A view of the CPI courtyard and classrooms.

The beautiful Monteverde campus in the rainforest (yes, it’s awesome) includes classrooms (of course), study areas, a library, perfectly landscaped courtyards and stylish yet functional apartments for the students. The CPI apartments and the family’s gorgeous townhouse (the couple has an incredible eye for design) are connected to the school.

Seeing the CPI staff and their owners in action reminded me of a few business tips.

• Listen to your clients. Students often ask about tours and sites to see, so Jonle started a tour division. Now, before a group of students comes to Costa Rica to study, they pick the activities they want to do and Jonle creates an itinerary for them. The students pay in advance and don’t have to worry about paying before every activity.

• Put systems in place to make your business run like clockwork. CPI’s administrative staff and teachers have clear-cut job descriptions and responsibilities. When Carlos and Jonle are away, it’s business as usual and if their staff has any concerns, they can reach the couple easily through their cell phones or Skype.

• Don’t be afraid to expand your business. The peak tourist season in Costa Rica isn’t during the summer when students study at CPI. Instead it’s during the winter months. Rather than leave the apartments empty, CPI rents apartments, called Casas del Toro, to tourists from around the world and organizes tours for their guests.

• Turn subcontractors and freelancers into full time employees when their workload increases. Rather than hire a contractor for individual projects, Carlos decided to hire a contractor full time. The contractor handles projects that are continually going on at one of the three campuses.

Visiting my friends in Costa Rica reminded me of one of the advantages of working from home. You can either stay small or grow your business as big as you want and still be home-based.

• Stop scribbling notes on any stray scraps of paper. Use your handheld, a daily planner or even a simple spiral notebook to keep track of notes to yourself. While I’m a huge fan of sticky notes, those suckers are easy to lose, especially when they stick to the back of another piece of paper.

• Write a list of specific work goals each day and mark them off as you finish them. Keep the list realistic.

• Have a set place to keep everything from paper clips to pens.

• Take a few seconds to put things back when you’re finished. If you think about it, it takes a few minutes to put something away, but you’ll save time in the long run.

• Make your work area as compact as possible. You’ll save time if you can grab everything you need — your phone, printer and files — without getting out of your seat.

• Leave your desk for 5 minutes every 1 ½ hours to stretch your body and invigorate your mind. After you start following the tip above, you’ll welcome the time away from your chair.

• Use a supportive chair, ergonomic keyboard and a desk that’s the right height to keep you from straining your back and your wrists while you type.

• Store phone numbers electronically within your handheld or within a contact management program. Then you can toss all of those business cards that are cluttering your desk.

• Set a time to leave your home office each day — and stick to it. Have you ever noticed that the less time you have to work, the more you accomplish? And the more time you have, the more time it takes for you to finish?

• Always carry a handheld, a daily planner or even a small notepad to jot down ideas that come to you after hours.

What do you do to be more efficient?

Guest Post by Wendy Sullivan

Podcasting isn’t terribly different from blogging. One of the top touted ways of drawing traffic to your blog is to guest post on other people’s sites. I’ve found, in my experience, that inviting guests to be on your podcast really draws the traffic.

According to a study posted on Podcasting News (which you should be reading!), half the Internet radio audience is listening to podcasts, as opposed to streaming radio.

When I began my podcast back on May 18, 2008, it was small. My blog was a small-medium political site, with about 800 daily readers, many of whom were happy to tune into my little voice experiment. The first four weeks of Brass Balls Radio – now off the air – brought a couple thousand listeners, thanks to friends linking to us on their own blogs.

For my fourth show, I screwed up all my courage and invited author and columnist Mark Steyn to join me. At the time of recording, he had just walked out of a court in Vancouver after fighting a human rights complaint over an excerpt of his book, America Alone. Mark was very much in the news in both Canada and the United States during this time, and scoring him for my now-defunct show Brass Balls Radio was quite a coup.

In addition to merely appearing on the show, he also linked to his episode on his own website. That brought me not hundreds or even thousands of listeners – it brought almost 20,000! Not all of them subscribed, but thousands tuned in week after week to listen to the musings of me and my co-host Mike Williams.

It was time to leverage this information to draw in ever more listeners each week. We used different methods:

• Facebook fan pages
• Twitter
• Interviewing other bloggers in our niche and receiving links from them
• Sending out thank you mugs for special guest-hosts

All of these things resulted in more links back to Brass Balls Radio. Someone appeared on our show, they’d mention us on their website. If they received a personalized mug, they posted a picture of it and linked back to us. People not only wanted to listen to the show, the petitioned us to be on it, too. Traffic grew.

One of the most important things we did was to register our site feed with iTunes. Apple owns the podcasting world, and we just live in it. Ergo, making sure our listeners could get our show on their iPods without a lot of effort was really important. You can learn about sending your podcast feed to iTunes here.

