"Eat Your Spinach"
By Ralph Moore

Have you ever heard that before? I have! My mom used to tell
me "Eat your spinach - It`s good for you." It wasn`t so much
that I disliked the stuff as it was that I EXPECTED it to
taste awful.

Whenever the subject of food would come up among my school-
aged friends, spinach always seemed to garner a sort of
universal disdain. Nevertheless, as a result of my mother`s
persistence, I eventually came to include the vegetable on
my list of edible foods. Now I can truly say that I LIKE it!

In the course of running my business, I have found some
"spinach" items that I have to contend with. Certain tasks,
although necessary, sometimes end up on the "back-burner",
for as long as possible.

Just like a lot of small business owners, I take care of my
own "books". I use an excellent accounting program called
QuickBooks, by Intuit, makers of "Turbo Tax" and other fine
programs. The software works great... does more than I could
ask for. But, unfortunately for me, I first have to ENTER
the information into the program. I would rather eat
spinach.

For some reason, it`s just not something I like to do. I
often find that the papers are piling up for weeks, or
longer, before I force myself to sit down and punch the
numbers into the keyboard.

Of course, I know that there are many reasons to take care
of such things as they arise. For example, I can quickly
check to see if I am spending too much, or too little, on a
particular expense area, such as advertising.

Here are some more reasons and benefits to help you roll up
your sleeves and get started on those dreaded chores:

There may not be anyone else qualified or available to do
the work.

Some tasks, such as accounting, may expose sensitive
information and create a business security risk.

Many items that you "put off" are vitally important to
proper functioning of your business, and a prerequisite to
other work.

Resolving these difficult issues, quickly, paves the way for
doing your best work on those parts of your business that
you enjoy.

Taking care of problem areas builds self-confidence in your
ability to handle whatever crisis might arise in the future,
and sets an example for your employees.

Doing these things may assure your customers that you will
be able to help them with challenging situations that impact
their care and support.

So whenever you find yourself avoiding some specific
project, remember what you might stand to gain, and get
busy.

And on behalf of all of the mothers out there, don`t forget
to eat your spinach!

Ralph Moore, editor of the FREE Eagle Flyer Newsletter,
Provides "Motivational, Marketing and How To Technology
Tips That Can Multiply Your Business Online".
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