Six-monthly review time

In April I launched my eWorkbook “Keeping Good Records in Small Businesses” (link to sample here).  Now after six months, it’s time for a review.

There’s been a lot of interest and enough sales for me to know there’s a need out there. From feedback I’ve had, I realise that small businesses really do need help with setting up a filing system for their business records.

When I launched the eWorkbook (link to sample) the price included one hour of my time to get people started.  That price for the eWorkbook and the consulting time was at a discounted rate at $147NZ.

I’ve contacted all the business owners who have purchased to find out how they have got on.  Some haven’t had time to do much yet and no one has taken me up on the one hour consultancy that we built into the price to get them started.

Because the purchasers so far haven’t taken advantage of the one hour consultancy   I’ve decided to offer the eWorkbook for sale without that additional extra.

Now for only $57NZ, you can have the benefit of my knowledge and experience to build your filing system.   You also get the first of six monthly updates at no extra cost.

Then if you do decide you need some help, you can get that separately if and when you decide you need it.

Plus remember to check out my free eBook and then there is my blog where you can pick up additional hints and tips about organising your business information to improve your business.

Also remember to check your email every month for all the recent blogs put together in a newsletter.

If you are frustrated because you can’t find your business information when you need it, then download the eWorkbook right now so you have a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

If you already have a filing system that works for you , you can use this eWorkbook to check on how you might improve your system and you will have it as a reference  for the future.

Judy Owen has been working with businesses of all sizes and complexities for more than 20 years to improve and streamline the access to their business information.  She and her team can show you how to reduce risk, improve productivity and increase profits with good business systems and processes in your business.

 

File meaningful information, not rubbish

Over the past couple of months I’ve been rather distracted by some family health issues. Of most concern has been my 92-year-old mother whose level of mobility has decreased considerably in recent months and has caused her to become very tired just looking after herself.

She has now moved into a rest home where she is being pampered – breakfast in bed, cups of tea brought to her etc – so she can just rest. She’s loving it and she deserves it.

Mum has had home help and meals delivered for a number of years and recently I was witness to assessment by a social worker about the level of care Mum needed.  I was intrigued by the paper work involved.

There was a 10 page “User manual,” a 4 page “User Services Agreement” that included a full page of statements that Mum had to sign to say she understood them and all the information she had been given. Then there were two other pieces of paper with lots of information in such small print that I couldn’t easily read it, let alone my mother!

The social worker was very proud of the fact that she took two hours (instead of the obligatory one hour) to go through all this with her “clients”.  However at the end Mum just signed so we could have some peace.  Too much information and way too tiring!!

Mum also had another assessment around the same time. Interestingly neither of the people making the assessment picked up that Mum was exhausted and needed rest home care as recommended by her doctor.  Yet within a week of these visits, she had collapsed and moved into a rest home.

The moral of this story is that assessments and report writing need to be more than just ticking boxes and spending a certain amount of time on them.

They need to be based on expert evidence, keen observation and getting into the underlying purpose of the assessment, preferably by people who have a good understanding of the situation.  In other words, don’t just take what is being said at face value, probe to get behind the words and find out what is really going on.

And don’t keep a record just for the sake of it.  I can’t imagine what value there is in the reports on my mother when they didn’t even scratch the surface of the problems she was having.

This applies to any business issue.  If you have a problem in our business that you don’t understand, talk to people who have in-depth knowledge of the issue; keep asking questions till you are satisfied that you know how to resolve it; don’t be put off by sweet words, especially from the people who may be at the root of the problem.

Above all don’t write a report and then file it just for the sake of it. Only keep meaningful information about your business.  If it doesn’t mean anything to you, then don’t keep it.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that gives you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

Judy Owen has been working with businesses of all sizes and complexities for more than 20 years to improve and streamline the access to their business information.  She and her team can show you how to reduce risk, improve productivity and increase profits with good business systems and processes in your business.

Important systems and processes for small businesses

Recently I met with a small business management consultant who told me quite sincerely that the only things small business owners were interested in were their product or service, marketing and finance.

I can’t disagree with that but I was intrigued that his thinking seemed to me to be closed to other important aspects of managing a business such as the people who help to make the product or deliver the services, how to use web sites as a marketing tool and of course how and where to store the information relating to the products/services, the marketing plans and the financial information.

As a business owner, you don’t have to be fully involved in every part of your business but you do need to know about all the things that make your business tick and make sure someone makes it all happen.

For small businesses it makes a lot of sense to use the expertise out there in other small businesses. There are specialists like Blue Dot Human Resources  out there who can help you with managing your staff, for example creating employment agreements, understanding holidays legislation and even doing the day-to-day administration.

Recently the NZ Herald reported on research that found 50 per cent of SMEs in New Zealand “did not have a website and nearly 20 per cent were not using any online tools at all”. It was suggested that here was a huge marketing opportunity lost.  I would suggest that before SMEs have a web site they understand what technology they need to run their business in the most cost-effective way.

