December 27, 2006

Time to Refresh... It’s Time to End Procrastination for Good...
Create Your Identity with a Company Logo... How to Make
Life More Enjoyable... and More.

** Time to Refresh
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily

First of all, I hope that your holidays were great. This week is a short week right before New Years, so I’m going to keep my commentary light.

It’s amazing how everyone slows down this time of year. Traffic is lighter, a lot of businesses are closed, and of course, school’s out.

I like to take this time of year as an opportunity to refresh myself. I look over the past 12 months and reflect on my accomplishments. I also work on what I can do to improve myself over the next 12 months.

Plus, I try to keep everything at an easier pace.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m all about the benefits of hard work. But I think we all need to take that down time. Some of us can afford a few days, others a few weeks, and even some of us can afford to take yearlong sabbaticals.

I’m only in need of these next few days to unwind, and while I technically won’t be working, I will be coming up with new ideas and strategies.

Just because I’m sitting on my couch with my newborn son, watching my daughter play with the dozens of toys she got for Christmas, or just sitting by the fire with my wife, doesn’t mean that I won’t also be taking time to think about successful opportunities that I can pass on to you.

Once again, I hope your holidays were filled with joy and I look forward to another great year of building wealth with you.

We can’t work 24 –hours –a –day – it’s just not possible. We all need rest from time –to time in order to recharge our batteries and to actually be more productive. However, your productivity should be consistent.

Those of you who are prone to procrastination will find yourselves having to work a lot harder at certain times than every one else — and working longer hours here and there in order to make up for what has been put off.

This inconsistency can put you under a lot of stress. Your deadlines become shorter and you will have to scramble to get things done on time. If you’ve been a procrastinator throughout your entire life, then now is the time to put a stop to the vicious cycle and start working smarter instead of harder.

Take these steps to motivate yourself so that you can get things done more quickly and efficiently. Shaking yourself out of the habit will be difficult. Practice, persevere, and reward yourself when you do something “on time.”

1) Take time to get organized. Examine your workspace. Is it crowded, sloppy, or piled high with yesterday’s business? Get rid of everything that is extraneous in your workplace or
office and have an assigned spot for everything. It takes time to get organized, but once it’s accomplished, it will pay off.

2) Begin the night before. Don’t wait until Monday morning to decide what you’re going to do for each day of the week. Set aside some time on Sunday to: 1) decide what you want to do and accomplish for the week; and 2) schedule for the following Monday. Select a time when you are relaxed and not rushed to do this, but ensure that you plan your week out in advance.

3) Prioritize your plan. Not all tasks are of equal importance, effort, or duration. Some are more important than others. Divide your objectives and tasks in terms of what is most important, then second in importance, and so on.

4) Respect your personal work style. When are you most creative? When is the best time for you to do routine chores? Exercise? Study? Nap? Each person has an ideal work style that operates differently. Determine which style is right for you.

5) Make sure you get in a nap. The fact is that nearly all of us encounter a low point in energy, usually about 1:00 p.m. every day, depending, of course on how much sleep we have had, the time of day we get up, etc. Take a catnap if you need one; it will help reenergize you, which will allow you to focus on the tasks you need to complete.

6) Schedule time by blocks rather than tasks. Have you ever allotted an hour to complete a task and then found that it took two hours, thereby messing up the rest of your day and schedule? To remove this stress, allot a given amount of time to a task, say an hour, complete it, and then move on to the next task on your list. This practice ensures that you will make measurable progress on each task without getting bogged down.

7) Follow the “WIFO” principle, selectively. WIFO stands for “worst in, first out.” Have you ever kept postponing a project because you just didn’t want to do it? Many of us spend as much time worrying and rescheduling as we actually do competing tasks. There is a way around this: Simply DO IT — either on a task or time basis.

8) Schedule a clean-up day, or half-day, weekly. No matter how good you are at scheduling, there will always be times when your desk is going to be piled high with work, and your plan/schedule will get crowded with extra tasks. Pick a time each week (perhaps Saturday morning) as a clean-up period. It will be your time to dispose of all those little things that have built up during the week. Make it a time to mentally review your priorities.

9) Enlist the support of others. Let them know what you are doing and how they will benefit from the results you want to produce. Invite them to lend their support however they can.

** Create Your Identity with a Company Logo
By Michael Newman, the “Money Finder”

Your identity is exceptionally important when it comes to starting a business. You want potential customers to know who you are, what you sell, what you represent, and how you do business -- this is essential when it comes to achieving success.

Before a small business has customers who can spread the word about what it offers, it has to rely heavily on perception. Before you have your first few customers, all you have is your image. A company logo is not merely a symbol that is meant to make your stationary look sharp -- it’s a way for consumers to identify you among the competition.

