I hear it said frequently that we are becoming a society of “lifelong learning” and, to an extent, I suppose that is true. Certainly, as a lawyer I am required to take a minimum number of continuing legal education courses each year and I find that, in order to keep pace with ever-changing laws and procedures, I usually far exceed my quota of coursework.

Much of this lifelong learning, of course, is simply thrust upon us by the relentless pace of technology. A computer crash last month, for example, forced me to quickly educate myself in the mysteries of Windows 7, and I had almost learned to program my video tape recorder before it became obsolete.

While it may be only in an urban myth, I love the tale of the escaped long-term convict who turned himself in after a frustrating few days of trying to deal with self-service gas stations, ATMs and other gadgetry which had transformed the world since he had been incarcerated. Having been forced to stand still technologically, the change was too overwhelming for him to adapt to.

But “lifelong learning” also refers to our societal obsession with degrees and designations which I think is unhealthy. A post secondary degree or a vocational certification seems a prerequisite for so many jobs that I have to ask myself, does a policeman, a fireman or a photocopy salesman really need a BA? and does a legal secretary really have to be a “Certified Legal Assistant?”

Perhaps it is more appropriate to think of “lifelong learning” as the steady accretion of knowledge and wisdom that comes only from real-world experience. I say the best school and indeed the only real school, is the School of Hard Knocks. Even in professions such as medicine and law, where much formal education is required, book learning is only the starting point, as the doctors’ and lawyers’ real skills are honed by real life experience, and there is simply no substitute for it.

For someone wanting to pursue the dream of entrepreneurship, the issue of whether to spend the time and money to pursue formal training, or to dive in feet first instead, takes on real meaning.

I am reminded of Michael Gerber's remarks in his seminal book The- E-Myth, that it is simply not necessary, and it is probably counter-productive, for the business owner to actually know how to do the technical work of the business. Gerber's thesis is that formal education and training creates a technician, who is technically competent in the mechanical processes of the business but clueless as to how to actually run the business successfully.

So, if you want to work in a business, get a degree, but if you intend to work on your business, enrol instead for some course in the School of Hard Knocks.

Technorati Tags: biz, Chris Green, education, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial, formal education, School of Hard Knocks, small business

One of my marketing mentors, Bill Glazer, is famous for saying, “The biggest difference between an average income and financial freedom is IMPLEMENTATION.”

Whether it pertains to your industry-related continuing education, getting your MBA, or engineering your own personal development – what all successful entrepreneurs seem to have in common is that they implement new ideas, often with alarming speed.

How you continue to improve your skills, keep your edge or reach the top of your profession may somewhat be determined by the degree of education you achieve. However, what the REAL secret to success seems to be, is not letting what you’ve learned turn into expensive “shelf-ware.” You know what I mean; look at your bookcase right now. How many binders full of gems of information from seminars and such do you own? That many, huh?

I personally believe that if we’re not growing and learning, we’re dying. Having said that, I have witnessed entrepreneurs who say they want success, part with large sums of money to learn what they think will give them the answers, only to pack away their notes (and great ideas) without putting them to use. You don't have to get it right, you just have to get it started.

Here are some of the reasons that I’ve found people don’t implement things in a timely manner, things that could literally make the difference between the life and death of their business.Perhaps some of these apply to you:

1. Although you take copious notes, you don’t properly organize your materials so that you can easily access them afterward. Actually, the best way to ensure implementation is to keep those notes on your desk until you’ve focused on putting that particular idea into use and then move on to the next.

2. You don’t have anyone to keep you accountable or you don’t have what I call “skin in the game.” One might think that having paid a pretty penny for what you’ve just learned would be sufficient skin in the game, but it usually takes a real live mentor or accountability partner to hold your feet to the fire.

3. With so many good ideas that you’ve learned, it can be difficult to focus on one thing and one thing only, until completion. A confused mind does nothing. So, if your mind is abuzz with tonnes of new ideas to implement, the chances are that you won’t effectively start any of them.

4. Procrastination is probably the most insidious destroyer of great ideas and self-esteem that there is. The more you put it off, the worse you feel about your worthiness, feeling that you’re lazy and all those other “drunk monkeys” that we hear chattering in our heads.

Your Assignment, Should You Choose To Accept It:

1. Type this out and put it on your computer or where you can see it every minute of every day:

• Focus On (your most important idea) Until Completion!

Then every time you have even a few minutes to spare, that is what you work on; nothing else until it’s done.

2. Follow the “72-Hour Rule.” From now on, anytime you have an idea that you felt was important enough to write it down, imagine someone holding a gun to your loved one’s head and if you don’t implement that idea (at least get it started) in 72 hours…well, you know what happens!

3. Always remember that “money likes speed.” Taking imperfect action will always beat out not taking action at all, every single time. Tough for you perfectionists and Type A’s, I know, but trust me, the movers and shakers in the world of business (yes, women!) make decisions and implement quickly.

Perhaps, like me, you don’t have any degrees after your name. We have our Ph.D.’s in Results. Continue to educate yourself for sure, but there are many successful entrepreneurs out there who have achieved phenomenal results, just digging in and getting it done!

Until next time, remember to market authentically and attract New Clients By Design!

Technorati Tags: better business, Business women, entrepreneur, entrepreneur education, entrepreneurial woman, Karen Dodd

I recently got sent a report in advance by CB Insights on the state of venture capital investments and the people dimension behind the deals and dollars.

It’s the first time they’ve done this report because it’s well understood that `Vulture Capitalists,’ as they’re sometimes called, are a critical lever in the United States (and the rest of the world!) to spur innovation, entrepreneurship and economic growth.

You often hear and read that what really gets venture capitalists excited about the young, emerging, and often unproven companies in which they invest is “the team” or “the founders.”

Yes, it’s likely that YOU are the key ingredient.

Who you are is often more important than what you’re doing. Wow them with your sales pitch, energy and drive and you may receive that million dollars your company needs to grow.

In Part 1 of the Venture Capital Human Capital report, CB Insights (a New York-based company) looks atthree characteristics related to founders of venture-backed companies, specifically: race, age and experience, and the number of founders per company. They tracked 185 'Seed VC' and 'Series A' investments to get these results.

I’m looking forward to Part 2 of the report that will look at the gender and educational background/pedigree of founders.

So what did I glean from this report that you may find beneficial or just plain interesting?

Here’s my summary:

It’s never too late to start your own business

To my delight the majority of founders were aged 35-44 years (44%) and not these young wonder kids that always seem to be in the news like Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.

That gives hope to those of you who say you should have started in your 20s – no more excuses, just do it. That said, the26-34 year-olds seem to do better at receiving higher amounts of funding.

White supremacy still reigns in the US

Unsurprisingly (say in a sarcastic tone), the majority of people founding businesses were white. Interestingly, though, all Asian-founding teams are far more successful at raising money ($4.0 million is the average investment) vs all whites ($2.2 million).

Does that mean they create better business models, sell themselves better or are more skilled negotiators?

Experience counts for something

In this study 39% of founders were formerly CEOs/Founders, which supports the idea that VCs back experience. I’ve heard this a lot from investors I’ve spoken to.

Many will only invest in someone who’s tried and failed with a previous business before they’ll fork out their cash, because they want to know that you’ve learned from your failures. So go ahead and fail. It could earn you more in the long run – seriously.

Outside of that, common previous roles were either Directors or VPs and usually in Sales/Marketing and Product Management/Development.

Going it alone is an option
I’m personally more in favour of having your own business, but expanding your offering through strategic partnerships and collaborations.

The results of this report showed that majority of companies have two or more founders, although over a third are led by one founder. Also, the more founders you have doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get more funding.

Location, Location, Location
So even if you’re not a real estate owner, it does pay to choose where you will set up your business if you’re in the US or heading there. New York and California both favor founding duos, while Massachusetts founders going solo do well.

You can read the entire report here:

http://www.cbinsights.com/blog/venture-capital/venture-capital-human-capital-report

So, were the results surprising or did I fail to tell you anything new? Let me know your thoughts on this.

Technorati Tags: angel investors, Business, business funding, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, founders, Marketing, million dollars, Money, Natalie Sisson, no more excuses, own business, seed vc, venture capital investments, venture capitalists, vulture capitalists

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting British Columbia, Canada, you’ve probably seen at least one of the many rivers in that province. These rivers are known worldwide for their speed and sheer volume of water that flow through them. So where do you think these rivers come from?

Each river is created from a number of smaller streams that, by coming together, make a powerful force that can move mountains and reshape the land. Multiple streams of income, no matter how small or insignificant you think they may be, can culminate in a river of revenue!

Let me share five income strategies I have personally used, which can help you increase your monthly cash flow and give you confidence in your business growth.

Strategy #1: Conduct a Live Workshop

You know your stuff! Teaching a hands-on workshop or an introductory program is an effective way to not only educate but to generate new leads. Charge a small fee to cover your expenses and then enroll interested attendees in a higher-priced program or series of workshops. Alternately, create a workshop that is more comprehensive and make sure your fee is value-based and voila! – you’ve created a new stream of income.

Strategy #2: Offer a Monthly Teleclass

There are a number of free conference call services that you can use (you just pay for long distance). Ask or survey your clients to uncover what their biggest challenges are, then using those challenges as your topics, share your solution in the form of a paid teleclass or webinar. It’s a great way to be seen as an expert and a resource in your market.

Strategy #3: “Tip” the Scales in Your Favour

Do you have an e-zine or newsletter that you send out? If not, creating a monthly “Tip” that you send out to clients and prospects is perfect for ‘soft’ promotion. Everyone subscribes to something so why not your business? You’ll create a list of ‘warm’ prospects who look forward to hearing from you. TIP: Always have a special offer for subscribers only. A great passive income generator!

Strategy #4: Propose a Strategic Alliance

Not everyone should be viewed as the competition. There are many companies that have products and/or services that would complement what you have to offer. If your service is newsletter design then look into partnering with an email marketing company to offer a combined service to your respective clients. Or perhaps you have a line of fashion that you represent – team up with a company that offers alterations or perhaps dry cleaning services. Double the exposure!

Strategy #5: Start a 12-month Mentoring Program

This is a membership-based program. Choose the topic or focus of your program, create an outline of the content that will be provided, add a page to your website describing the benefits of becoming a member, and promote it to your list of prospects. (Remember Strategy #3?) Don’t have a list? Partner with people who do.

These are only five of many strategies that you can implement to create multiple streams of income. We’ve only touched the surface. So keep in mind that your ‘River of Revenue’ can start with the smallest trickle. Every little stream (of income) adds up. Choose one and start today!

Technorati Tags: attendees, benefit, british columbia canada, Business, business growth strategy, cash flow, Cathy Kuzel, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial woman, income strategies, market strategy, Marketing, multiple streams, multiple streams of income, new leads, passive income, prospects, teleclass

Privacy and Social Networking

An article in the Vancouver Sun raises the Facebook privacy issue again: the article discusses the increase in bogus online identities and points out that many business individuals are steering clear of Facebook as a result.

Every time Facebook makes changes, the inevitable wave of hysteria follows. Whilst privacy is undoubtedly an issue, it shouldn’t be a reason to avoid social networks completely. Given that 400 million people (and counting) use Facebook, if you are in a professional role where building your network is part of what you do, then it is simply foolish to ignore Facebook completely.

How To Mitigate Facebook Privacy Concerns

Privacy is indeed a concern, as is identity theft, but if you take a few simple precautions (below) when social networking you can really help limit the risk of these eventualities actually transpiring.

1. Use the privacy settings – to make sure that your personal information such as date of birth, home address, email etc. are not there for all the world to see – don’t want to encourage identity thieves or spammers do we? (In Facebook click on ‘settings’ at the top right hand side of your screen, then click ‘privacy’)

2. Off the Wall – Don’t use people’s walls to communicate personal information or communications. If it is longer than a couple of sentences take it to Facebook email.

3. Remember, the first thing recruiters do these days is to check out candidates on Facebook – If you intend on ever applying for another job you should be cognizant of this. Boasting about your drinking prowess to the world will not land you that coveted job. Always do the granny test, be careful of what you post and again use the privacy settings accordingly.

4. Be authentic – Upload a profile picture so that people can see that it’s really you or what you look like after all these years, as the case may be.

5. Be selective about who you add and which pages you like – Don’t add every TD&H who invites you and remember what mother said about strangers! Seriously though, being selective about who you connect with gives you more control if safety is a concern: this is not about quantity – it is about quality.

6. Never Buy Friends or Followers – Never use sites that promise you thousands of new followers or views. There is always a catch. (Thanks to the aforementioned Sun article for that one!)

7. Be respectful – Don’t use profanities too much; you never know when someone’s kid is watching over their shoulder (take it from me, this happens a lot!)

8. Be true to who you are – Transparency is key to effective social media participation. Don’t try to present yourself as something or someone you are not. Imagine how embarrassing it will be when someone crawls out of the woodwork and points out the truth – to everyone.

9. Say it – If it is not worth saying out loud, it is not worth saying online. This is a good mantra to bear in mind when considering your status updates.

10. Block ‘Em – If someone is rude to you in comments or on your wall, you can block them. Again go to ‘settings,’ ‘privacy’ and scroll down to ‘Block List’ to do so.

11. Applications – you should be aware that most of the games and applications on Facebook are from third party companies you know nothing about and are often set up for the simple purpose of collecting you marketing info. Once you add the application, they have access to your information. Be wary of which applications you add and again use the privacy settings to control this.

Technorati Tags: Business, facebook, identity theft, Mhairi Petrovic, network, online, privacy concerns, privacy issue, privacy settings, risk, social media, social networking, social networks, thieves

You can start a blog on just about any topic: beauty and fashion, travelling on a budget, your favourite hobby, or anything else you can think of. And as you build up your audience, you can also monetize your blog so you can continue to write and provide service to your readers instead of going out and looking for another job.

Reviewing Products
One way of providing a good service to your readers while also benefitting yourself is to review products. It’s important to remember, however, that in order to give your honest and unbiased opinion, you can’t receive money for doing the review. However, you can keep the products you review, and if these are products you really want, that can be as good as money. What would you like to review? How about a coffee maker or a new computer? Or baby clothes? Whatever you want to review, if it’s in keeping with the topic of your blog, you can probably get it for free by contacting the company that makes it, as long as you can prove you’ve got a good blog, a solid audience and an established reputation.

Selling Advertising
The best way to make money with your blog is to sell advertising. And yes, you can sell advertising to the company whose product you just reviewed (after the review is published) if they wish to advertise on you blog.You can sell display advertising (banner ads or ads in a sidebar) as well as text-link advertising, “which is getting huge among blogs for SEO purposes,” says Tenille Lafontaine, a product review blogger and owner of Feisty, Frugal & Fabulous.

Tenille points out that you shouldn’t expect to get rich by blogging. Rather, it can give you an income similar to a part-time job and can open doors to other opportunities. For example, Tenille’s been blogging for two years, and just recently was offered the job of Social Media Manager for a company who knew her because she reviewed their products a couple of times. The job is one she can do at home in addition to her blogging. Being able to work at home is very important to Tenille because in addition to blogging, she’s also a stay-at-home mom.

How to Contact Companies
You can write to companies directly, or you can go through PR Agencies. Tenille has been blogging for two years, so she is established well enough now that most of the time, the PR Agencies contact her. She doesn’t know how they find her, but last September an agency contacted her out of the blue asking if she wanted to go to L.A. to cover a T.J. Maxx event. She had never heard from this company before, and didn’t even know if they were real. She believes they just did an online search with keywords that fit their focus.

“I think my title is what worked,” she says. “T.J. Maxx is the sister company of Winners in Canada, so my guess is she searched out blogs with the word ‘frugal’ and stumbled upon mine.”

When Tenille is interested in a product, she’ll contact the company that makes it and ask them to send her the product to review. For example, she decided she wanted to start running, so she contacted some companies to find out if they would send her running shoes.

“I emailed a pitch, like a magazine would, [stating] this is what I’m looking to write a feature on, this is how I’d like to present it to my readers, and the most important thing: what’s in it for them,” she says, emphasizing, “companies aren’t interested in what they can do for me, they want to know what I can do for them.”

And what is in it for them? Mainly, the number of readers you have and the amount of traffic (number of ‘page views’ or visits) to your site.

“Product review advertising has got to be the cheapest advertising a company can find right now,” Tenille says. For example, running shoes retail for around $110, but the wholesale cost to the company may only be $50. So for just $50, they’re getting a product review, a text-link within the review, and longevity: the review is never taken off her website. They also get a testimonial they can use on their own site.

“They get all that in return for sending a product,” says Tenille. “And it’s beneficial both ways. Here I am, a stay-at-home mom, with a brand new pair of $110 running shoes.”

What to Charge for your Advertising
“It varies. A blog with six months experience and 500 subscribers, to me, should be charging less than a blog with 2000 subscribers and two years of readers,” she says.

In the beginning, the companies told her what they were willing to pay. Since then, she’s  asked around to find out what other people were charging, and looked at what she had to offer in return, in order to figure out what to charge. If you’re having trouble figuring it out, she suggests contacting other bloggers, adding, there’s a huge network of Mom-bloggers out there that you can contact for information.

And as in any business, when it comes to sales, there can be negotiation. Some people will accept the price you quote and some people will counter it.

“When it comes down to business, you’ve got to decide if it’s worth it to take their offer,” she says. “I have to ask, ‘what’s in it for me?’”

What Products Should you Review?
What products you decide to review is up to you. You can focus on a specific interest, like baby-related products or technology, for example, or you can focus more broadly on general products.

Tenille’s selling point is that she’s a stay-at-home mom looking for good deals. So she can cover anything that would be of interest to mothers. This can cover a wide range of products and services, from children’s clothing to household items, from beauty products to travel destinations. When Tenille started, she was reviewing $10 hair bows. Now a product has to be worth at least $25 in order to review, because anything less is not worth her time. And it does take a lot of work to review an item; first you have to test it out, then you have to write about it and post it online.

“I can’t give the same focus to a $10 bib if I’m reviewing a $500 vacuum,” she says.

How to Build your Audience
An effective way of building your audience is with product give-aways. Tenille says the reviews give your readers first-hand knowledge of the product, which is good, but your readers will come back for more if you have something to offer them.

“That’s what I tell the companies that I work with,” says Tenille, “and 90% of the companies will in turn offer a product as a give-away to my readers.”

She points out the give-aways also generate the buzz on Facebook, Twitter, and online contest sites. It gives you more promotion, gets you more links, and gets more people talking about you, if there’s a give-away attached.

What is the Time Commitment?
Tenille notes that while anyone can start a blog and review products, most people don’t realize the amount of work that’s involved. She’s seen a few people start a blog, review a couple of products, then become disillusioned by it. They think they can do a little work and get free products in the mail. What they don’t realize is that there’s a very big time commitment to doing this. Tenille puts in more than 40 hours per week.

"[Blogging] can give you an income similar to a part-time job and can open doors to other opportunities."

“My computer’s on all day,” she says. She has a laptop that she can carry around the house and a blackberry so she can have access to emails when travelling and going out with the kids. In fact, she’s been working full-tilt for two years and is just now beginning to take her weekends off. “PR Reps work Monday through Friday,” she adds. “In the beginning when I was working with a lot of Mompreneurs,  I was emailing all the time because Mompreneurs are like me, home all the time.”

Start-up Costs
Tenille started out using a free blogging platform offered through Google called Blogger. As the months went by and she grew, she wanted to differentiate herself and look more professional. That’s when she started putting money into it. At first she bought a $30 design template, then  in the past month, she switched over to WordPress, which means she owns her own website. Since she’s no longer hosted through Google, she now has to pay hosting fees, and she bought a new design so she has design fees.

Summary
If you want to start a blog and review products, be prepared for the work and, if you’re new to blogging and social media, the learning curve. It’ll be easier to blog about something you’re already passionate about, so do your homework and figure out what that is. Then brainstorm different names for your blog because you’ll want something that catches attention, isn’t already in use, and would be easily searchable. For example, if you plan to blog about fashion, then you may want to include the word “fashion” as part of your title.

Technorati Tags: advertising, audience, banner ads, best way to make money, blog, blogger, bloggers, blogging, Blogs, Business, business writer, canada, Cathy Watters, display advertising, entrepreneur, How-To, mompreneur, mompreneurs, Money, selling advertising, sidebar, text link advertising, woman

In today's information-overloaded world, the average person is bombarded with upwards of 50,000 messages a day. Now, more than ever, people want you to distill your marketing messages into easy-to-understand, bite-sized pieces and most of all, they want to be told what they should do next.

As marketers, we tend to think that we're being disrespectful or patronizing if we tell people what to do. I find this is even more likely when you're dealing with well-educated and informed prospects. They're smart, sometimes they have more degrees after their name than we do; they should know what to do next, right? Wrong!

The more intelligent and successful someone is, the more they rely on you as a professional in your field, to make it easy for them to make a decision. Think of the Donald Trump’s and Oprah's of the world. Do you think they have the time or the energy to get bogged down in the minutiae of things that require their decisions? No, they rely on their advisers to condense it down, give them what they need to know and guide them to make the best decision.

That's exactly what you need to be doing in your quest to convert prospects into ideal clients. To make your marketing messages truly compelling, you've got to: 

• Ask them critical questions to get their attention
• Give them the reassurance there is a way out of their situation
• Tell them exactly what they need to do next

 By asking targeted questions that will resonate with your ideal client, you force them confront what is not working in their life. Questions like: “are you frustrated by, struggling with, embarrassed about…?” are designed to remind them of their “pain.”

Reassuring them that they are totally normal and that a lot of people are experiencing what they are, engages them further because we all want to think that we are okay but we want to discover a better way. In effect, you're saying to your prospective client, “you're normal, there is a way out of your situation and it's not your fault that you haven't been taught that yet.”

Then, you don't tell them how to fix it themselves (if they could have, they would have, right?) but you do tell them what you want them to do next. This is where you direct them to take your “highest payoff action” (HPA). Do you want them to call you for a complimentary consultation, do you want them to fill in some information and email it to you or do you want them to register for a free teleclass you're offering? Your HPA should be the most desirable action your prospects can take that has the highest likelihood of converting them into paying clients.

A clear and compelling “call to action” needs to be on everything you use to prospect for new clients: your website, ezine, brochures, business card and special offers and mailings. If you have any one of your marketing messages out there without telling your prospective client what they need to do next, you're wasting time, energy and money. 

