Easier is HarderIs your business as easy to operate as it could be? Is everything as efficient as it can be? I can tell that you're thinking, "What got you started on this one?" Horse manure. Horse manure? Horse manure! Since we live in the mountains, the turnout area for our horses is not level by any stretch of the imagination: it is roughly the shape of an amphitheater with the barn at the lowest point. I was, uh, "picking up" after the horses, which involves walking around with a "manure fork" (which looks like a pitch fork), scooping up the piles, and dumping them into a plastic barrel that I pull around in a little two-wheeled caddy. As you can imagine, the barrel begins to get pretty heavy after a while, and pulling it up the slopes becomes a chore. But… it would be much easier if I cleared the highest points first and then worked my way down. That way, I haul an empty barrel up the hill and, as it gets heavier, gravity will help me out as I work my way down. It's a perfect solution that takes no extra time. Pretty obvious, huh? Whenever we feed the horses they get pretty riled up and anxious to eat, and start pawing and banging while we measure out the proper amounts. But… if we prepare the food in advance we can feed them as soon as we get there. Then we prepare the next meal while they are eating that one. It's a perfect solution that takes no extra time. Pretty obvious, huh? The copies come out of our copier face up. That means that if we copy a 10-page document, we have to manually rearrange the copies because page 10 is on top instead of page 1. But… if we copy the pages in the reverse order, they come out just the way we want them to. It's a perfect solution that takes no extra time. Pretty obvious, huh? The fact is that all of these solutions are pretty obvious; AFTER WE'VE COME UP WITH THEM, THAT IS! Solving problems is a tricky business because it's just too darned easy to accept things the way they are. For years, I just accepted the fact that it was a pain in the neck to make a multi-page copy on our copier. It never occurred to me that this was an inconvenience that was "fixable". As I recall, I literally slapped myself on the forehead and said "Duh!" when I realized that there was a better way. The first step in solving a problem, then, is realizing that you have one to solve. What little annoyances to you put up with every day? Little annoyances are distracting and can actually lead to big problems because they take your mind away from your goals. Anything you can do to make your life easier is probably worth doing. Are you sure that these things are just that: annoyances? Maybe they are really little problems that can be solved with a little thought and creativity. Wouldn't it be nice to eliminate some of them so you can focus on what's really important? Making things easier is hard work. But it's worth it. About the author: "Make More Money and Have More Fun" with your small business! Dave will show you how with his FREE newsletter, "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe" sent by e-mail. Visit http://www.TheStayAtHomeCEO.com to sign-up, for information on speaking services, or for copies of past articles and newsletters. Comments and/or questions are always welcome at 1-800-366-2347 or Dave@DaveBalch.com.Read similar articles: How To Fail... Faster Then a Speeding Bullet!An Introduction to Viral Marketing Ideas to Create Own Work At Home Online Business Product Experience the Strange and Twisted World of Internet Cafes Build and Maintain Websites For Profit How to be Successful Working at Home Sell More of Everything Help Your Visitors Remember You with Buddy Icons Web Design Contract 10 Blazing Ways To Sky-Rocket Your Profits wagi Prawo jazdy warsaw clubs milf next door rolki
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