Tag Archives: online business implementation

5 Ways to Make Money While You Sleep… Yes, You Can!!

Most things that sound too good to be true are, but this one is not! Actually, I am going to give you more than one idea! You really can make money while you sleep to help supplement your main source of income. All it takes is a bit of foundational work and the knowledge of what resources you should be taking advantage of (of course I am going tell you those as well).

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing happens when your marketing efforts bring another organization visitors and/or customers. In return, the other organization provides you with monetary compensation for each visitor/customer. Affiliate marketing can involve providing links on your website to products from other organizations or including ads for other organizations on your website. If your link provides the organization with a sale (someone purchases a product after clicking on your product link), you receive monetary compensation. A great place to start with affiliate marketing is with Amazon Associates. They offer a simply set up (or get your VA to help you set it up) and Amazon has a huge product selection, so you can always find something to tell your viewer they should use.

Creating a Service

Here you want to brainstorm ways to convert your expertise into a practical service to meet your customers’ needs. For example, a travel blogger could offer a trip planning service leveraging his/her knowledge on the industry to save clients money. While it takes foundational work to create the service, once it’s made you can benefit from selling the service over and over again to new customers. Since the service is supposed to supplement your main income, it does not need to be highly involved or extensive. A healthy food blogger, for example, could offer a one or two hour sit down with a family to help teach them healthy meal planning and shopping. An hour or two could be all it takes to provide your audience with an effective service, and you with a new source of income.

Creating a Product

Here the idea is to brainstorm ways to convert your expertise into a tangible product to meet your customers’ needs. You will want to build something that once it is created, it is ready to go and doesn’t take any effort on your part. For example, if you’re a photographer, sell photos through stock photography. If you’re a food blogger, sell e-books that are collections of recipes. Most of the work is with creating the product. Once that’s completed, you’ll just need minimal advertising efforts. You can even just link to the product on your website, and make the occasional promotional social media post, and call it good.

You can bundles some of your best work together that would help others as well. Think of it as a forms packet or templates that will save people time. If you have an awesome tool that you use for your own business it might also be helpful to others. Start selling your tips and tricks!

Creating Evergreen Online Webinars

Take all that industry expertise and knowledge you’ve got, and monetize it! Ask yourself, “What does an individual need to know to become an expert on given topic, tool, etc?” Answer that question with your knowledge in the form of an online training session or webinar. When you first start out, focus on creating “evergreen” content (information people can use over and over at any time). Something that you don’t have to do live or be there for. For example, “How to advertise your organization on Facebook” as opposed to “How to advertise your organization on Facebook during Halloween.” The more “evergreen” the topic, the larger your potential audience becomes and the more you can potentially make from the service. Then once you have a good following, you can get more specific.

Create a Seminar or Class

For some topics, presenting the ideas in person makes more sense than presenting them online. That’s where the idea of a seminar or class comes in. Take the knowledge you’ve got and present it to a live audience. While it does take work to prepare the presentation, coordinate a venue, and advertise the event, you can charge a lot more for an in-person event than an online webinar. Plus, an in-person event provides the opportunity for you to mention at the end your other products, services, or online training!

While unfortunately you will never be able to make your entire income in your sleep, you can definitely make enough to merit the foundational work passive income requires.

These are little bonuses to make sure you are supplementing your everyday income. Each strategy makes sense for different organizations and industries, so take time to think about which option (or options) make the most sense for you and your audience before you try them. Passive income options do take time before you start to see returns on your investment, so be patient. But know that they are a successful way to make money, so also be excited about the new income opportunities!

If you’d like to take advantage of one (or many) of these passive income strategies, but don’t want to go through the work of navigating the different options or completing the foundational work, Alpine Small Business Solutions if here for you! We can handle passive income strategies, or any aspect of business building, you would like help with. Simply shoot us an email or call us up.

3 Step Recipe to Building a Kick Ass Team That Matches your Core Values

Think of your ideal virtual business like a delicious brownie. You’ll need the right amount of different but complementary ingredients like flour and chocolate. These are the positions and skill sets of your employees. You’ll need the right cooking process, like the stirring and heating; these are the actions taken by you and your employees. And you’ll need a good recipe to guide you to the end result; this is an articulation of your core values for your organization to uphold. When the ingredients and process match the recipe, you get a delectable brownie. When your employees and their actions match your values, you get team authenticity and trust.

Why is cohesion of core values so important? First imagine what happens when conflicting values are at play. Employees who value efficiency over relationship building won’t engage authentically when a boss encourages small talk among the team. A company that values timeliness will encounter conflict with an employee who sees deadlines as suggestions. Employees utilizing different values when handling customer service issues will undermine company consistency, which will negatively impacts the company brand.

