Kim Hughes

Providing solid solutions since 1999 specifically tailored for today’s real estate professional.

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7 Tips for Successful Business Networking

You’ve probably heard the old adage when it comes to networking, “It’s not what you know, but who you Real Estate Networkingknow” in reference to finding a job. It is also true of business owners and managers as they work to expand their businesses and customer or client base. Networking is so important that it’s a skill that should be honed. Here are seven tips to help you become a more successful networker.

  1. Have a plan – know why you are networking, so you don’t just wander around aimlessly at events. When you know what you want to get out of networking, you’ll know who to talk to.
  2. Broaden your horizons – while you may want to focus on meeting potential clients, you never know when the owner of a construction company, insurance agent, hair stylist or plumber may have a referral for you. Never underestimate the importance of making business contacts. This is called Business 2 Business Networking.
  3. Arrive early – when you arrive before the event gets in full swing, you have more time to talk to people in one-on-one conversations. You’ll be more memorable later on when they are looking for someone with your background.
  4. Leave your sales pitch at home – networking events are supposed to be light and fun without the heavy sell. Instead of trying to convince others why they should work with you, get to know them and let them get to know you. People are more likely to choose a realtor if they like that person’s character and personality.
  5. Be the best you – Be yourself, but the best version you can be. If you’re an extrovert who likes to talk, work on your listening skills. If you have an introverted personality, try to come up with questions so you can be part of the conversation.
  6. Smile – people find others more approachable if they smile. This can be a challenge if the networking event comes at the end of a long day, but the extra effort will be worth it.
  7. Follow up – remember that these events are where relationships are established, but you have to continue to interact with the person if you want their business or to establish a connection with them.

These are just a few tips that can make networking more fun and successful. Give them a try and watch your list of connections grow.

Ready to create the changes that will help you move towards living the life you REALLY want? Now is the time to take control of your personal development by eliminating self-doubt. Give your confidence a boost so you can value the life as well as the business you have dreamed of. Contact Kim Hughes when you are ready to Bring Clarity, Balance, and Confidence to your business. Visit KimHughes.com for details!

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Awesome Project Management Apps

project management appsWhether you want to keep track of personal tasks or large-scale team projects, using a project management app can help get you organized and simplify the process. The following project management apps are easy to use and offer plenty of great features…

Asana

A task management app that is great for project management too, Asana allows for an easy way to track work across teams. Review progress of tasks and projects easily, and cut down on the amount of meetings and emails needed. Share tasks lists with your team and keep track of conversations, simplifying communication.

Asana integrates with WordPress, Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, Harvest, HipChat and more. Cost is free for teams of up to 15 people, and premium cost is $8.33 per member/per month with reduced price for small teams.

Trello

This app is easy to use and is ideal for managing ideas, lists and projects. Trello is based on Kanban boards, a system developed by Toyota. It looks great, features drag-and-drop cards, and allows use of attachments, labels, conversations and checklists. Manage several project boards, assign multiple team members to projects and cards, and schedule due dates.

The basic account is free; the Business Class account is $9.99 per user/month and features app integrations, team overviews and more security; Enterprise account is $20.83 per user/month and is ideal for large companies with multiple teams.

Basecamp

A well-known, flexible project management app, Basecamp lets you organize everything you need to get projects done. The app offers a centralized schedule, docs and file storage, lists, message boards and comment threads, real-time chat, automatic check-ins and more. There are multiple project displays, and you can set deadlines, delegate tasks, get notifications, review reports, and easily search for specific information related to your project, team member, etc.

Cost is $29 per month for internal teams, or $79 per month for use with clients and allows separation of internal communication from client communication. Enterprise account starts at $3000 per year and offers lots of file storage, personal account manager, live-demo for your team, consulting on Basecamp, guaranteed uptime Service Level Agreement.

If you have been looking for a way to get your tasks and projects organized, these apps should do the trick. There are plenty of other project management apps out there, but these are visually appealing, user friendly, and offer great options to keep you on track.

Ready to create the changes that will help you move towards living the life you REALLY want? Now is the time to take control of your personal development by eliminating self-doubt. Give your confidence a boost so you can value the life as well as the business you have dreamed of. Contact Kim Hughes when you are ready to Bring Clarity, Balance, and Confidence to your business. Visit KimHughesCoaching.com for details!

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Fall Marketing Ideas for Your Business

Fall Marketing Fall is a busy time of year with school activities, seasonal festivals and holidays. It is a time of fresh starts and new ideas, and business owners can take advantage of plenty of marketing opportunities throughout the season. Here are a few great ideas you can try, to give your business a boost this autumn.

  1. Hold a photo contest. With so many fall activities going on, such as school activities, sports, festivals, and beautiful changing scenery, there are lots of great photo opportunities. Invite your audience to join the contest and award a prize for best photo. Make sure to include a hashtag and encourage everyone to share the details.
  2. Attend local festivals. Do you have Oktoberfest celebrations or fall festivals near you? Get in touch with the event coordinators and find out how you can participate. You may be able to set up a booth or become an event sponsor.
  3. Offer Halloween deals. There are lots of opportunities to come up with catchy taglines centered around Halloween for your promotion. You can also offer online content pertaining to Halloween recipes, costumes, parties and safety to engage your audience.
  4. Holiday promotions. Many of us are already thinking about holiday shopping. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas are just around the corner. Offer online content regarding money saving tips, budgeting, and planning. As the holidays get closer, start promoting deals on your products or services.
  5. Participate in a charity fundraiser or canned-food drive. You can gather the community to serve at a shelter, nursing home, etc. or you can simply offer discounts to customers who bring in items to donate to a local charity.
  6. Hold a customer appreciation event. The Thanksgiving season is naturally a great time to show your customers how thankful you are for them. Partner with the local pumpkin patch and give out pumpkins to your past clients – make sure to take photos. A Thanksgiving pie give-a-way is always a big hit, as are hayrides. Look at your community to see what it has to offer and partner up with a business, your lender, title company, etc. Building relationships is what is all about this fall season.

