Mutualism:

• You have to create win-win relationships in business, making sure that you don’t benefit more than the other party.

Giving:

• Help someone out, before asking for anything in return. This makes people want to support you.

Targeting:

• You want to be very specific with the types of people you network with, in order to save time and to attract the right people to your brand.

Reconnecting:

• Never lose touch, that way networking contacts remember you when new opportunities surface.

When starting out a new business 88% of your first set of clients come from referrals of friends and family.  The larger your network of friends the larger the buzz you create.  That should help generate a fair amount of brand awareness but you are not even close to optimizing your reach.  That’s why you need to look over the rules above and begin a new type of networking and surround yourself with individuals that have the same goals and mindset that you do.

There is a group of entrepreneurs called “bootstrappers”, those that attempt to build a business on a shoe-string budget or less.  Generally these are students just coming out of College/University with tuition debts and bills they can hardly afford to keep up with. What you and many young entrepreneurs don’t realize is that you are already professionals at your own personal style of PR using a free tool you use on a daily basis, Social Media.

You’ve been branding yourself for the past few years using Facebook by building relationships, posting your opinions, adding photos of your work and showing people what your good at.  You’ve already created credibility amongst your 500 friends and that’s a good foundation to start promoting yourself with.  You’ve already become the brand even before you knew it.

1.  You’re an entrepreneur for a reason so be an expert at what you do.

The more you know about your industry, product and service the more prepared you are at winning customers attention.  For example if you are in the Fitness industry and what to be known as a Fitness Guru, you want to establish expertise in exercising and nutrition.  Don’t break-off into other areas that don’t support your end goal such as giving clothing advice, you’re just wasting your time.  Being an expert in your field can get you noticed as a local professional and garner media attention which will help you attract new clients and grow your business.

2.  Don’t just keep it to yourself, Blog about it.

Create a blog and start showing people why you are expert and build your credibility. When you hear about something new from a friend or want to find out more, you normally do a Google search on it.  So if you have your name on a website, it gives people a chance to find out more about you and what you do.  This is especially true if people want to interview you or do business with you.  The more websites you have your name on (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) the better chances you have of someone finding you online.

3.  Offer your advice where it counts the most.

Posting articles on Facebook is all good and fun, but doesn’t always hit your desired target market.  Going back to the example of the Fitness expert, your main audience would be people who want to get healthy, get in shape, get active, etc.  These people tend to search for fitness websites and healthy life style websites to learn more about their specific interests.  These are the places where you should be sharing your expertise.  Submit an article or a request to comment on one of the articles already written.  This puts yourself in the spotlight and is a great way to be heard by thousands of people that you didn’t have access to before.  Always be sure to provide a photo, bio and link to your website so they can follow-up with you.

4.  Build relationships that help your brand

It never hurts making friends, but making the right kind of friends can have huge benefits.  Once you know what areas affect your industry, you can connect with other entrepreneurs that will create a mutually beneficial relationship.  Most would frown upon making friends with other entrepreneurs in the same industry because they believe they are in competition with each other.  In reality it provides more opportunities by exposing yourself to larger audiences and feeding off eachother’s articles and posts.  Networking is the fastest and best way to become known in your industry and build relationships that will have an everlasting effect on your brand.  For more details on how to successfully build relationships read this article on Generate Brand Awareness Through Networking.

5.  Stay Consistent

One of the worst things any entrepreneur can do is, do to many things at once.  Occasionally we all stray a little and find ourselves trying to bite off more than we can chew.  If you plan to blog or write articles be consistent by doing it once a day or week, whatever works best for you.  Sending out whenever you feel like it makes your listeners lose interest.  Routine is something that everyone has to make their life run smoother.  If the daily newspaper stopped printing everyday and only did it on days it felt like it, it would lose an enormous amount of support.  The more consistent you are the more you stay in the thoughts of your audience, you give them something to look forward to.

Final Thought

Building a brand whether it’s of yourself or your business is the most important aspect to any business – next to having a product/service that people actually need.  Establishing yourself as the brand creates a more personalized relationship with your customers, which majority of consumers tend to look for when quality is of high importance.  Whatever you decide to do make sure your image reflects your final goals to get the results you expect.

Video Design and development by XPLANE.

2Do is a very cool way of GTD (getting things done).  It’s a combination of a task manager and calendar,which means you can schedule tasks up to the minute.  It offers Push /Local & Email Alarms  and along with nearby tasks (i.e. location aware). The UI (user interface) is easy to navigate and looks pretty cool.

2.  Notes  |  Evernote: FREE

This is great app to keep make notes of everyday things you come across.  From notes to ideas to snapshots to recordings, put it all into this app and watch as it instantly synchronizes from your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to your computer.  Easily create text, photo and audio notes and include geo-location information for mapping.

3.  Contact Management  |  Groups: $3.99

Probably the best contact management app available.  Supports drag and drop of contact to reorganize groups and smart folders for saving your favourite search queries.  Group email and SMS messages together and and map out your contacts on a map visualizing them.  The user interface is also very easily navigate and looks Mac-like.