These issues can become even more common and even more impactful with a virtual team, which by its nature works apart as much as it works together. While employees collaborate on projects, the majority of the work and communication occurs online. A need for consistency and cohesion is stronger when employees are scattered across the earth.

Now imagine what happens when employees are in sync with the organization’s values. Everything becomes easier! There’s no conflict over clashing values. Employees all prioritize the same values when making decisions, creating cohesion and unity among the team. The common understanding of the organization’s values helps build a consistent brand. The end result? The delicious brownie.

So how do you get this delicious brownie? You need a recipe, the ingredients, and the process.

Step 1: Articulate Your Core Values

This is the writing the recipe stage, where you’re figuring out what you want the end result to look like. Explicitly stating the core values is the guiding direction to the authenticity and trust in a team, just like writing baking steps is the guiding direction to a delectable brownie.

For some inspiration, check out these core values from big organizations.

Starbucks “Contribute positively to our communities and our environment”
Procter and Gamble “We have a healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo”
Quicken Loans “Responding with a sense of urgency is the ante to play”
Wells Fargo “Exceed the expectations of internal and external customers-surprise and delight them”
Zappos “Embrace and drive change”
Google “It’s best to do one thing really really well”

Step 2: Find Team Members With Those Core Values

This is the ingredient gathering stage. Hire individuals who embody your core values. Granted it’s tough to know from an interview whether someone holds the same values. But there are some ways to find out. Question their references and ask for specific examples of values at play. In the interview ask the individual to articulate their top three values. Describe a scenario where values are at play, and see which the interviewee prioritizes.

Step 3: Establish and Reinforce Those Core Values

This is the stirring, mixing, pouring, and heating of the brownie batter stage. Here are several steps you can take to reinforce values in your organization:

Articulate in writing the organization’s core values and distribute to employees. Write out the top values and provide examples of them at play. If your company values time with family, for example, write out how employees should not hesitate requesting a day off to care for sick child.
Model the values you want your employees to adopt. Be sure to showcase through your own actions the core values. Whenever possible, explain the thought process behind your decisions. For example, saying reliability is a key aspect of our customer service so disciplinary action will be in place if too many deadlines are missed.
Be intentional with communication. When we lose nonverbals (like tone and posture) in online communication, we attribute more meaning to the nonverbals we are left with (like emoticons, punctuation, and phrasing). If you want to create a more relaxed atmosphere, throw in smiley faces to the emails. If you want a more professional atmosphere, keep conversation concise and formal. Let these expectations be known.
Focus on the process, not just the results. Bosses who narrowly focus on results don’t care how it gets done, just that it does get done. Employees internalize this mentality and will often lose sight of company values (learning and improving one’s work, positive collaboration with team members, etc.) while they work for the results. As much as possible, reinforce values in your employees’ process.
Praise examples of employees’ modeling the values. If you value timeliness and an employee consistently turns in work on or before the deadline, reference this work ethic in an employee of the month dedication or a “gold star” email.

A virtual team is a great opportunity to run a business with more efficiency and employee freedom, but it does come with challenges. We can enable you to tackle those hurdles through our many services, from online business management strategy and implementation to administrative services. Give a call or shoot us an email today!

9 Brain Foods That Will Improve Your Productivity at Work

Did you know that the foods you eat could have a significant impact on your brain and motivation? Eating the right foods throughout the day can increase brainpower, motivation and overall productivity by 20%. I know it may not seem like much, but it is a significant increase! If you’ve noticed you’ve been a little more sluggish at work lately, consider adding these superfoods to your daily diet. I’ve also included a couple simple recipes that combines these super foods together!

Eggs

Eggs are one of the best nutritional foods you can eat. Eggs are high in choline, which is a nutrient that studies have shown to improve memory. Eggs sell a variety of vitamins but most notably B5 and B12. These vitamins release energy from food and assist with brain nervous system function. Eggs also have vitamin A which plays a critical role in maintaining healthy vision, neurological function, healthy skin, and more.

As if eggs couldn’t seem more nutritionally rich, they are an excellent source of protein that can help sustain energy levels and stave off hunger throughout the day.