When I hear someone say, “Oh, my website is just so I'll have a presence online; it doesn't get me any new business,” I just want to cry. Because it doesn't have to be that way! It shouldn't be that way. All too often, I see entrepreneurs sacrificing utility for beauty and simply beautiful marketing doesn't get you new clients.

Your Action Steps:

1. Take a really critical look at your website: (yes, now!)

Does the very first page ask your visitor compelling questions to remind them of their discomfort and then tell them exactly what they should do next? You're not being negative or hitting them over the head, but they're visiting your website for a reason, so you need to get their attention in order to help them solve their problems. 

2. Look at your business card:

Is it simply a calling card with your contact information, or is it a highly functioning "workhorse" that actively brings you business? I highly recommend that even at the risk of sacrificing aesthetics, that you do whatever it takes to get two things on your business card: 

• a free Special Offer that you'll give them in exchange for their name and email, and
• at least three "pull marketing questions," along with what they should do next, to see if you can be of help

3. Review your marketing materials:

Every single time you send out a mailing, a newsletter, or a special announcement, is the HPA that you want them to take clearly indicated? This is even more critical with mailed marketing pieces, as the conversion rate, even with expert marketing, is typically very low. If you put anything out there (even a warm friendly letter bringing people up-to-date on what you're doing) without a clear call to action, is a waste of your time, energy and money. 

Let me sum it up like this. If you were to make an in-person sales call and then didn't ask for the business or tell them the next step in the process, wouldn't you be disrespecting them and their time? If someone is interested enough to stop by your website or look at our marketing materials, they're looking for some help and it’s your duty to share how you can help them. It's their responsibility to make their own decision, you're simply making it clear to them how to take the next step, to get the help they came looking for. 

Technorati Tags: action steps, Business, call-to-action, donald trump, entrepreneur, Marketing, marketing materials, oprah, prospective client, prospects, sales, savvy sales, woman

Working “virtually” brings with it the dream of working on your own terms, your own hours and being your own boss, having the flexibility to be there for your children, or just being able to plan your business around your life. Ultimately though, what tends to happen is that by working from your home office, you actually end up working more hours than if you wereat a regular eight-hour-a-day, five-days-per-week office job.

Looking back, I seemed to get more done when I was working everyday at a JOB, but when you are at home, it is hard to ignore all that needs to be done. The result, in a lot of cases, is less income than you had imagined.

No matter how you look at it, there are still only 24 hours in the day, and when you are also a parent, much of the daytime hours can be sucked up with miscellaneous tasks that many times leave you with a small package of time to work within. As your children get older, there is definitely more time during the day while they are at school, but that’s when you are also trying to get all of those other things done too.

Enter “passive income.” By finding a way to create multiple streams of income – creating a business plan that includes bringing in income over and above the income based on hours in the day – you can create a life you love.

Take a look at what you are currently doing with your business. An easy place to start is to determine what services you are using to assist your clients.

Have you taken a look at their affiliate programs?

Recommending a service, package, etc. that you currently use is a great way to increase your passive income, as many of these services offer a referral fee. For instance, more and more of my clients want to have a blog, so when I am creating the blog for them, there are a couple of services that I need to set up first.

While “WordPress” (one of many blogging software packages available) is considered a free service, it is best to have it hosted on your own hosting package, and when I have my clients sign up for hosting, I usually direct them to a couple of options, one of which has a referral fee of $60. Additionally, if we can’t find a free WordPress theme that meets our needs, then I might suggest the purchase of a premium theme. On average, as an affiliate, I can earn 20 – 25% commission on the sale of one of these themes while providing my clients with the services they need.

Another way to increase your income is to write an e-book.

Think back on the things that you have learned as you built your business.

Would sharing that information with others who are just beginning be beneficial to them, help them with their own learning curve, and save them time? If so, then you can look at selling the e-book to assist other. Remember, time is money and if you are saving others’ time, they are willing to invest in your insight.

A few of my clients have also done some tele-classes as part of a course they are offering, and recorded them. From there, they packaged up the recordings and sold them as another stream of income.

With both the e-book and tele-class recordings, ultimately the promotion of the products is important. You can do this by offering an excerpt of the book, or a part of the recording within your newsletter, or on your website or blog. You can suggest that reading your book or purchasing the recordings would provide a great benefit to your clients, to further what you are currently doing for them. Your products can be added to an e-commerce page on your site, or an account can be created via Amazon.com or using an affiliate service like “Click Bank” to harness the power of having affiliates promote your product for you, for a commission.

There are a number of ways to create a passive income, and much will be dependent upon the services you provide, but always be on the lookout for opportunities: they are everywhere.

Action plan:

1. Brainstorm ways you can create passive income. During the brainstorming session, write down every idea, no matter how far-fetched.

2. Review your ideas. Which ones can you do now? Which ones do you feel comfortable with? Make a list of three to five items that are realistic and achievable for you.

3. Make a timeline with deadlines to put these ideas into action. If you need to do research, include this in your timeline.

BONUS TASK: Ask around to find out what your friends and colleagues are doing to create passive income.

Technorati Tags: affiliate programs, being your own boss, boss, Business, business plan, creating a business plan, e book, finding a way, flexibility, insight, job, learning curve, love, Money, multiple streams of income, office, office job, passive income, referral fee, saving, sharing, time is money, Tracey Ehman

Multiple streams of income are terrific from a financial point of view, but when you talk about all the things you do at a networking event, family gathering or other business function, are you confusing the people you talk to?

Women in particular, multitaskers that they are, often have at least two different types of businesses, or a job and business on the side, and sometimes more. While your energy is admirable, this multifaceted existence can be detrimental to your business image in networking. When you are asked to describe what you do, you may try to ‘fit it all in’ which results in confusion for your listeners and a potential loss of credibility as you may be perceived as scattered and less serious about your work.

If you are someone who has multiple business interests, keep these tips in mind when networking to avoid confusion in your audience and grow your businesses:

1. Choose which networks you want to target for which businesses you operate.
If you are a skin care representative but also sell financial products, you might choose to target your women’s networking groups with the former and leave the latter for co-ed networking, or vice versa, depending on your marketing strategy. Think carefully about your product or service and where it would be most advantageously promoted.

2. Consider keeping your multiple streams of income interrelated.
For example, if you work in the health industry, then selling natural health supplements would be a consistent fit for your portfolio of interests. If you are a makeup artist, skin care or fashion products would be a good fit for you. If your businesses are too diverse, people may question your ability or expertise in the various areas in which you practice.

3. If you do have very diverse businesses, it can help to explain clearly what you are doing and why.
For example, one networker talks about her day job in law that she really enjoys and talks about her home products business as something she does as a hobby on the side. Another talks about her business as something she is gradually transitioning into while describing how the skills she is learning in her regular job will benefit her as a business owner when she is ready to make the leap. This is a much more effective approach than talking to people about two or three different businesses at once without explanation.

4. Remember that people need to hear a message multiple times to absorb the information.
If you talk about something different each time you see them, people will have more difficulty understanding exactly what you do. Even if you see your networking group as often as once a week and even if your businesses are related, keep your messages consistent on a single topic over a period of time and you will achieve greater results.

Ultimately, this type of focus will benefit your businesses by making it easy for your audience to clearly understand what you do and for them to refer your products and services to the people in their networks. Apply these tips to avoid audience confusion, increase your credibility and watch your businesses grow.

Technorati Tags: Business, business function, business image, business owner, credibility, day job, Katherine Lazaruk, marketing strategy, multiple streams of income, networking, networking event, networking groups, women

In a world of never ending SPAM it’s a real challenge to create successful email campaigns but  not impossible. Email can still be a hugely valuable tool to reach your market and should not be dismissed. Here are some pointers to bear in mind when consider your email campaigns:

Tips For Effective Email Campaigns

1. Avoid the hard sell – People get so much spam these days that if you try to sell to strangers via email, you’ll hit the junk file faster than you can say "spam." Newsletters that add value are better than sales letters that harass.

2. Keep in Touch – It is easier to keep an existing customer than to get a new one. Email is a great way to keep in touch with clients, to reinforce your brand, add value, to remind them you are here and to give them special incentives to do more business with you.

3. Email Marketing Tools – Use a tool that allows you to easily create and mail your newsletter to contacts. It is important to choose one that allows you track who opens, when they open, what they click on etc. This will allow you to assess whether your campaigns are working.

4. Action – Use a call-to-action in the subject line – one that is brief, catchy and intelligent – that will entice people to open the mail. I’ve noticed a lot of people use titles that are completely unrelated to the content of the mail. This, to me, is deceptive and not the actions of a company I would do business with.

5. Unsubscribe – Always ensure there is an unsubscribe button or hyperlink in the content so that your mail is perceived as more professional and law abiding. Just remember to delete those who unsubscribe from your mailing lists, always.  Also, don’t make people jump through hoops to unsubscribe, just get it done without any annoying “are you sure?” messages.

6. Links – Drive them back to your website by including links to related articles or pages – you can then easily track click-throughs to make follow-up calls more targeted.

7. KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) – The old adage applies here too: don’t add too many fancy images or graphics,  it will just clog people’s mail boxes.

8. Incentives – The body of the text should include some incentive to act, but don’t overdo it with too many calls-to-action as this will simply dilute your message and confuse the reader.

9. Keep it Short – War and Peace just isn’t appropriate in an email. Your newsletter should be short and to the point if you want people to read it.

10. Think outside the box – Email content should be unique and should tell your audience something they don’t know about your product, company, service, the industry or niche.

11. Build your List – Encourage visitors to subscribe online (add a subscribe form to your site); tell people about your newsletters in the real world and give incentives to readers to share with their colleagues.

12. Don’t Over Do It – If you send out newsletters too frequently, there is a good chance that your open rate will decline and that more people will unsubscribe. Respect the fact that people are busy and don’t overload their already heaving in-boxes with even more stuff.

13. Don’t SPAM – Never, ever. Always use valid emails from people you have actually met or who have given you business cards at events and shows. If you don’t it's the fastest way to get an unsubscribe.

Technorati Tags: audience, brand, Business, email campaigns, email marketing, mail, marketing tools, Mhairi Petrovic, niche, online, sales, sales letters, touch with clients

Accepting payments at your internet company can become an unnecessarily complicated process. That’s why many e-commerce companies take the easier route with Paypal, or brick and mortar shops sign up with the first salesperson to swing by their office. Unfortunately, most businesses can stand to save a lot of money just by re-examining their credit card processing terms. Here’s what to look for:

1. Never allow cancellation fees.

Make sure to read the fine print on the credit card processing contract – it may sometimes hide a “cancellation fee” of at least $250 to several thousand dollars. This fee is a way of guaranteeing loyalty to the processor, regardless of customer satisfaction. The good news is that getting rid of this fee should not be a problem: most salespeople have the authority to waive it. To avoid this issue, talk to the salesperson and make sure the fee is waived in writing either in the contract or as an amendment. As a startup, making sure to have the “no cancellation fee” clause is a great hedge in case anything goes wrong.

2. Only use “Interchange Plus pricing.”

The bulk of credit card processing fees go to Visa and Mastercard – these are called “interchange” and are set in stone. Interchange Plus pricing is the fairest form of pricing, and is comprised of interchange plus a constant processor mark-up (the fees processors charge for their services). With Interchange Plus pricing, there is never a question of how much the processor will charge per transaction since those costs are fixed. Having this structure ensures there are no tricky fees or hidden costs, unlike tiered pricing structures.

3. Comparison shop.

Research shows that the best deal can be found by comparison shopping at least five credit card processors. However, make sure to compare on an apples-to-apples basis, and be sure each processor knows that you are actively shopping. You can easily make your bids more competitive by leveraging the power of comparison.

4. Don’t forget the gateway.

A gateway is a piece of software that connects you (the merchant) to the processor. It’s equivalent to a terminal where credit cards are swiped in a brick and mortar shop. If you’re planning on doing e-commerce, you will have to set up a gateway. In Canada the most popular gateways are PSIGate and Beanstream

5. Consider recurring billing options.

A lot of internet companies use a subscription-based billing model and are lost when it comes to how to integrate all the pieces of the payment acceptance puzzle. Although you may not necessarily need a recurring payment solution, it will make your life infinitely easier if you have one. Companies such as Chargify and Recurly make recurring billing flexible, easy to adjust, and just plain easy. Instead of hitting your head against a brick wall trying to figure out a software solution to recurring billing, do yourself a favour and use a service that will automate it.

Technorati Tags: cancellation fees, credit card processing, credit card processors, entrepreneur, interchange, internet company, paypal, Stella Fayman

It is the dream of any entrepreneur to be blessed with multiple streams of income. Revenue from one source can tide you over the lean times that any entrepreneur experiences and spreading the income spreads the risk of relying upon a single venture. A series of modest predictable payments from different sources can also smooth out seasonal fluctuations in one’s income. Arguably too, better decisions are made when you are not betting the farm every time you make a business decision.

Technology has made it ridiculously easy to establish such multiple streams. Selling stuff on eBay comes to mind. Many people have morphed an initial experimental foray onto the eBay site into a tiny home-based business. It is an elegant business model: very little cash outlay and very little risk, and an abundance of tools to help you get started andto maintain your business.

Bear in mind though that while eBay may be lucrative, it is not invisible. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has recently taken court action to compel eBay to disgorge the names and trading histories of some of its heaviest hitters. So a word of caution, make sure you document and report all of your eBay related business activities. You are obliged to report your worldwide income, so don’t be fooled by the fact that most of your sales are abroad.

Better than multiple streams of income are multiple streams of passive income such as those attainable through selling space on your website to Google ads. It’s so simple it doesn’t even feel like work, but make no mistake, those commission payments trickling into your PayPal account are still considered to be taxable income, and don’t forget that when you signed up initially for PayPal in order to establish a piggy bank for your Google ads earnings, you were required to provide tax information. The IRS now has that information, and is happy, indeed eager, to share it with its northern cousin.

Another perennial favourite for adding additional streams of income is a multilevel marketing “business opportunity.” They come in a dazzling array of choices , with new opportunities being spawned daily, and offer a tempting opportunity to write off a myriad of expenses against your stodgy T-4 income.

If the tax write-offs are the main attraction to the “business opportunity” you have enrolled in, however, you might want to reconsider it. The CRA applies a litmus test to all such business opportunities since only bona fide expenses incurred in a reasonable expectation of a profit can be deducted. So, if you have sold precious little product and your downline closely resembles your family tree, your expenses may well be disallowed.

Bear in mind that many of the so-called opportunities are nothing more than Ponzi schemes designed to part you from your hard earned money. A good indicator of a Ponzi Scheme is whether the primary focus is upon the recruitment of new sales associates, rather than on the sale of the underlying product.

There are, of course, many of many legitimate multilevel marketing opportunities, but all of them require you to work very,very hard in order to earn your commissions and bonuses and overrides. If your business opportunity requires you to sign up for an auto ship program, and you aren’t a super salesperson, you may be creating an additional stream of expense rather then a stream of income. The end result may be a garage stuffed full of unsaleable product (speaking of which, dear reader, can I offer you a very good deal on a quantity of mileage-enhancing petroleum products?)

Lastly be aware that a huge, largely internet-based industry has developed purporting to teach you how to take advantage of additional income-producing ventures. It's hard to believe that a single “Secret Report” can make you rich. More likely, the report you pay for will say something like this: "To get rich, run an ad just like mine and sell a copy of this report to every sucker who responds. Remember, there is one born every minute!"

Technorati Tags: Business, canada, canada revenue agency, Chris Green, entrepreneur, Money, multiple streams of income, new opportunities, passive income, taxable income, worldwide income

Tenille Lafontaine, creator of Feisty, Frugal, & Fabulous began blogging two years ago because she wanted to get free stuff. Now she has a business that won't make her a millionaire, she says, but does give her enough money to pay for the family vacation or buy new furniture. She also gets to keep the toys, clothes, and other products she reviews, and go on free trips to places like Cancun and Los Angeles.

"I see it as my part-time job, but it's really 24/7 because I'm always on email or testing products, which takes time," she says, "or taking pictures of the kids with the products."

HOW SHE GOT STARTED

A stay-at-home mom (SAHM) with a toddler, Tenille was always online researching deals and looking for coupons, free samples, and contests to enter. However, most of the blogs that were giving things away only shipped within the US. Tenille, who lives in Canada, found this quite frustrating.

One day she thought, "Why don't I do it?"

"It was never with aspirations of making money off my blog" she said, noting her first product reviews were for $10 hair bows and $5 bibs. "It was more that maybe I could get a couple of products for my kids instead of waiting to win one."

FROM HOBBY TO BUSINESS

She realized she could turn this into a business about a year later when a company (whose product she had reviewed) contacted her and asked if she did any advertising.

"I said, 'no, I don't, but I could,' and they offered me payment for placing advertising on my sidebar," she says.

Because she's established, now, most companies contact her directly or through their PR Reps. However, in the beginning she had to contact the companies herself and pitch why they should send her a product to review. She puts in more than 40-hours a week including weekends, and even bought a Blackberry last year to help her keep on top of things when she's away from home. In spite of the time commitment, she enjoys being able to create her own schedule and work when her kids are playing or taking a nap.

POTENTIAL PITFALLS

Sometimes being a mom and an entrepreneur conflict with each other. A company offered to fly her from her home in Saskatchewan (Canada) to New York (USA), to cover an event, and she really wanted to do it, but the flight was scheduled to take place on her son's first day of Kindergarten.

"It killed me," she says, "because, what do you do? But working moms everywhere have that all the time."

In the end, the company offered to fly her to an event a few days later in Los Angeles, instead.

Another potential pitfall is when one partner becomes an entrepreneur, especially a blogger, it can affect a marriage in ways you may not anticipate.

"I've been very fortunate that my husband has been very good about it," she says, but she's read on some forums that other bloggers have experienced problems. For example, your partner may not view what you do as 'work.' They think you're just 'playing' on the computer. They may resent having to look after the kids when they get home from work so you can get to work, or they may miss your attention.

OPPORTUNITIES

Tenille is quick to point out that blogging isn't going to make you rich. What it can do for you is open up other opportunities, such as:

• employment offers
• blogging mom programs
• contest hosting

Employment:

A few months ago, a California-based company called and offered her a paid position as their "Social Media Manager."

"I had actually worked with Label Daddy in the past a couple of times, and one day, when I was shopping for paint, [the owner] called me up and pitched the job to me," she says. "I handle their Facebook and Twitter accounts, and Blog Reviews. When another blogger wants to review their products, I get the email and line up the review."

Blogging mom programs:

Another opportunity open to bloggers is "blogging moms programs," also called "Brand Ambassadors." Tenille was one of two Canadians invited to join the 12-person blogging team for Constructive Playthings. Each month, team members choose toys from the company's catalogue to review. The product review appears on the bloggers page, and links back to the company's site. In return, the company does banner advertising on all the mom-blogger's websites. "Every program you have under your belt gives you that much more credibility," says Tenille.

Contest hosting:

If a company is running a contest on their own website, they may pay a blogger to have the contest introduced to that blogger's audience.

"It's a huge learning curve. You can't expect to start today, and then be on a plane to LA next week," she says, but points out that even though many people doing it now, there's still opportunity because social media is 'exploding.'

TIPS

1. If you want to get into review blogging, start by reading review blogs so you can get a good idea of what's involved and network with other bloggers.

2. Blog for awhile and build up your following before you approach companies, so you have a better idea of what you can offer the companies.

3. Know your worth. In the beginning it's very exciting to get free products in the mail, but it quickly becomes work. Make sure you value your work and your time.

4. Give a lot of thought to your blog title; it makes a difference in how people find you. "'Frugal' worked well for me," says Tenille. "Companies that focus on saving money will all find me."

5. Be accountable to your readers. Take photos that show you're actually using the products that you're reviewing and give your honest opinion in the reviews.

Technorati Tags: blog, bloggers, canada, Cathy Watters, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial woman, free stuff, mompreneur, part time job, pr reps, Saskatchewan, saving money, social media, stay at home mom

7 ways YOU can make extra money

A former coach and mentor of mine was famous for saying, "You've always got to have a big back-end."

The first time I heard that, I can tell you that what I envisioned wasn't pretty. In fact, it seemed like I'd been working forever to keep my back end anything but big!

However, as I came to realize – and now teach my clients – having a back-end to your business is key, particularly if you ever hope to slow down and enjoy the time freedom that having your own business should bring.

Think of your main business as your front-end. For example, let's say you have a flower shop. Assuming you're already working at least five days a week in your business, the only way you can make more income is to work more hours or leverage your time and knowledge, to create additional income streams from what you already know. That would be your back-end which, ideally, you want to be big. (I know – just put that nasty image right out of your mind!)

So, let's plug in what you do and see what a highly leveraged, big back-end could look like:

1. If you like writing, you could write either a book or an E-book. An E-book is a quick, easy and virtually no-cost way to get your name out there. You can use it as a free gift to encourage people to visit your location or your website. Alternatively, you can sell virtually any type of E-book (with good content, of course) for anywhere between $19.95 and $69.00. In the example of the florist, she might write an E-book on decorating your home and flower-arranging for holiday entertaining. Or, how about teaching people how to make living wreaths rather than the usual store-bought, fake ones? Again, just plug in what your talents are, and look for ways to share that with the public.

2. You could share or sell information by recording it. The quickest, easiest and least expensive way of doing this is to record your presentation and make it available via an mp3 file, delivered from your website, by email or in your e-zine. You could also put it on a CD or DVD and ship them, and also make them available in your store or place of business.

3. Hold a teleseminar or webinar. These are nothing more than online classes that you can either do live or pre-recorded. At the beginning, if you're nervous or you don't have a following of people to invite, you're better to pre-record it. That way, you can edit it or start over, until you get a little more experienced. I like doing them live because I like the instant gratification of feedback and participation. You can offer your seminars free, as a lead-in to something you'd like your audience to purchase in the future. Or, you can charge anywhere from $25 to many hundreds of dollars for a series of tele-classes.

4. Interview an expert, get yourself interviewed, or write the Q&A for an ideal interview you'd like to do, and have a friend or assistant interview you. You can then distribute it by mp3, CD or put it in a Special Report to either give away free or charge for.

5. Offer to speak or teach classes at a local venue, appropriate to what you do. Many organizations, from non-profit to profitable businesses, are always looking for great speakers or workshop leaders. For example, you might volunteer to teach scrap-booking at an art supply or handicraft store. A personal favourite of mine is to offer to teach regular workshops at the big-name bookstores like Borders or Indigo. You will probably be doing the classes for free but you will eventually get a following and you can send them home with your $20 CD, book, or have them enrol in one of your paid events.