So how do you get great guests to entertain and educate your podcast listeners? You ask them! It’s as simple as that, really. Your momma told you that “if you don’t ask, you don’t get.” Very wise advice. Whether you want a high ranking politician, a famous author or a tenured expert on ecology, you have to keep in mind that they are all human beings trying to promote their own product/idea. In the case of Mark Steyn, he was not only kind enough to appear often as a guest, but also agreed to guest-host for our 1st anniversary show. Rush Limbaugh pays him much more than a personalized coffee mug to do the same, I assure you! Obviously I had to approach him first, and this took confidence and more than a little chutzpah.

Don’t be afraid of people just because they are “experts” or are more successful than you. Most of them will be friendly and outgoing, happy to talk about their ideas on your show. I think that out of all the guests I invited, only one ever turned me down – Lord Conrad Black’s wife, and only because Lord Black was about to head back into court in Chicago.

If you build it – and have the confidence to ask – they will come.

Wendy Sullivan is a freelance writer and journalist based in Toronto, where she lives with her muse – an 8 lb chihuahua named Bug. Check Wendy out at Girl on the Write.

I talked with other home office professionals who enjoy the freedom of working from home. When they’re lonely, want to escape from the kids or need a change of scenery, they leave their home office too.  Surprisingly, a coffee shop isn’t their only option.

“I’ve moved out to the 1966 Airstream that’s in our yard, and it’s worked out OK because it’s broadband-and-bathroom equipped, and has a lovely view of the surrounding fields.”
—Tom Bentley, The Write Word Writing and Editing Services

“Yesterday I was on my deck catching some sun in my bathing suit/lounge chair with laptop on my lap, while writing a major strategic marketing plan for a corporate client. Spots I really enjoy are quiet nooks in hotel lobbies. The only minor challenge I face is when I have to print something, I have to wait when I come home. But lately I am trying to hard to stay “green” and only print what I really need and do any editing/review on my computer.”
—Maurisa Turner Potts, Marketing & Public Relations Strategist

“I love to work from our public library. It’s usually quiet and empty in the mornings, and I get a chance to focus away from my 5 children and use the lightning-fast Wi-Fi. Between my iPhone and my laptop, there’s really nothing I can’t do there.”
—Linsey Knerl, The Freelance Farmer

Between the orange walls (Benjamin Moore Soft Glow) and paw prints climbing up the walls and across the ceiling, this isn’t your typical home office.  But don’t be fooled by the whimsical look of this space.  If you look closely, you’ll find plenty of organizing systems in place (yes, I tend to look at that first).

Dwight’s desk holds a laptop and two monitors, while his printer is off to the side and in the corner (the best place to put a printer because it’s out of the way but still accessible). His open hutch has room for a hanging file rack, books and personal photos. These items are within reach but aren’t cluttering his desk.  The two-drawer file cabinet gives him additional storage space on top.

There’s even room in his home office for a “junior” work area complete with a small desk and a laptop for his kids to use. A tiger rug and tiger-striped draperies finish off the zoo-themed look.

Who needs a traditional home office when you can bring out your wild side and run a business from home?

Guest post by Becky Powell

Social media is just another tool in your box of tactics, but leaving your digital footprint requires a thought-out strategy.

Think Smarter Not Harder. Now, most journalists have their own blogs, Twitter and Facebook, so you may reach exponentially larger audiences, all from sending to one contact. And remember many communication tools are multi-purpose – embed links, photos and videos that direct readers to your web site, Facebook, Twitter and more.

Find Your Audience. Start with your key online news contacts and find influencers through blogs they prefer or followers interested in the same subject. The goal is to not reach out to everyone, but to find your niche hubs.

Strategy. Make it easy to engage your audience by integrating all communication efforts and maintaining a consistent message across communication channels. Keep it real and conversational.

Execution. Flickr, YouTube and other multimedia sites, are some of the easiest ways to reach large audiences and increase traction. Utilize “tag words” to optimize for search engines and encourage reposting by bloggers. Online events and webinars are cost-effective ways to showcase leadership, expertise and personality.

Engagement. No one wants to be a part of a one-sided conversation. Make it a point to respond to comments and messages.

Measurement. At the end of the day, it’s all about results. Agree upon achievable objectives before you begin the campaign. Key performance indicators to consider include: sales leads, sales conversions, market share, sentiment and comments. There are several online tools to help you monitor your success. Here are some of our favorites: Viral Heat, Klout, & Twitalyzer.

Becky Powell is president of The Powell Group, a public relations firm that has built a reputation for creative thinking and sound strategy that delivers valuable results to their clients.

For small businesses, e-mail marketing is one of the best tools available to increase revenue and awareness of your offering.  However, a lot of people don’t know where to start.  Here is a great list to get you on the road to effective e-mail marketing.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Take a step back and think through what you’re trying to accomplish.  The best way to do this is to see things through your customer’s eyes – what would they want?

• What type of information would attract attention and get people to open, read and act on your e-mail campaigns?
• Would they want coupons, special offers or promotions?
• Would they rather have valuable information and practical tips they can use?

Build an e-mail marketing plan for the year. Look at the calendar, again from your customer’s perspective.

