Author: Mariana

As a business owner, one of the most important things you can do is to streamline your operations. By automating certain tasks and processes, you can save time, reduce errors, and increase efficiency. This is where Dubsado comes in. Dubsado is a business management tool that allows you to automate your workflows, from lead capture to payment collection. In this post, we’ll explore how you can use Dubsado to streamline your business and boost your productivity.

Step 1: Set Up Your Account
The first step to automating your business with Dubsado is to create an account. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll need to set up your account by adding your business details, branding, and payment gateway information. Dubsado makes it easy to customize your account to match your brand, so your clients will recognize your business whenever they interact with you.

Step 2: Create Workflows
The next step is to create workflows for your various business processes. Workflows are a series of steps that you can set up to automate tasks such as sending invoices, scheduling appointments, and following up with clients. Dubsado has pre-made templates for common workflows, or you can create your own custom workflows to fit your business needs.

Step 3: Automate Your Processes
Once you’ve set up your workflows, it’s time to automate your processes. Dubsado allows you to automate tasks such as sending emails, creating invoices, and generating contracts. You can also set up automatic reminders to follow up with clients or send payment reminders. With automation, you can save time and ensure that your clients receive the information they need in a timely manner.

Step 4: Use the Client Portal
Dubsado also offers a client portal, which allows your clients to access their invoices, contracts, and other documents online. This makes it easy for them to sign contracts and make payments, without having to go through multiple steps or send emails back and forth. The client portal also allows you to communicate with your clients directly, so you can answer any questions or address any concerns they may have.

Step 5: Track Your Progress
Finally, it’s important to track your progress and see how your automated workflows are working. Dubsado offers a dashboard that allows you to track your leads, payments, and projects. You can also see how your clients are interacting with your business and where you may need to make adjustments. By tracking your progress, you can continue to improve your processes and ensure that your business is running smoothly.

In conclusion, Dubsado is a powerful tool that can help you automate your business processes and streamline your operations. By setting up your account, creating workflows, automating your processes, using the client portal, and tracking your progress, you can save time, reduce errors, and increase efficiency. With Dubsado, you can focus on growing your business and providing the best possible experience for your clients.

Want to learn more about how to take your Dubsado game to the next level?
Check out my freebie: How to onboard your clients in your sleep here

If you are a small business owner, you know there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. If you don’t have a budget to hire freelancers to help you, your next best solution is to automate as many of your processes as possible. Here are a few suggestions.

 

Content Creation

You will always need new content for your website in order to attract more traffic and customers. Using blogging software like WordPress (rather than traditional HTML) for your website means you can upload your content ahead of time, set the date you want it published, and the program will do the rest. You can upload about a month’s worth of content in one day if you are really organized, freeing your time up for your many other tasks.

 

Email Marketing

Similarly, automate as much of your email marketing as possible by using your autoresponder. Load up each list with great content that will be sent out to each new person on your list. Add more content as they continue on your list. As long as your prospects hear from you at least once a week, you will stay on their radar and can continue to build a relationship with them.

For more newsworthy items, use the calendaring feature in the Broadcast area to load the emails and have them sent out at the right time. Also, save all of your most successful past promotions and reuse them regularly. For example, once Christmas is over, assess your metrics and copy the top-selling emails. Copy them and edit as needed, then queue up for next year.

 

Social Media Cross-Promotions

A lot of programs now have social media sharing built right in. For example, if you publish a new broadcast email, it can also be posted to your Facebook and Twitter accounts if you wish. Log into your social media accounts first, then activate the robots to connect accounts.

If you are using WordPress, there are plugins that will allow you and your visitors to share the information with others with just a click. Go to your plugins tab to look for AddtoAny Share.

 

Zapier.com

Zapier allows you to link up many of your apps so that a particular event will trigger one or more other incidents that can help you keep your finger on the pulse of your business. For example, imagine you receive a payment via PayPal. You could set the email sent to your Gmail account to file the message in your Google Drive.

Zapier connects a wide range of apps. Start with the apps you use most and see their various pre-set suggestions to determine if any will be useful for your business.

 

IFTTT.com

IFTTT stands for IF This, Then That. It is similar to Zapier and very easy to use. As the name suggests, if this happens, then that should happen. If you publish a new article at your site, for example, it should be promoted at your Twitter and Facebook accounts.

 

Customer Service

You can set up your customer service emails with auto-replies, so people feel you care about their communications. You could also use a portal like Zendesk.com with frequently asked questions (FAQs) so your customers don’t have to wait for a basic answer and you don’t have to spend so much time giving them.

Use these tips to automate the most time-consuming processes in your business, so that you are freed up to concentrate on the tasks that no-one else can do.

It seems like everyone and their mother (and grandmother!) has a website these days.  That’s why it’s important to be able to build a quality website to help promote your business and sell your products.  Here are ten quick tips to help even a novice build a quality site.

