Word Constructions

It is now June and the end of financial year is rapidly approaching - are you ready for it?

Here are some of the things I am considering at the moment to maximise my position at 30 June. Is there anything else you do at this time of year?

• send out all pending invoices and statements as soon as possible - not only does it increase your cash flow this month, many other businesses will appreciate being able to pay (and claim a tax deduction) this financial year
• pay off all outstanding invoices if possible - you may as well claim deductions now rather than in 13 months time! And the new tax rates may mean deductions this year will help your tax position anyway
• consider making a contribution to your super fund - this is tax deductible for the self-employed now
• if you or your business supports a charityand you haven’t made a donation yet, now is a good time to do so as it can then count as a tax deduction this financial year - I wonder how much their donations go up in June each year!
• if you are eligible for a Government Co-contribution, your personal contributions of up to $1,000 must be made to your super fund by 30 June  - and changes from the budget or an increased income next year may mean you aren’t eligible next year so get in while you can!
• consider making business purchases that will be needed soon. Not only can you claim it as a tax deduction, it may save you stress when you do actually need the item - printers notoriously run out of ink the day your proposal is due!
• get your accounts sorted and in order - the more organised they are, the quicker you (or your accountant/tax agent) can get the return completed and submitted
• collate related information, such as a travel log or noting the distances travelled, home office bills, private health insurance policy details, bank statements and PAYG statements
• if you run a service business, check the proportion of income from each client as tax rules can change if more than 80% of your income is from one source. There’s not a lot of time to adjust that, but if you’re on 81 or 82% a few quick projects may make a difference
• consider taking out health insurance if you are a higher income earner ($50,000 for a single or $100,00 for a couple/family) - the higher income brackets come into effect from 1 July 2008
• check if there are any expenses you can (and will benefit from) pay now rather than later in the year - for example, insurance premiums and interest on investment loans can be paid in advance to be claimed as a tax deduction now, and are sometimes cheaper paid as a lump sum. Obviously, this affects cash flow and other factors so is not always hte best plan, but it never hurts to research your options!

By preparing now, you may decrease your tax liability and be ready to start the new financial year with a clean slate.

Obviously, there are many reasons behind people starting up a business rather than being an employee. But a common reason, or support for another reason, is the desire for flexibility.

I have heard “I hate working 9 to 5 so I started my own business” or words to that affect a number of times. And yet those same people may well find that running a business requires more than 8 hours a day, 7 days a week to be a success.

Valerie Khoo not only discusses this issue but gives some good tips on how to plan flexibility into your businessin a blog post last month. I think her most important point is the planning - you need to know what flexibility you want (or need) and then plan the business around that.

For example, one flexibility I want is to be able to go on school excursions with my daughters, especially while they are young enough to be excited by my presence! Therefore, I do not claim to be available during all business hours and my regular clients know I sometimes work at nights or weekends instead of during traditional business hours. One client had a deadline for an article last week when I was at the zoo so we agreed he could call me at the zoo and I would talk him through any technical issues. Flexibility.

I would find it much harder to go on excursions if I had a traditional office where people were encouraged to drop in for meetings.

Sometimes a compromise will be necessary to achieve the desired flexibility. For example, to only work 3 days a week you may have to accept earning less than if you worked 5 days a week or accept having staff or outsourcing more.

If you run a business, from home or elsewhere, do you have the flexibility you expected when you started? Would you like more flexibility in your life to do things other than business?

I would suggest you plan your ideal week, business and personal combined, and see how far it is from reality then look for ways you can move closer to the ideal.

Use your time wisely!

Going on from my recent post about repeat messages in emails, where I mentioned owning up to a mistake rather than sending a corrected version as if nothing had happened, I thought I’d share this post I found with you.

Joan Pasay discusses getting a lot of emails with “Whoops!” in the subject line because people had discovered an error in the emails they had sent out. I agree with her suggestion of being upfront and ‘grown up’ in the subject line when you announce an error. As she says “I guess the lesson here is to just admit you made an error and not try to cover it up with a “Gee wilickers, I think I just might be a moron” type subject line. “”

Personally, I have never received an email with a whoops subject - have you? I’ve had emails announcing an error, but they mostly have been along the lines of “our may newsletter - with correction” which is perfectly acceptable. Although I always wonder if I should delete the original because I can’t be sure (without taking the time there and then to read the email) if the corrected version includes the entire message or just the correction.

So now am I wondering - what sorts of subjects have you seen from people who realise they made a msitake in an email already sent?

Use your words wisely!

If you send out announcements or ads to a mailing list, be careful not to overdo it. I recently received two emails only days apart from the same person for the same ad, although she tried to make it look like two ads - it didn’t impress me as I wasn’t interested in it the first time!