You might be asking, “Karen, how does this create a big back-end when you're talking about giving things away for free or charging relatively small prices?”

The key is “leverage.”You only have to create these info products one time and you will have them forever, and if done properly, they will generate a lot of income over time – without taking you away from your main day-to-day business. In fact, many of the people I have mentored who started this way, actually had the info products part of their business take over, because it became more profitable and way more fun than being tied to their “traditional” businesses.

In the final analysis, from just one passion or piece of knowledge that you already have, you could conceivably create seven streams of income, such as:

• an E-book or Special Report
• a published, traditional book
• a CD, mp3 or video (or all three)
• a series of articles that could be made into a course or teleclass
• a transcription of an interview that could then be used in a live or pre-recorded teleclass
• a free class or live event that you use to feed into your main (paid) offering
• all of the above, that could be packaged into a physical course (typically with CD's and a workbook) 

Question for you: How do you think you'd feel, sitting on a beach somewhere, sipping a Margarita, watching the orders come in over your BlackBerry or laptop? Whoopee! That can be YOU!

Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is:

Think of something you know, are passionate about, or that is second nature to you. Then write “3 Tips For__________.” Now, work on developing all or any of these tips…and Voila! You have your content.

With some imagination and perhaps the help of a coach or mentor, there is literally no limit to what you could have out there working for you, while you're doing your day-to-day business.

Technorati Tags: additional income, Business, e book, entrepreneur, extra money, freedom money, income streams, Karen Dodd, online, talents, time freedom

Vision Boards, also called Treasure Maps, are visual reminders of your visions, intentions, goals, dreams and desires. It is a method of using pictures to show where you want to go, because if you don’t know where you’re going, you can’t get there. In order to be successful, you need to have a clear idea of what “success” means to you, and a clear vision of what that looks like.

Creating a vision board can help you not only attain your desires, but also attain them faster. By placing your completed vision board someplace where you can see it regularly, you can stay focused on what you wish to achieve.

(As a child, I used to draw pictures of myself counselling thousands of people internationally and imagine what it would be like. Now, as an adult, I’ve counselled people on every continent!)

Vision boards are powerful beyond any limit and I do not know of a better tool to speed up your dream achievement. If you find one, please let me know.

Why are Vision Boards useful?

Sciences and quantum physics have repeatedly demonstrated that what we focus on expands. The universal Law of Attraction shows that if we focus on what we want, versus what we do not want, we are more likely to attain it. Therefore, to be more successful, we ought to focus our resources (money, time and energy)on what we want.

For instance, if our energy (thoughts, feelings and actions) is invested on everything that goes wrong in our day, we are likely to notice, perceive and attract negative events. Humans have about 60,000 thoughts a day. It is an art and a habit to master the ability to ensure that most of these thoughts are positive, constructive and successful.

The vision board is useful because it reminds us to think supportive thoughts. If we didn’t have the board, our brain may naturally tend to think unsupportive thoughts due to normal and unconscious defence mechanisms and mass media (TV, newspapers, and radio) that feed us more depressing than happy images, words and news. No wonder people who don’t have vision boards are less successful! Does it make sense to you? We hope so!

Even in spirituality and all religions, what people in essence do is focus on what they love by praying, meditating, chanting, and singing. And usually they do it in front of something like an altar, similar to a vision board, which reminds them of their passions.

Just understand that while having a vision board statistically and scientifically heightens your chances to reach your desire, on its own it’s not enough. You must take actions towards your goals and you must remove those psychological blocks, such as fears and phobias, that prevent you from succeeding.

Can they effectively help a business person with their business or is it just for personal goals?

Vision boards are for anyone – individuals, pairs and groups – and for any life area, such as personal or work/business. For example, you can have your own board, another one with your life partners and a third one with your business partners.

For yourself, you can have one board, or you can have several. For example, you may want one board to focus on your career goals and a separate one to focus on your personal life, or you may want one each for long-term and short-term goals.

Making a vision board should be fun! Why not organize a “vision board party” with your friends, or make it a family activity and get your kids involved? Redo or re-edit your board as often as you like.

There are three ways to make a vision board: paper, digital, or video.

See "How-to: Make a Vision Board."

Technorati Tags: Business, business partner, career goals, clear vision, collage, dreams, dreams and desires, Elena Pezzini, intention, personal life, treasure maps, universal law of attraction, Vision Board, visual reminders

Vision Boards, also known as Treasure Maps, are useful tools to help you visualize your work and life goals, and they also act as a reminder to help us stay focussed.

There are three main ways to make a Vision Board.

• paper (ie. collage)
• digital (ie. powerpoint)
• video

How to make a PAPER Vision Board:

The quickest, easiest, and most low-tech way of making a vision board is to get poster board and make a paper collage using cut-outs from magazines, clip art, and drawings.

1. Decide if you want a big one or small one. Part of your decision will come down to what you have space for. If you want a small one, you can even just use a sheet of paper as your base. If large, use poster board.

2. Think about the types of things you wish to achieve. What do you want to have in your life? Where do you want to live? Do you want to travel? Do you want kids? If you have kids, do you want them to go to university? What type of work do you want to do? What type of business do you want to have? What did you used to imagine you’d be doing, when you were a child? Do those dreams still resonate with you?

3. Cut out photographs, words, and other images from magazine, draw pictures and/or snip out words that correspond to the things that are important to you. You can also find images on the internet and print them off.

4. Glue everything onto your sheet of paper or poster board.

5. Place your finished board where you can see it. You can even frame your board and hang it like your own art masterpiece.

6. You can add, remove, or change the pictures on your board whenever you want, or do new ones as your vision changes/progresses.

If you don’t have a clear vision of something now, you can add it later. For example, maybe you know you want to have your own business, and you want financial security, but you don’t know yet what type of business you want. For now, you can cut out pictures that represent financial security, or working for yourself, and then as you do research and gain a clearer vision of what the business might be, you can add/change the pictures.

For more information, watch a short YouTube video of someone making a paper-based Vision Board / Treasure Map.

How to make a DIGITAL Vision Board:

Use this Powerpoint template and check out this completed example (with feng shui) at right for ideas on how to make a digital/electronic one. You may fully edit the file our client created to your liking.

1. To add pictures, go to Google Images and search for a picture by typing in a keyword . For example, type in “Jacuzzi” and click “search images.”

2. When you find something you like, right click the picture, click “copy image” and then go to the Powerpoint file.

3. In the PowerPoint file, either (A) click “edit”on the top left, then click “paste” or (B) right click to bring up menu and click "paste"

4. Now you can resize and move the photo as needed.

To resize, place cursor on a corner dot, click left mouse button and, while holding the button down, move mouse/cursor in or out. If you don't see dots, place cursor on image and click once. Let go when it's the size you want.

To move image, left click and, while still holding the button down, move mouse. Let go when it's where you want.

5. When satisfied, click “save.”

6. Repeat.

We encourage you to be as detailed as possible. Add words, dates, images, and change colors. Be creative! The more specific you are, the faster you are likely to attain your dreams.

When you are done,  place your Digital Vision Board everywhere, on as many places as possible. For example: your computer screensaver and mobile phone wall paper. Print out hard copies and post them on your fridge, in your car, your wall, and more.

The more times you consciously or unconsciously see it or pass by it, the more…

You can finish the sentence!

How to make a Vision VIDEO:

Vision videos are more multi-dimensional and multi-sensory than boards because they involve the auditory and kinesthetic senses, utilizing principles learned in self-hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming.

The more senses you involve, the more you “brain wash” yourself to accomplish your goals. You could move your body and burn scented candles while you look at a paper/digital Vision Board, or watch a Vision Video.

The videos and the boards become your personal coaches, confidantes and mentors. To make similar vision videos, you can use free or low-cost software applications from the internet, or use the video software that came with your computer, if it has any. Most computers come with those applications, such as Windows Mobie Maker.

In this video, we combined images, visual words (captions), spoken words (inspiring and empowering declarations/mottos/mantras), and interesting video camera shooting, with brainwave sounds used in hypnosis and meditation.

(If you’d like the brainwave sounds at no charge, email: Elena@GrowingForSuccess.com and put "Brainwave Request" in the subject line.)

In conclusion, have fun creating your new vision board! You can only gain!

Technorati Tags: Business, clear vision, coach, Digital Vision Board, Elena Pezzini, entrepreneur, How-To, paper collage, treasure maps, Video Vision Board, Vision Board, Vision Video, woman

Ok, take one ball and throw it up in the air. Catch it. Do it again. Now add another ball. Throw that one in the air as well. Catch it. Do it again. Now throw both balls in the air at the same time. Chances are you can catch them. What happens when you add that third or fourth ball? It becomes a game of ‘chase’ instead of ‘catch’!

Balancing personal life, family and business is not just a game of catch. It requires thought, planning and support. As entrepreneurs, your day to day schedule can be hectic at best. How do you find a happy medium between the demands placed on you?

In one of my previous articles (“Delegate It!”) we determined that unless tasks and events are diarized and prioritized, stress levels elevate and productivity goes out the window! There are only 24 hours in any given day and eight of them need to be reserved for rest and relaxation (aka Sleep!). As a business person, we need to also accept that the world will not come to an end if that ‘something’ is not accomplished. Finding a healthy balance between your business and your family/life can be extremely challenging, but it essential if you wish to achieve your dreams and goals.

5 TIPS TO CREATING A HEALTHY WORK/LIFE BALANCE

1. Prioritize. If you have a family, they are your number one priority. Businesses can be rebuilt, restructured, sold and bought but your family is non-negotiable. Too many times I’ve seen successful business people sacrifice quality time in exchange for ‘things’ – toys, games, presents etc. The one lasting thing you can give your family is memories and that only happens when you spend time with them.

2. Put the oxygen mask on yourself first. Remember to take care of yourself. It could be as simple as a cup of tea while sitting on the back porch or a 15 minute bubble bath. Take a 20 minute walk or read two chapters of the book you are currently interested in. It doesn’t matter what it is, just make the time.

3. Schedule. It’s that easy. Print off a large blank calendar and start filling in your tasks, events, meetings and personal time in priority sequence.

4. The Big Six. Before you go to bed each night, write down the six things you want to accomplish the next day. Remember that some ‘to do’s’ have more than one step to complete.

5. You’re only Human. Super Mom you ain’t! Don’t get sucked into that black hole of perfection that marketers try to feed us on a daily basis. Everyone is NOT created equal and just because "Janeel" runs three companies, has two kids in elementary school and sits on the parent advisory committee does not mean she’s happy or that her day runs smoothly. YOU decide what works for you and stick to it.

We remember the fable of the tortoise and the hare – sometimes it is better to be slower and steadier than racing through life at Mach 5 with your hair on fire.

Technorati Tags: back porch, bubble bath, Business, business person, Cathy Kuzel, daily basis, delegate, dreams, ego, entrepreneur, happy medium, image, life balance, memories, oxygen mask, personal life, personal time, prioritize, productivity, quality time, relaxation, sacrifice quality, stress levels, successful business, successful business people, toys games, work life balance, work/life balance

Back in March I wrote a post that was pretty popular on Forbes Work in Progress called How to Catch a Time Thief and Get More Done. The essence of this post, as you can imagine, was how to reclaim your time and, more importantly, put it to better use.

As we know, everyone has the same amount of time in a day, a week, a month and a year, yet some people are much more adept and effective at using it wisely. I’m talking about the amount they achieve both work-wise and personally.

I really like this recent post from Tamsen at Brass Tack Thinking, a popular blog I’ve only recently discovered and am so glad to have. The posts are insightful, pertinent, relevant and they give great cause for discussion, debate or introspective thinking.

What really resonated with me was this statement:

TIME doesn’t make you do something. YOU do.

The question isn’t, “Do I really want (or need) to get this done by a certain date?”

It’s “Do I really want to get this thing done, or not?” And really, “Am I willing to do what it takes to do it?” Your progress, your success is a product of your actions.

I think I’ve always realized I feel on top of the world when I’m taking positive action. Over the last few weeks I’ve been travelling and attempting to run my business at the same time. These last few days in Graz, Austria I’ve managed to base myself in one place and as a result made a tonne of progress.

Granted I worked 11 hours straight yesterday (which I don’t advise as my eyes have been sore all day today and bloodshot!). My point is, though, I cleared my entire inbox, set up new systems, got important client work done, wrote a blog post that went viral and made some `fantabulous’ connections with women as a result.

Did I make progress on my eBook? No. Why not? I know it’s going to be a big piece of work that requires a lot of effort, time, creativity and dedication.

I will, however, MAKE time as of tomorrow. There’s nothing that annoys me more than people who say, “I don’t have time to [insert excuse here].”

I also have learned to not underestimate how much time it takes to do little things. I watched with disbelief as the clock kept on ticking ferociously yesterday and that even after seven hours my focused ‘to-do’ list was only 60% complete.

That said, I did beat the clock in the end and felt pretty damn proud. How?

Firstly, by focusing on deliverables, not `nice to do’ activities like being everyone’s best friend on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I had my ‘to-do’ list right by me so I’d come back to what I intended to do and make it happen.

Secondly, by having this great tip at my side:

“Tell yourself you only have 30 minutes to get your task done. Once you do, your brain takes over and finds a way to get the job done!”

Thirdly, by giving myself a pat on the back at regular intervals when I did great stuff, and yes, reading blogs and commenting is actually a vital part of a blogger’s strategy and anyone wanting to build a community. So acknowledge what’s useful and what’s not and you’ll know where you want to spend your time and how.

If you've found yourself saying “I don't have time to…”  lately, then STOP! Admit to yourself why you are the chief time thief right now, and what you’re going to do to stop stealing from yourself!

Technorati Tags: achieving more, how to make time, positive action, time management, to-do list

Bookmarking sites are sites on the Internet that allow you to share and save your online discoveries, making it easier for you to keep track of those gems you discover online and intend to revisit. Not only do bookmarking sites allow you to bookmark the sites you like but they also allow you to connect with others who have similar interested and to share sites with them too. They also have an added benefit in that, if you use them effectively, they will increase your online exposure.

Most bookmarking sites allow you to download a widget to your browser allowing you to easily bookmark sites that you like and want to share. Each time you find a site you like you can click to add it and to organize with appropriate tags.

Some of the most popular bookmarking sites are Reddit, Delicious, Stumble Upon and Digg for a more comprehensive list go to Wikipedia. These are all social networking sites: online hubs where people connect, build community and communicate and interact online. Like other types of social networks they can be very effective in driving traffic to your website, building online connections and increasing your online exposure.

If you think bookmarking sites may be a good tool to consider using as part of your Internet marketing strategy, you should take time to look at the sites above to ascertain which is most appropriate given your target audience and content (by exploring tags or categories and the type of sites contained therein). As with any social media marketing activity, to be effective you need to add value, be consistent and to connect and build community with others.

Technorati Tags: bookmark, bookmarking, community, hubs, internet marketing, Mhairi Petrovic, networking, social media, social networking, social networking sites, target audience, widget

Facebook is quickly becoming a major challenger to Google when it comes to web traffic. Not only can Facebook drive traffic to your website but the traffic it brings is more targeted, more likely to visit more pages and more likely to stay longer. This, combined with the fact that having a Facebook page can help you reach and communicate with new audiences, means that Facebook should be a major component of your social media strategy (especially if your audience is consumer).

Once you have created a Facebook Page for your organization the challenge becomes attracting an audience and getting people to “like” your page. Here are some tips that will help you do so.

10 Tips To Get More People to Like Your Facebook Page

1. Content – is key to growing your following. If your content adds value (by that I mean tells your audience something they didn’t already now) and stimulates conversion, more followers will come.

2. Website widget – add a Facebook widget to your website so that people can click from there to “like” your page.

3. Invite friends – use the “suggest to a friend” link to find and send invites to friends, but be selective and only invite Facebook friends who might actually be interested.

4. Add your Facebook Page URL – to your business cards. Once you have 25 Facebook “likes” you can request a vanity URL like ours:  http://www.facebook.com/outsmarts which is much more concise and easier to fit on your cards.

5. Tell people – when you are networking both online and off, about your page. If you use Twitter or other social networks, link and tell your followers in those forums too.

6. Update regularly – on your Facebook page (refer to 1. when doing so) at least once a day but not so frequently that your posts become intrusive and annoying.

7. Place an ad – on Facebook. These ads are highly targeted. Use them to spread awareness of your page with people who will be interested. You might be surprised as to how many new “likes” this will generate. You can also use Google adwords campaigns but this isn’t as effective.

8. Avoid selling – It is not good Facebook etiquette to simply use your Page for promotional purposes. Use the 20/80 rule and ensure that you only promote your company, products or services 20% of the time, and focus the rest of your posts on adding value and building loyalty with your followers.

9. Make your Page Stand Out – Use FBML to make your Facebook page more unique and attractive to potential new followers when they first pop by.

10. Promote your Page – Make sure your Facebook Page URLis highlighted on all direct marketing and traditional advertising vehicles, add “Like on Facebook”  information to letters, packaging and shipping materials to spread the word in other media.

Technorati Tags: audiences, facebook, facebook friends, followers, How-To, media strategy, Mhairi Petrovic, network, networking, social media, social networks, traffic, vanity url, web traffic, widget

It has always fascinated me that with all the time that most of us put into our working life, many people haven't figured out how to design their business or job around the lifestyle that they would like to be living.

In my coaching work, I often come across individuals who have wandered – or just fallen into — business after business (or job after job) and now feel like they're running out of time to find their dreams.

They feel torn between what they'd really love to do and what they feel they should do, because they have responsibilities and need the money. These are two beliefs that will never let you cross that bridge to what brings you joy and happiness in your business and personal life.

You probably know people who hold these conflicting beliefs. Perhaps you know them really well (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

Your Action Steps

• Make a list of at least ten things that bring you joy, make you feel fulfilled and that you simply love doing. Include things that you're good at, that people compliment you on, things that you do not procrastinate on because you enjoy doing them. What makes you feel really good on the inside?

• Next, narrow those ten down to your Top 5. Ask yourself: if I could have, be or do #1 but could never have #2, which one is the most important to me? Keep doing that by process of elimination, until you get down to five.

• Finally, ask yourself: in my present business (or job), how many of these five important things am I able to do, be, or have on a regular basis?

Hmm…the answers you get should provide you with some significant insights. How are you feeling about what you're doing to make a living versus how you'd like to be making a life? If the answer is that your work is not providing you with many of the things you love to do then you might be feeling trapped, with no way out. But take heart; you DO have options!

Here are 8 keys to help you focus on identifying your passion and power that will help you connect with results – FAST:

1. Know what aspect of your business to focus your time and energy on.

2. Master the art of "Slight Edge" decision-making. I call these, “Hell, yes’s or Hell, no’s.”

3. Get clear about your long term vision, core values, strengths and passions.

4. Identify what unique gift you bring to the world and how to get paid for it.

5. Create the type of business (or find that dream job) that best fits your gifts.

6. Determine your target client and market niche.

7. Review your Gremlins or Drunk Monkeys — those limiting beliefs that may have prevented your success in the past.

8. Determine your unique definition of wealth and success (Hint: it isn't only about money).

Hopefully, you're going to live a long time and therefore you'll be putting a lot of hours into your working life. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to leap out of bed in the morning or work late into the night on a project that you really love doing? What changes could you make – without sacrificing your economic stability – to have those days more often?

Not following your passion leads to confusion and lack of clarity which in turn leads to lack of focus and fosters procrastination.

Remember, it isn't just you who is affected when you choose to play small and not do what truly moves you. It is all the people who consciously or unconsciously gain hope and inspiration from the warmth of your light.

Here's the bottom line: it is never too late to start but it is always too late to wait.

Technorati Tags: action steps, Business, clarity, coach, Karen Dodd, making a life, passion

For Robyn Land, owner of Yoga Spirit, becoming an entrepreneur has been a journey of self-discovery. While going to school, she never envisioned that one day she'd open her own Yoga Studio and offer wellness retreats.

In fact, she fully expected a career as an environmental educator and spent several years working towards it, first obtaining a Diploma of Technology in Renewable Resources and then taking a degree in Environmental Geography.

Yoga was just something she did on the side to help her relax while holding down three jobs and going to school. She enjoyed it so much, she decided to train as a yoga teacher and had just completed her certification around the same time she graduated from university.

"Working in the environmental field, I was working mostly for non-profit, and wasn't really making a lot of money," she says. "I was [teaching] yoga to supplement my income."

Originally, she thought she'd teach a few nights a week. However, "the more I taught, the more I wanted to be teaching and sharing it," she says.

She decided that when her contract to work as an environmental educator finished, she would spend the summer teaching yoga. She did, and never went back.

"From teaching people to connect with the world around them, I began to thrive teaching people to connect within themselves," she says.

ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

Robyn owned her first business, a small graphic design company, when she was 16. This sparked an interest in taking on leadership roles because she wanted to learn how to run the business better.

When she started Yoga Spirit in 2006, she worked as a freelancer and sub-contractor. This meant driving to various studios to teach classes. At the height of it, she was "racking up 2000 km a month," she says. Although she didn't like all this travelling, she did it for two years because the money was good and it allowed her to build up a solid client base. When she noticed many students were following her from studio to studio to taker her classes, she considered alternatives.

"I really wanted to create a community for my students," says Robyn. "That's when I decided to open the studio."

She wrote a business plan, took an accounting course at a small business centre, researched the wellness industry as best she could (she notes there isn't much business-related information out there for this industry) and she looked into financing options.

One of the most daunting tasks, she says, was dealing with all the city bylaws and regulations. Because the wellness industry is so new, municipalities aren't sure how to classify them. In Burnaby, British Columbia, where Robyn opened her studio, yoga studios are classified as private schools. Because of this, she had to prove to an inspector that 150 people could safely leave her studio in an orderly fashion (in case of emergency) even though her studio only holds 10 people!

Robyn admits there were times she was frustrated or disheartened by the process, but whenever she began to doubt that it would succeed, another thing would fall into place and get her closer to her goal. She also had encouragement from her friends, students, and boyfriend.

"My community around me was very supportive," she says.

FINANCING

Thankfully, her family was also supportive. The bank wouldn't give her a business loan, (even though she had established a client base, had been running a company for two years, and had created a business plan) but it did offer her a personal line of credit — if her Dad would co-signed for it.

"It took a lot of convincing," she says, but her parents eventually agreed. Robyn admits it was scary going into debt, but she had already hosted several yoga retreats before opening the studio, so she knew there was a market for her services.

In order to keep costs low, she taught most of the classes herself during the first year. Now that the business is growing, she's been reducing her teaching time in order to concentrate on business management. She has five subcontractors/teachers who work with her.

