That is what Tuesday is often seen as, according to research from ‘AccountEmps‘. Monday and Tuesday are the two most productive days of the week for employees. 39% of Human Resource Managers think employees get the most work done on Tuesdays, while 24% believe productivity peaks on Mondays.
That is what statistics say, but even taking statistics out of the equation, many will sincerely believe that Tuesday is the most productive day of the week. The working week (except Arab world countries) seems to officially start on Monday but realistically it doesn’t come alive until Tuesday, employees brain cells start to wake up from the weekends nap.
Why cant employees just be normal and switch on from Monday?
I believe it is a psychological issue that we humans struggle with, the weekend events is like a hanging burden over us that damages our mentality on Monday morning, in other words Monday morning comes too soon for the majority of us which is not as bad as it seems considering once Tuesday comes around 99% of the world are already in full swing with their duties, a buzz finally comes over us to notice the week has started. Tuesday is that kind of day where targets are beginning to take shape and things feel normal, why? Because you are settling into the rhythm again, the normality of how your body reacts to routine.
How important are Tuesdays?
If momentum means anything to you, then Tuesdays should also signify a lot to your achievements. Tuesday for a number of professional workers in an specific industry will tell you, it is the day where they pick up steam, suddenly things become competitive again whereas Monday you couldn’t be bothered to compete with your colleagues.
We all know 5 days a week, Monday to Friday goes lightning fast. So really, we should recognise the chances to get the ball rolling to ensure we aren’t slumping past the finish line on Friday afternoon, but comfortably packing our stuff up with ease getting ready for a relaxing weekend. Tuesday is that day where it is important to start your engine at work.
Tactic (plural noun = tactics) – an action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end.
How successful would you be or how would you expect to meet targets if you were doing the opposite, working hard with the wrong tactics? By that definition of ‘tactics’ I think it shows that it is very much possible to set ourselves up for failure because our strategies will determine the ‘specific end’. Often we have seen football managers reveal the hours of preparation it took for them to pinpoint the weaknesses of the opposition and attack it with precision on match day of course leading to a victory.
I’m convinced that working smart with the correct strategy is the way to achieve targets, grades and success rather than solely thinking working hard alone will see you hit goals. There have been cases where personnel’s have worked extremely hard with their business/talent but haven’t reaped the rewards from it due to failure to delegate with other parties, stubbornness and working down the wrong routes.
When I read and analyse successful individuals or even speak to them, I notice how sharp their strategy was to reach where they are. It seems that the key in achieving targets and goals reverts back to the drawing board, detailed planning and preparation.
The Final Destination
The Target Audience
How it will be executed
In writing the method in business and products would be where you want to reach, who is the target and how will you approach the targets.
Working Smart In The Music Industry
In recent years, 2014 & 2015 especially there has seen a number of artists make their mark in the industry from one single song lasting 3-4 minutes. They often receive a lot of critics from the fans and media for gaining attention and money for just one song, “Where was they last year?” and other similar comments are made about artists such as Dej Loaf, Fetty Wap, OT Genasis and Rich Homie Quan all of which are young American artists that hit the nail dead on the head with a substantial amount of force.
Views on first video single via Youtube:
Dej Loaf – Try Me (22 million views, leading to collaboration with Atlantic Records artist Young Thug and Cash Money Inc. Co-founder Birdman. Young Thug of which made headlines with his first major release ‘Lifestyle’ in July 2014 raking in 145 million views and the track going platinum)
OT Genasis – Coco (125 million views)
Fetty Wap – Trap Queen (94 million views, leading to a number of artists making covers and OVO Sound founder Drake making a remix of his following song ‘My Way’
Rich Homie Quan – Type Of Way (95 million views, leading to interest from Def Jam recordings and Cash Money Inc. After being mentored by owner of Cash Money Birdman and involved with the Rich Gang Tha Tour part 1 mixtape, Quan decided to pursue his career going solo as an individual artist.
It is very clear to see the method in which they chose, to gain the attention of major record labels and collaboration of major artists.
Finding a gap in the industry, what isn’t there enough of? “How can I use my strengths and capitalise”
Sourcing/production of a unique sound
When to release the song
A catchy rhythm/flow
Understanding what music fans want to hear
Being themselves
Too many times, notably in the UK music industry, artists look afraid to come out of their comfort zone and produce something unique that will gain 50-100 million views on youtube. UK grime and hip-hop rappers rarely come out of the UK, due to the similar music that comes from the scene. The UK has however produced unique sounds for the world to hear in Ed Sheeran, (who has deals with Atlantic Records, Asylum Records and Elektra Records) Adele (Universal Music Group, Columbia and XL Recordings) and Sam Smith (Capitol Records).
