Back to School Lessons for Your Business - Part 3

Take Placement Tests

At the beginning of every school year, students from kindergarten through college spend the first few weeks of school getting adjusted and finding the right classes. Key in that process is the placement test. Teachers evaluate their pupils for reading, math level, and overall socialization. These tests not only ensure that students end up in a class that's paced properly and is challenging enough, they also provide an important benchmark to measure progress over the ensuing year.

Businesses could do well by taking the same approach. Figuring out where you are now not only lets you appreciate how far you've come, it also helps identify areas where you may be lagging behind your aspirations. Here are few of the metrics you can look at to evaluate your businessHere are few of the metrics you can look at to evaluate your business
:

1. Web statistics. If you own an online business, web stats are the backbone of your checkup. How many people visit your site, how long they stay, what pages they visit, and whether they return will all help you figure out what you need to do to keep them around longer. Other things to explore: How they arrived at your site, and how you show up in search engine results for your keywords. Google Analytics or your cpanel statistics are great places to start.
2. Revenue. I'll assume you're in business to make money. So how much are you making? Where is your money coming from? What products and services are most popular? This information will help you make more informed decisions going forward.
3. Expenses. Money coming in is only half the equation: How much money is going out? Where is it going, and why? Are there easy places to eliminate expenses? Remember, cutting your expenses is an even more effective way to put more money in your pocket than increasing your revenue.
4. Hours worked. Exactly how hard are you having to work for the money in #2? It's great to make $50,000 a year – unless you're working 100-hour weeks to create that income. Figure out where the time is going and you'll be on the track to increasing your efficiency and your per-hour wage.
5. Customer satisfaction. It's more cost effective to sell to a repeat customer than to bring new customers into your business, so how happy are those who purchase from you? Check out your return rate, and your repeat customer rate to see.
6. Employee turnover. Can't keep a virtual assistant longer than a month or two? It may be them... but if it happens over and over again, it just might be YOU. If your turnover seems excessive, dig into why your help is leaving faster than rats off a sinking ship.

Taking an honest look at where you are now is the only way to create a workable path towards a brighter tomorrow. If you see areas where you could use a little extra help or “tutoring,” work with your business coach or mentor to figure out how to bring your skills up to grade level.

Have One Last Summer Fling

The beauty of being an entrepreneur is that you are in control of your own destiny.The beauty of being an entrepreneur is that you are in control of your own destiny.
But that can make it really, really difficult to take time away from the computer or office to let your hair down, relax, and have some fun. If you're like most entrepreneurs, you travel with an iPhone in one hand and a laptop in the other, and even when you should be relaxing, you're responding to emails and checking statistics.

That level of dedication to your work is commendable, but it's also dangerous. If you never slack off, you're in danger of burning out, losing perspective, or alienating the people in your life, none of which is helpful for long-term success. The lazy, crazy days of summer are a perfect time to get in one last fling before school starts and business picks up again.

Can't get away for a week-long retreat? Never fear. Here are some ways to enjoy a mini-flingHere are some ways to enjoy a mini-fling
:

• Turn off the cell phone. The smallest move you can make with the biggest impact is simply unplugging yourself. Take mealtime off, at a minimum, particularly when you are dining with friends or family. Carving out a few periods during your day when you can relax completely will have untold benefits on your relationship, as well as your stress level.
• Do something different. With tough economic times, everyone has been touting the benefits of “staycations,” when you enjoyed all the attractions your immediate vicinity has to offer without getting on a plane or staying in a hotel. Continue in that vein by visiting a local park or museum, or trying a new restaurant you've never visited. Even venturing down a different street or checking out a new grocery store can have benefits in terms of opening your eyes and enhancing your creativity.
• Make a new friend. If most of your personal interactions take place around answering your door to the UPS man, you need to expand your social circle. Make it a goal to create a new relationship, at work or otherwise. Attend a Meet Up group in your area, join an online networking group, or just chat up an interesting looking person at the dog park. People matter, and they can be your biggest source of pleasure and refreshment.
• Cross something off your bucket list. Always wanted to jet ski? Dreamed for years of speaking French? Have a soft spot for authentic Indonesian cuisine? Pick one of your life goals (preferably one that has nothing to do with your work) and get started. Realizing that there is more to life than your computer will energize you and make your work all the more effective.

You may not be able to take off to Baja in a VW bus with a surfboard strapped to the top, but you can still enjoy these last days of summer. Life's short; enjoy it. Life's short; enjoy it.

