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May 2 2013
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How to Choose the Right Business Model for Your Start-up

 FedEx

business model

photo credit: guilhembertholet via photopin cc

Lots of people talk about business models these days, but what does it really mean? When it comes to starting or planning for business success your model is essentially your decision about how you intend to add value – which is another way of saying – how you intend to make money.

Business is a pretty simple thing really, but I think people planning to start one or even those engaged in running one can over think it.

Every business does basically four things:

  • Make stuff – This might mean an actual product, but it also includes making a determination about what markets to enter and how to innovate.
  • Market stuff – Whatever the business is meant to do it can’t survive long unless people know about, understand it and are motivated to buy from it.
  • Deliver stuff – This is where the real value exchange happens. No matter if this is a product or a result, the business must exchange what has been promised.
  • Count stuff – This is what most would call finance, but to me it also includes measuring and analyzing all manner of data, both tangible and intangible.

The basic business models to consider:

Product/service – A business can make and sell its own products and services. This is probably the most common approach. Evernote makes a great software product and distributes it through a free to upgrade approach. A marketing consultant sells a consulting engagement for a monthly retainer fee.

Products and services can be packaged and distributed through a multitude of channels and delivered in physical form, digital form and as one time purchases or ongoing subscriptions.

Reseller – Resellers don’t necessarily make or even warehouse what they sell. They find products or represent brands and generally make profit based on the difference between the price they sell a product for and the price they must pay to acquire or sell the product.

Affiliate marketers fall into this category as do what are commonly referred to as value added resellers (VARs). Microsoft partners, for example, sell and install Microsoft products and add services, such as customization and training, to enhance the basic product.

Many straight up eCommerce companies, such as JustBats.com, fall into this category as do many eBay and Amazon sellers. Most retail establishments also fit this model.

Broker – The broker essentially brings buyer and seller together and takes a transaction fee. They may also provided services that make a transaction happen more smoothly, such as the case of a real estate agent.

This category has exploded with the growth of online platforms that make bringing buyers and sellers together from anywhere in the world much easier. In many cases this business model includes the creation of a marketplace, handling transactions and ensuring security. Clarity.fm is a great example of the new breed of broker as they bring experts and those seeking advice together.

PayPal is another example of brokering services between a buyer and seller. In this case, it’s the actual exchange of money.

Aggregator – An aggregator builds a community and then charges for access to the community. In many ways publications and news sites fit this model as they build a subscriber base and then charge advertisers a fee to gain access, by way of a positioned ad, to their community.

Comparison shopping sites, like Shopzilla, and daily deal sites, like Woot are prime examples of how the Internet has grown this category.

So, how does an entrepreneur decide what business model to adopt?

If you have an idea for a business then you should consider the following elements to help determine your best approach

  • Market Potential – It’s probably a good idea to determine how big the market could be for your idea. There’s nothing wrong with going into a very narrow niche, but you might build a different business than if there is a greater potential.
  • Competitive Landscape – You must understand who else is already doing what you want to do and get a real feel for what their value proposition is. Having competitors who forge and prove demand for your idea is not a bad thing.
  • Ideal Customer – In startup mode this may be a hypothesis, but you need to narrowly define the characteristics and qualities of the customer you intend to serve. From here you can begin to get a better view of the size of the market and how to best access it.
  • Value Proposition – There’s one question you must be able answer in a compelling way – why you? Every entrepreneur falls in love with their concept, but it you can’t very simply explain why a market is going to choose your idea over another you’re destined to wobble around trying to grow.
  • Distribution Channels – There are many, many ways to get your product, service or idea to market. Direct sales force, distributors, eCommerce site, retail store, sales reps, and marketplaces like Newegg. In some cases you might even choose a combination of several. This is a crucial decision as profit and expenses can very greatly depending upon the model that fits.
  • Revenue Streams – Your business should have a core way to make money. But, a strong business model should also consider additional ways to add value and make money. This can be through the sale of related products – Map My Fitness sells a premium upgrade for their core app but also creates a marketplace for 3rd party addons such as heart rate monitors and bike computers. It can also come from the convergence of several assets – a consultant creates blog traffic and notoriety for their point of view and adds advertising, speaking and books as revenue streams while enhancing their core consulting business.
  • Strategic Relationships – Many business models hinge on developing partnerships with companies that have products or services that are central to the model – a software company may need relationships with key software makers in order to build a business. This might also include key competencies – an electrical contractor may find that they must find technicians or partners with low voltage expertise in order to service the growing demand for data and entertainment related installations.