Greek Yogurt

All yogurts are excellent sources of calcium, potassium, protein, zinc, and vitamins B6 and B12. However Greek yogurt contains probiotic cultures and is lower in lactose and has twice the protein content of regular yogurts. Additionally, in a small study, researchers at UCLA found that eating probiotic yogurt twice a day can reduce activity in the part of your brain that registers pain and emotion. Scientists have also begun to draw links between consuming probiotics and thinking fewer sad thoughts

Salmon

Fatty fishes are excellent for promoting productivity! Salmon, however, is the best of them all. Salmon has high omega-3 fatty acids content, which is useful for improving memory and mental performance. These fatty acids can help depression and fatigue, which can both inhibit productivity immensely. Fish has also been proven to improve concentration and your overall mood. Other fatty fish include trout, mackerel, herring, sardines, pilchards, and kipper. Although eating freshly prepared fish is the best method, a fish oil supplement can be taken to achieve a similar result.

Raw Almonds

Raw almonds are among the healthiest of tree nuts. Almonds rank highest in protein, fiber, calcium, vitamin E, riboflavin and niacin content. The fiber, protein and fat content of almonds means it only takes a handful to keep you feeling full and satisfied to hold you over until lunch time! Why raw almonds? Both raw and roasted almonds pack a high dose of nutrients and minerals. However, raw almonds have more naturally occurring beneficial fats—which are lost in the roasting process.

Avocado

Avocados are a natural stimulant for promoting blood flow. Consistent blood flow through your heart and brain fires up your brain cells. This is another healthy, fiber packed fat that improves your overall focus. The best part? There’s so many delicious ways to prepare an avocado but their buttery flavor is amazing on their own!

Blueberries

Antioxidant-rich foods are exceptional for increasing memory. Not only will blueberries help your brain function in the workplace today, it will help to prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in the future. The antioxidants in blueberries stimulate the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain – and keeps the mind fresh. Generally, the darker the berry is, the higher antioxidant property it contains, which means more productivity-boosting ingredients.

Matcha Green Tea

Green tea is a natural energy enhancer and it comes without the negative side effects of other energy sources, such as the caffeine crash you get from coffee or energy drinks. However, the best (and more delicious) way to consume green tea is Matcha. Matcha is unique because it’s the entire leaf ground into a fine powder then made into a creamy tea, whereas other teas the leaves are steeped in hot water. By consuming the leaf as a whole, it provides fiber and polyphenols, a family of powerful antioxidants. It’s also a lot tastier—green tea ice cream is made from Matcha and if you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it.

Bananas

Glucose turns into energy, and bananas are some of the best resources for that energy-inducing ingredient. A single banana holds the daily amount of glucose your body needs, and it’s a much healthier way to get it than excessive carbs and cane sugars. Bananas are also filling, which means that you’ll be able to focus better between meals if you snack on this rather than something else. Bananas are also a great source of potassium which helps blood pressure, anxiety and stress and helps to enhance muscle strength, metabolism, water balance, electrolytic functions, and nervous system.

Water

Finally, water. Now I know this isn’t a food, but it is important to mention that the amount of water intake significantly influences your health and productivity. Our body is made up of over 70% water and throughout the day, the water in our body slowly depletes. If you don’t drink enough water to replenish the lost liquid, your brain and other functions suffer the consequences. By devoting the energy to ensure you are drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day will give your brain the fuel it needs to be more focused and think more clearly.

Give these foods a go and see if you have noticed an improvement in your productivity. I certainly have! Below are links to a couple of my favorite recipes that combine several of these foods and are super easy to make!

Greek yogurt with honey, almonds, blueberries, and granola (I prefer sliced or slivered almonds)

Avocado toast with sunny side up egg

The Dirty Truths Nobody Told You About Hosting a Virtual Summit

All this talk about hosting a virtual summit has you excited. What you don’t know are the dirty truths most people fail to mention. If you dive into a virtual summit without being prepared, you will end up in over your head. Virtual Summits take months of planning and organizing to successfully execute. I can’t stress enough that you won’t be able to complete a virtual summit by yourself. You will drive yourself crazy without some additional support!

Here are a few areas that we know from experience it is great to bring in another set of eyes on.

#1 Test Equipment in Advance

This seems like a no-brainer but as a small business owner, it’s easy to put the equipment aside, forget about it and worry about all the other things on your to-do list. Then when push comes to shove, you set up last minute only to find out– %$#@! Technical difficulties! Please get your video, microphone, and programs all set-up well in advance and practice using them with friends and coworkers! That way if you come across any issues you can call over your techie friends to help you set it up and you’ll know how everything works before the big day comes. It is best to make sure you are super confident in the technology. You don’t want technology to be a stressor when you are trying to rock it!

#2 Customer Support

Summits aren’t an evening task. They take time. You will be out of office for a good period of time so who is going to hold down the fort and answer to those emails while you’re away? What all the offers or details you are selling? The people trying to connect but are having trouble? Someone needs to be on call for customer support. Your people want answers! Have help with your customer service, and make sure that person is in the loop of the product/service so they can best help your audience. Your customer support team is the first touch to the business. Make it great! Be sure to plan for this well in advance so you can relax during your summit and not worry whether your business will still be there when you get back!

