Tuesday, March 1, 2011

15 Rules for finishing off the day

15 Rules For Finishing Off The Day

1. Clear, clean-up and tidy your desk – by clearing your workspace you will enable you to start the new day with a clean slate in all respects.

2. Try to have only one working or project on your desk at any one time, ensuring you to focus your attention on that one activity.

3. Throw unnecessary paper in the bin – get in the habit of removing rubbish and unwanted paper from your desk each day. This will also assist your ‘clear desk policy’ if that works for you.

4. Put files away each day – keep files off your desk unless you are working on them. It is not good for office security to have valuable company information available to anyone who might wander past your desk. Place them in locked cabinets or drawers.

5. Adjust your priority on tasks for the next day. What may have been B minus today can become A double plus tomorrow

6. Check the time of your first appointment the next day – if you know what your first commitment for the day will be, you can plan the rest of the day around it. It also allows you to book travel time to that appointment and any preparation you may need to do beforehand.

7. Start your “to do” list for the next day – carry over important tasks form your current day’s list, add new tasks for the following day and your planning will save you a few minutes the next morning.

8. Put your reading file in your briefcase – start a reading file and carry it with you to read on your way home on public transport or while you are in a queue – you can get through your reading easily if you carry it with you and make the most of each opportunity,

9. Wash your coffee cup or empty your water bottle – start each day afresh by cleaning up the night before.

10. Switch your phone on voicemail if appropriate – if you are not going to be in the office until later the next morning, this will allow any early morning callers to leave you a message.

11. You may like to change your voicemail message if you are not going to be in the office the next day to advise callers where they could reach you or an alternative number.

12. Get those final email messages and memos out tonight, not tomorrow. Rule number one of business momentum is to have other people busy for you, not the other way around

13. Switch off your computer, screen and printer – be environmentally friendly and save power and money where you can.

14. Remind yourself of your achievements of the day – take a minute to remind yourself of what you achieved in your day. You may like to record it in a journal or diary. Celebrate your success

15. When you switch off, switch off! Let go and go home


An initiative of the Financial Services Sales Academy www.financialservicessalesacademy.com.au.

Budgeting

Quick Facts from GFS… Budgets

· In today's tough economic climate, it is more important than ever to budget and establish a savings plan. This is because budgeting is the best way for you to take control of your finances, save money and plan for the future.

· Some times it was easy to get away with a more casual approach to financial planning: you could be sure of earning enough to pay your bills, even if this meant looking for some extra overtime or taking a second job for a while. But those times are rare and wasted if you do not take advantage of them.

· A sound budget and a savings plan will help you achieve your immediate needs and long-term financial security. Few individuals or families know just how they spend their money.

· They know that at the end of their pay period - weekly, fortnightly or monthly - it is all gone. A budget will change this. It is the direct and sensible approach to personal money management.

· Basically, a budget is a financial plan that itemises an individual's or a family's spending and helps accomplish short-term and long-term goals.

· Its main purpose is not to get you out of trouble - although it will help. Better still, it will keep you out of trouble in the first place.

· In fact, a budget is really an essential part of everyday life. Without a budget it just is not possible to cope with those unexpected bills and to see at a glance, how you can most easily cut back you’re spending.

· The ultimate aim of budgeting is to ensure that you can:

o Adequately meet all your financial commitments and
o Have some money left over to save.

· Set a savings goal that is within your reach and will not put a strain on your budget. Even if you begin by saving only a small amount each pay period, this will add up over a year to a respectable amount.

· Everyone will have his or her own savings target. But, as a general rule, we suggest you aim to save 10 per cent of your gross annual income: five per cent for short-term aims and five per cent for longer-term intensions. While this may not be practicable now, it is worth aiming to reach this goal in the future - and sooner rather than later.