Keep Your Locker Combination in a Safe Place

Remember back in the day when the worst thing that could happen to you was forgetting your locker combination and you'd be late for gym class? Well, the stakes might be a little higher, but the challenge is the same: How to keep your private information private.

ID theft is a very real threat. In fact, ID theft complaints are the number-one complaint to the Federal Trade CommissionID theft is a very real threat. In fact, ID theft complaints are the number-one complaint to the Federal Trade Commission
, accounting for 26 percent of all complaints and accounting for billions of dollars in loss (2007 and 2008 numbers).

While your identity can be stolen through the postal service or by swiping your wallet, by far your greatest exposure is online. And when you're an online businessperson, that risk is even higher; not only your personal information is available, but your professional information, too. Thankfully, there are a number of low- and high-tech options for keeping track of your passwords and user names.there are a number of low- and high-tech options for keeping track of your passwords and user names.
Here are my picks:

• Low-tech: You can purchase “password journals” from stationery stores, or just create your own from an inexpensive spiral notebook. On the plus side: This method is easy and inexpensive, is portable, and is perfect for technically challenged individuals. The problem is that if you don't have your notebook with you, you don't have the information – and if you lose it, you're in trouble!
• Mid-tech: Start a computer file with all your password and user names in it, like an Excel spreadsheet. You can save this on your desktop, or upload it to a file-sharing service like Dropbox or Google Docs. The upside: It's free, portable, and (if you use the file-sharing service) available online from remote computers. The drawbacks: Hackable. If someone somehow accesses your spreadsheet, they have your world at their fingertips.
• High-tech. Online password storage and management services are big business. Check out Roboform.com, KeePass.com, and LastPass.com. For just a few dollars a month ($29.95/year for Roboform, for example) these services will generate, store, and even fill in your passwords for you. Plus side: The safest method for managing passwords online. Downside: you have to pay.

Whatever you choose, any of these methods are more secure than using the default “password” or “12345” as your password for everything from your bank account to your Twitter account. Don't wait until someone breaks into your locker and steals your lunch money before you start protecting yourself.Don't wait until someone breaks into your locker and steals your lunch money before you start protecting yourself.

Set Your School-Year Goals

Want to make the varsity football squad, get an “A” in biology, or finally date the head cheerleader? Nothing is going to happen until you set a goal and work at it. And while January may be the prime season for goal and resolution setting, no time is better than right now to take stock of where you're at and figure out where you want to be a year come next June.

When setting goals for your business, go back to section 8 when you took your placement test, and figure out a good stretch goal (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, inspiring) for each of the followingWhen setting goals for your business, go back to section 8 when you took your placement test, and figure out a good stretch goal (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, inspiring) for each of the following
categories:

• Traffic. Online, everything begins with quality traffic, and just about every business could use more of it. Think about ways you can double your traffic over the course of the next academic year (nine months), by paid sources (advertising), guest blogging, podcasting, social media, and search engine optimization. Then rank those efforts according to how difficult it would be to implement, and how much of an impact it would have on your business. Then pick the top two or three ideas and get moving!
• Sales. If you're not making the sales you want, you either don't have the traffic, aren't converting, or don't have products and services for your target audience. We took care of traffic above, so let's talk about conversion and products. Take a look at what you're offering your audience. If you believe in the value of the products, then you need to convey that value to the audience in a way that resonates with them. Think about hiring a copywriter to make over your web page, or try adding a video or audio sales letter. Are your testimonials strong enough? Are you offering enough products? Again, pick one or two things you can do over the next few months and start them now.
• Lifestyle. If you're working too many hours, the number one thing you can do is to start outsourcing some of your less-critical tasks. Start with something you don't enjoy, like bookkeeping or customer service emails, and find someone to help you out. Even a few hours a week will give you a taste of the freedom to be had when you offload all your unsavory tasks! Think about how much more energetic and inspired you'll feel when everything on your to-do list is something you actually want to do.

Setting year-long goals each January is a great exercise, but there's no reason to wait another three or four months to take stock of your business. Start now, and by January, you'll be well on your way to achieving your aspirations.

Conclusion

Between the department store sales, the slight changing of the weather, and the smell of new pencils, this time of year, it's hard to escape the excitement of back-to-school. So don't fight it. It is my hope that this short report will help you leverage the energy of the season to evaluate your business and make some changes.

And if you feel like buying a new backpack or pencil box, go right ahead.