What warmed my heart was the sign next to the garden. “Help yourself!”

This person has taken the time and effort to plant and nurture this little garden, and instead of hoarding it or showing it off, he or she is sharing it with the world. So simple. No grants, no committees, no mandates. Just someone sharing their gifts with anyone who needs them.

What a cool little reminder, there in the middle of a nice walk. We’ve all got gifts and resources that we’ve nurtured. How can we share them with the world… simply… easily… today?

What is networking? Really, at its simplest level, it is sharing information and making connections. You share what you have to offer and what you’re looking for, and the other party does the same. The critical piece comes with the follow-through: staying in touch with those new contacts and connecting them with valuable resources from your network.

I believe networking events are so important, I try to average about one per week. Yes, this is a significant time commitment, usually 2-3 hours per event including prep time and driving. But I consider it time well spent. At these events I meet people who might need a small business coach, people who can refer me to people who might need me, and people who have something of value to offer. And I make connections that can help support my business and my clients’ businesses.

To keep things fun, I set goals before each event. This past week, I went to a networking group’s lunch meeting for the first time. Not knowing how many people would attend, I set a modest goal to make five new connections, identify one potential new client, meet one possible project partner and find something of value to share with an existing customer. In fact, I made nine new connections, identified one likely new client, met two possible partners and discovered information about a trade association that will be helpful for one of my clients.

The hardest thing about networking is just making the commitment to do it. Schedule yourself to attend a networking event in the next two weeks, and follow up with the contacts you make there. Then repeat… over and over again. It may take some time, but you’ll reap the rewards of those connections.

Do you have your email set to poke you when a new message comes in, taking you away from your current task? How about the phone… do you look to see who’s calling, even when you’re in the midst of a critical discussion with someone? How many times do you switch out of one task for something that’s not relevant? And how much time do you spend getting back to your intended task?

Keep this in the back of your mind today as you work. How much time is being gobbled up by switchtasking, and what can you do about it?

Small business owners easily fall into a pattern of working full-steam until a project is completed, then suddenly realizing that it’s been two months since they’ve done any marketing. Monitoring the number of conversations you have about your business is one way to ensure that you’re marketing on a weekly basis.

But I’m not just talking about telling the cashier at the grocery store about your business… I’m talking about quality conversations with your target audience. This requires three steps:

1. Know who your target audience is. Who buys what you sell? Create a picture of that customer… including demographic and psychographic clues as to where you will find them.

2. Know what you want to say. Develop and refine a dynamic elevator speech that includes a benefit to the customer. How will you improve this person’s life/job/bottom line if he/she works with you?

3. Schedule conversations weekly. If you don’t know how many you need, start with five each week. This means five lunches, coffees, phone calls or networking opportunities… and don’t hide behind email! You want to have an easy, natural, inspired discussion with your targets. Each Monday make a plan to complete at least five conversations during the week.

Make a simple chart and keep track of how many conversations you have, and what the results are. Over time you’ll see how many conversations equals one conversion. This is the simplest, most cost-effective way to market your business.

What’s real for me today is that my dad passed away unexpectedly yesterday. I’ve spent the morning clearing my very full calendar of commitments for the next few days. As much as I hate letting my clients down, I know what’s real for me right now is that I need to be with my family and take this time to honor my dad.

Are you in touch with what’s real for you? Our reality colors the way we approach everything in our lives. If you’re feeling low on energy, now’s not the time to tackle that big project. Be easy on yourself. And if you’re really feeling like you need to touch base with a client, honor your intuition and make the call. You know what you need to do… give yourself the space to do it.

What’s real for you today?

Often as business owners we’re too busy to listen to our customers. We have proposals to write, orders to fill, emails to return. But one of the best investments of your time comes in connecting with your top clients, asking insightful questions and really listening to the answers. What will you hear?

You’ll hear about their latest problems and initiatives, which can mean new opportunities for you to assist them. You’ll hear honest feedback about your company and the services you provide, which brings you confidence and allows you to make needed corrections before you lose a client. You’ll hear referrals to new customers. And finally, you’ll hear an increased sense of trust and willingness to let you help build your client’s business.

Today, listen to at least one client.

Creativity is about problem-solving, and unlike school, where we’re taught that 1 plus 1 equals 2, the real world doesn’t always add up that way. Especially in a tough economy, small business owners must look harder for creative solutions to problems involving sales, financing, networking and marketing. Sometimes the most creative answers require you to take a risk. Psychologist Erich Fromm said, “Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” Often there is great reward in letting go of the certain and trying something different.

