I have to tell you up front that I am no "techie" - I know little about the technical aspects of computers and website and code and such.  But I'm a layout/design/content kind of gal, and last year I was introduced to Weebly.com as a source of easy website creation.For the several websites I've been involved with, including, of course, this one, I'd used Squarespace, I'd seen WordPress, and I'd investigated freebies like Google and Yahoo pages.  But when I started experimenting with Weebly, I must say that virtually anyone can use this resource to create an interesting and effective website.

The several things I appreciate about Weebly:

• Lots of beautiful designs (templates) appropriate for many industries and fields.
• Very simple drag-and-drop page creation.
• Very customizable - You can adjust the fonts, colors and so forth, to suit your needs.
• No need to know anything techie unless you want to add Paypal buttons or other code content (and even then, it's super simple to do).
• It's FREE!!  Yes, you heard me, it's FREE!  There are a few limits to what you get in the free version vs. the paid version, but the paid version is cheap, so consider the options before you decide.
• Fabulous built-in keyword and SEO options (traffic to my website has increased dramatically since switching to Weebly).
  

The few things I do NOT appreciate:

• Very limited Help options, but I've had fabulous online service when I've asked a question.
• No preview option - you have to actually publish the site before you can see the final result.  But it's easy enough to go back in and edit.
• I'd like to see more customizable design options like picture placement
  

Whether you want a website for a business, an event, a blog, a family's activities, Weebly may be the way to go. Anyone with moderate computer skills can make an attractive and effective website.  And if you don't want to bother with it, I know a GREAT freelancer who can work with you: Holly@LightseedsOffice.com!

I've written before about being organized in your workplace from a time management standpoint.  But have you ever thought of the environment you work in as a representation of energy? Whether you understand the Law of Attraction or have never heard of it, consider this. 

All matter is energy - this we know. What we focus on, grows - this we also know.  Insert these thoughts into the workplace, regardless of the venue or type of work.  If you work in organized, relatively tidy surroundings, then you are part of that energy.  You are steeped in order, ease.  If your surroundings are chaotic, messy, disorganized, then you are focused on the energy of chaos, mess and disorder.  Just as in a cluttered home, your place of work not only represents your own energy, but also perpetuates that energy as you focus on it.

It can be difficult if you have little control over the environment in which you work, but you usually have some level of control over your own work area. For instance, if you work with people who are flighty, angry, disorganized or scattered people, their energy can pervade the workplace.  However allowing your own work area to counteract that means that rather than being affected by their energy, you focus on the order and ease of your area. When you do everything you can to focus on smooth operations, efficiency, abundance, ease and clarity, then that is what comes back to you. In fact, a stronger focus on those qualities is very likely to instead affect the disorder around you! 

So take a look at your work area today.  Create order from chaos in your surroundings and enjoy the results of a new energetic focus!

And if you need help to create that order, I know a great resource - Holly@LightseedsOffice.com!

Does your work involve serving other people?  That's the case for most of us.  There is some level of customer service in the process, whether you're delivering a product or service.  You need to understand the needs of your customer in order to meet them.  You can make the best darn word processing machine in the world, but you won't have any customers because nobody uses those any more!

Service involves much more than the "complaint desk" idea of customer service.  Truly it encompasses the entire relationship, from beginning to end, if there is an end.  You provide service by anticipating your client's needs.  You anticipate that there is a need for your product or service.  You anticipate how you can improve it, how you can change it as your customers' needs change. 

In new-age spiritual thought, we realize that we take our next step based on where we are, and once we're there, we make another move based on that new place. That's the same concept as in excellent customer service.  If we can understand where our customers are, anticipate their potential next move, and then anticipate the NEXT move, we are way ahead of the game in service.

For instance, recently I worked on a project with a new client.  Because I know project management well, I was able to anticipate some things she might need to know or do.  By addressing those before she even knew she would need them, I solved a problem before it could occur, and made the project go ever so much more smoothly than if I had merely reacted to the need after the fact.

The lesson is to not only know your own product or service, but to understand thoroughly your customer's end use of it.  By anticipating their next step in the process, you too can be the miracle worker, and be the hero in your customer's eyes!  Go for it!

And when you want help defining your processes and procedures, and in understanding your client, I know a GREAT business consultant: Holly@LightseedsOffice.com or (330) 835-3876.

