What Will You Do with an Extra 24 Hours? Tips to Make the Most of Leap Day

It happens every four years – Leap Year – 29 days in February. That means one extra day to get things done. For small business owners like me, and extra 24 hours is like gold. So what is the best way to use that precious time? My friend and fellow entrepreneur, Marley Majcher, a celebrity party planner and small business coach based in LA, has some great ideas for making the most of that extra time. Enjoy! – Shannon Make the most of those extra 24 hours on Leap Day – By Marley Majcher You’ve got an extra day, and it only happens every four years so how are you going to maximize it? We all go nuts when we get an extra hour to sleep or work – but this is the opportunity for a whole 24 hours. Here’s my list to help you maximize your time on February 29. * Create a “stop doing list” – Write a list of the top 3-5 things you really love to do in your business AND cross reference those activities that move the needle the most. Then write a list of the top 3-5 things (ok, it will probably be like 1,000 things, but rank the top 3-5) and then sub out the things you have with what you’re best at doing. Translation: You have just massively transformed the productivity of your business in one fell swoop. * Vow to back up every single thing in your life – Set a schedule to do it automatically. This should include:

• Your phone, your laptop, your iPad etc. (That’s the very first thing the Apple Store asks you when you walk in with an "issue." Is this backed up? (And how long ago was it backed up?)

Tip: I plug my phone into my computer at night and it syncs with my computer and backs up to my hard drive. A couple of times a week, I do the same thing and sync my iPad to my laptop. On those days, I plug in my external hard drive and use that to back up EVERYTHING while my laptop charges for the night. * Sign up for a password protection/storing app – This is a great way to enter and track all passwords safely and securely. I use Dashlane THEN! Change any passwords you haven’t changed in the last quarter. More sensitive ones should be changed even more frequently. * Unsubscribe – Use this extra time to unsubscribe from all of the junk email updates that no longer serve you. Marley Majcher, CEO of The Party Goddess!, has planned events for A-list celebs such as Pierce Brosnan, Sofia Vergara, Britney Spears and Gwyneth Paltrow and now, with her book, But Are You Making Any Money? Marley has become a sought-after expert on issues and trends facing entrepreneurs and small business owners. Her business savvy has been cited in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur magazine and more. For more information, please visit www.marleymajcher.com, or follow @ThePartyGoddess on Twitter and Instagram.     Shannon Wilburn is the CEO & Co-founder of Just Between Friends Franchise Systems, Inc. (JBF), North America’s leading children’s & maternity consignment event. JBF has 150 franchises in 28 states and Canada. JBF is actively seeking franchisees throughout North America. Click here to learn more about owning a franchise.