MARKETING

She gets most of her clients through her website and word-of-mouth referrals. Social media and Facebook works well for her, and surprisingly, the sandwich board in front of her studio also helps draw people in. She tried print marketing but found it expensive and had low ROI.

PROS AND CONS

Opening the studio was stressful because she came from a non-business background, was putting in 12-hours days, and business came first in almost everything.

"It was a very sharp learning curve for me, to figure out what the heck I was doing as an actual business owner," she says, adding, it took almost a year for the studio to turn a profit because of the higher costs of having a storefront.

On the other hand, she notes that even with the various hurdles she's had to overcome, she has a strong sense that "this is what I'm meant to be doing. "

LEARNED ALONG THE WAY

Having been in business now for four years, she's learned to: trust your gut feeling because it'll keep you out of trouble; accept that you're not good at everything; and ask for help.

"I've realized I'm not the best at marketing, over this journey," she says. "It's been a process to realize… that help is sometimes worth the cost."

TIPS

1. Write a business plan.
It will help you clarify where you want to take the business, and it will help you be realistic in your goals and expectations.

2. Don't get discouraged.
When you hit a roadblock, it often gives you other opportunities that you hadn't thought of before.

3. Ask for help.
Use the resources of the community around you.

4. Remember to take time for yourself.
Don't burn out; when you take care of yourself, you continue to have energy for your business.

5. Trust what you've put out there.
Trust that your good intention and hard work will help make your business successful.

Technorati Tags: becoming an entrepreneur, british columbia, Burnaby, business woman, Cathy Watters, entrepreneur, Robyn Land, Self Discovery, Yoga, yoga studio, yoga teacher

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Technorati Tags: entrepreneurial woman, Heather Townsend, small business owner, stress, work/life balance

The theme of this month’s edition is "work/life balance." It's something I've heard about but never really experienced, since the paper chase known as the “practice of law” has always been accompanied by punishing work hours and a workaholic mindset.

So, in order to research the topic properly I treated myself to a week of R&R last month. As is traditional for my vacations, I chose a remote location (Baranof Island on the Alaska Panhandle) in the expectation that there would be no Internet or cell phone availability. I do this every vacation since I find that, unless I can completely and forcibly disconnect from the firm, my mind never really leaves the office

According, I was dismayed to find that cell phone coverage has intruded even into the Alaskan wilderness, and that my fishing buddies had all brought their iPhones and remained hopelessly plugged-in to their homes and offices throughout the entire week. It was positively painful watching one of my companions trying to land a large fish while talking on his cell phone trying to explain to the caller that no, he couldn't return the rental video before 5:00 p.m. because he was in a small open boat off the coast of Alaska.

The incident caused me to reflect upon the consequences of our current obsession with being plugged-in and online at all times and at all costs. At a very basic level, it is manifested by our seeming inability to not use our cell phone while driving. I haven't yet been consulted by anyone who has received a $186 ticket for the crime of distracted driving, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. Perhaps the knowledge that insurance defense counsel are now starting to issue subpoenas for cell phone records (in order to lay blame for collisions) will cause a few people to turn off their cells, but I'm probably being an optimist.

At a more serious level however, it seems to me that so many of the legal problems which I am called upon to untangle on a daily basis have their genesis in actions taken in haste or decisions made on the fly, without adequate information or analysis. I've had business clients teeter on the brink of disaster when important documents weren't read, only because they were too large to view on a Blackberry, and I struggle daily, with garbled instructions badly typed, or should I say, thumbed, by clients on the fly. Last week, a client hurriedly hit "Reply All" and ended up sending his confidential instructions to me, along with an uncomplimentary remark about the opposition, to the other side as well as myself.

My conclusion is that haste not only makes waste, it can also make litigation. Not every business or personal decision needs to be made quickly. Indeed, most decision-making can profit from a period of reflection. I make it a point to set aside important emails and faxes for at least a day, and often longer, and I urge my clients to do likewise.

Frequently, I refuse to take instructions from a client on a major matter immediately after I've laid out the options, requiring instead that the client "sleep on it" before making a decision.

I think that a far greater crime than" driving while distracted " is "having care and control of a business while distracted." How to avoid committing the crime? Accept that slowing down and stepping away from the business every now and then may be a key to sharpening your focus and making better decisions.

(Editor's Note: For tips on how to create work/life balance, see Heather Townsend's article, "Achieve work/life balance in 16 steps.")

Technorati Tags: alaskan wilderness, Business, business decisions, Chris Green, entrepreneur, work/life balance

Keeping the balance in your life is of upmost importance. Without balance, or at least perceived balance, things tend to eventually implode. There is always a lot of talk about having life balance and yet, there are many who believe that it really is impossible.

I am willing to bet that many of us who decided to opt out of the corporate world and delve into working from home instead, believed that we could maintain a balance easily by making ourselves available to our families, and having lots more flexibility. But I expect that if you ask the average entrepreneurial woman working from home, she might admit that initially, at least, this balance was not as easy to achieve as she had envisioned.

Personally, I had to work at achieving a balance, and continue to work at maintaining balance.

In the beginning, I was concentrating on getting my business off the ground and making time for family. When I wasn’t supporting my kids in their various activities – going on field trips, helping out in the classroom, helping with homework – I was dealing with the mess around the house that seem to happen much more quickly than when I worked away from the home. And, in between all that, I was growing my business, building the structure, connecting with people online, networking offline, etc. My days were full! There was no time left for me.

Eventually, I realized that in order to maintain balance, I needed to schedule time for me. I began to schedule exercise into my calendar, lunch with friends, and times where I would make myself unavailable to my clients and my business. I began to schedule holidays, and make sure to let people know that during that time I would only be available sparingly.

As I progress in my business, “me” time has become very important, and striving to achieve balance, of some kind, is an ongoing goal. In keeping with that, I was able to enjoy a family trip to Osoyoos, British Columbia and, for the most part, kept offline, unplugged, and enjoyed the time with family and friends.

Remember the key to achieving life balance is looking after yourself first. By doing this, you will have more time and energy to share with others.

Technorati Tags: british columbia, Business, done2atee, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial mom, entrepreneurial woman, life balance, mompreneur, osoyoos british columbia, Tracey Ehman, woman, working from home

Many people are unaware they share information about their body image every day. Whether it is a comment about how the latest pair of pants didn’t fit, or the latest incident where something about their body prevented them from choosing to do a particular activity, people are constantly talking to themselves and others about how they perceive their body and all of its “faults.”

The most rewarding part of body analysis and behavior modification around body image in consulting with clients is helping them to reframe their thinking about their body. Try these simple, effective tips to help improve or create your healthy body image.

1. Develop awareness about the messages you use to describe your body.

If you consistently describe your body as ‘fat and unhealthy,’ it’s much more likely it will remain ‘fat and unhealthy’ and more likely that you will take actions to keep it ‘fat and unhealthy.’ Each time you think or talk about your body, concentrate on exactly what language you are using and decide to use more positive terms. This type of reframing can soften the edge of the self-criticism and help you make better choices about how you want to change, if you feel change is required.

2. Buy a full length mirror (if you don’t have one) and spend some time looking, really looking, at your body.

Sometimes people focus far too much on one feature they perceive to be flawed and forget that those features belong to a whole package. Looking at your body as a whole can create a sense of harmony in the overall picture. For example, a client who perceived his legs as ‘too skinny’ could see his legs were actually just the right fit for the rest of his slender body. No action for change was required.

3. Identify at least one body part that you like and talk about why you like it.

If you have trouble with this one, start small. Try a practical statement if you aren’t ready to use a loving one. For example, one client who struggled with her thick and curly hair started with: “I like my hair because it covers my head and keeps it warm” and eventually moved to: “I love my hair because it is so long and soft. Its curls match the curves of my body.” It’s more important to start somewhere rather than obsess about the statement you use to describe your body features, so be practical if that will allow you access a positive statement.

4. Another way to reframe your view is to describe your body as if it belonged to a stranger or loved one.

Most people aren’t nearly as critical of others as they are of themselves and certainly would never speak to their loved ones the way they speak to themselves. Describe your body to yourself in a loving way. If you then want to make changes, those choices can come from a place of loving your body and yourself enough to care for it; a mental state that is far more likely to result in sustained action.

5. Take action if you wish to change.

Practice accepting the current reality of your body by using your new awareness to reframe your thinking and self-talk. Once your thinking is aligned and your self-talk is positive, you’ll be able to decide with a clear mind if action is required. From there you can make a plan for achievement, if necessary, and can enlist the help of experts. The support of a nutritionist, counselor, trainer or consultant can make your journey more effective.

Technorati Tags: behavior modification, body image, choices, Health, image, Katherine Lazaruk, self criticism, self esteem

As more and more businesses begin to use Facebook to actively tap into an audience of over 400 million registered users there is some debate over the best aspects of Facebook to use to reach your intended audience. Companies can use Facebook groups or pages (or both) to build their social networking presence in this forum. Here is a resume of the advantages of each, to help you decide on your best approach.

Advantages of Facebook Pages over Groups:

• A page is more “corporate” and gives you more control of your brand.  It is the official page of the company on Facebook.
• Having a Facebook page gives you access to tools that allow you to track traffic to and interactions with your page.
• With a Facebook page can add applications like You Tube Box, Flickr, and Twitter feeds to your page to make the content richer and attract more fans.
• Using Pages gives you increased exposure via  fans – their friends see any actions they take on your Facebook page and your potential audience is larger.
• Fan pages stand out better on profiles – better branding.
• Unlimited news/updates to fans (Facebook groups are limited to 1000-1500 per message.)
• You can create Facebook Ads  if you have a page. These ads are used to:
• build more fans and followers in Facebook;
• advertise company services and presence in this forum;
• promote your company to end users.

Advantages of Facebook Groups:

• Good way to engage stakeholders and interested parties;
• Groups are easier to find by Facebook users;
• A Facebook group is like a forum or discussion area where you are more of a participant, so this can lead to enhanced loyalty;
• Groups are discussion- or event-centred and this can be a great means to attract feedback from customers, as well as potential new customers, to enable you to improve your offering.

With different options available to you in terms of Facebook Groups and Pages, it’s always best to start by asking the questions: Who you want to reach? Why? What are your goals? Knowing these will help you determine the most appropriate route.

There’s no reason, off course, not to have both a group and a page if you have time and resources to use these effectively but it’s always best to start with one and build from there, especially if you are newcomers to social media. That way your message won’t get diluted.

Technorati Tags: branding, Business, discussion area, entrepreneur, facebook, Facebook for business, Facebook Groups, Facebook Pages, fan pages, flickr, followers, loyalty, Mhairi Petrovic, news updates, participant, presence, profiles, social media, social networking, traffic, woman

Some time ago, former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, drew cheers and laughter when she said, "there is a special place in Hell for women who do not help other women." I remember chuckling at the time about her comment, but honestly didn't give it too much more thought.

Then, not long ago, my treasured friend and Woman On Fire, Debbie Phillips said in her blog:

"I believe when we gently place our hand on the back of another woman…life doesn't have to be so hard."

The basic Law of Reciprocity requires us to support each other, regardless of gender. However, I have found that until I was able to be truly present in the moment, I wasn't really taking this philosophy to heart.

Often, I find that female entrepreneurs are so busy taking care of friends, spouses and family, that they find themselves exhausted and burned out – and life becomes a struggle. Assuming that you know you have great gifts to share with the world, how can you help other people if you can’t help yourself?

Each time I listen to the flight attendant instruct passengers to put their oxygen masks on first, before going to the aid of a child, I can almost hear parents saying to themselves, “Yeah, right!” Although, it seems counter intuitive, we know that if we pass out from lack of air, we won’t be able to assist our loved one in any way.

Likewise, if you don’t take care to get enough rest, eat well, and yes – just plain pamper yourself from time to time, it’s difficult to support others with intention and be truly present in our relationships and our businesses.

Your Assignment:

1. Take a blank sheet of paper and write at the top: "Things That I Love." Now make a list of things that bring you joy.

They can be big things or little things: expensive things or cost nothing at all. Perhaps it’s the smell of clean sheets, walking barefoot on the beach, chocolate, going for a massage or having a pedicure. Did I mention chocolate? Set a timer for one minute and just write.

2. Make it a point to pick two things on your list and celebrate with intention.

In other words if you already have a regular pedicure scheduled, good for you – but now I want you to build two new celebrations into your day, every day. This would be the perfect time to set aside 15 – 30 minutes a day to reflect, meditate or pray, or anything else you’ve been “meaning” to do.

3. Support and encourage another woman to celebrate.

Offer to swap child-minding duties with another mom so that you each get your precious times to re-charge your batteries. If you don’t have the responsibility of small children, then invite a friend to share in your celebration (perhaps going for a walk together) and then the next time, do something she’d like to do. 

It takes time to create a new habit.

Keep in mind that it generally takes 21 days to form a new habit, so stick with your celebration plan long enough for it to become a discipline. Also, remember to be gentle with yourself. There will undoubtedly be times when you feel irritation or despair at the day not unfolding the way you had planned.

When this happens, recognize the presence of your feelings and as Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh says in his book, You Are Here, practice this mantra: “Dear one, I am here for you.”

By being mindful and present for yourself first , you will be much more able to step into your greatness with EASE and GRACE.

Technorati Tags: assignment, entrepreneurs, journalling, Karen Dodd, life balance, women

These days building relationships online is as important to growing your business or reputation as networking in the real world. Not only can you be more effective using social media but you can also get more done in less time.

The Internet is a great way to expand your career horizons and get to know new and influential contacts. Here are a few pointers to bear in mind when using social media to network.

1. Don’t try to network in every Internet networking hub out there. Choose those where you get the biggest impact (i.e. those that your existing contacts already use, those that reflect your target audience, or those most applicable to your niche). The most popular are LinkedIn (Professional Network), Facebook (fastest growing) and Twitter but there are many networks that are industry or job specific (like Active Rain for real estate) too,so take time to check them out.

2. Leverage existing on-line networks to grow new ones. I use the Out-Smarts’ Facebook Page profile to promote our Twitter account and vice versa and add more contacts in that forum

3. Promote your activity in your chosen forums by including it in business cards, profiles and on your website.

4. Use widgets. Most of the social networks allow you to widgetize a link to your profile. Add this to your site, blog etc and include widgets for other networks in your networking profiles.

5. Always remember to be professional in these forums – ask the Granny question and make sure your content is appropriate to your professional standing.

6. When you meet new contacts in the real world find themon-line and add them to your networks.

7. Trawl the friends of your friends and contacts and add those you know or those gurus in your business.

8. Don’t spread yourself over toomany networks or allow them to suck up your time. Schedule it into your day.

9. Join groups. Facebook and LinkedIn both offer groups. Join applicable ones and gain access to more people in your field.

10. Participate in the right forums. These should relate to your industry or market and to those of your prospects.

11. Ask and answer questions and use your status to attract new contacts.

12. Blogs can be a great way to build your network,too. If you have a blog, always follow up with people who leave comments to connect with possible prospects and peers.

13. If you don’t have a blog then use blog comments as a forum to connect with influential bloggers in your industry, to build awareness of what you do and to add value for their visitors in turn.

Technorati Tags: audience, blog, bloggers, Blogs, building relationships, Business, business card, business cards, career, career horizons, facebook, internet networking, job, leverage, line networks, linkedin, Mhairi Petrovic, network, networking hub, online, peers, professional network, prospects, real world, relationships, reputation, social media, social networks, target audience, twitter, website

Being healthy and fit doesn’t have to be complicated, painful or a huge chunk of your life.

Everyone is dispensing advice these days on topics ranging from “managing finances” to “managing people,” from “setting SMART goals” to “surrendering and letting go.” There never seems to be enough time in a day to do it all. I don’t know about you, trying to find ways to jam it in to your life can seem like a daunting task.

I hope I’m preaching to the choir when I mention the benefits of regular physical activity such as the reduction of the risk of getting cardiovascular disease. Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of women in North America? Yes, more than breast cancer. Exercise lowers your risk of diabetes and other obesity-related diseases. Physical activity helps manage stress, weight and body composition. It helps you sleep better, think clearer and be more productive. In short, find me a reason that you should NOT be physically active.

I’d have to say, taking time to take care of yourself really is the most important thing to do (but perhaps I’m a little biased). I mean, without YOU, your health and sanity, what do you have?

So let’s help you find ways to get some exercise and activity into your hectic life and keep it simple!

What is the bottom line?

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention / American College of Sports Medicine recommends that “adults should engage in moderate-intensity physical activities for at least 30 minutes on five or more days of the week (a total of 150 minutes) AND muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week."   An alternative, if you are short on time, is “vigorous physical activity for 15 minutes on five days or more days of the week (a total of 75 minutes) AND muscle strengthening activities on two or more days a week.”

One really simple framework for helping you get physical activity into your life is by using the FITT formula:

F = frequency

How many times per week?

I = intensity*

How much oomph will you pack into each workout? (see heart rate zone calculation at bottom of page)

T = time

How much time can you create for each workout?

T = type

What activities do you enjoy doing that will be the right intensity for that time? (ex: knitting does not count).

Let’s use Stacey, mompreneur extraordinaire, as an example. Stacey is 47, has an average fitness level, walks with the kids often and can spare 30 minutes a day, seven days a week to exercise. She has no injuries and has her doctor’s approval to begin a program. Her FITT formula would look like this:

PROGRAM ONE

Some days Stacey finds it difficult to get a full 30 minutes into her routine, so she’ll break it up into three 10 minute bouts throughout the day.

If Stacey was a real go-getter, and had little time to spare for exercise (time means money!) then her workout program might look like this:

PROGRAM TWO

Program One has Stacey doing cardio five days a week for 30 minutes at a lower intensity. Program Two has her doing cardio three days a week for 25 minutes at a higher intensity. Which is better? It depends on your schedule and your personality. I would rather compact my workout into something efficient and push myself harder, whereas some people prefer a more relaxed pace and enjoy the extra “me” time. Just do whatever works for you.

The truth is we were born to move and be active. With the demands and “conveniences” of our world, we sit at breakfast, if we manage to fit that in, sit in transit, sit at our desks, sit for lunch, sit on the way home (or if you’re stuck in busy public transit, standing), sit for dinner, sit on the couch to watch TV or sit at our home office and do more work, then lay down to sleep.  And yes, that is really tough on our bodies.

Creating time for your health and fitness shouldn’t be a burden or cause stress.  It can be simple, it can be fun and with a little planning and structure, you can FITT it in!

 * To calculate your theoretical target heart rate zone (for intensity levels):

(220 - your age) x 60% = lower end

(220 - your age) x 75% = middle range

(220 - your age) x 85% = upper end

There are more complex, accurate ways of calculating an individual’s theoretical heart rate – the Karvonen method, for example, but that’s another article.

Technorati Tags: easy exercise, exercise for real life, exercise programs, FITT, life balance, Nicole Yamanaka, workout

Do you recognize the symptoms of portfolio paralysis? If you see yourself in any of the scenarios listed below, this may be your wake-up call for finding a Financial Advisor to help you get back on top of your game.

Are you paralyzed by information overload?

News, information and opinion about business and investing have exploded in recent years. Newspapers, business television and the internet are valuable sources of information and opinion. But investors can overload on a steady diet of spectacular events that roils the markets. The confusion and noise has a tendency to reveal the speculations in the market but tend to obscure the investment opportunities that might exist. As a result, you sit waiting for an all clear signal.

Are you unclear about the strategic direction of your investment portfolio?

There are now many competing investment strategies and ways to achieve your financial objectives. Some carry a high risk premium others promise safety but modest returns. Which approach suits you and will satisfy your long-term goals? In today’s market, it’s easy to lose your perspective. When that happens, bad decisions follow.

Do you feel you don’t have the time to invest wisely?

As we get older, we discover that managing a growing investment portfolio is hard work and requires more and more of our attention. Particularly in today’s markets, identifying investment opportunities requires research and doing our homework. It often involves time we don’t have to give. So instead, your portfolio doesn’t get the attention it requires and that you deserve.

Is investing a regular source of worry?

The goal of investing isn’t to be in a constant state of surprise, fear or anguish. Such emotions shouldn’t be reasons to put your portfolio under the covers. Getting a good night’s sleep is a legitimate objective of good financial and investment planning. Intelligent investing is a process of identifying and quantifying the risks associated with an investment. In that way, we can anticipate the unexpected and turn it into a manageable situation. Worry and fear of surprise are indicators that your tolerance for risk isn’t in balance with your investments.

What you can do about it:

If any or all of the above situations sound familiar and have frozen your investment portfolio then it’s time to seek an Investment Advisor to help you get re-directed in the market. There are few investors who feel confident to go it alone in today’s markets. Finding a financial advisor you trust will get back your perspective with a strategy that works for you in today’s markets. If you feel that you’ve been pulled over on the side of the road long enough, an advisor can help review your current state of affairs and recommend an investment road map that will get you back on the road.

Technorati Tags: financial advisor, investing, Kamal Basra, Tracy Theemes

Three years ago, while staring out her downtown Toronto, Canada, corner-office window, Gayle Campbell didn’t see concrete and pavement like everyone else. Instead, she saw tropical white sand and turquoise blue waters.

Still enjoying the afterglow of a recent island vacation, she wondered whether there was a way to bring back that relaxed beach feeling. She asked herself whether she could find a way to marry the calm serene feeling one gets from spending time at the beach with the financial benefits and rewards offered by corporate life.

So while working full-time as a high-flying VP in a downtown financial institution Campbell started carving away time in her schedule to work on a high-end bath and beauty products business. Soon she was trading Bay Street for Beach Street and her new product line, Island Caribe, was being sold in top-end Caribbean resorts including the Four Season.

STICK TO YOUR VISION

How did she do it? By keeping her mind on her goal to divide her time between Canada and the Caribbean and looking out for opportunities that would support that dream.

“I knew I wanted the opportunity to travel,” says Gayle, “and I knew I wanted to create something successful that was genuinely connected to the Caribbean – a place that people around the world connect with unwinding and relaxation."

Vacationing in the Turks and Caicos in 2007, Gayle had her “a-ha” moment. A frequent traveler herself, she tapped into the fact that when many people travel they like to bring something home with them that, for even a brief moment, allows them to relive part of the vacation experience.

While there were already a lot of existing spa products available in the Caribbean, there were few that appealed to the changing consumer demand for natural, paraben-free and eco-friendly alternatives. Moreover, few, if any, were based on ingredients that were indigenous to the region. So Gayle started working on a line of high quality bath and beauty products and with that Island Caribe was born.