· People with young families should aim to build up an emergency fund equal to three months take-home pay in case of retrenchment or emergencies. Remember:

o Your savings will help you through those difficult times and emergencies;
o Savings will free you from day-to-day money worries;
o If you have money saved, you can use it in emergencies instead of credit cards (with their high interest charges);
o By saving, you will establish a financial track record, which will be important when you apply for a loan for a major purpose (house, land or car);
o Your longer-term savings will help you build up income-producing investments for a better, more secure lifestyle;
o By saving and investing responsibly, you will contribute towards Australia's future by helping to create a national savings pool to fund our development and reduce our dependence on foreign capital;
o A dollar saved is a dollar earned

· Deciding to budget does not mean that you have to cut out spending on discretionary items that are important to your lifestyle.

· But you should be realistic about them and become a disciplined shopper (as well as a disciplined budgeter). This will help make your money work better for you. Here are just a few ideas on this important topic:

o Consider buying lower priced "generics" or items of a similar nature to your regular purchases;
o Switch to less expensive versions of goods or services.
o Shop harder for the best possible deals on items you must have;
o Avoid buying items that are of limited value to you or your family;
o Become a comparison shopper: watch the advertisements and be aware that prices vary from day to day on a whole range of goods from furniture to food;
o Watch for genuine sales and specials;
o Deal with shops, which offer good service and will take goods back without argument if they are unsatisfactory.
o Shop for seasonal specials and stock your freezer. But buy in bulk only when you know you can use everything you intend to buy - otherwise you will have to throw a lot of it out. Waste is costly.
o Phase your purchasing of big items like furniture and major electrical goods over three to five years and buy only when you really need and can afford the items;
o Think about buying good second-hand items - check-out auctions and garage sales;
o If you are holding money in a special savings account, you can often use it to pay for an item - and get a discount for cash;
o Buy Australian-made goods in preference to imports - buying Australian helps save jobs and reduces the nation's overseas payments and debt problems.

· But you should be realistic about them and become a disciplined shopper (as well as a disciplined budgeter). This will help make your money work better for you. Here are just a few ideas on this important topic:

o Consider buying lower priced "generics" or items of a similar nature to your regular purchases;
o Switch to less expensive versions of goods or services.
o Shop harder for the best possible deals on items you must have;
o Avoid buying items that are of limited value to you or your family;
o Become a comparison shopper: watch the advertisements and be aware that prices vary
o from day to day on a whole range of goods from furniture to food;
o Watch for genuine sales and specials;
o Deal with shops, which offer good service and will take goods back without argument if they are unsatisfactory.
o Shop for seasonal specials and stock your freezer. But buy in bulk only when you know

· You can use everything you intend to buy - otherwise you will have to throw a lot of it out. Waste is costly.

o Phase your purchasing of big items like furniture and major electrical goods over three to five years and buy only when you really need and can afford the items;
o Think about buying good second-hand items - check-out auctions and garage sales;
o If you are holding money in a special savings account, you can often use it to pay for an item - and get a discount for cash;
o Buy Australian-made goods in preference to imports - buying Australian helps save jobs and reduces the nation's overseas payments and debt problems.

· Try to be as realistic as possible. Do not make the budget so tight and demanding that it will be impossible to achieve your goals. Do not make it too generous - or you will destroy your incentive to budget and save. Be flexible - but disciplined.

· Partners should budget together. But involve everyone in your household - tell them about your budget and savings goals and why it is so important to achieve them.

· Do not be discouraged if you cannot get your budget to work - try again. Once you have set up a workable budget, you will find that budgeting becomes a habit.

· Today is the best day to begin budgeting.

· There are two main items to consider: your INCOME and your EXPENDITURE.

In the section headed INCOME, list all your incoming money (after tax).

· Expenditure:

o When you begin compiling your expenditure, it will be helpful if you have by you all the receipts from last year's bills that you can find.

o If you do not have these, keep a detailed list of your spending over the next few months. If you see some items that you can cut back on, note them for future attention.

o If you look after your possessions, they will last longer. Money spent on maintenance to extend life of a costly item can be money saved.

o Learn to be a good supermarket shopper. Make up a shopping list - and stick to it. Avoid impulse buying. Once in a while it is OK to buy something you do not really need. But if you let impulse shopping get out of hand it will overload your trolley and destroy your budget.

o When you have completed your Budget, add up all your income and expenditure and subtract the expenditure total from the income total. What is left over is your spare money for the year.

o As this is a yearly figure, you will need to divide this by 52 to bring it down to a weekly figure, by 26 to make it fortnightly or by 12 to make it monthly. This money is yours to spend or to save; we suggest you save it each pay period.

