Saving Time By Learning Automation Hacks and Tips Using Trello’s Butler Tool
I love Trello. I’ve used it for many years – all on the awesome free plan – and think it’s a great tool for productivity, organizing ideas, planning out content and more. I even created a course on using Trello in your solopreneur business, Mightier Marketing with Trello. Then I created a 10-day challenge to get right into using Trello in your business. I’m ALL IN on Trello! But I also don’t know every in, out, and feature – I could use features better. The built-in automation tool from Trello, called Butler, is a feature that I’m not using and need to learn more about. Thankfully there are lots of sources and videos to show ways to use Trello’s Butler!
The basics of what is Butler in Trello
Butler is the built-in tool (not a Power-Up, add-on or integration) that lets you simply automate some actions, tasks, or workflows in boards. Butler is available for all user levels and account types (yes including free).
You create commands and Butler does the work, to save time from doing tasks manually. Create commands or automations for boards, at the card level, based on calendar or scheduled intervals, or because some other action happened. As easy as it is to just drag-n-drop things in Trello, Butler takes care of those tedious clicks and drags.
As much as I love Trello, Butler and its commands has always left me a little mystified. So I went looking for some simple examples of Butler at work.
Video Demonstration of Creating Automations Using Butler
This short 15-minue video from Simpletivity helps explain Butler, starting with telling us that Butler is best for automating repetitive tasks inside of Trello.
For example, if you have a standard, left-to-right Trello board for current projects (i.e. ToDo, Doing, Done), then instead of manually dragging items from To-Do to Done and changing the due date, you could automate it with Butler. Or what if when you checked off a due date as complete, the card auto-magically moved to the Done list?! Butler can do it.
Video shows creating a rule and an action trigger for when a card is moved to Done the due date is also checked off to show green and complete. Don’t forget to hit the green + button to add an action and then hit SAVE when done.
I loved how simple these steps were. I learned the Butler steps in the first 4 minutes of the video!
Another example shown to use Butler is adding lists on a regular schedule – e.g. adding new task list for each day or week. This automation starts from the calendar option inside of Butler, not the rules area. I like knowing what these different sections mean.
This simple video of examples using Butler can help us all take our Trello use to another level without special skills or a big learning curve.
I Keep Coming Back to Trello After Trying Top Alternative Planning Tools
Yes, I’m a pretty unabashed Trello fan and longtime user. Well, I’ve been using it since at least 2014, so that’s a LONG time in tech time! 😊 I’ve tried a lot of planning and project tools but Trello is the one I return to because of ease, simplicity, flexibility and it’s FREE! I like Trello so much I’ve created my own mini-course to help my fellow solopreneurs use it to get more organized in their marketing so they can more consistently do the work that attracts clients.
Why I’ve Checked Out So Many Planning + Project Tools
But by now you know I’m a geek, a techie, and a researcher. I try nearly ALL the tools. Back when I wrote a regular tech tools column for a print newsletter and did monthly tech training webinars, I was always hunting for options. My solo pal Scott once asked me during a webinar why I tried so many tools, especially if I loved Trello and used it most. I’ll tell you same thing I told him and my audience back then …
Because my brain and your brain work differently, so a tool that’s great for how I think and work may not be so great for you. As a researcher and a trained info pro, I’m compelled to research and then show you your options.🤓
So, I keep my eye out, test tools, and tell you what’s cool or not. What YOU need or how YOU work could be different from me. That’s cool and I respect that. But flexibility is a big reason I like Trello so much and recommend it to others. Why might you want an alternative though?
What Are Some of the Top Alternatives to Trello
You may want something with a more prominent calendar, visual tracking for goal progress, or linear task tracking (Asana). Maybe you’re like my consultant pals who work on longer-term projects with big B2B clients and need teams and Gantt charts for timelines (Teamwork). You might like the combo of to-do list + calendar in a mobile app (TickTick). And maybe good ‘ol Google Calendar is enough for you.
Asana’s project task list main view
Teamwork has Gantt chart timelines for projects
Some of these tools – like Asana and Teamwork seem more oriented for teams (especially those inside of larger organizations) – so we solopreneurs may not use half their features. Honestly, that’s true of Trello as well – it has a lot of add-ons that are very software/developer oriented. Oh well. There’s a place for those types of tools – and with some work, a solo can make them work.
