See the picture above? That’s the view I had as I sat down and wrote this piece. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon as I got comfortable in the partial shade of this café in Noosa. There was an easy-going, peaceful vibe to this place, which is why I decided to stop there to eat (and write). You’d never have guessed it was a Monday!

“Lucky for you!” I hear you say. 

But here’s the thing- with a little pre-planning and rescheduling, there’s a good chance your Monday (or any work day for that matter) could be just as enjoyable as mine was- and by the end of it, you’ll still have important stuff (actual work stuff) completed! No cluttered work-space, no faulty air-conditioning, no “same old same old” for lunch- but your working weeks end up more productive than ever! How is this so? 

The beauty of entrepreneurship in the Information Age is that not only has it given small businesses a greater chance than ever before to boom- it has also opened up the opportunity for business owners in any number of occupations to finally live the work/ life balance they’ve been dreaming of! If you’re at peace relaxing with a simple cup of coffee in your spare time, chains like McDonald’s now have free wi-fi in all their stores. If you’ve got an acquired taste for something fancier, fear not- plenty of restaurants and café’s are following suit! All you need is your laptop and you effectively have a new “work space”!

In an age where so much of our work can be done entirely online, it’s become increasingly possible to undertake important tasks in an environment where you’re more likely to do them to the best of your ability. Sure there are industries that require the business owner to be on premises or at a certain location at a particular time (mechanics, photographers and veterinarians I hear you!) but even then- there are otherwise menial tasks like e-mailing, invoicing, client calls etc. that don’t need to be done in the office. Provided you have internet connection- you can do them anywhere!

The question to consider firstly, is what tasks can I complete entirely online? The second question to consider is: where do I feel most inspired? For me, being out under the sun in a peaceful park or near the beach is where I feel most at ease. It’s where my creative energies flow the best. If I have the choice of writing a piece (or undertaking a task) right now or undertaking a task in an hour or so- when I’ll be in a place that lets me carry out the same task with more creative energy and peace of mind- you bet I’ll take the option of waiting so I can do it better!

If you take a look at your upcoming work schedule, ask yourself whether you need to be ‘at work’ for everything? Or could you plan ahead and arrange to take a stroll, bike ride, bus ride or road-trip somewhere to a place where you love the environment, the atmosphere or the energy- and then settle into your work there? Can you imagine spending several hours in an environment that helps relax or inspire you- and leaving with several tasks crunched, feeling so up-beat or at ease that you almost feel guilty for having a work day so free of stress, boredom or frustration? Not only that- but you’ve put more energy and effort into the tasks than you would’ve otherwise!

Let me know how re-scheduling your working week goes- especially if you start loving your Mondays!

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmackie1

When you’re a small business (particularly in the start-up phase), the urge is there to “get going” as soon as possible. Get organised. Get up to speed. Get the clients. Get paid. Get a regular income etc. For many of us, we figure that the best way to achieve that “get more clients” goal is to market ourselves to the widest audience we can. So perhaps even though you specialise in this certain area or that particular aspect of your line of work, instead you present yourself as the “jack of all trades”. You figure that the more you ‘do’ the quicker that rise to success will be. The thing about being a “jack of all trades” however, is that you become known as a master of none of them (to paraphrase the old saying). The irony is, a wider scope/ focus means we can quickly spread our marketing message and our abilities too thin. We fail to distinguish ourselves from competitors because having a token presence across the widest scope we can, spreads our abilities and our marketing message too thin. Not only that, but it increases the risk of being left stressed, time-poor and wondering what else we have to do to get the customers rolling in?

A quick trip to sites such as LinkedIn indicates that there are any number of niche areas of business- with the number rising by the week. The Information Age has resulted in people being able to develop a more specific, discerning idea of what they’re looking for- and for more than a few people, your areas of particular expertise will be exactly what they want. The beauty of this is, that when people develop a specific idea of what they are looking for, their subconscious mind develops a radar to spot it. Notice how the names of certain people, groups or organisations almost leap off the page of written passages, news or online articles without you even looking directly at them? Think back to the last time you bought a new car- did all these other people suddenly begin driving the same model car as you, or was your subconscious mind playing ‘Spotto’?
 
I encourage you to take the time to think about what aspects of your business you especially enjoy, or have extensive knowledge/ expertise in. Could the difference between where you ARE and where you’d LIKE to be in your business journey, come down to narrowing your target market? Concentrating your message? Being more specific? The beauty of this is that, in time, you will establish yourself prominently as the figure of authority in that area of speciality. If I ask you to think of fine dining, does one restaurant name stand out, or do you think of a few names, with little differentiation? On the other hand, if I ask you to think of fried chicken, what name flashes in your mind? Who do we perceive as the go-to people when it comes to fried chicken? As a further example, Hyundai design and build cars for a wide cross-section of motorists with varying budgets. Enzo Ferrari and Feruccio Lamborghini both envisioned designing/ building cars for a specific type of person- the motorist with money to burn, who loved driving fast in style. In the past week, I couldn’t tell you how many Hyndai’s I’ve seen on the road. But I can certainly recall the red Ferrari 458 Italia I saw in the Valley yesterday, or the black Lamborghini Murcialago that cruised by me a few days earlier. I’ve seen two Ferraris and two Lamborghinis this past month- I know this because I remember them. My subconscious ‘radar’ spots them before my eyes do!