A Christmas Story: 4 Ways You Can Write Your Client's Story

It’s that time of year again where we reminisce about the past year. Sometimes people speak about it, others might use music, but when it comes to telling your client’s story, writing truly is the best way. Now, not all of us believe we have what it takes to write a story without overcrowding it with pictures, but I’m here to tell you that you do!

Of course I understand the pressure. When it comes time to recall your client’s big day in words, your memory becomes a jumbled mess. You forget how to describe what you’ve seen, heard, or felt.

Although there might be challenges, telling your client’s story on your business blog or social media accounts is important. Why, you ask? Well, stories have a way of capturing the beauty of the day, but they also show that you care more about your clients and see beyond the contract and paycheck. And that my friend, sends more of a message to potential clients than any other marketing campaign ever could.

So, since this is a gift-giving season, Inspherio is here to help you capture and tell your client’s story without falling flat on the details.

1. Use the Know Your Event Feature from Inspherio

The Know Your Event feature was designed to make consultations go more smoothly. But it can also be used to help you remember the small, but special, details of your client’s big day. The Know Your Event feature allows you to customize questions so that you can ask important ones such as, “How did you get engaged?”, “Please share three things that you love about each other,” etc. Their answers can jumpstart your creativity.

2. Ask Their Friends and Family

Still worried you won’t remember every detail about the big day? Well, ask for help! Ask the bride’s and groom’s friends and family to recall their favorite part of the wedding, describe how the event looked, and how they felt during it. This will be a sweet tribute to your client’s to see all of their friends tell a little something special about their big day. And it gives you an easier way to write their story.

3. Social Media to the Rescue

Social media is a great way to make your clients’ event more than just a wedding. By including personal information about your clients that you find on social media, like when they graduated college, their careers, etc. you help separate them and make their story something more than just a wedding tale.

4. Perfection is Overrated

If grammar and sentence structure are holding you back from writing a story about your clients, I’m here to tell you to move on! Although grammar is important, there is no need to fret about em dashes and placement of commas. What’s more important is that you write a story that is heartfelt, thoughtful, and speaks to your clients. Share what’s meaningful about your clients and the rest will fall into place.

While I hope you find these tips useful for telling your client’s story, I also wanted to wish you a very happy holiday! The Inspherio Crew will be out of the office celebrating the holiday with family today. However, if you need any emergency support with your account, we will be offering 24/7 email support. You can email us at support@inspherio.com. But don’t worry, we’ll be back on Monday, December 28th.

Merry Christmas!

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Four Reasons Not to Worry About Your Competition

Let’s Get Down to Business

Who is your biggest competitor? Is it another event planner or music professional that lives in your area? Or, is it a well-known restaurant that offers low-cost catering? Whatever the profession, there are always other businesses that provide similar services to yours. They are what you consider the competition. Unfortunately though, many companies worry more about staying so far ahead of the other guy that they forget to concentrate on what’s really important—their customers.

At Inspherio, we understand that other business management programs can help you plan an event or keep track of your inventory. However, in all humbleness, we are confident in the services we provide and the features we offer, which is why we don’t worry about the competition. Want to know how we do it? We aren’t afraid of the competition knowing so we’ll share our secrets with you!

Mission Over Profit

When you go shopping, the salespeople are always so eager to help you find that perfect outfit. When they are done making selections, it turns out to be the most expensive pieces of clothing they have in the store. Doesn’t that frustrate you? You feel like they don't want to help you look nice, and are only there to make a profit. Believe it or not, your customers feel the same way when you try to sell them your most expensive service. You started your business with a mission to offer your talents and to make your customer’s day a special one. It wasn’t a mission to beat your competitor. Did something change?

It’s important to remember why you started your event business and get back to it. Whether it’s providing tables and chairs, getting people dancing to music or making sure the event goes off without a hitch—forget your competition. Focus only on services that will make your client’s dreams come to life. Trust me, they’ll appreciate it.

Be the Best of the Best

Raise your hand if you’ve ever snooped on your competitor’s website to see what type of pictures they are capturing or services they’re offering. *Raises hand* We’ve all done it, and we’re not too proud of it. But we did it for a good reason, right? We wanted to stay ahead of the competition. Well, I hate to break it to you, but copying from your competition is not helping you grow your business and gain customers. You’ve already missed the customer train if you wait to see what your competitors do.

I’m speaking to a creative group of people, and I know that you have dreams and original ideas for your own business. So go with them! Your thoughts and ideas are what makes your business unique and different from the other guy’s. There’s no time to play copy-cat when you have customers wanting to use your services.