TAKE BABY STEPS

“I started my business part time before quitting my day job,” says Gayle. “I worked on my business plan, did some market research and developed a few products. It doesn’t always have to be go big or go home. You will learn a lot and help minimize your risk by doing a soft-launch and adjusting as you go along.”

And for Gayle, this approach worked. She used the financial stability of her day job to help launch her business. She kept costs low by focussing on a few key anchor products. She then went after select top notch resorts and quickly landed her first retail client Sandal Resorts. Other resorts soon followed. Island Caribe is now available in multiple locations across the Caribbean and has a line of 18 products.

FOCUS ON THE KEYS TO SUCCESS

"It doesn’t always have to be go big or go home. You will learn a lot and help minimize your risk by doing a soft-launch and adjusting as you go along.”

“In bath and body care products, a strong brand is critical,” says Gayle. “While there were a lot of things I compromised on, packaging, presentation, and quality were not some of them. I called these minding my ps’ & q’s – subtle things that really do matter in the end. I think it’s important to invest where it counts. For me the key to developing a strong sustainable brand was to create a line of products that lived up to what I had promised.”

According to Gayle, “You have to know your business, and the keys to success in your industry.”

In the bath and body care industry, the way branding, product quality and distribution are handled can make or break your business. Island Caribe’s customers were looking for a product that lived up to its brand promise of luxury, quality and elegance, and everything her company did, from its website and the resorts where the products are sold, to the scents and the product names, is aligned to live up to that – all set against a backdrop of sun, sea and serenity.

Technorati Tags: bath and beauty, Caribbean, entrepreneur, Gayle Campbell, Island Caribe, Liz Doyle-Harmer, spa, starting a business, toronto

Take a long, conscientious look at yourself in the mirror. Be honest to yourself, what do you see? Is your hair neat and stylish? Does your outfit reflect your business? Are you dressing the way a successful business woman should? Is your overall look tasteful?

The fact is, most clients want to identify with the people they do business with. They project their expectations of success onto you. They want you to be up-to-date and expect you to know the ‘latest and greatest’ about your product/service – that includes how you look. Many times, clients will take your advice seriously only if you look the part. It’s amazing what a great personal image can do to increase your service and product sales.

Murphy’s Law states: when you least expect it – expect it!

Make a conscious effort on caring how you look. That one time you didn’t de-lint your black jacket or you just stepped out of your home office without taking a glance in the mirror will be the time you run into that really important client.

Picture yourself as the packaging of the product/service you sell. YOU are really what you’re selling. Anyone can offer the same things you do but ultimately it’s YOU that makes the difference. When you look good, your product/services look better.

Think about it . . . if you had to choose between two women on sight alone, both of whom are equally qualified as office managers and one had on a tasteful matched outfit, hairstyle simple yet neat and stylish shoes; and the other had on blue jeans, scuffed flats and her hair resembled a bird’s nest, who would you pick? Be honest! 

Do you Dress for Success?

Studies have shown that your success as a business person will be judged by your outward appearance and image.

Fair? Not really, but it’s a fact.

Keep in mind that your image is always there, talking for you, the silent infomercial and you want it to be saying: “Hi, I’m glad to see you, I’m great at what I do and I’m ready to take good care of you.” So don’t neglect your image, it can be your best salesperson!

And the most important accessory that everyone needs to complete their outfit?

A SMILE!

Wear one every day. It becomes you!

Technorati Tags: accessory, blue jeans, Business, business person, business woman, Cathy Kuzel, conscious effort, de lint, entrepreneur, expectation, glance, hairstyle, image, infomercial, law states, manage, match, mirror, office, office managers, outward appearance, personal image, sales, stylish shoes, successful business, two women, woman

Whether you’re just starting out, or you’ve been in business for awhile, it’s good to know where you can go to get help. Maybe you want to find out how to write a business plan. Maybe you want to know how to expand your business, deal with taxes or meet other entrepreneurs.

Every community has some kind of business-related organization. Some are run by the government, some by non-profits, and still others are run by the business people themselves.

What each organization offers will differ, but they should provide at least some of the following: seminars, workshops, networking opportunities, library of business-related books, answers to general business questions, and/or information on where and how to register a business.

When searching for the business organizations in your area, try using the following key terms along with the name of your community, city, province or state:

• Board of Trade (BoT) (example: Halifax Board of Trade, Toronto Board of Trade…)
• Business Development Centres (BDC)
• Business Improvement Association (BIA)
• Business Women
• Chamber of Commerce
• City of ____ (your local city hall)
• Community Futures
• Economic Development
• Economic Diversification
• Entrepreneur Development
• Enterprise Centre
• Self-Employment

Once you find an organization or government department that deals with business, ask them if they know of any other business and/or entrepreneurial organizations in your area.

The list below is mostly for Canadians, but there’s one each for International and USA. These organizations were picked at random, using some of the search terms listed above, and is far from exhaustive. Consider it a starting point in your research. Good luck!

• INTERNATIONAL: Business and Professional Women (BPW) International
• USA: Forum for Women Entrepreneurs & Executives (FWE&E) (San Francisco)

CANADA: National

• ACE: Promotes entrepreneurism among students.

• Canada Business: Services for entrepreneurs, including information on grants, financing, etc.

• Business Development Bank of Canada: Focuses on helping Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

• Women’s Enterprise Centre (WEC): Information, programs for women.

CANADA: Provincial

• Alberta: Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE)

• Atlantic Canada (NL, PEI, NS, NB): Entrepreneur’s Forum

• British Columbia: Resource Centre for Small Businesses

• Manitoba: Manitoba Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade

• New Brunswick: Business New Brunswick

• Newfoundland and Labrador: The Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs

• NorthWest Territories: Canada Business NWT

• Nova Scotia: Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development

• Nunavut: Business Development Centres of Nunavut

• Ontario: Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade: small business

• PEI: Innovation PEI

• Quebec: Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

• Saskatchewan: Enterprise Saskatchewan

• Yukon: Yukon Chamber of Commerce

Technorati Tags: bank, bc, board of trade toronto, british columbia, Business, business centres, business deal, business improvement association, business organizations, business plan, business questions, business resource, canada, canada business services, canada national, canadians, Cathy Watters, city province, community, community futures, development enterprise, economic diversification, education, enterprise centre, entrepreneur, Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, FWE, how to write a business plan, How-To, improvement, international usa, local city, network, networking, networking opportunities, organization, professional women, related organization, seminars, small businesses, toronto, toronto board of trade, usa forum

Successful businesses are driven by personal connections. Yet, in this digital age, initial contact with prospective clients is rarely face-to-face. Through websites, social media and other marketing materials, ensuring positive first impressions before meeting clients often comes down to the portrait we choose.

Friends can help with many things, but unless one of them is a professional photographer, you may want to shop around. Your business face should always be captured by a professional. They will have the experience and knowledge to make that photograph the best it can be. You wouldn’t leave your sales and marketing plans to chance, why should you gamble on the quality of your first impression?

Key points to remember when having a business portrait done include:

1. When choosing a photographer, review their portfolio – analyzing their style is important to understanding what a specific photographer has to offer you.

2. Interview several photographers before selecting one – ask questions, gather information about fees and processes; find someone you’re comfortable with.  

3. Establish a rapport with the photographer ahead of time – They can tell you more about what to expect of the shoot. Do they provide a makeup artist? Discuss your goals: How would you like to present yourself? Where would you like to use the images? How large might they be printed?

4. Discuss copyrights with the photographer – Under copyright laws you do not automatically own rights to a photograph that you appear in. It is standard practice for a photographer to retain some rights to their work. It is important to ask what rights you will hold and which rights they will retain. If you’d prefer to have all rights to the images, you may need to discuss a premium to offset the photographer’s loss in not being able to use the images (for example) in their promotional material/portfolio.

5. Work with the photographer to develop a shot-list – This establishes metrics to determine how closely have your goals have been met. Your photographer will appreciate having a list of looks/poses to capture. It can be easy to miss a specific look/pose during the chaos of a photo-shoot.

6. Consult image professionals – For example, a makeup artist, hair dresser or wardrobe stylist. it is usually best to retain their services on-site for the shoot. You could choose to go without them, but an unfortunate stray hair might ruin an otherwise perfect shot.

7. Bring options – Shoes, clothing, even glasses if you wear them. Some combinations look great in person, but just do not work on camera. It’s important to be able to present a variety of looks to make the most of the time you have.

8. If you’re not feeling up to it, it is best to consider rescheduling – unless you’re an excellent actress, whatever may be weighing on you will show in your eyes and expressions. Your unease will be amplified by the camera and your clients will pick up on it. If you’re having an off day, its best to rebook the shoot rather than risk disappointing results.

9. Ask questions while on-site – You both need to be on the same page. Are you giving clear, natural expressions / poses? Do you understand what the photographer is asking you to do? Communication is key.

10. Be prepared for a little discomfort – Lighting equipment is very bright and can be hot. Do your best. If it’s too much, let the photographer know. They may be able to adjust the setup to try to reduce your discomfort or offer suggestions to improve the experience.

11. Once the shoot is done, it isn’t done – Be sure to include enough time in your plan for the photographer to deliver their best work. In the past, photographers had to get their film processed but, in the digital age, results are seemingly instant. Great results are not. Every image, regardless of how well executed, will require some retouching, and that takes time.

Technorati Tags: actress, Business, business face, business portrait, Chris Meier, clothing, comfort, copyright laws, copyrights, expression, first impression, first impressions, goals, image, image professional, images, makeup, makeup artist, Marketing, marketing materials, marketing plan, marketing plans, personal connections, photograph, photographers, plan, professional photographer, promotional material, prospective clients, risk, sales, sales and marketing, shoes, social media, successful business, wardrobe, website

So, you’ve got your business up and running. Maybe things are chugging along very nicely. Maybe you’re struggling. Whichever the case, as a new-ish business owner (in business for one to three years) you may find that you have a lot of questions, or you have ideas you’d like to bounce off someone with more experience, or maybe, just maybe, you’re wondering how to take your business to a higher level.

There are several ways you can get there. You can create an advisory board (check out Chris Green’s article, Mentoring for Small Business: Advisory Boards). You can hire a business coach. You can also look for a mentor who can work with you, one-on-one, to help you talk through your ideas and get a clearer idea of where you’d like to take your business.

Jill Earthy, executive director of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs of British Columbia (FWE), explains mentorship as “a mutual exchange of information, skills and expertise. Mentors are unbiased supporters. They’re there to support and guide – not necessarily to offer advice, but to be a sounding board for entrepreneurs as they make difficult decisions,” adding, “It’s like anything. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it.”

One of the advantages to having a mentor is the structure it provides; knowing that you have a meeting coming up, that you’re accountable to someone, can help you push yourself further.

FWE offers a program where it matches women entrepreneurs with mentors from the corporate, financial, or entrepreneurial sectors.

Their 10-month Mentorship Program runs September through June, and gives entrepreneurs access to a mentor once-a-month (by phone or in person), and provides three networking/educational events throughout the year, all for the nominal fee of $100. FWE is non-profit, and the program fee helps offset some of the costs of running the events.

If you’re interested in being a part of the 2010/11 program, you’ll need to apply by August 1^st by filling out an extensive information sheet, which you can get through the FWE.

“We spend a significant amount of time looking at the sheets, making the right pairings,” says Jill.

Everyone in BC is welcome to apply, as long as you meet the requirements. For example, you must already have a business and be interested in growing it. If you just have an idea, Jill suggests you check out the Women’s Enterprise Centre (WEC) to help you get through the start-up phase. You should also become a member of FWE.

In addition to the Mentor Program, the FWE offers six other programs (soon to be seven) to help entrepreneurs at just about any stage of business. Some of the programs include Roundtables, Peer Advisory Circles, and Member Forums.

Roundtables are talks given by a panel of guest speakers, followed by break-out groups where participants can discuss the topic of the day as well as their own challenges and ideas related to the topic. The Roundtables are open to the first 100 people, and usually sell out.

“There’s a lot of power and openness that takes place in these groups,” says Jill. One example of a topic they held recently was “A Brand Called You.”

Member Forums are held every two weeks and open to the first 12 people to sign up, which means the group is always changing. This is a chance to meet new people, participate in facilitated group discussions, and bring forward any challenges or issues you’d like to discuss concerning your business.

Peer Advisory Circles are made up of small groups of business women, divided by business revenue. Currently has two groups meeting, one for businesses making half a million, and one for businesses making $3 – $5 million in revenue. Jill notes two more circles are expected to start in the Fall, and the revenue rate will depend “on where the need is at the moment.”

As a side note, if you live in San Francisco, USA, you may want to check out the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs & Executives (FWE&E).

Technorati Tags: advisory board, advisory boards, british columbia, Business, Business Coach, business owner, Cathy Watters, difficult decisions, educational events, entrepreneur, executive director, Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, FWE, information skills, mentor, mentoring, mentors, mutual exchange, several ways, sounding board, women

Mentors are defined as those who serve as teachers, trusted counselors, guides and wise advisers. Over your lifetime, many people may serve as mentors, but how many of them are able to help you with your personal image development?

It’s easy to find someone to ‘look up to’ but how will you adapt their style to yours? Though they may give you advice, how will you know it’s technically correct? If you’re looking for ways to enhance your overall image, here are five questions to ask when choosing your image mentor:

1. What are your qualifications?

There is currently no government regulation on the image industry, which means that anyone can hang out a shingle and say they are an image consultant. Buyers beware! If you are looking for a professional advocate, ask your potential consultant what training, certificates and professional designations they currently have. The Association for Image Consultants International (AICI) certifies consultants at three levels: FLC (First Level Certification), CIP (Certified Image Professional) and CIM (Certified Image Master). AICI-certified consultants have passed a comprehensive exam, submitted a portfolio of work and signed a Code of Ethics in order to gain a designation. Protect yourself and find out if your potential consultant is qualified to offer you an unbiased opinion based on technical knowledge and not strictly on intuition, a ‘good eye’ or ‘some self-study.’

2. What is your background?

Ideally your consultant should be objective, but their background could affect their opinions. For example, if your consultant has a fashion background, they may be terrific at trends. If your consultant has a teaching background, they may be excellent at teaching you what you need to know. If they have a makeup artistry background, they will have great tips on skin care and makeup application. Their backgrounds may serve you well in certain situations, but not in others. Ask how they came to be in the industry; the answer will often reveal their level of commitment to their business and to you.

"…many people may serve as mentors, but how many of them are able to help you with your personal image development?"

3. What is your level of experience?

Some consultants work part-time in the industry, some do the work as a hobby and some are full-time consultants. Some are very experienced and others, while newer, might have better training, more recent knowledge or higher qualifications. You want to be sure that your consultant is able to fulfill your requirements.

4. What is the focus of your image practice?

Many consultants specialize in certain areas such as wardrobing, etiquette, business image or presentation skills. You’ll need to decide whether you want a well-rounded generalist, or if you need someone with specialized training or experience.

5. What is your process of working with your clients?

This is the final and most important question to ask. If you are a person who requires time to make decisions, prefers information in small bites and wants to learn some skills, it would be best to choose a consultant with a clearly outlined step-by-step process that takes some time. If you are someone who ‘just wants to get it done’ and doesn’t want to spend a lot of time in the process, then a consultant who has already dealt with deadline-oriented clients would be more appropriate.

Above all, you must feel completely comfortable with your choice of consultant, so do your homework to be sure that your choice is the very best. Find a consultant who is able to communicate clearly, listen well, match your learning style and teach you what you need to know and you will be in an excellent place to develop your image on your own terms.

Technorati Tags: application, Business, business image, certified consultants, code of ethics, comfort, decisions, good eye, government regulation, image consultant, image consultants international, image industry, image master, image professional, intuition, Katherine Lazaruk, learning, makeup, match, mentor, mentors, pen, personal image development, presentation skills, professional designations

What do Richard Branson (founder of Virgin Records and Virgin Airways), Kim and Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad) and Oprah Winfrey have in common?

They give enormous amounts of credit for their success, not just to their own willingness to take action, but to important people who mentored them in their respective careers. They all – without exception – found experts who could teach them the important aspects of life and business, that they had not yet learned. Had they not done that, do you think we’d know their names today?

Having been on both sides of the fence – being mentored and mentoring others – I see the biggest challenge for people who are considering a mentor, to be the “cost versus benefit” decision. Or, being the persistent people that we entrepreneurs are, we figure we can just dust ourselves off and battle through it ourselves. But is that productive? Is it FUN?

Sometimes we’re so enmeshed in our own situation that it is difficult to see the forest for the trees. As one of my own coaches told me recently, it is much easier for an outsider to see our situation from 30,000 feet, than ourselves, who are right in the thick of things. Add to that, their expertise and ideas that you might not even have thought of, and there can be tremendous progress made in a relatively short period of time by having a mentor.

One of the biggest benefits of mentoring, is the ability to go from ladder-climbing to leaping. Often, we have been conditioned by parents and people who care about us to take little baby steps and to plod along slowly but steadily. By taking a step back from that cautionary advice – and with the help of an expert – you may determine that not only have you been slowly ladder-climbing, but you might actually be on the wrong ladder! I don’t know about you, but I would rather find that out sooner rather than later, so that I could stop self-sabotaging and step more easily into my greatness.

In all cases, when engaging a mentor/coach or mastermind group, here is the due diligence you’ll want to do:

• ask for a “get acquainted” session, either in person or by phone. This should be free of charge and depending on the mentor, could range from 15 minutes to an hour.
   
• ask them exactly what results you can expect from working with them. If they say something like, “Well you know, I’ll be coaching you. We’ll meet every week on the phone, I’ll give you advice and then you’ll go do it” – run the other way! If the person mentoring you doesn’t have quantifiable clarity around how they’ll help you, how are you going to make the necessary changes to move forward?
   
• ask for testimonials and clients they’ve worked with before. You want to be sure that you aren’t a brand new coach’s guinea-pig. I know – they all have to start somewhere, but that’s not your problem!
   
• attend one or more of their free tele-seminars. Virtually every good coach has weekly or monthly one-hour seminars that are content rich and will give you an opportunity to sample their style. Be prepared for 10 – 15 minutes of self-promotion (after all, there’s no free lunch) but you will very quickly learn who is giving really good content and who is just giving fluff.
   
• don’t be afraid to be clear about your budget and find out how flexible their payment options are. Depending on the initial investment of their programs, there is almost always a monthly, two- or three-pay option.
   
• do they offer a money-back guarantee? A good coach knows they seldom have to give refunds because they know their programs get results.

Make it a spectacular week and remember:  "To be successful you have to get away from people that have your problems and get around people who have your answers."

Your Assignment, Should You Choose To Accept It:

In the previous post, “A Coach or Master Mind Group will Skyrocket Your Business!” you were asked to research the Master Mind Groups or Business Coaches in your area. Now it’s time to take that next step:

1. Start or join a mastermind group.

Having the support of like-minded people who can look at your ideas with fresh eyes can be tremendously helpful. The caveat is to make sure it is a strong group with structure, that meets often and has a leader. Otherwise, they tend to turn into coffee klatches and can be real time-wasters. You don’t need to meet in person. In fact, there are many good mastermind groups online where you can “meet” on a weekly or monthly basis.

2. Commit to getting a mentor or coach.

You can hire a business coach, or go through a business organization that offers to match mentors with entrepreneurs. For example, the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs of BC offers a mentorship program at a nominal fee. Check your local business centres and networking groups to find out what programs are offered in your community.

If you are thinking of hiring a business coach, consider your budget versus the value that you will derive. For example, determine what you get paid on an hourly basis (or per sale) for what you do. Then look at what one good idea from a mentor could net you in increased sales or billable hours. A good coach should be able to help you grow your business.

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Social Media tools are great for building awareness of what you do, for reaching and connecting with new audiences, for building and maintaining your networks and for driving targeted traffic to your website. Social networks are communities of people that connect and communicate online based on something they have in common. It makes sense, therefore, that social media tools can help you to promote events such as seminars, networking opportunities, concerts and sales.

You can use social media to promote practically any event, but doing so takes time and effort. Here are a few pointers to bear in mind that will increase the likelihood of your success in using these tools to sell out your event.

Target Your Audience

Don't try to submit your event to each and every site out there. Instead, choose sites that are targeted to attract the desired audience. For example, if your event is in Vancouver, use a Vancouver events site. If your event is a social one then post it on a "social" network like Facebook but if it is aimed at professionals, then  LinkedIn will be a good tool to reach your target audience. If your event is aimed at the tech community, check out Techvibes, but if it's music-oriented, Oscillations might be a better choice. The point here is that like any other marketing or promotional effort, online events promotion should be very specifically targeted to your intended audience.

High Ranking Events Sites

Only list on events sites with a page rank of four or higher. The higher the ranking the better, from a search engine optimization perspective, and the more likely your audience will actually find your event. A great multi-purpose events site with a high ranking is MeetUp with a page rank of seven. It is better to submit to a few sites that get tonnes of traffic than to submit to lots of sites that hardly get any visitors.

Submit Events Consistently

If you start using social media to promote events then you should be prepared to do so consistently. Choose 5 – 10 highly targeted events sites with a high page rank and submit all of your events to these sites and do so regularly. You will begin to build a following in these forums and the last thing you want to do is to annoy them with intermittent and inconsistent listings.

Events promotion lends itself well to social media because the inherent nature of an event is social. If you follow the three tips above, not only will you drive more awareness of your events but you will also be able to tap into the nature of social communities. If people enjoy your events they will be more likely to suggest them to others in their online communities and so the buzz will build.

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One of the most significant things that got my business to its present level was to hire a coach. By working with her one-on-one, as well as being part of a small mastermind group, I made some amazing breakthroughs – both personally and professionally.

I spoke to someone recently who complained, "Is there anyone out there who isn't a coach?" And I must admit, in the past, I have sometimes felt that way myself. However, what I've come to realize is that if you choose your coach wisely (just like you'd research and interview for any other member of your team), this person can help you realize the potential of your business.

You may be sitting on a million-dollar gold-mine and not even know it! It often takes a coach or other objective party to help you see the bird’s eye view of your business, and how just making a few small shifts may be all you need to see your business skyrocket without much effort.

Here are five things YOU may gain from hiring a coach:

1.  Stop 'ladder climbing' and start 'leap-frogging.'

Often, when left to our own devices, we get caught up in the day-to-day activities of just keeping our business afloat and as such, we may focus too much on the how-to's before we'll make that leap.