4.  Time Tracker  |  HoursTracker: $2.99

HoursTracker is perfect if you are an hourly worker that needs to turn in a time card or time sheet, contractors who bill for jobs or projects separately, or those who simply just want to keep track of the hours you have worked. Features are streamlined, earnings are calculated automatically, and easy-to-use interface that’s great for use on the go!

5.  Budgets  |  HomeBudget Lite: FREE

HomeBudget is an integrated expense tracker designed to help you track your expenses, income, bills-due and account balances.  It offers support for budgeting and allows analysis of your expenses and income, including charts and graphs.  The full version offers a Sync feature that allows a group of devices within a household to exchange expense and income information.

6. Password Keeper  |  1Password: $9.99

1Password will securely store your important information and can automatically log you into websites with a single tap.  There’s no need to remember the username, password, or even the website address.  You can save credit card information, membership numbers, store sensitive notes too classified for stickies or bar napkins.  Also synchronize it with your Mac via Wi-Fi.

7. File Management  |  Dropbox: FREE

Dropbox is the easiest way to sync and share your files online and across computers.  View photos, videos, documents, and presentations in your Dropbox on the go.  Save photos and videos taken with your iPhone to your Dropbox.  Share and send files via email and export your Dropbox files to other iPhone and iPads.

8. Traveling  |  TripTracker Pro: $1.99

Get real-time status for flights, real-time itinerary push alerts, live weather reports, route maps, hotels information and car rental information to make your travel a breeze.  All your flight, hotel and car rental information is “automagically” pushed to your iPhone without having to enter it manually.  This is by far one of the best apps to use when traveling.

9.  Milage Tracking  |  Trip Cubby: $4.99

A clean interface, reliable export, online sync for backup and easy access to recent trips.  Trip details are entered quickly and accurately and you can add multiple drivers and vehicles to track.  It also includes charts and graphs for graphical feedback of your mileage.  This makes it easy to track your tax-deductible mileage on your iPhone or iPod Touch.  Start saving more money!

10. Business Manager | Daylite Touch: FREE

Daylite Touch is a business productivity manager for the iPhone and iPad, it helps you manage your business and your team, keeping everyone on the same page and helping you stay on track and deliver on time.  The app is free to download but comes with a hefty $49.99 price tag per year to sync with your business data online.

1.  TO-DO LIST:

The key item here is to write everything down, writing it down gives you a visual of what really needs to be accomplished.  Tonight before you go to bed make a list of items that you HAVE to get done and WANT to get done for tomorrow and for the rest of the week.  Prioritize them by importance, due date, or easiest/fastest first.

2.  ASSEMBLE THE PROPER TOOLS:

In order to take on certain tasks you need to make the right preparations.  For larger items, be sure to break them down into smaller tasks that you can do throughout the day or week.  Planning a road trip for the weekend? then spend an hour each day during the week gathering the items you need for Friday’s departure.  Don’t leave it until last minute to rush everything, this never turns into anything good.

3.  START FIRST THING IN THE MORNING:

Stop waking up at 11:00am and 12:00 noon, by this time half of your day is already shot.  Wake up as if you have a 9-5 job.  Whatever is marked #1 on your list should be taken care of first thing in the morning.  By waiting until the afternoon you’re just going to come up with more excuses and put it off.  If the bank isn’t open at 7:00am to pay your bills, then take care of the easier, less time consuming tasks.  Procrastination has a snowball effect and the longer you put things off and let yourself get distracted, the bigger the to-do pile gets, the more you get stressed out, and the more your personal life and business will suffer.

4.  BE EFFICIENT:

Contrary to popular belief, there is always time in the day to do two things at once.  If you’re sitting watching T.V. while waiting for the laundry, how about going the the gym instead or running to the grocery store.   The goal here is to maximize your time so you don’t fall behind.

5.  USE A DAY PLANNER:

Day planner should be with you at all times.  In-case you haven’t gone to elementary school, we were all taught to use our assignment planners.  Following a schedule that is right infront of you makes it easier to see what else needs to get done and how much time you have to complete them.  With today’s technology there are hundreds of apps for smartphones (i.e. iPhone and Blackberry) that make it incredibly easy to organize your day to day activities.  Click here to see a list of the top 10 organization apps I use to keep me on the ball.

6.  AVOID DISTRACTIONS:

Do you browse around Facebook aimlessly instead of preparing that invoice? Or maybe chatting on BBM (blackberry messenger) instead of dealing with client issues.  One common pitfalls of the Entrepreneur is the HUNDREDS of distractions of the home office.  From your T.V., to Facebook, to BBM, to back to Facebook, these are things that you probably say “I deserve a break, I finished most of my tasks today.”  The problem is that these little “treats” turn into hours of complete uselessness.  Turn off that television, set your status to Busy or just turn your phone off all together (unless it’s  your business phone).  STAY FOCUSED!!

7.  DELEGATE:

There are some things that you just can’t do by yourself or simply take up way too much of your time.  Ask a friend to give you hand, or hire someone to take on a task.  For example, if you need to touch up some photos for your gallery, its easier to pay a designer to do it for you in a fraction of the time.  Now you can use that extra time to do something else like finding a new client or finish off another project.