 

1.  Know your audience.  If you watch the latest hot cartoon and then watch reruns of shows from the 60s, you’re probably going to see not only commercials for different products, but they’re going to be totally different styles.  In the same way, a website whose audience is older shouldn’t have things that will appeal to teens or a younger generation. Knowing your audience is the first step to meeting their needs.

 

2.  Keep it simple.  Simple websites are not only easier to navigate, they also load faster so your customers don’t get frustrated waiting to find what they’re looking for.

 

3.  Ask for feedback.  Always have a way for your users to send you feedback.  This will help you make changes your customers want to keep them coming back, and even recommend you to their friends.  You can put feedback boxes or questions on different pages, or you can add a message board with a feedback section.

 

4.  Don’t branch out too much.  It’s best to focus your website on one area or product.  If you offer several different products or types of products, you need to have several websites to promote them so visitors aren’t bombarded with things they don’t want.

 

5.  Be consistent.  Make each page the same format, font, color, etc to keep visitors from getting confused at where to find what they’re looking for.

 

6.  Be readable.  Not only do you need a font that’s readable and colors that don’t hurt the eyes, but it’s also extremely beneficial to have correct spelling and grammar.  Customers aren’t likely to stick around if they think you’re lazy or don’t know what you’re talking about.

 

7.  Add RSS feed.  Many people keep themselves updated by using RSS feeds instead of checking websites constantly.  By adding a RSS feed, you can not only catch these users, you can also tailor feeds specifically for their interests.

 

8.  Keep it current.  Besides the danger of having out-of-date information, pages that are updated more often get visited more often, and give you a better chance of keeping more customers.

 

9.  Make things easy to find.  Everyone wants things fast, and adding a search box or an easy site map will help them find what they’re looking for quickly and easily.

 

10.  Have fun.  Ultimately, if you do everything right, but your site is just like every other well-made site, you still may not be able to make money off it.  Your site needs to have something unique that reflects who you are and what you can provide.

 

Keep in mind you don’t have to do it yourself, you can always hire a website developer and give instructions of your expectations and what you’re looking for.

Whether you’re a WAHM (Work at Home Mom) or employed outside of the home, being a good manager of your time is paramount. You want to be able to plan out your day effectively to accomplish what needs to be done. This is necessary to ensure no important details fall through the proverbial cracks.

If you work outside of the home you’re probably armed with a day planner or agenda of some kind. You know when you need to be in meetings or when the best time is to make phone calls. You know when your co-workers need you the most, and when you can take your lunch break and run quick errands.

As a parent, you probably have everyone’s activities and appointments marked on a calendar in a public location. This permits planning around soccer practice and orthodontist appointments. Your routine is set chores and errands. You know when is best for planning outside activities. You know when the kids get home from school and when the baby needs her nap.

If your office is in your home, time management takes on a whole new meaning. Not only do the previous tasks apply, you now need to use some time management skills to find that perfect balance between work and household tasks, caring for children, maintaining a relationship with your partner – and at some point in the mix you need to take care of yourself.

By considering some effective time management skills, you can have them lead you through your day. You will have the knowledge you need to keep you from forgetting children at soccer practice and showing up for a dentist appointment two hours earlier than needed. Here are some tips:

 

* Set a schedule – By creating a schedule you have the most important item already taken care of. Knowing in a glance what you need to accomplish is the most important thing you can do to keep track of your family while remaining as productive as possible.

 

* Choose office hours, and spread the word – This is a great way to prevent family and friends from wanting your time when it’s not ideal for you. Let them know they are important to you, but outside of your office hours is best for you.

 

* Schedule your day with the kids in mind – When your children are young enough to be taking naps, this becomes your prime work period. Chores such as dishes or sweeping the floors can be done when little ones are awake. Get as much work done as possible during naptime. Learn to multitask by throwing a load of clothes in the dryer or getting supper started too.

 

* Schedule regular breaks and spend some time with the children – It is important not only for your children but for you as well. Go for a walk, or sit and play at the sandbox with little ones. Show them that although you work from home, they are still most important.

 

* Write a to-do list – Put the most urgent items at the top of the list and work down from there. The important business work will be done first, and cleaning your closet can be done another day.

 

Take time for yourself. You’re still only one person. Life happens whether your work is done or not. Run yourself a bath, grab a good book or just sit with your husband for a bit. After all, he’s the one you are going to receive the most help and encouragement from, so these little gestures will let him know how much you appreciate it.

Time management is one of the biggest challenges modern workers face.  New technologies have given us more freedom to have flexible schedules and many more opportunities to slack off.  Here are a few tips you can use to get yourself on track to be more productive.

 

Write a to-do list and keep it in a prominent place.  It is also a good idea to prioritize your list and do it in (or close to) that order so you know the most important things are getting done.  Or, if you know when you’re most productive during the day, do the #1 item during that time.

