March 5th, 2010 by Christa
The Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA), a division of the National Retail Federation (NRF), yesterday unveiled the results of a survey on the habits of social media users, at NRF’s Retail Innovation Marketing Conference in San Francisco. Comparing social media users to the average U.S. adult, RAMA’s survey, “Social Media: An Inside Look at the People Who Use It,” examined differences in demographics for each group, including male and female usage, as well as age differences in social media users vs. other adults.
Highlights of the survey include the following:
- Seven out of 10 social media users between the ages of 18 and 34 regularly use Facebook more than such other sites as MySpace, Twitter and Classmates
- 71.8 percent of social media users said that after an online search, they tell others about a product or service through face-to-face communication
- More people who use social media prefer to give advice about a product or service rather than receive it
- Social media users are more likely to use other new media, compared with average adults age 18 and older
- 70.6 percent of female social media users regularly use Facebook, vs. 61.0 percent of males
- More men than women like to communicate with others via cell phone conversation after searching for a product or service online
Click here to review the full report. This is interesting stuff, social media is changing the way we market ourselves. For more information on how you can use social media in your business, check out our Social Media Teleclasses. These classes, which feature will answer your most common social media questions for both new and seasoned users. We had a Facebook expert, a Twitter expert, a LinkedIn expert and an expert to talk about time management and social media. We wanted the goods, no fluffy stuff; if you are a social media beginner or Tweeting several times of day, you want to learn how to maximize your social media results through questions, examples, case studies and tools, you can start using immediately. No one needs one more thing to do; but everyone wants and needs new clients. By listening to our social media audio recordings you will finally understand how this marketing phenomenon can expand your clientele to a place you have not imagined.
Tags: Professional Organizer Business, Professional Organizer Courses, Red Bench Program, social media
Posted in Marketing, social media | No Comments »
February 8th, 2010 by Christa
Very excited that our March 1 continuing education call will be called Managing Client Expectations. Stay tuned to register for this amazing call withexpert organizer Mindy Godding, of My Space Matters.
Tags: Professional Organizer Business, Professional Organizer Courses, Professional Organizing Training
Posted in Continuing Education, Teleclasses | No Comments »
February 4th, 2010 by Christa
Paper from bills driving you crazy? What’s most important is to keep paper organizing simple and to be consistent. Here is a simple tip to manage all the paper. Get an accordion file labeled January thru December. Pay your bills and place the bill only (not the envelope or advertising) in the month paid. You are all set come tax time. At the end of the year, if you don’t need it for taxes, toss it!
To set up a paper filing system in your home or office, we recommend FreedomFiler. Its the best paper organizing system we’ve found and we’ve used it with hundreds of clients.
For more help Conquering Paper Clutter, attend our next teleclass on February 17th. As a follow-up to our January call called Helping Clients Manage The Paper Crisis (available to download on our website,) we want to have a more specific class on paper that tends to cover the desktop, the dining table and kitchen counter. We call this action paper and there are so many different ways to help your clients deal with their action paper. Join us on our continuing education call, where we will we will take you through a step by step process to create action files that will Conquer Your Clients Paper Clutter forever.
Tags: Professional Organizer Business, Professional Organizer Education, Professional Organizing Training, Red Bench Program
Posted in Continuing Education, Grow Your Business, Organizing Skills, Teleclasses | No Comments »
February 2nd, 2010 by Christa
Something new I am using in my office is a motivational bulletin board. I do have annual goals and keep them with me at all times, but I’ve been feeling like I need more. I needed something to call out to me and that I can see every day. So I installed a bulletin board and magnetic wipe board in my home office. I placed it next to some of my favorite photos of John and I and I look at it every day. 
The bulletin board has photos, inspirational quotes and things I treasure. Some are things people have given more and others are clippings from magazines or something I found interesting.
I use the magnetic wipe board to write the week’s top priorities and then create my daily To Do list from there. So far so good - I crossed everything off my list last week. I know its a challenge to stay on top of the never ending To Do list, but perhaps you can install something similar in your home or office.
Tags: Professional Organizer Business, Professional Organizer Courses, Professional Organizing Classes, Professional Organizing Training
Posted in Goals, Grow Your Business | No Comments »
January 27th, 2010 by Christa
The only way to keep paper under control is to let go of anything that is not needed or you will not use. If you’re not sure if you’ll use it, think about your habits and if you’ve used something in the past. Like coupons for example, if you have never used a coupon then why are you keeping the ValPak each week? Every situation is different, so confirm with your accountant regarding your vital or tax papers, but here is a general list of paper you can let go of:
- Toss ATM, bank deposit slips and receipts for everyday and minor purchases after you’ve checked them against your bank statement.
- Product solicitations for things you aren’t ready to buy.
- Old magazines, books, and articles you haven’t referred to in the last twelve months.
- Old research materials and literature.
- Duplicates of documents.
- Previous drafts of letters and proposals.
- Information you already know.
- Business stationery you no longer use. (Keep one or two sheets in a history file and toss the rest.)
- Early drafts of creative writing (unless you really do refer back to them).
- Newspapers. If they are more than a week old, they are ancient history.
- Junk mail.
- Expired coupons.
- Coupons you won’t use.
- Outdated schedules or planners.
- Old greeting cards (unless they contain a very special message, select your absolute favorites).
- Invitations to past events.
- Expired warranties and service contracts.
- Instructions for items you no longer own.
- Expired insurance policies.
- Investment and banking brochures that are available online.
- Business cards from people whose names you don’t recognize.
- Old tourist brochures from past vacations.
- Road maps you haven’t referred to in ten years.
- Solicitations from charities you don’t intend to give to.
- Recipes you haven’t tried in three years.
- College notebooks and textbooks. (If you can’t part with them all, keep a box of your best papers and reports and let the rest go.)
