Business

The 2011 Apt Design Ebook – Creating Work/Life Balance

Creating a healthy work/life balance is something I’m very passionate about – both for myself and for other people (I’ve written about it here and here). Today hundreds of thousands of employees across the world are feeling constantly overworked and stressed about their jobs. At the same time many feel like they don’t have the time and energy to really live the life they want. And its no better for most business-owners, they are usually more stressed than their employees by the constant demands their business puts on them.

This year’s Apt Design Ebook and its accompanying blog series are for anyone feeling like their work and life are out of balance. The series will help you realize what’s important in your life and teach you how to go about reclaiming time and energy for your priorities. You’ll learn how to turn off work so you can spend time living. This is not a tirade against your work or your job – its a call to put things back in balance and stop letting work run your life.

The Ebooks

Last year Apt Design started a tradition of creating a small, well-designed ebook.Last year’s ebook was full of helpful tips and advice from around the internet and was first released just to clients.

This year’s ebook takes a different approach. First of all its available for everyone right from the get go. Here it is. Next, it is full of original content from me – tips and advice on creating a great work/life balance. Thirdly, I felt passionate enough about the ideas from the book that I am writing a series of blog posts about creating work/life balance which will be published here on my blog for the next 9 weeks.

So, go ahead and grab a copy of the ebook and then read these posts which flesh out each idea:

Lastly I am also offering this content as a presentation. I recently gave this talk to a group of fellow freelancers on a retreat in Sayulita, Mexico and would love to give the presentation to a group for you as well. Contact me to make arrangements.

03/23/11 Comments (5) business, ebook, exercise, free ebook, priorities, stress, work-life balance, working from home

Free Ebook – Business Tips and Inspiration

Last year I created a special ebook for my clients. It was named the Apt Design 2010 Client Ebook and was basically a thank you to all of them for being great clients in 2009. The little book was full of business tips and inspiration I had come across during the year and wanted to pass on. Being a designer I also spent some time making it special and pretty.

This year I’m working on something similar, although it will be public from the get-go. This year’s ebook is being written as I prepare for a presentation and will focus on Work/Life Balance. Each page of the book will have a blog post to round out it’s idea and will have accompanying wallpapers for your computer desktop.

But, back to last year’s ebook. In looking over it I thought it was probably time to send it out to everyone too. So, here you have it, the Apt Design 2010 Client Ebook, now renamed the Apt Design 2010 Ebook.

The ebook is full of tips like:

Get Into Flow
Know the Right People
Replace Yourself

with quotes from some of my favorite bloggers and entrepreneurs including:

Download and enjoy. Let me know what you think in the comments, and get ready for the Apt Design 2011 Ebook!

01/07/11 Comments (1) business, ebook, flow, free, free ebook, inspiration, leo babauta, quotes, time management, tips

2010 Client Survey Results

A few weeks ago, for the 3rd anniversary of Apt Design, I sent out a survey to all of my previous and current clients. It was an opportunity to get some honest feedback from people who had really worked with me, and look at how those responses could make my company better. Overall the 2010 Client Survey was pretty successful and I wanted to share some of my results and findings from it.

I received survey responses from about 30% of my clients (I offered them the chance to be entered into a drawing for a prize), and am trying to determine whether or not that is a good response rate.

The Numbers

Here are the averages for some of my survey questions (all scored from 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest):

How would you rate your overall experience with Apt Design? 9.5
How satisfied were you with how easy it was to contact Apt Design when you needed to? 9.15
How well did you feel Apt Design met deadlines? 9.6

Overall my highest average rating was:

How satisfied were you with customer service AFTER your job was completed? 9.7

And my lowest average rating was:

If we used Basecamp (my online Project Management System) how would your rate your experience with it? 8.3

The Words

There were lots of positive responses in fields where clients could fill in their own answers. Some of these were:

It has been great. I am impressed and have wondered how Brad keeps up on the whole thing.

Always very creative and open to suggestions.

It was casual yet professional. The way we like it.

Above par across the board.

Brad has the important ability to become calm when challenges arise.

At this point Brad has our vote and we will happily enter into business again!

[Brad] has been helpful, creative, and supportive and I was so thrilled to be able to hire him to create my website. Thanks for asking for my input.

