Productive Strategies | Tanya Smith Online

3 Reasons to Visually Document What You Do

May 10, 2013 by Tanya Smith Leave a Comment

So you've got this business where you just figure out things as you go...how's that working for ya? In this short video I'll share three reasons it makes complete sense to document what you do visually. It's so easy now with great online apps, or just simple pen and paper. You don't have to be a techie or a geek to do this. Watch the video post for my 3 tips on why you should be taking advantage of the visual content craze to boost your biz … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Acumen For Solopreneurs, Productive Strategies Tagged With: business, business systems, mapping, online tools, process improvement, process mapping, productivity

How to Get Started with Process Mapping

May 3, 2013 by Tanya Smith Leave a Comment

In a previous post, I wrote about process mapping and how it can really benefit your business. In this post, let's talk about getting started. That's always the question I get --- what do I do first? Remember to go back to the initial article if you need to know more about what process mapping is as I don't want to be too redundant here. To get started with this whole concept of drawing out your own maps to document your business systems, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Acumen For Solopreneurs, Productive Strategies Tagged With: business systems, critical success factors, process mapping, productivity, with

Business Process Mapping: A Tool for Practical Problem Solving

April 12, 2013 by Tanya Smith Leave a Comment

Very few people I know use business process mapping, but it can be a really good way to figure out the difference between what is happening now vs. what you want to have happen with certain systems running in your business. For example, you might have this really great product out in your online store, but you somehow keep losing customers -- like 85% of the time -- after they click the "add to cart" button. What happened? Or in another … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Acumen For Solopreneurs, Productive Strategies Tagged With: business systems, critical success factors, http://www.tanyasmithonline.com/business-process-mapping-tool-practical-problem-solving/, process improvement, productivity

Maybe It’s Time To Downsize Your Subscriber List

April 5, 2013 by Tanya Smith 18 Comments

I have been building my subscriber list for a few years now. It's had wear and tear, much of it because of my abuse. I switched focus, lost focus, tried different paths, different brands...all of the things new business owners tend to do when they're finding their way. There are a ton of reasons people stay on your subscriber list. Many stay even when they're no longer getting value. Maybe it's because they like you as a person, though they … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Acumen For Solopreneurs, Productive Strategies Tagged With: business systems, email management, email marketing, list management, productivity

5 Limiting Beliefs About Business Systems

March 29, 2013 by Tanya Smith Leave a Comment

There is a lot to get done in any business...unless somehow you just walk into one that runs itself. What we tend to do is become "fire-fighters", putting attention and time to only those things that appear urgent or necessary. No business owner can operate on high velocity for long without burning out quickly. Much of the time, we're operating this way for lack of the right tools and systems in place. And even beyond that, we are thinking in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Growth & Development, Podcast, Productive Strategies Tagged With: business systems, critical success factors, customer, manage time, Personal Growth & Development

The Amazing iPad and Why It Makes Sense for Business

March 8, 2013 by Tanya Smith 4 Comments

I'm a "gadget girl". All my friends know this and it has always been that way. When I was a kid we were the first to have an Atari in our neighborhood. Instead of making mud pies, my brother and I would take my mom's old tape recorder and make radio skits out of the Mad Magazine cartoons. Even later on when I got married, my boyfriend-now-husband's first gift to me? A VCR. Next? A PDA (personal digital assistant). He knew I wasn't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Online Tools for Business, Productive Strategies Tagged With: collaboration, for, ipad, online tools, promote your business