#3 Design/Marketing Campaign & Promotion

Let’s face it, you’re not a jack of all trades, and you are definitely not a designer! Designing and digital marketing are really in-depth processes, and when they are done right, it is very successful! Leave this to the pros to help promote your virtual summit. This will be the face of your summit and you want to look professional and have eye-catching branding and design.

#4 Website & eCommerce

You will be busy planning content for your upcoming interviews and you’re not about to dive into all that code jumble! It is important that your summit/membership website and ecommerce for both are all set up and running correctly well in advance. Find a developer who can support you and execute this correctly. The last thing you need is frustrated customers who can’t buy your All-Access Pass which means lost revenue for you!

#5 Schedule Planning and Organizer

Different States, Countries, and Time zones – Oh my! The number of guests you will be interviewing during your summit may be shocking. Four to Five speakers will not suffice. Expect to be interviewing around 25-30 people in your industry. Trying to schedule and plan interviews with this number of people from all around the world is no task for you! Let someone else take this lead and set up these meetings for you.

#6 The Aftermath

Congrats you successfully made it through your summit, which means you get to jump right back into your normal routine. WRONG! You still need to consider sending out thank you notes to all the speakers and make sure your all-access pass members have sufficient customer support. Did they get their log-in information? Can they log-in? Can they access the content? This is where a customer support specialist will aid you otherwise you will lose your mind trying to answer all the tickets. Not to mention the thank-you letters…that’s 30 letters you need to write! Maybe that is best handed off to an assistant who can help execute those letters.

Whew! Exhausted yet? This is what I am saying, you need to enlist help to make sure the overall summit is outstanding and you look amazing. Make sure you have the right team in place to manage that-you can always contact us at Alpine Small Business Solutions.

5 Ways A Virtual Summit Can Increase Your Income in 90 Days or Less

Your small business has been going great: steady income, returning clients, your email list is now considerable, you have an interactive and large social media following. Great! However, in the last few months you noticed a decrease in growth. You’re not losing, but you’re not gaining either. Everything was growing rapidly. So, what gives?

It’s not uncommon for businesses to hit a plateau. The good news is, there’s a few things you can do to get out of this rut! One of the best ways I’ve found is to host a virtual summit. If you don’t know what a virtual summit is, it’s essentially an online conference. The host is the one who organizes and brings experts together for interviews. The catch, however, is that the summit is only broadcasted for a certain period for online attendees to watch and learn from.

Live streaming and limited-time broadcasting is a great tool to add to your marketing tool box. The limited aspect of these brings urgency amongst your potential attendees which make them more likely to act on it. Television has been using this tactic for ages! How often have you heard someone say, “I have to be home by 8pm to catch the season finale of -insert tv show here-!”

Here’s five ways you can use a virtual summit to increase your income in under 90 days!

#1 All-Access Pass

An all-access pass is to your virtual summit as Netflix is to tv shows. This is the most popular way you can increase your revenue via virtual summits. Some people will not able to attend your virtual summit during your limited broadcasting event due to a busy schedule, sickness, or anything else life throws their way. However, these customers still crave the information!

Free ticket holders can view the broadcast for a limited time, which in turn peaks interest in an all-access pass, which is a membership area containing all the video content, so that they do not miss a single interview! Another tip is to use price-increases for all-access passes. By increasing the price when your summit starts and when it ends, you can encourage more people to buy.

To further increase urgency and to encourage purchases, you can try offering a limited quantity of all-access passes.

#2 Order Add-Ons

An order add-on is an offer asking the customer if they would like to add an item to their cart prior to check-out. Another wonderful way to increase your income with virtual summits are add-ons. This can be a product you already have that is relevant to their interests, or a product exclusive to the virtual summit. You might want to consider offering a small discount for orders over a specified dollar amount to encourage order add-ons!

#3 Sponsorships

In essence, your virtual summit is an event. This is an amazing opportunity for companies to financially support you in exchange for publicity. There’s a few ways in which you can implement this, either by displaying their logo on your home page or making mention during your interviews.

#4 Physical Products

I can’t express enough how important branding is! Branding your virtual summit and producing and selling items like t-shirts, pens, hats, or other merchandise will help build brand awareness for both your business and virtual summit. Loyal customers will be happy to rock your swag which doubles as free advertisement!

