1 Idea Per Day

Enjoy Your Personal Time

RicoG — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:49:01 +0000

Isn’t it ironic how my last blog post was titled “Start a Blog” and then I disappeared for two weeks? It was as if I was saying “start a blog because I’m done.” That’s not the case. I just got so entrenched in a project at work that I wanted to enjoy my time away from work. It happens when you’re (still) a part of the employed working class.

Today’s Idea: Next time you have one of those days at work, leave it all behind when you get home. Don’t stress or worry about how much you have to do tomorrow. Just go home, be lazy, hang with the family, and relax. It is amazing how good it feels to just not worry about work, even if only for a few hours.

Also, don’t make it a habit to stay at work late on a regular basis — It is a career, it will still be there tomorrow.

Start A Blog

RicoG — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:40:39 +0000

Blogging is the new breathing. If you breathe, you should blog. It can be personal or professional, public or private, for fun or for business. It doesn’t matter what the content is. To have an electronic archive of everything that crosses your mind is amazing. Imagine what you can share with kids, grandkids, etc. Or, even share with yourself years down the road.

Today’s Idea: Start a blog! It’s free. Your only investment is time… and the best part? It’s when you have time. I recommend either using WordPress or Blogger. WordPress is the company I use for the blog you are reading right now. They provide blog stats, and some great additional resources for getting the most out of your blog. Blogger is a Google product, so if you’re fully-entrenched in Google products (gmail, iGoogle, etc.) then this might be perfect for you because you can use your current Google username.

Sell Something

RicoG — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:59:23 +0000

Junk lives everywhere. In your car, in your closet, in your entertainment center, in your office… everywhere! The question is: Do you realize how much junk you actually have?

A few years ago my wife and I had a “Craigslist Weekend” — No, not with the Casual Encounters boards. But instead with the For Sale boards. One weekend later we were over $400 richer. Talk about night on the town next weekend!

Today’s Idea: Find one thing you haven’t used in 3 months, and sell it. Use Craigslist, eBay, Backpage, anything. Just sell it. For how much? Who cares! You haven’t used it in over three months, so either it can sit for 3 more months (or years) being useless, or it can make you a few bucks.

Once you realize how good it feels to get cash from something you aren’t going to miss anyway, do it again, and again, and again… until all the junk is gone.

Organize Your Social Networks

RicoG — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:16:09 +0000

Many of us have accounts with various social networks: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, iLike, de.li.cio.us, Digg, Flickr, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pandora, and many others. If you are online daily, and love feeling special, there is a good chance you login to all of these services on a very regular basis.

I have good news!

There is a way to organize your social networks… on one website.

Today’s Idea: Sign up for a free FriendFeed account. There are over 50 services already setup on this site that allow you to submit your login info, and check the status and feeds from all of the services I mentioned above, and more! I was skeptical at first, but I’ve tried it out, and I love it. I login to one site and can see the updates I want to see from every social network I’m a part of — New messages, friend updates, friend requests, twits, etc. Try it out!

This is another way to lessen the amount of time you spend chasing down your friends online, therefore increasing the time you can spend making money!

Become Loyal

RicoG — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:59:30 +0000

I’m keeping it very simple today: Every 100th person who subscribes to my blog will receive Something. Literally, something… from the Something Store.

Today’s Idea: Start the new month off right! Subscribe to my blog. I post one idea per day, so you’ll never be bombarded by me. One per day, that’s it. So, subscribe, would ya?

Accept Someone Else’s Invitation

RicoG — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 06:28:13 +0000

Yesterday’s baseball game was awesome. We got beat 15-0, but the awesome part was socializing with friends I haven’t seen in quite a few months.

The best part? Earlier today they returned an invite to us. They asked us to join them out at the lake for the afternoon. We went to a place we’ve never been, and got to spend a couple more hours with friends we enjoy socializing with, obviously.

Today’s Idea: Next time someone invites you out to do something with them, instead of defaulting to “I’ll let you know” or “I’m sick that day” try actually accepting the invite. Ask if you can bring someone with you (if the invite didn’t include a guest or spouse) and take another friend along.

Invite A Friend Out This Weekend

RicoG — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:23:33 +0000

It’s a holiday weekend. Most of us have Monday off, and we’re getting paid, too. Do something social, and don’t do it alone.

I just sent a text out to some friends I haven’t spent time with in awhile. The result? We’re all going to the local minor league baseball game. 15 of us. Yes, more than one person replied wanting to go. I’m looking forward to it!

Today’s Idea: Call, email, or text a friend (or 5) and invite them to go out and do something. Anything. If the weather is nice do something outdoors. If the weather near you is bad do something indoors. Just do something… with other people. You know you haven’t in awhile, so a holiday weekend is a great excuse to make up for it.

Answer Your Phone Differently

RicoG — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:14:01 +0000

I’m not sure how it started or where it came from, but on Monday I started answering my phone with, “Thank you for calling the Democratic National Convention, how may I help you?” Of course, I was only answering internal calls this way — Calls from my co-workers. Not the outside world. There is still a level of professionalism required when answering a business phone.

Yes, next week I’m planning on answering with, “Thank you for calling the Republican National Convention, how may I help you?” I’m equal-opportunity.

Today’s Idea: Find something you can do to interrupt the monotony of a co-worker’s day. They call you, you say hello, they tell you why they called, you hang up. B-O-R-I-N-G. Typically necessary, but still boring. You might be surprised how much it changes someone’s day by just being caught off guard — in a way that doesn’t offend, obviously.

Follow Up: Do You Really Keep Your Promises To Your Customers

RicoG — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:12:53 +0000

About 10 days ago I wrote about keeping promises to your customers. Today I’m writing about unspoken promises. I had two simple, but great customer service experiences recently.

A few nights ago my wife and I went to see a movie at an independent movie theater. We paid for our tickets using a debit card, then went inside, ordered our popcorn and drinks. We then were told they don’t take debit cards but that there is an ATM down the street. Had we attempted to get to the ATM we would have missed the movie as we were already late.

I returned to the ticket window where I requested a refund since they didn’t take cards at concessions, and we… That’s it. He interrupted me kindly and said, “No problem. Let me take care of that for you.” No arguments. No questions. He understood, and acted on my request. I was in disbelief — I didn’t even get to finish complaining!

Then this morning I decided to push the YES button when the gas pump asked me if I wanted to buy a car wash. The problem happened when I pulled up to the car wash and saw a sign that said “No pickups”. So, I went back inside and asked for a refund on my carwash. Afterall, I can’t use it if you don’t allow pickups, as this is what I was driving. Again, no questions asked. “Pickups go through all the time, but you’re right, the sign says no pickups, so let me credit your card back.”

Do you have unspoken promises? Seth Godin often refers to things like this as the Free Prize Inside. Not necessarily dealing with refunds, but in general: What services do you offer to your customers that you don’t brag about, but consistently deliver?

Today’s Idea: Figure out what your unspoken promises are, and keep them. Maybe you have promises you let customers know about, but that might be better off unspoken. That pleasant surprise is often the best part of the whole experience — yes, even moreso than spending money with you.

Negotiate Everything

RicoG — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:15:47 +0000

Everything in life is negotiable, either directly or indirectly.

Direct negotiation: You and a salesman going back and forth until you agree on a price and/or terms.

Indirect negotiation: You negotiating with yourself by shopping around until you find the best price and/or terms.

Today’s Idea: The next time you’re going to purchase something costing over $100, negotiate. Either with a sales person, or by shopping around. Spend at least one week casually negotiating. I am 99% sure you’ll find a price lower than the first one you found.