by Clare Kaufman, VendorSeek.com
"Recession" is becoming a household word, and worker morale is dropping faster than the stock market. How can you avoid burnout and keep the energy burning bright in your own business? The following strategies can help you and your staff stay focused in any work environment.
Professional Services Home Business
It's easy to lose steam if your workspace is within a stone's throw of your bedroom. Running a home business takes an uncommon degree of self-discipline. Successful home entrepreneurs rely on simple tricks of the trade to stay energized. Counselors Melinda Smith and Ellen Jaffe-Gill advise developing a morning routine to put yourself in the right frame of mind for productivity: "Rather than jumping out of bed as soon as you wake up, spend at least 15 minutes meditating, writing in your journal, doing gentle stretches, or reading something that inspires you."
A consistent morning routine helps Lillyvette Montalvo, who launched her own venture capital business, Star Capital, stay focused. She recommends "starting every day on a regular, positive note ... treating home office hours as you would your former workplace hours." For her, that means arriving to work (i.e., firing up the computer in her home office) on time and having a morning cup of coffee before tackling the day's to-do list.
Retail E-Commerce
"Creativity is a powerful antidote to burnout," observe Smith and Jaffe-Gill. E-commerce professionals have the perfect canvas for creative experimentation: their Internet storefront. If the thrill of e-tailing is slipping along with the economic slump, it might be time for a Web design makeover. Develop a new look for your brand or business, and work with a Web design service to bring that creative vision to fruition. A full-scale e-commerce solutions provider can also help you revive sales through technical services: you may choose to upgrade your Web site's point of sale (POS) technology, or launch a pay per click (PPC) campaign to drive traffic to your revamped Web site.
Event Planning Business
Weddings and parties are not just fun and games -- even event planners experience job burnout. Breathe new life into your event planning business by expanding your entertainment repertoire. Equipment leasing companies let you experiment with new event ideas without a hefty up front investment. For example:
* Turn up the "wow" factor at your next event by leasing tensile fabric projection screens. Riffing on the nightclub trend of projecting artsy slides or videos onto walls, tensile screens create visually arresting scene-scapes. Suspend a shaped screen over the event venue, or use organic-shaped tensile fabric "sculptures" as room dividers.
* Don't forget the fun factor. Equipment leasing companies offer a range of games for rent, including old pinball machines, arcade games, and contemporary Wii-style interactive games.
Direct-Sales Business
If you rely on a sales force to drive business, an economic downturn can quickly lead to low morale among the troops. It's up to you to turn the situation around by adjusting the incentives. Rather than simply rewarding sales, Sales and Marketing Strategy Consultant Paul Rickett counsels small business owners to refocus efforts -- and rewards -- on relationship-building. Create incentives for salespeople to make calls, update contacts, and tend relationships with current clients. "It's about rewarding the right activity," he says.
Chris Baggott, CEO of a blogging software business, keeps his sales team motivated through hard times with a program he calls "Dial Set Run." The program breaks the sales process down into "sprints," specific activities with rewards attached. One of the efforts Baggott rewards is employee blogging. Blogging not only "gives the sales team a sense that they are contributing, but more important, it becomes a great lead source through organic traffic."
An economic slowdown is the perfect time to galvanize the sales force with a new sales technique. Help the team tap into a new market for sales by building a search engine marketing campaign. E-commerce solutions offer resources such as SEO services and PPC management to revive interest in your product -- and the spirits of your staff.
Freelance Creative Business
It's easy to get burnt out if you're living the life of the lone creative genius. Do yourself and your freelance business a favor by getting out and networking with your peers. Some freelance writers and designers pool resources and rent office space together. In addition to providing some structure to your day, a common office space lets you interact with other creative professionals and share any work leads that arise.
Freelance writer Andrea C. Poe admits "the freelance life is a solitary life," but she relies on a freelancer "support group" to recharge. Each month, creative independents gather over coffee to "swap tales of glory and woe" and offer each other moral support.
As the economy slows, it's easy to slow down with it -- especially as an independent business owner. Instead, draw on the maverick spirit that got you here and find new sources of energy. Not only will your efforts pay off now, you'll have a head start once the rest of the economy regains its momentum.
Clare Kaufman is a freelance writer who covers business and education topics.
