goals, oncarrotWe’ve reached the end of the 1st quarter of 2015, and it’s time for a checkup.  How did you do?   Did you nail your 1st quarter goals?   I’ll bet those 12 weeks seem to have just flown by, and it will be the same for the next 12 weeks.  I need to ask you this; do you have a plan for the second quarter?

Having periodic check-ins with ourselves is really critical to our success as real estate investors.  No one wants to look back at the end of 12 months and have the realization that the past year was spent letting life “happen to them”.

 Remember this – “There is only one person in charge of your destiny – YOU” 

 

The 1st Quarter is History

If you take a look at the first 3 months of the year and you are anything less than completely satisfied with your progress; if you didn't really nail your 1st quarter goals then now is the time to make some changes.

One of the ways to best ways to accomplish more in our businesses is to get out of our own way. More often than not, we are the problem simply because we try to do everything ourselves.  All of us need to find a way to outsource some of the work.  Real estate investors and entrepreneurs in general are almost always guilty of waiting too long to outsource.

The other thing is that most of us fail to full utilize all of the tools that are available many of which are completely free.

Let’s Talk About Tools

Sometimes folks put off hiring because they have no idea how to do that or how to manage the process.  There are some free tools that will definitely make the outsourcing process easier.  Here are some of my favorites.

Asana – My VA actually told me about this free service, and I have been using it for a couple of years now.   Asana allows you to manage multiple workers and it’s easy to set up your free account.   You can post the job that you want someone to do in Asana and actually put a due date on the project. That person will get reminders as the due date approaches.  And- you will get a notice if they miss a deadline. This service works great whether your virtual assistants are here in the US or in other countries.

Copy and Dropbox – I use both of these services to share files with my VA’s.  I use Copy which is a free online file storage place to share files with other colleagues as well as my VA’s from time to time.  I use Dropbox more often when I am uploading larger files for my VA like a video or a podcast he will be working on.  I first send him an email in Asana with the details of the job.  He knows that the actual file will be in Dropbox in our shared folder.

Odesk – I’ve had great luck finding folks for certain tasks on this site.  It has been my experience that the key to finding a good person to work with is not choosing the cheapest person.  Spend a little more and get someone that is good.  Pay close attention to the skills they have listed, but always do a Skype interview before hiring them.  You want to be sure they actually have the skills you need.  You can also give these folks a try by giving them a small job or part of a larger task to see how they perform.

Skype – Skype is great for communicating with folks on your team. Whether you need daily, weekly or occasional meetings Skype is great for this.

Fiverr – I have found some awesome folks that I work with over and over again on Fiverr.  Have I gotten some duds? Absolutely! But surprisingly not too many.  The great thing is you’re only out 5 bucks.

99 Designs – If you need some really professional graphics, 99 Designs is a great place to look for talent.  They do excellent work, but they will cost you a little more. This is a case where you get what you pay for.

Carrot Websites – Now you may be thinking, “Why is that in this list”?  The reason is that getting leads automatically through your website is one less thing you have to do.   If you take the time to get your website set up and working for you, this is one piece of lead generation that you don’t have to do.  The folks at Carrot can also do all or part or all of the work for you too if you are short on time. (Outsourcing!)

 

Implementation on Steroids

If you want to really learn how to stay on track, get more done and actually nail the “implementation piece” of the puzzle you need to pick up a copy of the book “The 12 Week Year” by Brian Moran. In fact you should do that today. Get the book and put those ideas in place in the 2nd quarter.  If you follow the steps in the book, I can promise that you will see a huge difference in your business when we reach the half-way mark in 2015.  (That’s just 12 weeks from now).

I wrote a review about another one of my favorite books for 2014 called “The One Thing” by Gary Keller a while back.   There is a quote in the book that I love that says –

“What is the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will become easier or unnecessary”?

Maybe that one thing is to get the book and follow the 12 Week Year plan for the next quarter of this year.   What do you think?

 

If you haven't subscribed to the blog, be sure to do that today so you don’t miss any of the business building tips I have coming your way. I want this year to be your best year ever!  And if you enjoyed this article, please share it.

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