Debra Kasowski

#1 Strategy to Take Control of Your Time, Money, and Waistline

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Time and money seem to slip through people’s fingers and they often wonder why.

We are all are given the same amount of time 1440 minutes in a day, 168 hours in one week.

However, we are not all given the same amount of money.

The biggest difference between money and time is that you can make more money and you cannot make more time. You can choose to do one thing over another to allot time for certain activities.

Now when it comes to your waistline, the more your burn the more you lose! And if you are trying to lose weight that is a good thing!

The ONE strategy that may change your life to TRACKING YOUR TIME, MONEY, and WAISTLINE!

By tracking where your time, money, food intake, and activity, you can discover where the time thieves, money wasters, and waistline stealers need to improve.

Remember to ask yourself- if you had a good time during the process, was it truly a waste?

Make a choice to become more aware of how you spend your time , resources, food and activity.

Time Thieves or Wasters

  • email notifications (binger)
  • Social Media and Checking for Replies (Facebook, Twitter)

    Courtesy of stockimages/freedigitalphotos.net
    Courtesy of stockimages/freedigitalphotos.net
  • surfing the net
  • watching too much TV television
  • meetings you could have handled by phone
  • attending meetings that you are not sure why you are there

Money Wasters

  • duplicate services
  • gym memberships (if you are not using it, cancel it)
  • buying things just to buy them
  • eating out every night (can also add to your waistline so be careful)
  • going to the movies twice a week
  • magazine subscriptions you do not read

Waistline Stealers

  • eating desserts
  • skipping breakfast
  • skipping exercise
  • watching TV all night long
  • late night snacking

Awareness is the key to change! Discover your losses by tracking your activities on a time, money, food intake, or exercise log. Write down what you are doing and how long the task takes, what you are spending money on, how much, and what you project your return on investment to be – how does it contribute to your bottom line? Often the activities, tasks, and purchases bought are out of habit. However when wasters are brought into awareness, you will discover where change needs to occur. You will surprised at where you a lot your time, money, and resources. The bottomline…it is all about the choices you make. Do you really want what you say you want?

Simple tricks of the trade to get you back on track:

  • Set up specific times of day when you check your emails.
  • Turn off your email notification alert.
  • Pre-set social media marketing (www.hootsuite.com) and pop in at set times of the day to check your social media – give yourself a time limit as it is easy to get sucked in!
  • You can utilize apps that prevent you from surfing the net or designate a certain amount of time to that activity
  • verify the need for an in-person meeting or the need to attend.
  • Eliminate duplicate services.
  • Cancel subscriptions and memberships that you are not getting value from or utilizing.
  • Create a menu plan and get active.

Imagine how productive and how efficient you will be!What would you do if you had more time to play, had more money, or had tip top shape health and body?  Oh no – there goes a bright shiny object – better pull back on the reins!

#1 Mistake Business Owners Make in Trying to Get Results

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Courtesy of Ambro/freedigitalphotos.net
Courtesy of Ambro/freedigitalphotos.net

Do you feel like you are putting in your efforts and not getting a return on your investment?

I see this time and time again. Several business owners tell me, “but we have always done it this way.” Are you getting the same results?

“Well, yes!”

That’s the problem.

Many individuals fear – CHANGE.

However, change is progress and how our world evolves.

Look at technology for example, Apple did not just develop the iPod and iPhone and stop. They made modifications and came out with several generations. Each generation was led by new ideas and innovations. New applications were born.

The same is true for the rebranding process of companies. New missions and visions are defined by fresh snappy taglines. Yes, new stationery to follow as well. Some people would see this as a waste of money whereas others see rebranding an investment.

I view rebranding as an investment. If your branding is focused on your target audience and their wants and needs, you are right on track. There is nothing worse than trying to share your message and your target audience wants something else.

Times change.

You must embrace change and understand that change does not have to mean big leaps of faith or drastic shifts. But small shifts in perspective, actions, and habits that make a huge impact in getting out your product and service.

Instead of resisting, go with the flow or rather with what your target audience is asking you for. Get creative and innovate! Get the results your want versus what you have always received.

It is time to get BIG results!

How do embrace change? What business ideas, products or services have been born during a period of change or transition?  Do you know someone who is making this mistake? Share this blog post with others who need to embrace change.

 

 

3 Steps to Shifting Your Mindset and Getting Unstuck

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Let’s face it! There are times when you feel you are rocking and rollin’ in your business and there are other times you feel like you have hit a wall, plateau or rut. It doesn’t matter what state the economy is people are still doing business. Why not with you? Really the only person stopping you from getting what you want is you.

Courtesy of imagerymajestic/freedigitalphotos.net
Courtesy of imagerymajestic/freedigitalphotos.net

Whatever you do – DON’T STOP! Remember the Law of Motion – what is in motion stays in motion. Now is not the time to stop.

There are three things you can do to quickly get back on track and get your head back in the business game:

1. Move away from the computer – Get out of the office or your home and go where the people are. Find out about networking events in your area and get out there. Let people know about who you are and what you do. Your offline efforts are as important as your online efforts.

