When you read a book about productivity or management, or you talk to someone successful; there’s one thing they all have in common. They don’t talk about how much time they have but how much they can get out of their time.

You can have all the money in the world, but you can only have so much time. This means you have to leverage your time.

Leverage your time with these 10 tips.

Find a mentor: Someone to help you refine your ideas into practice. Some of your ideas will be able to put into practice easily, but others might need some fine-tuning. If you don’t know a ‘Guru’ or cannot get in contact with one; subscribe to a blog like Zen Habits. However, don’t fall into the trap of subscribing to more than one; you don’t want to read your feeds all day. Reading too many blogs works counterproductive. Select a good one and stick with that.

Invest your money: this especially goes for newbie entrepreneurs. If you’re just starting out, and you’re making your first dollars online, don’t waste them on booze. Don’t get me wrong; I love liquor as much as the next guy. But especially in the beginning of your online venture; invest in yourself and your business as much as you can.

Start with outsourcing your business: Outsourcing your business might very well be the most important tip in this list. You need to realize that you are the manager in your business, and you need to excel in this. If you don’t have the money to outsource everything, then start with the small things but start today!

Make use of your management talents or improve those that you lack in: I used to be a ‘though’ manager, I could be a real asshole. I already had this when I had a day job but now that I’m a business owner it’s even more important. I used to ask from the people that worked for me the same dedication and commitment as I have. This is of course impossible; it’s my business and not theirs. It wasn’t easy but I had to learn to be more easy going and to give them more space. Now that I stepped back (a bit) it seems that my team is more productive.

Are your skills outdated and they are not management or marketing related: Hire someone who will fill the gap! Find someone who is better than you.

Use the available online resources responsible: You have some great information sources but use them wisely. If you use twitter; don’t use it when you’re working. I already wrote about this in the first point; if you subscribe to a blog, no matter what kind of blog but don’t overdo it! If you really need to read a whole bunch of blogs; close your reader or Outlook. Only check your email and RSS twice a day.

Networking: Use social media to broaden your network (watch your time) and leverage existing ones that you meet throughout your life.

Make use of smart systems and tools: Not only tools like Skype and Roboform but use technology to assist you in achieving more. Especially online tools, the cloud computing world is exploding and that’s not for nothing. We use online time planners, online management systems and online CRM systems, and it works great! If you work on a project; assign your coworkers, they’ll be automatically notified, and you get a message when it’s finished and the time is automatically recorded. This is a must, especially when you run an online business or blog. Start with it today, even if you don’t have any employees. There’s no better time to start working with these systems. Learn it now, so you’ll be prepared when you have employees.

Make use of your knowledge: work with the things that work for you. Is there something making you money, is there something making you happy or is it making you more productive? Make use of it!

Realize what you’re doing: I use Rescue Time constantly to see what I’m doing. When I started using this service, I was blown away with the amount of hours that I spend on email. It’s a free service, and at the end of the week they’ll send you an email with a schedule with how much time you’ve spend on your sites, your apps and on your email. It’s a real productivity booster.

If you have any tips, be sure to leave them in the comments!

1. Don't decide immediately on what you're going to sell.

Think backwards instead of selling your products to your customers; why not find customers to determine what product you’re going to sell. Find and join a discussion group and newsgroup and provide an answer to what the people want. Know the likes and dislikes of your potential customers and what they are looking for. After you known what they are actually lacking or looking for, find solutions that would give them what they want. You can join affiliate programs or joint venture with a company that is already established, or you can just create your own product that can satisfy your customer’s needs.

2. Stand out from the crowd by being unique.

You must develop a Unique Sales Position so that your product would be irresistible to your potential customers but in a novel way. Your potential competitors are out there and you you need to research the list of products that they have or don’t have. Check out their performance and find out how you can compete with them, make a list of your data and make a decision on what to do in order for your product to become unique.