(2nd to last paragraph small comment from Wayne Lebert on working smart)
If there is gold 100 metres underground and one man is digging with a JCB digger and the other man is digging with a spade, who do you think would reach the gold first? The answer is simple yet the man using the spade will look back on his efforts expecting to have won due to how ‘hard he worked’ his face would have been sweating and back aching trying to get that gold. However the JCB digger could have been eating a sandwich whilst doing it, yet he still reaches the gold first. This example is of course very quick however, I think we shouldn’t be so quick to run from the planning stages so fast in achieving our goals.
As the saying goes, ‘opportunity comes once so grab it’. Working hard to gain results will only show, if we are banging on the right door, it is possible to bang on the wrong door of opportunity when nothing is in there, which is a mistake I regularly see everyday.
Tuesday marked exactly one year since I stepped into the software and marketing industry, a journey that has seen me experience new feelings, new surroundings and a more mature developed mindset. I have not looked back since. One of the main topics I have learned during my time in the industry has been Email Marketing. Often when we hear words like software and technology, we don’t want to hear any more because it just sounds complicated, as was my thoughts at the time.
As part of my one year milestone in the industry, I would like to break down Email Marketing mainly for those looking to start a product based business whether it’s clothing, catering or video production. Email Marketing is a brand enhancing platform, that allows you to send bulk emails (or standard) to mass emailing lists up to millions. It is also a method used for:
Customer Loyalty
Acquiring/Converting Customers
Company Advertisements
Promotional Offers
Standing outside the industry I didn’t realise how many companies are ESP’s (Email Service Providers) but being inside, I understood how huge the industry is and how extremely profitable it is for even the medium sized providers yet alone the top providers such as ConstantContact and MailChimp. Constant Contact of which have a market capital of $885,310,951 by signing up clients and gaining subscribers on record each day, week, month and year. This is the power of Email Marketing.
What Can It Do For You?
As I mentioned earlier, if you are a young person on a business venture or already an established business owner, if you aren’t already using an Email Marketing platform, I would strongly recommend you sign up to one especially with it being such a reliable tool in exposure and gains of new clientèle (fact at the top of the blog). It is quite simple most companies will handle campaign management and provide strategies for you, if the case is that you don’t understand it or just don’t have the time on your hands.
If you hold Email addresses of up to 300+ of your customers it would be a wise decision to begin Email Marketing. Send campaigns of new products, offers and news just to keep your current crop of customers engaged and potentially with the correct designs and content, attract new ones.
When asked which medium consumers would like to receive updates from, 90% preferred an email newsletter, while only 10% chose Facebook – (Source: Nielsen Norman Group)
This statistic shows you are giving your customers what they prefer, although the complete marketing package is synchronising your Email Marketing activities, with your social media duties, Email Marketing alone can certainly raise awareness and enhance your work/products to a wider audience.
Email Marketing isn’t an expensive software to use, it is definitely well worth the return on the monthly payments being paid out of your business expenses. Many companies usually start with a rough cost of:
500 contacts (opted in / purchased data) – £9.00 per month for multiple sends.
1000 contacts – £15.00 per month
25,000 contacts – £100.00 per month
1,000,000 contacts – £1,440.00 per month
3,000,000 contacts – £4,500.00 per month
Bare in mind most companies with one million+ contacts will be mainstream industry giants in retail and production such as Argos, Ebay, Mercedes etc. So don’t let that scare you. The costs to promote your products to your potential clients and existing business is definitely a return worthy investment that is also very enjoyable, take it from me. It’s a powerful tool that has helped many big guns get to where they are now.
For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $44.25.(Source: emailexpert)
Optimism – hopeful and confident about the future.
A must have asset in business, without optimism getting from Monday to Friday will be a real struggle. Seeing further than the position you are in, not only raises your morale but also team members and colleagues. Sharing the vision, a vision determines the way we act and react in business/work related situations, or in some cases even general life situations.
For existing business personnels and owners, you will know not everyday is pretty and for those new to business or thinking about going into business, if you are optimistic but think everyday will be according to your business plan or dream, your business dream might end before it has even started.
Young entrepreneurs tend to look and talk more optimistic than the older ones, why? There is more to look forward to being a young aspiring businessman in the modern day, more opportunities are there for the taking. How to be successful is now a remedy that can be taught, however the skills required to be successful cannot be taught. Everyday must be seen as another step up a very rough and emotional journey, because when bad days loom over you, one has got to be prepared for the trials that are constantly tearing up plans and targets.
