Kim Hughes

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April 5, 2016 By Kim Hughes Leave a Comment

Tidy-Up Your Business this Spring

Tidy Up Your Business

Tidy Up Your Business

Spring-time puts us in the mood to clean up, clear out and beautify our business spaces, not only our physical space, but our virtual spaces as well. Much like spring cleaning in our personal home space, business cleaning will employ the same approaches, but will allow you to have a clear mind as we approach a beautiful time of year.  A new quarter is starting so let’s start off with a clean, organized business.

Begin with whatever physical space you conduct most of your business in – office, home office – where ever you call “work”.  Clearing and cleaning out is infectious, the more you do, the more you will want to do.  It brings you a sense of accomplishment and helps you recognize areas in your business that you need to give more attention to. By beginning in the physical space, our progress will be continually in our sight. Start with your desk, first the surface, then the interior.

The exterior of your office space should be one that is functional for you.  And, only you.  This has to be the place you think, work, plan, dream, so look at your desk – what works for you – what doesn’t?

What inspired me to reorganize my office was knowing it always has room for improvement – and I love seeing what others do to get inspired.

Do you have a filing system – yes a paper filing system?  What is that system? Does it work for you? How can it be better?  I have drawers that I keep files in with information. I need to know where this information is and may touch if occasionally, but not daily, so I don’t need to have it right in front of me. That is the great thing about a filing drawer, right?  There are some files I need to touch daily.  So, I have this great little office organizer sitting on my desk, that has the folders I need at my finger touches daily. It has to be pretty, but also function for me.  My BFF came for a visit, and because she works from home, she was able to bring her office so we could work side by side during the day and visit, work, then play at night.  It was fabulous!   She pulled out the amazing little file organizers, which are called

Tidy Up Your Business

Image courtesy MyThirtyOne.com

Fold and File organizers. I was like WHAT?  It was so cool to see such a great idea that helps us stay organized and mobile!  So off I went to get mine. These sit right on my desk and I can move them from room to room or when I travel, I just take it with me.

Now for my project planner – this is a blog of it’s own, but I have to have a daily planner that works for my brain.  I am in the process of reviewing planners now and I think I have every one on the market so I will keep you up-to-date on what I decide, but just know you need something to put pen to paper to.  If you don’t then have an app that works well for you.  Something like Microsoft OneNote, Google Keep, Evernote, whatever you like – just make sure to use it.  Do not store all that information in your head as to avoid overload.

Make sure you have a system in place and dedicated space for each category of physical material used, file it according to your use, and discard whatever is already completed and recorded, or needs no further attention.  Clean out and organize supplies and then actually clean surfaces and environment just as you would in home cleaning.

The next step is more important – virtual cleaning and organizing. This will most likely take a good deal of time but will make your business run much faster and smoother.  Don’t get overwhelmed…if you need to break it down into time slots – then do that, but devote at least 30 minutes a day to organizing.

First, clear out your email inbox – either save to read later if needed, forward, file or delete until you’re at zero.

Keep your planner near by so you can write down your daily tasks – cleaning your inbox daily is a must.  If you can’t do daily then schedule time in your planner to do 30 minutes every Tuesday and Friday.  This also means your SENT BOX – move those sent emails to the appropriate folder to find quickly as well as the string of emails regarding that topic with that recipient.

Clean up your computer desktop, just as you cleaned your physical desktop. Create folders to organize, save or delete. Clear out subscribed mailing lists no longer needed or of interest.  A good tip here is to create a bogus email, so when you see or need to subscribe to something you can use this email address and check it once a week, in your leisure to read.  When I did this my world and inbox became free of inbox clutter.  When I am the passenger in the car or I waiting on an appointment, having lunch alone, I will jump over to read newsletters, see what stores sent me coupons, what other “stuff” is in there that I want to read, but not necessary or time sensitive.

Examine your auto-pay statements for services you no longer use or need and remove. Organize passwords, perhaps with a password service, then do a backup. I also keep a little planner notebook to write my passwords down or you can create an excel spreadsheet – update it every week and print then put in that cute little planner or file system from Thirty Something.

Next, update social contacts and networks. Review who you are connected to – do you really need all those connections?  NO!  You should have a great list of connections, but by organic methods only.  Know who you are connecting with.  Review and update those social profiles every month or at least quarterly.  And, another little tip – you may be amazed at how much faster your computer runs!

