------- Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine ------- Vol 2, Issue 10 I've been working seriously on growing my business now for almost a year and a half -- and business *has* been growing. To take it to the next step, though, I will soon have to consider hiring an employee or at least developing a network of subcontractors. The question is, in what areas do I need the help? I need to start breaking down my daily activities to know where I'm spending my time. To help out in this effort, I've started using a new tool called CreativeProOffice -- the subject of my article this issue. ---------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue... ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: Tracking My Busy-ness 2. Blog Posts 3. Shameless Self-Promotion 4. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: Tracking My Busy-ness ---------------------------------------------------------------- I met recently with Steve Owsinski of Igadea (http://igadea.com/), a Web applications business located in downtown Ann Arbor. Steve's company is where I would like mine to be in a few years. His advice to me was to start tracking the time I spend on my business. Only in that way would I know where I would need help in the future. About the same time I saw Steve, I received a tip from another friend, Barry Marshall of Micor Design (http://www.micordesign.com/) about a tool he uses to track his business -- CreativeProOffice (http://creativeprooffice.com/). I've been using CPO for a couple of weeks now and I've got to say that, for a free service (yes, I said "free"), this is a mighty nice system. First of all, the system allows you to track your clients, projects for those clients, and tasks within each project (including milestone goals). It has all of the facilities you would expect for such an effort -- the people involved, contact information, deadlines, etc. It even has a file upload facility -- nice to keep track of the relevant paperwork for the project in question. Of course, the fact that this is a Web application means that as long as I have Internet access, I can keep track of my business. Beyond all of that, the makers of the software, Upstart Productions have added the facility to track expenses, issue and track invoices, and even maintain a timesheet showing in what areas you've been spending your time. It's this last feature that I've been using extensively lately. I've set up my own company, Cyber Data Solutions, LLC, in the client list. I've created a series of projects under that -- Marketing, Newsletter, Blogging, etc. Under some of these, I've broken it down even further. For example, under Newsletter, I have tasks for writing and for the eventual redesign. In the sidebar, the system has a timer. Whenever I start working on a project, I first start the timer. As I complete work, I log that time to a particular project and task. In this way, by the end of the week, I've got a pretty good idea of where I've been spending my time -- both those tasks I do for my clients and those that I need to do to keep my company running. Of course, no system is perfect. One limitation I've already discovered is that it won't just read my mind to determine which tasks I'm focusing on at the moment. This means that I have to remember to log my time myself. Kidding aside, though, it has most of the features you would need to track a small business and most of the drawbacks are related to my desire to customize the system a little more (add my own logo, categories of progress, etc). Still, for the price (did I mention it was free?), it certainly can go a long way toward helping you keep your business organized. If you are using a different system to organize your business/life or if you've already started using CPO, drop me a line to let me know the details. You can reach me at gpeters@cyberdatasolutionsllc.com. Take care until next time! Copyright 2008, Greg Peters ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Blog Posts ---------------------------------------------------------------- Links to posts on the "Clearing Up the Confusion" Blog from the last year: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 -- My Good Name http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-good-name.html "I had something happen tonight which just irritates the heck out of me. I was checking my email and found some bounced messages. A whole lot of them...." Thursday, March 06, 2008 -- The Little Rewards http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2008/03/little-rewards.html "As I've worked in my business over the years (and especially since I went full-time in my business), I've spent some time observing my behavior. This isn't only because I'm self-absorbed, but rather that I hope to find ways to make myself more efficient and effective at running my business...." ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Shameless Self-Promotion ---------------------------------------------------------------- The "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-Zine is a production of Greg Peters, owner, chief cook, and bottlewasher of Cyber Data Solutions. CDS has been helping website designers develop better web presence for their clients for more than a decade. Visit us on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your webmaster. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: You can subscribe to the "Clearing Up The Confusion" E-zine at: http://www.cyberdatasolns.com/ezine Questions: If you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding the Clearing Up the Confusion E-zine, please email Greg Peters at: gpeters@cyberdatasolns.com This content may be forwarded in full, with copyright and contact information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Greg Peters is required, with notification to the original author. We never send the "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-zine uninvited, and we NEVER share, sell or rent our mailing list to anyone. Your privacy is safe with us.