Celebrate the Good Times

It’s time to stop envying other’s accomplishments and start celebrating your own! Be confident and proud of the services you provide, as well as always celebrating your business’ gains. When you’re happy with your business, you won’t be envious of what you competitors have done.

At Inspherio, we celebrate all our accomplishments. From new members joining to helping someone plan the perfect event, we celebrate everything because we love what we do.

Just Do It

“Actions speak louder than words.” Although we say we will put an end to our faulty habits, we never actually do, do we? Well, it’s time to escape the trap of feeling another business is better than yours, and embrace your accomplishments, triumphs, and good deeds. It’s your dream; live it for yourself!

It’s time to share YOUR gifts and talents with the world. When you give the best, no one can stop you—not even your competition. And with Inspherio—the all-in-one event planning and business management program—helping you accomplish great things in your business, you’ll never have to think about the competition again.

Try a free 30-day trial, today!

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Onward and Upward: SPAN Enterprises Makes Inc. 5000's List of Fastest Growing Privately-Held Companies of 2015

Inspherio is proud to announce that SPAN Enterprises, our parent company, has made the 2015 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately-held companies in America! Out of this year's companies, SPAN ranks #1150 overall, #11 in the Charlotte Metro Area, and last but not least: #1 in its home state of South Carolina!

For those of you who haven’t heard of us, we’d like you to learn more about our growing company.

Some users have asked about our location–but we’ll never tell! Just kidding. Our home base is the SPAN Enterprises office, located in the small town of Rock Hill, South Carolina. It is here that Inspherio was born, and where we continue to thrive. We’ve stayed loyal to our roots, choosing to remain in the city that saw our birth and rapid growth into the worldwide industry leaders we are today.

Home to over 14 internationally used cloud-based applications (including Inspherio), SPAN Enterprises remains a pillar of the local community, never letting global success interfere with their commitment to the Rock Hill community.

That’s the where, but what about the when, why, and who?

Inspherio started, as all great products do, with a great idea. Having worked as a photographer in the event planning industry, Agie Sundaram, our CEO, set out to create an all-inclusive program that catered to the needs of all kinds of event professionals.

It was, to say the least, a large undertaking–but Agie knew that a comprehensive, user-friendly program was long overdue in the event industry. (Did you hear that? That was the collective sound of event professionals nodding their heads in agreement.) And in 2014, that’s just what he brought to the table with Inspherio.

As word spreads, event professionals everywhere are continually floored by Inspherio’s comprehensiveness and affordability. No longer tied to multiple applications or multiple websites, event professionals have found themselves with a lot more time to spend expanding and improving their businesses.

While we are proud of our product and of our service, we would be nothing without your support. Thank you for helping to make Inspherio the best program in the industry, and thank you for helping us grow. We strive to improve every day because, when it comes down to it, you are the only reason we exist!

When you consider the high quality of programs like Inspherio, it’s no wonder SPAN Enterprises has received recognition from Inc. 5000. SPAN continues to be a market leader in several industries across the globe, all from the small town it began in. We’re proud to be ranked in the Inc. 5000; the future certainly looks bright for Inspherio and SPAN Enterprises in sunny Rock Hill. We look forward to growing with you!

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Jan 31st Is The Deadline To Have W-2s & 1099s To Recipients

The team at Inspherio would like to remind you of the upcoming Jan 31st Deadline to have W-2s & 1099s to recipients. Our sister product, ExpressTaxFilings.com can help you quickly and easily generate and file W-2s & 1099s with the IRS.

How do you know if you should file a W-2 or 1099?
The simple answer is if you have employees and have withheld taxes, you would issue a W-2. For independent contractors who were paid $600 or more and no taxes withheld for the 2013 tax year, you would issue a Form 1099.

Want to know more about ExpressTaxFilings.com?
ExpressTaxFilings.com is the premier online filing program for 1099s and W-2s. We are IRS authorized, and our experienced unmatched U.S based support team is here to ensure you to have a stress-free filing experience.

With prices starting at just $2.99, ExpressTaxFilings offers the best e-filing solution and you can easily file for multiple recipients using our innovative bulk upload option - an easy to use feature where you can quickly upload both payer & recipient information from an Excel. doc

The benefits of using ExpressTaxFilings to file your W-2 & 1099 are:

• No expensive software to download or buy
• No paper forms to purchase
• No monthly fees
• No setup fees
• No complicated tax jargon

Questions?
Great! Their US-based support team located in Rock Hill, South Carolina is always available to help you with any problems you might have. You can reach them by phone at 803.514.5155 or by email at support@ExpressTaxFilings.com.