So when you’ve got all that sorted, you can buy my eWorkbook or ask me for help to organize the information in your business systems so you can find what you’re looking for in an instant.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that gives you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

Judy Owen has been working with businesses of all sizes and complexities for more than 20 years to improve and streamline the access to their business information.  She and her team can show you how to reduce risk, improve productivity and increase profits with good business systems and processes in your business.

 

 

 

Maybe the paperless office will still come

When PCs appeared in businesses 20-30 years ago there was a widespread expectation that we would become a paperless society.

Over that period there has been some dismay that in fact we were creating more paper as people created an electronic document and then printed it.  Because the printed copy often wasn’t filed properly (if at all) it got ‘lost’ in a pile of other papers.  So when it was needed again, another copy was printed. And so it goes on!

Recent research however has found that the amount of paper flowing through businesses is now decreasing.  It’s taken a while but we are getting there.

What has caused this turnaround and why has it taken so long?

It’s more than 10 years since New Zealand passed the Electronic Transactions Act (2002) (ETA) which aimed to reduce uncertainty (of dates and times) and permitted legal requirements to be met electronically.

In spite of this stated purpose of the ETA, there has been a reluctance to accept an electronic version and there has been continued uncertainty around what is legally accepted electronically and what needs to be in paper format to be a legal document.

More recently however there has been some movement towards acceptance of scanned electronic signatures though there is still some unwillingness to accept some contracts with electronic signatures.

This is reminiscent of the early days of faxes.  Who remembers when you could fax a document for quick response but you had to post the original as well so you could file the original because a signature on a faxed copy wasn’t legally binding?  Or when the faxed copy had to be photocopied for filing because the ink on fax ‘paper’ faded.

It’s good to know that businesses of all sizes are now looking more towards keeping the electronic version as the official record of the business.  There are a number of reasons for this that vary for each business.

Whatever you decide for your business, the decision needs to be formalised in a policy statement that is communicated to everyone in your business who needs to know.

A sample policy statement is part of my eWorkbook offering.  It is a simple one-page policy statement that you can amend to suit your business.  Because the key points are there, it won’t take you long to create your own policy.  It’s worth involving your staff so you get buy-in to the policy before it is confirmed and implemented.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that gives you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

Judy Owen has been working with businesses of all sizes and complexities for more than 20 years to improve and streamline the access to their business information.  She and her team can show you how to reduce risk, improve productivity and increase profits with good business systems and processes in your business.

Spring into Spring : clean-up and organise your office filing system.

daffodilsThe recent weather has been very spring like, daffodils are brightening gardens, lambs are frolicking in the rural areas and everyone seems to have got some new energy after the winter.

It’s a great time to put some of that energy to work in your office, especially if it is looking a bit cluttered with papers that have piled up or if you have a desktop screen filled with icons for documents that haven’t been filed properly in your record-keeping structure.

It’s also timely from a business point of view, especially if you’re almost half way through your financial year like I am.  If you have a clean-up now you can:

  • sort out your invoices and receipts well before the time you need to get your financial information to your accountant for your annual accounts
  • find your business plan and review your progress so you can congratulate yourself on your achievements  or put in place some actions to improve your position.

Did you know that once you’ve got your business information organised and at your fingertips you will be able to save up to 15 minutes a day every day.   Think about how many non-productive hours that adds up to over one year.

before and after

If you think you don’t have time to do a clean-up then take a look at my 15 Minute Action Plan to tidy your desk.  It really works.  Jill and Sandie among others can vouch for that.

If you can’t find documents easily in your computer, then work through the 15 Minute Action Plan to organise your electronic documents.

When you have your filing system in order you will save time and reduce stress as well as increasing your productivity and profits.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that gives you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

For more than 20 years Judy Owen has been working with businesses of all sizes and complexities  to improve and streamline the access to their business information.  She and her team can show you how to reduce risk, improve productivity and increase profits with good business systems and processes in your business.

Communication is everything – and Google forgot!

Last month Google revamped Gmail so that incoming mail was diverted from the inbox to different folders before mailbox owners got to see their new email messages.

There was an outcry! Why? Surely this change is a good one if it sorts your emails before they get to you? Yes – most definitely.

But Google just did it without any warning.  One day all the email went into the inbox; the next day it went into different folders – and that was the day Google told its Gmail users about the change.

Now your inbox only contains emails that have been sent directly to you. Messages sent to long list of people with your email address in there somewhere now go to one of three folders:

Social – for messages via LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter etc

Promotions – from companies wanting to sell you something

Forums – for messages from groups you belong to such as professional organisations

With these messages safely tucked into their own folders, your inbox is no longer cluttered with message you don’t need to look at frequently.  You can check these messages when you have a spare moment rather than interrupting your day.

Initially some emails may be misfiled so it will pay to check these categorised emails and move them to an appropriate folder.  But once you’ve done that Gmail will remember and not misfile again.

