Small Business Spotlight – Julie Sheranosher of ImJulie.com

SBS Artwork

Each month in the Small Business Spotlight podcast I will be publishing a new interview with a small business entrepreneur who will share their personal journey. Learning from real life experiences of other entrepreneurs has been such an encouragement within my own business journey and I hope that these inspiring stories will help you as you grow you business!

Small Business Spotlight 3 - Julie

 

This month’s Small Business Spotlight is with Julie Sheranosher of ImJulie.com. Julie is a Time Hacker who helps entrepreneurs reach the next level in their business by matching them with time management systems that work for them.

Listen to (or download) the audio only interview here:

Subscribe via iTunes

Subscribe via Stitcher

 

Or watch the video interview here:

In this episode of Small Business Spotlight, you’ll hear more from Julie about:

  • Finding what works for you in your life and your business
  • How to deal with your doubts
  • How to change the way you think about time

Mentioned In This Episode

Momentum

Focus at Will

Midori Traveler’s Notebook

Evernote

FastEver

You Can Find Julie At

 

Thank you for listening to this month’s Small Business Spotlight!
Be sure to join us again next month for our next interview with another inspiring small business owner!

 

Note: Some links above are affiliate links for items mentioned during our podcast. That means if you like the product and sign up from my link, I will receive a small commission from that purchase.

Why I Recommend MailChimp For Your Company’s Mailing List

Why I Recommend MailChimp For Your

 

There are a lot of great mailing list services out there and it can be overwhelming to choose one for your business. I personally recommend MailChimp for all of my clients’ mailing list needs. MailChimp has some great advantages with their service that I think you’ll find beneficial to your business. Here are some reasons I recommend MailChimp as my mailing list of choice.

1. Great Support – MailChimp is fairly easy to use right away and they also have some great support online. Not only do they have written tutorials, they also have video tutorials for many things as well. It’s important to me when I use the service if there’s great support back it up. MailChimp definitely has that!

2. Free Option – I think it’s important to have a free option for most services that you use within your business. You need to be able to try it out and see if it’s a good fit for your business before you jump in and invest your resources. MailChimp offers a fantastic free option that lets you start your mailing list without investing before you need to. Of course the services they offer with their paid accounts are even better and worth investing in, however you’ll do fine with the free option as you’re starting out.

3. Beautiful Email Templates -You want your emails to look good. They’re one of the major faces of your business and the way you personally connect with your customers. MailChimp offers beautiful templates that are easily customizable to fit your brand. MailChimp emails always look crisp, fresh, and fun.

4. Fun – Speaking of fun, MailChimp is a fun service to work with. You’ll notice right away a nice, smiling monkey named Freddie in the corner of their site when you login. As you schedule your campaigns, Freddie cheers you on, which brings a smile to my day. You can tell they want to bring a fun user experience to their customers and that is definitely something I want to encourage with services that I back!

Ready to start your mailing list but don’t have time to invest in setting it up? 
I’d love to help!

This post includes affiliate links. I only tell you about products and services that personally recommend for your business. The thoughts and opinions stated are my own.

I’m back and so excited to help YOU!

I am so excited to be back here on the blog after my break! I’m really looking forward to sharing more resources to save you time and help your business grow. As I get back into my regularly scheduled posting here, I want to make sure I’m focusing on the areas that will help you most.

Just leave a comment here on this post or email me privately and let me know what you need today to help grow your business. If at all possible, I’ll address it in an upcoming post. I’m looking forward to helping you and your business!

 

Keep Track of Your Brand With Talkwalker Alerts


Your name is one of the most valuable parts of your business. It’s how your customers refer others to you and what you are known for. It’s important to keep track on what is being said about your brand by others. One easy way to keep track of your brand is by utilizing free Talkwalker Alerts.

Talkwalker Alert is easy to set up. Simply create a search query based on your company name or brand name and enter your email address and you’ll receive emails with mention of that search query across the web. It’s that simple to keep track of what is being said about your brand. Respond to negative experiences, thank compliments, and connect with your audience!

 

Small Business Spotlight – Chrissy Marquardt of WebSpyred Media

SBS Artwork

Each month in the Small Business Spotlight podcast I will be publishing a new interview with a small business entrepreneur who will share their personal journey. Learning from real life experiences of other entrepreneurs has been such an encouragement within my own business journey and I hope that these inspiring stories will help you as you grow you business!