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5 Steps to Achieve Great Things

Les McKeown recently wrote an article for Inc magazine that outlined what he described as the "First 5 Steps to Achieving Great Things."  In his article, Les is focused on that all-important transition from Good to Great.  There has certainly been no shortage of advice on this transition, and that's because of its importance.  Anyone can become good at something simply through natural talents, but unless there is a conscious effort to become more than that, you will fall short of Greatness.  

Les' 5 Steps are as follows:
1.  Prioritize
2.  Plan Ruthlessly; Execute Relentlessly
3.  Get out of your inbox
4.  Get out of your office
5.  Review, revise, adapt, push on

Prioritize
To achieve great things, you must prioritize where your attention will be focused.  This also depends on how you will define greatness for your particular business.  Prioritization can include making Goals for the Long Term & Short Term.

Plan Ruthlessly; Execute Relentlessly
McKeown defines good planning as having a plan, working the plan, and not being trapped by the plan.  Obviously, you must work the plan in order to achieve your goals, but if you aren't adapting your performance based on your results then you are becoming trapped in a plan.  

Get out of your inbox
Not every email is worth checking the second it is received.  Recent studies indicate that smartphone users check their phone 150 times per day.  The constant notifications from your phone can bring about all sorts of distractions.  A great point that Les makes in his article is that by checking your inbox every chance you get "you're working to other people's agenda, not your own."

Get out of your office
The advice to get out of your office can be taken several different ways.  For example: your business' success in dependent on you getting out there, meeting with clients, and booking new events.  That doesn't all happen from within an office.  

Another way to take this advice is to get a change of scenery now and then.  Becoming comfortable is the enemy of innovation.  The more time you spend in one place,  the easier it is to fall into a routine complacency. 

Review, revise, adapt, push on
After a plan has been put in place, you need to review your success; revise anything that could be improved; adapt your plan to accomidate your recent findings, and push on.



Photo Credit: Squidish

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Why You Should Not Have Music on Your Website

Designing a website for your business is a lot of fun and, while we understand that it can be tempting to personalize your website with your favorite music, there are some serious reasons that you should keep your website silent.

As a general rule of thumb, unless music is a part of your business, you do not need music on your website. As a DJ or videographer, you may benefit from having music on your site so that your potential clients can get a feel for your style & taste, but it is still helpful to take note of the following:

Speed - Streaming a song as your website's background music can require a significant amount of bandwidth. This causes slower loading times, and unhappy visitors. 

Discontinuity - With most music players, the music will start and stop each time another page is clicked on or whenever the page is refreshed.  

Taste - Everyone has different tastes in music.  If your website visitor does not like your style of music, they will automatically get a negative impression of you if music is blasted at them as soon as they go to your website.  We may like to listen to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin" all day & night, but we know not everyone shares our unique enthusiasm.

Dueling Banjos - Many people browse the web while already listening to music through Spotify, iTunes, or Pandora. Even if your visitors like the music on your page, they are unlikely to enjoy 2 songs played on top of each other.

Public Spaces - There's not much more annoying than using a computer in a quiet office, coffee shop,  library, etc and all of a sudden being serenaded by the unexpected loud music from a website you are visiting.  This will result in your site being exited in seconds, especially if the visitor cannot find where to turn the music off. Offices are particularly sensitive. If a bride-to-be, for example, is browsing for a wedding vendor while at work (and maybe shouldn't be), she will not be happy if she is outed by her computer speakers.

Browser Compatibility - Different browsers behave differently, not every browser is capable of playing every type of audio file. Old or out of date browsers may have a tendency to lock up when attempting to play music. 


A Few Alternatives:

Storing Audio on Inspherio- Music can be uploaded to the Audio section of the Inspherio Resource Library.  These Audio Files can be embedded into your website by selecting the button that looks like headphones in the website rich editor.  These will not play automatically.  Your visitors can click the play button and control the audio on the site.

Using a Playlist that does not AutoPlay - If you must have a music playlist on your website, we recommend using SoundCloud.  This allows you to create a playlist & has the option to not Autoplay when the page is opened.  Each playlist can be embedded into your Inspherio website using the "Embed Media" button. 



Photo Credit: JD Hancock

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Inspherio is Moving to a New Office!

The Historic Citizen's Building from Main Street

It's official, Span Enterprises is moving to downtown Rock Hill.  After working closely with Bryan Barwick of Barwick & Associates, LLC we have made the decision to move to the Citizen's Building in Old Town Rock Hill, SC.  Our growing team will be occupying the entire 2nd floor and the mezzanine level of the Historic Citizen's Bank Building on Main Street.  