· You may find that you have a shortfall - in fact that you are spending more than you earn.

· If this is the case, you will need to go back and reassess your expenditure or, look for ways to increase your income. You may have made a mistake with your calculations. Or you may need to cut down on some area of your spending: entertainment, gifts, clothing, and luxury items.

· It is better for you (or your family) to make these decisions, rather than have them taken out of your hands.

· This will enable you to see at a glance the payouts you will have to make each month to the nearest dollar. This means you can calculate the minimum amount you need to have available to meet your bills.

· Some months you will be more heavily committed to repayments than in other times of the year. Be sure you are adequately covered so you will not be short of money.



The advice contained herein does not take into account any persons particular objectives, needs or financial situation. Before making a decision regarding the acquisition or disposal of a Financial Product persons should assess whether the advice is appropriate to their objectives, needs or financial situation. Persons may wish to make this assessment themselves or seek the help of an adviser. No responsibility is taken for persons acting on the information provided. Persons doing so, do so at their own risk. Before acquiring a financial product a person should obtain a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) relating to that product and consider the contents of the PDS before making a decision about whether to acquire the product.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Planningwerx4U - who are we & what do we do?

Who is PW4U

Planningwerx4u was set up to assist Small Business Owners (SBO’s) to equip themselves to be professional and organised. Whether it is, in starting up a new business, running their business successfully or updating an established business which is looking to develop further. Planningwerx4u has the tools and systems in place to build better businesses.

Planningwerx4u is designed to help small business by putting them in touch with other SBO’s aswell as planning their back office and remaining organised.

Planningwerx4u has also an extensive referral system to help other small businesses. Planningwerx4u: Referrals: works with other small businesses owners who are specialists in their field in assisting others. Planningwerx4u also assists business networking and believes this assists many businesses to grow and develop.

Planninwerx4u provides business support in assisting small businesses in:
o Business budgeting
o Business planning
o Creating and maintaining office and procedure manuals
o Business management
o HR – agreements, staff reviews, superannuation and insurance info
o Referrals – building them
o Marketing and Advertising


Planningwerx4u: Home/Family: assists families organise their homes, lives and lifestyles more efficiently so they can spend more time together.

Planningwerx4u has Coffee Time, which has been created to assist all types of small business better themselves and assist them in their industry. Coffee time meets fortnightly on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, at the Zenith Business Centre, Tuggerah, to help small business owners meet and discuss any issues or challenges they face. Some of the attendees have a wealth of knowledge and are happy to assist other local small business owners.

About Us:

Plannnigwerx4u is operated by small business owner Tarnia Gurney. Tarnia owns Gurney Financial Services, which is a financial planning business on the NSW Central Coast — servicing the local community, small business, as well as clientele in greater NSW and QLD.

When Tarnia set up her own financial planning business she had to go out and research and collect information from everywhere. She understands what it takes to build a business from the ground up. One of the issues that Tarnia discovered was that SBO’s were lacking the direction and support they needed to be financially successful. She found that getting out there and getting noticed was the hardest, but also the best. Tarnia met other small business owners through local networking groups. This has taken time, but it has been the best form of advertising around. Using her networking skills, Tarnia has developed a referral system with other small business owners who are willing to assist others.

Planningwerx4u owner and director, Tarnia Gurney has a Certificate in Management, Various Customer Service and Training Certificates aswell as Diploma's in Financial Planning. She has 7 years of experience in Customer Service in the Retail sector, 14 years experience in Customer Service and Management in the Financial Services industry as well as 5 years as a Financial Planner and Coach.