Instagram_profilechrissy

This month’s Small Business Spotlight is with Chrissy Marquardt from WebSpyred Media. Chrissy creates beautiful websites to establish a professional presence for her clients online. Chrissy uses the WordPress platform to create her websites, which gives her clients a great base as they continue to grow their websites.

Listen to (or download) the audio only interview here:

Subscribe via iTunes

Subscribe via Stitcher

 

Or watch the video interview here:

 

In this episode of Small Business Spotlight, you’ll hear more from Chrissy about:

Why having a website is so important, even if you are popular on social media.

How Chrissy began working toward her goals toward entrepreneurship during her childhood in Jamaica.
How Chrissy handles time management challenges with her business, children, and family.

Mentioned In This Episode

EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches

Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job & Your Dream Job

Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income

Money Saving Mom’s Time Management E-Book

Marie Forleo 

You Can Find Chrissy At

Thank you for listening to this month’s Small Business Spotlight!
Be sure to join us again next month for our next interview with another inspiring small business owner!

Note: Some links above are affiliate links for items mentioned during our podcast.

Reader Tip: Save Time On-The-Go With Keyboard Shortcuts

otg keyboard shortcuts

Last week I mentioned some ways to save time on your computer with keyboard shortcuts. Lauree from Dancing Dish and Decor shared a great tip of how to save time on-the-go while promoting your business. Simply set up auto correct keyboard shortcuts on your iPhone, iPad, or other mobile device related to your business!

Lauree’s Favorite Shortcuts

eddd = Email Address

num = Phone Number

wddd = Website Address

I can definitely think of a several possibilities for applying this to my business and I’m sure you can too! Thanks so much for sharing this great time-saving tip with us Lauree!

Look for Keyboard Shortcuts to Save Your Time

 keyboard shortcuts
Are you constantly switching back and forth between your keyboard and mouse? Do you spend time searching for options you use all the time that are stuck deep within the program’s menus? Learning keyboard shortcuts for your favorite tools can speed up your work flow and save you frustration within your daily processes.
Here’s where to find keyboard shortcuts for some of my favorite tools:
I suggest picking one of these tools that you use regularly and memorizing 2-5 keyboard shortcuts. Try using those for a week and see the difference it makes in your work flow.

Using IFTTT: Track Your Accomplishments

Using IFTTT Track Accomplishments

Tracking your accomplishments may not seem like a productivity task, but keeping track of your accomplishments not only gives you a proven track record, it can also help motivate you to further productivity. I like to automate as much as possible and thankfully IFTTT gives several options for automatically recording accomplishments. Here are three recipes you can use:

Text to Evernote

Sometimes, the best I can do is a quick text to note something down. Texting my accomplishment to my IFTTT number with the hashtag #yay will add this to my running list in Evernote.

To Do List Completion

Do you depend on a to do list like I do? Use it to your advantage by capturing the tasks you complete via RSS feed and adding them to your accomplishment list.

Calendar Notes

Sometimes everything you accomplish is just making it through a busy scheduled day. IFTTT can take your calendar and add each starting event to your accomplishment list. Look at your day and you’ll see how much you’ve been able to accomplish through your schedule.

Need help setting up your automation system? I’d love to assist!

Don’t Forget to Follow Up on Your Meeting with IFTTT

Whether you are meeting with customers or your team, it’s essential that you follow up with your meeting items in a timely manner. In the fast paced world of entrepreneurship it’s not always easy to remember to follow up on meetings. I prefer to have my reminders automatically generated so that it’s not floating around in my brain. Thankfully, IFTTT is a great tool that does just that for me!

This process utilizes Google Calendar and Remember the Milk, my preferred calendar and task reminder services, however you can customize this process depending on the services you prefer.

Sign in to your IFTTT account.

Click Create New Recipe.

Choose Google Calendar to Email.

Connect to Your Google Calendar account.

Create a search using the word “meeting”.

Add your private Remember the Milk email address. This is found under “settings” and “info”.

Include the following email subject to have Remember the Milk add a task for follow up in one day:

Follow up on meeting – {{Title}} ^tomorrow 

Click create recipe.

Need help setting up reminders within your business? I’d love to help!