Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Walking Away from Distractions

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sure, now he's relaxed

We’re having a rough morning at Yellow Dog WHQ. They’re doing some painting outside of our house and Hank doesn’t love the sound of ladders banging against our house or our windows being covered up. So after him right under my feet all day we’ve decided to do some remote work this morning from our favorite coffee shop, Issaquah Coffee Co. they’re dog friendly, great Stumptown coffee, and the best part? My barista from Victors followed me here. I’ll take it!

Sometimes there’s too many distractions and loud noises going on in our heads that are keeping us from getting the work done and being able to focus. It’s a beautiful day in the Puget Sound, grab your laptop and pup and head out to get a change of scenery. Who knows what it’ll inspire.

Make Time for Fun

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Grab a cup of tea and take a break

A few weeks ago I tagged along on my husband’s business trip to Las Vegas. When the trip was scheduled I was in desperate need of warm Vitamin D, sitting by the pool for 3 days, reading and relaxing sounded perfect. And it was.

I returned to work later that week refreshed, reenergized and ready to go. Sometimes you need to get away. Have you ever sat down for an appointment and realized you’d rather do ANYTHING than be working or pretending to care about the client or stranger across from you that you’re supposedly a great networking fit with? Yeah, it sucks. And we’ve all done it, and we’ve all made it through. And some of those people have become great clients or networking contacts.

Give yourself permission to take a vacation, or a break, or play hooky for the afternoon. Sometimes you need to go home, sit on the couch and watch Mad Men. The last thing you want is to end up overwhelmed and stressed out. After this weeks Mad Men I think we all know how well that worked for Lane…

Get Your Stuff Together

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Today’s Blog is a Guest Post by Laura Taylor, Owner of Honest to Goodness, a Kitchen Concierge based on the Eastside. 

Mise en Place.  It’s a concept widely known in the restaurant industry, and a critical one at that, but most likely not known to the average restaurant consumer. So what is “mise en place”?  It means “everything in its place” – anticipating the next step and being as prepared in advance as possible.

If you have ever seen a cooking show on TV where the chef has all of his or her ingredients already cut and organized in nice little bowls, then you have witnessed “mise en place” in action.  (By the way, how nice would it be to have someone do all that prep-work for you?  And the dishes.)  Another example is when waiters at a fine dining restaurant bring you specific silverware for a course just prior to course service instead of having all of the silverware set out at once.

How does “mise en place” relate to you as a consumer and/or business owner?  In plain English, I also like to say “Plan your work and work your plan.”  Outline what it is that needs to be done and then take actions to carry out your plan.  This could be planning an event, planning a business sales strategy, planning your retirement, even planning what to eat for dinner.  Point is, “prior preparation prevents poor performance.”

Honest to Goodness is your kitchen concierge that will help you to put everything in its place when it comes to a better, healthier, and tastier food lifestyle.  You can achieve a customized plan for healthy meals, grocery shopping, kitchen organization, and more.  So break out that grocery list notepad and start outlining your plan for whatever it is that needs to be done.  Then do it.  You’ll be glad you did and better off for it.

Honestly.