Tarnia looks forward to assisting others starting up their small business and developing into their full potential. Planningwerx4u are a local business who assists other local businesses in developing to their full potential

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Alisse Bradley - The Prosperity Whisper

Business Prosperity is (money)
- Growth
- Balance
- Purpose

Feng Shui – means wind and water
Feng Shui helps you be aware of the direct relationship between your other self and inner self

Habits you may have
· half open draws/doors - never complete
· likes and dislikes
· watches/calendars - time problems
· messy business, unorganized
· orange – holding on
· pink– denying femininity
· elephants – balance
· owls – wisdom, clarity
· what do you surround yourself with
o Office furnishings
o Office Stationary
· hide – bills away
· hoarder – someone gave you something

Creating positive energy flow and energy
· make you feel good
· helps with attracting
o wealth
o health
o happiness
· make people feel good
o potential clients
o current clients
o staff
o self
o Productive and feel good

For Luck Today
· money frog – inside your door brings in
· turtle at back door – slows money going out

Focus

Apply Feng Shui to:
· Graphics and design
· Business premises or office space
· Yourself
· Branding
· USP – unique selling point
· Representation
· Name
· Colours and symbols
· Face info
· Colour
· Choice symbols – strong
· Font – different, bold, secure

Feng Shui and Colours
· red – confident
· blue – responsible, trust, communication
· purple – strength, wisdom, believe in yourself - Success
· green – goal setting colours
· purple/yellow – self esteem

Feng Shui and what you see
· Items you first see
· Door and windows
· Cleared of clutter
· Pictures
· Colour
· Dress, clothes, shoes, accessories, jewelry, makeup

House of a 1000 Mirrors - a story of 2 puppies one was happy and the other was not friendly, the happy pup who went to a house in the village and saw a 1000 happy dogs looking back at him, he was so very happy. However, when the angry not very friendly puppy went to the house, he saw a 1000 angry not friendly puppies looking back at him and he ran away and never returned.

Albert Einstein said:
There are two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is a though everything is a miracle

For more information on Feng Shui in your life and business, please contact Alisse Bradley at http://www.theprosperitywhisperer.com

http://www.theprosperitywhisperer.com/Millionaires_Feng_Shui.html

Dale Beaumont - Get Published Secrets

Writing a book helps you build creditability

Why and How to:
Magnifies you income
Earning potential
Earn passive income
Helps you to build your data base
Increases the opportunity for publicity and media exposure
It helps to make a positive difference to people you may never meet
You get to leave a legacy
It’s a whole lot of fun

What stops people
I don’t know enough
I am a bad writer
It takes too much time
I heard it costs to much
I don’t make enough money

Lets get started:
Find your topic – profession, expertise, passionate, gap in the market
You need to find out what the market wants – survey
Get your book written fast
Write a killer title and get your cover designed
Pre sell copies of your book
Secure high profit endorsements
Add bonuses in your book (lead generation)
Decide how you are going to get your book published
Have your book edited, typeset and printed
Make sure you have bar codes, labels, copyrights, etc
Distributions – get into bookstores and internet
Grab attention of the media
Repackage your books information to explore your profits
E-books
Cds
DVDs
Seminars
Work books
Manuals
Coaching
For more information - http://www.dalebeaumont.com

Judith Wilson - The Inside Secrets of Powerful Presenters

Pitch – tasking business to the next level
Make it cost effective
80% of small businesses go broke in the first 5yrs

Every 7 minutes you change;
States
Physical - move
Mental – think about something else
Emotional – a different feeling

Train:
Trends
Real skills
Annual Income
Inside a day
Need

Trends:
Running short courses
Continuous courses
Many corporations are out sourcing their training and closing their training departments
Hot topics are
Negotiation skills
Inductions
Leadership and supervision

Real:
Individuals are more conscious of self development
For business to survive and thrive now
Time management
Up skill business from the individiual outwards
Staff stay in organisations that develop them
People are an asset

Annual Income:
2 ways to make money as a trainer
Corporate and big business training
Seminars

Inside a Day:
· Courses need to be inside a day.

Need:
· Up skill of workers
· Hospitality courses/ call centre/ time management
1.6 million small businesses
Government is giving businesses money to up skill workers
Teach your passion
Add value to your business
Give back to the community
Develop your own skills
Learn the skills to training
Mentorship others

For further information - www.producingpowerfulpeople.com.au