Yes, it really is August.
August is the land of 90 degrees – from both a weather and a business perspective.
On the weather front (yea, I did that) – we’ve had a tough summer, and to bask in weekends of hot beachy weather and BBQ’s has the average consumer – though still tentative spenders – enjoying the backyard, the local beach, and friends and more friends. It feels like a good time to rest, and we’re having fun with the whole less is more. August is our vacation from the agony that has been 2009. We all know the market is showing signs of life – the economists are all predicating that the bottom has been found, we wallowed in it for a month or two, and now we’re just putting our feet up, flipping the burgers, and getting ready to bring home a little (a lot!) less stress.
That said, it is relegated, for the most part, to the near perfect weekends of late. Monday through Friday, we’re planning, strategizing, and ok…taking brief moments to look out the window - wishing we could take the whole damn month off to reset ourselves, instead of the all American average week. We’ve got work to do though, and using these next couple of weeks to plan out the flow of that work is something we all need to do.
The economy may not turn 90 degrees this year, but it will head in that direction before we see the end of 09. To capitalize on that trend, set your sites and your goals to capture market share, visibility, and watch your options materialize.
Tips:
1. LinkedIn is your online portfolio – treat it as such. Post your best presentations, make sure your information is clean, neat, and accurate. Your photo should be professional, your status updates geared toward your business flow. If you have a professional blog – link it to your profile. LinkedIn is your professional foot in the door – have a few references completed, and do the same for people you regard in your industry as the best in the business.
2. Privacy settings: Is your Facebook personal? Make it Private. Are your Tweets more about the latest episode of True Blood than relative industry news/feedback/insights? Private. Attend a wee hour’s party and a friend posted photos on their blog? Yea, no one looks pretty at 4am on too many Cosmos – get those photos taken down…You are searchable people – keep your private life private. What you wouldn’t tell your Grandmother, you shouldn’t have on the web.
3. Pick a goal for each month for the rest of the year. One thing you want to accomplish each month. Tape that bad boy to your monitor – or maybe “there’s an app for that” on your phone. That goal is yours - So write it down, yes, now is a good time. Go!
4. I keep a close eye on sites like www.cnnmoney.com – and – www.theeconomist.com to stay up on my “what is going on out there” – I steer clear of T.V. – the sensationalism just kills me. The point is to stay educated, not terrified.
5. And of course – the “quote” factor…when I’m getting my (beep) handed to me, and I really am feeling that strong desire to move to VT and run a Maple Sugar Farm…I read my favorite quote: “Many men fail because they quit too soon. They lose faith when the signs are against them. They do not have the courage to hold on, to keep fighting in spite of that which seems insurmountable. If more of us would strike out and attempt the "impossible," we very soon would find the truth of that old saying that nothing is impossible...abolish fear and you can accomplish anything you wish.” - Dr. C. E. Welch (founder, Welch's Grape Juice)
Divide and conquer – educate and own – live and learn – love and laugh. Ya got one life peeps – go git it.
Sweet post David, you make a tremendous point about loving the job you do. It's amazing how much better you work and how much more creative your thinking gets when you're really engaged. Hope to read more great blogs like this!
Posted by: coach handbags | September 14, 2011 at 08:50 PM
Times and Roku is what thye ARE NOT doing by keeping old business models while inventing new ones. Sort of one hand not knowing what the other is doing. Roku rolls out new platforms but hasn't tackled the key question of selling more boxes. You need one for each TV. Why not discount multiple orders for people with more than one TV? Financial Times wants to make online access free or pay depending upon the frequency of use, but it continues to charge customers TWO fees if the customer subscribes to print AND wants an subscription online as well. Do the people in office A ever talk to the people in office B
Posted by: True Religion Outlet | September 16, 2011 at 08:35 PM
I sat there wide-eyed with my jaw on the ground not being able to tear myself away to try and get ready for work. I couldn't even fathom what was happening or why. All I knew was that a plane flew into the tower. I didn't know details.
Posted by: Ugg Outlet | October 07, 2011 at 03:24 AM
Our stormwater service fees and other water utility costs keep rising. Why? Just so many people in Durham, right? No. Not exactly. The reason Durham will have to spend $300,000 to $700,000 to comply with the Jordan Lake clean-up rule: development, all of it. And as Raleigh presses the State to come up with a similar rule for its main drinking water supply, Falls, guess who is going to be paying the most to clean-up the lake as well? Durham. It is not unreasonable to say Durham is going to have to kick-in over $1 billion dollars to fix all the waterways in county it has impaired due to its fast growth. Waterways impaired with sediment, fecal coliform from human and domestic waste, nitrogen, metals, etc. Durham is not worried about it though. Who cares if the evidence shows these pollutants increasing as they and the developers collect all the money? After all, why should they worry? They will just fix it by continuing to raise water, sewer and stormwater fees. Durham makes money, developers make money, and once again the tax payers get screwed. And I guess if you are not in on the game, you get fired too. wllv20111108
Posted by: Louis Vuitton Outlet | November 07, 2011 at 08:44 PM
Our stormwater service fees and other water utility costs keep rising. Why? Just so many people in Durham, right? No. Not exactly. The reason Durham will have to spend $300,000 to $700,000 to comply with the Jordan Lake clean-up rule: development, all of it. And as Raleigh presses the State to come up with a similar rule for its main drinking water supply, Falls, guess who is going to be paying the most to clean-up the lake as well? Durham. It is not unreasonable to say Durham is going to have to kick-in over $1 billion dollars to fix all the waterways in county it has impaired due to its fast growth. Waterways impaired with sediment, fecal coliform from human and domestic waste, nitrogen, metals, etc. Durham is not worried about it though. Who cares if the evidence shows these pollutants increasing as they and the developers collect all the money? After all, why should they worry? They will just fix it by continuing to raise water, sewer and stormwater fees. Durham makes money, developers make money, and once again the tax payers get screwed. And I guess if you are not in on the game, you get fired too.wllv20111108
Posted by: Louis Vuitton Outlet | November 07, 2011 at 08:47 PM