So, the process for determining a business model is really an exercise in understanding the classic models and determining the best fit for your idea through a process of elimination.

3 Books for startups – each of these books come at this idea from different angles and make great reading for startups and season owners alike.

 

Filed Under: Duct Tape Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Vision Tagged With: ,
Apr 12 2013
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Why We Need Each Other

Yesterday my friend Chris Brogan asked if he could write a guest post about what he’s learned growing his own business. I had already planned today’s post but was struck by the harmony of these two. If anything about this post resonates I invite you to read them both.

This past week I was treated to the exceptional gift of contrast.

Those that experience harsh winters are always more joyful about the spring than those that mostly live in warm climates around the year.

Without contrast it’s easy to grow complacent, or worse unsympathetic, while buried in a nice comfy groove.

flood

photo credit: CR Artist via photopin cc

On Monday I spoke to hundreds of amped up social media types at a conference in San Diego, right down on the yachted waterfront. The bright and shiny twenty something crowd enthusiastically hung on most every word uttered as gospel by semi-quasi famous speaker after speaker.

The event was inspiring, I had a great time, but in some ways it possessed an energy that verged on naïvety.

You see, social media is still the new kid, although it’s showing teen tendencies. The new kid is confident, verging on cocky, but the new kid is definitely in fashion.

Less than twenty-four hours later I found myself in front of about a hundred small business owners of the main street variety in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The contrast could not have been sharper. Social media exists in Cedar Rapids, but a lot like a fence post or a handy shovel. It’s a tool, but you don’t exactly gush about it around the dinner table.

No, this group still gets a great deal from the local newspaper and the print shop. This group networks in person and relies on each other for referrals.

It’s worth noting that Cedar Rapids was also home of one of the worst natural disasters in the past century. Surprised? I mean you heard about Katrina and Sandy, but Cedar Rapids?

In the summer of 2008 the entire Upper Mississippi River Basin flooded and inundated ten square miles of Cedar Rapids, including the entire downtown of this community of about 100,000.

You didn’t hear much about this event. You also didn’t hear much about how they recovered. Neighbors helped neighbors, businesses adopted businesses, they said grace and they mucked out.

It’s kind of a Midwestern thing, just roll up your sleeves and get back to doin. It’s also kind of a true small business thing.

So here’s the point I’m trying to make.

We all need each other.

We need social media’s enthusiastic curiosity and rush to embrace all things seemingly new. And, we need sturdy things that we can lean on when we’re unsure.

We need to help each other learn and grow and fall down and get up again.

We need doubt in order to experience faith.

We need despair in order to experience hope.

We need old in order to appreciate young.

And we need winter if we are to revel in spring.

We need hugs and handshakes as much as tweets and follows.

We need to feel and smell tangible if we are to summon the senses.

We need to attend

We need to craft

We need to muck

And mostly we each need each other in order to find some sort of rational center in it all.

Filed Under: Duct Tape Marketing, Social Media, Vision Tagged With: , , ,
Apr 4 2013
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5 Lessons from a Failed Business

Thursday is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is Vitra Singh – Enjoy!

I started a small business. And I failed. Not exactly the ideal outcome for an aspiring entrepreneur.

