As an entrepreneur have you ever wondered what ways your business can give back to the community? It is a thought that many entrepreneurs have, especially at the end of the year. What can you do to help the community without breaking the bank and your business budget?
Here are a few ways you, your business and your employees can give back:
Host a company wide food donation or clothing donation drive. Shelters are in need of food and clothing donations year round, but especially at the holidays. You could also ask employees to donate new, unwrapped toys that a shelter could give away to children. Choose a charitable organization to donate to, set up a donation center and let the giving begin.
Find a worthy cause that your employees can embrace and set up a cash donation fund for them. Have employees donate their “coffee money” for a month. Collect loose change. Find a donation that has an online way to contribute and ask employees to donate in your company name.
Collect items to send to the troops overseas. Contact a local Veterans administration office and ask what items are on a soldier’s wishlist and set up a collection box.
Organize a company-wide blood drive.
Take a day off for volunteerism. If you or your staff supports a local organization, take a day off and volunteer at that organization.
Giving Tuesday (November 29) is a way in which anyone, across the country, can get involved and give to the charity of their choice.
Remember, your employees should know that any of this giving is optional. We’ll bet you and your staff will feel great for having donated or volunteered this holiday season for those less fortunate. Do you have ways in which you and your business give back? We’d love to hear about it.
When Employee Productivity Plummets, employers need to be able to recognize the signs and work to address the underlying issues. Let’s face it, we all face those days when we are just in a slump at work. It’s to be expected on occasion, but if it persists and your company is beginning to suffer, it’s time to take action.
Ask, “is there anything you want to talk about?” Your employee may be dealing with personal or other professional issues about which you have no knowledge. They may want to share, but might not have felt comfortable doing so. Don’t force the issue, but do ask the question.
Are your employees working crazy hours? Are they enmeshed in a large project that means they need to work nights, weekends, holidays? If so, what can you do to not only keep the project moving forward but be cognizant of the potential for burnout? Offering a day off might just reignite the spark and reenergize the team.
Are they confused on the direction of a task? Are there conflicting messages? Deadlines? Have reporting deadlines or metrics changed without any warning? Communication is key to productivity. Foster open lines of communication and keep key players in the loop.
Don’t discount world events as stressors in your employees’ lives.
Ask, “what can I do to help?” Just saying those words may open the lines of communication and pave the way for you and your staff to get back on track.
What are your best practice tips for motivating a team when enthusiasm is waning? Do you have any hacks that you have tried that worked? We’d love to know them!
Use LinkedIn For Business Prospecting, it’s a great way to connect with like-minded business people, potential partners and potential clients. If you haven’t tapped into the power of LinkedIn you could be missing a potential landmine of ways to grow your business.
LinkedIn is considered to be a more professional atmosphere than Facebook. You don’t usually find too many memes or funny cat or dog videos on LinkedIn. The business professionals and entrepreneurs who use LinkedIn are using it to share their expertise, learn from other experts and connect with potential business partners and clients.
Use LinkedIn For Business Prospecting, here are some tips for doing just that:
Join groups or start your own. Look for professional groups that are of interest to you and into which you could provide value. Remember, a group is not the place to go and simply announce, “I have something to sell.” Get involved by answering questions. Ask questions. Offer advice. Be a valuable, go-to resource for others in the group.
Make sure your profile is 100%. If there are gaps in the profile (LinkedIn shows you when you log in how complete your profile is) complete it. Update it if you have learned new skills, gained new certifications or changed jobs.
Respond to people to message you. LinkedIn shares with your followers when you have a birthday, a new job, or a work anniversary. When this happens and your in box is full of congratulations and good wishes, respond to those who reached out.
Nurture the relationships you have on LinkedIn. When you’re connecting with new business people on the site make certain you personalize the invitation and let the potential connection know how and where you met.
Are you using LinkedIn? Are you using the publishing tool on LinkedIn? It’s an ideal way to get your post in front of your followers.
Filter Short Term And Long Term Tasks as a way to get more done and be more productive in your business.
In order to be your most productive you need to know when you are most productive. Some people are “morning people” while others are “night owls.” Know yourself and know when you are operating at peak mental capacity and efficiency and focus on your hardest or most challenging work then.
What makes you feel productive? Is it crossing a lot of items off a to-do list? Is it chipping away at a major task, bit by bit, even if you can’t cross it completely off a to-do list?
Here are some ways to amp up your productivity by knowing when to focus on long term and short term tasks. Look at your day and decide what is the priority item. Is it calling clients? Is it writing a chapter in your book? Is it getting out of the office for networking events?
Are the tasks you’re considering long term or short term? Are they items you will do once and never have to think about again? Are the tasks those that recur throughout the month or week or year? Make note of that so you can better schedule your time to address these tasks.
Take some time and write down a list of your long term tasks, list your short term tasks and make note of which of these tasks on both lists are one and done or are recurring.
Look at both of your lists and the fact of whether the items are recurring or one and done. If it’s a long term, indepth project it should make it to your to-do list and you should put a time limit for working on it to chip away at it daily. Your short term, one and done tasks are those that you can quickly do and check off — it’s a great feeling to get through those items.
I suggest writing all of these tasks down so you can have a bird’s eye view of what needs to get done and in what time frame. Then you can set a schedule to accomplish those items.