By being totally objective about your business – and not being 'mired in the muck', so to speak – a coach can pry your fingers from the slow ascent of the ladder rungs to help you make that leap.

Here's a real-life example of one of the women in my mastermind group. When she was working on her own (and already well-respected in her field), her income was $50K the first year, $80K the second year and $100K the third. Not bad – but that is ladder climbing and for her, it felt painfully slow. Once she hired a coach, her income shot from $100-thousand to $1-million in one year!

2. Learn from someone with a broader perspective.

To be sure, you can learn a lot from someone who has already done what you are trying to do. But, it can be extremely helpful to learn from someone with a broader prospective than just your particular industry.

Not only can a coach fit this bill, but that's where a small mastermind group can really serve you well.

The particular group that I was part of last year was made up of six women in four different countries. Although we never got to meet face-to-face, the group worked amazingly well and we were really able to help each other because of, rather than in spite of our differences.

Having said that, if you have never been part of a mastermind group before, my suggestion is that when you first start out, it can be easier if you can meet in person at least once or twice a month. If you are looking to start or join a group, make sure that it is small and that the other members are serious about their personal and business development. In other words, don't let it turn into a social gathering. You want people who are willing to be held accountable, and who will hold you accountable. 

While some prefer to mastermind with members of their own sex, don't discount the power of learning from both the feminine and masculine sides. The woman I mentioned in my earlier example had a female coach, but was the only female in her male-dominated mastermind group. In part, she credits her huge income leap to "being around the guys," many of whom were multi-millionaires.

3. Start Not From Where You Are But From Where You Want To Be.

A good coach will certainly take the time to get to know you and to analyze your past successes and challenges in your business. However, she should spend most of her time helping you clarify what you want going forward and then keep you accountable to a plan that will ensure your plans come to fruition.

She should have you actually start thinking and making decisions based on how you would if you’d already achieved your goals. In other words, you want to act the way a multi-million dollar business owner would…TODAY.

Whenever I'm faced with a decision in my life, I think of someone I admire and ask myself, what would so-and-so do in this situation.

4. Plan carefully but don't sit on your plans.

Legendary marketer, Dan Kennedy, once said "Money likes speed," and "You don't have to get it right, just get it started." Rather than dwelling on the how-to's, focus more on acquiring the right philosophies and the rest will follow. 

5. Surround yourself with people and environments to support you.

This may be the biggest reason to hire a coach and incorporate a mastermind group into your business.

If the person giving you advice has already done what you're attempting to do, then great. But all too often, the people who are closest to us are not the ones to whom we should be looking for business acumen. You wouldn't get your brother-in-law or your friend to do brain surgery on you – even if they'd do it for free! So, pay an expert who knows how to bring the best out of you and who can get you firmly on the road to where you want to go.

And finally: "Remember – even if you're on the right track, you will still get run over if you just sit there!"

Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is:

Research Master Mind Groups in your area. (If you want to research coaches instead, just substitute MMG with Coach):

• Ask other business people if they use one and if so, can they tell you what it’s like?
• How do people help each other in a MMG?
• Also look on the internet or in the library for information.

Examine whether a MMG is right for you:

• If you were interviewing a group to find out if it was right for you, what questions would you ask them?
• Write down five things you’d like to accomplish and ask yourself how a MMG might help you achieve them.
• What can you bring to a MMG?
• What would you like to get out of a MMG?

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Ever since I started my journey as an entrepreneur, the one thing I have heard over and over again is that you need to surround yourself with people that you most admire, the people that have reached the goals that you are currently looking to achieve, have cleared the hurdles standing before you and the ones that never stop advancing their reach, knowledge and expertise. Think about the people that are surrounding you now. Are they always moving forward, seeking new opportunities, making their own businesses and lives better, making the kind of income you are looking for?

I would have never started this business if it wasn’t for a wonderful lady I met while networking, who has now become a very good friend. Gail Watson, who co-owns a successful email marketing business, was the one who helped me launch my career as a an entrepreneur. When I said, “I think it’s time I go back to work for someone else,” she said “maybe there is something else out there that you could do. I could use help with some things in my business.”

From that point on I began my new Virtual Assistant business that has now, more than a year-and-a-half later, continued to evolve from straight administration into brainstorming and strategy sessions, and social media marketing. During that process I spoke with Gail on nearly a daily basis, bouncing ideas off of her, and getting straight feedback, whether I liked it or not. I truly appreciate having Gail as a mentor and a friend, especially for all those times where I wasn’t sure I could keep going, and wasn’t sure what direction I was heading in.

“…you need to surround yourself with people that you most admire…”

I also found support and mentorship by joining communities specific to my industry, where wonderful people are willing to share their advice and lend support so generously. I highly recommend joining communities where you can learn (through courses and workshops) and interact with others that are in your field, who have experienced the ups and downs of running their own business.

And finally, when you are ready to truly step outside of your “comfort box,” I suggest you consider hiring a coach to work with you, to help you bring your business to the next level. This is something that I am currently doing myself. My coach is working with me to help me restructure my business to be even more successful and offer more ways to support women entrepreneurs reach the successes they seek.

Technorati Tags: brainstorming, Business, career, coach, comfort, courses and workshops, daily basis, email, email marketing, entrepreneur, feedback, gail watson, good friend, image, journey, launch, Marketing, media, mentor, mentors, mentorship, network, networking, new opportunities, social media, strategy, strategy sessions, Tracey Ehman, ups and downs, virtual assistant, virtual assistant business

Catherine Van Alstine is business-savvy and socially-minded. A senior partner of the executive recruiting firm Odgers Berndtson, she has found a way to use her 25+ years of experience to benefit charity.

A Social Entrepreneur, she's using the business concepts of viral marketing, B2B  strategic alliances, and mentorship to create a new charity, Women United In Philanthropy (WUIP), under the umbrella of The United Way.

About two years ago, the United Way approached Catherine and asked her to create an initiative that would get women interested in the United Way at a younger age, and make it attractive to a broader range of people because, they said, their current donor base was aging, and women, in general, have not been as involved in philanthropy as men.

The United Way already had a charity in the US called Women United in Philanthropy that raised money through exclusive, member-based organizations aimed at "wealthy women," Catherine says. While she liked the name, she didn't like the model.

MARKET RESEARCH

To find out what type of model would work best in Canada, she held focus groups and brought together a cross-section of women for a series of lunches. The meetings included young women, grandmothers, people who were just entering their careers, professional women and students.

These women all said the same things: you need something that has a strong focus that all women can be involved with; it has to be inclusive; it should promote women getting together because we’re so busy with family, careers, studying, etc. that we rarely get to socialize.

Catherine formed a committee and they brainstormed ways to fulfill these requirements.

TARGET MARKET

Catherine equates setting up a charitable organization with starting a small business. You need to find out who your target market is, and figure out how to get a share of that market. How can they make their product (the charity) appealing?

“How do we make this a sustainable business model?” asks Catherine. “How do we make this work? What do women want, and what do we need to do to make this a successful endeavour?”

CREATING A PRODUCT TO SELL

Like business, a charity needs a product to sell. The real product of any charity is the idea: what are they raising money for?

The committee realized women of all ages (and men too) are interested in the welfare of children. With so many child-centred charities already in existence, they needed a unique selling point. Through research, they discovered that 1/3 of children in BC are not ready to enter school, so are already behind on their first day of class.

“If you’re marginalized on day one, then the chances of reaching your potential is very poor,” says Catherine. “Our goal is to raise money so every child has access to programs to help them be ready for school.”

The business community also has a strong reason to be involved. Catherine says if we don't do something now, "we’re going to be short 500,000 workers in BC by 2020.”

Now that they had a target market (socially minded women who want to be involved in making things happen) and a product (help children be school-ready), they needed to come up with a plan. They decided to implement their plan in three-stages:

• Year one: start out at the grassroots level and work on viral marketing
• Year two: get the businesscommunity involved with strategic alliances
• Year three: take it to the high schools

VIRAL MARKETING: Year 1

They held a “Kick up your heels for Kids” campaign last year, where women were asked to host an event of their choice – a dinner, fashion show, movie and popcorn night, or any other type of even they could think of – and invite attendees to donate money to Women United In Philanthropy (Canada).

To help make this viral, they plan to ask each attendee this year, and following years, to host their own event as well, so WUIP can reach more people. Even three people attend an event, and they in turn host an event, the campaign would “expand exponentially,” says Catherine.

Some information that came out of the focus groups is that women, in general, do not like to be competitive, and they are concerned about how they are perceived by their friends. As a direct result of this feedback, the campaign committee added envelopes to the event packages so  attendees could donate any amount they wished, without scrutiny.

STRATEGIC ALLIANCES: Year 2

This year, in addition to continuing the grassroots campaign, they're going into the business community to try to find ways of forming strategic alliances. For example, one store hosted a "Sex In the City"-themed party and raised $25,000 for WUIP.

In return, WUIP promotes the store events, which encourages people to shop at those stores, for a win-win-win situation: the women feel good being part of ‘a movement,’ knowing at least part of their money is going to charity; the store gets to introduce itself to new customers; and WUIP gets donations. Catherine says they’re also approaching small businesses owners to find out in what ways they can work together.

SCHOOLS: Year 3

Next year, WUIP plans to visit high schools and give talks to encourage high school students to get involved as well. The students might start WUIP clubs in their school, or host their own events to raise money. Catherine envisions a day when girls get involved in WUIP as young as Junior High School, continue through secondary, and when they  graduate to Post-Secondary, there will be WUIP chapters already in place at whatever university they choose to attend.

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Many of us were lucky in our early years to have someone special to guide us along the right path – a favourite teacher, coach, scout leader, or, in our professional lives, an insightful boss or senior co-worker to show us the ropes.

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Ask Mary Kay Ash or Oprah Winfrey.

Or how about Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay?

Successful women know the importance of having a mentor.

As children, we had people we looked up to and wished we could be like them. We asked a million questions and practiced whatever it was we were trying to master – riding a bike, shooting a basket or blowing the perfect bubble with our Double Bubble gum. It’s no different now that you’re an adult. In fact, finding mentors that can help you in many different areas of your personal and professional life is the key to achieving what you want.

Choosing a mentor is one of the most important decisions you can make as an entrepreneur and business woman.  Here are some criteria that you should consider when choosing your mentor.

A mentor should be:

• an expert within your particular field or profession

• able to draw from a wealth of experience both personally and professionally to help you when you reach roadblocks or obstacles. 

• an inspiration to you and the people around them

• someone whom you admire and can trust

• a leader in their community

• a cheer leader!

Here are five reasons why every woman who aspires to be successful needs a mentor:

1. A mentor is not personally ‘attached’ to your business.

Because it’s OUR business and we have large sums of money, time and energy invested in it, we have a tendency to allow our emotions to affect our decisions. A mentor can be objective in their observations and offer solutions or alternatives to move us forward.

2. A mentor will hold you accountable.

When a mentor agrees to work with you, their time is just as important as yours is and they do not have the luxury of ‘wasting’ it. If you want to keep your relationship with your mentor, you will need to do what you say you will do! Not prepared? Then you’ll need to start looking for another mentor!

3. A mentor has “Been there, done that.”

A good mentor will work with you to develop action plans or strategies to keep you on track, especially when it comes to balancing work and personal life. A mentor can help you see the ‘big picture’ and assist you with setting the appropriate goals to get there.

4. A mentor is the perfect sounding board.

As you grow in your business, new ideas and opportunities will arise. As entrepreneurs, we need that ‘sounding board’ to bounce these ideas off of. A mentor can draw on his or her wealth of knowledge and experience to help you determine what will work best for you.

5. A mentor can be the difference between Good and Great.

Admit it — we’re good but we’re only one person. That age old saying “two heads are better than one” is so true when it comes to business. Ask for help, seek council from business professionals who are more experienced than you and above all, listen! There is a vast amount of knowledge and experience that you can tap into. All it takes is choosing a mentor (or two!).

And the final word…mentorship is a two-way street. You’ve got to give to get so why not be a mentor yourself? You’re smarter than you think you are and YOU can be the difference between Good-to-Great for that budding entrepreneur!

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In a previous blog post for Entrepreneurial Woman Magazine, I talked about how you can use social media to build your brand online. This post takes a look at the tools you should use to do so.

There are thousands of different social networks and social media tools out there. As busy people, we cannot have a presence in all of them (or we wouldn't get any other work done) so it’s always a good idea to hone in on a few networks that best represent who you are and what your goals are from an online professional networking perspective.

Who Are You?

The social networks you use to build your personal brand online will depend on who you are and what you are great at. For example, an artist, photographer or someone who has a visual presence should use a tool like Flickr or YouTube. An accountant looking to build awareness might use a professional network like Xing or Plaxo to spread awareness of what they do.

It is important, when considering which networks to use, to think about your resources and what you like to do. Someone with little time on their hands might choose to build the brand awareness and network on Twitter because you can do so in short burst of activity (140 letters to be exact). Others who love creating videos will enjoy using a video site like YouTube or Vimeo to build their brand.

What are your goals?

Which social networks you use to build your brand will depend also on your goals. If you have a new business and you want to build awareness surrounding that then a networking tool for entrepreneurs like Biznik might be the best place to start. Real Estate agents might use ActiveRain whilst marketers might join Melcrum.

If you are making a move to a new location, find out which networks people there use. For example, in the UK and Europe Bebo is one of the most popular social networks so you might want to consider building a presence on Bebo if a move across the pond is your goal.

Top Social Networks for Personal Branding

One of the most popular sites from a professional personal branding viewpoint is LinkedIn. It is the main professional network in North America and is the best forum to present your personal brand in a positive manner. Over 30 million users have used this tool to tell people more about what they do and to highlight the aspects that differentiate them from peers in their industry. LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to post your resume online and build communities around the people you have done business with in the past, those in your industry, clients, partners and competitors.

From a social perspective, Facebook is by far and away the most widely used social network: practically everyone is on it these days and while many are using the forum from a purely social perspective more and more Facebook users are looking to build their professional brand there too. If you use Facebook purely for social networking, it is important to consider how your professional audience will perceive you there as well.

Conclusion

When you have considered the points outlined above and determined which networks are most appropriate for you, refer back to some of the points on our previous blog post and always remember that recruiters, potential partners and clients will check out your profile – make sure it is appropriate.

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Sarah Deveau, owner of Cater Tot Consignment, (featured in our Mompreneur issue), is an expert at being frugal which, combined with her entrepreneurial spirit, lead to her writing her first book, Sink or Swim: Get Your Degree Without Drowning in Debt, while in university.

Sarah noticed that many of her fellow students seemed to always have money for partying on the weekends and travelling to fun places on Spring Break. Curious, she started asking questions and was surprised to discover how many classmates were using student loan money to fund not only their tuition, but also their fun. They were going into further debt for entertainment!

She, on the other hand, avoided going into debt by working part-time during the school year and full-time in the summer. She used her bargain-hunting ingenuity to find ways to make her money stretch, and her husband, (they married during university), shared her money philosophy.

“We didn't come from families where we had lines of credit and a lot of debt,” she says.

While she found it difficult to understand why people were choosing to live off of loans, her fellow students were just as confounded by her: how could she possibly not have a student loan? How was she paying for university? Where did she find the money to buy things without a loan? She told them her money-saving tips, like renting a cheap, basement apartment, buying used instead of new, and finding things to do that didn't cost money.

It occurred to her that people weren't thinking of researching other options, they'd just go to the bar for entertainment and spend a tonne of cash in one night instead of seeing if there were fun things to do that were free. They assumed they had to have a car, and spent a small fortune on gas, insurance, and car payments, instead of searching for an apartment and job closer to the university.

Sarah realized if she wrote a book, her money-saving tips could help students avoid graduating with a crushing debt load over their head. At the same time, it could become a source of income for her. She researched what she needed to do: write a book proposal and find a publisher. Her book proposal included the first three chapters of her book, an outline of the other chapters, and information on who she was going to market it to, who she thought would buy her book, and how she planned to promote it.

She then went to a writers' conference and pitched her idea to non-fiction publishers. It sold! Now a fresh graduate, she finished writing her book while working at her first career job. She spent her days working for someone else, and her evenings writing her book.

“I didn't have kids then, so I was able to finish it in three months,” she says.

Sarah enjoyed working with a publisher on her first book, which hit the stands in 2003. She says it was good experience and she learned a lot. However, with her next book, Money Smart Mom: Financially Fit Parenting (an idea she got when she and her husband began discussing children), she realized she wanted more control.

She attributes this to being a type-A personality. Looking at the options, she decided her best route would be to self-publish. Taking what she learned from her own publisher, she hired industry professionals to ensure she created a top-notch product.

For example, she hired a manager to lead her through the project, and to help her navigate the publishing process so she could spend her money wisely. She hired a graphic designer, an editor, an indexer and a proofreader. Her goal was to have a book that was so well-written and presented that people could pick her book up in any bookstore and be unable to tell if it was published through a company or self-published.

“It was crucial to me to put out a product that was just as good as, if not better than, what my publisher did the first time,” says Sarah, “but now I'm the one to reap all the benefits, financially and otherwise.”

She's also fully responsible for all the work that's involved, like marketing, promotion and sales. The success, or lack it, rests fully on her shoulders every step of the way.

This can be a bit scary. In spite of her focus on quality, she's well aware of the prejudice that exists against self-published books. She attributes it mainly to 'vanity presses,' companies that offer to publish your book but don't edit it or give you honest feedback as to whether it's any good or not, nor do they help sell or promote it. As a result, many people put a lot of effort and money into a book no one wants to buy.

Vanity presses do have their uses, however. If you're looking for a way to raise funds for your school, or you want to publish something like a family history or favourite recipes to give away to friends and family, you can take advantage of the small press runs offered by vanity presses. If, on the other hand, you want to get your book into the bookstores, you need a publishing professional (someone not connected to you or a vanity press) to tell you whether your book is good, needs work, or is downright awful. This is why most people go through a publisher, at least for their first book. Publishers have the experience to know what sells, and the connections to make it happen.

Sarah covered all those bases by working with publishing professionals and getting the feedback she needed, and by working with a distributor. Several independent businesses, including kids' boutique and consignment stores, have already pre-ordered the book.

Representatives from Chapters want to see her book in print form before making any decisions, but Sarah is confident they'll end up carrying it because, she says, they did really well with her first book.

Sarah's books are:

	Sink or Swim: Get Your Degree Without Drowning in Debt Written while in university and finished just after graduation, she gives real-life examples of how to save money and avoid debt.
	Money Smart Mom: Financially Fit Parenting When she and her husband started talking about having children, Sarah went looking for a book to help her understand the financial impact of having kids. She couldn't find one, so she decided to write her own. She had three children in the four years it took to research and write this book.

SARAH'S TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURS:

1. Put yourself first. You are no good to your children or your business if you are not performing to the best of you abilities, which means eating right, exercising, and taking time to relax in activities that rejuvenate you.

2. Find a friend who will play devil’s advocate for you – don’t surround yourself with people who tell you all of your ideas are great. That friend who challenges you will save you from making poor decisions, and can firm up your resolve to move forward with great ones.

3. Do it for the money, too. Many female entrepreneurs say they’re not in it to make money. You should be! When the hours are long and the stress high, at least you’ll be making money. If you’re losing it, life gets hard quick.

4. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Define your market and go after it.

5. Be open to change. Your thriving business may be nothing like what you originally envisioned. Don’t be afraid to redefine your vision as needed.

Technorati Tags: basement apartment, car payments, Cathy Watters, classmates, debt load, drowning in debt, entrepreneurial spirit, fellow students, fun things, ingenuity, loan money, money philosophy, money saving tips, Money Smart Mom, money stretch, partying, sarah deveau, school year, Sink or Swim: Get Your Degree WITHOUT Drowning in Debt, small fortune, spring break, student loan, tonne

What do super-achievers like Donald Trump, Richard Branson, Colin Powell and Oprah have in common?

They actually work less than the majority of us, while accomplishing substantially more.

“Well sure,” you say, “they’ve got people to do so much for them. I’m just me — trying to do it all!” To a certain extent that is true, but they also found early on — before they were enormously successful — that if they followed certain principles, they could be laser-focused when they worked and still have the luxury of a balanced lifestyle to spend with friends and family.

In today’s age of mega communication via email, cell phones, instant messaging and the like, it is easy to get caught up in the addiction of always doing, doing, doing. The toll of constantly being in motion leaves many of us feeling like we’ve become “human doings” rather than human beings.

To help you gain control over your time, here are 7 super-achiever strategies you can try:

1. Learn to stop doing.

By employing the Pereto Principle — the 80/20 rule that says 20 percent of your activity produces 80 percent of your results — you can focus on activities that meet this criteria. Figure out what activities are getting you closer to your goals and reduce, eliminate, or delegate the rest. A great way to stay on track is to ask yourself before each task, “Is what I am about to do getting me closer to my goal?” If the answer is “no,” consider doing something else with that time.

2. Create boundaries and protect your energy.

You know you’re a workaholic when you or your friends and family feel there is no delineation between your work and your personal life. This is especially true for those who work from home. Learn to say no and “retrain” your clients and colleagues that you are not available 24/7. Some people will push what you will tolerate to the limit — putting your health and relationships with those you love at risk. Set your boundaries, share them “gently” with those you need to and then stick to them.

3. We all know the story of the tortoise and the hare.

While you may feel the pressure to keep up with the hare who leaps off to a fast start and pushes to finish the race first, the slow and steady pace of the tortoise often wins in the long run. Making a commitment to work at your own natural pace, as well as aiming more for consistency than speed, can go a long way to getting a lot accomplished without burning out. It’s not about how you start; it’s if you continue that matters.

4. Legendary motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, calls the management of time the “best-kept secret of the rich.”

Time is the one thing under which we are all equal. No one person has less or more than another. In a recent issue of Oprah, renowned heart surgeon, Dr. Oz, says, “It’s not about time management. It’s about energy management. The things you do in your life should give you that zest for life.” Look for ways to get a better “Return on Energy” (ROE). By being more observant of what tasks and time frames energize you, versus which ones zap your strength, you’re better able to determine what activities you should spend less or more time on, what you should be delegating, and what needs to be eliminated altogether.

5. Often, the hardest thing for self-motivated, entrepreneurially-minded people to do is to ask for help.

However, one of the greatest success disciplines of super-achievers is delegation. By constantly asking yourself, “Is what I am doing right now the best possible use of my time?” you can tap into the highest use of your genius. It’s unlikely that you’d see Donald Trump, Richard Branson or Oprah filing, cleaning or doing their own taxes. You don’t have to be fabulously wealthy to hire people to do some of the jobs that don’t require your genius. Look for creative ways to hire as needed, or even barter someone else’s expertise for your own. Once you delegate to someone, trust them to do their job and get out of their way.