Looking back, there are things I should have done differently. Here are 5 pitfalls to avoid, based on my own experiences:

1. Avoid jumping in too quickly: I came up with my business idea while in grad school for my MBA. The inspirational case studies of individuals who took their companies from zero to millions motivated me – and that’s a great thing. I was so enthusiastic about the idea and eager to serve a demographic I could closely relate to, so I invested my savings into the idea without much structure or detailed knowledge of the industry. Before putting many eggs in one basket, be sure to actually know about the industry inside and out (back, front, and sideways too.) Start by asking yourself these questions: Is there room in the market for one more business and if so, does the market want specifically what you are offering? Is there competition and how are they doing it? How do reach your target audience?

2. Avoid proceeding without a business plan. A business plans provides the structure and data you need to present your idea and strategies to potential investors, employees, and of course, yourself. Because I used my own, I did not see the need to create a plan, but I was completely wrong. Taking the time to write down your mission, competitive analysis of the marketplace, marketing plans, budgets, forecast revenue, etc really is worth your while. On those days you feel you are not getting enough done, or are lacking in motivation, looking to your business plan to show you have the solid foundation of how to proceed will be key. Sure, you will tweak and change things – that’s a part of business, but having it all in one document will be a positive step in your success.

3. Avoid feeling shy about being “salesy.” I was excited about my business idea and having the courage to get it up and running. However, I was always shy and scared when it came to selling – selling myself, selling my business, selling my products. I didn’t even know how to approach the idea of selling—those subtle, but genuine tactics and strategies that show you are truly passionate about your product. So I just didn’t do it at all. Looking back, I attribute my lack of skill here as the #1 reason for the failure of my business. Now I know better! I have seen people with not-so-original business ideas go very far because they knew how to put themselves out there, get the word out about their product, and really become a force to reckon with. Talk to your sales friends, read tips online, practice on your mom – this should be a priority. Your business will likely not succeed if no one knows about it.

4. Avoid Ignorance, which is just another way to say Ask The Right Questions! For example, if you are in the process of having a website built and do not know the difference between HTML and Flash –that’s okay the first time around. However, the next time you interview a potential web developer, you better be sure to ask how deep their knowledge of both is and be able to ask follow-up questions once they give you an answer.Almost daily in building up a business, you will hear or come across ideas that you know nothing about. It is your job to research and learn what these things mean and how they affect you and your business. Asking vendors and contractors the right questions is crucial. Much of the time, “experts” of a field can tell in the matter of seconds if you know what you are talking about. If it appears you do not, you may be charged more or be mislead. Avoid being that person.

5. Avoid doing something just to make money, without feeling passion for it. I’m speaking generally here because sure, people can have a phenomenal idea that will make them loads of money and not have a passion for it. But those cases are probably rare. When times are challenging and you want to give up, the one thing that gets you though all your doubts is passion – in your product or service and how you think it will be useful to your ideal client. I interviewed many entrepreneurs in my book, who share why working towards a passion is important for the overall happiness of their lives.

vitra imageVitra Singh is the author of Living Life For Yourself, Not Your Job, a book featuring the personal stories of a group of professionals who left their jobs to find or pursue their career passion. Vitra studied Journalism at New York University, earned an MBA, started up an e-commerce business, and in following her passion for interviewing others, wrote her first book to inspire people to love what they do for a living. She lives in San Francisco and continues to pursue her love of travel and writing. Twitter: @VitraSin Website: LaDolceVitra.com

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With:
Mar 22 2013
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The 3 Keys to Success

Enjoy this guest post from Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Joe Costantino.

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photo credit: seeveeaar via photopin cc

What separates the good from the great in any endeavor?

What allows one athlete to compete at a consistently high level for many years, while another, who may appear on the surface to possess great talent isn’t able to achieve even close to the same level of success?

Why do some kids go on to achieve very high levels of success in academics, sports and careers, while others never quite get there?

Why are some coaches, consultants and professional service providers able to operate their businesses at a very high level, making a very good living and living the life they imagined when they went into their own businesses, while others languish, never quite ‘figuring it out’?

