Stop making "To Do" Lists

  How stressed do you get when you look at a big project and think about all the steps you have to take to get there and get it done? If you are like me, these lists make me anxious and just give me another excuse to procrastinate even more. I already have everything I know I need to do in my head, why am I wasting time writing them down? I just get stressed about the tasks that are still left on the list and exhausted from trying to do it all.
  Lately, I have been writing "Done" lists. Sounds different, right? This is especially good for people who are dealing with time management issues. I write down what I did, check it off, and how long it took to complete the task.
  Why does this work? Many of us underestimate the time it actually takes to complete a task. This is the essential cause of the anxiety from looking at an incomplete "to do" list. Not only that, we don't take distractions into account. Write those down too. Are there ways you can eliminate them or minimize them? More than likely. Once you understand how much time you need to get your tasks done it will be easier to make a "to do" list based on your time frame.
  But, most of all, allow some flexibility and time for yourself!

All politics aside...

  As we draw nearer to election, it is not an easy pill to swallow to watch the vast stratification in beliefs in our political system. It is a bit troubling to think that if people are unbending in their personal beliefs, will it transpire to our political system? And yes, it has. It has taken a major toll on progress because of the lack of willingness to compromise. Not only is the base of our economy, the middle class, shrinking, so is the moderate Republican and Democrat. Any politicians out there reading this, please, Please, PLEASE, buck the trend of your party and the lines drawn in the sand! The public is looking to you!

  Until then, while we are waiting for our politicians to figure it out, we must go it alone. We must rely on the community, ebb fears, and act as psychotherapists in our activities daily. We are the ones that must bend and compromise in order to be successful. We have to keep our personal political views out of our business or at least not a focus of our business. In the realm of an education business, we have diverse belief systems. Most have a tendency towards progressivism, celebrating the individual, and supporting the community at large. We have to be accepting of all people. A lot of good businesses keep politics and and activities separate. Unless, your business is politics.

  For example, I have a very liberal approach on religion and do not attend church. However, I do teach hymns and traditional Christmas music to my students. Am I somehow a hypocrite for doing so? I don't think so. It's smart business. My business focus is tailoring each lesson and their curriculum to them. Now, if I was asked to teach Christianity to someone, I would have a problem with that and would recommend them to their minister or a church that fits their personality and their needs. I don't claim to be an expert in that arena. My services only fulfill certain parts of certain people's journeys. A good teacher or life coach recognizes those limitations.

  So please, let's get through the next 20 days holding hands and agreeing to disagree, ok?

Being an Agent of Change

  There are two types of changes in this country, quick changes and slow growth changes. Quick changes are highly experimental and the effects are not felt for a very long time. Slow growth changes take time and are used to generate a paradigm shift. Quick changes can be used to play with new concepts and create excitement over the business. Slow growth changes can be used to rewrite company policies and set long range goals. Slow growth changes evolve over time. Entrepreneurs and small businesses use both of these techniques interchangeably. 

  When instituting changes, take the time to test your ripple effect. What is that? That is how far your influential reach goes. How do you test it? There are several ways. The best is through personal change. By taking care of yourself and making yourself an example to your friends and family, you will see which ones institute their own changes based on your change. Don't think that others respond to your changes? Try it. They will. I know it is having a major effect in my personal life. 

Community and Civic Activity are Key to Growth

  I am really tired of politics because, to me, neither side has really drafted a workable plan to get the economy going in the direction it should.

  But let me ask you something, why are we waiting on politicians? Did politics ever jump start economic growth? At this stage, how much should politicians and politics play a role in the growth of the country?

Revelation: Only we, the community, are responsible for our own growth. 

  Sure, a lot of things could not happen without government funding. And sure most of us have brilliant ideas for company start-ups. However, it is truly up to the community and the individuals in that community to keep the economy going. It is up to us. As businesses, we should be leaning on each other. We should be more involved in the community in a way that reflects who we are as a business. 

Revelation: Low civic activity is not good for business. 

