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Thank you for making MainStreetChamber the fastest growing Chamber in the U.S. We will continue to keep you informed with up-to-date articles and new programs offered only to members all in an effort to help your business grow and prosper. - MSC Leadership Team
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Follow these common-sense tips to get more
stuff done -- faster.
Odessa Hopkins knew
she wasn't spending her time as wisely as she could. The owner of a small Greenbelt, Md.,
marketing and advertising consulting firm called
Another Approach Enterprises, was always juggling projects and keeping busy.
But she "would work on a lot of things all day long, but at the end of the
day I didn't really finish anything," says Hopkins, 52. While client deadlines were met,
she says projects were sometimes taking longer than they should because she was juggling so much.
In
2009, she sought the help of a productivity coach and began learning ways to
better manage her time. "Whenever people think about deadlines, they think
about only the deadline that someone else gives them -- not their own
deadline," says Hopkins, who also owns CEO Business Café, a local meeting
venue for entrepreneurs. "Now, I give myself deadlines all the time."
Time-management coaches say entrepreneurs
often waste a lot of time in their day, but there are strategies for being more
productive. Consider these five tips to get more done in a day.
Click HERE for entire article
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Meet Our Leadership
State Director - Utah & Montana
 | | Anna Davis |
Anna Davis
earned her MBA from Westminster college in Salt Lake City, UT.
She has 15 years of experience and an international business consultant,
working with clients and helping them expand their business through creative
marketing efforts. She brings to our company and her clients strategies
to successfully increase marketing efforts, and profitability. She
consults clients in the areas of PR, SEO, internet marketing, and streamlining
business operations.
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President - Rockford, IL
Michael Sasso
Married with two adult children, Michael is an entrepreneur at heart who
came to the MainStreetChamber from over 25 years in corporate America in the
Airline Industry.
As a SCORE
Mentor and the President of the East Metro
Chapter of the MainStreetChamber in Minnesota,
Michael has shown a passion for helping business owners in all marketing facets
of their business. His primary focus is how successful business owners network
to grow their business and build relationships not only as a business owner but
also as an entrepreneur consistently working with business owners to help them
grow their business.
As one of
the principal owners for RJM Consulting Group, Michael also works with small
and medium business owners educating them on how to connect their online marketing
efforts to the local search engines helping their businesses get found online
as well as how to grow their business through the use of Merchant Services.
His
speaking and teaching style are both interactive and informative and will
challenge you to think outside the box about your business, your style and most
importantly how to build effective business relationships both in and outside
of your field.
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Chris Brogan on Social Media Traps
The popular blogger explains how to save time and be more
effective with online connections.
I often
write about an amazing tool or a great way to build business via the web. This
month, let's talk about the ways this digital world can get to be too much. We
won't weep and gnash our teeth. We'll just figure out what holes you may be
falling into and find our way through to a better place, where you can feel
confident using digital tools and not worry about drowning.
Tools for saving time
Use an egg
timer--or try the virtual version at E.ggTimer.com.
Track your time usage online at RescueTime.com.
Turn off push notifications to
your e-mail and phone.
Set up twice-a-day
check-ins on e-mail and other services.
Unsubscribe from newsletters
and e-mails that you aren't reading.
Take
back some Facebook time.
Are you maintaining a Facebook page for your business? The best use of your
time there is to ask your community what they need and want, and to let them
know about events and activities that might be of interest to them. Consider
posting videos and photos from your events. Then close Facebook down rather
than checking how your crops are doing on FarmVille or wading through several
hundred status updates from your family members and friends.
Tweet
a little lighter.
Getting into a conversation on Twitter is great. So is updating people on your
business. Reading everyone's links and clicking every little interesting
article, however, is a sure path toward losing one or two hours before you know
it. Go ahead and comment on a few of your customers' tweets, but spend no more
than 20 minutes at a time on Twitter. Set an egg timer (I use a real live
old-timey one). It helps.
Are
you researching or lollygagging?
I love reading blogs. I use Google Reader to go
through them more quickly than I could by visiting each and every website
directly. Sometimes I'm reading to stay up on news; other times I'm reading because
I'm procrastinating. The first line of defense against the latter is to
eliminate subscriptions to blogs that don't grow your business or your other
interests.
Leave
the bleeding edge to others.
The No. 1 question I'm asked weekly is "What's new?" People are
obsessed with the latest technologies, the coolest websites and the chance to
jump to the front of the line on some new social network. The thing is, new
sites rarely turn into amazing sites. The new tech rarely changes the way you
do business. It's just new. Instead, focus on the core elements of doing what
matters.
Keep
guidelines for your time.
Decide what you intend to do with your time online before you get in front of
the computer. Do you leave your e-mail open all day? Is that really serving your business needs? Set two or
three times a day to check your e-mail for 20 to 30 minutes, tops. If your goal
is to build more business, plan how you'll connect on the various social
networks where your customers and prospects might gather, as well as how you'll
interact. Measure your efforts.
If you
need your time back, the best way to get it is to stay focused on your plans.
All this new and shiny stuff has to fit those plans or it's not helping.
Whatever you do, watch out for those holes that cause you to lose time. Your
business needs you.
Chris Brogan is president of
Human Business Works, a small-business education and growth company. He is also
co-author of The New York Times bestselling
book Trust Agents, and author of Social
Media 101. He blogs at chrisbrogan.com
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Eastern NC Launch into Morehead City is a Huge Success!! |
On Tuesday, August 2nd, nearly 50 local
business owners attended the event at the Historic Train Depot in Morehead
City. Business owners from throughout the area, reaching as far as Greenville
and Jacksonville, were present.
Ms. Grindstaff gave the attendees an overview of the purpose and plans for
MainStreetChamber in the Eastern NC Chapter. Explaining that all business
owners qualified for a Free Lifetime Membership, with Free attendance to events
and discounts available on numerous business services.
The event was sponsored by JingGianni's Trattoria, the newest Italian
Restaurant in Morehead City and KD Florist of Beaufort. Additional Sponsors
were Mary Kay Costmetics and StrollerStrides of the Crystal Coast.
"The purpose of MainStreetChamber",
stated Ms. Grindstaff, "is to support, connect and educate the small
business owner. The small business owner is frequently left to figure things
out for themselves. We want to provide them the contacts and resources they
need to grow their bottom line."
MainStreetChamber is currently the fastest growing Chamber in the United
States. When a business owner joins the chamber locally, they belong to the
national organization and can attend the events held by any MainStreetChamber
location.
As for the Eastern NC chapter, the area covers various cities
in Eastern NC including Morehead City, Jacksonville, New Bern and more. The
local chapter will be holding events throughout the area, combining the efforts
of each city to support a larger geographic area. Members in each city will
have various events, such as networking, after hour mixers, seminars, expos and
more throughout the area to choose from.
This is truly an exciting time for the area business owners. Businesses of any
size are invited to join, Membership is Free. They can join by visiting the
chapter website at: http://MainStreetChamber-EasternNC.org |
Business Opportunities with MainStreetChamber |
Chapter President Vice President Fundraising Director Prevent Child Abuse Director Ambassador Board Member
Contact Us For More Information
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