I don’t think that success in any endeavor can be explained ONLY by intelligence, hard work, luck or ‘good’ genes. Obviously some or all of these factors do help, but there is something else that separates the top 5% of the people from the rest.

I have coached youth athletics for many years, trained hundreds of coaches, consultants, sales professionals and professional service providers in how to grow and improve their businesses and I have identified what I believe are the three most common (or maybe not so common) traits in the most successful:

  1. Commitment
  2. Action
  3. Persistence

But, I truly believe that the best of the best not only use this approach, but they understand that implementing all three of these behaviors together and in this exact sequence is required to bring them success. Let me repeat this thought. The most successful people I have ever met, whether it is a kid trying to learn how to play the game of baseball, a mother trying to raise fully functional children or a business owner trying to operate a successful business, all these folks seem to understand, whether it is consciously or unconsciously, that in order to achieve greatness, they need to follow the sequence of COMMITMENT, ACTION and PERSISTENCE in order to achieve remarkable results.

Once you understand these are the three things that will lead you to success, then you need to develop a laser-beam focus to outlining what your vision is and what you are trying to achieve (commitment); then developing the proper success factors to get you there (action) and finally developing the ‘fire in the belly’ attitude to keep at it until success is realized. (persistence)

In my next post, I will go into greater detail defining commitment, action and persistence and more importantly the ‘how’ to develop the proper mindset and habits to achieving greater success.

Remember, you have the power to change your business and your life with commitment, action and persistence.

Think differently to achieve amazing results.

28.thumbnailJoe Costantino is the founder of Business Marketing Success, Inc. and is President and Managing Partner of Duct Tape Marketing Coaching, LLC. Joe Costantino help coaches, consultants, and independent business professionals turn their professional expertise into money, magnificence and meaning. He does this by packaging their expertise, properly positioning them in the marketplace and utilizing the best tools to attract more qualified leads and turning those leads into paying clients.

Filed Under: Coaching and Consulting, Referral Marketing, Small Business, Success Tagged With:
Mar 18 2013
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Why You Need a People Bucket List

In all likelihood you’re familiar with the term “bucket list” made extremely popular from the 2007 Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson film by the same name.

people bucket list

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I hear this concept, making a list of all the things you want to do before you die, tossed around in entrepreneurial circles frequently and it occurred to me that there’s another kind of bucket list that actually might be more important in business.

To me, every entrepreneur should first and foremost get to work on their “people bucket list.” This is simply a list of all the people they want to meet before they retire. (Whatever retirement looks like.)

I think there are some incredibly powerful and practical reasons for creating and keeping such a list. Sure, you can have famous people on the list that you would love to meet in person, but perhaps more importantly this list could consist of mentors, influencers and people with skills and experience that you need to acquire in order to succeed.

Targeting and building relationships with people that have accomplished some or all of your vision for business is a smart strategy for growth. Not simply so you can check names off your list, but so you can gain from knowing what they know, following their path and ultimately tapping them as a resource in some manner at some time.

Obviously I’m not talking about stalking, I’m talking about giving to build bridges.

Early in my business I read The E-Myth by Michael Gerber and determined I would meet him and learn from him. I licensed his E-Myth Program and worked with him on numerous occasions. He greatly influenced the direction of my work and even contributed a lovely foreword to my first book Duct Tape Marketing.

If I could go back in time I would add Peter Drucker to my list, but in the last few years I’ve met and worked with Tom Peters, Kevin Kelly, Scott Cook, Anne Lamott, Martha Beck, Doc Searls, Andrew Mason, Phil Libin, Jason Fried, John Mackey, Harvey Mackay, Dan Sullivan, Arianna Huffington, Ray Kurzwell and Seth Godin – all people high on my list for various reasons.

Currently, I would love an introduction to Herb Kelleher if anyone can make that happen!

My people bucket list is always evolving and there will always be names both famous and obscure, but I believe that stretching to build relationships with members of this list is a key to my own business and personal growth.

