Time Blocking

     Why should I time block if I only have this little bit of work to finish and then I'm done with what I have... what's that over there?
     It is very common to be distracted during the course of your day. You get up, go to work and while your morning is commencing you have your plan about what will happen that day. Then you get to the office and your fate has already been decided by a coworker, a client or there is a problem with your car, babysitter, or school. Sometimes it is all of the above happening the same day.
     Once you are ready to work (if there is such a thing) you sit down and start what you planned. Then more distractions happen like the phone ringing, email alerts and someone asking what is for lunch. If you time block your day, you know exactly what is ahead of you and if you are distracted you know where you left off.
     Most clients do not want to be called early in the day so I make most of my calls after 10:30am. By then, my email is clear, my lists of things to do is made and I've had three cups of coffee. I time block 10:30-11:15 to call people back and set future appointments. For the next twenty minutes I assist and check with my staff about whatever needs they may have. Then lunch for two hours and then to the golf range for a bucket of balls before going home.
     If it were that simple, everyone would be doing it. Here is your homework: get out a calender having days broken down by 15 minute intervals. Decide when you feel the most comfortable to do each item and assign it an amount of time during the day. When your day is full you can start and when you do a new item, do it to the best of your ability. If you finish early, plan on when you will do it again the next day or week. Don't be afraid if you didn't have success with something in the morning to move it to the afternoon. Make adjustments to make each item count.
     It's your day and you only get an undetermined amount of them so make it count.  What will you do with your next 15 minutes?

Nothing to do?!%#@!*)

The other day at work, a business associate came and told me she had nothing to do.  My initial thought was "great, glad you got it all done." Then I started to realize what this meant to her business and looked deeper into mine and wondered if there would ever be a point where I am actually done.
    A business owner has the ultimate responsibility to 'finish' every job detail in the business whether it is there direct job or they have staff to delegate the duties. Organizing, cleaning duties and strategy development should be a never ending battle of time and manpower.
     Growing up I always wanted to do the 'hard' things first, get them out of the way and then the rest would be easy. However, after trial and error I've found it more important to get the 'easy' things out of the way. If you finish the quick things first you satisfy the most responsibilities just in case you are not able to finish everything at that moment. The pile in your inbox becomes smaller and the mental challenge of having lots of paperwork is not so daunting moving forward.
     Distractions and procrastination can hinder a project from happening so it is important to leave yourself notes. A list works well if you may find yourself jumping back and forth between objectives and tasks. Make sure to cross off, crumple up or delete notes to give you the immediate gratification of finishing something. If you are working on a long term project, make notes of what must be done before hand and when you have time leading up to the event you can accomplish items from the list so not to wait until the last minute.
     With a never ending Inbox, lists of jobs, and strategy sessions to plan for, you should never find yourself with nothing to do during your day. Understanding your job will never end is a difficult lesson to learn because as kids we are taught to finish things. Finish your homework, finish your practicing and my favorite, finish your vegetables all come to mind. And if you are a business owner, you are finished with reading this so get back to work.

Providing a service

We don’t start a business to hire employees, we start a business to fill a need and provide a service.

     So many people have big dreams and they don’t understand it takes a team to accomplish the bigger goals. Finding the right people can make all the difference but setting the correct expectations can make or break a business. If the expectations are too low, nothing gets done but if you push people to new heights they never thought they could reach, the business and the employee can grow. This improves moral with everyone involved and the customers will notice a positive direction for the company.

     Delegation is very important when a person has a team to rely on. Sure the main person can do everything better than anyone, but the head guy can not do all the things all the time. Therefore, proper encouragement and training can help the employee to not only become proficient at what they do, but they can get so good at it they become the teacher. Henry Ford was called out for not knowing everything about his company, and he simply stated that he did not have to know everything; he just had to know the people to ask everything to.

     A boss who constantly is offering advice, corrections and/or recommendations, stifles the employee’s ability to learn. Just like a parent never allowing a child to fall down. If a child falls, they learn to get up, and ‘mentally’ getting up is a hard thing to learn for some adults. For the leader who leads too much, they are not learning themselves because they are only doing what they already know and complaining they don’t have enough time in the day.

     Starting a business does fill a need for some, just look around to see who is willing to grow and start looking to the sky with them.

