Beware— Multitasking may be eating up your time instead of saving it!

Multitasking is often thought of as demonstration of ‘wise use of time’. In fact, the ability to multitask is often valued by companies, and taken as a major indicator of work efficiency for its employees. But, we should never be blinded by these norms because it is also a fact that multitasking also eats up time and results inefficiency when unnecessarily applied.

As an entrepreneur, I find multitasking valuable in my career because it saves me precious time that can be spent on making money rather than running errands or doing non-profitable tasks. I practice it almost every day as I make myself morning tea, while eating breakfast, and catching up with my sexy girlfriend. I have also learned that multitasking is never all-good-no-bad. It has its own share of disadvantages.

Say you are a freelance writer. Making money is very important to you because you don’t have a steady source of income. You often read e-mails in between your work to make sure you aren’t missing any good paying job postings. In addition to this, you also do accept too many projects at the same time to keep yourself occupied and avoid ‘freelance dry days’. In this scenario, the following outcomes are possible;

• You failed to provide quality content to your client because you lack focus.
• You find it difficult to write because you lack focus.
• You procrastinate because you get tired of writing.
• You got burned out because of the unmanageable workload.

The scenario above is very good example of multitasking at its worst. Now, how does it differ from a scenario demonstrating multitasking at its best? The answer is simple— the purpose for which multi tasking is done for.

You can undoubtedly be a master of multitasking on physical activities that you routinely do such as doing the house chores and moving around your place. However, tasks that require much thought and undivided attention do not qualify as good tasks to multitask. Lack of focus may result you to spend more time than expected on a project, thus affecting your productivity and eventually, your efficiency as a worker.

Making money in any kind of business endeavor works in the same way because working on a business is a series of well thought off actions which lead to success and financial Independence. Your investment decisions alone is already worthy of your undivided attention— what more is the regular business operations? In this case, you have the option to outsource. This is also a lesson to anyone hoping to start different businesses all at the same time… it just won’t work!

Multitasking can and will erode your razor sharp focus. As human beings we work best as focused and disciplined people. We are at our best when we are fully immersed in the flow of our current task. If you want to multitask remember that the end product will never be as refined as something that you single tasked.

A serial entrepreneur, Christopher is the founder and CEO of several companies, including 1-800-Good Credit, Worldwide Telegraph and CustomTollfree.com. He has been an EO member since 2001. You can reach Christopher at cmb@customtollfree.com. http://www.chrisrugh.com
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Changing Pace — and Place — to Avert Burnout

When you hear yourself saying "I have no time for vacation," it means you desperately need one. Here's my recipe for a getaway with benefits that outweigh the costs.

There's no businessperson who doesn't run the risk of burnout. There are simply too many challenges coming at us, from day-to-day business demands and from our own entrepreneurial ambitions, for us to maintain complete control. As a rule, we thrive in this kind of environment. But there are times when it all becomes too much. And, because we’re so used to taking on big challenges and dealing with them, we often don’t recognize burnout into we’re well into it.

It can make a huge difference to our careers if we can learn to recognize the symptoms of burnout and then take steps to put out the fire, fast.

In my case, the telltale symptom is the inability to make a decision. As a rule, I’m usually able to move things quickly off my plate and go on to the next item. But if burnout is creeping up on me, I find myself lettings things stew and simmer. I avoid making decisions, or find myself revisiting ones I’ve already made. The little things somehow become overwhelming.

If that goes on too long, not only am I frustrated, but my employees may start spinning their wheels as well. (Yes, symptoms of burnout can be contagious and spread quickly throughout an organization.)

Go away. Just go away!

I have a favorite cure when I feel burnout coming on. Here are the three key ingredients:

1. Time. You need time away from it all — the minimum of a long weekend. A night out at the movies is not going to do the job, particularly if you have to be up early the next morning to prepare for an important meeting.

2. Distance. It's important to get far away, geographically and mentally. I like to go someplace warm and sunny — though that may be because I work in Seattle. Someone in Florida may decide it's time to go hiking in the Rockies or for a theater weekend in Manhattan.

3. Freedom. Avoid anything that reminds you of work. Don't give in to the temptation to take work along with you on vacation. Or to go to a business conference or out-of-town client meeting in an exotic location and call that a “vacation.” If you’re on stage, planning and dealing, it’s not the R&R you need. It’s just temptation, disguised in a Hawaiian shirt, toting golf clubs, and luring you down the fairway to burnout.