 

Once you’re done making your list and putting it in order, cross off everything below #5.  If something is #8 on your list, it’s probably not going to get done that day. And if it’s not important enough to be high on the list, you probably don’t need to do it that day.  It will probably just sit there, looming on your to-do list, making you feel unaccomplished. Besides, if you get everything done on your list, you can always make a new one later in the day.

 

Take care of your most difficult task first.  Often we spend a lot of our day coming up with ways to avoid tasks we don’t want to do.  We may do this by getting other tasks done, or we may just play solitaire on the computer instead.  If you get your worst task done first, you’ll not only get to your other tasks rather than avoiding them, but you’ll also have a sense of accomplishment to help motivate you through the rest of your day.

 

It’s always been accepted that you should keep your mind on your work and not let other things distract you or you won’t get any work done.  However, recent research has shown that this isn’t true. In fact, it’s the opposite of the truth.

 

Taking short breaks by doing something you really like doing actually increases your productivity when you get back to work.  The problem with this is that many people have problems getting back to work at the end of their break. If you do take short breaks, you should set a specific time limit and stick to it.  You should also pick your activities carefully and stay away from those you know you won’t be able to stop doing once break time is done.

 

While it’s good to take breaks, you need to work to make working time only working time.  This means clearing your desk (and computer desktop) of distracting things. If multitasking helps you get stuff done, then go ahead and work on several projects at a time, but don’t multitask between a project and an internet conversation or reading a funny website.  Keep your fun time away from your work time. Otherwise you’ll find you have very little actual work time.

 

If you are multitasking different projects, watch what things you do together.  While working on a supply list and a budget at the same time might be useful, constantly interrupting your work to answer the phone or respond to emails is only going to slow you down.  Save things like phone calls, emails, and checking on projects with co-workers for a few times a day. This way you can get your work don’t without interrupting your flow.

By just making a few small adjustments, you can drastically increase your productivity!

When most people search the Internet, they are in search of information.  There is a lot of it out there. As a content writer, you want them to read your content.  Here are five ways that you can enhance your web content writing skills.

What makes you good at what you do?  Part of it is natural talent. For a creative medium like writing, it is just plain work if you don’t have some inclination towards doing it well.  The other part of the equation is continuing education. To be a good writer, the learning process doesn’t ever stop.

 

1.  Read other people’s content.  You won’t learn what the competition knows if you don’t read their stuff.  We aren’t just talking about the really successful content writers but new people as well.  Read all sorts of content to see what they do that is different from what you are doing. You could pick up some handy pointers.

 

2.  Stay current.  With online writing, what is accepted practice changes all the time.  Get a copy of the AP Stylebook for starters. Whomever you write web content for will want to know that you have kept up with the latest developments.  Along the same lines, learn about sentence and paragraph structure. Run-on sentences are not attractive and neither are paragraphs without a main theme.

 

3. Keep learning.  This is the education piece.  To write on a variety of subjects, get familiar with them.  If real estate is a hot topic, learn what you can about it so that you can write intelligently.  People look for experts in a certain field. Why look for anyone besides the most knowledgeable? Set yourself up to be an expert.

 

4.  Choose a niche.  If you are going to be an expert, you need to have a field.  It is hard to concentrate on three or four different areas. Choose one and establish yourself there before moving on to another area.  Check out the content already in cyberspace before choosing your niche. An area that is already saturated may not be a good place to start unless you can add something new and unique.  It would be great if that niche was little explored by others. You’ll become a pioneer.

 

5.  Find a writing style.  Basically, find your voice.  Are you laid back, witty or serious?  Every writer has a voice – they just need to explore and develop it.  Some writers try to copy another’s style but that’s hard work. Your voice will flow naturally and feel comfortable when you write in it.

 

Are you a web content writer?  These five tips will help you to hone your skills and increase your value online.  The best writers are those who never stop learning.

When conducting any type of business, the use of proper etiquette and professionalism are paramount to keeping your customers happy and wanting to come back. Well, the same basic rules apply when it comes to your actions and reactions online.

Proper etiquette has been taught to us since childhood. Use your fork, not your fingers. Knock before entering a room. Say please and thank you. So why would it be any different when it comes to life online?

Your goal with social networking is to attract as well as keep your customers. In order to accomplish this, take a certain level of work in creating your online presence. You want to be seen with a positive eye, and not regarded as a bother or inconvenience to those around you.

When using a social networking medium, you don’t want to post just to be heard, or for the sake of your name showing up on everyone’s page three times a day. This will not leave people with a good impression of who you are and what you represent. Instead of plugging your site yet again, ask a question to receive feedback, or post a news story which may be interesting to your readers.