#5 New Product/Service

After your summit is done broadcasting, you will have a shiny, new, email list of followers! They will be enthusiastic to learn more about your topic and seek more of the content you offer. This is absolutely a great opportunity to influence this email list and launch a new product or service for them. A great idea is to create your virtual summit around new products or services you wish to incorporate so that you continue to build interest and grow your audience!

Ready to try a summit? Give us a call and we will be happy to help.

Your LinkedIn Personal Branding Strategy Guide

For many of us, LinkedIn is a heck of a lot like eating enough vegetables or reducing the sugar in your diet.

You know you’re supposed to do it. You know you can benefit from it. But in the hustle and bustle of life, making and implementing a LinkedIn strategy consistently falls down to the bottom of your to-do list. And it never gets done.

Luckily, effective LinkedIn practices really do not take much time at all. A few minutes each day, week, month, and quarter can make a world of difference developing your personal branding.

Below is our recommended LinkedIn personal branding strategy guide. Commit to a few extra minutes and watch your online presence become stronger!

Daily LinkedIn Practices

As an entrepreneur, you are already stretched pretty thin. I get it! The last thing you want is another item on your to-do list. Fortunately, this one really does only take a few minutes a day. If you need to, download the LinkedIn app on your phone so you can update it while waiting in line at the grocery store or during your commute.

Post content. Like any social media channel, LinkedIn requires consistent quality posting to be effective. Aim to post every day Monday through Friday. Regular posting showcases your industry knowledge, since it shows you know enough to identify then read content from top industry players. When you add in your own commentary, it showcases your witty and intelligent analysis. To save time, you can batch posts with Hootsuite and curate posts by plugging your favorite blogs into Feedly.
Interact with others. Social media needs to be social. Take the time to do something every day. Support others’ career efforts by “liking” their job anniversaries or new gigs (or, even better, shoot off a personal message). Comment on articles posted by others to add your intelligent voice into the world.

Weekly LinkedIn Practices

At some point each week, make sure you are completing the following tasks.

Look for new contacts. Your network should always be growing. Attending networking events is a huge asset for this, but even just looking for people you know each week can massively grow your community. LinkedIn will suggest contacts for you in the “My Network” section, making it easy to continually be connecting. You can also look through profiles of those you know to see if you have mutual contacts.
Interact in LinkedIn groups. LinkedIn groups are a valuable networking tool that gather like-minded professionals together. Aim for a smaller number of groups that you interact with frequently. You can search for groups here. Once you find groups, check out our post for best group practices.

Monthly LinkedIn Practices

Each month, take the time to accomplish the following tasks.

Add in portfolio content. Ideally, each month you will be doing several projects that can be showcased in a portfolio. LinkedIn allows you to add in these pieces to display your amazing work. Take advantage of it! Adding in one or two projects a month can really round out your profile.
Promote your profile elsewhere. If you maintain a personal branded Facebook or Twitter, create a few posts directing those audiences to your LinkedIn. Mention your profile in blog posts or a newsletter. Do a little bit of marketing each month to draw more people to your profile.
Write blog posts. Well-written articles really help showcase your expertise. Taking the time to whip up one or two 500 word articles a month helps build your brand as a knowledgeable player in your industry.

Quarterly LinkedIn Practices

Each quarter, take time to comb over your profile and make any necessary tweaks.

Examine your keywords. Your LinkedIn profile should be search engine optimized of course. But as your career develops, so might your career aspirations. Maybe last quarter you were more focused on general virtual assistant services, but recently you’ve delved into the world of social media marketing and love it. Adjusting your keywords can help make your profile appealing to different job recruiters. Use Word Cloud Generator to paste your LinkedIn text to see which keywords are most common (and adjust if they do not match your targeted industry keywords).
Add in any new developments. Did you take a marketing class that you forgot to add in? Did your role shift at your current position and now you need a new description? It’s easy for these changes to happen without remembering to make adjustments on our LinkedIn. Going thoroughly through your profile each quarter helps make sure nothing important falls through the cracks.

When you take the time to build up your LinkedIn profile, it really can make a difference to your personal branding. Regular use helps paint you as an industry expert and someone others will really want to work with. It also serves as a self-reflection. Are you where you want to be in your career? What areas are you lacking experience? How can you re-adjust your strategy? Use your LinkedIn time to reflect on your career.

If you want assistance on setting up or building your LinkedIn profile, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! Just give us a call or shoot us an email to get started.

A Case for Marketing with Promotional Products

In today’s fast paced digital world, the best form of advertising is online and social media right?

Wrong.

In many cases, you are better off marketing with promotional products. You know, those pens/bags/shirts/mugs/other random assortment of items branded with a company’s name and logo.