Both Asana and Teamwork feature examples of use cases in how their users get the most of those tools. Ahem – it’s just good sales and marketing to show off real examples and case studies of how your tool works! 😉
Super-powered to-do lists like TickTick, or ToDoist can be cool – but what if we want to attach graphics for social media projects, brainstorm, collaborate, or something other than remember ‘to do’?
Hah! Putting my Trello training to-do in TickTick
And as easy-peasy as Google Calendar is (love color-coding) – we need more than just a calendar. (besides – you can connect Google Cal to Trello!)
What About Other Alternatives to Trello?
There are as many project management tools out there as people it seems! Many, many more than the 3 or so listed here (looking at you Zoho, Podio, Basecamp, MS Project and a dozen more)!
In the past I checked out Zoho Projects for a nonprofit I worked with. I wanted to like Zoho – because it has a tool for everything! Email, CRM, surveys, projects, invoices, etc. But back then, all the tools were meh or over-complicated. A quick look recently says it could be worth checking out again – but still seems more than most solos want or need. For my library conference nonprofit we paid for Basecamp for two years (after using Trello for 3+). Some folks loved its simple design, some were ambivalent, but by year two the team wasn’t using it consistently. That’s a big fat NO for me. We’ve since switched back to Trello and G-Suite for everything. And some consultant pals I know swear by Microsoft, including Sharepoint, for doing all their planning and collaboration. I get it – Microsoft still ‘owns’ a lot of headspace inside corporations. Use what already works for you and your clients.
Time management, productivity and projects are HOT topics so it’s natural that software folks have created a TON of tools – each one claiming to be the holy grail. I admit it – searching for the one “perfect” tool is part of why I keep searching and testing! I KNOW better and yet I keep looking. 😄
I also KNOW that Trello isn’t perfect and is missing some things. It has Power-Ups and add-ons that are suited for enterprise and software developers, not so much consultants and coaches. But I ALSO know that there’s no one single ‘best’ tool – so I’ve doubled down on using the easiest-for-me tool that I’ve known for years.
Trello. I’m sticking like a virtual Post-It to Trello!
I believe that Trello is the easiest to get started with and is flexible in how it’s setup and is used by different people. That simplicity mixed with power is why I’ve done webinars and live chats about Trello. I like Trello so much I created my Mightier Marketing with Trello training course and also the 10-day Kick Your Biz in Gear with Trello Challenge. I want to share what I’ve learned and how I use Trello with my other busy solopreneurs so they can get it to work for them. So, they can do more in less time, market more consistently, and pull in awesome clients more consistently.
Whichever tool you choose to use – use it consistently. Use it to keep yourself – and your marketing – on track and moving forward. Keep your thoughts clear, your actions simple and repeatable. You’ll find your mojo that way.
What You Can Learn From My Decision to Finally Change Email Marketing Providers and My Migration to ActiveCampaign
After hemming and hawing for more than a year, researching, and wondering whether I should switch email marketing systems … I finally migrated to ActiveCampaign, am up + running, and am loving what it offers me.
Learn from my email marketing change!
It is a PROCESS with ups and downs. Fair point to note: it was much less a process or headache for me and my small email communities. It’s a bigger decision and process for small business owners and solopreneurs who have larger or more complex email lists.
However, there are plenty of resources available from ActiveCampaign and online communities of helpful solopreneurs who can help make the transition smoother.
Why Did I Want to Change Email Marketing Services?
I wanted better automations, tagging that works, the ability to personalize emails and send you more things you DO want and less of what you’re not so interested in. I also wanted a nice visual interface and modern tech and modern designs.
I was using AWeber for 5 years and while it does offer tags and tag-based campaigns, those have never worked correctly for me and many other solopreneurs I know. The interface isn’t very intuitive and involves a lot of clicking and toggling to move between lists.
One huge problem with AWeber was that I had to have multiple lists in order to assuredly segment — which means names get counted twice or more and thus, count against my account limits and increase the price. The designs and forms are also outdated. Recently (mid 2020) may of my business pals still with AWeber experience another huge problem – AWeber was unsubscribing people who had opted in to their lists via events like bundles or giveaways. AWeber didn’t give satisfactory answers and that overly protective practice is a big red flag for many online business owners and how they build their lists.