6. Take time off to recharge your batteries.

If you’re one of those people who feel guilty when you take time off, you might feel better knowing this: studies have shown that as North Americans, we take less vacation days than any other industrialized nation. Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that we also are experiencing burnout, depression, heart disease and cancer at staggering rates. Taking time off is a critical component of staying healthy and productive. Whether you choose to be active in your time off or just enjoy doing nothing, we all need to incorporate regular breaks and celebrations into our busy lives.

Your Assignment (something easy this week):

Instead of making endless to-do lists that become more overwhelming as the week progresses, try writing down just three major activities you want to achieve. Then, at the end of each day, take 5 or 10 minutes to “cash out.” Look at what you actually accomplished and if necessary, refine your plan for the next day. Likewise, cash out at the end of every week and every month.

By taking time to stop and re-examine your work habits and incorporating some of these ideas into your business life, you can be happier, healthier, AND attract more clients!

Technorati Tags: addiction, balanced lifestyle, boundaries, colin powell, colleagues, delineation, donald trump, extent, human beings, human doings, instant messaging, Karen Dodd, oprah, personal life, principle, retrain, richard branson, super achievers, workaholic

The last thing we enjoy doing as parents is relentlessly sounding like a broken record and nagging our children to clean their rooms. But no parent likes to walk into their kid’s room and find a week old, half full glass of chocolate milk or piles of laundry and dirty dishes shoved under the bed. Does your child scramble around in the morning looking through piles of toys, books, DVDs, clothes and so on, for that permission form that needed to be signed and handed in last week? There is a system that will put an end to all of this madness – it’s time to help your child get organized!

Putting simple organizing solutions in place will not only help your child learn to get organized but stay organized.

Follow these simple steps and assist your child de-clutter, clean and organize their bedroom:

Step 1 – Make Time

Schedule a day when you and your child can tackle the clutter and cleanup the mess. Depending on the severity of the mess, I would recommend scheduling at least three to four hours. Be certain to give your child your undivided attention. If possible turn off all phones and ignore your email. Let your child decide on the tunes while you choose the volume level.

Step 2 – Setup

Have boxes or bags labeled and ready for sorting:

DONATE

SELL

STORAGE

GARBAGE

Pull out the vacuum and cleaning supplies and have them ready.

Step 3 – Remove Items that don’t belong

Immediately remove all dirty dishes and laundry from the bedroom. Share the job with your child — you remove the dishes while they remove the laundry. Take the items to their designated area in the house. Chances are that the bed sheets and comforters need to be laundered as well. Remove any other items that don’t belong in your child’s room, such as family DVDs or like items that just happen to mosey into their bedroom.

Step 4 – Start Sorting

Start with a small area first and deal with every article. Does it have a home already, or do you need to designate one? Before designating a home for items, group them together and wait until the end. This will give you a better idea of the space needed to store them. Use the bed to place items that are going to stay in the room that don’t have a designated spot yet. Work around the room in a clockwise manner until you are done.

If an item is broken or missing pieces, its time to toss it! If it’s no longer being used but in good condition perhaps it can be donated or sold. Let your child help make decisions on what stays and what goes. Encourage them to sell or donate unwanted items and explain the rewards of doing so.

For parents with smaller children that have an overabundance of TOYS this is where the STORAGE box comes into good use. Children do not need tonnes of toys out. Most times they just stay scattered all over the place and get broken in the long run. Store some of the toys and swap them out every two months or even seasonally. To them, it will be like getting new toys!

The storage box could also be used for memorabilia or keepsakes for older children.

Don’t forget to go through dressers and closets and eliminate all items that are too small, torn or unwanted – it will give you a better idea of what clothing items need to be replenished. Be sure to use up any wasted space in the closet by putting up extra hooks to hang bags, hats, scarves and like items.

Step 5 – Time to Clean

Once you have gone through all areas and can see the floor, tops of dressers and window ledges again its time to clean! It is much easier to get your child on board if you let your child decide whether they want to dust and wipe down furniture or vacuum/mop the floors.

Step 6 – Get Organized

Now that the room is completely de-cluttered and clean it’s time to get organized. Look around and decide what your child might need to keep things organized. Do they have a laundry hamper and garbage pail? Do they need plastic bins or storage boxes to hold DVDs, video games and controllers? Is there adequate shelving for books and toys? Take your child shopping with you and let them help select storage bins or shelving. They are more likely to put the storage bins to good use if they have selected them.

If you allow your teenager to eat and drink in their rooms perhaps you can place a plastic tote by the door for them to store dirty dishes in. Get them to make a habit of bringing the tote to the kitchen every night before bed or first thing in the morning. If they don’t keep up with it – don’t allow them to eat and drink in their bedroom.

You may wish to offer small rewards to your child for keeping their room clean and organized. Most children respond quickly to keeping their rooms de-cluttered and organized with positive reinforcement and when proper shelving, bins and systems are put into place.

Step 7 – Maintenance

Because old habits are hard to break, it would be wise to check in with your child every couple of days for the first little while and give friendly reminders on putting things back where they belong. Encouragement goes a long way – let them know when they are doing a good job!

Be patient and teach your child good organizing habits whenever you can. And before you know it they will be doing it all on their own.

Happy Organizing!

Technorati Tags: bed sheets, chocolate milk, cleaning supplies, cleanup, clutter, comforters, dirty dishes, email, garbage, Jasmine Beierle, laundry, piles, severity, simple organizing solutions, simple steps, time schedule, toys books, undivided attention, volume level

Two women who found their way to entrepreneurship following very different paths

Entrepreneurship was something Camilla Havlik-Patten was lucky enough to have been born into. Her father started a gearing and machine tool manufacturing company years ago and she was introduced to the business – and everything from book-keeping to marketing – at a young age.

Carmen Roberts Watkins, on the other hand, had no family figure to guide her way into entrepreneurship. She had the security of a cushy, corporate job, and a background in financial services and business, but no experience starting an entrepreneurial venture.

Despite the differences between these two women, both followed their passions and took that bold, courageous leap of faith from what was safe and known to what was in their heart.

Camilla's story: from tools to murals

For Camilla, that meant leaving the safety of her father’s business to start her own custom do-it-yourself wall art, stencil and mural company for moms.

“I enjoyed working in an entrepreneurial environment,” says Camilla, “and I enjoyed all the learning, but I wasn’t passionate about gearing and machine tools.”

Camilla wanted to do something on her own that would allow her to apply her entrepreneurial experience, use her creativity (she’s a trained illustrator and graphic design artist) and better balance her time with her two kids, aged 5 and 9.

As a hobby, Camilla had been making wall murals for friends and family for 15 years, but never thought about turning it into a business until an unexpected time crunch helped her see its potential.

“When I was working on a friend’s mural a few years ago, I ran out of time to complete it,” says Camilla. “So I gave my friend all the instructions and tools she would need to complete it herself.”

When her friend told her how much satisfaction she had received from doing it, Camilla knew she was on to a new business and Mural Mom was born.

Carmen's story: from bank to retail

For Carmen, who had the employment safety of a big banking corporation behind her, buying her own business was a big step.

“I always wanted my own business,” says Carmen, “so when I started to feel claustrophobic and unmotivated at work, I looked online. I researched the trends and two that jumped out at me were retail and technology.”

With a soft spot for the feminine and the frilly, and a strong creative streak, Carmen decided to go the retail route.

“I started talking to existing business owners on my lunch break,” says Carmen. “I wanted to learn from those who had already done it.”

Carmen hit it off with one retailer in particular, the owner of a home furnishings store in Toronto’s downtown core. A few months later when that owner wanted to sell her business, she called Carmen and the deal was done.

“Buying Heavenly Daze gave me some peace of mind,” explains Carmen. “Coming from a corporate background I knew how to run a business but I didn’t know how to start one.”

There is so much to figure out in retail, from how to organize a store and buy inventory to deciding which selling strategies to use and learning about customer relations. Carmen liked having a system already in place that she could follow from the start.

As Carmen gained confidence, she began testing her own ideas, and over the last five years slowly turned Heavenly Daze into the type of store she wanted. One of the ideas Carmen tested was her own line of jewelry called 'Link and Locks.' She now runs two businesses (Heavenly Daze and Links and Locks), has a 3-year-old son, and a daughter on the way.

Needless to say, Camilla and Carmen are busy, but both find creative ways to help balance the demands of work and family. Camilla uses detailed schedules and often works evenings after her kids are asleep, while Carmen’s store follows the typical downtown work-week of Monday through Friday, closing at 6 pm.

Top 4 Things a Mompreneur Should Never Do – From two moms who’ve done it!

Don't…

1. Start a business thinking you will have more time for kids and family. You may have more flexibility to schedule your work and family activities but you won’t have more time!

2. Work on your business and raise your kids at the same time! Don’t expect your kids to sit by patiently while you work on your business. Set aside some kid-free time each day when you can work on your business. Set up schedules and make sure to turn off the computer and blackberries when the kids are around.

3. Start a business with the hare mentality. Be a turtle, instead. Spend time to research your business, start small, test your ideas and use baby steps to slowly build it up.

4. Try to do it all yourself (in typical mom-fashion!). Instead, use professionals like accountants and commercial lawyers to get you set up properly. The fees you pay up front can save you thousands and lots of heartache later on.

Technorati Tags: camilla, Camilla Havlik-Patten, Carmen Roberts Watkins, corporate job, different paths, entrepreneurial environment, entrepreneurial experience, entrepreneurial venture, graphic design artist, havlik, Heavenly Daze, leap of faith, Links and Locks, Liz Doyle-Harmer, machine tool, machine tools, mural company, Mural Mom, passions, patten, stencil, time crunch, tool manufacturing, unexpected time, wall art, wall murals

About seven years ago I decided that my kids were growing up too quickly and that the stresses of my Systems Analyst position and the resulting side-effects – irritability, guilt, and exhaustion — were not in the best interest of my children or, for that matter, my family as a whole. Watching my kids being raised by someone else, even though I was lucky enough to have someone who loved them almost as much as her own children, just didn’t sit well with me anymore.

I was done with only seeing the kids at their “5 o’clock best behavior” (read: overtired, hungry and ready for bed). I wanted to see the sleepy, good-morning smiles that I had been missing when I handed my sleeping children over to my girlfriend each morning before 6 a.m.

After a couple of years off, I chose to build a business where I could work from home and be a greater part of my children’s lives. Working from home has taken on many forms over the last several years, but it has been so worth the journey. For me, working my business from my home office has allowed me the luxury of increasing my hours while still being available to attend concerts, field trips, and keep my finger on the pulse of my children’s education and, for that matter, their friendships.

I have a good relationship with my children. While many people don’t have the luxury of working from home, my hope is that so many more will take the chance and build a profitable business that enables them to have the best of both worlds – more time with their children, and an income that they can still live off of.

It can be done!

In addition to building a positive family life by working at home, an interesting development has been occurring: as my children watch me build, grow, and set the goals that have helped me create this path and build a successful “virtual assistant” business, they have both decided they want to be entrepreneurs or work for me when they grow up!

They have learned to respect that sometimes Mom is working, and they have learned the true value of passion and drive and know that they should never give up on a goal, because they have watched me pursue mine.

Watch out world…. it’s time to pave the way for the very young entrepreneur!

Technorati Tags: analyst position, best behavior, best interest, best of both worlds, exhaustion, field trips, finger on the pulse, friendships, good relationship, guilt, irritability, last several years, profitable business, s education, sleeping children, stresses, systems analyst, Tracey Ehman, virtual assistant, working at home, working from home

It’s lovely to work from home, wouldn’t you agree? Set your own hours, work in your pajamas, take your computer outside on the deck and answer email at your leisure. No hectic commute, no extra cost of maintaining an office and most of all, no worrying about what to wear to the office.

Everything is perfect, except on those occasions when…your client wants to see you in twenty minutes and you haven’t had a shower!

Many home-based business owners find themselves challenged by the requirements of their business wardrobe when working solely from home. For many entrepreneurs, extremely casual clothing becomes the norm and they struggle with creating a balance between the clothes they need to wear for work and the clothes they need to wear while presenting themselves outside the office. Some pay little or no attention to their appearance at all and find their work performance suffers. Whatever your particular situation may be, here are two different ways to look at the issue: physical and psychological.

Physically speaking, it may not be practical for a home-based business owner to dress in business attire on a daily basis. If you’re balancing your business with family needs and taking time throughout your day to drop the kids off at activities or play with them on the playground, you will need to structure your wardrobe so it accommodates your physical needs first and deals with the visual impression second. Look for basic, easy care, durable wardrobe pieces that can transition easily from one situation to another.

For example, if you are working in the office in the morning, picking the kids up at lunch and having a meeting in the afternoon, you can pair easy care slacks or jeans (depending on the level of dress required for your meeting) with a plain shirt or blouse and jacket. Wear a more casual shoe and accessories for your morning work and carry a dressier version to change into for your afternoon meeting.

Another way to look at your business attire is from a psychological standpoint. A number of studies point to the effect of a relaxed dress code in the office; more relaxed clothing typically equals a more relaxed approach to business. In some businesses, this could be an asset, but consider this: the clothing you wear directly affects the way you think, act and feel. If you are feeling a lack of motivation in your work or a lack of productivity in your day, it may be directly related to the sweatpants you put on this morning. Try dressing each day for your home-based work as you would for your business outside of the office and note any differences or shifts in your attitude.

Whatever your business, a polished image is an asset. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to put on your suit before sitting down to work in your office, but it does mean that a little more attention to detail in your appearance can positively affect your work as a home based business owner.

Your assignment, if you choose to accept it:

Try experimenting this month to see what works best for you and report back what happens.

Technorati Tags: based business owners, blouse, busi, business attire, business owner, business wardrobe, casual clothing, casual shoe, daily basis, home based business, Katherine Lazaruk, pajamas, playground, slacks, taking time, twenty minutes, two different ways, visual impression, wardrobe pieces, what to wear to the office, work performance

In Part 1 we talked about how you can use LinkedIn for recruitment purposes. Today we look at some of the other tools available to support your recruiting needs.

Plaxo– another prominent professional networking tool with over 20 million users, Plaxo is similar to LinkedIn in that it allows you to search job listings and to connect with people who are hiring. However, it does not have tools aimed solely at recruiters yet.

Xing– Another professional network which is becoming more popular with over 8 million users,  Xing is very similar in its functionality to LinkedIn but posting jobs is much cheaper.  The downside is that lots of users are in Europe, so it’s not the best tool for North American recruitment purposes.

Other professional social networks that facilitate recruitment:

Viadeo

Biznik

Social Networks

Facebook

Facebook Groups – there are groups on Facebook dedicated to getting the word out about jobs.  To do so you can join and post or participate.  Examples include:

http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=jobs&init=quick#/group.php?gid=29593013279&ref=search&sid=745281396.2828234181..1

Facebook Pages – some companies have Facebook pages dedicated solely to helping them find staff.  The best known example is the Ernst and Young Facebook Page.

Facebook Events – having a hiring fare?  You can use Facebook events like this one to promote it.

Facebook Ads – allows you to post ads aimed at people you want to employ: location, education level etc.

Twitter

Twitter is proving a great tool to promote job openings.  You can use corporate or staff Twitter pages to Twitter to your community about job postings or you can even have your own dedicated Twitter feed that serves this purpose alone like KPMG http://twitter.com/kpmg

As with any Twitter effort, your follow strategy will be important.

Twitter Ad-ons

You can also use third party tools like Twitter Job Search to search listings and post your own.

Technorati Tags: downside, education level, europe, facebook, functionality, job listings, job openings, job postings, kpmg, location education, Mhairi Petrovich, networking tool, professional network, professional networking, recruitment purposes, ref search, social networks, twitter

Sarah Deveau, owner of Cater Tot Consignment and mother of three, had her first child in 2005.

“I knew right away I didn't want to go back to a full-time career,” she says. “We knew we would have more kids, too, but I didn't want to be a stay-at-home mom. I wanted the best of both worlds.”

What she really wanted was a career on her own terms: something that would allow her flexibility to spend time with her children and earn an income.

A consumer who already shopped at used clothing and thrift stores herself, Sarah decided to open a  children's consignment store – the kind she wished was already available.

“I'm very frugal,” she says. “I never understood the allure of buying new. The second you walk out of the store, it's worth half of its value, or less.” She also likes the personality that used stuff has. “You get stuff with a story.”

She researched her market and asked other moms what they liked and disliked about stores. What would they have in their ideal baby consignment store? She took the information she gathered and developed a plan.

Calgary, where she lived, already had a few consignment stores. But Airdrie, Alberta, just 15-minutes north of Calgary, was a growing city of 35,000 people that didn't have any kids' stores at all, let alone a child-centred consignment store. This, she felt, would be an ideal place for her store.

She and her husband took out a personal loan because it was quicker than getting a business loan, and Sarah wanted to open the store right away. She opened Cater Tot consignment on Kate's first birthday.

“I worked like a dog for eight months,” Sarah recalls. She put in 60 to 80 hours per week. “I  slept at the store some nights because we lived in Calgary at the time and I didn't even want to spare the time to go home.”

She was able to spend so much time on it because, she says, ““I have a great husband,” adding, “It's extremely important when you become an entrepreneur to have a strong network.”

Her husband works a very demanding job too, but he understood she wasn't going to be home for dinner and there was no more maternity leave where “I stayed home and played with the baby all day and then made him a nice warm supper and cleaned.” Instead, he picked up their daughter from daycare, and their house was a mess, and he had to make his own supper and do bedtime and bath time by himself.

“Now we have three girls under the age of six and he is amazing,” she says.

Sarah emphasizes that if you're going to open a business, you need a strong network, whether it's your husband, or a daycare that's flexible, or your parents and friends. Whoever you network is, make sure they understand what you're getting into, and how it's going to affect them. It's also important that you understand what you're getting into.

“The saddest thing I find,” says Sarah, “is that I talk to women who are starting businesses and they really underestimate how much cash flow they're going to need and the time investment a business takes at the start.”

Sarah notes start-up can be three months — or three years – of hard work, and everyone thinks they're going to be the three-month person, and they'll be able to take their kids to work with them, or they can work from home right away and turn a profit. They don't understand that there's a lot of work, time, and stress involved in running a business. Her work is unpredictable, so she hired a live-in nanny. With nine part-time staff at the store, if someone calls in sick at the last minute, she has to drop everything and cover the shift.

Being an entrepreneur, she says, is not for the faint of heart.

When she started, Sarah was faced with the struggle of finding peers. If you work in an office, she explains, you have a tight group of people that you talk to everyday. But when you start a business, “You feel lost because you don't have anyone to turn to when you have questions,” she says.

Sarah eventually found a retailer in another town who was willing to talk to her. They hit it off so well, they became the best of friends and their families even vacation together. They built up a support group of women retailers who meet every two months for dinner, and chat on Facebook.

“We share ideas, tips and tricks,” she says. “I felt very lonely in my business [when I started], but since I built up a network of sharing people, it's been great.”

Being a Mompreneur with three kids can be challenging. For example, now that Kate is older, she can go to the store with mom, but like any child her age, she wants everything she sees.

“She thinks I have non-stop access to every toy she could possibly want,” Sarah says. One of the lessons they're teaching her is that there are boundaries, so no, Mom can't bring every toy home for her to play with.

Then there is the challenge of making time for work and for family. Sometimes Sarah spends the whole day with her kids and doesn't turn on the laptop or even answer the phone, unless there's an emergency at the store. Other days, it's all work, and she may leave the house at 7 am and not return until midnight.

“There's this elusive balance that everyone is looking for,” she says. “I see it as a teeter-totter.”

In fact, she sees her life as a multiple of teeter-totters because in addition to the kids and work, she also wants to spend time with her girlfriends, her husband, or do things together as a couple with their other friends.

One thing that's changed since she had kids is that she's toned down on multi-tasking. She used to try to do several things at once, like work on her business and play with the kids, but one day her oldest daughter asked why she didn't play with them anymore. Surprised, Sarah said, “but I was playing with you all day,” and Kate replied, “You were on your laptop all day.”

So now Sarah has an egg-timer. If she has to 'take a minute' to check her email, she sets the timer and makes sure she follows through on her word and really only takes a minute. When it goes off, then it's time to put work away and focus on the kids.

“If I have expectations of them, they have expectations of me,” she says. She also does a lot of work after the kids go to bed.

Sarah notes that if she was working 60+ hours a week at the store it might be even more successful than it already is, but this way, the store is doing well and she has time to be with her kids.

“I don't think I have a perfect balance,” she says. “But I'm really happy with where I am and what I'm doing.”

Technorati Tags: 15 minutes, airdrie alberta, allure, baby consignment store, best of both worlds, business loan, calgary, Cathy Watters, consignment stores, eight months, first birthday, flexibility, full time, personal loan, personality, sarah deveau, stay at home, stay at home mom, thrift stores, time career, time to go home

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” ~ Bill Cosby

On the surface I think most of us would agree with this statement, but every now and again something happens in your everyday life that leaves you, as my New Zealander friend would say, “gob-smacked!”

The other day I was sharing with my husband, Glen, the challenge I was having getting one of my coaching clients to identify her niche. Having been intimately involved in the work I do, I thought he was aware that narrowing one’s niche is probably the most challenging part of marketing and attracting new clients – and also the most important. Or so I thought!

As the conversation went on, it became abundantly clear that as a financial planner, he felt his own market niche was basically everyone who is engaged in stable employment and wants to plan for their future.

Perhaps like Glen, the reason that many entrepreneurs and professionals are reluctant to niche is that they believe they will potentially lose business. In fact, the opposite is true. When you’re 100 percent crystal clear about your niche, it is much easier to reach large numbers of ideal clients easily and inexpensively. Many of the clients I coach do this extremely successfully with NO marketing budget!

In my article “What Makes You, You,” I asked you to come up with your “compelling story” and then to decide on what ONE niche you could become known for addressing. The reason for knowing your compelling story is that in my experience, most new entrepreneurs tend to look outside themselves, to identify their niche.

Rather than choosing a niche based on outside factors such as affluence or demographics, why not look inside to attract clients with whom your “story” resonates? By modeling the “before-and-after” situation for your prospects, you immediately are considered an expert. For example, if you’ve survived the upheaval and chaos associated with being a young mom and successfully started a business in spite of that, you have become an expert in teaching others or providing products to women who would like to do what you’ve done. That means you’re going to attract clients very much like you, that you can reach more easily – and with whom you’ll likely enjoy working with more.