Want to know a powerful way to connect with people on your list? Start and build a podcast. That’s right, my podcast, or more specifically, my offer to interview and promote people on my list has opened doors and launched relationships like no other approach.

Business leaders and authors have a very hard time turning down interview requests, particularly in and around the launch of a new book or project. Now, keep in mind that no matter whom you put on your list you should start first by trying to determine how you might add value to their world and then move on to why you want to meet them.

So, who’s on your people bucket list?

Filed Under: Referral Marketing, Vision Tagged With:
Mar 14 2013
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The 7 Pearls of Selling Wisdom

Thursday is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is Jeff Kline – Enjoy!

HonestyThe concept of “selling” is different these days.  And that’s because customers are different.

Today’s customers are more educated and informed than ever. Much of this is a result of the Internet, which expedites word of mouth and provides consumers with easy access to thousands of product reviews. For this reason, old school “Slippery Sam” sales techniques are no longer effective. Customers today see right through gimmicky sales tactics, preferring instead to buy from individuals and companies they trust.

Emerging ideas about selling – what I like to call “Selling Wisdom” – focus on building trusting customer relationships. Selling Wisdom abandons coercion and embraces integrity. It’s about understanding your customers’ needs, tailoring high-quality solutions, and providing honest, educational information about your product.

Most importantly, Selling Wisdom dictates that you always treat your customers with the highest level of respect.

THE 7 PEARLS OF “SELLING WISDOM”

1) Infuse sales into your company’s DNA.
Don’t think of Sales as a single department or tactic. Instead, establish a totally sales-driven organization in which everyone sells. Every individual in your company should be expected to participate in selling – whether it’s the way the receptionist answers the phone or the message the marketing team communicates in a brochure.

Oprah2) Get to know your customers, Oprah style.
Conduct your initial meetings with customers with the same level of interest Oprah uses when she interviews her guests. Listen twice as much as you speak, and wait two seconds before responding to a comment – this will allow your customers to finish their thoughts.
Use a predefined qualification form to determine your customers’ needs.  And make sure you understand your customer’s decision-making process. Don’t be reluctant to ask the hard questions:
• Could you explain how your decision making process will unfold?
• When do you plan to make your final decision?
• Do you have an established budget?

3) Educate your customers.
Customers are most likely to trust the company that provides them with educational content about their products and services. Your company’s blog, ebooks, whitepapers, product demonstration videos and free trials are all effective tools for informing your customers and drawing them closer to a sale.

If you’re interested in learning more, I write frequently about content and its role in sales on my blog.

4) Apply the “De Niro effect” to presentations.
When Robert De Niro is playing a role in a film, the way he delivers his lines is so authentic and natural that it’s impossible to detect that he is following a script.
At Accrinet, we always use the same scripted presentation, but we apply what we call the “De Niro effect.” This means we encourage our sales people to inject their own passion and personality into to their delivery. The presentation never feels scripted, allowing us to use the same presentation over and over again.

5) Create a sense of urgency.
Today’s customers are experts in comparison-shopping and might spend weeks looking for a better deal. For that reason, it’s important to instill a legitimate sense of urgency on a proposed transaction. For example, you might say:
• “We have limited availability of the product that you are interested in and I want to make sure that it is available when you are ready.”
• “In order to complete your project by your proposed date, we would need to receive the proposal within the next five business days.”
Remember to be truthful.

6) Give to Get
Never make a concession without asking for a fair trade in return. If a customer asks for an early delivery, let them know it can be done only if they have the approved paperwork to you by the end of the week.

7) Don’t force the close.
Closing the sale should be as natural as the setting of the sun. There is no need for clever closing tactics or manipulative antics. If you’ve won your customer’s trust, you’ve earned the sale.

Selling Wisdom = Success
What makes these pearls of Selling Wisdom effective is that, no matter what, you are always treating your customers with the highest level of respect. Gain a full understanding of their needs, be honest about your products, and make fair negotiations. Treat your customers like kings.

