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Well, I guess I’ve already broken my goal of blogging every day this month. And you know, that’s ok. Just like rules, it seems goals were also meant to be broken.

So there.

Now, let’s move forward . . .

A few weeks ago (ok, hold that thought . . . the moving forward one, I mean).

. . . a few weeks ago, my cousin, who owns her own hair and nail salon, colored and cut my hair in exchange for redesigning the salon’s website. Even though there are still a few tweaks to do and some info to add to the site, it is up and looks good. I think it managed to reflect the salon’s attitude and image without looking too dull or too flashy.

Now, aside from the bio’s of my cousin and her co-workers and a few minor things like that, it’s complete. However, I know there are ways to improve it and I’ll likely keep tweaking things here and there over the coming weeks so that hopefully what we really end up with is something both she and I are proud of.

Doing her website and the conversations we had about the salon business sparked something else – an idea, a thought – and so I’ve started looking for ways to put that into motion. As a result, I’ve spent hours over the past few weeks researching and learning Ruby on Rails.

Since I learned C and C++ back in the day along with a few other now defunct or obsolete programming languages, RoR (or Rails) has proven to be fairly simple for me to get a handle on. I also like the fact that some of my favorite web apps are built on Rails (Basecamp, Twitter, 43things, A List Apart, Blinksale).

And so that now brings me to moving forward . . .

There are 2 things I am planning to build, 2 different web apps I am now in the process of creating. One of those is a revamp of a project my husband I started a couple of years ago for builders and building-related companies in the Seattle area. I’m not entirely sure yet what all I am really going to include in the project and I probably won’t get into it much until after the first of the year. I’ve decided, though, that the best way to implement the components we want to include, is to rebuild the site on Rails.

But the other one, I am diving right into. And that is a project inspired by my cousin’s hair salon. In fact, it’s going to be a web app FOR salon owners and employees. I still need to pick my cousins brain as to exactly what she wants in the app and how she wants it to work but I know it will include things like a calendar for scheduling, charts for hair color mixes, product ordering, product sales and I don’t what else.

Since it will be an online app, they’ll be able to access it from anywhere, from any computer they might be using and it will tentatively be able to be set up on their own server. I am toying with whether or not I should create/provide a hosted version as well. And I think I probably will just to make it easier for people. I’m thinking it’s going to be kinda like a Basecamp for salon owners.

We’ll see how it goes as things get rolling.

Be blessed,

My 5 year old came home singing a rather interesting version of Jingle Bells today – ” . . . dashing through the snow, with stitches in my head . . .” I’m afraid to ask what the rest of the song sounds like!

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my “system” for productivity and it has quickly become my most popular post on this blog to date. It literally TRIPLED my traffic.

But anyway . . . that’s not really wanted to share with you. What I actually want to write about is that one of the programs I use on my iPod Touch called Grocery IQ just had a major overhaul and it knocked my socks off! This app simply ROCKS! I liked it well enough before the revamp but now, it’s legions better, if that’s even possible.

Before, you could sort the store by aisles, add new aisles, delete aisles, keep lists of favorite items, show a history of past purchases and of course, check off things as you put them in your cart.

What’s better than that?

Well, the new app allows you to create lists by STORE! Which is so cool for those of us who shop at more than one store. Now, I am not one of those crazy people who clip coupons and shop 10 different places but I do buy certain items at certain stores because the others don’t carry them.

For example, I can only buy RAW local milk at the Food Co-Op because they’re the only ones who carry it. I can only buy the brand of Hemp Milk I like at one store and I can only buy the brand of non-dairy ice cream we buy at yet another store. So, the ability to not only arrange the list by aisle but also by store, is fabulous.

And the other new thing that makes it legions better than before is the ability to move your checked off items to the “checkout” without having to discard the whole list. This was annoying before because I didn’t ever get a true reading of my shopping “history” since sometimes I would buy 10 things at one store and not go shopping at the next store for a week. Plus, you couldn’t make different lists for different stores. So, it was all on one list.

This was annoying for 2 reasons – first, because not all stores have their aisles arranged the same so I’d be scrolling through the list all the time and invariably miss something. And second, because once I checked something off, it just sorta disappeared. If I wanted to add those things to my history, I couldn’t do that until everything on the list had been checked off. If you shop at only one store, that’s probably not a biggie. But since I don’t, it ended up confusing at times.

With the new app, I can make lists for each store, check the things off as I add them to my cart and then when I get to the checkout, I can hit “checkout” on the app and it adds those items to the history. Oh and you know what else? You can also add the price of the item to it’s details page so you know how much you’re spending and can compare prices at different stores! How cool is that??

I LOVE it! It’s fabulous.

Seriously. Get an iPod so you can have Grocery IQ.