Sure, you may roll your eyes a bit when you get a pen from your dentist. Gee thanks I’ve always wanted a dentist pen. But you still own the pen don’t you? And you still see that dentist don’t you?

The promotional products industry is valued to be more than $21 billion for one clear reason: it works.

There are a number of reasons why your small business can benefit from marketing with promotional products.

More Bang for Your Buck

The cost per impression tends to be among the lowest for promotional products compared to other methods of advertising.

The breakdown goes:

Newspapers: 3.2¢

Prime-time TV: 2.5¢

Targeted mobile: 1¢

Internet: .7¢

Promotional product: .7¢

For highly cost effective marketing, go with Internet or promotional products. But as the following reasons show, promotional products often edge out Internet in other arenas.

Customers View Promotional Products Highest

When ranking different forms of advertising, consumers rank promotional products as the most highly regarded form. Internet advertising came in sixth and mobile advertising came in seventh. Put your money where the consumer trust is.

Customer Generation

Promotional products help at every stage of customer generation.

For raising awareness among the target audience, promotional products lead to 22% more referrals and 14% more leads. Promotional products also help increase response rates to direct mail marketing by 50%.

Promotional products create a favorable view of the company in 76% of people.

For turning leads into customers, promotional products turn 52% of people into customers.

Promotional products help you reach your target audience, woo your target audience, and convert your target audience into customers.

Customers Better Remember Your Company

Consumers remember your company better when it shows up as a promotional product over other forms of advertising.

They say 76.1% of consumers can remember the company name off of a promotional item given to them in past year. Only 53% could remember from a TV or print ad they saw in the last month. A mere 27% could recall from an online ad.

There are a few possible explanations for this discrepancy. Customers are blasted with online ads every day, so they learn to tune them out (or install ad blocker). Customers are not bombarded with promotional products daily, so the ad stands out.

Promotional products also lead to repeat exposure, while an online, TV, or print ad does not. There, the customer sees the ad once. With a promotional product, they can see it multiple times. About 73% of consumers used the promotional product in the last week and 45.2% used it at least once a day. And 58% of consumers keep the promotional product from between one year to four years. That’s a lot of exposure, helping customers better remember your company.

A Case for Promotional Products

Choosing the right advertising medium for your company is a never ending quest. Various factors affect the “best” option at this given moment: the budget, the campaign project, the target audience, etc.

Promotional products are unfortunately often overlooked as a solution in today’s electronic world, but they should not be. Promotional products may be exactly what you need for marketing your company! That simple pen/bag/shirt/mug/other random item could be the ticket to capturing the attention (and the payment) of your target audience.

If you want assistance implementing a promotional product marketing campaign, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! Just give us a call or shoot us an email to get started.

Twitter Makes Changes to Their Character Limit…Again

Since Twitter launched in 2006, the character limit has remained constant. Users could say anything they wished, so long as it was confined to 140 characters. This number was loosely based off the 160-character text message limit, since Twitter was meant to be a sort of public text messaging service.

Users have complained about the character limit restriction (while simultaneously arguing that removing the character limit would kill the platform). Ah, the fickleness of the consumer.

Twitter’s newest attempt to appease consumers and improve the functionality of their service took the form of changing how replies work.

How Twitter Replies Used to Work

Previously, a reply would involve a tweet beginning with “@username” and then the user’s message. The username character count went towards the 140-character limit. If a few users were involved in the conversation, the character total quickly got eaten up. It also made it difficult to actually see the message content since it was after a long string of usernames

The Recent Change

Now, the Twitter handle in a reply will not count against the 140-character limit. Instead, there will be a message at the top of the tweet saying “replying to…” with the list of usernames in the conversation.

The main reason for this change is user-friendliness. Removing the usernames from the word count allows users to fit more information in their message, potentially improving the quality of discussion.

Twitter’s goal is to make conversations easier to follow, allowing users to focus on the discussion of the tweets and not the lists of those in the discussion. Tests done by Twitter found this change led to more people engaging in more conversations, so it’s reasonable to believe this change affects conversations.

The Drawback

With every change, people grumble. People grumbled when Twitter’s algorithm changed. People grumbled when the Facebook newsfeed look changed. People will always grumble.

Right now, the biggest complaint people have over this change is the potential for trolling. Now that the usernames don’t count for the character limit, users can tag a ridiculous number of people in their messages. Since people can be tagged and dragged into conversations without their consent, this can become a huge annoyance rather quickly.

Future Changes to the Character Limit

In the past few years, Twitter has tweaked what counts towards the character limit. Other changes included not counting photos, GIFS, or quote tweets as part of the limit. The next logical change would be to not count URL links as part of the word count. An argument can be made that links are comparable to photos. Neither are usually meant to be the whole message, but rather a supplement to the message itself. There’s no word yet on whether this change is being considered by Twitter staff.