Although AWeber has made some improvements (including landing pages + new free plan in 2020), those weren’t enough to make up for the things it wasn’t doing well or easily. I do still think Aweber can be a solid choice for some solopreneurs.
For the automation and customization of messaging I wanted, at a really affordable price, the answer for me was ActiveCampaign.
What does advanced tagging or segmentation mean?
The point of niched, segmented, or personalized email – via automations – is to make our marketing easier and faster. We don’t have IT departments here!
Maybe you wanted a checklist on social media management that was connected to a post about social media, but you don’t care about an e-book offered on a post about referral marketing. Why should the social media folks have to read emails about referrals and vice versa?
Or what if you’re already a member of my email community? What if you opted in for the referral marketing e-book at first, but later got really interested in social media marketing and wanted that checklist too? Or what if someone was interested in one training I offered but not another?
The only reliable way for me to make AWeber send emails about social media to social media lovers and not also to the referral folks was to use multiple, separate lists and legacy follow-ups. That’s clunky and cludgy.
The power of tagging and segmentation is that I can simply give you a new tag in my email system (e.g. “social media checklist”) and that tag would trigger the system to send you your goodie and a few emails on how best to use that goodie.
Not all email marketing systems do this well or do it at all.
Part of the tagging and segmentation in my Nurture automation in AC
What email service am I leaving and what else did I consider
As I researched, my choice came down to ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit.
Along the way, I seriously considered returning to a MailChimp account — I had used their free plan when starting out as a budget-minded solo — because it has one of the cleanest interfaces and simple email editors out there, it has added other features, and its paid account has competitive pricing.
But MailChimp isn’t so friendly if you’re going to use affiliate links in any of your emails. I’ve seen a few solo biz owners in my communities lose their lists when MC decided it didn’t like something. MailChimp wasn’t highly recommended by other biz owners doing the type of online course-building and product selling I was beginning to think more about here at MMM.
I also looked into ConvertKit, which some solos recommended. Some say CK best understands bloggers, internet marketers, and those doing plenty of affiliate promotions.
I wound up crossing CK off my list because of a number of reasons:
it won’t let you manually unsubscribe someone, only delete them
my list is too small to qualify for their Concierge service to help with migration
it pushes users to focus on text-only emails, as it believes those convert better
there’s a lack of integration with third-party tools
slow support response
no autosave (?? what even what??)
they have weird names for things (no, an autoresponder series is not a ‘course’)
I didn’t like the interface
and the price was higher per month ($24-$29/month at the lowest plan) than what I paid for AWeber and more than ActiveCampaign.
Other email marketing providers I researched include:
Drip: I trialed and researched it and found it to be too expensive, overly complex, and complicated.
MailerLite, GetResponse, SendinBlue (big in Europe), and CampaignMonitor
GetResponse: I decided against it years ago but haven’t checked it for significant changes lately.
Mailerlite: some solo pals in my circles sing its praises but it didn’t seem like the right fit for me. It’s pretty budget-friendly and could work for you, though!
ConstantContact, Emma, MadMimi: seem ok for e-commerce, bricks-n-mortar stores, some service providers – but not for many of the online biz owners I was talking to who mostly sell digital products, coaching, courses, etc.
[thrive_highlight highlight=’default’ text=’light’] There are pluses and minuses of nearly every email marketing service out there – and I encourage all solopreneurs and small business owners to evaluate their own needs and preferences. If you’re new to email marketing and need help with the steps in making a decision and getting set up for success – check out my free Email Setup Guide. [/thrive_highlight]
ActiveCampaign: the right combination of features and price
After hearing some of the concerns about CK from someone who thinks a lot like me, plus finding that AC was a cheaper price – it was a pretty quick decision for me (unusual!). I stopped researching!
AC offers free migration services for all customers. Note– I did NOT use this service because I didn’t want to move all my data, as it was, from AWeber. I knew I’d be changing what lists people were on and what tags I might need, among other changes, which meant it was better for me to do the move manually. We’ll see if I regret that …
The other pluses I found:
AC has a really nice visual editor for emails.
AC visual workflow or map for creating automations
Lots of information on the dashboard – wow, maybe too much?!