As you know by now, I believe that how you present yourself, online and in person, goes a long way in communicating your message to your audience.  I've noticed many unintentional changes to American English that should be avoided at all costs to maintain a professional front.  I have ranted about a few of these recently (see my earlier post) and now I'll focus on a few more items that are either ungrammatical or simply are not words.

1.  Gratefulness: No such word!  We seem to have a tendency to create nouns from adjectives, even though there are perfectly good nouns already in place!  Try GRATITUDE instead.  I am grateful that I feel gratitude.
2.  Invite: a verb.  You send an invitation to invite people to an event.
3.  He wrote about you and I . . .  Jim and me went to the store . . . confusion between a subject and object of the pronoun.  Huh?  Easiest way to remember is to say it without the other person.  Me went to the store . . . I don't think so!  Jim and I went to the store.  And the other half of that issue "between you and I."   Take the sentence apart to see if it still makes sense:  "He wrote about you" is fine.  "He wrote about I" is, well, not.  It should be "he wrote about you and me" . . . object not subject.
4.  Irregardless: No such word!  The "Ir" doesn't belong there.  Regardless is a perfectly good word on its own.
5.  Do you want to lay down?  Wrong! If you're talking about getting horizontal, the verb is "lie".  Do you want to lay that heavy box down?  If you're talking about an object, the verb is "lay."  I won't even get into the past tense confusions between those!
6.  Orientated:  No such word!  To get oriented to your new position, you should go to an orientation meeting.
7.  It's literally killing me!  Well I hope to goodness that's not true, because it'd mean someone is stabbing, shooting or otherwise attempting your demise!  Remember that "literally" means "truly", "really", "absolutely."

There are more to rant over, but I'll stop now . . . you're welcome!  I understand that languages evolve over time, where once-accepted words become archaic, and where slang becomes accepted language.  However, grammatical mistakes like the ones above can make it harder to project a professional, expert image, so don't lay down on the job, irregardless of what you and me think.  HA!

It's easier than you might think to manage short- or long-term projects. Oh, I can hear the maniacal laughter coming through the ethers, but believe me, it's true!  All it takes is organizational skills.  Well, OK, organizational skills and time management.  But anyone can do it if you get organized! 

Think about your project - is it a series of tasks taking place over a period of time?  Is it a one-time event with several aspects to manage?  Who is involved?  What is the timeline? (This is probably the most important part - write down the deadlines for each stage of planning.)  Once you have the details written down, it's time to enter them into a spreadsheet.  Excel has several templates you may want to look at (click on File/New and search on Project), you can use one I created, or create your own.  Create columns titled with each category you're tracking.  For example, contact information for the people involved, date of initial contact, date of followup, date of their response, what the response is, date final sent to person, etc. The columns for which you are responsible should contain the date ranges for the tasks you have to take care of.  For instance, a column might say "initial email 10/1-10/7" and then the dates each email is sent in the column below that title.

As the project goes along, it's vital to keep the spreadsheet updated every single day.  If you lose track of whether you talked to Joe Gomez about the catering, or whether Shelly Carroll called you back about your email, you might find yourself floundering.  When I'm working on a project, I keep the spreadsheet open the entire time I'm working, and enter data every time something changes.  Yes, it seems anal, and that's how I manage projects, but believe me, this kind of careful record-keeping is key to a successful and organized project.  And key to sanity as well!

Another aspect to keep in mind is communication.  If others are working on a project with you, be sure to categorize them as "need to know only,"  "decision maker," "partner," etc., and communicate regularly as needed for each of these roles. I've been on many projects in my career where a change was made that affected my work yet I was not told. Don't be that person!  And expect communication from your staff in return.  I communicate with my client often about the status of our project and where we stand.

I hope that this basic guide will get you started on ideas to simplify the next project you work on.  If you find yourself overwhelmed, of course, I know a GREAT project management resource you can call on - Holly@LightseedsOffice.com!

Hopefully you just read this title and said "Whah????? Has Holly lost it?"  If you didn't, I'm shocked! You can be the best writer, the most connected intuitive, the most accurate accountant, but if you can't proofread your work, you may not come across as the professional you are.