3. Have a positive attitude.

Believing in your product without any doubt is more important than having an in demand product. You must always have a positive attitude when going into your ventures. Make people believe that you are giving all your energy and enthusiasm to the product that you are selling.

4. Never stop planning.

Are tactics and strategy the same? Don’t be confused, they are different. Tactics are day-to-day actions, while a strategy is an overall goal for the kind of business or website that gives accomplishments to you as well as your potential customers. A powerful strategy must be developed so that all your marketing efforts will both be guided and empowered.

5. Your Unique Sales Position must be designed with a content rich and a customer friendly site.

You must always realize that most of your prospects and customers are impatient because what they really want to know is; what's in it for them. Keep in mind that you only have a few seconds to make them interested in further exploring your site. Stick to the KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) principle. From the title to the ordering process of your site, it must always be simple and straight forward. Immediately explain Who, What, Why and What you are about, concentrate first on your content development rather than fancy designs. When you think about it, that’s really what your potential customers want.

6. Pick a domain name that is catchy and easy to remember.

You must pick a domain name that can easily be search by anyone, which is related to your business and preferbly holds your product name. Gaining market share is not so much the key factor as it is in gaining “mind share." This means the recognition of the brand. Your title must be catchy and meaningful so that it expresses a feeling or image in the mind of the consumer which will stick to them.

7. Don't save money when it comes to selecting a hosting service.

Your hosting service can make you look good, or it can make you look bad. Your service together with your computer is the key equipment to your business. Are you planning on being in the business for a period of time? Then choose one that offers secure server and tracking options. Do you want them to take you seriously? Then you must seriously consider all the aspects of your web business.

8. Make purchasing as easy as possible.

Do you want to make sales through the web?? If so, you must have a fully functional E-commerce system built into. With regards to your product or service, any time a visitor need to purchase a product, they must be able do this by just a click of a button. You must make sure that your site can make shopping a fast, fun and easy experience. Provide a simple yet effective shopping cart or ordering system to your impulse buyer.

9. Keep your site up-to-date for service and security.

One way to make sure that your customers return to your site is by updating it and regularly adding new products. Add valuable content that would make it difficult for your customer to get through it in a single visit. You must always revise and update your site and see it as an ongoing project so that more visitors would be interested in it. You must expand your product or service line regularly, and this is where affiliate programs come in handy.

10. Establish your online presence.

Use the internet to make different kinds of advertisements and promote your site so that people would know about your site or product. From affiliations and link exchanges. Furthermore, you must register to indexes, directories, guides and yellow pages. Make articles, classified ads, press releases, and participate in discussion forums and newsgroups; make use of the online promotional tools. If you have the money and can afford it advertise with flyers, posters, business cards, direct mailings and newspaper because they are too very effective ways of letting everyone know about your business.

11. Grow your own opt-in list.

Do whatever means possible to make your prospects leave their email addresses. If you have new products, you want to inform your buyers and previous visitors first. Give them your special report, product samples, free ads, or anything to get their email addresses so that you can mail them your newsletter. Your prospects will learn to trust you because of the relationship that you are building and trust will resolve in easy sales.

12. Be patient and consistent in your promotional efforts.

Patient is a factor in a business, and you must also think long term. Success won’t happen in just a matter of one night, it takes a lot of effort and hard work. Strategies your moves by planning ahead and developing the right moves for the right time. The more thought and energy you exert in promoting your business, the better your business will do. Make step by step plans with your business and eventually all your hard work will be rewarded. Attracting serious traffic as soon as possible in to your site will make your efforts and expense validated.

13. Your computer is your most important business tool, make sure it's reliable.

If you want to conduct your business online, then when it comes to your computer setup always choose for the best, even if it cost you extra. Choosing for the fastest modem, memory, processor and other computer gadgets is what I would suggest. And in the end you will be very grateful that you did.

14. Don't rest on your achievements.

In business there’s always a learning process and room for change, and you must always be prepared to do so. So, you must be up to date when it comes to your field of work and in general the world of online marketing. Without the knowledge on of all the above key factors no one can prosper in their business. How to improve your offering or product? Constantly evaluate what your competitors do, compare it with your own efforts.