5 Things to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed in Your Business and Life

As an entrepreneur, life can get overwhelming pretty fast. Projects pile up, crucial staff members call in sick, clients impose unreasonable deadlines…and that is just on the work end. Somehow you also need to find time to do a grocery run, take the dog to the groomers, shuttle the kids to soccer practice, all while dealing with being sleep deprived, of course.

It is common to have periods of time of being utterly overwhelmed in your business and life. Heck, it is almost a rite of passage for entrepreneurs to face…again and again. When you feel the stress and tension headache bubbling up, get into action with these five things to do when you get overwhelmed.

Get Rid of as Many Stressors as Possible

If you have too much on your plate right now, clear off the plate! As go-getter entrepreneurs, we can find ourselves overcommitted quickly. Maybe we hate saying no. Maybe we underestimated the time commitment when we said yes. Maybe when it rains it pours and you find yourself now drowning. Whatever the reason, you do not need to resign yourself to struggling to bear the weight of everything needing to get done.

Ask yourself if everything needs to be done. Then ask yourself again. Much of what we do can be automated or streamlined. Can you batch tasks to get them done more efficiently? Is there a low-cost service you can invest in to automate these repeating tasks? Is the output on a task really worth the time and effort cost? Ruthlessly evaluate everything on your to-do list and then eliminate, automate, and streamline.

Then look at what’s left and delegate everything you can. It can be tough to hand over the reins to someone else, but you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel once you do. It’s an immediate solution to getting more off your list. Sure, you may stress a bit wondering if the person will get everything done. But reassure yourself that they will (or worst case scenario someone else can pick up the slack).

Sit Down and Write It Down

When life gets overwhelming, we often find ourselves scurrying about trying to get it done. We feel we have no time to waste, so we resist taking the time to pause and create an effective plan of attack. We launch ourselves into tasks immediately, failing to stop and prioritize. This results in us mismanaging our time and energy.

Taking a few minutes to write everything down makes a world of difference. Seeing everything in black and white makes it instantly less stressful. A list can be tackled. A list has an end point. A list means we are no longer wasting precious mental energy trying to keep track of everything in our mind. Writing it down helps us “clear our heads” and see the full picture, allowing us to more effectively strategize.

Once you make your list, prioritize tasks and attach deadlines to everything. It will help you feel less like things are hanging over your head, which helps reduce feeling overwhelmed.

Get Up and Go Out

Now that you have eliminated everything possible from your list and articulated everything you need to do, step away from the chaos for a moment. But I don’t have the time you may think.

Here’s the thing. You do.

You can spare fifteen minutes to go for a walk outside and clear your head. Nature has a unique calming effect on our bodies and our brains. Study after study shows the near healing power of being outside. Spend a few minutes walking around in nature and do not obsess over your to-do list. Focus on the sights and sounds around you, your breathing pattern, a fun memory from a recent time with a loved one, whatever it takes to think about anything other than what you need to be doing next. Clearing your head will help stop your stressed-out fight or flight mode and return your body to a healthier state, allowing you to get started on your to-do list with a focused mind.

Be Proactive in Managing Your Stress

Now that you have returned to the grind, ready to tackle your projects, it is important to proactively manage your stress. It is not sustainable for your physical and mental wellbeing to go from overwhelmed, to workaholic mode, to feeling fine for a few days, only to return to feeling overwhelmed. When our projects pile up, it can be hard for us to justify taking breaks. But breaks help refuel our energy and help make us more productive. Breaks help us get more and better quality work done in less time.

It’s important to not wait until you feel overwhelmed to take a break. It will take longer to return to a state of calm than if you instead proactively take breaks before you feel overwhelmed. There are many break time strategies, with the Pomodoro method being a steady favorite. Work for 25 minutes. Take a 5-minute break. Repeat four times and then take a 30-minute break. Repeat until the work day is done. This proactive managing of your stress will help prevent future feelings of being overwhelmed.

Practice Daily Self Care

Caring for yourself is one of the most important things you can do, both for yourself and your business! To perform at your best capacity, you need quality sleep, a balanced diet, regular exercise, and time for yourself. Journal your feelings. Get massages. Read in the backyard. Find one or two habits designed just for your self-care, not for being productive, and engage in them every day. It will help you feel better overall and fight those feelings of being overwhelmed.