Next time you’re looking for a solution, don’t stop at the first right answer you meet.

Today, where is your computer? I bet it’s sitting right before you, front and center on your desk. You might even be reading this in a coffee shop, or on your couch, where your laptop, along with your cell phone, comprises your entire office. Our computers now shape the way we approach our work.

Think about it. When you sit down to start working, what’s the first thing you do? Is it to take a few moments and really determine what needs to happen for your business to succeed? Or is it to automatically click on your email inbox and start reacting?

Get your head out of the box. I challenge you to take three minutes right now (set a timer) and walk away from your computer. Sit down, and just THINK about your business. What’s the most important thing for you to do today for your business? Which action would have the biggest effect? I guarantee that the answer will come to you. And the email? It can wait.

Previously this non-immediate information would fall into a black hole in my office – either stuffed into a pile on my desk or pushed down to the bottom of my email inbox, never to be seen again. But now I have my trusted Bring-Up File… and life is good!

Any good executive assistant knows and loves the bring-up file. This simple system allows you, with a minimum of set-up and only a moment or two of daily maintenance, to safely file information away and trust that you will see it again when you need it. For the uninitiated, here’s how it works.

You need 12 folders, each labeled with the names of the months, and 31 more folders, each labeled with the days 1 through 31. You need someplace to store these files so they will be visible and easily accessible. Set up the folders with the days in front and the months behind. If you are starting today, your folders will start with the number 12 for the 12th of the month, then progress through 31, then 1-11 behind that. Next will be the March folder, then April through December, then January and February.

Store items in the appropriate folder relating to their time-sensitivity. That networking invitation for mid-March? It goes in the March folder. The reminder about scheduling the doctor’s appointment for May goes in the April folder (it takes a while to get into that doc). The idea for the conference for next year goes in the October folder, since that’s when I’ll start planning that event. Get the idea?

As you’re opening mail or receiving information throughout the day, file it in your bring-up file. Then, each morning, check that day’s folder and act on anything there. It only takes a moment. Then put that empty folder behind the other dated folders. At the beginning of a new month, remove the items from that month’s folder and sort them into the dated folders. You’re all set for the new month.

It’s so simple, and in my mind that’s what makes it work and makes it easy to sustain. It’s so reassuring to know that I’m filing information where I’ll find it again when I need it.

Give it a try, and let me know if it works for you.

Do you honor your business by keeping regular work hours?

We know that a typical day in the life of someone who works at home is anything but typical. That may even be WHY you work at home — because you want a more flexible schedule. That’s valid. Flexible work hours are a major benefit to owning your business.

But that puts the responsibility squarely on you to ensure that you’re working enough hours, at the right times, to grow your business and take care of your customers. You can do this by implementing structured work hours.

A structured schedule can be as simple as dividing the day into two parts – before lunch and after lunch – similar to what 9-to-5ers do. You can choose to handle one type of work in the morning, and another type in the afternoon. Or schedule all client interaction for the morning, and use the afternoon for paperwork and brain time.

Or your schedule can be more detailed: Monday mornings are for reviewing projects, Tuesdays and Thursdays are for client meetings, and Wednesdays are errand days.

Then schedule off-work times for handling household chores and family needs. You wouldn’t do laundry at a 9-to-5 job; you’d wait until you got home. Honor your business day in the same way now that you work at home. Plan to do laundry at a time when it won’t pull your focus away from your work. Schedule household repairs, errands and cleaning for off-hours.

Everyone’s schedule will look different based on the needs of your business. The key is to review those needs and develop a schedule that puts work first during your work time.

One of my work-at-home clients initially faced daily distractions from refrigerator repairmen, talkative neighbors, laundry cycles and kids’ carpools. Now, she has worked hard to implement a schedule in which all family-based commitments are handled on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. During the rest of the week, her time is devoted to her business. If something family-related comes up, she knows she has time on Tuesday or Thursday to handle it, and can put it aside until that day. It’s a big stress-reliever for her, and her business is growing because she’s more focused.

Try it for yourself. Look at your calendar for the next week. What patterns do you see? Where can you devote blocks of time to key tasks for your business? Which days look like “away from desk” days and which can be focused on major progress? Where can you schedule your household and family tasks? Try outlining your calendar for the next week into two-hour blocks of time. Then, as new opportunities come up, schedule them within those blocks as appropriate.

Honor your new schedule for a week. See how it feels. Are you more productive? More focused? What tweaks can you make to improve it?

Let me know how it goes! Or if you’ve found other scheduling tips that work for you, share them with us.

Next: Your bring-up file