All those advanced tagging, segmentation, automation features I was looking for – but in a package that people said was easy to get started with.
Friendly, competitive price – considerably lower than ConvertKit for the same number of contacts. [AC = $9-15/month at lowest plan; $17-29/month at next tier]
The Switch and Migration to ActiveCampaign – Ups and Downs
I was excited, I had made a decision, and decided I’d move over in February. After all of those pros and pluses, it was not reassuring when I had to email ActiveCampaign’s support desk within the same hour of signing up.
Something didn’t happen correctly at signup – although it recognized my email to send me the happy welcome email with start-up guide, it wouldn’t recognize that same email and the password I set when I tried to login the first time. Not a great start.
So, off to find the help-desk and open a support ticket and get an early look at AC’s customer service.
Each contact in AC has this area to show info, edit, add tags, send single emails
It was odd to be receiving emails from AC, to the very email that they said wasn’t connected to my account. I got the first welcome email, their start up guide with a list of suggested resources to check out next – all best practices for welcoming a new subscriber or customer.
After sending the first request to the help desk (at 6pm), I continued to receive welcome emails. I headed to the gym and when I returned, I had an email from a new person at the support desk. Although no one was sure what happened, the setup process had clearly hit a glitch midstream.
All credit to the support staff, as my reply emails were answered quickly and she acknowledged that the issue was on their end and that this was not an optimal start for a new customer (as I had pointed out). She reset the login and password and we tried again ….
And finally I was in! About 3 hours after first creating the account and immediately encountering the problems. Not bad really, especially since we were outside of normal US business hours (and I noticed in the signature, my email support person was from Australia).
It was time for me to make sense of a dashboard that is infinitely more modern and complex than what I was leaving behind at AWeber.
Side Note -Advice I Did Not Follow on Migration
AC encouraged me to set up a form for a new or improved freebie/lead-magnet, and get as many from my current list on the old platform to click and grab that new/improved freebie. It proves to the new system that I have active users willing to engage.
I did not follow the advice on list migration deliverability as given by AC. I did not create a new gift and make my list re-opt-in. I also only sent one more email from AWeber after starting the migration process.
I listed to my my biz pals with ActiveCampaign experience, who said NOT to follow all of AC’s advice, particularly on list hygiene related to deliverability improvements after migration.
If I followed all of AC’s advice, I could see a large drop off or loss in my list if I was basically asking people to resubscribe via a new form. Why make people jump through a new hoop?! Nope, not doing that.
Instead, I moved the lists, started doing the tagging and segmenting in AC like I wanted, but mostly just started emailing. Sending good info and more free bonus goodies. Tag the folks who click on those links or take other actions, and roll from there.
All in all, the actual move of my lists went ok and felt like only minor hiccups. It’s tech, stuff happens.
The things you wish you knew before starting some projects
While I was testing out AC and uploading contacts, I did hit a few walls. Some (maybe most) were completely my doing.
I didn’t realize, or forgot, the limits of the free trial I was still operating under: 100 contacts and 100 emails sent. So chunks of my imports of contacts got cut off since I was over the limit – and I’m not sure who exactly got left off of the import. D’oh!
My ActiveCampaign dashboard as I hit the 100 contact limit at start of my trial
I made some mistakes on the initial upload of contacts – with a .csv file from a list in AWeber that was mixed. AND I belatedly discovered that while I had applied tags back in AWeber (and even used them in sending emails to segments of my email community), those tags were NOT saved in the master subscriber .csv file that you can export and save.
WTH AWeber?! %&*@ 🤬
I got to try out AC’s chat support when I had a question on billing. Very quick responses. Cool. Good to know. So far their support is getting all pluses in my book.
I made a rookie mistake in using a new tool – I did NOT send an actual test email to myself too. IF I had, I would have seen that the image I put of me into my signature area showed up MONSTER HUGE in my own inbox.
Oh man, that’s a bit embarrassing. I really should’ve read more of the getting started help guides I guess. So unlike me to just jump right in!