And last, beautify all that wonderful clean and organized space! Whatever appeals to your sense of color, texture and décor, be it flowers, artwork, containers, organizers, or new furnishings, indulge in new and soothing or inspiring elements that lend stimulation or composure to your work space.  You may find that your productivity increases and you also may enjoy working more.  You invest a lot of time and energy at work, why not make it easier, faster and happier!

This is a topic I could talk about all day, but these few tips should help you get going in the right direction and stay tuned as I will be writing more about great tips to organize your business and life by just tweaking a few things here and there.

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!

Image courtesy of Fotownetrza/Pixabay.com

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March 29, 2016 By Kim Hughes Leave a Comment

Work-Life Balance Tips for Women

Work Life Balance for Women

Work-Life Balance for Women

There are many experiences in life common to all of us. And then there are experiences particular to the lives of women. Women have children. Women work, usually for less pay. Women are gifted with the strength and abilities to manage these things all at the same time. Therefore, it can be said that women have a distinct advantage in life, they just don’t always recognize it.

Many successful business women experience the things mentioned above. They just have the unique perspective of seeing obstacles as possibilities. For instance, consider all the frustrating parts of every day, common to us all.  Many successful entrepreneurs came up with a solution for some of them, turned it into a fortune, and they are women. It starts with an idea, always. Then it becomes a dream, and then becomes a passion. Below are some thoughts for today’s women on successfully reaching goals…

Once you have an idea, don’t seek validation for it. It’s yours alone, embrace it. Look for inspiration everywhere.

To single women, don’t let it stop you. You’re already stronger and more prepared than most; your skills are more impressive than a just-out-of-college grad. In the words of Dee Dee Myers, presidential spokeswoman – “I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn’t.” But in reality, it is.

Include your children, make them a part of your business and your journey. After all, they’re a major motivating factor. There is enough parenting guilt to go around; drop it and focus on the positives. Change your perceptions of how a business should be structured, and change your perception of life-balance. Part of being an entrepreneur is being comfortable with changing.

Choose the people in your life carefully, get rid of toxic ones. No time or energy to waste on those. And that includes non-supportive, competitive people as well. Choose people who already have what you want, and learn from them; they shorten your learning curve and give you confidence.

When you meet obstacles, find a detour. When a door closes, don’t sit and stare at it, go through the one that opened.

Don’t let inexperience stop you; growth and comfort cannot coexist. The best successes come on the heels of failures. As Queen Victoria said, “We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat”. And she ran a pretty big business that she could not possibly have been prepared for.

Lastly, make time for yourself, even if it’s just to breathe. Your best weapon is a sense of humor. Enjoy your life. And remember, you’re already a super-hero. Do something super!

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!

Photo courtesy of Mark Morgan/Flickr.com

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November 24, 2015 By Kim Hughes Leave a Comment

Motivation for Discovering Your Passion

Motivation for Discovering Your PassionWhatever your passion may be, it is uniquely yours because you are uniquely individual, and your passion is a result of those elements of your composition that determine it. Your passion is an expression of your personality. It embodies your greatest potential to create something completely original. Fulfilling that potential requires some introspection and effort. All of us have that creative gift that keeps reminding us that “I need to pursue that someday”. Well, you know what they say– “there are seven days in a week, and someday isn’t one of them”.

Here are some motivational ideas to discover your true passion in life and some encouragement to fulfill it. Try asking yourself these questions.

  • What do you spend your time doing? Other than work.
  • What holds your interest and engages you? For instance, what section of the bookstore do you gravitate towards?

Describe to yourself the traits you exhibited when you were at your best.

  • What belief do you have that no one else shares? Is it original?
  • What are you supremely best at? In other words, what comes effortlessly to a situation? Build on these strengths.
  • What interests have remained with you since childhood? What was your favorite thing to do?
  • Are you willing to experiment now?
  • Would you consider trying a temporary job related to your passion – an outside contract or moonlighting job, just as a trial and error?
  • When you look back at your life, what would you want to say you’ve accomplished?

Write in a sentence what you want to achieve and sum up who you are. Begin to pursue your passion and focus on achieving the goals which fulfill your sentence. Use your passion to become who you mean to be as indicated by your sentence, and consider that your time for self-realization has come.

If you are feeling overwhelmed or need a little help focusing on your goals, please contact me and let’s schedule a complimentary 20 minute coaching session to see how we can, together, get you back on the right track.

