things that glitter in your path as you move along in life. BSOs are usually more interesting than whatever you are currently working on because they are new and exciting.

Although many other traits in your power arsenal are also essential, I truly believe that focus is the driving force of them all.

It may not seem obvious how critical focus is to your success. What becomes obvious is what happens when you lack focus. You’re distracted from essential tasks. You become unproductive. You don’t get things done that need to be done. You spread your efforts over a variety of tasks instead of a few and end up working on a lot of things, but not getting anything done. You start feeling frustrated. You begin to believe that you can’t reach your goals, or you stop setting goals altogether, or at best you set simple goals that are easy to reach and not the “stretch goals” that can truly change your life.

Worst of all, the BSOs that contribute to your lack of focus cause you to feel unworthy of success altogether because you think that you aren’t capable of performing up to your capability. [Read more…]

15-Minute Projects

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Think you cannot get anything done in just 15 minutes? In fact, some of my most productive work is done in 15-minute blasts. Although I use 15 minutes as a standard, you may do some of your projects in 10, 20 or 30 minutes, depending on the time you have available or your maximum attention span. The time you spend is not the key, it is how you approach the project. Here are some ways you can power through your to-do list, 15 minutes at a time.

First, get past the idea that you can not accomplish anything in 15 minutes. Many tasks expand to fill the time available, so if you have two hours it will take two hours. When you only have 15 minutes, you will be amazed what you can do in just15 minutes. Don’t believe me? Think about this: How long would you say it takes to clean your house? Now, imagine that your mother-in-law will be at the door in 15 minutes. How long will it take to clean your house? Get my point? [Read more…]

Don’t Do Today What You Can Put Off ‘Til Next Year

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Huh? Wait…what? Putting things off instead of doing them now is horrible advice, right? Then why are you saying that you can’t start that new project, launch a product or do any marketing until after the holidays or until you know how things are going to go with the economy next year? There are lots of excuses for not marketing now: I’m busy with the holidays, you can’t reach anyone now, no one will make a decision until January anyway, etc.

Wrong! Lots of business is happening now, and it’s not just holiday shopping. Hoping for publicity for your business? The newspaper is still being published everyday, TV news is still broadcasting, radio shows and podcasts are looking for guests, and so on. They haven’t stopped for the holidays, and neither should you.

This is a good time to keep in touch with your customers, too. Let them know how much you appreciate their business. Send out personal notes instead of mass-produced holiday cards. [Read more…]

The Theme for a New Year

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It is time to start thinking about where you will take your business over the next year. For several years, I have chosen a theme word to keep me focused on what I am trying to achieve. For example, one year the word was “Product,” when I was focused on creating lots of new products. That single word keeps me on the right track, and working toward my goals.

Your theme should be one or two words that relate to your most important goals for the year. Examples of themes might be Organization, Focus, Influence, Visibility, Service, Revenue, Involvement, Delegate, etc. Here is how you can choose your theme and use it to help you achieve more in the new year. [Read more…]