I lost a client recently. When I asked why he was making a
change he said to me, "Your site used to be in the top three
results of all the search engines and now it's not".

Alarmed, I immediately investigated. He was right.

It was then that I realized that I had dropped the ball. I
hadn't even looked at my search engine results for a couple of
months. I hadn't been marketing my business.

How had this happened? As I reflected on what I'd been spending
my time on, I realized that recently more and more of my time
was being spend on adminstrative tasks. And I'd been spending
very little time doing the things I love most about my business;
writing, researching and marketing. Not good.

Over the past year, I've been working harder and longer. And
I'd been marketing less and less. Not to mention the fact that
the precious time that I have with my kids was being chipped
away by my "projects".

My business was running ME.

I was also still locked into the mindset that I *couldn't
afford* software and services that could really help me to run
my business more efficiently.

Here's a good example:
I spend a great deal of time answering emails from site
visitors, most of them the same types of questions. Now, I
really like to answer my emails personally, but there comes a
time when you have to decide whether or not this is really the
best use of your time.

I bit the bullet and purchased two programs: a program to set
up and administrate a Frequently Asked Questions area, and an
autoresponder program to set up an Instant Answers section which
sends immediate responses to common questions by email.

What a difference! Now, I spend alot less time answering the
same emails each day, and my site visitors get immediate answers
to their questions. Well worth the expense (which, by the way
was definitely within reach once I took the time to budget money
for it).

While I don't want to run out and start buying every program out
there that might save me time, I have broken out of the pattern
of saying, "I can't". Now I'm asking, "Can I afford not to?"

The benefits of this approach are many. I find that I have more
time with my family, less stress, and I again have the time to
do what I love the most....write, research and grow my business.

I'm resolved to keep this from happening again. Here are some
things you can do to avoid straying from your path to success:

-Keep things in perspective
Write down the reasons that you started your business in the
first place and post them somewhere where you can see them and
look at them periodically.

-Prioritize
Ask yourself, "Is this really the best use of my time?"
Recognize when you need help and make changes.

-Evaluate
Continually look at your processes and ask, "Could there be a
better way of doing this?"

-Network
Peers are a great source of advice and support. Chances are one
of them has been in your situation and will have good advice.
Join discussion lists or peer groups that share similar goals
and challenges. Research your options and make informed
decisions.

By the way, the client that I lost? He came back. When I
contacted him to let him know what I'd been doing to improve my
search engine results, he was so impressed with my
responsiveness that he placed another order with us.

I got lucky with that one, but I've learned a valuable lesson---
I can't let my business run ME.