After months of searching, Span Enterprises Co-founder & CEO: Agie Sundaram met with Bryan Barwick and made the deal for Span Enterprises to move in within the next few months.  The entire 2nd Floor will serve as our Marketing, Sales, & Customer Support Center for all of our products; while the mezzanine level will be used as "Span Studios" for the recording & production of our products' help videos.

This will be the 2nd move for Span Enterprises.  We outgrew our first office in Shiland Villages in 2010.  By early 2011 we moved to our current location on the 1st floor of Shiland Villages.  After continuously outgrowing our office spaces, we are greatly looking forward to having an entire floor to ourselves.  

Built in 1925, The Citizen Building is a Historic Rock Hill landmark and we are thrilled to bring our software development company to such a unique and well maintained space.  We are planning the overall design of our new office now & will be posting our progress.  

We are proud to be a part of Rock Hill's downtown revitalization.  As a tech company, we are glad to be located in the same building as several other forward thinking organizations such as The Hive - a workforce / small business development program, and the upcoming Clemson University technology incubator.  

Our team is also excited to be so close to so many great restaurants.  Being on the same block as Jimmy Johns, McHale's, Millstone, & Erin's Restaurant is definitely an exciting change.  With such great dining options within steps of our building, our team may end up spending their days & nights in "Old Town" Rock Hill.  

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Happy St. Patrick's Day from SpanPlan

The Inspherio Team would like to wish you a

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

We hope that your business continues to prosper & that you may find your own Pot of Gold during this upcoming Event Season!

If you have any questions about how you can improve your business with Inspherio, you can contact our dedicated Customer Support Team at 704.234.6000 or send us an email at support@Inspherio.com 

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A Christmas Donation

This year, instead of a Secret Santa program or exchanging gifts, the Inspherio Team decided to take up donations for a local charity.  This made much more sense than giving each other things we don't really need, and it gave us an opportunity to reach out to our local charities. 






The local organization we decided to work with this Christmas was the Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen.  This Soup Kitchen has been faithfully serving their community for 24 years, providing daily hot meals for anyone in need.  During Thanksgiving & Christmas, their volunteers provide a large banquet and also deliver to the sick & shut-ins of the community. 

It was truly a blessing to see such goodwill in action.  After seeing this work being done here in our city, we have been inspired to do more with the Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen in the future.  Especially since these organizations need help and assistance not only at Christmas, but throughout the year as well.   



Agie & Amanda meeting with Beverly Carroll of the Soup Kitchen

If you have been working with a local charity this year, send us a picture & we will share the story!

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Micromanagement is Not Always a Dirty Word

Photo Credit: Luke Ma

The Following Article was written by David Goldsmith with Lorrie Goldsmith for FastCompany.com

To become a more effective manager, it helps to rethink what you thought you knew--for example, that micromanagement is a sin, and that employees are the most important part of your organization.

Even the best leaders can benefit from adopting a new perspective or expanding an old one. Let’s explore and challenge a few concepts that you may have accepted as conventional wisdom but that aren’t necessarily working in your favor.

Over the years, I’ve heard many decision makers say that people are the most important part of their organization. While I agree that good organizations are made up of great people doing great work and that employees play an extremely important role in the success of any organization, the idea that people are the most important part of an organization is a wrong assumption that can actually hinder the people it intends to credit. We’ve all seen firsthand how even the most talented people turn in substandard performance if they don’t have the systems and structures they need to excel in their work. Therefore, if you make this assumption and are willing to rethink it, you can more readily capture opportunities to empower your people to achieve more successes within your organization.

In order to gain the successes that come from talent and skill, your systems and structures must be in place. The systems and structures include everything from computers, tools, and equipment to the rules, regulations, laws, procedures, and policies that govern how your staff works within your organization. These systems don’t always have to be elaborate; they just have to be appropriate. For example, in 2011, Boeing relocated passengers’ flight attendant call buttons in their new 737 aircrafts away from reading-light buttons. The seemingly small change is anticipated to reduce the number of unnecessary trips that flight attendants will have to make down the aisles of planes in response to typically apologetic customers who mistakenly press their call buttons rather than their reading-light buttons.

Having the appropriate systems and structures in place is one of the most effective ways of bringing out the best talents and highest productivity of your people. Yet it’s one of the most ignored factors in organizations today. When leaders see dipping productivity levels and low morale, they often want to address personnel and personality issues, an attempted solution known as “hugging and kissing” your people. The hugging-and-kissing approach typically yields only temporary relief, if it solves anything at all. Then conditions return to the same or get worse. Instead of fixing the real challenges, these leaders have missed the mark altogether (and they’ve wasted time, money, and resources in the process). If, after the systems and structures are remedied, leaders still have issues, then leadership would be wise to address morale, but not before.

