12 Simple Steps Business Owners Can Take to Avoid Burnout

by Susan Martin

Many people experience burnout at some point in their lives. Business owners and the self-employed are even more likely to fall prey to burnout because the buck stops with them. If you feel as if you’re starting to burn out here are some things you can do to avoid it.

1. Take care of #1. If you’re run down, you’ll burn out faster. Make sure you get enough sleep, eat right, exercise and de-stress on a regular basis.

2. Make the time to do nothing! We all need to take time to relax, refresh and replenish. Don’t keep pushing yourself. Keep regular business hours and take breaks during your work day. Make sure to schedule in time off and vacations on a regular basis. You’ll come back with a fresh outlook and perspective.

3. Get back in touch with the things you value. Is your work fulfilling and meaningful for you? If not, check in with your values. What’s missing? Where are you compromising? What needs to be eliminated? What are you merely tolerating? Re-assess and re-adjust your priorities as needed. If you work for yourself, you’re in control. Make the choices you want to make by honoring what’s important for you.

4. Think out of the box and challenge yourself consistently. If work has become a chore or you’re in a rut, try spicing things up a bit! Find innovative ways to do mundane tasks, create new products or services to add to your offering, improve performance, or tweak what you do best and make it even better.

5. Establish realistic expectations for what you can and cannot accomplish. If you find that you’re driving yourself or your employees too hard it may be time to let go of unrealistic expectations and readjust. Shorten your to-do list, give yourself some slack when needed and know when to let up on yourself and others.

6. Learn how to communicate clearly. Resolve conflicts, don’t run from them. Let people know what you expect from them, and ask them what they expect from you. Be clear and concise with what you say, and how you say it. Listen closely to the people around you, it will teach them to listen closely to you.

7. Manage your time. Poor time management is another thing we do that leads to burnout. Set regular business hours. Make appointments with yourself to get things done – and keep them! Being on time counts, show up promptly for appointments and expect others to do the same.

8. Stop blaming yourself or others. If you’re playing the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” game, perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate your attitude. Blaming yourself or others for things that have gone wrong doesn’t help. What does? Learn from your experiences and make changes to ensure that you get the results you want the next time.

9. Value yourself by establishing boundaries and limits. Learn how to do it in a way that clear and consistent. Don’t give away too much of your time. Let people know your policies and procedures. Be upfront with what’s acceptable and what’s not. Learn how to say no.

10. Deal with your emotions. Keeping your feelings inside usually leads to trouble. If you are feeling any kind of negative emotion, don’t deny it. Instead, learn how to acknowledge your feelings, be up front with them; and deal with the underlying causes.

11. Laugh, smile and enjoy the ride! Life is too short to worry and be serious all the time. Find ways to make your work fun and enjoyable.

12. Don’t feel embarrassed to ask for help. Everybody needs a little help once in a while. You can’t do everything yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask friends or associates for help, or hire a professional when needed.

Original Article can be found Here

Leave it to Nike to come up with a shoe that can create music. I love how innovative they are, who thinks of this stuff?

Ok, so recently I have noticed a trend in brands using humor in their advertising. These are the kind of ad campaigns I love and remember the most, because they set themselves apart from the thousands of marketing methods that are thrown at us on a daily basis. If you want to be remembered, do something to set yourself above of the crowd! Here are two commercials on t.v. right now that make me laugh and that I will remember for that very reason.

Boost Mobile – Talking Dog Commercial

Sears Blue Lawn & Garden Crew: Tiny Tractor

What are some of your favorites ad campaigns happening right now? Leave us your feedback!

We need help! We are looking for some dynamic people to ad to our Infinite Horizons Team.

We have the following postitions available that we would like to fill immediately:

Marketing and Sales Executive

Full time position

Hours: M-F 9-6pm

Pay Type: Commission with Bonus

Experience: Strong Selling and Communication skills a must, Marketing and Advertising experience preferred.

Graphic Designer

Full time position

Hours M-F 9-6pm

Pay Type: Hourly / Salary

Experience: Strong Communication skills a must, Experienced in graphic design and project execution from start to finish, Fluent in all Adobe CS4 programs, Team player, Creative and Forward thinker, Ability to work independently and problem solve, Web experience a plus.

Marketing Intern

Part time position

Hours TBD / Flexible

Pay Type: For-credit / Credit Internship

Experience:

1. High school diploma or equivalency. Field of study: journalism, business, marketing
2. Excellent interpersonal communication skills, positive attitude, responsible / reliable.
3. Proficiency with computers, especially Word, Excel and Windows software. Minimum typing speed of 60 wpm.
4. Good organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities.

If you or some one you know are interested in any of the positions mentioned above please email your resume and digital portfolio (graphic design position) to jparness@infinitehorizonsdesign.com or call Jennifer at 815-980-8342 for more information.We are looking to fill these positions immediately!

We need your help! We are working on a case study and your feedback is important to us.

Out of the two Phone book ads which would you call the first or the second ad?

Don’t forget to Click here to give us your answers!

YellowPage Ad#1

YellowPages Ad #2

If you where looking in the phone book for a service and had to make a chose on who to call based on the two ads above which one would it be?

Don’t forget to Click here to give us your answers!

  We work with a lot of businesses both large and small as well as professionals both experienced and those who are just getting started as a young entrepreneurs.  I have seen a common element no matter what the size or scope of project. There are a lot of people who come to us seemingly frustrated because the cannot express what they are picturing in their mind or tell me what they want their design project to look like.