Things to work on

Of course, there was some constructive criticism as well, and I took this to heart. After comparing answers from multiple clients I created a list of things to work on and change to better help my clients.

Be even easier to contact, especially by phone. (My voicemail directed people to email me, and that has been changed)
Give lots of warning about when I’ll be unavailable / out of town
Make each client feel like a priority

Things I learned

Overall the survey was a great learning process. A few of the things I learned:

Word of mouth = best advertising
Really gained loyalty through eating costs of mistakes, even if they were made by the client
Tell clients about my other services, they may be really interested

The most confusing part of the entire survey was this: that while most people indicated this blog helps them decide whether or not Apt Design is an expert in the design field, not many clients read the blog more than “rarely.” Something for me to wonder about…

What interested you most about these survey results? If you’ve done something similar, what kind of responses did you get?

10/25/10 Comments (4) business, clients, feedback, results, survey

Burn Your Company

Is it time to burn your company? No, I’m not talking about setting fire to your building like in Office Space, and this post has nothing to do with getting insurance money for some fast cash.

photo by Al_HikesAZ's

I’m talking about a controlled burn.

Controlled burns are used in forestry as a method to “reduce fuel buildup and decrease the likelihood of serious hotter fires.” Maybe its time to do a controlled burn with your company, to clear out the underbrush that’s getting in the way of your growth.

Burn Your Old Files

The longer you are at any job the more you accumulate a pile of junk. Old files stack up, in-boxes overflow, receipts and scraps of paper litter your drawers. Take a few hours, or even a whole day, to go through your entire office and trash what you no longer need. If you’ve put those files onto your computer do you really need to keep the storage devices they came on? Do you have piles of old computer equipment that can’t even be used any longer hanging out, cluttering your workspace. Clear it out!

Burn Your Old Systems

Old systems can clog a smooth running business engine faster than just about anything. There are certainly advantages to sticking with a system you know, but new business tools are being created constantly that can help you be more streamlined, mobile and efficient. Try and view your systems from a mindset of a new employee. Are there things you could be doing faster or better? Take a broad look at how your business progresses through work and see if you can simplify and speed up your systems using new tools and technology.

Burn Your Old Mindset

Working at a job for awhile can also get your mind in a rut. When you first started you proabably had lots of great ideas for ways to do things better and faster. Bureaucracy or an overload of work can strip that mindset away from you pretty quickly. You need to get that mentality back. What are ways you can change your thinking to have a more positive state of mind towards your job? What are some good ideas you had at first that have been sitting on the back burner? How can you motivate your employees or coworkers to make your company better for yourselves and your customers?
If you keep meaning to do something like this and never can find the time, schedule it out in the future. Pick a date on your calendar and make it “Burn Day.” Then don’t let anything else get scheduled for that day. Shut everything down until you let this fire do its work. Clear out the junk that keeps getting in your way and see new growth appear in its place.

12/11/09 Comments (0) burn, business, company, employees, ideas, small business, systems, technology

Use the 80/20 Rule to Get More Time

It seems like in this crazy modern world we have more and more time-saving devices but less and less time. While there are a myriad of factors causing this problem I want to propose one way to help – get more time by cutting back.

I first heard about the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 Rule while reading The 4-Hour Work Week, but it is an idea that has been getting a lot of attention in the past few years. Basically it states that 80% of your returns come from 20% of your efforts. The 80/20 Principle has been used on everything from setting goals to information security to relationships.

Once you start thinking about it you may realize (I certainly did) how true this principle can be across many parts of your life. What would it look like if you used this principle to cut out the 80% of your life that wasn’t productive, fulfilling, or fruitful? What if you used the 80/20 principle to take a fresh look at:

The number of RSS subscriptions you actually read and find worthwhile
The number of email newsletters you receive
The websites that you visit every day Read More »

10/23/09 Comments (1) 80/20 Rule, business, email, social networking, time

What We can Learn about Business from Basketball

Often we can get new ideas by looking at things from another angle. In this article we’re examining some aspects of outstanding basketball teams and players and applying those strategies to running a business.

Build a Great Team

Professional teams don’t just happen by coincidence. They are built over years of trading, drafting, and recruiting. Managers spend lots of time and money getting the exact person they need to complete their roster, even down to their bench players.