Systems really can make the difference. In fact, the presence of a supportive system is one reason why decision makers who leave major corporations don’t always succeed when they start their own businesses. Many have been so accustomed to a support system that gave them what they needed to be successful that they either flounder or must invent new systems and structures to maximize their skills once again.

Meanwhile, micromanagement has gotten a bad rap over the years, because it conjures up images of the big boss breathing down the necks of hard-working subordinates. But in reality, that’s only one side of micromanagement and is only the case when it isn’t executed properly. It’s time to rethink the opinion that all micromanagement is this in-your-face type of suffocation that smothers people and decreases their abilities to perform optimally.

In reality, micromanagement can be one of the most effective ways to increase performance. In addition, there are some environments where micromanagement through systems and structures are necessary to ensure specific outcomes and safety.

In the stereotypical, negative view, the word “micromanagement” makes us think of leaders who are so engrossed in the daily doings of their subordinates that they get in everyone’s way and don’t get their own work done. By filling their days with tasks that belong in someone else’s daily planner, these micromanagers fail to give ample time to their own responsibilities like thinking, strategizing, and moving their organizations forward. In this scenario, micromanaging efforts ultimately hurt the organization on multiple levels, not the least of which may be employees, volunteers, or other group members reacting negatively to feelings of frustration and needless pressure resulting from the constant monitoring. This means that neither the micromanaging boss nor the subordinates are performing as optimally as they could.

By contrast, when leaders have the right mental tools to be effective micromanagers, they are able to direct their organization’s people and resources in the direction of shared goals. 

Effective micromanagement through setting structure, developing strategy and plans, creating reliable systems for others, and teaching people how to be independent thinkers can actually empower others to do their jobs with little involvement from you at all. Yet truthfully, they are being micromanaged; they just don’t feel it, because you’re not in their faces.

Micromanagement isn’t always a choice. You may be entrenched in an industry or sector that requires a certain degree of micromanagement, so the question isn’t whether or not you micromanage; it is how to do it correctly. Leadership in toxic waste or medical waste-management facilities, for instance, must follow strict procedures to ensure the safety of their staffers, customers, and the general public.

For decision makers, striking the right balance between being involved and letting others work independently can be a challenge. Build an environment of systems, structures, tools, equipment, etc. to support the talents and skills of your people, and you will earn their trust, gain their cooperation, and increase their productivity levels. When micromanagement is done right, you are able to achieve the results your organization needs to grow and survive.

Here’s an example of micromanagement done right. Think about when you drive on the highway. Do you feel micromanaged? Most likely you feel pretty independent. You select your destination and the vehicle you’ll use to get there. You also determine the vehicle’s air temperature, whether you’ll listen to music, who your passengers are, and what type of car you’ll drive. But if you look closer, you are actually very micromanaged. You must drive on predetermined roads, streets, and ramps. You must maintain certain speeds. You must pass only in predesignated passing zones. In some areas, you must pay a toll for using the road. 

However, you don’t resent being micromanaged, and you don’t feel that you’re constantly running into roadblocks due to the micromanagement, because the road system enables you to reach your targeted destinations, much like systems help your staffers to reach their targeted goals.

Systems and structures also direct your organization toward innovative solutions both internally, as organizational improvements, and externally, as product and service improvements. Consider how a restaurateur might opt to “micromanage” his establishment’s reservation process by using a proven software system--one that employees manage internally or one that patrons can access externally through the Internet--to achieve reliable outcomes. Micromanaging systemically removes the crises that erupt from inefficiencies and replaces problems with opportunities. Additionally, micromanagement done right prevents waste, so your organization has more resources to dedicate to these improvements.

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All About Inspherio

It’s time to get your Event Business organized with Inspherio - the most advanced business management program for Event Industry Professionals.  Inspherio provides solutions for businesses of any size, no matter if you are a one person operation or a full crew with many employees.  No other tool allows you to manage your entire business from one place - even employees and payroll!  

The exclusive Enterprise Version of Inspherio is leaps and bounds beyond any other program on the market today!