15. Keep track of your successes and failures and reward yourself when you succeed.

Keep trying different kinds of advertisements, and track all your ads so that you know what worked or not. Use different techniques and approaches to uplift your business.

16. Consistently follow-up with all your customers.

Ask your customers on how they liked the way you served them or how they liked the products, and if there’s anything else they want from you. Always remember that selling a product to an old customer is better than with a new one. And having a good etiquette is a plus to your business. Make it a habit to check your e-mail several times a day, if you neglect your customer, they will not care for your business too. Never allow any e-mail inquiry or complaint to go un-addressed for more than 24 hours! You must be courteous and your responses must be on time, and all your correspondents must be addressed to your customer’s name because it’s all about customer service.

17. Even though it's home-based, it still work, run your business as your business.

If you have your own business, it's very hard to maintain the discipline or work motivation every day. Essential tasks that need to be done might be neglected if you are easily distracted. During work hours never stay up late or do things other than your work. Even though it’s very tempting, but in order for you to become successful with regards to your business, you must do this to accomplish your goals. Make a list of all the things you want to do. Set goals for the week.

18. Don’t give up!!!

Always have in mind what your goals are and never let discouragement slow you down. Remember, that having failures mean that you have the chance to improve as well as from success. If you want to have a reputable business and cultivate a customer you must be willing to wait because it takes time and effort, whether online or offline. In reality, a business often takes six months to a year before you can actually make a profit. The sooner the better but don’t expect it. Always do your best and never slack off too much when it is going your way. You will be successful once you tune all your effort into your business.

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing: a few necessary points every company should know to be on the safe side

It is very important for all companies with an inclination for outsourcing business processes to know the pros cons of outsourcing because this will help them make a better and more informed decision. To know what are the pros cons of outsourcing, please read on.

Pros and Cons of Outsourcing

Outsourcing has come under the media glare and this trend is being severely scrutinized by the media and workers alike in many of the developed nations. The main reason why companies and in particular Online business owners opt for outsourcing is because it helps in cutting costs, reducing operational expenditure and also helps a company to bear the competition and stay ahead in the race. You can enjoy better customer service and superior quality products at dirt cheap rates.

Pros of Outsourcing

• Outsourcing allows you to concentrate on the core competencies.
• Outsourcing results in increased productivity.
• Through outsourcing, you can get access to a host of better and more improved, cutting edge technologies at dirt cheap rates, as I have mentioned just above.
• In most cases there’s no need to spend anything on labor training cost, because these expenses will be covered by the outsourcing service provider.
• You will gain access to more efficient, skilled, better trained and cheaper labor without putting a hair out of place.
• Outsourcing will cut your operational costs by more than 50%.

It is true that in many cases, outsourcing is failing to appease companies and contracts are falling through, but in spite of such set backs and minor hiccups, most companies are going ahead with their outsourcing policies because of the abovementioned benefits.

Cons of Outsourcing

But the situation isn’t really all that green. There is a dark cloud behind the silvery glitter as well.

• When the outsourcing service provider suddenly becomes insolvent or bankrupt or cannot provide services due to labor problems or lack of funds, the company that is outsourcing the service will land in a real soup.
• It is very difficult to suddenly shift the business process in house just like that or find a replacement service provider who will be trustworthy enough.
• Since control of the business processes is transferred to the outsourcing service provider, your company will lose the control over the business processes.
• You cannot command single minded devotion and dedication from outsourcing service providers as you are not the only one who is receiving their services. They are offering their services to many other companies like yours.

With the knowledge on the pros cons of outsourcing that you have gained in this article, you can now decide whether outsourcing will be of any help to you or not. I suggest you start outsourcing as much as possible; it’s the key to growing your business.