Maintaining Your Sanity While Working From Home

Working from home as a virtual assistant is a massive blessing. But sometimes, bad habits can sneak up and make it a curse. Suddenly, we’re frazzled workaholics with a glaze over our eyes. Suddenly, it’s 3pm and we haven’t left our bed or showered. Suddenly, we’re never fully present with our families and are always glancing at our emails.

The work from home life can be whatever you make it (that’s part of the appeal, right?) But sometimes we make it into an exhausting and draining experience- when it doesn’t need to be!

Maintaining your work-life balance while working from home takes some proactivity. Ironically, we need to set boundaries to enjoy the freedom of this lifestyle. Below are some action steps you can take to proactively make your life as a virtual assistant working from home as stellar as it should be.

Create a Regular Schedule

You’re probably thinking, Jessica that’s exactly why I don’t want to work a 9-5! I want to set my own hours and be a free soul working when I please.

And that’s great. In theory.

What actually happens when we fail to structure our day isn’t the balanced relaxed utopia we imagine. It’s a day where work sticks its tentacles where it doesn’t belong. We don’t disconnect from work, and it dominates our thoughts during dinner, during playtime with your kids, during your resting time. Before you know it, you’ve slid into workaholic habits never being able to turn off your work brain.

Creating a regular schedule isn’t about setting rigid 9-5 work hours. It’s about being intentional about separating your work time from your life time. It ensures you stay productive while working…and then leave it at work when you’re finished. When there’s no set lines between work and life, usually work takes over.

You don’t need to set 9-5 regular hours. Maybe you work in the mornings and late evenings when you’re most productive, and schedule a workout or social lunch during your afternoon energy lull. You can plan your day so it works best for you. And each day does not need to be the same. Maybe on Playdate Tuesdays you work from 8 to 10, then 12 to 6. That’s fine! The important thing is clear boundaries of your time.

And please, please, please schedule a cut off time for work! Whether it’s 5 or 8, you must have a designated “no more thinking about work” time. It’s amazing how quickly you will get drained when you lack an end working time for the day.

Designate a Work Area

Just like you need boundaries with your time, you need boundaries with your space. Find a place in your house that’s just for work. Ideally, it will be a separate room. But, if you don’t have the space for a full office, that’s okay. Maybe you can set a desk in your bedroom or the living room. What’s important is you have somewhere to go with minimal distractions.

When you’re setting up your work area, treat it like a real office. Fill it with supplies. Use a desktop calendar. Hang up photos of your family and decorate it. If it feels like a sterile box, you won’t want to work there. Showcase your personality to make it more inviting.

Designate a No Work Area

There are places in your home you shouldn’t work, like the dining room where the family gathers for dinner. Make sure there are clear areas where no work (or thoughts of work) are allowed so you can be fully present during family and relaxation time.

Take Regular Breaks

Sometimes, we get so into our flow we don’t realize we’ve been working for hours straight. The best way to fight stress and burnout is proactively, so it’s important to avoid this work grind. Schedule breaks into your day. Maybe it’s 10 minutes every hour with a half hour lunch break. Maybe it’s the Pomodoro method, where you work for 25 minutes and take a five-minute break. Play around with different strategies and find what works best for you.

Leave Your House

When you work from home, there’s a weird resistance about leaving. Maybe it’s the effort of gussying up to go out in public. Maybe it’s the drive time that could be spent working or resting. Maybe it’s Newton’s third law: an awesome virtual assistant at home will stay comfortably at home unless acted upon by an outside force.

Make sure you don’t become a hermit! You can meet up with your traditional office worker friends for lunch. Grab a happy hour with friends. Enroll in a weekly yoga class. Do something to make sure you leave your house at least three times a week.

Establish Boundaries with Your Family

This isn’t about becoming one of those scary “don’t you dare interrupt me while I’m working” work witches.

It’s about protecting the time you work and protecting the time you’re with family to make sure you’re fully present in each one.

Talk with your family members about what your work from home arrangement needs to look like. Go over when it is, and isn’t, appropriate to interrupt you at work. Go over when it is, and isn’t, appropriate for you to leave family time to go work. Make sure every family member feels heard, and is comfortable and clear with the conclusion you agree to.

Dress Like You’re Going to Work

But Jessica, isn’t one of the best parts of being a virtual assistant being able to work in PJs and sweats? Comfort for the win!

Some people (very few mind you) can work in grunge clothes without it affecting their work. Good for them!

But most of us experience a little phenomenon called “when we wear lounge around clothes, we tend to work in a lazier mindset”

Dressing for work helps shift your brain from relaxed mode into work mode. You can still rock a comfortable outfit, but try a step above the old ripped PJs.

Of course, if you’re work isn’t affected by what you wear then wear those PJs with pride!