[update: I spoke with the ActiveCampaign team about this in Philly – the huge image thing wasn’t my fault. They were stumped why it was doing that or how to fix. Beyond hand coding some CSS for the emails (uh NO!) the solution was to turn the image off for mobile. ]
I had to manually clean up some contact fields for first and last names because they didn’t import correctly – not a big deal if you don’t have a huge list. Something to double check if you are migrating thousands – and why you want concierge move-in service if that’s your situation!
It’s a learning process even for a techie geek like me to learn new software. I like the tutorials, videos and help I’ve gotten from Active Campaign. Plus, it helps when your other small business pals use the same tools and can shorten your learning curve!
Updates + Lessons – what I’ve seen in ActiveCampaign since migrating
Good news – that first email is doing ok. Good open rates, decent clicks, no one is running away in droves, no one has emailed to laugh at me for the picture or greetings snafus. And I’m going back to doing what I do best – research. I’m spending time with the AC tutorials and mini ‘getting started’ course.
Lesson – Improvement in campaign performance reports vs AWeber
I can see which emails bounced!
I know, seems basic, but AW only shows the number of bounces, not who(you have to dig into the ‘manage subscribers’ page – separate from your email performance data. Click contact details, look around, and even then, it’s not clear)
Easy to see which links in an email were clicked – and the running total of ‘campaign activity’ on the right side of the dashboard shows me when someone clicked.
Lesson – You must set up at least one form
Even if you won’t use ActiveCampaign’s native submission forms on your site (I prefer ThriveLeads) you DO need to create at least one form inside of the ActiveCampaign account. AC won’t let you finish the setup for the AC plugin, site tracking, and connection back to your AC account unless you have at least 1 AC form created in your account.
Ok.
I created a super simple form (took less than 2 minutes I think), activated it, and voila, the missing buttons appeared in the settings on my website and off we go again.
I created basic form in ActiveCampaign, as required it’s enabled here in WordPress even though I will use ThriveLeads instead.
Do the tutorials and read the instructions – normally that’s my M.O. – as a kid I read every rule book before we could start a board game. But I skipped some stuff since I thought I knew my way around email marketing. Advice – don’t skip the set-up help!
Double Opt-in On by Default – You have to edit that required form to turn off double opt-in, which is the default for forms built inside ActiveCampaign. Without this help page, I might not have found the option or setting to do this on my own.
Good timing – ActiveCampaign had an all day training in Philadelphia – during my switch over!
Lesson – ActiveCampaign Doesn’t Play with PayPal for Free
ActiveCampaign does NOT directly integrate with PayPal. *$^% 🤬
ConvertKit requires Zapier for integration with 3rd-party tools and the same is true for AC – but that information was missing from the ActiveCampaign sales info available to non-users.
If you use a simple PayPal button on your site for someone to buy something, like a BorrowMyBrain session – because, hello, setting up a PayPal button is simple, easy, and fast – you can NOT simply add that customer to a list in ActiveCampaign.
Nope. You have to use Zapier.
And the Zapier automation between PayPal and AC is a PREMIUM, aka PAID, integration only. %&*$@ I don’t want to pay a minimum of $20/month to have PayPal and AC talk to each other. That was actually something that AWeber did for FREE. Score a point back for AW.
So, the change in email marketing software has pushed forward my decision to move to new shopping cart software (the kind that handles multiple items or let you choose an item vs. separate PayPal BUY buttons for each service/course/product). It’s either that or the paid, complicated Zaps.
Lesson – what happens when someone subscribes before an automation is set or active
Another accidental lesson because I sped through some steps … make sure you have an automation created and turned to active before you connect up forms, pop-ups or tools on your website. ‘
What went wrong …
I connected my main opt-in forms in Thrive Leads to the API connection for ActiveCampaign, having moved them away from AWeber.
But ….
I hadn’t created or activated an autoresponder or automation sequence in ActiveCampaign to send out the free gift, the welcome email, and subsequent ‘get to know me’, nurturing emails to new list members.
And sure enough, right in the middle of my software switch, I had 3 new subscribers opt-in and claim my free gift. YAY! New people!
Yay! They’re in the right list in AC, they got tagged.
Booo, ohcrap. They didn’t get any emails, including the links to the free gift, because there were no automations built and turned on yet.
I had gotten my steps out of order. I really needed to have built the automations, added in the revised emails, and THEN turned the integrations from AWeber to ActiveCampaign in all my ThriveLeads forms.