8.  SCHEDULE PERSONAL TIME:

Having your own business you are always the one that has to deal with anything and everything that might pop-up in the course of a day.  So don’t try to do 50 things in one day and leave no time for yourself, you will just burn yourself out and that’s never a good thing.

9.  KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE MONEY:

Keep thinking about how GOOD it will feel when you finally finish that pain-in-the-butt task that’s been nagging you for days or even weeks.  The pay-off in the end, that feeling of success, is always the most rewarding feeling you could get, that and a big paycheck.  So keep at it until its done.

10.  REWARD YOURSELF:

As each task gets crossed off the list, give yourself a little treat by catching up on some news or grabbing a quick bite to eat with a friend. For larger tasks go and buy yourself that hat you wanted or whatever floats your boat.  Setting goals and rewards gives you something to look forward to when you finish, but be realistic…you don’t deserve an iPad just because you did the laundry.

Do you know what you can expense?

Did you know you that you can actually claim your Starbucks Coffee on your income tax?? Whenever I find myself having my team meetings or client meetings at the local Starbucks, I always pick up the tab and get a receipt.  For someone who spends on average three days a week at Starbucks, The annual total can add up:

$5 coffee  x  3 a week  x  52 weeks  =  $780 a year

Wow!! Now that I think about it, i drink a lot of coffee! This could be a all inclusive vacation down south if stopped drinking it.

*NOTE that doesn’t include picking  up the tab for my clients or my team, so add another $5-$10 on at least half of the weeks, totaling an average $1560 a year.

This is just one expense that really adds up to help reduce your income tax.

As an Entrepreneur and Small Business Owner, you are able to expense all “ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in order to earn business income”.  In other words, if it helps you…

• run your business
• generate income
• expand your business
• benefit your business

…then you can write-it off.

All business expenses are not the same for each industry, so be sure to do some research online before claiming your nail clipper as an expense for a construction company.

Here is a short list of links to get you started on what you can write-off against your business income:

• Canada Revenue Agency: Business Expenses
• About.com: Business Expenses
• eHow: List of Tax Deductions

Uncorked Media creates Email Marketing division!!  We’ve taken the leap and created an online marketing service that is low in price and great in returns.

Email Marketing is the modern way to get in touch and reach out to new customers.  Everyone is now using their computers and hand held devices to check their email and surf the net.  Your response time from email newsletters is almost instant, in comparison to direct mail, which also costs more.  To learn more about how you can get started with our new Email Marketing program, head on over to The Paperboy (www.thepaperboy.ca) and check its features and benefits.

OOH-OOH AHH-AHH?!?!

Monkey’s can do more than make funny noises.  They can host your website too!  Coming very soon is Uncorked Media’s latest division, Host Monkey (www.hostmonkey.ca).  A new type of Web Hosting Service that provides a more personalized web hosting experience.

Each web hosting account has its own personal monkey (account manager) that handles all requests that come in.  Each month a detailed report is sent out to each client that includes items such as server status, website activity, disk space usage, bandwidth usage and more.  We also provide tips and advice on whether or not you should upgrade or downgrade your server based on usage.  Keeping you informed on a regular basis is a commitment we don’t take lightly.  After all, our business is monkey business.

Uncorked Umbrella

Our efforts are to take the stress and headaches of having a website out of the equation.  The main headache is one business having to deal with and keep track of three or four different companies when handling their print and online branding solutions.

Keeping track of bills, expiration dates, user names and passwords, can be a complete nightmare.

At Uncorked Media you get everything under one umbrella.

As new information is added to your account, you will be notified immediately and receive a digital copy of all your account information with us, and is available on demand whenever you need it.

We offer complete website services which include but are not limited to:

• email marketing
• design
• development
• hosting
• maintenance
• SEO

Our Print department offers complete printing services which include:

• designing
• printing
• finishing
• delivery

Each of the Uncorked Divisions (The Paperboy, Host Monkey and more coming soon) specialize in their designated service, ensuring optimum quality and results.

If you are interested in any of our services, send us an email or give us a call.  We can provide you with a quote for individual items or package a deal and get bundled discount.

Monkey Business

Host Monkey is the next obvious step  in the expansion of Uncorked Media.  Host Monkey will provide a completely new and personalized hosting service to all of our existing clients and future clients.  Our goal is to offer easy and stress free hosting, server and domain updates on the regular, and more importantly one-on-one advice and consulting.

Our monthly prices may not be as “cheap” as GoDaddy, but we offer something more then they do, value-added hosting.  This means you get more then just a mere storage space on a server, you get expert advice on choosing the right hosting plan for you that meets your needs.

This way you don’t buy an upgraded hosting plan when you don’t need its features, and save hundreds of dollars a year.

Other hosting companies simply treat you as another number after you sign up, we make it personal and signing up is the just the beginning of the relationship.

For more information on pricing and features you can view them in our services section or go straight to www.hostmonkey.ca