Google has more information for you here  or you can watch the video here

So if this new way of organising emails is so helpful, why did people get so upset with Google? What did Google do wrong?

Google surprised people.  That’s what!

All Google needed to do was give its Gmail users some warning about its plans – and explain the benefits.

So many organisations forget to tell its people about upcoming changes.  Then the bosses wonder why staff are upset and productivity plunges – even if only temporarily – and it is so avoidable.

In my eWorkbook I explain that if you are going to change your  filing system, you need to communicate your plans to everyone concerned from the beginning of the process. That way there will be no surprises and your productivity will improve when the new system is installed.

If you don’t use Gmail and want some help managing your email, go to my earlier blogs De-mystify your email inbox and Good habits around email.

We can help you to set up folders in other email packages so you can focus on the important emails in your inbox.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that gives you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

Judy Owen has been working with businesses of all sizes and complexities for more than 20 years to improve and streamline the access to their business information.  She and her team can show you how to reduce risk, improve productivity and increase profits with good business systems and processes in your business.

 

 

Good record-keeping will help the sale of your business

When you are considering selling your business make sure you have all your systems and processes in place, documented and up-to-date.

There are people around who can help with preparing this documentation.

Most advice around selling a business focuses on the financial side of the sale although they might recommend you have an operations manual.

However they may not specify the need for a sound classification system for filing electronic documents.  Yet this is a critical part of the preparation for sale.  If the new owner can’t find the key business documents you have left behind in the business, then it will be very frustrating for him or her to effectively run the business.

A new owner won’t thank you if s/he has to keep phoning or emailing you to ask where to find the information needed – right now. Nor will you enjoy having to keep thinking back to what you did and where you stored your business information.

If you have a well thought out system for organising your business records that you have used properly, you will be able to delete or move whole folders instead of having to locate and deal with individual documents.

Preparing to sell your business is also an opportunity for you to clear out any personal documents that have got caught up in the business files.

And I haven’t even mentioned how to deal with your business email yet.  That’s a topic in itself – for another time.

So there are benefits to both seller and buyer to having a good filing structure for your business.  If you don’t have a good system already, then my eWorkbook is a very cost-effective way to set one up quickly ready for the sale of your business.  You can be sure you’ll get a much better price if your business information is well organised.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that gives you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

Judy Owen has been working with businesses of all sizes and complexities for more than 20 years to improve and streamline the access to their business information.  She and her team can show you how to reduce risk, improve productivity and increase profits with good  systems and processes in your business.

 

Ease your frustration with organised business information

The most common gripe I hear is the frustration of not being able to find a document; it might be an electronic document, a piece of paper on a desk or in a folder or an email.

This is not surprising when I look at how a lot of people store their business information.

It might seem to be safe to keep all your emails and never delete them “in case they are needed one day” or keep all your paper work in piles on your desk (or on the floor when you run out of desk space) so “its handy” or leave all your electronic files in “My Documents” or on your desktop screen because you think you can find them quickly by doing a Google-type search.

The reality is however that none of these storage methods work effectively, especially when you need something in a hurry.

We all have some form of structure in our lives. Some people lead more structured lives than others with set times for each activity, others are less timebound but still have some structure in their day.  Each day we eat, sleep, go to work, go home – usually with a timeframe around these activities.

There is structure at work too – hours and days of work, who does what, when and how much you get paid or how much time you can take to have a holiday.

Not everyone realises though that they need structure for their business information too. Even the most organised people can find themselves struggling to find that elusive document when they need to rush off to a meeting with a client or customer, or can’t find an email they need to action.

It’s not really difficult to establish some structure into your email  or your electronic or paper documents into folders.

I generally set up a directory structure for electronic documents to help clients organise their business information.  This structure is mirrored in email folders and also for a paper filing system if they have one. This makes it easy for them to find what they want regardless of its format.

Remember your in box is not a filing cabinet!   

Once you have the structure in place you then need to develop good habits around using the structure – all the time!.

You’ll be amazed at how much more you can achieve in a day if you don’t have to spend unproductive time looking for information.

You can read about more hints and tips to improve productivity in your business in my free eBook; and even more if you download the eWorkbook that give you a full set of instructions on how to set up a filing system for your business.

 

 

 

How important are titles for electronic documents

Most of us don’t think about what to call our electronic documents until we’re about to save them when we’ve finished with the document for a while.  At that point we just want to save the document quickly so we can get on to the next task.

Read more

Cloud backup services can keep your business working

During a recent “weatherbomb” over the Wellington region, a number of properties were without power for several days due to the large number of trees that came down in the storm and other storm related issues with the electricity supply.

While this was disturbing enough for anyone in that situation given the inability to heat homes and cook meals, I was rather startled to read a news article about a woman who runs her business from home (has done for several years) and who couldn’t operate during the power outage.

Read more