209 – How to get more stuff done. AKA productivity tips for your business. Go!

209 – How to get more stuff done. AKA productivity tips for your business. Go!

“I love the marketing ideas you’ve shared, Timbo, but of the 250 people in this room, how many do you think will action them?”

I got asked this great question at the end of a keynote I gave recently. You’ll need to listen in to hear my answer, but what I can tell you (and you probably already know) is this… there is no shortage of marketing ideas in this world, but the magic is in the implementation of them.

And that’s where many (most?) business owners fall down. They hear a great idea, take a note of it, and then for whatever reason (there are many) they forget or don’t get around to taking action. They get sucked back in to the busy-ness of business.

Sound familiar?

Cool. Well you’re not alone.

That’s why Andrew Griffiths and I get together in this twelfth instalment of Funny Business to share our tips, tricks and secrets to getting stuff done – to being more productive in both our business and personal lives.

Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode

Andrew Griffiths’ Interview Transcription

Start @ 4:15

Tim:

Here’s the topic. I was at a conference, speaking at a conference about six weeks ago in Perth, 250 financial advisors were in the audience and I gave a 60-minute keynote on my helpful business, my helpful marketing topic. And at the end we had time for questions. And this bloke, roving microphone around the crowd and this bloke put his hand up; awkward silence as the microphone made its way over to the bloke. I’ve got this theory. I don’t know about you when you speak but when someone puts their hand up, it’s the furthest point from where the microphone is.

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My Top 3 Learnings

1. Stop waiting for things to be perfect. Focus on outputs.

2. Develop better habits.

3. No one else on this planet has the same amount of shared experiences than you.

Over to you!

Let me know YOUR #1 takeaway from this episode by leaving a comment below.
Griffo and I personally read and respond to every comment.

6 thoughts on “209 – How to get more stuff done. AKA productivity tips for your business. Go!”

  1. Ouch. Someone’s a bit grumpy. I loved that you talked about taking action. It is what separates those that are successful, from those that sit back and complain (looking at you Mr. Critic).

    Btw, love me some One Direction. If he thinks that is a bad name, what did he think about ABBA or The Who. Holy cow!

  2. Loved the Enya discussion because of a productivity app I like to use at 5am, at least as often as I can be up and running that early. I heard about the app, called Focus@Will, from another small biz podcast (which shall remain nameless :))

    I agree that a massage at 8am, with Enya as jokingly posited, would be great but detrimental to daily productivity. Yet, this app I use helps me via some Enya-esque music. Here’s whats cool: the app can be set based on your personality type and desired activity level, and for me it plays a stream of music called Focus Spa which of course is almost like being in a spa. It has worked surprisingly well, and has been helping me make great progress on implementing changes in a new web based service I and my team are creating. (And … the changes I’m making during these Enya-esque sessions are directly based on comments from SBBM forum members!)

  3. Interesting feedback so far……..more to come I’m thinking! And Nick – I’m a big WHO fan, but “NO DIRECTION” – pheeeweeeee. Since this recording I have done some research – and feel suitably enlightened – but no more inspired!

  4. Thanks so much Timbo and AG for this episode! First time for me leaving a comment, but you guys really gave me my smile back! You were obviously having such a good time. Plus, on the day before i listened to the episode, I just had a bit of a breakdown/burn-out and your tips totally helped me refocus 🙂

  5. I thought this episode was really interesting and I have a thought that I’d like to share (just the one, but I’m afraid I may ramble on :-)).

    Since the start of the year, I’ve successfully completed a number of projects for one-woman businesses owned by people I’ve known for some time. Most, but not all are in the Equestrian industry. In most cases, a stand-alone WordPress website/Facebook page etc or a website and integrated booking system. Each business owner is a truly outstanding person in their own right and some are acknowledged internationally as leaders in their field although none have any business management experience or technology/writing/marketing skills.

    In each case, what started out as an SOS from them to a person they trusted to “add some info to their website because they didn’t think it was all that flash” translated into a deep and meaningful that led to a far bigger discussion. In each case, a stranger who didn’t know their industry, had “done their website” and marketing materials for them, and it didn’t come vaguely close to portraying the person, their amazing personal presence and the sheer magnitude of what they could offer their potential customers. In short, the website designer had done a reasonable job of rounding up what was given to them, but the business owner was too close to the picture to be objective about the highlights and limitations of their business, in particular as it related to the local industry as a whole, and the point of difference they offered to prospective clients compared to what else was available in the market. Their marketing materials just made them look like every other ordinary person.

    Now to the point of this reply:
    You asked why more people don’t take action when it comes to marketing their business, and in my limited experience:
    1) It all feels a bit insincere because they have no way of seeing themselves through their clients eyes, and capturing the way their clients feel when they interact with them. eg. the warmth of the hug they always give their clients when they see them, with a waft of exotic perfume in the air; the twinkle in their eye, gurgling laughter and razor sharp come-back when their client makes a funny comment; the compassion they show to their students when it’s obvious they’re at a low point. The business owner is often not all that sure why anyone really chooses their services, but they need to find that out from someone who can see it.
    Clients will choose businesses they feel a connection with but the right clients can’t connect with you if it’s not really you or your business they’re looking at. Large businesses who use agency setups will have all manner of creative and analytical bums on seats to achieve this, but for the micro or solo business, it’s not even on the radar.
    2) If technology/writing/blogging/podcasting is not their core business, they’re focusing their attention on the thing that is, and are blissfully unaware of what exists in those fields that can help them spread their message. They are often dazzled and overwhelmed at the choices available, none of which they really understand.
    3) If they’re not of a literary or creative disposition, finding the right words or images or look to portray their brand, can be a frustrating and fruitless endeavour. They look to their competitors for inspiration and imitate those equally lifeless offerings in order to put a tick in the “I’ve got a website/logo/whatever” box.

    There it is, my top 3. Eventually. And probably verbosely.

    Thanks again for a fab show gents, keep it coming 🙂

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