No other program offers a Truly All-In-One Solution, allowing you to:

• Schedule Your Employees & Assign Them to Events
• No more wasting time on an antiquated scheduling process
• Give Your Employees Account Access with Individual Login Information
• All your company information in one central place
• Automate Your Payroll Process & Track Expenses Intuitively 
• Eliminate that shoe box full of receipts & tax info
• Gather All Event Info From your Clients Automatically Add it to Contracts in Real Time
• Inspherio eliminates redundancies wherever possible
• Create Contracts in the Cloud & E-Sign Them From Anywhere
• Always Be Closing, no matter where in the world you are
• Generate Comprehensive Reports at Tax Time & Throughout the Year
• “Planning Your Success” is our motto, but can also Measure Your Success

With Inspherio, you are not alone.  Our customer support team is always available to offer heroic help whenever you need it through phone, email, & chat support.  Just give us a call at 704.234.6000 or email us at support@Inspherio.com with any questions you may have.

These are just a few examples of what Inspherio can do for your business. Join Inspherio Now to checkout the above features and more!!! Get started for Free!  NO Credit Card required to check it out!

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10 Things to Stop Doing Now

Photo Credit: J E Theriot

The following article was written by Jeff Haden & originally appeared in Inc. 


Happiness--in your business life and your personal life--is often a matter of subtraction, not addition.  Consider, for example, what happens when you stop doing the following 10 things:

1. Blaming.

People make mistakes.  Employees don't meet your expectations. Vendors don't deliver on time.
So you blame them for your problems.
But you're also to blame. Maybe you didn't provide enough training. Maybe you didn't build in enough of a buffer. Maybe you asked too much, too soon.
Taking responsibility when things go wrong instead of blaming others isn't masochistic, it's empowering--because then you focus on doing things better or smarter next time.
And when you get better or smarter, you also get happier.

2. Impressing.

No one likes you for your clothes, your car, your possessions, your title, or your accomplishments. Those are all "things." People may like your things--but that doesn't mean they like you.
Sure, superficially they might seem to, but superficial is also insubstantial, and a relationship that is not based on substance is not a real relationship.
Genuine relationships make you happier, and you'll only form genuine relationships when you stop trying to impress and start trying to just be yourself.

3. Clinging.

When you're afraid or insecure, you hold on tightly to what you know, even if what you know isn't particularly good for you.
An absence of fear or insecurity isn't happiness: It's just an absence of fear or insecurity.
Holding on to what you think you need won't make you happier; letting go so you can reach for and try to earn what you want will.
Even if you don't succeed in earning what you want, the act of trying alone will make you feel better about yourself.

4. Interrupting.

Interrupting isn't just rude. When you interrupt someone, what you're really saying is, "I'm not listening to you so I can understand what you're saying; I'm listening to you so I can decide what I want to say."
Want people to like you? Listen to what they say. Focus on what they say. Ask questions to make sure you understand what they say.
They'll love you for it--and you'll love how that makes you feel.

5. Whining.

Your words have power, especially over you. Whining about your problems makes you feel worse, not better.
If something is wrong, don't waste time complaining. Put that effort into making the situation better. Unless you want to whine about it forever, eventually you'll have to do that. So why waste time? Fix it now.
Don't talk about what's wrong. Talk about how you'll make things better, even if that conversation is only with yourself.
And do the same with your friends or colleagues. Don't just be the shoulder they cry on.
Friends don't let friends whine--friends help friends make their lives better.

6. Controlling.

Yeah, you're the boss. Yeah, you're the titan of industry. Yeah, you're the small tail that wags a huge dog.
Still, the only thing you really control is you. If you find yourself trying hard to control other people, you've decided that you, your goals, your dreams, or even just your opinions are more important than theirs.
Plus, control is short term at best, because it often requires force, or fear, or authority, or some form of pressure--none of those let you feel good about yourself.
Find people who want to go where you're going. They'll work harder, have more fun, and create better business and personal relationships.
And all of you will be happier.

7. Criticizing.

Yeah, you're more educated. Yeah, you're more experienced. Yeah, you've been around more blocks and climbed more mountains and slayed more dragons.
That doesn't make you smarter, or better, or more insightful.
That just makes you you: unique, matchless, one of a kind, but in the end, just you.
Just like everyone else--including your employees.
Everyone is different: not better, not worse, just different. Appreciate the differences instead of the shortcomings and you'll see people--and yourself--in a better light.

8. Preaching.

Criticizing has a brother. His name is Preaching. They share the same father: Judging.
The higher you rise and the more you accomplish, the more likely you are to think you know everything--and to tell people everything you think you know.
When you speak with more finality than foundation, people may hear you but they don't listen. Few things are sadder and leave you feeling less happy.

9. Dwelling.

The past is valuable. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from the mistakes of others.
Then let it go.
Easier said than done? It depends on your focus. When something bad happens to you, see that as a chance to learn something you didn't know. When another person makes a mistake, see that as an opportunity to be kind, forgiving, and understanding.
The past is just training; it doesn't define you. Think about what went wrong, but only in terms of how you will make sure that, next time, you and the people around you will know how to make sure it goes right.

