Alaa Hassan

The Most Passionate eCommerce Coach & Advisor

Blog

It's not easy to get hot water sometimes!

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hot water

Access to hot water is not as easy as you think sometimes.  We are fortunate to live in a country where we don’t usually face such limitations.

Managing an online business has its own challenges.  Everyday, you are faced with a new problem and sometimes, you need to find a quick solution in order to get the job done.

Whenever I face an issue in a department, let’s say customer service, I tend to move my desk in that department and simply observe what is happening.  This is the fastest way to attack any problem.  Go on the field and not from the sidelines.

To resolve problems, I focus on finding an EFFECTIVE solution: Get the job done.  From there, when I have more time, I focus on EFFICIENCY: how resources are used to get the job done.

Don’t let it drag……fix it! Later, make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Do rainy days ruin Innovation at work?

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innovation

I woke up this morning and looked outside…… 🙁

It’s raining, grey skies and just a lousy mood overall.  Yet, it didn’t stop me for forcing myself to go workout and get to the office on time.

Now that’s just me.  What about everyone else? What about my employees? Do they share the same positive attitude?  Those questions made me think about their productivity levels but more specifically about their innovation during rainy days.

On such days, I believe business owners need to put an extra effort in creating the right atmosphere in the office by injecting some laughter and positive energy.  Find ways to make your staff ignore the weather outside by giving them a new challenge or a new task.  Change the routine….that truly helps!

One other tip…..cover the windows so that they don’t know what’s going on outside 🙂

Watch Videos on Ted.com on Sundays

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ted videos

I started spending more time on Ted.com than Youtube the past month, and all I have to say is WOW!  The site has all sorts of videos by famous speakers that will inspired you.  Some of them are short while others are an hour long.

Whether you like technology, health or just global issues, there’s a video waiting for you!

 

Go ahead…give it a try!  I am working on making it a habit of mine to visit Ted.com on Sunday mornings.

I want more traffic from Google (but for Free!)

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google traffic

Which website owner doesn’t like FREE TRAFFIC! We all do.  All day today, I’ve been just watching videos about SEO.  My eyes are hurting!

But you do reach a point where that free traffic is kinda useless if it’s not converting.  A conversion can be a sale or an email submission.  Any type of engagement from a user can be considered a conversion.

Honestly, I’ve been working a lot more on my organic traffic coming from search engines.  Organic traffic is great especially if you rank well for keywords that target your product or service.  But man….IT REQUIRES A LOT OF WORK!!!!

If you want your site to show up on Google, it’s a long term commitment.  The more time you spend on it, the bigger the return.  The challenge is knowing where to put all that effort in order to see the results.

Staff advertising your Brand on Facebook?

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employees and facebook

About 3 years ago, I removed access to Facebook within the company.  I did that before we even had Facebook Page for our brand.  Now, access is limited to certain employees primarily the ones involved in marketing and social media.  I also installed 3 computers in the cafeteria for all staff to use during breaks.  Those computers have full access to many sites including Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.

With all that, I still see employees using their mobile smart phones to socialize.  As we know, those social sites all have apps available and limiting access is nearly impossible.

Today one of my employees posted this image and it made me think a little.  Should I work with employees who have a great influence within their social network? I mean they are active on Facebook and their friends are engaging with everything they post.  Should I look at it as a positive initiative?

I guess with time, I will find out how this will work out.

Spilled Coffee all over the place!

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CB063014

I walk-in today and notice my assistant cleaning up the coffee mess in the cafeteria.  My assistant is not only taking care of many small things for me but is also the head of accounting and HR.  Why is he cleaning up the mess?

SEE IT? Own it. Do it!

This is the attitude I promote within the company.  If you see a problem, it’s nowyours! So fix it!  From there, we look into what caused and how can we make sure it does not repeat itself.

Not sure who caused the big mess but I emailed all my staff warning them that if they don’t clean up after themselves, coffee is no longer free and will be removed till the end of the year!

It’s not about the cost of coffee but We need to respect each other by keeping a clean environment.  Our janitor is not there to clean up after our laziness but to help us maintain cleanliness in the work place.

Let your staff learn to clean up after themselves just like at home.  Now if they are messy at home……that’s a whole different problem 🙂