• Map out promotions, topics and campaigns that will help you reach out to your customers at the right time with the right information. Think about holidays or events occurring throughout the year that you can plan around.
• You know your customers better than anyone else, so roughing out a flexible plan for the year shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.
• Investing time planning up front will dramatically improve the performance of your e-mail marketing campaigns.  Your customers will also appreciate getting relevant e-mails when they want them.

Start building your opt-in e-mail list. Opt-in means that your customers understand clearly that by signing up they are giving you permission to send them e-mail communications. In addition to name and email address, think about other information that you can collect that will help you target your e-mail campaigns, such as gender or geography.

• Include a check-off box option for your customers to learn more about certain products and services as well as topics, issues and challenges that interest them.
• Use all of the tools at your disposal to gather e-mail and customer information including a quick sign up on your homepage.
• Actively seek people you want to reach by attending relevant trade shows and conferences.  Gather business cards, ask for permission and add them to your list!

Launch your first email campaign! Kick things off by introducing yourself and setting expectations.  Let your audience know the type of information they’ll be receiving and how frequently to expect it.

• In your first campaign, don’t just sell, but also offer valuable information or tips your audience can use.
• Encourage feedback to begin an ongoing dialogue with customers, allowing you to continually gather more detailed profile information to improve the targeting of future campaigns.

Your e-mail campaign is a work in progress. The important thing is to take the first step and send your first e-mail.  From there, it will grow with you as you learn the tricks of the trade. By following this checklist you should have a good idea how to kick things off.

Wendy Lowe is Regional Development Director for Campaigner, an e-mail marketing solution that enables organizations to have personalized one-to-one e-mail dialogues with their customers, measure how they respond, and analyze those responses.

During my last business trip, I saw several folks tapping away on their iPads, which made me want one even more. This is a true case of technology envy. My MacBook is lightweight and easy to pack, but it’s not as thin, sleek and well, not as cool as the iPad.

In Shira Levine’s article “Can the iPad Replace Your Laptop for Business Travel?“ she shares several irresistible reasons for using an iPad on the road.  Some of her better arguments include:

The iPad is lightweight. The multi-tasking device clocks in at just a pound and a half – no more shoulder and back pain for those who were carrying around bulkier 3-10 pound machines. Weight matters, especially when you add luggage to the mix.

The iPad has a long-lasting charge. The iPad banks up to 12 hours in battery use between charges, which come to about four times the battery life of a notebook and two times the battery life of a netbook. During my last trip, thanks to the Samsung lounge I had a place to recharge my laptop and iPhone when both were dangerously low.  Not having to worry about a device dying on you can make your business trip a little less stressful.

The iPad is airport security friendly – mostly. “You don’t have to remove it from the case and place in into a separate bin,” a security person at JFK airport in New York says. Anything that makes going through security easier gets my vote.

It’s another Apple product with exciting applications. If you have an iPhone, you’re probably already familiar with many apps.  With an iPad you can use these same apps but now you’ll see them on a bigger screen.

Maybe it’s time to rethink my wants vs. needs tug of war.  I’ll make sure I do that while I’m revisiting the Apple store.

Use bcc. It means blind carbon copy which means don’t make everyone on your e-mail list mad by listing their email addresses in your mass mailings. In the “To” section, enter your email address and in the “bcc” section, enter everyone else’s addresses.

Click send once. It’s not like pushing an elevator button to make it arrive faster (which by the way, doesn’t work even though it makes me feel better to think it does).  Instead of making your e-mail arrive sooner, pushing send several times makes several emails arrive one after the other.

Don’t include attachments in emails to folks who don’t know you. If someone has no idea who you are, they probably won’t feel comfortable enough to download your attachment.  Anyone who has suffered through an infected computer knows that it’s not worth downloading a suspicious file.

Limit the number of “funny” emails you send to friends and clients. Sorry, but sometimes they’re more annoying than funny.

If you’re not doing the things on this list on a regular basis, keep in mind that it’s not too late to change your e-mailing ways.

In a recent blog post, New Marketing Labs, LLC president Chris Brogan stresses the need to develop a strong core. In this case he’s referring to your database, your email marketing, and some kind of community of prospects. He describes his four core tools of marketing.

Database – Your client and prospect list, your database, is the base of everything. If you don’t know who your customers are, who your next customers will be, then that’s where you start. Brogan uses BatchBook by BatchBlue for his contact database.  Constant Contact is another database manager to consider but a product endorsement by Brogan carries a lot of weight.

Email Marketing – Done well, email marketing is still the best, most effective marketing tool the digital world has ever created. The information you include in your e-mails needs to offer helpful information instead of endless sales pitches.

Message Boards/Forums – I co-launched Third Tribe Marketing with some of the world’s best bloggers, and we’ve got a thriving community going there (we talk about online marketing). I joined the program yesterday.  Their sales pitch was too hard to resist plus I’ve learned so much from the folks at Copyblogger (love their blog!) who are involved in the program.

The Frilly Stuff – I write a blog (actually several), and I shoot video reviews and interviews all the time. Multi-media including videos, photos, podcasts and other media are going from optional to mandatory. It’s time to shoot some videos this week!

What are you doing to develop your core?