Your professional company logo should convey a message. It should be memorable and unique. Great logos come with the idea that you will know it when you see it. When you think of some of the most effective logos such as those for McDonalds, Mercedes, Paramount Pictures and Adidas, to name only a few, you know they are excellent because they have all been embedded in our memories.

Coca-Cola is a great example of a company who uses a “logotype” or a stylized rendition of its name. The name Coca-Cola is written in a classic style and that’s the image they portray: a classic product whose quality is timeless. They portray nostalgia and tradition all in a symbol.

An effective logo can convey professionalism just as a poorly designed one can wrongly represent your company. It’s important to have your logo professionally designed because, though you are responsible for determining what message you want to convey, very few people can turn on a computer and design a graphic that will show that message.

Having a large design firm create your logo could end up costing you more than you can afford, so look into hiring a freelance designer. Also, you should look into designers who specialize in your industry. Plus, be sure to check out your competitors’ logos as well. You can obtain logos of your competition on the Internet, in the phone book, or from the company.

If you’ve found a designer you like, who is charging a price that you can live with, then it’s time to communicate to him/her what it is that you want your logo to include and convey. It’s important to be specific. Even though they are handling the creative aspect of the design, what it includes is still up to you -- and you have to live with it.

Tell them who your target market is. They should know what message you want to communicate. What the industry is and what the competition’s logos look like is also of importance, so mention this as well. Whether you want a logotype or just a graphic is also a topic of discussion you’ll need to cover.

Many companies also include a slogan to establish their identity. Often names are difficult to categorize into a particular industry, so having a unique phrase to describe what your company is all about can also be extremely useful.

You aren’t required to register your logo because you can establish rights based on legitimate use. However, having a trademark on your logo will give you exclusive legal rights to it and ensure its absolute originality.

Once you’ve settled on a design that reflects your business, next you will need to ensure that it is original and will remain yours. Having a logo trademarked requires that a design search be performed.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov) has all the information on trademarks you could possibly need including the option to file online. Or you can also call the USPTO Contact Center at (800) 786-9199 or (703) 308-4357.

Here are some sites to visit in order to help you get an idea of what type of logo you want and how much you can expect to spend on a logo package:

Logo Tree (www.logotree.com) (866) 816-5646
Logo Design.com (www.logodesign.com) (800) 373-5646
Business Logo.net (www.businesslogo.net)

** How to Make Life More Enjoyable
By “Miracle” Max McCarri

Just after my 2007 resolutions were published in one of last week’s articles, I received over 20 replies from people asking me for financial advice. I am glad to see that people have already started taking my promises to heart.

So, let’s address one of the many advice requests I received:

“Well, since you have mentioned in one of your articles that if I have a problem, you want to hear about it, here it is. My problem is financial. Are there any ideas or tips that you can share with me, so I can get on with my life? Life seems impossible to enjoy! If there is something you can do for me, please send me advice or a solution to my problem. I will be glad to take your advice seriously!”

Financial problems are the number-one life challenge that most adults face in North America. The latest industry reports show that bankruptcy is on the rise because people cannot find a solution to get their financial matters under control.

There is no easy or simple solution to solve any money problem — unless, of course, you come into a windfall of cash and start living the good life! But let’s be realistic — this is unlikely to happen. The bottom line is that you need to create additional streams of income for yourself.

For example, to make money I don’t just do one thing, I do many things, each of which pays me a different amount of cash. Some of my income streams may take me a few hours to do before I get paid; others may take a day or two. The great thing about income streams is that you could get paid different amounts of money instead of working one job and getting paid the same rate per hour.

The best income streams are the ones that you create for yourself because you can set the amount of money you want to make and the hours that you want to work. That’s a huge perk!

An income stream is anything that generates a cash flow: it could be walking dogs for two hours a week, working at a call center for 10 hours a week, doing some freelance writing for eight hours a week, or managing commercial properties for 20 hours a week. The more income streams you create, the more money you will make. It’s that easy.

My good friend and e-Wealth contributor Doug D’Anna has written a book specifically on how to create income streams. It’s called the 24-Hour Cash Flow Miracle and I must say, it’s one of the best resources out there on how to achieve financial success.

There is no shortage of information or resources to help you create income streams. I really want to encourage you to first find the motivation to explore what you love to do and then turn that passion into money.

There are thousands of people around you who could use your help to get something done -- find out what it is and get paid for doing it. I do this once a month, replacing an old income stream with a new income stream that makes me more money.

I know you can do the same thing starting right now.