  Hrm, that's an interesting thought. Why? In Floyd County, VA, everyone banded together and developed an economic plan based on a central theme. Not just civic leaders and businesses, everyone. What's the big deal in that? With a set goal and plan in mind, they have grown enormously. Not as fast as they would like to but they are sticking with the plan because it has worked so far. Floyd County has become the weekend destination for a quick getaway. 

  In Salem, VA, we have the same people running the same show and very little growth and a lot of struggling and no plan of action for continued success and growth of the community. I might get in trouble for this. But, I even feel like I am a "nobody" in my own community. How do I get involved in this community? I don't know. I don't have kids, which might help. I have no idea how to get involved in the place I live in. If I don't know how, then how does anyone moving in know how to either? 

  Roanoke City is on a turnaround because they have taken time to develop a plan and the community is actively partaking in the activities. The two revelations above are the key, folks. Stop waiting on your politicians at the state and federal level. 

Voicing Your Opinions on Social Media

  We all have opinions. We have platforms and issues that we support. Most of us try our best to deliver quality content on our business page. But what about our personal page? Should we edit ourselves and our friends? We have freedom of speech on our side, right? The big question is, will it affect our business?
  To answer these questions, I dived into my past. We did not have a debate team in school, but debating and discussion of the issues was a constant in our lives. Our high school teachers forced us to take sides that we did not agree with. They pushed us to understand the other side in order to gain perspective and let's say, for the sake of argument, to be able to overcome those objectives. My small high school is one of the reasons I believe in small classrooms.
  Here is another thought from my past, I have role-played. In Acting classes and in Dungeons and Dragons games. Alright the super nerd status is out, but let's set that aside for the moment. Acting allowed me to explore areas my personality had never dared to go before. Dungeons and Dragons allowed me to play a very different character. True Neutral. The true neutral character allows the player to switch sides and be unpredictable, except for the fact that they would take the underdog's side.
  I do this on my personal page on Facebook. Why? I like debate and I like to learn things from others. And yesterday, I learned a lot from just two posts. Remember, my friends are from a range of backgrounds and we think nothing alike. I pose questions and make statements. The point is, I am an educator first. I am a firm believer in the types of debates Socrates and Plato used to teach students. And I am thankful for the friends that participated in the discussions because there were a lot of excellent points made. And if you really read through them, we had found a middle ground. Why can't our own representatives do this? Sure, it took hours of hammering out. We still had a dissenting voice. But the majority reached a middle ground. And we agreed on several things, the media is full of dogs digging numbers for bones and civil unions should be recognized. Marriages, or the standard religious view, should be left to one's own church. Keeping religion and politics separate, as the Constitution was meant to do.
  The key is, how will the observing audience take to these debates?

• Positively. Why do I say this? There was no name-calling, no finger pointing. It was civil. It was, a discussion. 
• Your viewpoints should reflect your business. And clearly, I am still True Neutral. I am the standard moderate. Fiscally conservative, socially liberal. Isn't this what you would want from an education based business? I believe so. 
• Compartmentalize personal thoughts from your business thoughts. Hrm, why separate them? Because you do not want bad feelings with clients that do not agree with your politics. When you are acting on behalf of your business, it is best to stay in your zone of expertise and push politics aside. 

  I have had to hide people's feed on my Facebook account because of their personal beliefs. I have never had to hide a business. I hope it stays that way. I have had to go so far as to "un-friend" someone because their viewpoints were so radical and it was difficult for me to not fire one back! But think about this, most of us have more friends on Facebook than we have followers of our business page. So if I feel compelled to hide your personal feed, your voice begins to shrink. And we want our voices heard, don't we?

Some thoughts on a Monday morning

  This blog is not only about what other entrepreneurs are doing right or wrong, it is also about my personal experience on this journey. Some of my regular readers know that I have been working on a start-up education-based company called Learning Connections for the past two years. Because of going to school full-time, I have only been able to work on it on a part-time basis. At the time, I figured that it was alright to spend that little time on it because I have been tutoring for years.
  But I don't want to build just another tutoring center. There are plenty of those. I wanted to set this business apart from any other standard educational start-up. So I had to think, what will set Learning Connections apart from everyone else? Me, my experience, my specialties and those I hire, their experience and their specialties.