"Recession" is becoming a household word, and worker morale is dropping faster than the stock market. How can you avoid burnout and keep the energy burning bright in your own business? The following strategies can help you and your staff stay focused in any work environment.
Professional Services Home Business
It's easy to lose steam if your workspace is within a stone's throw of your bedroom. Running a home business takes an uncommon degree of self-discipline. Successful home entrepreneurs rely on simple tricks of the trade to stay energized. Counselors Melinda Smith and Ellen Jaffe-Gill advise developing a morning routine to put yourself in the right frame of mind for productivity: "Rather than jumping out of bed as soon as you wake up, spend at least 15 minutes meditating, writing in your journal, doing gentle stretches, or reading something that inspires you."
A consistent morning routine helps Lillyvette Montalvo, who launched her own venture capital business, Star Capital, stay focused. She recommends "starting every day on a regular, positive note ... treating home office hours as you would your former workplace hours." For her, that means arriving to work (i.e., firing up the computer in her home office) on time and having a morning cup of coffee before tackling the day's to-do list.
Retail E-Commerce
"Creativity is a powerful antidote to burnout," observe Smith and Jaffe-Gill. E-commerce professionals have the perfect canvas for creative experimentation: their Internet storefront. If the thrill of e-tailing is slipping along with the economic slump, it might be time for a Web design makeover. Develop a new look for your brand or business, and work with a Web design service to bring that creative vision to fruition. A full-scale e-commerce solutions provider can also help you revive sales through technical services: you may choose to upgrade your Web site's point of sale (POS) technology, or launch a pay per click (PPC) campaign to drive traffic to your revamped Web site.
Event Planning Business
Weddings and parties are not just fun and games -- even event planners experience job burnout. Breathe new life into your event planning business by expanding your entertainment repertoire. Equipment leasing companies let you experiment with new event ideas without a hefty up front investment. For example:
* Turn up the "wow" factor at your next event by leasing tensile fabric projection screens. Riffing on the nightclub trend of projecting artsy slides or videos onto walls, tensile screens create visually arresting scene-scapes. Suspend a shaped screen over the event venue, or use organic-shaped tensile fabric "sculptures" as room dividers.
* Don't forget the fun factor. Equipment leasing companies offer a range of games for rent, including old pinball machines, arcade games, and contemporary Wii-style interactive games.
Direct-Sales Business
If you rely on a sales force to drive business, an economic downturn can quickly lead to low morale among the troops. It's up to you to turn the situation around by adjusting the incentives. Rather than simply rewarding sales, Sales and Marketing Strategy Consultant Paul Rickett counsels small business owners to refocus efforts -- and rewards -- on relationship-building. Create incentives for salespeople to make calls, update contacts, and tend relationships with current clients. "It's about rewarding the right activity," he says.
Chris Baggott, CEO of a blogging software business, keeps his sales team motivated through hard times with a program he calls "Dial Set Run." The program breaks the sales process down into "sprints," specific activities with rewards attached. One of the efforts Baggott rewards is employee blogging. Blogging not only "gives the sales team a sense that they are contributing, but more important, it becomes a great lead source through organic traffic."
An economic slowdown is the perfect time to galvanize the sales force with a new sales technique. Help the team tap into a new market for sales by building a search engine marketing campaign. E-commerce solutions offer resources such as SEO services and PPC management to revive interest in your product -- and the spirits of your staff.
Freelance Creative Business
It's easy to get burnt out if you're living the life of the lone creative genius. Do yourself and your freelance business a favor by getting out and networking with your peers. Some freelance writers and designers pool resources and rent office space together. In addition to providing some structure to your day, a common office space lets you interact with other creative professionals and share any work leads that arise.
Freelance writer Andrea C. Poe admits "the freelance life is a solitary life," but she relies on a freelancer "support group" to recharge. Each month, creative independents gather over coffee to "swap tales of glory and woe" and offer each other moral support.
As the economy slows, it's easy to slow down with it -- especially as an independent business owner. Instead, draw on the maverick spirit that got you here and find new sources of energy. Not only will your efforts pay off now, you'll have a head start once the rest of the economy regains its momentum.
Clare Kaufman is a freelance writer who covers business and education topics.
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