Oh and PS – that’s not a pic of my actual list – it’s a screen grab of the app’s listing in the iTunes store.

In the arena,

If you regularly shop at 10 different stores and clip coupons to get all the stuff on your list, don’t worry – I don’t really think you’re crazy. No. I just think maybe you’re a little OCD than me.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Just thought I’d add a couple pictures of my planner files so you can see exactly what they look before you download them.

Enjoy!

Please feel free to download the PDF files from the previous post.

In the arena,

Happy 4th of July to all of my American readers! Hope you have a safe, enjoyable and fun holiday.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

I’m all for systems and things that help get things done. Tools that make work and life easier. Actions that ensure things don’t fall through the cracks. For being PRODUCTIVE.

I’ve tried the whole “GTD” thing – David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” method. I tried following Merlin Mann’s GTD system and “Inbox Zero” idea. I tried Tim Ferris’s “4 Hour Work Week” system of outsourcing. I’ve read countless systems and ideas by Leo Babauta, Dan Markovitz, David Seah, and of course the aforementioned David Allen, Merlin Mann and Tim Ferris as well as many others.

But I didn’t have much luck with them. The systems just didn’t “mesh” with the way I do things. They were unnatural for me. And so trying to follow them only made things worse instead of better. I got lost in those systems and they failed.

See, I’ve realized I’m just an “old fashioned” paper and pen kind of gal. Just write it down and check it off type of thing. So I developed a “system” that works for me. It’s a 2-part system and I’m going to share it with you today.

Part 1 – A daily calendar and index card hybrid paper-based planner.

This consists of a daily calendar I call the “24 Hour Calendar” which is basically a large square with 24 “blocks” along the outside edge. These blocks each represent one hour of time and are labeled like a 24 hour clock. In the middle of this is just a big blank square divided into 2 columns. One column is for scheduled appointments and the other is for a daily list of things to do.

On the back, it’s divided into a grid of 12 blocks – 8 small blocks along the outside edge and 4 larger blocks in the middle. Each block is assigned a function -

The index card piece of this is for “Projects” which consists of client notes, doodles for artwork and things like that. It also includes my “Muse” ideas (from Tim Ferris’s “4 Hour Work Week). They are basically personal projects for business ideas or book ideas or whatever like that.This part of the system just sits on my desk and allows me to check things off as I go.

Part 2 – A couple of applications on my iPod Touch

Now, these aren’t fancy apps and you don’t have to have an iPod Touch to use this idea – there are plenty of desktop apps and what-not that you can use. Or of course, you could add these to Part 1 and have a complete paper-based system.

And also on my iPod is the built-in Clock app that I use for keeping track of things that I need a timer for – when I’m baking or cooking, I can set the timer to remind me when to take things out of the oven or when the bread is finished rising, etc. I also have several alarms set on this app – for the kids’ school bus, for taking my allergy and blood pressure medications, for the kids allergy meds, and things like that.

Lastly, I use iCal on my iPod as well for meetings and appointments. It syncs with my computer so I have the same info there as well. I keep track of birthday’s, doctor’s appointments, client meetings and other events here. And important ones have alarms scheduled so I don’t forget them.

I came across a website a couple days ago I want to share with you . . .

Put Things Off by Nick Cernis – The tagline is “the laid-back productivity blog”‘ and it definitely is worth a perusal. Especially if you’re like me and found other “GTD” systems to be more than painful that useful.
And if you’re interested in my “system,” here are the PDF files of my 24 hour calendar. One file for the front, one for the back and there are 2 per sheet (just cut them in half). They are a 4.25 x 5.5 inch size when cut (so you can print them on standard printer paper).

247DailyFront2Up – Front

247DailyBack2Up – Back

Please let me know if you use them and how you like (or don’t like!) them. Feel free to link back here from your blog as well as share them.

UPDATE: 7.5.2009 – I’ve uploaded pictures of what the planner pages look like here.

In the arena,

“Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is specifically your own.“ ~ Bruce Lee

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

My grandparents always had a garden when I was growing up and I remember spending summers with them working in the garden, watering all the plants, and eating lots of yummy things. I remember running up and down through the rows of corn playing tag and hide n’ seek with my cousins. It was always the best part of summer.

So for several years now, I’ve wanted to replicate that in my own yard to not only give my kids some fun memories and teach them about sustainable living, but also simply for the benefits it brings – like natural, organic food, fresh vegetables, fruits and berries for canning for the winter months, and of course, to cut down on our grocery bills (which really seem to be rising quite dramatically lately).

I always wondered how in the world I could actually successfully grow that much produce in a relatively small and manageable area. From time to time, I go searching around the web looking for info and always seem to come up short of what I’m looking for. But one day this week, I was reading one of the family oriented blogs I read regularly where I happened upon some information called the Mittleider Method. And now I’m so excited because I think this method will actually work the way I want to.

