Nov 22, 2021
Amanda Furgiuele, How to Improve Business Efficiency and Productivity — InnovaBuzz 475
Amanda Furgiuele, AF Consulting Team
In this episode, I’m really excited to have as my guest, Amanda Furgiuele, a sole parent, multi-preneur, international performer, elite athlete, and an expert in creative problem solving and time management. She challenges her clients to stop making excuses and start making progress through innovative solutions to even the most mundane problems.
A lifetime learner, Amanda has worked in and owned multiple business ventures including television production, marketing, and social media consultation, health and wellness, retail, education, and more.
In our discussion, Amanda talked to me about:
- Her tips for productivity and focus
- Dealing with businesses across different locations and timezones
- Hiring the right team — culture and values fit and also service providers
Lynn Howard in episode 457 introduced to Amanda.
Listen to the podcast to find out more.
Listen to the Podcast
Show Notes from this episode with Amanda Furgiuele of AF Consulting Team
Key points and takeaways from this episode include:
- You can do so many things by having a business. It’s a completely limitless field for you to experience anything.
- A business helps create innovation.
- You get the most out of something when you are investing more than just your time.
- By turning your hobby into a business, it creates a space for your brain to work and connect with other people to make things better.
- Having a business is not just about making money. It’s also doing something to help change world.
- Changing someone’s life can be simple and small. It doesn’t have to be a life-altering, massive technology or a multi-million dollar industry.
- Time management is a biggie.
- If you want to be more productive, shut your notifications off and cut yourself out of social media when you need to get work done.
- Batching your work increases productivity.
- Turn your internet OFF when writing.
- Technology is instantaneous. It creates a sense of accessibility, but is also a detriment to a lot of connection with other people and your creative process. It can create disharmony in your workflow and makes you feel completely like a slave to your device.
- Put down your phone and really focus your attention on what you are working on rather than letting it dictate your schedule and social agenda.
- It helps to sometimes use your negative mind in business because it allows you to see what’s not working and then fix it.
- It’s not that you cannot do it all. It is that you shouldn’t have to.
- Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.
- If you have the means and opportunity to hire somebody, do it!
- Outsourcing or automating to get rid of tasks that are time consuming leaves you open for bigger opportunities to come your way.
- Hiring the right team is essential. It shifts the way your business feels.
- People are perceptive, especially when you have a small business. They notice when things are off. It’s important that you, as the owner, is engaged in the right parts of your business and is working on it rather than in it.
- Don’t be afraid to fire someone that doesn’t align with your values. One bad apple can spoil a bunch. The sooner you let them go, the sooner it will open a space for someone better to come in.
- Listen to yourself, your brand, and the culture you are creating. Be true to it because it does make a difference in your overall appeal to your clients.
The Buzz — Our Innovation Round
Here are Amanda’s answers to the questions of our innovation round. Listen to the conversation to get the full scoop.
- #1 thing to be more innovative — Be yourself and be true to what you want to show the world.
- Best thing for new ideas — Finding and surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals. Go out there and expand your horizon. Everybody is a genius in their own right with their own thing. Everybody has something to contribute, and you just have to tune into it.
- Favourite tool for innovation — My iPhone and Google spreadsheets/docs.
- Keep project/client on track — Accountability. Hold them to tasks, give them a to-do lists, and call them out.
- Differentiate — Be yourself. Your number one asset in the world is YOU. There’s nobody like you. There is no better purpose in life than to share who you are with the world.
To Be a Leader
Trust yourself and don’t let anybody get in your way. There’s nothing you cannot do if you really want it and work hard for it. You can achieve anything you want. So, trust in yourself and go get them!
Reach Out
You can reach out and thank Amanda through their website and on Facebook.
Suggested Guest
Amanda suggested we have a conversation with NASA Datanaut, Fig O’Reilly, business consultant Shannon Curley, and blogger, podcaster, and author Lori Beth Aldridge Business. So Fig, Shannon, and Lori keep an eye on your inboxes for an invitation from us to the InnovaBuzz Podcast, courtesy of Amanda Furgiuele.
Links
Cool Things About Amanda
- Her awards include Mayor’s Business Awards Young Small Business Person of the Year, 2019, BBB Business Torch Awards for Ethics — Business of the Year, 2018, Pacific Business Edge Young Professional of the Year, 2016, and MINDBODY Visionary Award Winner, 2018.
- She’s had the privilege to work with many international celebrities and multi-million-dollar companies including the Travel Channel, VH1, MTV, Four Seasons Resorts, ESPN, and Forbes, across 15 different countries.
- She volunteers for Medico, The Salvation Army, and Women Helping Women.