* A Red Bench is not responsible to lost, misplaced or discarded information.
Want some additional help managing your client’s paper piles? Attend Helping Clients Manage the Paper Crisis, attend our next teleclass on January 27th. There is still time to Register!
Tags: Continuing Education of Professional Organizers, paper management, Professional Organizer Business, Professional Organizer Courses, Professional Organizing Training
Posted in Continuing Education, In The Know-What's Hot In Organizing, Teleclasses | No Comments »
January 21st, 2010 by Christa
I love paper and love my files!!! As an organizer, I am sure you to do. I am not afraid to say that out loud, but that’s because they are organized and I can find things easily.
Is This Your Desktop
Over the years, I came to recognize two commom issues with paper: it comes into our homes or offices in droves, and we have no idea what to do with it once it arrives. Where do you put it? How long do you keep it? I get these questions daily. And what about the computer, wasn’t that supposed to help with paper clutter? Not really – the computer age has increased paper use by 60% over the last ten years.
We will be tackling many of these common questions on our next teleclass on January 27, 2010, called Helping Clients Manage the Paper Crisis. But from now until then, I want to pose a challenge for you and your clients. Ask them to SORT and TOSS one small pile each night between now and January 27th. The problem with paper is we don’t know where to start and so we never do. Start small. Look at the counter, the dining room table or your desktop. SORT and TOSS one small pile from one location each night and you will be blown away at how much you can get done.
If you want to learn more about how to Helping Clients Manage the Paper Crisis, attend our next teleclass on January 27th. Register now!
Posted in Continuing Education, Teleclasses | No Comments »
January 18th, 2010 by Christa
Many of your clients are drowning in paper and let’s face it: the paperless office is a myth. Paper continues to be an enormous challenge and it’s our job to help clients understand where all this paper comes from and how to control paper flow in their homes and offices.
A great tool for organizing client paper is theFreedomFiler. We have been using the FreedomFiler for years and love this fabulous product. Many of you have seen FreedomFiler at the NAPO Conference, but I am always surprised at how many organizers still have not checked it out.
Here are some of the benefits:
- Tax papers are available when needed, year after year.
- Never have to clean and re-organize your files again; eliminate the need to set up new folders and re-label files each year.
- Learn to evaluate your paper and assign a home based on how it’s used.
- Know when to toss paper; no more fear of letting go.
- Keep a centralized place for family and property records.
- Color-coding allows for simple retrieval.
For more paper organizing solutions, attend our next teleclasss on January 27, 2010, called Helping Clients Manage the Paper Crisis.
Tags: FreedomFiler, Professional Organizer Business, Professional Organizer Courses, Professional Organizer Education, Professional Organizing Training
Posted in Continuing Education, Organizing Skills, Teleclasses | No Comments »
January 14th, 2010 by Christa
Recently I was hired by a local production company to use and critique a common office tool; a printer. It was the HP Office Jet 8500 Wireless Printer and I have to say that love this printer. I will be sad to let it go.
While my official testimonial will not air until late February, I didn’t want to wait to tell you about this awesome product. It’s can all-in-one printer with printing, faxing, copying and scanning capabilities. It saves space and time being able to print from anywhere in your home or office. Here’s who could benefit from the printer:
- Any small business owner who is short on space.
- Any small business owner who wants to be efficient with their time avoiding trips to the copy store or spending extra money on a fax service.
- Any small business owner with multiple users. You can print from anywhere in the office without a server.
- Families with multiple users. Think about when your kids want to print and you are in the middle of something.
- Families with limited space.
We are always looking for ways to make life simpler for our clients. I highly recommend this office tool. Check it out on HP’s website.
Tags: A Red Bench, Organizing Products, Professional Organizer Courses, Professional Organizer Education, Red Bench
Posted in In The Know-What's Hot In Organizing | 1 Comment »
January 13th, 2010 by Angela
As Organizers we use lots of Post-it Notes and labels with clients so I wanted to share this sweet little deal I came across.
Click here to get a $10 rebate offer from 3M / Post-it ® if you purchase $20 in 3M Permanent Labels and/or Post-it ® Removable Label products. It does not appear that the rebate is valid on the popular Post-it ® Notes, but on the labels which include the new Post-it® Removable Labels that you may have seen in recent advertisements. Click here to see a list of available products.
This is a great time to stock up on some of your favorite products or try out some new ones. You may also be able to get additional savings by purchasing your items at Office Max with your NAPO discount card. If you are a NAPO member look up Office Max under the Industry Exchange section of the NAPO web-site for details.
Enjoy your savings!
Tags: A Red Bench, Angela Ploetz, Christa Wagner, Organizing Products, organizing tools, Red Bench, Save on organizing products, Savings
Posted in Sales | 2 Comments »
January 12th, 2010 by Christa
As a Certified Professional Organizer®, you are required to earn 45 organizing-related continuing education hours over a 3-year period. As we are approaching the first re-certification for the inaugural exam, we are getting an overwhelming request for continuing education courses. Therefore, we are tweaking our programming to include Continuing Education in 2010.
These calls are designed to not only help you run your business and make you a better professional organizer, but also to help you teach and transfer the skills to your clients. Here is our current schedule:
- Helping Your Clients Manage The Paper Crisis
- Reduce Time Spent On Email
Keep in mind in order to receive Continuing Education Credits (CEU’s) you must attend “live” interactive events and A certificate of attendance will be provided to attendees as well as an audio recording of the live call. Depending on your scope of work, the calls may apply towards your continuing education.
Register at http://www.aredbench.com/calendar.php
Tags: A Red Bench, Angela Ploetz, Christa Wagner, Continuing Education of Professional Organizers, Professional Organizing Classes
Posted in Continuing Education, Organizing Skills, Teleclasses | No Comments »