When people see your “handle” appear, they shouldn’t feel like they have to run to escape a barrage of debate. Be prepared to lose a battle, admit when you are wrong and allow others to have their personal views. You are more likely to gain respect by lowering your guard on a topic people know you are passionate about, instead of always fighting to have the last word.

The majority of your clientele probably doesn’t stem from your social network. When you are taking time to network, have some fun while turning off the “business button” for a while. Learn about what others have on their minds, what’s new and what’s not and where you possibly fit into the mix, without considering how it will help business. Consider it your virtual water cooler and relax for a few minutes.

Show your real self. Social networking channels aren’t the place for the creation of different personas. By writing in your own personal way, you won’t have the hassle of trying to remember which of your personas said what to whom. Not only will it become exhausting, but it could result in you making a persona mix-up. Should this happen, you could easily lose some of your clients, as well as lose any potentials who were lurking in wait for the perfect timing. If you have multiple projects, aiming at networking with different types of people for each one, just say so. Authenticity will help you gain the contacts you need, as well as those who are interested in what you could possibly have to offer them.

Social networking of any sort can be a very important tool when it comes to the business world connected to the internet. Learning to use it properly, as well as honestly, will result in a more positive experience for you, your current and your potential clients.

 

To run a successful business, whether it’s traditional or online, it helps to keep up with current technology.  More importantly, learning to use the latest technologies to your advantage. One great tool that savvy business owners are using to promote themselves is social networking.

 

Social networks are websites that let people join, find their friends, and share information with each other.  Most people use these sites to find friends they haven’t seen since high school or stay updated on what their friends are doing in real time.  Most people have heard of popular social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, but there are many others out there that are much smaller, but perhaps more useful.

 

LinkedIn is a site that is smaller, but gaining popularity.  The beauty of it is that it’s geared specifically for business networking, rather than simply networking with family, friends, and people you haven’t seen in years.  This is a great place to get started networking. If you decide you want to branch out to other sites, there’s nothing stopping you from joining later.

 

It’s easy.  When the first social networking sites started, only very few people used them.  However, they’ve gained popularity because anyone can use them. While they include more advanced options for the technically savvy user, pretty much anyone can get down the basic idea of these sites with very little time and training.

 

Everyone’s doing it.  Because they are so easy to use, everyone is using these sites.  And they’re talking about them to. It’s hard to turn on the radio or TV without someone directing you to their MySpace page or talking about the latest post on one of these sites.  Instead of going through all the work of gathering emails and contact info to develop your own network, you can market through ones that are already there.

 

So, social networks are obviously a great way to connect with business partners and customers you already have, but how can you use them to expand your business?  Easy – once you develop a network of people with similar business interests, you can post things to everyone on your network. Not only will they pass it on if they are interested, but their contacts will see it on their page and will look at it too without your contact having to do anything.  Pretty soon, your content and marketing materials are spreading through the Internet like wildfire.

 

An important thing to consider when venturing into social networking sites is not to spread yourself too thin.  If can be tempting to use every single networking site in order to reach every single potential customer, but if you’re using so many outlets, you’re going to use up a lot of extra time and resources to reach just a few more people.  A more intelligent plan is to focus all your resources on one or two sites. That way you can launch a targeted campaign that will probably give you better results.

Twitter is fast becoming one of the most popular and quick tools available to help focus on strategy and promotion online. With a maximum number of 140 words, you don’t need to spend a lot of time writing updates about your business in a lengthy blog post. By taking the time to learn this easy concept, you are well on your way to having a loyal group of followers who are anxious to know what’s next in line for your business.

You can use Twitter to draw people to your blog. Tweeting is what Twitter posts are referred as, and you could easily set yours to inform viewers of new content on your blog. One way this can be accomplished is a simple message such as “Come see what’s new! www. Your blog address .com”

By planning your tweets ahead of time, as a series of short and well-phrased mini-blog posts, they can assist you in keeping your followers loyal to you.

 

Here are some other ideas you might try:

Keep your tweets coming on a consistent basis. Each of your tweets is like a beacon or headline to new information. Your audience will be happy to know they aren’t missing anything, and will gladly click through to your blog to keep up with your news.

 

Tweet only a major point from your blog, such as the title. This will oblige people interested in finding out more to head to your website. This is precisely where you want them to go.

 

Consider all areas of your business when thinking about your tweet. Such comments as how things work, why you do them and when you offer certain things are just the type of information your followers are looking to hear about.

 

Instead of posting statements, you could try asking your followers for their input on what they would like to see on your blog or website. By getting their input it will be easier for you to keep your audience happy when you are able to cover the topics they have been waiting for.

 

Tweet at least once daily. Once you get Twitter working for you and your business, you can easily see what comments are being made about the comings and goings from people visiting your website. It can help you make changes when necessary, as well as covering customer service if need be. By having your staff on Twitter as well, if a pressing issue arises they can be on top of it right away too.