I think there is a common misconception that you have to show a graphic designer what you want them to create. I would like to ease all of the frustrated souls out there and tell you that this is not necessary.  If you are working with an experienced designer who is good at what they do, they should be able to gather the information that is needed from the details that are given in the discovery stage with the client. That’s right, its all in the details! The more detail you can give the designer, the more accurate we will come to making the picture in your head become a beautiful picture on paper (or on the computer)

So here are a few tips to prepare yourself for working with a graphic designer or design firm:

1. Know who you are targeting! Who will be buying your product or service? (this is the most important one!)

2. Know your purpose. What are you trying to achieve? Do you want to create awareness, are you running a promotion, do you have a new product or service that you are offering?
   Really think about what you would like to see happen from the campaign or marketing piece and establish a clear goal before your meeting.

3. Give as many details about your business or service as possible (in a cliff’s notes kind of way) A designer needs to know about your industry or service if they are going to effectively create collateral for your market. Think about what you want people to know about you or your company. Give the most important details.
4. People are busy and so are designers! This is a big one. There is a common misconception that we (designers) can just throw something together and have it done yesterday. To properly create an effective marketing piece, brand, website, etc. it takes time. There is a process to good design, plan on allowing enough time (a good buffer is about 2 weeks depending on the project) to create and execute your project.
5. You get what you pay for. This is also a common question that is asked… Well so and so can do a logo for $50.00 why is your price so much more? Simple answer: you get what you pay for. The market is saturated with people who can find their way around Photoshop or Illustrator, some even have some great design skill. But in the end, the person who takes the time to learn about their client, their specific target, and their needs are the ones who will accomplish the goal or purpose I talked about in #2. If you do it right the first time, then you will not have to redo it later and spend more money in the end.
6. Times have changed! Be open to doing things differently than you might have in the past, when thinking about your marketing, and your target market; be aware of what tools and trends are currently happening. A good designer / marketing firm should be able to think outside of the box and help give you the right tools for your specific market.
7. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Its funny, so many times we are scared to ask questions becouse we do not want to look like we dont know what we are doing or becouse we dont want to sound stupid. This is how I see it; you are an expert in your business or service, not the design business. I would rather have a client ask what they might feel is a silly question so that I understand where the are coming from instead of having problems later in the process becouse they where unclear about the project or the actions involved.
8. Communication is the key! Ok, I know I said its all in the details earlier, and it is, but without communication from both sides; the project deadline or target will get completely thrown off. Clearly communicate your deadlines and do your part to keep things on track.
9. Have realistic expectations. If the goals and deadlines are clearly communicated and the needed content is supplied to the designer in a timely fashion, a good designer / design firm will make the deadline. With this said; Life happens, things come up that we do not plan on, and sometimes deadlines may not be realistic to achieve. Here is a common example that I see happen: A client comes to me and needs something “yesterday” I express the importance of communication and being prompt in supplying any content we may need to move forward in the design process, the client agrees, and then life happens. 2 or 3 weeks go by and the deadline is rappidly approaching.
   For printed collateral, it cannot leave the designers hands until it has been approved by the client, only after approval can it be printed (which usually takes 1-2 weeks depending on the size and scope of the project) Before you know it, the deadline is here and the client is still expecting their materials to be ready.
   When life happens be sure to communicate with the designer and also be willing to adjust your deadline to fit accordingly to prevent unrealistic expectations.

Know Your Market: Age Does Make A Difference

Marketing to Generation Y is equal to great word of mouth. They typically love talking about the great deal we got, the experience we had and the way to get it or avoid it. With social media clogging our cell phones and computers, we don’t seek the best price, but ask our friends and family their opinion. It is the word of mouth that hits the streets, but it also is a generation that has researched what the hype is right then and now and new trends to come. That is why when you market to the 25 and younger you have to visually enhance and connect to them and become one of them. That means get a facebook account… get on twitter and give them a contest or an experience to share.

Marketing to Generation X is decisions and problematic choices. Not only are they going to critique how to get them to buy, they are going for the best quality buy. They are a harder sell because they want to be a consumer, but with the up and down economy are hesitant to purchase. This means going neck to neck with your competition. Tell them why you are the best, why you are a lasting value and how you can guarantee great results. This is done by direct mail, brochures and advertisements they can see and hear. They want to stay youthful, but not talked down to.

Lastly, Baby Boomers… the consumers that eat up the market. They have made decisions that are based on trial and error. With the kid’s out of the house, they are able to get what they want and need. Many think that they are hard up to new ideas, and that is a time to show them you are still traditional and relevant with your service and true to your word. Newspaper ads and nightly broadcast news are a couple ideas. Making up 40% of the market, they are the bread and butter to companies. They have disposable income and are well educated.

So there you have it… ages 13 to 64. I wrote a little insight on each generation because I wanted to show you how different the buying world is today. I also wanted to remind you how even a great graphic, an informational brochure or a new website could be beneficial to your increase of business.

Ok, this is so cool! Can you imagine being one of the random unsuspecting people who are at these places when this happens? I love it!

In case you are unfamiliar with a flash mob, let me give you the Wikipedia definition: “A flash mob is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse. The term ‘flash mob’ is generally applied only to gatherings organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails. The term is generally not applied to events organized by public relations firms or as publicity stunts.”

In other words, flash mobs are wild and freaky events with a large group of participants that appear to be unplanned, but are in fact, precisely planned. (It makes me wonder, would the recent Twitter “Denial of Service attack” be classified as a virtual flash mob?)

I have found three amazing flash mob videos for you. I ranked them, and they are listed in order of first, second and third place. If you have a flash mob video you would like to share, please post the link below!

Enjoy!