Category: “Just Nancy”

Posted on

Time Management Tips

Time is Money! When It Comes to Being Productive in Your Job.
Time is Money! When It Comes to Being Productive in Your Job.

I am experiencing one of my strongest business growth trends this year and as a result I have become a master of time management in order to be productive.

Here are my top tips to get more out of your day:

1. Turn off email notifications. These are those messages that float across the bottom of your screen if you are using Outlook telling you that you have email. While you are working resist the urge to check your email. Stay on task and check when your task is done.

2. Control your phone calls. I use Google Voice and I update my voice mail message regularly. I do not answer my phone when I am really in production. I simply let my calls go to voice mail. It is better to finish up a task faster than to be constantly interrupted.

3. Control your email. When I am really tied up, I will post an auto responder on my email alerting clients when I will touch base back with them. Then mid morning and mid afternoon I will send a quick email response letting a client know I got their message and that I will respond either by the end of the day or the next morning. Then I make sure I do just that.

4. Use a call scheduling app for clients that need to chat with you. Instead of my trying to corral a client and exchange multiple emails to find a time to chat about a project, I put the client in control and use Calendly for my phone call scheduling. I have set the parameters of when I will take calls and the client chooses a time that is good for them. The call appears automatically in my schedule. The client can even self-manage and cancel or reschedule a call. I just make sure that I have time available and code in my Google Calendar when I am free and not available.

5. Control your task list, each night I plan my next day. I move things on my calendar and decide what I will do when. I group similar tasks together like perform all my AdWords work in the morning and all my webmaster work in the afternoon. I even schedule time for lunch, my workout, and planning time. I have found that if I schedule these things I assure that I do have some downtime and flexibility in my schedule if I have to drop in a project or take a call.

6. Move all your email, calendar, and file exchange to the cloud. By moving to the cloud, I have been able to increase my productivity as my smartphone has become my mobile desktop. I can move files to my staff, check on staff projects, and keep abreast of projects even while I am walking on the treadmill.

By being productive and very schedule oriented, I am generating more time for existing clients and more time for taking on new clients.

 

Posted on

Google My Business Verification Problems

Building Exterior
Building Exterior that Google does not like!

Google My Business verification should not be so hard! For owners of a single business verification is a snap – complete your profile, ask for a letter to be mailed to you, confirm the PIN number Google sends to you. But if you are an owner of multiple businesses that you run out of separate offices, brace yourself for the run around from Google when you try to verify a second business.

Just this last week, a supervisor at Google My Business finally told me that Google would never verify my client’s second account. We had been working diligently since October 11th to provide all the information and documentation pictures the Google staff said it needed for review. I have to say I was nearly foaming from the mouth when I heard that final response!

It is unthinkable that Google has such vague standards when it comes to business verification; rules that are not in step with small businesses located in the USA. Additionally, add a language difficulty , as the staff appears to all be located in India, and the difficulty grows exponentially.

Ridiculousness at Its Best

I was told to supply a photo of both suite doors and signage on each but as there was a wall between the two, Google did not like the image. I could not knock down a wall in order to provide the photo.

I was told to take a picture of exterior signage for the business, but as the client is in an office condo park, no businesses have exterior signage unless they own a whole floor. Another fail!

I was told to take a picture of the reception desk with the large company sign behind the receptionist. Okay let’s get real, this was a small business, they have an office, but not a glitzy reception area and no need for an inside sign, they know who they are! A fail again.

Finally, I was told that the font on the second business sign did not match the font on the sign on the first business. Wow, that was an eye opener!

Then I was told that due to the history of requests and images sent as we tried to give Google what they wanted for over a two month period, that they did not believe the client ran two businesses. So, the history of what I had sent to Google based on the account reps requests totally worked against the client.

Nothing should be this difficult to resolve, but it’s Google! Understand that on Google My Business verifications, Google does run the world.

Posted on

Opera VPN for Smartphone Security

Opera VPN
Opera VPN

If you use your phone on travel, sitting at Starbucks, at Target and even Macy’s, you’d better make sure you are secure by using this free app called Opera VPN.

I have my phone set up to minimize data use. As a result when I am out an about, my phone is looking for Wi-Fi spots to connect to to save data.  As a result, if you connect to any Wi-Fi, you may be setting yourself up for a hack attack and potentially even identity theft.

Opera has introduced a free super easy to use app called Opera VPN that makes it easy to stay secure on Wi-Fi anywhere. Download the app for Android or Apple at Google Play or ITunes. The app is simple to use, click the Wi-Fi icon and it lets you know a letter grade of your security. Turn it on and the app gives you a new grade with cute visuals helping you to understand how the app keeps you safe. Additionally, you’ll get an integrated ad tracking blocker.

As this app is easy to use, has cute visual cues, and is free, I consider it a great app for kids, teens, and those on a budget. If you have kids using smartphones, make sure to review this important security information with them. It is not common knowledge and we have to as parents instruct them how to be safe from identity and banking theft through the use of unsecured or compromised Wi-Fi access points.

I am not being paid for this review, just like the app and wanted to share it with you. Make sure you keep an eye on this app in the future. For now it is ad-free, but it may be ad supported in the future and may sell aggregated data, but for now, it is a smart, free, and easy to use way to be safe online with your smartphone.

Posted on

Lookout App Reviewed

Stay safe with your phone by using Lookout.
Stay safe with your phone by using Lookout.

For several years I have had on my Android smartphone the Lookout app. I upgraded to Premium for $29.99 a year and wanted to share my experience in using this app.

First, I am not paid for this review. I like the app and wanted to share my experience with you.

Here’s why I like the app and went premium.

I like the security features. Before the market was flooded with antivirus and security apps, I had Lookout to keep me safe.

I like the integrated feature that allows me to find my phone, to wipe my phone if it is lost, and to sound an alarm to help find my phone. Although now Verizon and even Samsung have these as phone integrated features now for free,. Lookout had them became device standards.

I like the online interface that allows me to manage device files, backups, call logs and images. Although Verizon has this feature now with Verizon Cloud, it is buggy and does not always perform backups for days and weeks.

Lookout also protects against the following: chargeware, items billed to your wireless bill without your consent; adware; app dropper;  bot apps, click fraud; exploits; riskware; root enablers; surveillance ware; toll fraud; and Trojans.

It also keeps you apprised of what apps see and use on your phone to help you be in control of your privacy.

Here’s what I like that they just introduced this year.

This year Lookout added a nice app that automatically opens up a VPN (Virtual Private Network) when I go online. Although I have NordVPN for this use, I do like the automatic feature and use it more than NordVPN. I like this additional feature for security and consider it a nice perk for using their product.

Although smartphones may have some of these features now rolled into their device software, Lookout is proactively adding features and services that devices do not have at this time to keep your smartphone safe from schemers, spammers, and thieves.

I consider the $29.99 a year price a real value.