Try out a few of these ideas to help ramp up business this fall. Being involved in your community this season, whether locally or online, is a great way to get some extra exposure for your brand and gain some new customers.

Ready to create the changes that will help you move towards living the life you REALLY want? Now is the time to take control of your personal development by eliminating self-doubt. Give your confidence a boost so you can value the life as well as the business you have dreamed of. Contact Kim Hughes when you are ready to Bring Clarity, Balance, and Confidence to your business. Visit KimHughesCoaching.com for details!

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Best Organizational and Productivity Apps

Productivity AppsWe all need a little help getting it together at times. From keeping up with family obligations, to work and everything that falls in between, it is imperative to have a system in place to keep track of it all.

Luckily there are quite a few apps out there that can help you manage most anything. Here is a run-down on the apps that made my list of the most efficient, useful and easy to use.

Evernote

One of the best note-taking apps around, Evernote allows you to keep track of projects, archive files, save webpages, photos, voice notes and more. Notes can be tagged, searched, exported and added to notebooks that can then be stacked. Share projects and tasks with your team, and allow them to edit if desired.

IFTTT

“If this, then that” or IFTTT, allows you to create formulas or “recipes” to automate your tasks. You can connect devices and apps and tell them how to interact. For example – you can automate cataloguing email, exporting email receipts to Evernote, downloading new music to Dropbox, or sending a message in Twitter when certain hashtags are used.

Last Pass

Have a ton of passwords and struggle remembering where you keep them all? LastPass is a password management service that stores encrypted passwords. Features include one master password, form filling, password encryption, cross-platform availability, multifactor authentication, credit monitoring and more. Log in to all of your accounts quickly and with much less frustration.

Todoist

Great for managing projects and tasks anywhere, even offline. Todoist allows you to collaborate on tasks in real-time with distraction free design. Start a project, create a sub-project, task or sub-task. Set up notifications and reminders, recurring dates, labels, filters and more. Todoist works on just about every platform you think of.

Google Now

With Google Now, simply use voice commands to find a restaurant, send a text message, set up event reminders and more. The app provides “now cards” to deliver the information you need, when you need it. Get weather information, traffic reports, track packages, flights, discover nearby events, attractions, etc. All of the information that matters to you is right at your fingertips.

There are many great apps out there to help us stay on top of just about anything you can think of. The apps featured here are well-designed and easy to use. They are definitely worth checking out if you would like some help making home and work life simpler.

Ready to create the changes that will help you move towards living the life you REALLY want? Now is the time to take control of your personal development by eliminating self-doubt. Give your confidence a boost so you can value the life as well as the business you have dreamed of. Contact Kim Hughes when you are ready to Bring Clarity, Balance, and Confidence to your business. Visit KimHughesCoaching.com for details!

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Are You Prepared to Be a Successful Entrepreneur?

Successful EntrepreneurBeing an entrepreneur is complex, to say the least. There are so many elements involved in running your own business and avenues of opportunity to consider. When you are just starting out in developing your business plan, it can be overwhelming. The first step in preparing is to ask yourself the questions listed below. Be as honest with yourself as possible….

Have you identified your passion?

If you have determined what you are meant to do, then you have a great start to building a solid foundation for your business. If not, spend some time considering what you are best at doing. How are you spending your free-time?

Do you have a unique idea or method to offer?

Is your idea different or new in some way? Maybe you have a creative new method you can bring to the table. Consider how your vision can be a potential game-changer.

Are you motivated to take action on your goals?

If you know what the end-goal is, you need to be able to break that down into actionable steps. Work backwards to set yearly, monthly, weekly and daily goals for your business. Write it all down and commit to making a little progress each day.

Are you prepared to take risks?

Failure happens to everyone. We all have obstacles to overcome – they are simply part of the process of navigating new territory. Don’t be afraid to fail, view it as a voyage of discovery. We have much to learn from our failures, and a successful entrepreneur turns obstacles into opportunities.

Is it about more than just money?

Success is measured in a variety of ways. It means different things to different people, though you have probably heard that loving what you do, regardless of how much money you make, is essential for success.

Are you willing to stay on top of learning?

Running a business is an ever-changing process that requires constant improvement. Are you prepared to continuously search for new ways to make your business better?

Take some time to consider these ideas to determine if you are on the right path to your goals. If you have passion for your vision and are honest with yourself, you are on your way to creating a great foundation for your business.

Ready to create the changes that will help you move towards living the life you REALLY want? Now is the time to take control of your personal development by eliminating self-doubt. Give your confidence a boost so you can value the life as well as the business you have dreamed of. Contact Kim Hughes when you are ready to Bring Clarity, Balance, and Confidence to your business. Visit KimHughesCoaching.com for details!

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