If you’re not familiar with it, here a brief description from the Food For Everyone Foundation website -

What is the Mittleider Method?

The Mittleider Method combines the best features of soil-based gardening and hydroponic gardening, but without hydroponic expense! It’s a complete, easy-to-follow plan that eliminates guesswork and ensures success anywhere: an apartment patio, a city yard, a country lot, or a farm.

The method is based on maximum utilization of space, time, and resources. Crops are large because plants are close together, nourished by supplemental feedings of natural mineral nutrients (as in hydroponics), but with no special equipment.

Also, unlike hydroponics, the Mittleider Method gives plants access to the natural soil for nutrients as yet unknown or that, while not essential to plant growth, are useful in human nutrition. You can use the Mittleider Method by raising crops in either soil-beds or grow-boxes.

And to me it sounds like container gardening on steroids! Which is actually what I want – containers that maximize growth and are easy on my back.

Now my plan for the next week is gather materials and have my husband begin building the boxes and greenhouse. Hopefully the weather holds out long enough to get it all ready and set up before it’s too late. Although, I think if we do it right, it won’t matter much. I’m thinking our summer is going to be a decent one this year and having a greenhouse will allow us to extend the growing season long enough to compensate.

I’ll keep you posted how things go and if you’ve used this method or any other container gardening style with good success, let me know.

I hope you’re enjoying this beautiful beginning to the summer season. Have a safe and fun weekend!

In the arena,

God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done. ~Author Unknown

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

One of the things I’ve always been fairly passionate about is customer service. It’s one of those things, though, that I’ve never really thought about as much more than the back-end of my business, so to speak. Kind of a by-product of the main service of writing and design.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I believe customer service is the most important product of any business. And yes – it IS a product. It should be the foremost product in any business, no matter what industry. Even if you lack in other areas, when you’re customer service is stellar, people will be back.

I first learned about customer service from a business standpoint as a 11-12 year old when I started my first paper route. And my skills were honed in my 20’s by 2 different companies who believed as I do about it’s importance.

So, last night my husband and I were talking and brainstorming about stuff.

Well, not really. It was more of a shared rant about poor customer service we’d received by a VERY large company over the Holidays. (You probably know it – they drive big, brown trucks around delivering packages.)

And as we were ranting about the nonsense, we had an idea. There are a lot of companies out there with absolutely CRAPPY customer service. Businesses that could use some insight and support in getting superior customer service procedures put into place.

I think the tough economy is the perfect timing for this idea. Now more than ever, businesses are in need of ways to pull in customers and increase sales. I believe customer service is one of the key components to doing so.

As a result, I’m putting together some materials to help businesses understand these key concepts and put them into place quickly. In addition to that, I’m going to be discussing customer service here on the blog on a regular basis. And I’m going to incorporate some other things but I’ll discuss those another time.

The bottom line is that customer service is probably the most important aspect of a business. You can have a great product, a fancy store (whether that be brick & mortar or online) and all manner of other awesome things.

But if you’re customer service sucks, you’re only half as good as you could be. Or worse.

I hope your outline for 2009 is coming together as nicely as mine is. The concepts of customer service are going to be a huge part of my 2009 business model.

In the arena,

Shine like the star you are in 2009! Stick around for more on customer service and why it’s so important to you and your business.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Special Announcement

For the past several years, I’ve been creating blog headers and ebook covers for friends and family but it’s not something I’ve really put out there for my design or writing clients (or on this blog, for that matter).

Until now.

Introducing my blog header and ebook cover design project!

It’s brand new and as a result, I’ve decided to offer a very cheap introductory price of just $55 per graphic. Now, if you’ve looked at my fee schedule for my other services, you will know this is a rock-bottom offer here. And I’m doing it this low for one reason: YOU! To show my appreciation for you – for reading my blog, for following me on Twitter or FriendFeed or wherever. It’s all for you.

So, if you have a blog or an ebook you need a design for, let’s talk! I offer a 72 hour guarantee which means I guarantee you’ll have your design in 72 hours or less. You’ll get the file as your choice of a JPG, PNG, or a GIF in the case of a header and your choice of JPG, PNG, GIF, PDF or Word doc in the case of an ebook cover design.

To find out more, simply follow this link to my contact form, send me a quick description of your blog or ebook cover project and if we decide it makes sense to work together, I’ll get started. (The contact form is broken at the moment so in the meantime, just send me an email to my business email.)

If you don’t need a blog header or an ebook cover, please feel free to send a link to this post to anyone you know who might need one. I’d appreciate it!

Make it a great day!