Business is often a numbers and possibility game, that eventually means with a strong work ethic, you will win. Especially within recruitment and sales, Bill Gates the owner and founder of Microsoft once said “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning“. Not everybody is going to want what you offer, it’s just the way it goes so it is important not to discourage yourselves. You started the race, now it is nobodies duty but yours to finish it.
Create a strong optimistic personality in your character, so that when difficult obstacles are placed in front of your path, you are able to not give up and turn around but work around it, or better yet, work through it with a solution. Nobody deserves to be a millionaire for free. Try having this mentality: Why do I deserve a large bankroll? Is my time, are my efforts worth hundreds, thousands or millions?
Philosophy: ‘Atheory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour.’
A business that lives and dies by a philosophy. If this is the case whatever philosophy that may be: boring, winning, tactical, rake in financial profit by any means, patient or never give up. The philosophy can be anything that works in the owners favour, something that only that specific business can implement into their work. So if the case is ‘A business that lives and dies by a philosophy’ then this cannot be, it means the business does not die.
Henry Ford founder of the Model-T and Ford Motor Company
Still going as strong as ever today, founded by a normal engineer, Tom Ford found himself being promoted to Chief Engineer in 1893 with the Edison Illuminating Company. Now in 2015, the latest results show that as of 2013, the Ford Motor company is raking a net income of $7.15 billion (US)… How’s that for Philosophy?
From the basic (as we see it now) 18th century (1896) Ford-quadricycle to the (not yet released as until later this year) Ford S-Max, this shows more than the other 5 listed philosophies that Henry Ford ran the company with a ‘winning’ approach to business. He created the Model-T with the mentality that he could compete in the automobile market and is willing to take on whatever his competitors come back with, unfortunately he sadly passed away back in 1947 of course.
The reality of his work is that although not one of the top models in the market today, due to Mercedes Benz and BMW especially, have worked increasingly hard to challenge and integrate 21st century technology into their vehicles, Henry Ford’s philosophy is still being lived by in the company and more importantly his motors are still alive and competing.
What type of business do you run/What type of business will you run?
Now in 2015, entrepreneurs have a choice. There are more opportunities to grab than ever before according to Richard Branson’s Virgin – Entrepreneurship is set to go viral in 2015, for young business personalities this is encouraging news and this is a door that opens up dreams for aspiring business owners.
However for those self-started companies and business owners that have been running for years, seen the market rise and fall, experienced good and not so good business decisions affect their financial stability, where do you go from here?
From the little experience I have in the industry compared to the many great personalities in the country, I know that before anything else, you cannot get to the top of the stairs without wanting to climb the second step. As my experience grows at 17 years old, I’m learning the fundamentals of business everyday. As an Entrepreneur your business can’t grow firstly without you loving what you do, the drive, energy and passion for the role must be genuine love that reflects your buzz during work flow everyday.
The biggest time-wasting activities at work are personal internet use (34%), socialising with colleagues (20.3%) and conducting personal business (17%) – Salary.com, 2007
If we are claiming to have a winning mentality in our philosophies why do we time waste?
Not enjoying the job
Bored
Easily distracted
Lack of discipline
If you can love what you do, then your heart and positive approach to the business will elevate into much more than you could expect. This also ensures your mindset is in the right place, a clean mind strictly focused on completing a task means you are making progress and because we are all humans you won’t realise it yet, until the project is done. Seeing tasks through because you can’t wait for the results is a form of ‘love for the job’.
Employees spend an average of 11 minutes on a task before being distracted. Once distracted, it takes workers 25 minutes to return to the original task. – University of California
A philosophy that employees understand means they will either agree with it and stay on within the business or disagree with it and depart. It is essential that as a manager you push your philosophy out so your employees know what level to work for and eventually reach. Many professional sport coaches tend to work by philosophy in order to operate effectively at their clubs. It means everybody is going in the same direction, there is positivity and an understanding both for the philosophy and the companies welfare and journey.
I leave you with this Quote:
Brits watch an average of 3.7 hours of TV a day. That’s more than a day a week spent in front of the box. Imagine what you could do if you gave up TV for a while. – Thinkbox, January 2009
My Verdict: The time we spend doing half hearted activities, encourage one another to understand a talent, a hobby or an idea and write it down on paper, a memo pad on your mobile or tablet and then begin thinking realistically but outside the box, begin a plan without any capital in the equation and another one with capital in the equation, this is a brief business plan, how you implement it, is the beauty of being a ‘Founder of…’ or CEO of. It’s about being creative implementing your plan in a way nobody hasn’t. No matter how good your competitors are, there are always gaps in the market for an improvement, for a newcomer which could be you.
Elliott-Jay 