Tracy Scott Joins Rilynn Company Insurance Services and Farmers Insurance

     November 1st, 2012 marked a new change of pace for Tracy Scott as she joined the Rilynn Company Insurance Services and Farmers Insurance Office. Tracy has been with Farmers Insurance throughout the year but she decided she wanted to join a team offering her upward momentum.  Commercial, RV's, boats and motorcycle insurance will be Tracy's specialty in the office.
     Tracy is a proud military wife and her husband Rodney has been in the Navy for 19 years.  They have a 16 year old daughter named Norvella and a 9 year old son named Noah, and currently reside in Moreno Vally.

Please help us welcome Tracy to the team as we move forward into 2013!

Brian E Walker Bio as printed in On Scene Magazine

In the Valley, it is not difficult to find hard working people trying to make a name for themselves. One such person creeping slowly through Southwest Riverside County is Brian Walker. Brian is an insurance agent with Farmers Insurance and he has had tremendous success with his company and with his personal life.


Brian is a top agent with his company but it is the desire to help and volunteer getting him much notoriety. He has served on the Menifee Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Board for 4 years and is a past Chairman and Brian was also the president of the Murrieta Breakfast Lions Club. Between organizations like Toastmasters, Valley Young Professionals, BNI, the Temecula Chamber and Association of Realtors (SRCAR), Brian has plenty of contacts and friends.

Jennifer, Brian’s wife is very patient and with two children, scheduling can be everything. Brian is very excited about coaching his son Riley’s basketball team in the fall but he can not help with his daughter Adilynn’s dance or ballet classes. (Although he did one father/daughter dance for a recital in the recent past) The entire family is involved with TaeKwonDo and Brian and Jennifer are both 3rd degree blackbelts with Jennifer being one of the lead instructors at their studio.

Insurance can be a difficult subject to understand but Brian’s office stresses the importance of having suitable coverage. Paying more now can be the difference of being paid the proper amount after a loss and making sure a claim is covered. The difference between ‘cheap’ insurance and good coverage may only be a $10-$20 variation a month.

Brian sees the future of Menifee Valley and Temecula Valley as the next Orange County but with a better designed plan. Thankfully, competent city leaders have seen the changes in the surrounding areas and will be able to improve the final product. He believes we live in one of the most promising areas and has moved his family here to stay and grow with the community.

Through ability, hard work and an ‘at ease’ attitude approach, Brian has scaled the business mountain and seen the other side. Although, he will not stop until he feels he is done with his aspiration to make everyone around him better and help them accomplish their dreams.



Brian E. Walker can be reached at 951-672-3476 or bwalker4@farmersagent.com

Heidi Carter joins Brian E Walker Insurance Agency

With home prices stabilizing and more activity in the specialty market of boats, motorcycles and travel trailers, Brian Walker and Farmers Insurance have once again expanded their office. Agency Producer Heidi Carter has joined the team and brought her 20+ years of sales experience to the Menifee office. “Being that Heidi is a wonderfully caring individual, we are ecstatic to have her on the team” said Brian Walker when asked about the addition.
Having another licensed and knowledgeable person in the office will help with the amount of business currently being written. Summer months can be busy due to families taking their boats to the lake, buying that dream motorcycle or travelling the country with the family RV. “Plan ahead as you tune up your toys,” says Carter. Heidi is quick to talk about the need for Life Insurance as people take to the outdoors. Accidents can happen and preparing for all possibilities is important.
Please stop by the Farmers Insurance office near the corner of Sun City Blvd and Cherry Hills and meet Heidi Carter. She can also be reached at 951-672-3476 or emailed at heidi.bwalker4@farmersagency.com.
Be safe this summer and enjoy the weather!

Business Relationships 101 Workshop

     The life of a business owner consists of getting in front of the most people and letting them know what he or she can offer them. The first issue is to get their attention and the second issue is what to do once they have their attention. Many times at business friendly mixers, someone walks up to another business owner, hands them their card and begins to tell them how amazing their product or service is. Amazingly, the recipient can be given a free card and get an earful of unsolicited nonsense without asking.
     Business relationships and the art of creating them can be the difference between being successful and beating your head against the wall. Many steps need to take place before completing a sale and no one can successfully skip any step. If you go too fast, your reputation turns for the worse, but stay in for the long haul and the momentum will build like a stone rolling downhill.
     A workshop entitled Business Relationships 101 will be held on April 18th, 2012 at the meeting room located at 27070 Sun City Blvd in Menifee. It starts at 10am and will last two hours. This workshop will cover the steps to help a marketing team or individual be more approachable, productive and get into a sales step with a target audience. The cost is $79 or $40 if you are a Chamber member and well worth the investment for your business. For any questions and to sign up in advance, contact Brian Walker at 951-672-3476. Credit cards are accepted and space is limited.