One reason why the “go away” solution works well is that it addresses the biological explanation for burnout: If we put ourselves repeatedly in stressful situations, and our bodies are called upon to produce adrenaline too frequently, the adrenal system that provides us with bursts of energy can simply tire out. The next time we call on it for some adrenaline, it fails to respond — leaving us tired and unable to produce our accustomed level of performance.

Simply changing your surroundings and the pace of your life can do wonders. Within 48 hours, you’ll feel as if you took the blinders off. Problems that nagged at you for weeks now appear in a perspective that shows them to be solvable.

“No time for vacation” means you need a vacation

The paradox is the when the work situation is so overwhelming that you think you don’t dare leave, that’s probably exactly when you most need to get away. To nip burnout in the early stages, you really do need to drop everything, and put some real distance between you and the work environment. I either tell people in advance that I’ll be out of touch for a few days, or put a partner or assistant in charge of fielding all my calls, messages, and emails.

Sure, a few glitches may result from my absence. But when I return from vacation, my refreshed self finds those minor issues — and the big ones, as well — surprisingly easy to handle. Miraculously, the answers are all there.

A serial entrepreneur, Christopher is the founder and CEO of several companies, including 1-800-Good Credit, Worldwide Telegraph and CustomTollfree.com. He has

been an EO member since 2001. You can reach Christopher at cmb@customtollfree.com.

http://www.chrisrugh.com
Learning Rx - LearningRx brain training blog.
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Negotiating with Contractors During Tough Times

In today's tough economic times many business owners need to look at out sourcing instead of hiring to increase flexibility, increase brain source, and reduce costs.

When times are tough--as they are now--and money is tight, many savvy business owners look to outsource work to contractors. Using a reliable contractor can help you control costs and give you time to focus on marketing and business growth. But outsourcing is effective only if you can get the results you want at the price you want to pay. For that reason, your ability to negotiate good deals with contractors is critical.

Though many business owners feel stressed when faced with major negotiations, the truth is that we're all negotiators. And a lot of us are better negotiators than we think we are. The ability to negotiate kicks in almost as soon as we learn to speak. Think about it: You wanted the cookie. You're mom had the cookie. That's where it all started.

Whether you're a child negotiating with your mother for a cookie or business owner negotiating with a consultant for a project or service, it all boils down to creativity. You learn to look at things from angles that may not be direct. You have to come up with an alternative plan that gets you to the same place by another route.

First, know what you want
I make extensive use of contractors to handle day-to-day business activities, allowing my team to focus on business growth. I've learned that when negotiating with contractors, you need first of all to keep your own interests in mind--after all, getting your work done is why you're hiring a contractor in the first place. Make sure you have a strong understanding of your wants and your needs and the end results you expect the contractor to produce.

Once you're clear about what you want, you can open the negotiations with an initial terms sheet. This piece of paper lays out the results you want, the structure you want, and what you're willing to pay.

Then, figure out what they want
Keeping your own needs firmly in mind, observe and get to know the person you are negotiating with. The more questions you ask and the more answers you get, the better off you are. (Don't confuse negotiation with sales. Sales is often about talking and convincing; negotiation is about listening.)

For instance, suppose you're talking with a contractor about staffing your booth at a trade show. Their prices have gone way up from previous years, and your offers of modest increases are refused. Finally you talk with the owner and find out she's trying to shift the business to focus on trade show packages that include staffing, booth set-up, and production of fliers and other handouts--work you'd planned to outsource to other contractors. Suddenly the negotiations are back on track because you've can give the contractor an opportunity to demonstrate their new service package at an affordable price.

In a good negotiation, you get what you want. It just might not look like what you'd been looking for.

Negotiating toward a contract
There's no question about it: Good paper makes good friends. As the negotiation proceeds, turn that terms sheet you used at the start of the negotiation into an actual contract. If you are involved in a fairly straightforward deal, you can have a paralegal modify a standard contract template to fit the particular situation. Having the contract drawn up at your end is a negotiation advantage; many contractors don't want to go to the trouble or expense of having a contract drafted and they're anxious to make the sale. This means they're more likely to accept your terms.