Using a different example, the first message she sent was “Tash is presenting a workshop on clear communications in Mulgrave”; the second message was “Learn about clear communications in our workshop”

I think it is insulting to your readers to assume they can’t tell that this is the same ad in different words - and how embarrassing would it be for someone who tried enrolling in ‘both’ seminars?

If for some reason you are going to repeat an ad to your mailing list, then be honest about it and say so. Some possible introductions are:

• Apparently some people didn’t get this message so I am sending it again
• I had to send this again as the date has changed to …
• Apologies for sending this again, but I felt it was so important I didn’t want to risk you missing out
• I’m sorry - I sent this to you yesterday but I forgot to add the link so you could book!

However, make sure it is an honest reason you give and don’t do it regularly as it looses any credibility it may have had. I have received emails from people who used the ’sorry, wrong/forgotten link’ more than once in two months and it looked very tacky and led me straight to the unsubscribe button.

If you are sending an email about somethig with a specific date, such as a workshop, then you can send a reminder closer to the date - note, it should be a reminder not just the same message again. And again, don’t send lots of reminders as that is just as annoying as repeated ads and also makes it less likely that the reader will respond to any of them.

Use your words wisely!

P.S. I am actually giving a workshop on clear communications in Mulgrave on Monday, 26th May. If you can make it, please make sure you introduce yourself to me on the day. 

Did you know that you are allowed to say no sometimes? Even to new clients or a long standing client, it is acceptable for you to say no - politely of course!

It is a little silly, but I was reminded of this through the Rat in the Hat! Melissa Khalinsky often uses children’s TV shows to point out business lessons, and in one of her blog posts, she shows how Rat is quite the entrreperuner.

Melissa wrote “Don’t overextend yourself - this is something Rat does often in his quest to meet the needs of everyone on Cuddles Ave. Unfortunately Rat doesn’t know how to say no ” and I had to nod in agreement, both for Rat in a Hat (yes, I’ve watched him, too!) and for many business owners I know.

As a small business owner, it is hard to turn down a client - there’s that little fear that maybe this was the last work request you’d get for 6 months so how can you afford to not do this project? Or maybe it is a fear that saying no will make that person hate you and bad mouth you to other potential clients?

But let’s look at it the other way:

• if you take on too much work, you will end up doing inferior work for a number of clients, thereby damaging your good reputation
• if you continue doing too much, you will burn out and really not be able to earn anything for 6 months
• if one client has found you and asked for a quote, it is likely others can also find you next week and next month
• a well managed ‘no’ will leave the client feeling positive about you even if you couldn’t do their work - they may try you again another time, or at least tell others you acted professionally
• do you really think your clients have the time and inclination to bad mouth you just because you couldn’t work for them?

I will cover the various reasons for saying no, and how to say no nicely in the next few blog posts. But for now, just take on the belief that you can say no and the world (or your business!) won’t end!

A media release is generally an announcement of something you consider newsworthy enough the media may tell your story. So when do you tell the media?

There is no simple answer, but there are some guidelines depending on what type of release you are sending out.

If your release is announcing something that has happened (e.g. “we won an award”)

• send it out ASAP

If your release is about an upcoming event (e.g. “our school fete is on the 9th May”)

• don’t send it until you know all the important facts (especially dates, times and place, or the name, address and URL of a new business)
• send it early enough for the media to use it. For example, if the local paper is printed on Tuesday don’t send the release on the Tuesday afternoon immediately before the event. Note that some media outlets have a much longer lead time than others - some magazines need things months in advance. Likewise, consider their time requirements before sending it too early - a local paper or website doesn’t need to know about a small event 3 months in advance, they’ll just forget it if you tell them too soon!
• include a release date. That is, at the top of the media release, write “Not to be released until 1 June 2008″ or similar so the media know it is advance warning

In addition, if your release is about the launch of a new website

• don’t send the release until there is something on the website! Sending the media to  ‘coming soon’ page won’t impress them and it is less likely that they will publish your story. The site doesn’t have to be complete, but have a welcome page that introduces the business/site, some contact details and has a look that complements the final look - this is much more professional and enticing. If the site is near completion, you may even send the media a link that shows them what the site will look like even if it isn’t yet available at the final URL

If your release isn’t time critical, then you can send it at any time of course! But I would question its newsworthiness if it really has no time frame attached..

The timing doesn’t have to be hard - just use a little common sense really.

Happy writing!

Since posting about international business card etiquette, I have read more about different culture’s practices. One site discusses business etiquette in Australia and I couldn’t resist seeing what they advice non-Australians. They wrote:

Business cards are often used in business dealings, but Australians don’t fuss about them. It is acceptable to hand over and receive a business card with one hand. It is good practice to put your counterpart’s business card on the table during the meeting, although some people will put it straight in their pocket.

It got me thinking - should a business card go on the table or into a pocket?