And remember this: You are not doing your customers a favor; they are doing you a favor by allowing you to serve them.

Jeff KlineJeff Kline started his sales career with the Fortune 100 Company Burroughs Corporation, where he was quickly promoted to branch and regional sales manager. A serial entrepreneur, Jeff founded his first company Adcom Corporation in 1986, overseeing the sales of office technology for ten years. Jeff has since owned three other companies, all in the technology field. His most recent endeavors are Accrisoft and Accrinet Corporations. Jeff writes weekly about internet marketing at blog.accrinet.com.  @Jeff_A_Kline

Filed Under: Referral Marketing, Selling, Small Business Tagged With:
Feb 25 2013
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Your Stuff Is Probably Good Enough

Small business owners and entrepreneurs create new stuff everyday. And the feeling that a business, product or service is their “baby” leads to constant fussing over making it good enough, better or perhaps the best.

photo credit: atibens via photopin cc

photo credit: atibens via photopin cc

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for putting really good stuff out there, but at some point making it better becomes a game of diminishing returns or even a crutch for the real need – creating a remarkable customer experience.

If you really want to create a better product, service or company create a better experience and wrap it around what you actually sell.

I know a lot of people talk about customer experience these days, but I’m not simply talking about better customer service processes and response times.

I’m talking about the stuff most people never see, you probably don’t even know occurs, but your customers and prospect surely feel, even if they never say it.

I’m talking about the hidden processes or lack of processes that erode a great experience over time and keep you from building the kind of momentum that comes from something close to perfect.

I spent some time recently with a brilliant marketer named Dean Graziosi as he explained a recent process he undertook to expose the gaps that might exist in his organization’s customer experience.

His business does hundreds of millions of dollars a year in training and support services in the real estate industry. His customers are raving fans for his products, he uses his own products and advice to close thousands of personal real estate purchases each year so he knows is product is great.

He told me that he recently hired someone to “secret” shop all of his products, processes, policies and training. He had them sign up for information, attend workshops, buy products, return products, complain, question, inquire and enroll in all manner of training.

His number one goal throughout the research was to judge how his undercover customer “felt” throughout the process. He wanted to know what they were thinking, what seemed odd, what slowed them down, what made them doubt their purchase, what kept them from succeeding and what felt awesome.

By focusing on understanding the conversations his customers were having with themselves throughout he could go to work on creating the most positive narrative possible. Before he could do that however, he had to get inside the real story.

The distinction to measure how every interaction made a customer feel is key here. So, often we want to create what’s fast and efficient or what seems obvious to us, when the real money is in creating something that feels good and right and caring in the mind and heart of the customer.

While Graziosi runs an incredible company, with a complete customer focus, he readily admits that this process uncovered dozens of seemingly little things that, when viewed through the eyes of a newbie customer, became obvious places for improvement in how his customers feel about their experience.

It is very easy to get caught in the trap of creating a certain response or process that works for us, but sends an unintentional wrong signal to a customer. Simple things like email copy that is robotic or lack of communication while a customer waits for an order often work against us in ways we no longer even consider.

Take this idea seriously as it could unlock simple innovations that deliver far greater return than any improvement or tweak in what you sell could even offer.

Hire someone or, better yet, multiple someones, to go through everything you do as a business with an eye on how they feel throughout the process.. Require them to sign up for free stuff, get your newsletter, buy your products, engage your people, experience your service, follow-up and every form of communication. Give them each a journal and ask them to record how they feel about every email, conversation or interaction.

Then, map out every process, every touch point, every way in which someone comes into contact with your organization as a baseline and start taking it apart based on the feedback your shoppers give you.

Include every email, ad, form, response and timing as part of the map. Don’t forget seemingly unmarketing type contacts in things like shopping cart navigation, payment processing, returns and delivery.