P.S. Imagine you were offered the opportunity to be coached both on-site and virtually – by the leading expert in the real estate assistant industry through the 10 most important areas of a real estate agent’s business. Introducing The Real Estate Assistant Playbook. Designed for both real estate assistants and agents, The Playbook offers the training you need to excel in the business of real estate today! Visit TheRealEstateAssistantPlaybook.com for more information.

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November 17, 2015 By Kim Hughes Leave a Comment

Make Your Vision a Reality

Courage to Continue-JPG-45Most all people have dreams, and a few manage to make them come true. But all successful people not only have dreams, they have very clear visions, and therein lies the difference. Achieving a dream is an end, while a vision is a means to achieve it. Dreams are of the imagination, while a vision is a specific, well-defined and ever-present goal, and successful people’s efforts are continually directed toward it.

Once a vision is established and a person begins the process of realizing it, there are specific steps that are required for success. Finding a mentor to aid in achieving the vision is ideal, as well as using the advice of many successful entrepreneurs. Here are some of their valuable insights.

The only way to success and satisfaction is to truly believe in your work and your vision. Becoming an entrepreneur requires great dedication, determination and perseverance – only a goal you believe in will inspire the necessary commitment. Learn every day and challenge yourself. The process is on-going. When you meet a risk, take it. You won’t know the outcome until you do. You won’t regret failure as much as not trying.

Believe you can succeed, otherwise, why attempt such a goal? Keep your vision clear and stay motivated to create it. Associate with people who are successful – the way you want to be. Remember, we become like those we associate with. Don’t be deterred by fear – the more you overcome it, the stronger you are.

The world is full of good ideas; at some point, we must stop talking and start acting. Invest the time needed for the creation of your vision and keep in mind that overnight successes actually took a very long time. Speaking of time, your energy is more important. Your energy manages your time.

Understand that no one succeeds alone, and begin to build a team, not just any team, but a great team. Choose people whose values are a fit; character is just as important as skills. You must have capital to create your vision, and it will take much longer to raise than you think. Develop a plan and spend it wisely so as not to run out too soon for success.

To ensure you are focused on your goals, keep them in mind every day. When you meet obstacles and failures, realize that mistakes are the best teachers. Understand your industry; this is the key to success. Listen to the input of those you serve – ask them directly. Deliver solutions based on your thorough knowledge of your customers. Unhappy customers can show you shortcomings, learn from them.

Finally, take the advice of one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our age, Steve Jobs – deliver more than expected to build a loyal following. The three keys to entrepreneurialism are: Vision, Work, and Perseverance.

If you are feeling overwhelmed or need a little help focusing on your goals, please contact me and let’s schedule a complimentary 20 minute coaching session to see how we can, together, get you on the right track.

P.S. Imagine you were offered the opportunity to be coached both on-site and virtually – by the leading expert in the real estate assistant industry through the 10 most important areas of a real estate agent’s business. Introducing The Real Estate Assistant Playbook. Designed for both real estate assistants and agents, The Playbook offers the training you need to excel in the business of real estate today! Visit TheRealEstateAssistantPlaybook.com for more information.

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November 10, 2015 By Kim Hughes Leave a Comment

First Night In Your New Home Infographic

Just bought a new home? Don’t forget you’ll need some essential items for the first night in your house. Consider this great infographic checklist of items you will want to have. It’s got you covered from first aid items to pet toys.

First Night In Your New Home Infographic

P.S. Imagine you were offered the opportunity to be coached both on-site and virtually – by the leading expert in the real estate assistant industry through the 10 most important areas of a real estate agent’s business. Introducing The Real Estate Assistant Playbook. Designed for both real estate assistants and agents, The Playbook offers the training you need to excel in the business of real estate today! Visit TheRealEstateAssistantPlaybook.com for more information.

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Kim Hughes | Real Estate Strategy Coach

Ready to create a strategy to improve your business on all levels? Schedule a private consultation to discuss your specific needs today so we can create a strategy that is customized to you and your market. Call or email me and let’s move forward in executing your vision.
 

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PK Hughes, LLC – dba Kim Hughes & Company, a Texas Corporation formed in 1999. .
Kim Hughes & Company offers real estate virtual assistant services to real estate agents by providing strategies with solutions on how to run a successful real estate business including marketing, social media marketing, blogging, not to mention implementing and managing everyday support services.

 

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