Obviously, if you are at a stand-up networking event, there is no table so cards go into a pocket (or bag or diary.) And if you receive a card in passing, a pocket is appropriate.

Personally, if I am in a meeting and receive some business cards I leave them on the table in front of me, face up. Not only is it a good reminder of people’s names and titles, I think it shows respect that I value their card enough to keep it in sight. In those same meetings, I have seen people leave cards on the table and others place cards in holders of their document folder (so they could still see the cards but were also protecting them), and that does feel better than seeing my card go into a pocket (sometimes without even a glance).

I think it may be different at a meal-based networking event, though. In that case, I often put the card straight into a pocket to protect it from food spills and being lost amongst the dishes and table paraphernalia. Sometimes, I hold the card for a while as I talk to the person sitting next to me - it makes me more familiar with the card and the person, plus I think it is respectful to listen as they talk rather than fiddling with cards and pockets/bags/card holders.

Where do you place business cards as you receive them at a table? Is this habit or have you consciously decided to do it that way?

Use your words wisely!

I have often used bad examples of writing, so I thought it was time I acknowledged receiving a good email!

A little while ago, I noticed a discrepancy between an invoice and my bank statement so I sent a polite email to the supplier. I noted the problem and the resolution I wanted. The supplier replied to me email and I was impressed by the response.

The email was:

Hello Tash,

Thank you for your email. I understand you are concerned that, {stated my issue in their words}. I see that you would like {repeated my requested resolution}. Below, I have addressed your concern in detail.

And then went onto to answer my concern.

The email is polite and clearly shows they have read my complaint and are treating it seriously and respectfully. It started with my name and was obviously written by a real person in answer to my email - not just a standard response.

In fact, I think it makes a pretty good template for how to construct a complaint response! As a customer, I felt heard and respected, and my issue was dealt with.

So next time you have to answer a customer complaint, or even a customer query, remember the steps:

1. use the person’s name
2. restate their issue to show you are listening (or reading!)
3. restate any resolutions they suggest
4. answer the issue
5. above all else, be polite and respectful

Happy writing!

Earlier this month I wrote about one aspect of business card etiquette (i.e. not just giving cards out to people at random), but there are other aspects to this etiquette.

I came across a blog post that discusses how different cultures have different expectations about how business cards should be given/received. It is interesting to note these differences and I think it is respectful to use these different ideas when dealing with international people.

However, I think many of those differences can be used routinely in Australia, too.

For instance, in Japan it is considered rude to give a card with one hand - they pass it over with both hands and presented in a way that the other person can read the card as it is given; the other person then carefully takes the card, reads it and gently places it in a pocket. Ok, giving a card in two hands and bowing may raise some eyebrows between two Aussies, but but why not show respect and read someone’s card as they hand it to you? Why not make sure your card is the right way up when you pass it to someone? And I think etiquette in any language is to place the card carefully somewhere once you have it - don’t shove it in somewhere or screw it up/fold it/whatever.

I also thought it interesting to note that a multi-lingual card (or different cards in various languages) is almost a must in some cultures. Personally, I only deal with English speaking cultures (because there’s no way I could write professionally in another language!) so an English card is sufficient, but I see the value in using another language on the reverse of my card if I was to frequently deal with people in that culture. It shows respect but also makes it easier for them to understand who I am and how I can help them.

Do you have separate cards or techniques for dealing with international business dealings?

Happy writing!

Like the heading of an ad or article, the subject of an email is important.

For one thing, if someone needs to find some information you sent them, it is much easier to sort through emails if the subject clearly identifies the email contents. I have been known to send the same person three emails in a row so that each topic is in its own email for easier sorting and answering, rather than one long email covering three topics.

If you are emailing someone new or sending out an enewsletter, your choice of subject can mean the difference between someone reading it or deleting it. Some points to consider in writing your subject are:

• avoid hype and over-used words as many people can’t be bothered with more of the same
• be honest. For example, I recently received an email via my website with the subject ‘business cooperation’. The subject interested me so I read it only to find it was purely an ad for their services. Not only is their subject dishonest, it annoyed me so much I would never use their services and added their email address to my junk mail list.
• relate it to the reader -  an that is easier when you know more about who you are emailing in the first place. As an example, “help with your marketing” has more appeal than “we offer great marketing services”
• personalise it if you have the technical ability to do so - but be warned that trying to personalise it and getting it wrong is not good. Yes, I have received emails addressed “Special message for {add name}” - the word ‘you’ would have been a better, safer option
• add an enticement or call to action - sometimes a time frame can help, such as “sale this weekend only”
• keep it as short and simple as possible - for one thing, some people’s email system doesn’t give much space for the subject so if it takes to long to get to the point, people may miss the point altogether

How often do you put much effort into your email subject? And I’m curious - do you usually write the email or the subject first?

Happy writing!