Milestones
Be sure to include in your contract agreement significant milestones for the project work. I was reminded of this not too long ago when we failed to establish milestones, and at the completion date discovered that the final product didn't meet our specifications. We ended up having to hire another firm to do the work the way we wanted it, but we lost time and money as a result. If we'd had milestones in the contract, we would have known in a short period of time that the deal was a bad deal.

Good negotiations mean good business
Consulting relations are like personal relationships: Business is easiest when you're engaging in relationships that are easy, productive, and enjoyable. If you notice during the negotiation itself that you're not getting along or that you have to spend your time chasing them, heed the danger signs. If the negotiation is miserable, the project itself is likely to be even worse.

It's to your advantage to take the lead in keeping the negotiation on track. That means keeping your eye on the end result, while being adaptive and flexible about how you attain that result. In most cases, you'll find that the negotiation process is an economical and efficient way to get what you want.

A serial entrepreneur, Christopher is the founder and CEO of several companies, including 1-800-Good Credit, Worldwide Telegraph and CustomTollfree.com. He has
been an EO member since 2001. You can reach Christopher at cmb@customtollfree.com.

http://www.chrisrugh.com

It's All in a Name

Running a business comes with its share of problems, in terms of both mechanics and aesthetics. In my experience, one of the most important challenges every entrepreneur faces is the naming or re-naming of a company. I’ve been involved in the creation of more than a dozen companies, and I have had the privilege of advising on the development of hundreds of others. Here are some of the lessons I learned when it comes to picking a name that will garner success, now and in the future:

Easy-to-Remember Names
Names that are easy to remember are a sure-fire way to increase advertising effectiveness. These kinds of names are easy to pronounce and often have a visual component (think Target and Duracell). The difficulty, though, is that they can be tough to trademark. Also, the specificity of easy-to-remember names can limit a business to a particular region or industry. The perk of these names, however, is their high spend-to-result ratio. If an entrepreneur picks a highly memorable name, he or she can spend relatively little and still net huge results.

Trademarking That Works
By choosing a name that is easy to trademark, entrepreneurs can ensure that they will have a strong legal claim to their business identity. These kinds of names are often "made-up" words like Novartis, Accenture or ZymoGenetics. Other protectable names are based on unique proper nouns, such as Phillip Morris or Martha Stewart. One drawback of easy-to-trademark names is that they can be confusing. Also, entrepreneurs who choose these names can expect to spend more money on advertising to help customers recognize the name and understand the business behind it. This leaves entrepreneurs with a lower spend-to-result ratio.

Nonsense Names
Some companies have reaped great benefits from names that are both familiar enough to be memorable, but distinctive enough that they’re relatively easy to trademark. These are often called nonsense names. Some nonsense names—Apple, Amazon and Yahoo—combine a known word with an unexpected industry. Other nonsense names combine two familiar words people find easy to pronounce and envision, but meet the uniqueness criterion for trade-marking because you wouldn’t expect to see the two words used together. An example of this is Yogabutter (a local yoga studio) and Talking Rain (a soft drinks pioneer). I experimented with this nonsense approach by creating Purespace, a business that did short-term space rental for holistic practitioners. The name provided customers with a sense of our business, and it bred inquiry.

Testing the Name
I’ve learned that the worth of a business name is in the reaction of the customer or trademark attorney. To determine if their name has long-lasting appeal, entrepreneurs should find out if it allows them to access the tools they need for business. One way to do that is to Google the name. Business owners should ensure that someone isn’t already using the name—or something similar—in a way they wouldn’t want associated with their own business. This could cause confusion and lead to potential legal problems. When in doubt, it’s best to consult with an intellectual property attorney.

A carefully selected business name can save thousands of dollars a year in advertising costs, and it can keep the company on an extended path of greatness. The wrong name can sink a business by making marketing expensive and frustrating, or making it difficult to protect your business identity. When it comes to naming a business, you can never be too careful. After all, your success and future are on the line.

A serial entrepreneur, Christopher is the founder and CEO of several companies, including 1-800-Good Credit, Worldwide Telegraph and CustomTollfree.com. He has
been an EO member since 2001. You can reach Christopher at cmb@customtollfree.com.

http://www.chrisrugh.com