How to get the missed contacts into the new automated email series?
Each individual has a contact page and on that page after most form fields, you can select option for Add to Automation.
Clicked the +, chose the automation , told it to ‘force’ add the contact to that automation.
Went back to the automation dashboard, and voila! The third contact has now been added to the automation. And she messaged me the next morning to say that she had gotten an email from me. (we’re online pals and in the same coaching group so I had reached out personally when we realized she fell in to the email void and she promised she’d let me know if/when any emails showed up)
[NOTE: I learned during the Philly AC Study Hall this is the preferred way to add someone to an automation if they missed the initial trigger. Since then, for example, I’ve added my own test email accounts to various automations for testing purposes, to check the email deliverability – without needing to re-subscribe.]
A simple automation workflow for my free e-course on SMART goal setting
I now have automations running and people getting specific follow-up emails! AC Works!
Despite the hiccups – mostly from user error and poor planning – I’m thrilled that I now have automation series built and running.
I’m happy that I will be able to send a targeted, on-topic set of emails to anyone who is interested in say, social media, and a DIFFERENT on-topic set of emails to someone who is interested in setting SMART marketing goals, or wants swipe files, or is interested in coaching.
My solo pals joining me won’t have to receive or read stuff they’re less interested in and should get more of what they are most interested in. My emails will be more targeted and personalized. And not take forever to set all that in motion and keep it going. The ENTIRE point of moving to ActiveCampaign.
This isn’t the end the of the learning and migration process, but I’m finally feeling confident I made the right decision and that ActiveCampaign can work for growing my business more quickly.
UPDATE 2020: I can say making the move to ActiveCampaign has been one of the best business decisions I’ve made – ever – and is a big factor in my business growth.
I have multiple automations running, with different free gifts, webinars, courses, and coaching, because it’s easy now. Ive sent more newsletters, more updates, more promotional emails since I moved to AC than in the 6 years prior – combined. The software does what I want and makes customizing, segmenting, sending the ‘right message to the right people at the right time’ a lot easier.
In fact, I love ActiveCampaign so much, I featured it in the demos, videos, and course modules of my Hell Yeah You CAN Start Your Email List course. If you want to get started with email marketing, I recommend both my course and getting AC.
Figuring out how folks found your website and landed there has gotten a whole lot harder thanks to Google. A staple tool of webmasters (novice and pro alike) and marketers – keyword research – is changing or disappearing.
Google has basically ‘hidden’ the search results of ALL users – not just those logged in to various Google properties – from its keyword research. These 2 reports tell all in detail:
What’s been happening with keywords and search terms?
If you have a website you very likely have a Google Analytics account to see where your traffic is coming from and if you are doing well for the key terms that are important to your site. Using Google for open keyword research has been a standard tool for website owners and marketers. BUT … If search terms are encrypted (hidden) then what gets passed to Analytics is “not provided” for that given term. And there has been a huge spike in the number of “not reported” showing up for many sites.
% of terms ‘not provided’, from Search Engine Land
Why has this happened? And do we believe Google’s explanation?
2 main reasons are being thrown around for why Google has done this. And it’s questionable which might be the driver in this – if either is accurate.
1) Because they’re getting slammed for supposed cooperation with the NSA and the NSA’s huge dragnet of web data. Google has also been losing some traffic to sites like Duck Duck Go which promise ‘secure search’ to begin with.
Irony – Google has said it wants to be more ‘transparent’ in regard to requests from spying entities – sooooo, they’ve hidden the data – from everyone.
2) Ad dollars. Money. Because what is NOT encrypted are clicks on ads.
Ads Google sells.
And Google wants more people using AdWords (it had already started making it harder to get free Keyword data without having an AdWords account). Google can say all it wants about this encryption being ‘a good thing for our users,’ but I think they really mean for users of their ad buying tools.
If you want a very nice recap of how tracking works for search terms and page analytics – see this post from HubSpot earlier this year (when they were pondering if 2013 was the year keyword research disappeared – looks like they were right. Unfortunately.)
What can you do to learn about where your traffic is coming from?
Try Bing and Yahoo. Or Ask.com or even AOL. Yes, they have small pieces of the search market – but since they often return much of the same data as Google, they may act a bit like proxies for learning about search habits.
