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Sometimes you've got to slow down to speed up.

I’ve just returned from an excellent vacation at Gulf Shores, Alabama. I always look forward to getting away with my family for some time now. It’s been a terrific opportunity to get away from the day to day activities of writing, publishing, designing and of course my other full time jobs. Though I enjoy what I do, there comes a time to relax, recharge and rededicate.
Part of that recharging includes reading. I recently bought a copy of the book “KaChing” by Joel Comm. This book is outstanding and a light read. I read and took great notes on how to recharge my business and find additional ways to reengage customers as well as attract new customers to my website. This includes improving my websites and blogs.
My relaxation would not have been complete if my business was not automated. While on vacation, I continued to fulfill sales, send out newsletters, twit and update facebook. The sales were automated as I use a great service called Ejunkie. Ejunkie takes care of my shopping cart and downloads all of my eBooks immediately after the customer orders it. I just set up requirements ahead of time and Ejunkie automates the rest.
My newsletter and emails were fulfilled by icontact. I just built the email and newsletter requirements ahead of time and programmed their timely releases. Some have commented that I shouldn’t be sending newsletters or updates from vacation, work, conferences and etc. I tell them I don’t, it’s all handled for me by my people. It’s great to know customers are taken care of while I am away.
Rededicating is easy when my mind is relaxed. Spending time with my wife, children and friends helps me to focus on what is important. As my wife and I have time to talk about dreams, funding college and  paying off the house or talk about our charities we fund, I begin to realize a real purpose for Red Bike Publishing. It helps me to create focus, tighten marketing plans and create new products.
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