Quote of the week

"At least once in your lifetime you have to strive to achieve something that seems impossible, only then you will realize that anything is possible. Unless you put yourself to the toughest test you stagnate. When you go all the way, when you work to achieve your goals without the fear of what if I fail, that is when you are really living".

- Scott Johnson, Ironman finisher

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #28

"Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things."

- Frank A. Clark

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the week #27

"He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not remains a fool forever."

- Chinese Proverb

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Getting Organized in the New Year

Happy New Year! Things have changed throughout the economy and in the workplace. With more employees doing more for the same salary or reduced salary, it is important to get yourself organized so you become more efficient, reduce your level of stress and spend more time doing things outside of work.

Here are some common problems and solutions that can help in getting organized in the New Year:

Calendar
Problem: Having meetings scheduled back to back with not enough time for you to prepare in between. Not blocking appropriate time to manage the business and your staff accordingly. Spending more time at meetings than you do at your desk.

Solution: Make your calendar work for you and not against you. Most company systems have an electronic calendar and if you are in a role that doesn’t have one, a paper calendar will do. Be sure to block off time for you to go to lunch and get away from your desk. Create a to do list of items and prioritize what you need to complete for the current day and what needs to be carried to the next day(s).

Email
Problem: If you don’t have a blackberry or pda, email is the first thing you read once you get in the office. Have you also noticed that when you check email first to see what is taking place, you start putting out fires before you even had your first cup of coffee?

Solution: Take a few minutes to get yourself settled in and have your first cup of coffee or the beverage of your choice. Then, set aside about 20 minutes to go through your email to see which emails need immediate action and the emails you can delete. Set a schedule to check email throughout the day (either on the hour or half past the hour). If something is really urgent, the person will most likely call you.

Meetings
Problem: There are way to many meetings to attend in one day. At times, people often wonder why they are even there. Does this sound like your situation? Why not get back some of your time that you can devote to other aspects of your day.

Solution: There is nothing wrong with asking the person running the meeting for the objectives and what role you would play in the meeting. Delegate to another staff member or peer if the meeting allows and follow-up with that individual if appropriate.

Career Development
Problem: So much time is spent in meetings and focusing on the needs of the clients which are to be expected. Employees subsequently spend little time in the work day to focus on professional and personal goals.

Solution: In order for people to become better organized, provide better service and grow professionally, be sure to focus on your career development as well. Focus on some short-term and long-term goals. Create a plan with your boss that focuses on helping you build your foundation and meet your needs. This can be done through external training classes, seminars and workshops, conferences and even going back to school for a certification.

File Management
Problem: No categories or consistent file management system is in place. Having a filing system that not even you can understand. Files that you currently have are located in multiple locations (electronic, hard copy, offsite, etc).

Solution: Create a system that allows you to incorporate electronic and hard copy files. This will help you be more prepared for meetings. Create categories (projects, career development, etc.) for your file management system. Store your files in a file cabinet or storage system so they are easily accessible when you need them. You can also scan your documents if this is an option at your company.

Getting organized for the New Year can help you become more efficient, reduce stress and allow you to spend more time doing the things you love with the ones you love.

Happy Organizing and Happy New Year!

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #13

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps."

- Confucius

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Reggie Waller is president of RWJ Consulting Group, LLC, which provides business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Entrepreneurs Need Social Networking

Dan Schawbel, a leading expert in social networking and a Gen-Y branding expert, explains what business owners need to know about the trend.

Entrepreneurs are busy spending time trying to run the various components of their businesses. Some may not have the knowledge to run a successful social networking campaign, that's why you should look to take on a social networking expert to fill this gap.

In my article Social Networking: Five benefits for businesses, I discuss the importance of positioning your company and being involved in one social network.

Read the full article "Entrepreneurs Need Social Networking".

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Reggie Waller is president of RWJ Consulting Group, LLC, which provides business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Social Networking: Five benefits for businesses

Mention the word Social networking and the first thing that comes to mind for most people is teens using Myspace and YouTube. Social networking has evolved beyond these two websites making sites such as LinkedIn, FaceBook and XING common places. Social Networking is no longer a teen phenomenon.

- LinkedIn states that its site includes profiles of more than 25 million professionals, with 25 new members joining every minute every day.

- comScore Video Metrix conducted research and found that in December 2007, YouTube had 77.6 million viewers who watched 3.2 billion videos.

“Like traditional networking, the most effective networking centers on building relationships, engaging others, and developing solid word-of-mouth marketing” said Patrice-Anne Rutledge author of Profiting from Social Networking.

Here are some of the benefits of implementing social networking for your business:

Advertise products and services: Don’t have a large marketing budget. Social Networking is a cost-effective approach for businesses operating on a tight budget or even looking to use another medium. The NFL used Myspace during the 2007 and 2008 Superbowl to showcase the commercials. Viewers were able to post comments on their favorite or not so favorite commercial. This type of medium can be a great spring board for you to showcase new products and services that you might be contemplating.

Market research: Companies study customer behaviors and purchasing patterns. Social networking lets you conduct your own market research with existing and potential customers. A great website to track what customers are saying is Yelp! (www.yelp.com) “Real Reviews, Real People.” Customers have a chance to provide views on services rendered from various industries which include spas, hotels and travel, restaurants, real estate and professional services.

Recruiting: Social networking allows you to reach out to individuals you may have never had access to before. Businesses are utilizing sites like LinkedIn and Facebook to recruit employees. This is an outstanding and cost-effective tool to not only recruit employees, but also engage potential partner’s investors and distributors.

Information sharing with fellow contacts: Are you an expert in your field or industry? Sites like LinkedIn enable you to ask and answer questions related to your industry and just share information with professional contacts.

Video and Audio Podcasts: Share video and audio broadcasts and make them available to customers, employees and your network. If you own an interior design or landscaping business, why not take video footage of your work to share with the social network! Maybe a video podcast will not work for your topic of discussion. Audio podcasts are an excellent way to delivery topics related to health issues, business, education and technology.

Helpful Resources Include:

How to Say it: Marketing with New Media by Lena Claxton and Alison Woo
Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Podcasting by Michael W. Geoghegan and Dan Klass
The Truth about Profiting from Social Networking by Patrice-Anne Ruledge
YouTube for Business: Online Video Marketing for Any Business by Michael Miller

Social networking can be profitable to your business in many ways. Just like any marketing campaign, there’s a potential for an increase in revenue, reach into new markets but most of all name recognition. You don’t need to incorporate all of the social networks out there, but find the one that fits your business environment and work with that until you are comfortable and then add another.

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Reggie Waller is president of RWJ Consulting Group, LLC, which provides business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #11

Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history.

-Joan Wallach Scott

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Reggie Waller is president of RWJ Consulting Group, LLC, which provides business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #10

All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.

-Ellen Glasgow

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Reggie Waller is president of RWJ Consulting Group, LLC, which provides business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group