I have read online articles, websites, blogs, emails, and other forms of business communication written by authorities in their field, with important things to say, but their writings contain blatant errors.  Granted I've missed a few in my own proofreading (hey, we're all human), but I am adamant about editing and proofing.  Think about the two sentences below.  Which would lead you to contact the writer for more information?  Which presents the writer as a professional who knows what they're talking about? 

1. Everybody has to profread what their writing so the customer's know they are professional.
2. Everybody has to proofread what they're writing so the customers know they are professional.

Well, obviously (it is obvious, isn't it?) the answer is #2. Many of us have forgotten the basic grade school grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary we used to be good at.  Let's review!

• Their = possessive (I like their new car)
• They're = contraction (They're driving in their new car)
• Friends = plural
• Friend's = possessive (I like my friend's new car)
• The most unique = my pet peeve.  Look up the definition.  Unique = one of a kind.  Can you be the most one of a kind?  I don't think so!
• Hysterical = another pet peeve.  Hysterical means out of control, freaking out, upset.  Hilarious, on the other hand, means extremely funny.  A great comic can be hysterical if he/she gets upset about a bad show, but if it's a good show, it's hilarious.  Think of the comedy club....is it called Hystericals or Hilarities?
• I Like To Capitalize Everything = a title.  The first letter of each word capitalized is called Title Case for a reason - it's only used for titles (of companies, of books, of chapters, etc.).  Otherwise, only the first letter of the first word of a sentence is capitalized. Of course we have exceptions like God, Bible, names, etc. 
• This is a great example of a run on sentence with no punctuation you have no idea where the beginnings and endings are so it's really hard to read. This is a great example, of the overuse, of commas when, you don't really know, how to use them.  There is a happy medium between the two extremes.  Review some basic rules here.
  
• Spell check!!  Every word processing program, blog site, etc., has a spell check function.  USE IT!
  

Well, this is a good beginning of things to review when you're writing.  There are all sorts of online and in-print resources to help you practice and become more professional.  Of course, if you need a good editor/proofreader, I know a great freelance assistant for hire:  Holly@LightseedsOffice.com!

Think about that word: networking.  Thirty years ago, what exactly did that mean?  Was the word as meaningful then in a world without personal computers?  Now, in a business world where computer networks are crucial, it's important to understand that personal networks are important as well.

"No man [or woman] is an island."  Nearly every sort of work we do requires a relationship with others.  You can write a book alone, but you need others to buy it.  You can work on a computer alone, but you need clients.  After working for many years in Corporate America where it was my superiors [I don't like that word - we're all equals - but you know what I mean] who networked with others in their field.  Once I became self-employed, I was a bit out of my experience in learning how to network with others who might need my skills or might know someone else who does.  I have never enjoyed sales and was uncomfortable with the idea of "selling" my administrative services.  What I discovered, much to my surprise, was that by attending functions with other business people, I could not only increase awareness of my own work, but hear about all sorts of wonderful entrepreneurship and ideas going on in my city, and it was the education, the sharing that created potential clients, not selling. 

Social media has become a great way to meet others, for business relationships or for skill exchanges, however LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. are two-dimensional.  You can educate others but your conversations are flat, with little personality behind them. We all know that for business (or any) relationship to grow we need to like each other, and that can only be accomplished face to face.  We must learn to follow up our online meetings with personal contact - meet for lunch or coffee, attend Meetup or Chamber meetings, and so on.  Even if you are shy of meeting new people, it's vital to form personal relationships to foster the business relationships. In needing to sell myself as the end product and have people like and trust me, it was my conversations and relationship-building that netted results.

I encourage you [good word . . ."en-courage" . . . to instill courage] to think about your friends, family and business associates as the knots in a great net of potential clients. Each knot leads to another thread which leads to another knot.  Follow the threads, and network your way to success.  And of course, if you need help uncovering your network, I know a great administrative / research assistant who'd love to help you - Holly@LightseedsOffice.com!

Is there a Land of the Paper Mountain?  For a lot of folks, they visit that mountain every day - it's on their desk!  Don't set fire to it - put it away! Oh stop complaining, you can do it, I know that you can.  Here, I'll help.