Choose your team carefully too. Look for people with a strong work ethic who are willing excited to learn and contribute. Even if you find a player with lots of experience, make sure their head is still in the game. Each player on your team should be interested in helping the whole team get to victory. Don’t grab the first Joe to apply for your new position, be as rigorous in finding that perfect person as an NBA manager.

Even if you are a single-person business like me, you can still build a great team. Friends and family can provide support, local business owners can be great for helping with ideas, and industry contacts can help give feedback on specific projects.

Be a team player

Its a well know phrase that “great players make everyone around them better.” Read More »

10/02/09 Comments (0) basketball, business, coach, mentor, micael jordan, owning a business, serena williams, small business, team

When You Should Not Blog

Blogs are great. They have the potential to help your business reach across the world, stand out from competition and develop a following for your brand. Writing a blog can help establish you and your business as an authority in your industry. They can help you communicate with a niche market, disseminate news quickly, and build community.

photo by Kristina B

There are considerable number of positives to business blogging. Don’t get me wrong in this article – I think most companies should have a blog. However, putting a blog on your site is not a quick fix; its not an automatic easy way guarantee that your traffic will boom and your website be a success. Blogs take time, energy, and more time. And because of this many blogs on business websites can actually hurt the business. Few things worse looking on a professional site than a blog with one post, or a blog that hasn’t been updated in months or years. So, take some time to think about if blogging is right for your business. My suggestion? Don’t start a new blog if: Read More »

09/18/09 Comments (2) authority, blogging, business, community, consistency, internet, marketing, time

Spoiled: 6 Apps that make Your Life Great

wacom-intuos-3 When I first got a Wacom tablet for working on design, I was in love. After just a few hours of getting used to using it I was working so much faster and easier. When I started Apt Design I knew I didn’t want one for my new office, I needed it. The price tag is up around $400, but the tablet helps me work almost twice as fast sometimes, so it was definitely worth it. I couldn’t work without it – I was spoiled.

Recently I’ve been spoiled again by an online application called Mint. Mint allows you to track and analyze your personal finances, and it does almost everything for you. After inputing some data about your bank accounts Mint automatically pulls in updated information about those accounts everytime you log in. Read More »

08/07/09 Comments (4) applications, awaken, basecamp, business, gmail, google, mint, pandora, quickbooks, spaces, spoiled, technology, wacom

The Importance of Being Honest

If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.

Mark Twain

Honesty solves a lot of problems by never letting them show up in the first place. And its just as important in business as it is in your personal life. Here are a few places to think about your honesty:

Be Honest with your Employees

To a large extent you need to let your employees know what’s going on with your company. Finding and keeping good employees can be difficult for any business, and if you want quality employees that will last you need to let them be invested in the company and feel like a part of the team. Nothing breaks that down faster than them knowing that there is something going on and not being able to ask you what it is.

I’m not saying you should open your accounting files and let anyone scroll through, but the more involved an employee is along the way the more important and satisfied they will feel. Ideally they can help brainstorm solutions with you and may help you solve issues.

Be Honest with your Potential Clients

With some businesses there can be a lot of smoke and mirrors before the sale. Cut that out and let them see why they should work with you – without all of the fine print. Be upfront in your sales discussions about your costs (you should be able to back up your prices anyways). Read More »

07/17/09 Comments (4) business, clients, decisions, ethics, honesty, management, owner, small business, the right thing

Backup!

backup! Last week my hard drive on my iMac crashed. Died. Done.

When I called to tell my wife the news she said, “You sound much more calm than I thought you would.” That’s because the night before the crash my automated weekly backup (via the very nice iDrive) ran and all my client files were safe and secure in the cloud of the internet.

While I had always heard the importance of backing up your computer, that day’s calmness confirmed just how vital this task is to any business. After using TechTool Pro I was able to boot the drive up for a couple hours and pull the few files that didn’t get backed up (of course, I back them up now), but all in all the crash was nowhere near the disaster it could have been. Surprisingly the closest certified Mac technician is all the way down in Ellensburg, but in just a few days the awesome guys at CCS had me back up and running. In the meantime I could keep working on my laptop and everybody stayed happy!

Two lessons from this story:

Apple no longer has the shiny halo around it that it once did for me. (the hard drive was only 1.5 years old!)
Backups are critically important. The time they take (which, with automated backups is virtually none) is never wasted.

06/24/09 Comments (4) business, mac, tips