AdWords. Sigh.
You don’t (as of now!) have to actually buy pay-per-click ads from Google in AdWords – BUT if you link your new AdWords account to you Google Analytics account you can do some keyword research.
Tell me what other work-arounds YOU’VE found for doing keyword research!
Image courtesy of [FrameAngel] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
It’s that time of year … a new year equals new starts. We all resolve to do things differently.
Again.
How about really doing something different in 2013? Instead of the same old resolutions, how about some Un-Resolutions?
Un-Resolutions? What are those?
Instead of focusing on a list of things ‘to do’ – do better, differently, more of – in our personal and professional lives – let’s think about the things that we know have NEVER worked for us and vow to stop wasting time doing them. That’s an Un-Resolution. Free yourself personally, professionally or both.
What might you STOP doing?
stop eating chocolate?
No, no, no. That’s not realistic, it’s not achievable and it’s not terribly smart. [You know about SMART goals, right?] How about telling yourself to stop feeling guilty about that piece of really good chocolate you might have once or twice a week? Or try telling yourself to stop bingeing on chocolate? More reasonable, right?
But what about in business? If you are a small business owner, a freelancer, consultant, or an entrepreneur (or just think like one) – What will you stopdoing this year?
Un-Resolutions for you and your business:
Stop thinking it’s about ‘you’.
It’s not. The truth that most won’t tell you is our customers and clients do not care about us. They care about themselves – they care what we can do for them. We’re there to help them solve a problem and that’s what they care about. So stop focusing on you – what degrees you have, what experience you have, what you did lately, and put the language and emphasis on ‘them’. How you are best positioned to be the one to help them.
Stop making things more complicated than they need to be.
Sometimes that old mantra of KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) is really the best. So think about what aspects of your business are draining you, taking too much energy and time to do – what can you simplify? What can you delegate? Can you hire a virtual assistant for some things? Is a task really essential? Is it truly moving you forward to a specific goal and can you measure what you are getting out of it? It’s a bit like that closet organizer’s trick – if you haven’t worn it in 18 months, get rid of it. Same principles.
Stop talking just to ourselves.
If you’re a small business owner you can often spend your time just talking to others in your niche. Or perhaps if you’re a really small business owner just starting out you might be taking the ‘talk to yourself’ thing a little too literally!It’s too insulating. Get outside! (metaphorically and literally) Talk to your customers or clients. Talk to friends and colleagues in other fields. Ask them what they’re doing, what’s working and what isn’t. Listen. Talk to people in roles different from your own. Talk to the information tech folks, the marketers, the accountants. Talk to people in fields or interests you don’t know much about – and listen. You’ll likely learn something that can change what you are doing or bring new insights. There are more points of commonality than we all think.
And by all means get out and talk in person as much as possible! And if that’s really, really not your style – then do some research. “Talk” to your customers via surveys, polls, emails and more. Dig up some tidbits from other fields, join a different group on LinkedIn, read a new blog, watch a webinar.
Stop undervaluing yourself.
Stop under charging. Take yourself and your business seriously, so others will too. [This may be one of the hardest un-resolutions for all small business owners, freelancers or solopreneurs – TheInfoHound included!]. But do the research among your peers and similar businesses and know what you are worth in the market. Know what your time is worth. Stop taking the first offer that comes especially if it’s a lowball one. Target clients who respect what you can do for them – and will pay you appropriately to do it.
Stop holding on to the past.
Business is different now. Have you changed with the times? Customers are more informed than ever before. Buyers know more before purchasing and a sales person is likely not the first place they turn for information about your product or service. They are studying you. So give them the information they want while they are studying and deciding. They are also talking about you. So go out on the social platforms and listen.
Stop trying to do it all alone.
Go collaborate with like minds. Partner up, trade services, share recommendations and referrals with synergistic partners. Connect with other small businesses or solopreneurs – some might be in your field, some might be in connected fields who have similar client targets. Figure out ways to mutually benefit each other. Ask what you can do for them. That’s right, it’s not about you (remember Un-Resolution #1?). By offering first to see what you can do to help another business grow, you gain in reputation, credibility and general positive goodwill. And goodwill can be good business.So, what will you be NOT doing in 2013?
