A Day Without My Sunshine (My Blackberry)

I hear many successful business owners state that they will never get a blackberry or any other PDA, because they don't want to be THAT accessible ALL the time. While I get that, I think of my PDA as my friend that keeps me in the loop with just one glance. Since I manage other peoples' businesses/business operations, I have multiple email boxes including my own and just one look at my Blackberry keeps me in the loop with everyone.

Well today, was the day the Blackberry was not with me - well it was, but AT&T had inadvertently deactivated my SIM card and cannot transfer the data until I go into the store AGAIN *I was just there yesterday*. So I had an inactive PDA all day - very annoying.

BUT, I survived even though I felt like a piece of me was missing. This experience really helped me to practice what I preach regarding productivity - checking email at an appointed time and not all day, and batching. This happened by necessity and not by choice. But the experience taught me that I can, in fact, survive a day without my blackberry and leads me to think...

Blackberry and other PDAs....
Do they really assist with efficiency or are they just cool distractions?

Systems...

Over the past couple of weeks I have been getting lots of training on developing systems to get things done within a business. From a recent Online Business Managers Meeting, we discussed 10 Systems that will further help our clients achieve greater success.Of these, there were two that really stood out to me as truly areas for development for most business owners with whom I work.

1. Marketing system. May times businesses stop marketing when they have consistent clients - failing to build a pipeline for future growth and opportunities. This could include a consistent schedule for newsletter distribution, blogging, social media or regular contact with clients.

2. Phone calls and email management - Do you have general systems in place to deal with certain requests (i.e. if someone emails you or calls regarding pricing or information about a product or services)?

The benefits of systems is invaluable. It not only keeps the business owner consistent in dealing with clients and prospects, but it also allows him/her to delegate with a greater level of ease. Having systems even allows the business owner to be able to take vacations or deal with family emergencies knowing that standard operating procedures are in place. Now doesn't that sound like a process worth investing in?