In anticipation of our next teleclass “ACT!–Much More Than A Glorified Rolodex“, take a peek at the video below, if this sounds interesting click here to learn about our upcoming teleclass ACT – Much More Than A Glorified Rolodex :
Archive for the ‘In The Know-What's Hot In Organizing’ Category
Video: Why Did Napkin Mike Choose ACT?!
Monday, September 13th, 2010Expo Hall with A Twist
Friday, May 14th, 2010
The Expo Hall at the 2010 NAPO Conference had a new twist called the Market Place with over 20 exhibitors including A Red Bench. This was a great and even more personal way to see the products and talk with the vendors.
My booth neighbors were Sandy Jenney of Organize with Sandy and Linda Easton of Extraordinary Organizing . That’s us pictured to the right. Here is what I LOVE about conference…there are so many people doing amazing things! These women are both doing amazing things and are pioneers in their own rights. Sandy is very successful with her organizing business, Organize with Sandy blog, Chat with Sandy blog, product reviews, selling products, and more. She recently had the opportunity to interview Peter Walsh on her blog, click here to watch the interview. Sandy is a woman who is in the know and stays on top of products and trends.
Linda Easton is also doing some amazing things. Of course she runs her organizing business but she has also created her own line of workbooks, and she has started an organizing home party business. To learn more about Linda and opportunities to becoming one of her consultants click here to visit her web-site.
The take-away here is that when you look at Professional Organizers there are many different business models that are available. In both the cases I described above and what I observe from many successful Professional Organizers is that they have multiple streams of income, they are doing something unique, and they have a passion for what they are doing. Marrying what you love and what you have fun doing with what you are already good at, time and time again shows up as the secret to success. Can you add a twist to your services? Something new and different that might bring a little excitement to your business? We’d love to hear what you’re doing.
Angela
Knowing What Paper To Toss
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010The 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!
Effecient Office Supplies
Thursday, January 14th, 2010Recently 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.
Nominees Announced for 2010 Organizing Awards
Friday, October 16th, 2009
And the nominees are…
A Red Bench!
Christa and I are thrilled to be nominated for the 2010 NAPO-LA Organizing Awards! This is a huge honor and we cannot thank everyone enough for nominating us! Now we would love to have your help and support to help us becoming a finalist!!!
We are nominated under the category of Most Valuable Educational Resource. You can cast your ballot at the NAPO-LA web-site. On the right hand side of the page it says “Cast Your Vote Now!”
You will be asked to create a user name and password to vote, but at the bottom of the ballot you can check a box that says you do not wish to receive further communication from NAPO-LA. This way you will not be put on a mailing list if you do not want to.
Don’t delay, votes must be submitted by December 15th.
Again, we are so excited about being nominated!!! Thanks so much for your support! Christa and I have been working diligently to continue to bring high quality speakers, experts, and information to Professional Organizers and small businesses. We have a lot of great things in store for 2010. We can’t wait to share them with you soon.
Christa a Golden Circle Member
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Christa is proud to announce she is now a member of Golden Circle, a prestigious designation by NAPO denoting an elevated level of experience within the professional organizing industry. Golden Circle members possess at least five years of proven professional organizing work activity, and share vast cumulative experience, working on projects that strengthen the organizing profession and playing key roles in the leadership of NAPO and its network of chapters worldwide.
Thank you, NAPO!
The New FreedomFiler Is Now Available
Friday, September 25th, 2009We love the FreedomFiler and have used this product for years. And one of the best things about the FreedomFiler is the owner Seth Odam who is willing to listen to any suggestions or recommendations we have as professional organizers. 
Seth has been working on a new and improved FreedomFiler that is better than ever. Here are some of the changes.
- Improved Colors
- More Write-In Labels
- More Pre-Printed Label Choices
- New EVEN/ODD YEAR Labels
- New Tax Labels
- New Archive Labels
- New Permanent Labels
- New Remove/Replace Labels
- New Resource Labels
- New Active/Supplies Labels
- Section Headers (Premium Set Only)
- All-In-One Instruction Booklet
- Four Key Questions Are Back!
- Updated Package Cover
- Premium Set With Extra 1/5 And 1/3 Size Labels
- Better Pricing Means More Value
If you’re not currently using the FreedomFiler with your clients, we recommend you check it out. We both have used the product for years and find it really works to manage paper piles. Happy filing!