A small list of things I know I can improve on:

• Defining the business niche. The niche for this business rests on the laurels of Science and Math. I have been involved in science fairs since I was a participant in high school. I left Massachusetts having served as a judge, secretary to the region, specialist in scientific review committees, and mentor to middle schools starting their own science fairs. I relocated to Roanoke and continued to help a Roanoke City Middle school and judge fairs. Conclusion? Play up the applied math and science!
• Get out there more. Meaning, get out from in front of the computer and spend some quality face time with people. Find out about other businesses. How can you help them? Conclusion? Consultations in creative problem solving and Math Skills Review for new employees.
• Play it up. From the internet stand point, you would probably think that I'm rolling in the dough. Right? While I am reaching people across the world online, I noticed a major discrepancy. I wasn't reaching the locals as much as I should be. There is still an internet disconnect in my small town and the surrounding areas. Conclusion? Don't completely discount standard methods of marketing in smaller areas. 
• Boost self-confidence. From various reports, community and people I went to high school with, I am the super nice, quiet, smart girl. The only adjective that seemed to bother me was quiet. Most of my friends would not tell you that I am quiet! I can be quite the chatterbox! Conclusion? Don't be shy about talking you and your business. Plain and simple. Take the talk from the internet to every day life and the people I meet. My neighbor and I bumped into each other while I was walking the dog this morning. She loved my new dress and asked if I had started a new job. My response? "Sort of." UGH! What was that!!!! I know I can do better than that! I am proud of what I have accomplished so far and what I am about to do! Time to change my tune! 

  When you listen to these little signals, they can help bring you and your business into better focus. Why am I sharing this with you? Because these are some of the traps we fall into when creating. I am hoping my experience helps you and you sharing your experience helps me gain some insight as to how all this works. Sound fair? I would love to hear some of the bear traps you fall in! Maybe we can help each other out!

Researching Your Business

  Many of us watch businesses come and go, many of them go for various reasons. Many blame the current market. Others blame poor location or too much competition. Well, maybe we should have done more research! The current business structure is changing. It is no longer about standard marketing strategies or stiff and structured business plans (Of course you need a business plan! But keep it flexible!).
  I will use my situation as an example. There is flux of teachers who have been leaving the school system for many reasons. Many of these former teachers believe that tutoring on the side may not bring them riches, but it will bring them enough to live. I am seeing a lot of hand written ads, boring tear-aways, and other standard marketing strategies. Here is what I am learning so far:

• Find a niche. Research yourself! What are your gifts and talents? What sets you apart from everyone else? Here is what I figured out about myself.
• I love to write. Blogging, when I make the time, is an outlet of self-expression for me.
• I love to communicate and meet people. 
• I love the Sciences and Applied Math. 
• I love being creative!
• Mold yourself into that marketing niche. It doesn't feel wrong if it feels so right! The focus of my business is Math and Science from elementary to post-college. Teachers in these subjects need support, especially in high school when the availability of materials drops. 
• Don't discount possibilities. I have tied myself to Arts organizations for a reason. Most artists don't realize how much Math and Science play into their work. Read or listen to my blog on my website. It explains how I use Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligence to teach. 
• CHECK OUT THE COMPETITION. I can't believe how many people set up shop without doing this first! 
• Talk to the community. Can you provide a need not being met right now? What is it? Would people use it? How much would they pay for the service? Many times we undercut ourselves just hoping people will arrive because of the price. Not so. Find a compromise in your pricing system, fair pricing for you and your clients.
• Use every marketing resource available. I am not talking TV ads or anything extravagant. Use the Internet! A lot! You may want to hire someone to do this for you! But make sure they have your voice in their communication. Most importantly, just get out there! Attend events. Meet people. No one will come to you, you have to go to them!

Good luck!