June 17, 2014
Want to save 15% off your next order in the Happy Cactus Designs' online shop? All you have to do is sign-up for my email newsletter.
It's quick and easy to do. Just click here to sign up, confirm your email, and you'll receive a special one-time code for 15% off your purchase.
What benefits come with receiving the email newsletter? You'll be the first to hear about new product releases, special promotion and discounts, and news on upcoming events. You can expect to receive one email once every 4-6 weeks.
February 27, 2013
I'm always searching for ways to boost my productivity and have mentioned on the blog here before how I've streamlined my to-do lists process. I recently heard Bob Pozen, the author of Extreme Productivity, mention on during a television interview that he has a process for tackling email: "the OHIO method." OHIO stands for "only handle it once." When you receive an email that you need to react and respond to, do it right away so your inbox doesn't pile up. Pozen says:
"No 'I'll respond later' is allowed," Shapiro says. "Responding later means you take three times longer to get through your email than taking care of it the first time, because responding later means you have to waste time finding and rereading that email... or even worse, the time wasted reminding yourself over and over to get to that message."
How often do you open your inbox and see numerous emails just sitting there waiting for a response? It sure happens to my email inboxes (both professional and personal). I've recently benefitted from setting aside a few chunks of time each day to respond to emails and get rid of others cluttering my inbox. There is less time lost to sorting through emails as well as rereading emails I've already received and figuring out if I need to respond and what to say. Adopting the OHIO method isn't easy - and I'm still sorting out how much time I spend conquering email - but I think it's a simple step towards becoming more productive. Would you try the OHIO method?
November 29, 2012
I've written in the past about the steps I took to get a website domain and build an e-commerce site for Happy Cactus Designs. An equally important step I took was to sign up for a email address using my own domain. In my opinion, having an address such as you@yourcompany.com looks a lot more professional and established that yourcompany@gmail.com or using a personal email address. If you want your business to be taken seriously, look like a serious business.
While there are many solutions out there, I chose to use Google Apps for Business, a "cloud-based productivity suite." I already had Gmail for my personal email and previously used Google Apps for Business in two other work environments and knew it would best suit my needs for Happy Cactus. While the suite isn't free, it's worth shelling out a few bucks each month for the convenience it provides me.
One of the biggest perks about Google Apps is that everything is based in the cloud so I can access my email, documents, calendar, etc. from any device and any location. This also gives me a little more piece of mind - If my computer crashes or gets stolen, what would happen to all of my correspondence and files? I like knowing that all of my emails and important documents will still be there. I also like being able to tag and categorize emails by topics like clients, vendors, shows, and bills and easily search for a specific email (I probably do this at least three times a day).
What tips do you have for finding the right email solution for your small business?