I offered some tips in an earlier blog about file management on your computer.  It's the same principle on paper, except that you have to have a place to put paper.  First step?  Um, get a place to put the paper.  Duh.  Depending on the size of your mountain, buy a file cabinet, get one of the many organizational systems in office supply stores, or if you must, use boxes.  You'll need hanging file folders and manila or colored folders too.  If you want to get fancy, buy yourself some folder labels to write or type on.  One thing you can't buy - patience!  It's an easy task, but it does take time.

So now take a deep breath.  Get a piece of paper and think about the major categories of things you need to file, whether you're a business or you're handling home filing.  For example:  Building/House, Utilities, Insurance, Warranties, Car, Computer, Taxes, Telephone, Legal, etc.  Each of those categories is your major division point.  Think then about what goes into each of those.  For building or house (business or home), you'll want a file for maintenance, roof, snow removal, plumbing (structural, repairs, etc), electrical (likewise), and any other topics for which you have paperwork.  These are all items that need to be taken care of for the structure, the operations of your business.  Obviously you'll have more or less, or entirely different categories than what I'm listing.

For Utilities, you'll want the actual monthly invoices. You can split them into categories if you wish - it depends on how many records you have to manage. For Computer, perhaps instruction manuals, warranty information, receipts, etc. You get the idea.  Go through each major category and write down the subdivisions that make sense to you.

After you have this figured out, get a hanging file folder and label it with one of your major categories.  Label the manila folders with the subdivisions and put them in the hanging folder.  Go through and get all your files made and put away.

Now the fun!  No, put down the matches - I told you we're NOT having Filing Flambe!  Take the top piece of paper on the mountain and decide where it goes.  Is it a letter about an inspection?  Is it a paid utility bill?  Is it a special offer for travel?  Put it in the appropriate place.  Rinse......repeat.  If you go through everything that's loose around the office (or home) and categorize it this way, you'll find that the mountain has indeed become a molehill!

Now of course the key is to maintain order.  Promptly file all paid bills you need to keep. Put away new reference manuals or equipment information as soon as you get them.  If you keep on this weekly (or less often if you have less paper) you'll have an orderly office all the time.

I've seen files that were labeled with the name of the item within it.  I've seen files that were too general.  I've seen files that make sense only to the person who set them up.  The key, especially in a business setting, is that by using the kind of sorting I've described, absolutely anyone can find what they need.

As always, if you just can't handle it and need someone to come to the mountain, I know a fabulous, ORGANIZED assistant who can help you: Holly@LightseedsOffice.com!

Microsoft Excel can be a fabulous tool, whether you're adept at computers or not.  Many folks think it's only for bookkeeping and accounting.  Not so!  Excel was designed to easily manipulate data, and that's exactly what I use it for.  Numbers, of course, are a form of data, but so are names and addresses, dates, product descriptions, and any other item you can think of that needs to be tracked and organized.

If you go to my page Free Forms, you'll find quite a few Excel spreadsheets I've designed over the years, and you'll see what I mean. Excel is the Swiss army knife of software programs!  You can calculate, sort, filter, track, and otherwise manipulate all sorts of data.  Try it for yourself:  open Excel and try typing in column A a list of family members' names, just for fun.  Drag your mouse pointer over all the names you've entered - you'll see the shading change and a box appear around them. Go to the top right of your toolbar - click on Sort and Filter, then on Sort A to Z.  See what happens?  You've just alphabetized your names - GO YOU!

Go to my free forms and open one.  Try the Contact Database for instance.  I've already set up the column headings (they'll always be named Columns A-ZZZ, but you can make column headers like I did).  Every entry you make will go down in rows 1-65,000 (and more if you need more!).  Play around with it by entering data in all the columns - real or made up.  Test the tools in the toolbar at the top to see what they do.  You can format (i.e. set up) any cell (the box that marks the intersection of a row and column) in any way you wish - text, %, $, phone number, and much more.

I use Excel for my contact database, for event tracking, invoicing, product sales, budget sheet, and more. You can use the free forms I designed, or in Excel, click on File/New and look at the wide variety of forms Microsoft offers you, also free.  All you have to do is enter your own data and see what you can do. All the templates you find will help organize your working life so you don't lose track of information.

Microsoft offers wonderful free tutorials on their website here.  Between all the free templates and the tutorials, you'll get a handle on how to use this all-purpose tool.  But remember, if you want customized training, get a group together and contact me at Holly@LightseedsOffice.com - I'm happy to give your group a class!