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MICHELLE'S
​ MORSELS

5 Tips for Setting Goals for Nonprofit Organizations

2/22/2022

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​If you’re a nonprofit executive, you know what your organization needs to stay afloat, but what about going beyond that? What if you could expand your organization’s reach to help even more people? What would that look like? What would you need to do to accomplish that goal?
​Just because you’re a nonprofit doesn’t mean you can’t set goals for your organization to grow just like for-profit organizations set goals for their businesses. Let’s go over some tips you can use to set realistic goals for nonprofit organizations.

​Analyze Your Starting Point Before Setting Goals for Nonprofit Organizations

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​You can’t create a roadmap to where you want to go until you know your starting point. That’s as true of setting goals for nonprofit organizations as it is of planning a roadtrip, so start by analyzing where you are. How much money are you raising? How big is your team? How big is the community you’re serving?

​Identify Your Resources to Achieve Your Goals for Nonprofit Organizations

​When setting goals for nonprofit organizations, it can help to identify everything you have to help you reach that goal. Your resources are not limited to the funds you raised last year - it includes you, your staff, your volunteers, your potential volunteers, your larger community, your network. When you start to list all the resources available to help you reach your goal, you just might be surprised at how far you can go, which leads me to my next point.

Identify Your Goals for Nonprofit Organizations

There’s a saying that if you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. I love that saying, and it’s why I encourage my clients to dream big. So, for this step in setting goals for nonprofit organizations, I want you to set the biggest goal for yourself that you can. Don’t think about obstacles or limitations because we’ll get to those later. This may or may not be a realistic goal for your organization, and it’s OK if it’s not. This is the dreaming phase, and it is the most fun stage, so let your imagination run wild.
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​Identify the Resources You Need to Achieve Your Goals for Nonprofit Organizations

​List every, single thing you’ll need in order to achieve that really big goal. Then go back to Step 2 and look at all the resources you already have so you can identify the gap between what you have and what you need. Once you identify that gap, figure out a plan to get what you need. If you don’t have the funds to buy the things you need or hire more team members, that’s OK. This is where it’s time to get creative and see if there are things you can borrow, or opportunities to recruit volunteers that you have not yet tapped into.

​Create Your Roadmap to Achieving Your Goals for Nonprofit Organizations

​Once you’ve identified the gap between where you are and where you want to be, as well as the gap between the resources you have and the resources you’ll need to achieve your goals for nonprofit organizations, it’s time to create your roadmap. This is where you might need to scale back your goal if you’re not yet at the point where you can achieve your biggest goal, and that’s OK. Do what you can now and save the biggest goal for after you’ve achieved your more realistic goal.
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​Need Some Help Motivating Your Team to Achieve Your Goals for Nonprofit Organizations?

​I love speaking to groups of people about teamwork and goal setting, so if you think your team might be an untapped asset for your nonprofit organization, it might help to bring in a professional speaker with years of experience achieving massive goals for nonprofit organizations.
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How to Tell When It’s Time to Outsource Project Management

2/15/2022

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As a small business owner, you have a lot of different things to juggle. As if it weren’t enough just to serve your clients, you’re also responsible for going out and finding prospects and creating your own marketing campaigns to grow your business. Then you have to do your own accounting and file taxes for your business, then figure out how to file your personal taxes as someone who’s self-employed. It’s a lot, and as your company starts to grow, you’ll need to outsource more of the tasks that don’t fit within your genius zone.
But outsourcing certain tasks and projects for your business doesn’t mean you don’t have to think about it at all. It’s still your business, and you need to make sure everyone understands the assignment and has everything they need to complete their tasks, but at a certain point, even that can feel overwhelming. The more people you have on your team, the more time you’ll need to spend checking in and answering emails, which leaves the question: at what point is it time to consider project management outsourcing?

It’s Time to Outsource Project Management When You Have Too Much to Do and Not Enough Time to Do It

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Admittedly, this describes all small business owners - we all have too much on our plates, but if the important things in your business aren’t getting done and your business is suffering as a result, then it’s time to outsource. If you’re spending more time on project management than you are on activities that will more directly generate revenue for your business, then you have a problem.
When you notice you’re spending more time on project management tasks than anything else, that’s a good indication it’s time to outsource project management.

​It’s Time to Outsource Project Management When You’re on a Tight Budget

​While it might sound counterintuitive to hire someone when you’re on a tight budget, outsourcing is usually more cost effective than hiring your own team. When you outsource project management for small businesses, you only have to pay them for the work they do on your project instead of worrying about paying their salary and benefits regardless of how much work you need from them.

​It’s Time to Outsource Project Management When You Don’t Have Someone with This Particular Skill Set

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It’s often said you need to understand something before you can manage employees to do it for you. If you don’t fully understand how they do their jobs and get results, you won’t be effective in clearly outlining what you need from them or defining realistic goals for them to meet. In that case, you’re better off outsourcing project management to someone with a firm grasp of the skills needed for this particular project. There’s no need for you to learn a whole new skill set when you have so many other things on your plate and it’s so easy to outsource project management for small businesses.