10. Fearing.

We're all afraid: of what might or might not happen, of what we can't change, or what we won't be able to do, or how other people might perceive us.
So it's easier to hesitate, to wait for the right moment, to decide we need to think a little longer or do some more research or explore a few more alternatives.
Meanwhile days, weeks, months, and even years pass us by.
And so do our dreams.
Don't let your fears hold you back. Whatever you've been planning, whatever you've imagined, whatever you've dreamed of, get started on it today.
If you want to start a business, take the first step. If you want to change careers, take the first step. If you want to expand or enter a new market or offer new products or services, take the first step.
Put your fears aside and get started. Do something. Do anything.
Otherwise, today is gone. Once tomorrow comes, today is lost forever.
Today is the most precious asset you own--and is the one thing you should truly fear wasting.

_______________________________________________________________________

As Jeff explains in this article: the most important part of beginning something new is taking the first step.  
Inspherio is here to help you take that first step to improve your business.  You will be able to manage your business with just one tool, which will reduce your stress and work load, so that you can focus on the things you love.  Inspherio helps you eliminate excessive paperwork & gives you more time to actually Achieve your goals for your business!  

Check Out our Free Trial to Learn More!

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Getting Appy Doesn't Make You Happy

Photo Credit: JHaymesisvip

The amount of information that we have at our fingertips can be startling.  Thanks to our trusty smartphones, We can now find the answer to anything in just minutes, Instead of a brain we just use Google, and we've got pages of apps for everything to keep us informed & entertained.  

This progression of technology is a great thing and a lot of this new tech has the potential to transform your business for the better, however it could also leave you dazed and confused if it is not used correctly.  

Apps are a great example of this.  Many small business owners are made to think they are tech savvy because they have downloaded  pages of business related apps.  While many of these tools are useful, they can actually be a hindrance on your business by keeping your business compartmentalized into multiple programs on your smartphone.  Eventually, your business records will become quite a mess because your business data is divided into all these apps.  

Due to this App Overload, many business owners are using a different app for each business function: 
- One for Receiving Payments
- One for Invoicing  
- One for Expenses
- One for Income
- One for Trip logs
- One to Sign Forms
- One to Schedule Appointments
- One for Scanning Docs
- And The List goes On.....

By choosing to use a different app for each business function, your business will most likely experience a serious slow down due to the amount of time you spend disengaged & glued to your phone.  Not to mention the fact that your business image is now shifting from a confident professional to a texting teenager.  

What Is The Solution?

Many of the apps in the marketplace are good tools, but it would be better if all of these functions could work together in one place.  That's what Inspherio is for!  Instead of using dozens of apps and other programs to manage your business, you can just use one All-In-One program.  Inspherio offers the ability to manage your business from start to finish.  From adding a lead, to generating year-end tax reports Inspherio can do it all.  

To see for yourself, you can start your Free Trial today!

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What Successful People Do With the First Hour of their Work Day

Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk

The following article was written by Kevin Purdy and first appeared in Fast Company

Remember when you used to have a period at the beginning of every day to think about your schedule, catch up with friends, maybe knock out a few tasks? It was called home room, and it went away after high school. But many successful people schedule themselves a kind of grown-up home room every day. You should too.

The first hour of the workday goes a bit differently for Craig Newmark of Craigslist, David Karp of Tumblr, motivational speaker Tony Robbins, career writer (and Fast Company blogger) Brian Tracy, and others, and they’ll tell you it makes a big difference. Here are the first items on their daily to-do list.

Don’t Check Your Email for the First Hour. Seriously. Stop That.

Tumblr founder David Karp will “try hard” not to check his email until 9:30 or 10 a.m., according to an Inc. profile of him. “Reading e-mails at home never feels good or productive,” Karp said. “If something urgently needs my attention, someone will call or text me.”

Not all of us can roll into the office whenever our Vespa happens to get us there, but most of us with jobs that don’t require constant on-call awareness can trade e-mail for organization and single-focus work. It’s an idea that serves as the title of Julie Morgenstern’s work management book Never Check Email In The Morning, and it’s a fine strategy for leaving the office with the feeling that, even on the most over-booked days, you got at least one real thing done.

If you need to make sure the most important messages from select people come through instantly, AwayFind can monitor your inbox and get your attention when something notable arrives. Otherwise, it’s a gradual but rewarding process of training interruptors and coworkers not to expect instantaneous morning response to anything they send in your off-hours.