Christa Wagner Leading Workshop at POC Conference
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009The Professional Organizers of Canada Conference this year is taking place on November 6 – 8. Needless to say, attending Conference is very important because you meet so many people as well as learn vital business information and the latest in the world of professional organizing.
This year is extra exciting as I am hosting a workshop at Conference: “From Organizer to Infopreneur – Using Information Products to Boost Profitability.” Taking place on November 7 at 10:30am, this workshop focuses on the importance of information products and how you can use them to increase business. Here’s the workshop’s description:
“Many businesses have already discovered the benefits of information products. There is an eager group of buyers out there and you can tap into them by knowing what you’re passionate about and knowing what has the most potential in terms of quantity of sales and dollar amount per sale. Using information products, you leverage every opportunity and start increasing and protecting your income stream. A Red Bench’s business model is built on using information products as a revenue stream. Using our 6-Step Infopreneur Process, you will leave with the process to go from mind to marketplace and start earning passive income.”
Register now to attend my workshop at the POC conference. You can also view the program for Conference here (PDF) – my workshop is listed on page 8.
Increase Your Social Media Results
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009Are you using social media, but not really sure why and not seeing much benefit? Keep in mind the process can take time and turning friends and followers into clients does not happen over night. But there are a few ways to speed up your results.
Since we offer training to professional organizers, and other service based professionals, we had to get some answers on this new phenomenon that is changing the way small businesses market their business. We had an Embrace Social Media, a TeleSummit a few months ago and it was a huge success and I learned so much on each of the eight expert calls
. How to use LinkedIn to find and make new connection and how to use social media and still manage to get all your other work done.
Our Embrace Social Media, a TeleSummit Audios and Transcripts will be available soon, so stay tuned or email us at info@aredbench.com to be the first to hear of their release. But in the meantime, here are a few of my own takeaways from the event.
- 90% Is Showing Up: One of our experts, Dan McComb on the topic of the The Social Media Phenomenon, said show up and be consistent. If your going to start a blog or post on Twitter then do it consistently. You can decide what that means for you, but show up and be present with your social media usage. By doing so you will more quickly become a trustworthy expert people come to rely on.
- Enjoy It: Like everything else, you don’t have to to anything you don’t want to. Expert Nancy Marmolejo, whose topic was How to Turn Followers Into Fans (and Fans Into Leads!) With Social Networking said be sure you’re enjoying social media or people will not find you genuine. Social media is very transparent and people can see right through you, so be genuine and either like what you’re doing or leave it.
It’s up to you if you want to participate, but there is a lot of opportunity out there and the world has certainly become a lot smaller with so many friends waiting for more information.
We will launch the Embrace Social Media, a TeleSummit Audios and Transcripts one at a time or you can get all eight very soon! More details coming soon!
Using Social Media Effectively
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009We are hearing a lot about social media these days. It’s a topic that certainly can stir some emotion. Some people have jumped in with both feet and others are avoiding it like the plague. We have been using social media for a little while now and I have to say I am finding the blog and Facebook enjoyable and worthwhile, but I still have so much to learn.
Since we offer training to professional organizers, and other service based professionals, we had to get some answers on this new phenomenon that is changing the way small businesses market their business. We had an Embrace Social Media, a TeleSummit a few months ago and it was a huge success and I learned so much on each of the eight expert calls. How to use Twitter effectively and not lose your mind, how to create content around keywords and the do’s and don’t of a blog.
Our Embrace Social Media, a TeleSummit Audios and Transcripts will be available soon, so stay tuned or email us at info@aredbench.com to be the first to hear of their release. But in the meantime, here are a few of my own takeaways from the event.
- Engage People and Be Interesting: My best status updates are the ones where I pose a question and get lots of answers from my friends. This has been the beginning stage of several information products I have in the works. By asking interesting questions you get people to engage and participate with you.
- Listen: Don’t just talk all the time, listen to what’s going on, make comments and contribute. A great thing to do is send people Happy Birthday wishes to let them know you are thinking of them.
It’s up to you if you want to participate, but there is a lot of opportunity out there and the world has certainly become a lot smaller with so many friends waiting for more information.
We will launch the Embrace Social Media, a TeleSummit Audios and Transcripts one at a time or you can get all eight very soon! More details coming soon!