Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Pay Attention

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Chocolate cake, candied cranberries, & caramel buttercream.

On Friday, the most beautiful cake was delivered from a baker friend of mine (you really should get a friend who’s a baker, it’s awesome!) as a thank you gift. While this blog post IS to brag about the amazing cake, it’s also a great lesson in paying attention…

A couple of weeks ago she tweeted that she’d been laid off from her job. Big bummer, right before the holidays, never a good thing. I re-tweeted her post to my network, and within a few minutes, a friend of mine saw it and asked if she’d be interested in getting connected with Zaarly Storefront which is launching at the end of the month here in Seattle!

it’s the PERFECT match! She gets a photo shoot of all her delicious baked goods, they have a fantastic baker to promote (a very popular Zaarly Storefront Service), and as a thank you, I get to eat an entire cake!

The Lesson here? Pay attention. Keep an eye on what friends and those in your network are saying. Share it with others in your network, you never know who you might be helping out!

Make time to DO the Work

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What solves my humbug mood? The Muppet Christmas Carol of course!

I always forget until it’s here that I’m actually NOT a big fan of the holiday season. There’s so much scheduling and planning and hunting down the right gifts, holiday party after party, pretending to be merry when really all I want to do is lay on the couch and have a Doctor Who marathon.

AND in the midst of it all, I have WORK to get done! I somehow have overwhelmed my schedule for November and so getting a day at home (today) to get caught up on the work I have to do is much needed and a relief. My goal is to have 2 days at home a week to DO the work. Lately it’s turned into one day, or even “just one quick meeting” which takes me away from home for a solid 2 hours.

I am sure once Christmas day arrives I’ll be in a better mood (plus we’re staying here this year, YAY) and less Ebenezer about the whole thing. In the mean time, I’m being selfish with my schedule, saying no to things that I maybe should say yes to, and making sure that I’m getting the work done.

How are you prioritizing your clients and your work during this more than usual chaotic season?

Give it 48 hours

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The other day I met with a client who said she often gets distracted and spends a lot of time on the next “latest and greatest idea.” So she has videos on her website that people don’t watch, or a ton of social media networks that she’s not using. And her question was, “how do I know what to spend time on?” GREAT question!

As I have mentioned time and again, I am a TERRIBLE employee. So, when my previous bosses would come to me with “a great idea, you should get right on it” I usually give it 48 hours. With some of them, I made them “remind” me about it again. Why? Because it’s not always a great idea. I’m not going to drop everything to work on it and the next have them change their mind.

If you think you have a great idea, give it a couple of days. If you can’t stop thinking about it, that’s a great sign. If you’ve already forgotten about it, that may be an even better sign.