1) Take an afternoon off to get organized
With organization comes clarity. With clarity comes focus. As a business owner – big or small – or an employee of a busy business, you need all of the focus and clarity you can get to perform and BE at your best. Take an afternoon to organize… your computer, your email, your phone, your To-Do list, your workspace, your home. Do anything and everything to de-clutter not just your work space, but also your headspace. Make it a priority.
2) Give your loyal clients/customers a call on Friday
Human meet human. Nothing beats a good old-fashioned phone call to let your clients or customers know they’re on your mind and you’re working for them. A simple five minutes is all it takes to show you care.
3) Pitch a reporter
“I have a good story for you” are words reporters like to hear. (Especially when it’s actually a good story.) Are you doing something new and innovative in your industry? Do you offer a service or product that no one else in your community offers? Are you doing anything big this summer? Contact a local reporter to pitch your story. Make it short and sweet and leave them with all of your contact information and website. You can typically find their contact information on their respective news or publication sites. Pitch someone new each week for better story placement possibilities and new relationships!
4) Create a social calendar to cover the next month
It can be easy to fall into the habit of posting something just to post, but if you can take the time this week to put together a cohesive and compelling calendar of post topics for the coming month you will create a more effective marketing tactic for your businesses social agenda. Heck, you can even schedule your posts ahead of time using apps like Hootsuite or Buffer.
5) Invest in an email marketing tool
Email is the oldest, and still biggest, social network on the planet. You should be working on growing your email subscriber list and communicating with your customers. If you haven’t communicated with this group in a while, send out a note this week to wish them a Happy summer. Provide a compelling summer offer for your products or services, if applicable.
6) Check your corporate identity package
If your business cards are out-of-date or have that ‘stuck in the 80s’ look to them, chances are you’re leaving a lackluster first impression. The same is true for your website, social media profiles, letterhead, etc. Each of these brand touch points matter more than you realize. Check your CI Package and consider an update if you feel that one or all of your assets are not representing you well.
7) Pick your color
Tiffany’s little blue box. Coca-Cola’s red can. UPS’s brown. Every growing brand should identify and select a single Pantone color to act as the start of their primary palette. Great brands do this well and, over time, develop a connection with their audience because of this color. It doesn’t matter if you’re a financial firm, a retailer or a tech startup—pick your color. Begin thinking of ways to infuse this color more throughout your brand now.
8) For every hour of sitting, walk or stretch for 5 mins
Starting this week, make it a habit to leave your desk and walk away from your computer for at least 5 minutes every hour. Focus your eyes on something further away than a screen on your desk or in your hands. Numerous studies are showing the incredible health benefits this has and the long-term cardiovascular and ocular benefits it promotes. Go to your happy place and stretch out those legs for a bit of stress-relief and good health.
9) Fail at something
It’s SO good to fail in business sometimes. Failing means you’re going beyond your comfort zone to try something new, test out a new idea, or push your business forward. Learn to trust the process and recognize that failing can actually result in a future win.
10) Shut it down
The World’s Number 1 Golfer—Jason Day—recently took 3 months off from the game. No other professional player has even considered taking this amount of time off and at the same time no other player has dominated the PGA leaderboard with such consistency upon return.
There’s a lesson in this.
It’s OK to shut it down and regroup. After organizing and crossing off the 9 suggestions above, give yourself a rest. You’ll come back fresh and strong and ready to dominate.
We’ll talk to you next Sunday. Go YOU!