It’s Time to Outsource Project Management If Your Project Is Time Sensitive

If the project is something you need to get done ASAP, you don’t have time to learn everything you need to know about the project, hire new people to take over the project for you, and then manage the project while doing everything else you need to get done for your business.
​When time is of the essence, you’re better off spending what little time you have finding the right person to handle your project management needs for you so you can get back to doing what only you can do.

​It’s Time to Outsource Project Management If You’re Struggling to Find the Right Talent

​Whether you have yet to hire anyone for your project, or you’ve been hiring, but had to let people go because they weren’t the right fit, the key to solving your HR problems could be to outsource project management. When you outsource project management, they’ll help you identify the qualities your employees need to be successful, allowing you to reap the benefits of a well-oiled machine without having to spend countless hours trying to find, train, and manage the right employees.
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​Did you know that one of the services I provide is project management for small businesses such as yours? All you have to do is schedule a call to get started learning more about my project management services and kiss that overwhelm goodbye.
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Team-Building Activities to Strengthen Your Nonprofit Organization

2/8/2022

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Your team can (and should) be the most valuable asset your nonprofit organization has, but if they don’t work well together or there’s a failure to communicate, your team can easily become the cause of more stress and tension headaches than moments of confidence that your organization is running smoothly.
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If you’ve been dealing with bickering teammates, we have a few team-building activities you can use to turn those headaches into sighs of relief when you realize everything is running smoothly.

Shark Tank Style Team-Building Activities for Nonprofits

Your team has some awesome ideas, and while some of your members might be jumping up and down to share their ideas with you, others might be more shy. Hosting your very own “Shark Tank” is a great way to get them to pitch all their best ideas, and you can make it even more fun by turning it into a competition. Maybe the person/team with the best idea gets featured on your social media pages or wins a gift card.
​This team-building activity has the double advantage of, not only building a stronger team for your nonprofit organization, but providing you with great ideas you might be able to implement to better serve your community and/or increase revenues!

​Scavenger Hunt Style Team-Building Activities for Nonprofits

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​Who doesn’t love a scavenger hunt? You can host it in your building, out in your community, or even do an online version if your team is still working remotely. You can do it around any theme you want, including making sure all the clues are trivia about your nonprofit organization, so you’re testing their knowledge while strengthening their ability to work as a team.

​Feud Style Team-Building Activities for Nonprofits: Fundraising

You can host a lot of fun activities to raise money for your nonprofit organization, but sometimes you just need to get on the phone and make some calls. That’s not necessarily as much fun, but you can make it fun by adding a competitive element to it. Keep a whiteboard or piece of paper on display where you track your progress towards your ultimate goal, but also track how much money each team is bringing in and decide how you’ll reward the team that raises the most money. Even if the reward is just bragging rights, you might be surprised to see it can be one of the most effective team-building activities for nonprofits.
You can also play a game while they’re making their calls, but they have to hit a certain benchmark (made 10 calls, got a donation, etc.) each time they want to participate in the game.

Escape Room Style Team-Building Activities for Nonprofits

​One of the best team-building activities is to visit an escape room. Escape rooms provide great opportunities for team building because they require everyone to work together to solve the clues and “escape” from the room. If your team can get out of an escape room together, they can accomplish anything.

​Sporty Team-Building Activities for Nonprofits

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​Sports are another great source of team-building activities because there’s already a competitive element to them, they’re fun, and most of them involve physical exercise, which helps keep your team healthy. Whether it’s a pick-up game of basketball, soccer, football, or even a footrace, there are all kinds of ways you can get your team outside, active, and having fun together.
​Whether you need more ideas for team-building activities for nonprofits, or your organization needs another form of support, I can help. Schedule a FREE clarity call with me now so we can start talking about some of the strategies you can implement to reach all your goals for your nonprofit organization.
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Productivity Tips for Working Moms: Dominate Your To-Do List and Spend Time with the Kids

2/1/2022

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As small business owners, we all feel like there are never enough hours in the day to get through our to-do list, and that goes double for moms. Growing a business is a full-time job and parenting is a full-time job, so how are you supposed to get everything done when you have two full-time jobs?
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​I’ve been there. In fact, wanting to spend more time with my kids was a big reason for me to quit my job and start my own business. I was tired and stressed from being overworked, and I realized I wasn’t spending quality time with my family. I would tell myself just being with them was enough, but I would be working when I was with them, and I realized I wasn’t being present with the people who mattered the most to me. When my health started to suffer, I decided enough was enough. I knew there was a better way, so as someone who’s been there (and still is on a daily basis!), let me tell you my tips for working moms.