Gain Awareness, Be Grateful

One smart, simple question on curated Q & A site Quora asked “How do the most successful people start their day?”. The most popular response came from a devotee of Tony Robbins, the self-help guru who pitched the power of mindful first-hour rituals long before we all had little computers next to our beds.

Robbins suggests setting up an “Hour of Power,” “30 Minutes to Thrive,” or at least “Fifteen Minutes to Fulfillment.” Part of it involves light exercise, part of it involves motivational incantations, but the most accessible piece involves 10 minutes of thinking of everything you’re grateful for: in yourself, among your family and friends, in your career, and the like. After that, visualize “everything you want in your life as if you had it today.”

Robbins offers the “Hour of Power” segment of his Ultimate Edge series as a free audio stream (here’s the direct MP3 download). Blogger Mike McGrath also wrote a concise summary of the Hour of Power). You can be sure that at least some of the more driven people you’ve met in your career are working on Robbins’ plan.

Do the Big, Shoulder-Sagging Stuff First

Brian Tracy’s classic time-management book Eat That Frog gets its title from a Mark Twain saying that, if you eat a live frog first thing in the morning, you’ve got it behind you for the rest of the day, and nothing else looks so bad. Gina Trapani explained it well in a video for her Work Smart series). Combine that with the concept of getting one thing done before you wade into email, and you’ve got a day-to-day system in place. Here’s how to force yourself to stick to it:

Choose Your Frog

"Choose your frog, and write it down on a piece of paper that you'll see when you arrive back at your desk in the morning, Tripani advises."If you can, gather together the material you'll need to get it done and have that out, too."

One benefit to tackling that terrible, weighty thing you don’t want to do first thing in the morning is that you get some space from the other people involved in that thing--the people who often make the thing more complicated and frustrating. Without their literal or figurative eyes over your shoulder, the terrible thing often feels less complex, and you can get more done.

Ask Yourself If You’re Doing What You Want to Do

Feeling unfulfilled at work shouldn’t be something you realize months too late, or even years. Consider making an earnest attempt every morning at what the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs told a graduating class at Stanford to do:

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

“Customer Service” (or Your Own Equivalent)

Craigslist founder Craig Newmark answered the first hour question succinctly: “Customer service.” He went on to explain (or expand) that he also worked on current projects, services for military families and veterans, and protecting voting rights. But customer service is what Newmark does every single day at Craigslist, responding to user complaints and smiting scammers and spammers. He almost certainly has bigger fish he could pitch in on every day, but Newmark says customers service “anchors me to reality.”

Your own version of customer service might be keeping in touch with contacts from year-ago projects, checking in with coworkers you don’t regularly interact with, asking questions of mentors, and just generally handling the human side of work that quickly gets lost between task list items. But do your customer service on the regular, and you’ll have a more reliable roster of helpers when the time comes.

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Apple Maps for Your Business

Photo Credit: deerkoski

It has been a wild ride for iPhone users over the past week.  Apple released the highly anticipated iPhone5 along with the newest Apple mobile software: iOS6. 

Much to Apple's chagrin, the most talked about iPhone feature is one that is no longer there.  Apple made the decision to replace the iconic Google Maps tool, with their own Apple Maps. 
With misplaced landmarks, This new tool was immediately met with frustration and has been fodder for many late night talk shows over this past week.  "I've got an iPhone5, and Apple Maps says I'm in Norway" shouted Stephen Colbert in his opening bit this week. 
The frustration has been so prolific over the past week, that Apple CEO, Tim Cook issued an apology on September 28th, stating "We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."
Google is rumored to be developing a Google Maps app for iOS devices, but it will not be ready for some months to come.  In the meantime, millions of iPhone users have been recommended to use other mapping apps such as Bing, MapQuest and Waze. 

What Does this mean for your business? 
This means that about half of your potential customers are now going to be using Apple Maps or another mapping app.  If you rely on your customers finding you at a physical location, you will need to ensure that your business location is mapped correctly in these applications. 
The new Apple Maps relies heavily on Yelp for business information, and it even links directly to your yelp page from Apple maps.  This means that if you haven't really used Yelp, or if you have some very poor reviews published there, you will want to balance that with more relevant information, photos, reviews, etc. 
Apple Maps also uses Localeze and Axiom to provide the basic name, address, and phone number of your business listing.  Use these sites to verify your accurate business information.



To manage your entire business with ease, you can use Inspherio.  From your incoming leads to Year-End Tax reports, you can manage everything in one place!  Get the First 30 Days Free to try it out!  No Credit Card Required.

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