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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
We are switching the gardenofwords.com email provider and domain managing on Friday, April 9. Prep work is happening Thursday, April 8.
That means that emails sent to katie@thegardenofwords.com between April 8 and April 11 will disappear onto the internet. It means thegardenofwords.com website will be down for a bit.
Please email ktplant@gmail.com OR assistant@thegardenofwordsteam.com if you need immediate assistance between April 8-12.
None of the “Gardenofwordsteam” emails will be affected, so you can email anyone but Katie at their regular address.
I’m also getting my second COVID vaccine on the afternoon April 8, so Mallary-the-Great will be manning my inbox Friday.
I have had 3.5 assistants over the past 1.75 years.
My new Executive Assistant & mini-Steph is Vi, and Vi came to us via our colleague, Ron, who had filled the copy writing job Vi applied for, but “Thought there might just be something there,” and sent Vi to us.
In just two days, Vi made a difference.
Just like the way, in only a few days, Mallary (My Executive Assistant until actual Steph gobbled her up and made her Project Manager) made a difference
Good Housekeeping
Something I learned from both Vi and from Mallary, and that you’ll observe me doing is this:
Reserve the last 10 minutes of an hour meeting, and the last 5 minutes of a 30 minute meeting to go over to-dos or deliverables needed from meeting attendees, and to set the next meeting’s agenda so that the note takers can confirm and then send accurate notes after the meeting.
Institute a 5-minute recap.
That’s it. That’s the newsletter. Doing that:
- Makes the meeting worth it by producing a list of follow up work
- Cuts down on post-meeting processing time
- Ensures that everyone can get the most out of the next meeting
Oh: bonus tip – listening to my people makes me much better at doing my job than just making them listen to me. If I have the right people in the right place, they should blow. me. out. of. the. water. when it comes to keeping their part of the business running efficiently. My main job is to stay out of their way.
Networking
It’s been kinda tough to network during our year of separation, but somehow we’ve done it. During that time, I’ve met some amazingly talented people (over Zoom). You might benefit from their knowledge and expertise, too.
Local SEO: Need help rising to the top of local search? Ron McCabe and his team at Everbearing Services are your people.
Zoom Producing: Are you or your organization looking for someone to help set up, manage, follow up, and generally produce your zoom meetings? You need to chat with Kelly Rhoads.
Professional logo (And graphic) design that doesn’t cost a fortune: Definitely talk to Nathan and Michelle at Hightower Graphics. They have REALLY stepped it up a notch this year, effortlessly handling graphics for many of our clients, including some super cute logo designs. (They can also design and ship custom apparel for your company.)
More Housekeeping
Does your website need a quick spring clean? Check out this article I wrote for Green Profit. It gives you steps to do a 15 minute DIY Website Audit to optimize business inquiries in 2021.
Show & Tell
Big thanks to Ellen Zachos, The Backyard Forager, for engaging us to build her a lovely new website. (Ellen is an AMAZING speaker, BTW.)
Shameless Sales Pitch
We just launched 5 websites, so we are now free to. . . BUILD MORE WEBSITES!
Interested in a website? Email Mallary (the Calendar Overlord) to schedule a discovery call.
Have a great week!