So, where are the gaps? Where could you build trust, represent the brand and ease tension and remorse in ways that you are not. This process should reveal both ways that you are currently screwing up royally and opportunities to create some very elegant and profitable innovations.

Make this project a priority and watch your business magically experience a significant bump in business and referrals.

Filed Under: Referral Marketing, Vision Tagged With:
Feb 5 2013
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How and Why I Use Workflowy to Keep Organized

I’ll admit it; I’ve looked high and low for just the right tool to keep me organized, on task and up to date on all my to-do lists and projects.

There are seemingly hundreds of tools and systems that have been created to address this obvious challenge and I’ve tried at least a dozen of them. You’ve got some great ones like GTD, Evernote and Basecamp. I’ve heard from readers about Remember the Milk, Wunderlist and Asana. And, of course, sometimes the good old analog pen and notebook does the trick.

I’ve tried any number of digital tools and found that nothing quite stuck. I would use them for a while and then return to my notebook. I never quite understood why I couldn’t get used to using systems and tools evangelized by many until I can across a tool called Workflowy.

workflowy

The stark outline interface is the beauty of Workflowy

 

I have to admit that I encountered it almost a year ago, but dismissed it because it seemed so different and too simple.

As it turns out that’s the magic of Workflowy. It’s so simple that you get to design how to use it based on how you think and work and that’s what makes it so powerful. So many other tools I had used required me to think a different way, spend time entering data or adopt new habits to get them to work.

You want a tool like to get out of the way and not turn into another thing you have to operate.

Workflowy is at its core a giant notepad with a few simple features for navigation, hierarchy, search and sharing and nothing else. In fact, the challenge some people have, including me originally, is that it doesn’t seem to do much of anything.

But, it’s the clear and uncluttered work environment that allows you to design how you organize, think and work in the way that fits your style and not the tool designer’s idea of how to work.

Why Workflowy

Workflowy allows me to keep a present picture of all of my projects and tasks and manage this picture with a couple keystrokes. Frankly, I can keep a picture of anything I want in my view – goals, centering thoughts, meeting notes – it’s just a big giant outline of my life. I’ve even added a section for personal and home-related projects.

The tool is web based, but iPhone and iPad apps allow you to sync, add and edit across devices.

In addition, you can share any element with other Workflowy uses so you can use the tool as a team or even just make one item available to client for collaboration.

How Workflowy

To me, and of course this could differ from person to person, the key is the structure of the outline. While you can change this anytime you like, getting it right was one of the keys getting more out of it.

I started globally with Work and Personal as my two primary catch all bins.

The work is then structured by the kinds of work I do. For me it’s speaking, writing and projects. Nested under these items are the notes for each speaking event, blog post ideas, outline and notes for my next book and all the various projects that need my attention such as product creation and promotion.

I don’t know about you but my work and personal lives intersect quite often and having a view of personal home projects, exercise, vision, goals and even vacation planning intertwined with my work view is a powerful thing.

As your list grows you can expand and collapse views as well as search for any word or phrase. You can also create hashtags that make list making very simple. For example, I use the tag #soon after any task I want to be on the immediate radar. That way I can click on a #soon tag and get what amounts to my daily to-do list. What I love about the outline structure is that my to-do list now is made up from and related to my ongoing worldview and not just from what’s barking loudest or on deadline.

Every staff meeting runs from Workflowy and every phone call with a client or meeting planner runs there as well. You can also create checklists and common outlines and duplicate them as needed.

It took no time at all to get Workflowy into my routine, partly because there are only about a dozens commands and functions and mostly because I could adapt it to the way I already thought about organizing my life.

I do still use Google Calendar for appointments, but Workflowy stays up and ready throughout the day and into the night as my planning, organizing and doing tool.

There is a free version of Workflowy that will work for most users. You can upgrade to pro for $49 a year if you really want to use the team and sharing functions with lots of people.

Filed Under: Social Media, Vision Tagged With: , ,