​Set Your Intention Each Day

​Many of us check our email first thing in the morning so we know what’s going on and what we need to get done that day, but that’s going in the opposite direction from productivity.
​You should be the one to decide how your day is going to go, but you can’t do that if you start by putting yourself in “Reaction Mode”. When you rely on your email to tell you what’s going on and what you should do next, you start the day from a place of reaction instead of a place that allows you to be proactive.
​One of my most important tips for working moms is to meditate first thing in the morning, even if it’s just for a few minutes. I know that can be hard if you have little kids running around, but even just taking the time it takes for your computer to boot up to think about your 3 most important tasks for that day can make a big difference when it comes to tackling your to-do list.  Trust me- early in my business I had no idea what it meant to meditate or to get my mind to pause.  I'm so glad I didn't give up though because now I can go 20 mins some days and still want to keep going because it feels so amazing!
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​Prioritize

​I know your to-do list goes on forever, but at some point you have to accept that there are just not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything. That’s why one of the most important tips for working moms is to pick the top 3 things that absolutely need to get done that day and tackle those tasks first. Do you have client work that needs to get done before the deadline? Do you have sales calls you need to make? Whatever those 3 tasks are that will get you the closest to achieving your goals for your business, make sure to put those 3 tasks at the top of your to-do list. If you have time at the end of the day for other tasks, great. If not, you’ll at least know you took action to move your business forward today, and that will allow you to breathe easier the rest of the day, whether you’re conquering the rest of your to-do list or spending quality time with your family.
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Delegate

Entrepreneurs often have a hard time delegating tasks, at least when they’re starting out. Moms also have a hard time delegating tasks, so if you’re an entrepreneurial mom, you might have an extra-strong urge to do everything yourself. One of the most important tips for working moms I can provide is to resist that urge, because that will only lead to frustration as you slowly come to terms with the fact that you can’t possibly get everything done.
​Prioritization and delegation are the two keys to dominating your to-do list without sacrificing quality time with your family (or sleep). If your business is in the early stages and you don’t yet have the funds to hire someone to help with your to-do list, look into internship programs where you can get help from a student in exchange for class credit. Consider bartering or exchanging services with someone whose services you need and who might also be in need of your services. When it comes to the home front, be sure you are delegating task like dishes, laundry, grocery shopping and cooking to others in your household.  For my single parents out there, don't be afraid to rely on grandparents, extended family, neighbors and the parents of your friends.   If you get creative, you’ll find there are all kinds of ways to dominate your to-do list no matter how long it is.  

​Employ Your Children

​One of my favorite tips for working moms is to employ your own children. If your children are old enough, you probably already make them do chores around the house - why not make them help with your business? I did this with my two boys and it turned out to be an incredibly rewarding experience. Not only did we get to spend time together, but they also got to learn the ins and outs of running and growing a business.
​Your children’s ability to help you grow your business will depend on their age and skill set. The important thing is to know their strengths and to work with them. If they’re great with the camera, have them record your marketing videos. If they’re social media stars and you’re still trying to figure out what TikTok is, let them handle your social media marketing campaigns. You’ll get through your to-do list faster, and they’ll have a greater appreciation for the work you do.  When you allow them to work in their strength zone their self esteem, knowledgebase and experience can increase which is such a huge win and can be fun for both of you. 

It's good to note that not every child/parent team is a good fit for working together.  
If you see signs of them being frustrated and notice you're doing more fighting with them than enjoying the experience, it's a good time to assess the situation.  Perhaps they are working in an area of weakness and the task at hand just needs to be adjusted or perhaps helping with the business just isn't their thing.  Ben, my 14 year old LOVES to help with the business whereas Zach, my 20 year old, has no desire. Ben and I have a blast when he's helping me but Zach was always miserable so I learned not to ask him.  I instead ask him to run errands for me like picking up his brother or running to the store because he gets to enjoy his music while driving around.  Him doing those things gives me the time to tackle other things on my to-do list. It's all about making the right match so that your relationship as parent/child is positively impacted. 

​Make Time for Self-Care

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​This is another tough one, especially for moms, but it is one of the most important tips for working moms I can provide. As moms, we often feel like we need to do everything for everyone else, but there’s a reason flight attendants always tell you to put on your own mask before helping anyone else with their mask. You can’t help anyone if you can’t breathe, and the rule still applies to less dramatic scenarios. If you’re tired because you’re foregoing sleep or because you’re eating whatever’s available instead of making sure you’re getting all the nutrients your body needs, you won’t be able to work as effectively. You’ll also be cranky and resentful, which will inhibit your ability to really enjoy spending time with your family.  Ask me how I know?!
​Trust me when I say taking time for yourself is just as important as working on your business and taking care of your family.
​Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to dominating your to-do list as a busy mom than I could possibly cover in one blog post. If you’re in need of more tips to get you through the day without feeling burned out, you can schedule your FREE clarity call now to see how I can help you spend more quality time with your family without sacrificing income.
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    Why Morsels? 

    Business advice,
    like chocolate chips,
    is best digested
    a handful of morsels at a time.  I think we'd all agree that devouring a lot of either all at once can be too much for the average person to handle..

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