It doesn’t matter if you use Wordpress as a blog, as a static site or as a sales page; you need to protect your online business and protecting your Wordpress site isn’t that difficult to do. At the most it would take you 20 minutes and if you make yours secure it can save you a big headache. Fixing a hacked site will take you much longer.

The first step is to make sure your Wordpress version is up to date. Same goes for your theme and plugins. Always update immediately to the latest release, almost every security hole is covered in the latest edition. Secondly you need to subscribe to the Wordpress development blog. Here you can find all the news about the security of Wordpress.

Now you need to install the most essential plugins. These are added to my best Wordpress plugins post too.

WP Back Up – WP back Up let’s you schedule your back up so you don’t have to think about it. We made a Gmail address for it and once a week all our Wordpress backups are send to that address. Don’t delete your backups. It’s wise to save them, if you see that your site is hacked it doesn’t mean that your site was hacked this week.

Login LockDown – Login LockDown records the IP address and timestamp of every failed Wordpress login attempt. You can set the max login retries and the time period in-between logins.

WP Security Scan – This plugin performs a scan of your files, folders and settings. The plugin will show you if your files and folders have the right permissions. He removes the WP ID Meta tag and WP version for you, so that your site can not be identified. It also turns of the DataBase errors so that hackers can see the flaws in your installation.

It’s most likely that you’ll get an error mentioning that your table prefix should not be WP_. If you don’t want to do this yourself because if can be tricky there’s an excellent plugin for this.

WP Prefix Table Changer – The WP Prefix Table Changer plugin helps you hide WP_ table prefix so that the hackers won’t find out that you manage a WP site.

IMPORTANT: make sure you have a complete backup of your site before you use this plugin.

AskApache Password Protection – I have another plugin for you. The plugin is called AskApache Password Protection. AskApache protects your directories with a password and works really simple.

These five plugins and keeping your site up to date are probably the most important steps that you can do to keep your Wordpress site secure but there are several other things you can do.

Remove the admin user. Use your own username with a good password, preferably a long one with letters and digits. And if you have multiple blogs, use variations. I use Roboform as my password manager and the software is absolutely fantastic. The software is downloaded more than 23 million times. They also have a free version and I highly recommended it.

Create an index.html file and place it into your plugins and theme folder. For if you don’t know how to do this; create a txt file called index.txt and upload it to your server and rename it to index.html. I mentioned in it “nothing to see here” but you can leave it blank if you want.

This next tip comes from Matt Cutts, who’s the head of Google’s Webspam team. I don’t use this because I’m online from many different places but you can allow the use of your /wp-admin/ directory per IP address.

This is what Matt Cutts’ .htaccess file looks like.

AuthUserFile /dev/null
AuthGroupFile /dev/null
AuthName “Access Control”
AuthType Basic
order deny,allow
deny from all
# whitelist home IP address
allow from 64.233.169.99
# whitelist work IP address
allow from 69.147.114.210
allow from 199.239.136.200
# IP while in Kentucky; delete when back
allow from 128.163.2.27

If you Google for “index wp-admin” you’ll be amazed how many people don’t have their directories protected for indexing. If this is the case for you should create a robots.txt file.

Save a text file with the content something like this. You should add additional directories too, like downloads etc.

User-agent: *
Disallow: /cgi-bin/
Disallow: /wp-admin/
Disallow: /wp-content/
Disallow: /wp-includes/
Disallow: /feed
Disallow: /*.php$
disallow: /*.pdf$

# Google Image
User-agent: Googlebot-Image
Disallow:
Allow: /*

# Google AdSense
User-agent: Mediapartners-Google*
Disallow:
Allow: /*

# Internet Archiver Wayback Machine
User-agent: ia_archiver
isallow: /

# digg mirror
User-agent: duggmirror
Disallow: /

And to close this post; if a hacker really wants to hack your blog they can. If any MS Windows version is hacked before they are sold in the stores, they can hack your blog too. It’s up to you to secure your Wordpress site and make it as difficult as possible. If you have any additions please share your thoughts or recommendations in the comments.