2.  Avoid the dream stealers or passion squashers. Surround yourself with like minded people. Create a mastermind of other business owners and brainstorm ways to move forward, collaborate or cross promote. When you surround yourself with others who are thinking positively and looking for opportunities, you natural will want to do the same. Happy positive people are contagious – you can’t help but want to be around them. Also a great way to attract your ideal clients.

3. Reconnect with your “why”. Take time to review all of your success stories and testimonials. Every day you accomplish tasks, emails, and phone calls to get you closer to your goals – take time out to acknowledge them. Align your actions with your outcomes. Take time to celebrate all of the small things that lead to big things. What gets you jazzed up? What is your mojo?

There are many ways to skyrocket your business in in tough times. Tough times do not last but your perspective and mindset have the power to determine how long they will last.

I would love to hear about how you shift your mindset when times get tough. Share this post to help others get out of their rut.

 

 

3 Reasons You Are Not Getting Traffic to Your Website

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You are putting out all of this great content but are not see a return for your investment of time and probably thinking to yourself,  “Is anyone out there?” “Is anyone listening to me?” or “Am I helping anyone?”

Well you are not alone!

Consistent action is the name of the game but if you do not have a plan or strategy in place you could be spinning your wheels for a while.

You may have heard terms like SEO and wondered what am I suppose to do with that. I know there are 3 reasons you are not getting the traction that you want.

Courtesy of digidreamgrafix/freedigitalphotos.net
Courtesy of digidreamgrafix/freedigitalphotos.net

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a term used to optimized your website or blog post so search engines can find it. You want to be using keywords that people would be using to find information about your topic or speciality. When writing articles or blog posts, you want to be sure to use your keywords in your title, first couple lines, and last couple lines of your postings.

2. Leverage Social Media – You need to share your content. A general rule of thumb I have seen used is 80 percent information and 20 percent promotion of product, services, or offerings. Share your best stuff because you know there is more where that came from! You can use URL shorteners like www.bit.ly.com or www.tinyurl.com to save on the number of characters in a post.

3.  Call to Action – Your biography should position you as the expert but you need to give people a reason to connect with you. Instead of them reading it and saying “Oh that’s nice.” You need to provide value and substance – provide an offer or a giveaway to drive traffic to your website. People need more. This can be in the form of a free e-book, special report, video class, or checklist. Tell people what you want them to do next.

Give value and drive traffic to your website. You have a talent and an expertise that people need – leverage what is out there!

Share what you use to drive traffic to your website and better yet – share this post with others in your community. Let’s get the conversation started.

 

 

5 Secrets to Building Your List in the Next 30 Days

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Courtesy of photostock/freedigitalphotos.net
Courtesy of photostock/freedigitalphotos.net

Building a online community of followers was quite foreign to me when I first started my business. As I did some research, I became very excited.

Why?

Not only does having a website – give you a global presence, you can now build relationships all over the world. Talk about leverage and opportunities to make an impact world wide.

At the same time I became overwhelmed and did not know where to start. Perhaps you can relate to this.

Thankfully, I did not pull out any hair but began to focus on learning about one area every 30 days and giving it my focus. There are so many platforms to build upon. You need to choose the platforms that best suit you.

I am going to share the ones that I have used that have created the greatest traction for in my business.

1. Intentional Network Online by Building Relationships – Businesses grow when the focus is on the PEOPLE. People first! You can build relationships on Facebook and Twitter by not just accepting or requesting friend requests. Join in the conversation – respond to posts and ask questions. Discover how you can relate to the people you are chatting with. The relationships you build can lead to future collaboration.

 

2.  Cross Promote – Ask someone you know who has a list that they may share your product or service with and offer to do the same for them. If you have an affiliate program, the person you are cross promoting with could even make a commission. Most commissions run anywhere from 30 to 70 percent. Extra money in your pocket is always nice and even better while you sleep. Cha- Ching!

 

3. Guest Blogging – This is one of my favorite ways to build an online community. Guest Blogging is very powerful when you tailor your message to your host’s audience. You want to HELP and provide VALUE not sell. Ensure you include your bio after your blog post and it has a call to action that directs traffic to your website. Guest blogging is also a great way to ensure you have content on your website during busy times or while you are on vacation – consider hosting a quest blogger.

 

4. Article Marketing – Writing is a powerful way to get the word out about your business and having more people learn about you. Article directories like www.ezinearticles.com and www.selfgrowth.com are awesome places to build your visibility and boost your credibility in the marketplace. You want to write articles that will inspire, educate, empower/motivate, or entertain. If you do this, you will have customers coming back for more.

 

5. Teleseminars– Although you may think you may be technologically challenged, teleseminars are a excellent way to build the know, like and trust factor in building relationships. They are a lot easier to use than people think – just pick up the phone dial the code and begin! You can host a question and answer period or share information as if you were teaching a class all by teleconference lines like www.freeconferencepro.com or www.instantteleseminar.com Start promoting your teleseminar 4-6 weeks in advance and build the excitement!

Building your business profile does not have to break the bank. You need to create a plan or strategy to make this happen. It all comes down to who is taking action – I hope that person is you!