When someone is looking to hire or buy from someone in your field, they are looking for a SOLUTION to their most pressing problem. Your compelling story becomes the first part of your compelling marketing message and when you attract clients who have the same “before” as you did, you’ve already made the most important part of the sale.

Once you know the WHO and the WHY of what your business has to offer potential clients, it’s time to use “pull-through” marketing messages to reach them. Next to your compelling story, developing just the right “offer” is the most critical factor in attracting a steady stream of pre-qualified, self-selected clients.

Your Assignment, Should You Choose To Accept It:

1. Assuming you have a website (please tell me you do!) what value-packed information could you offer your prospects? The least expensive (basically no-cost) way to share your expertise is through a Special Report that you offer free of charge in exchange for their name and email address.

Tip: Be sure this is not just a thinly disguised commercial for you and your services. You need to be sharing tangible information that they can use right away, whether they do business with you or not. This goes for all of your “offers.”

2. What could you record inexpensively and share via a downloadable mp3? This could be something as simple as your before-and-after story. Again, you want to give tangible tips that your prospect can use right away but don’t “give away the farm” by telling them everything – that’s what they need to hire you for!

Tip: By offering a CD, you will be able to capture your prospects’ full name, mailing address and phone number. Used with integrity, this can give you great information with which to stay in touch with prospects.

3. Consider starting an ezine. This has been the single most significant marketing tool that has taken me from zero to thousands of prospects and hundreds of clients. It can be something as simple as a Tip of The Week.

Tip: Ideally, you want to publish weekly, but at the very least, bi-weekly. If you can’t commit to that frequency, then it’s not worth doing it at all.

4. What can you put on the back of your business card that will cause people to go to your website or pick up the phone to call you? It causes me such anguish to turn over someone’s card, only to see nothing there or a tagline; it’s such a waste of prime marketing real-estate! I can honestly tell you that I’ve never been to a networking event without at least a couple of people going to my website to get my free CD, “How To Attract Your Ideal Clients By Design.” That also automatically gives them my free weekly ezine, “In Focus: Success & Marketing Highlights,” so the back of my card kills two birds with one stone.

I would love to hear how you are using offers, or questions you might have in implementing these ideas. Until then, remember: step into your greatness with ease and grace!

Technorati Tags: affluence, bill cosby, coach, demographics, everyday life, failure, financial planner, gob, husband glen, Karen Dodd, large numbers, market niche, marketing budget, prospects, stable employment

Deborah Gillam-Harry, Fast Forward Coaching, remembers the day she decided it was time to make a change.

She was sitting in the living room with her pre-schooler. He was playing with his toy cars and she was working on her computer. An hour had gone by and they hadn’t spoken a word to each other.

“We were in the same room, but I wasn’t paying any attention to him,” she says. In fact, she realized most days she was just trying to keep Harrison busy so she could work. “I was starting to feel guilty that there wasn’t any socializing. That’s when I knew I needed to make some changes.”

She had moved her office into her home three years ago so she could take care of her baby and her business. But here she was, still working 12-hour days and weekends, and struggling to find balance.

With 24-years in the film industry, Deborah wasn’t just a talent agent for actors and writers; she also helped them put together marketing materials, select their headshots, and gave them the referrals and advice they needed to move their careers forward.

She was on commission, so if her clients didn’t get work, she didn’t get paid.

“Some of my clients really went far, and it was fun to play that part [in it],” she says. For example, one of her clients, Nicholas Elia, beat out 1500 actors worldwide in order to get a part in the film Speed Racer. He was 10-years-old at the time. Another client, Conchita Campbell, was a series regular on The 4400 for four years. She was 9 when the series started.

Although Deborah enjoyed what she was doing, the local film industry experienced a “nose dive” for a year and a half, she says. Toronto and Montreal were offering great tax incentives to production companies so many film and TV companies moved East.

With the downturn in the industry, she was feeling the pressure of lost income. Because of her work, she couldn’t spend as much time with her son as she wanted, and because she was a mother, whenever she needed to make an important call, she first had to make sure her son was busy. She had tried daycare but didn’t like how many colds her son caught from the other children.

That day in the living room, Deborah sat back and thought about how much she was missing. She was tired of working long hours and missing out on her son’s childhood.

“I wasn’t making the income to make this type of sacrifice [worthwhile],” she says. “I wanted to be there for him, and know that I could enjoy spending time with him while he’s young.”

She decided to “reinvent the wheel” and figure out what she could do that would allow her to make a living, but give her time to spend with Harrison and her husband, Rob.

She had experience as a producer and had won some awards over the years, but producing is sporadic work. She needed more stability.

As an entertainment coach, she could continue doing something she enjoyed: providing people with the information, resources and advice they need to be successful in their careers, whether they were an actor, writer or director. Coaching was something she could schedule around her family, and since coaching sessions only take one or two hours, it would give her lots of time to spend with her family.

“This gives me the flexibility I need right now to have some fun with my little guy on the weekends,” she says.

Although she had tonnes of industry experience, she made sure she researched this new path thoroughly. She spoke with other agents and actors, and took classes to learn how to market her business. Now she’s one of only a few people in Vancouver who teaches the business side of the entertainment industry.

She launched in November, 2009, and spent the first few months getting her website and marketing materials together. She had her first client by the end of January and has since worked with around 15 clients, many of whom are like her – moms who are juggling career and family.

Deborah also advises parents whose children want to get into the film industry. While acting is a great way to help children pay for their future education, there are a lot of questions parents should ask before getting started, ranging from what does it cost, to what kind of time commitment is involved, to learning which “opportunities” are legitimate. And of course, most importantly, is their child ready to do this kind of work.

“You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have your child entered into the industry,” says Deborah. “I want to give parents the information they need to make the right decisions.”

Tips for Mompreneurs:

1. Put your child first and work around that: you’ll feel a lot better knowing your child is taken care of, and you can then focus more effectively on your business.

2. It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you: join organizations in your industry. For example, Deborah volunteers with Women In Film and Television (WIFTV)

3. Market you and your product as effectively as possible: if no one knows who you are and what your service is, it’s a lot harder to sell it.

4. Put a marketing plan together and create a timeline so you can schedule your work and play time. Keeping them separate is especially important when you work at home.

5. Make sure you have your family’s support: if you don’t have it, you’ll be spending more time fighting battles than working on your business.

Technorati Tags: 24 years, 4400, Cathy Watters, conchita campbell, Deborah Gillam-Harry, downturn, elia, Fast Forward Coaching, film and tv, film industry, film speed, gillam, headshots, living room, marketing materials, Nicholas Elia, nose dive, pre schooler, referrals, speed racer, tax incentives, toy cars, tv companies

Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs)

It’s never too early to start planning for your children’s education, even if they are still toddlers. It’s simply good financial planning. It’s good retirement planning as well, by reducing the likelihood of parents having to dip into retirement savings, or take out loans, during that decade running up to retirement age when their children are starting to head off to college.

Enter the Registered Educational Savings Plan – RESP – a savings account allowing you to defer tax on savings income for a child’s education. While there are non-registered educational saving strategies (such as family trusts and intrust-for-accounts), an RESP offers several benefits including:

• tax-deferred growth on your investment contributions
• Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) available through the federal government
• flexibility in education savings and planning

Making the most of your savings

The secret to growing your savings is to start early and contribute as much as you can. Beginning in 2007, there was no longer a specific annual maximum contribution. There is, however, a lifetime limit that has been increased to $50,000 from $42,000 per child. Even though RESP contributions are not tax deductible like those of a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), your contributions are tax-sheltered during the life of the RESP.

To promote saving for a child’s education and to give a boost to RESPs, the government introduced the Basic and Additional Canada Education Savings Grant. The Basic CESG, which is deposited directly into the RESP itself, is equal to 20% of the annual contributions made to an RESP, to a maximum of $1,000 per year per child, depending on the availability of CESG carry forward. The CESG is not included in determining the lifetime $50,000 RESP contribution limit.

CESG’s are available up to and including the year in which a beneficiary turns 17, and are subject to a lifetime maximum of $7,200 per child. An additional amount of CESG is available to assist lower-income families. Qualifying net income is the same information used to determine eligibility for the Canada Child Tax Benefit. Unused additional CESG is not eligible for carry forward to future years.

All in the family or by individual

RESP plans can be set up for single beneficiaries or families. Family plans can be more flexible. They have multiple beneficiaries and funds could be reallocated amongst siblings, should one of them not attend college or university.

Flexibility with the self-directed RESP

Investors who are comfortable with a self-directed RRSP may want to take the same approach with the RESP. It offers several investment advantages. First and foremost you have greater control over the portfolio’s assets and your contribution schedule. There are little or no administration costs.

There is little restriction on eligible investments, making it similar in most respects to your self-directed RRSP. This means a knowledgeable investor can manage the account with greater control over its growth and safety, choosing a mix of securities, equities and fixed income than would be found in a managed pooled plan. With education costs rising faster than the current inflation rate in Canada, the need for above-average, real, rates of return will be an important part of the RESP’s value to the student of tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: beneficiary, canada education savings grant, cesg, contribution limit, education savings, educational savings, family trusts, federal government, financial planning, intrust, lifetime limit, likelihood, maximum contribution, registered education, resp contributions, retirement age, retirement savings, toddlers, Tracy Theemes and Kamal Basra

The Personal Information Protection Act contains no exemptions for home-based Mompreneurs, so you have to comply with the act by having a policy related to the collection, release, safeguarding, and eventual destruction of personal information collected by your business. You have a legal duty to safeguard your customers' and employees' personal information, and you can be held liable for a breach.

All this isn't meant to dissuade anyone from home-based work, since it is a great option for many. But if I may be permitted one non-legal piece of advice: if you work at home, join at least one "adult" organization – a chamber of commerce or a business networking group – that forces you to to don business attire, put on your game face and go out in the world on a regular basis, just to remind yourself that you really are in business.

Technorati Tags: business activity, business from home, business licence, businesswoman, bylaw, Chris Green, electronic gear, fire marshall, general security, home insurer, home office address, licence applications, logical solution, noise and nuisance, proper insurance, residential zoning, running a business, running a business from home, security arrangements, woman entrepreneur, workplace security

I meet a lot of busy parents that ask me if I can help them get in shape or how to exercise with a busy family schedule.  I tend to hear a few common themes, important to moms:

1. “I can’t seem to fit in exercise in my parenting routine.”
2. “I want to be able to keep up with my kids.”
3. “I want to set a good example for my children.”

Did you know that a survey of children between 9 to 13 years old demonstrated that 60% do not participate in any organized physical activity outside of school? The desire to set a good example for your kids and taking care of your health and fitness is a fabulous way of fighting those odds.

Some guidelines to help you, mompreneur / business woman extraordinaire, out (and even for those wonderful women that babysit when you need it):

• Establish a regular schedule for physical activity and stick to it.
• Incorporate activity into daily routines, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Keep it fun, so you can count on your child to come back for more.

Many exercises in this chart have a lot of crossover ability (up, down, left right, diagonally). Use your discretion as to which activity you feel best suits you and your situation. The point is, there are options…options….options!

** A quick word about sit ups / crunches for new moms just getting back into routines – be aware of separation of the abdominal muscles and its inability to “repair” itself.  Please talk to your doctor about the timing of resuming or starting a fitness program soon after giving birth.

Hopefully by this point I’m preaching to the choir, but just in case I’m not, here are a few other benefits for your children by working out with them:

• Reduce their stress levels (yes, kids get stressed these days. Monkey see, money do, I suppose.  Not only are they less stressed and have a better outlook on life, and they are better equipped to handle physical and emotional challenges that regular life will throw at them)
• Bonding through play time
• Encourage a positive attitude around fitness and activity
• Strengthens their muscles and bones
• Decrease their likelihood of becoming overweight and developing diabetes
• Ahhh, they sleep better (and so will you!)

Regardless of the activity you choose to do with your child, a sense of playfulness and connection really is the bottom line.  The engagement, interaction, kisses, giggles and high fives will go a long way to making this really work for you.  Ensure with each activity, you are more than the sideline parent cheering their play time on (you were asking how you could get fit, weren’t you?).  Make sure they see YOU initiating and having fun, sweating, breathing a little harder and never giving up.

Statistics also show that the biggest decrease of exercise seen in women were those that were first time moms (married and single).  Conversely, men’s exercise routines didn’t seem to change after becoming parents!  Hmmm, let’s pause for consideration, shall we?

Let your kids help you succeed in fitness!

Technorati Tags: 13 years, abdominal muscles, babysit, business woman, busy parents, crossover, crunches, discretion, elevator, exercises, fitness program, giving birth, health and fitness, Nicole Yamanaka, physical activity, preaching to the choir, sit ups, stairs, stress levels, ups, wonderful women

For Veronika Roux-Vlachova, a Toronto-based entrepreneur, making the transition from employee to self-employment was one of the busiest times of her life. She had two young children and a full-time job with lots of responsibilities when she decided to start her business, Art Strollers, on a part-time basis.

“The main advantage of starting my business part-time was having the financial security of my full-time job while venturing into new territory,” says Veronika. “I was able to invest [part of my income] in the start-up costs of the company, which in my case was marketing materials and advertising, without having to take on a loan.”

While starting your business part-time can be a good way to reduce risk and generate funds for both yourself and your venture, it’s an approach that demands discipline, hard work and a lot of very late nights.

“I worked very, very long hours. A normal day for me was working 7 a.m. To 6 p.m. at my full-time job, and 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Art Strollers with time for the kids in between. I had almost no social life and a lot of feelings of guilt about not spending enough time with the kids, even when I was starting my business to help create more time for family in the long run.”

If you are thinking about starting your business part-time the payoffs can be great. Art Strollers is now a successful company that provides affordable art events, such as gallery tours, as well as communications tools to moms and families. And Veronika now has more time to spend with her two young children.

If, like Veronika, you decide to start your business part-time, you’ll reduce your risk, keep your safety net and generate a steady income to support you as well as your venture during the lean start-up period. But be prepared to dedicate long hours, and sacrifice lots of sleep and almost all your downtime to be successful.

For other entrepreneurs, it’s easier to make a clean break between full-time work and self-employment. But don’t make the mistake of jumping ship too quickly. The most successful entrepreneurs have planned for the transition for a long time. Cheryl Mont is one of them.

For a long time, Cheryl, also in Toronto, had a goal to work for herself. Before setting up shop, however, she made sure to acquire all the skills required to run her business successfully. 

“As an accountant I was strong on the book-keeping and financial analysis side, but I didn’t have any experience in how to manage a business,” says Cheryl. “To make up for it, I found a job that would give me that experience I required.”

This is good advice for anyone. If you want to make jewelry, work with a jeweler. If you want to own a restaurant, work in one first. Find employment that will give you an education in business management and increase your skills, while providing income you can put towards your business. If it’s not possible to find employment, then make sure to take courses or read books so that you increase your knowledge, capability and confidence before quitting your day job and launching your venture.

To further increase her chances of success, Cheryl also developed a thorough business plan, spent time learning about marketing and communications, identified all her funding needs and saved up the capital required before starting her business. As an accountant who works with many self-employed clients, these are things she wishes all entrepreneurs would do.

“For the most part, many entrepreneurs expect to earn income too soon from their business. Be conservative and save up more than you think you will need before starting your business. And make sure to get a firm handle on book-keeping and accounting practices. Even if you hire an accountant you need to understand these areas yourself.”

Making the transition to entrepreneurship can provide career freedom, personal fulfillment and flexibility for family and other pursuits. It can be inspiring and freeing as well as challenging and frightening. No matter whether you start your business part-time or make a clean break, follow the example of these two ladies and find some way to reduce your risk.

TIPS:

• Earn a second income.
• Spend time researching your market.
• Develop a business plan.
• Find the funds required to be successful.
• Spend a little bit of time planning and preparing up front; it will pay dividends later on for you and your business.

Technorati Tags: affordable art, art events, business art, business part time, Cheryl Mont, clean break, downtime, feelings of guilt, financial security, full time job, full time work, great art, Liz Doyle-Harmer, marketing materials, new territory, payoffs, safety net, self employment, strollers, successful company, time basis, Veronika Roux-Vlachova

Social media isn’t only a great tool for networking and marketing online. Companies are using these tools more and more to connect with potential employees, to attract new hires, to build brand awareness (as a great company to work for) and to research prospective employees. This is the first of two blogs looking at social media for recruitment.

There are a number of social media tools you can use to enhance your recruitment function – here are a few:

• Professional Networks
• Social Networks like Facebook
• MicroBlog platforms like Twitter
• Blogs
• Video
• Podcasts

Perhaps the main social networks that support recruiting are the professional networks. To use these effectively, your company should have a presence in these forums whether it be through a company presence or through staff profiles.

Professional Networks: LinkedIn

LinkedIn has over 47 million users in 200 countries. As a “professional social network” it is ideal as a tool to use to assist recruitment. There are a number of ways you can use LinkedIn for this:

Searching Jobs on LinkedIn– this is useful from a recruiting perspective as it allows you to search other positions in your industry that have been posted in this forum.

Find People

You can use your LinkedIn Profile to find people – LinkedIn is a free professional network but if you upgrade your LinkedIn membership you can communicate more effectively with possible candidates. Paid LinkedIn accounts start at $24.95 and run to $400.95 depending on the volume of emails, interactions, etc. By using this paid LinkedIn functionality you can contact, communicate and interact more than with the vanilla version and, more importantly for recruiting, you can check references.

Post a Job

Posting a job on LinkedIn costs $195 for a 30 day listing. The benefit of posting on LinkedIn is that it facilitates candidate research and allows you to identify and connect with people who can recommend and refer them.

In addition, LinkedIn also provides a service aimed solely at recruiters called LinkedIn Talent Advantage which aids in the sourcing, getting the word out about jobs.

In Part 2, we’ll look at other recruiting tools, like Facebook and Twitter.

Technorati Tags: benefit, Blogs, brand awareness, candidate research, company presence, job, linkedin, Marketing, media tools, Mhairi Petrovic, networking, new hires, perspective, platforms, professional network, professional networks, prospective employees, recruitment function, social networks, staff profiles, vanilla version

One of the biggest frustrations of many entrepreneurs is the lack of time to perform all of the tasks that require doing. Between calling clients, shipping product, approving literature, answering the phone, creating invoices AND opening the mail – there is little time to do the things that got you fired up about starting your business in the first place!

But wait! What’s this? No one can do it as well as you can? They don't know your business like you do? They'll mess it up and make more work for you? There is only you?

Fact: Entrepreneurs have the inability or unwillingness to delegate tasks or responsibilities. This is their 'baby,' after all.

Fact: Successful entrepreneurs delegate. They understand that to have their company grow and be profitable, delegation is part of the business plan. In order for you to be an effective entrepreneur, you need to know what you can delegate, when you can delegate it and who you can delegate it to.

Think of delegation as nothing more than giving yourself the opportunity to spend more time in the vital areas of your business such as; planning, organizing, inspecting, coaching, and developing people.

All by yourself? No staff?

Substitute the word 'delegate' for 'outsource'. Many sole proprietors are using the services of virtual assistants. With almost everything available in a digital format and the almost instant communication tools such as blackberries and iPhones that you have at your disposal, your support 'staff' can be in another city, province or country.

Here are some keys to effective delegation:

• Delegate it if someone else can do it, wants to do it, needs to do it or likes to do it.

• When you delegate responsibility also delegate the authority to use the resources to get it done.

• Delegate results, not necessarily the methods. Recognize/accept it won't be done the way you would do it.

• When you delegate something don't take it back.

• Ensure the person understands what and why you have delegated to them.

• Reinforce positive results and give feedback on negative results.

• Communicate clear instructions, expectations and guidelines.

• Put it in writing when necessary.

• Ask for regular written or verbal reports.

• Remember what you delegated and to whom.

Why not take a serious look at how you are spending your time and what tasks you are involved in that could be delegated to someone else? Track your use of time for a week, recording all of the repetitive activities, problem solving issues and routine stuff.

Ask yourself at the end of the week: "Could someone else have done this? What did I not complete because of these actions?" I personally guarantee that you can free up at least an hour a day if you will find creative ways to delegate something, anything.

Go ahead, delegate – I dare you!

Technorati Tags: blackberries, business plan, Cathy Kuzel, city province, communication tools, effective delegation, entrepreneur, frustrations, invoices, iphones, lack of time, literature, little time, mail, shipping product, sole proprietors, successful entrepreneurs, virtual assistants, vital areas

About ten years ago, I realized that the life I was leading just wasn’t working for me. I had left a job (temporarily) that I hated, but couldn’t see my way to whatever would be next and would be profitable enough for me to support myself. I was doing something in my spare time that I thought I loved, but the harder I tried to make it work as “work,” the less I enjoyed it.

My relationship was stormy at best, and downright hellish at worst, and I grew to despise myself, my partner and the world I had created for myself. I was obsessed with ‘might have been’ and ‘if only.’ I was living on credit, laughing less than I had ever laughed before and feeling downright awful. I looked broke, felt broke and was just plain tired of being what I kindly refer to as a ‘schlump.’ I don’t know if this is an actual word, but for me it embodied all that I was at the time.

A singer and theatre actress, I happened to be in a store that was owned by an acquaintance who had generously sponsored me for performances by lending me fabulous jewels and costume pieces in return for credit in the program or a mention from the stage. I was looking at some items and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

“Who is that person?” I wondered. I was shocked to see I had become this unkempt, unhappy person wearing a too-large jacket and carrying a backpack roughly the same size as my body. I had hit bottom. At that instant, I knew that this was not who I wanted to be and that change had to be in the wind soon if I was going to survive. I marched across the street and bought myself a jacket that fit, a scarf that had some colour and a lipstick to go with the scarf. The owner of the makeup counter, a hairstylist, was working there that day and he said, “I have a haircut to go with that lipstick.” I was on my way to work (living on credit had finally caught up with me and I was back at my hated job), so I promised to return later. He was there when I arrived, but about to leave when something in my face must have stopped him. He made a phone call to rearrange an evening commitment and sat me down in the chair.

Emerging from the afternoon’s experience, I walked home a different person. Suddenly I was in charge of my life, or at least I felt in charge. I had made a successful change and in that instant, decided to change everything else as well. I drove the bad relationship off the cliff. I stayed in the hated job, but began doing serious soul searching, counselling and writing to find my next direction. I continued to improve my appearance and continued to look for ways to effect positive change.

The result after ten years? I’m now happily married, own my own business, know where I’m going and understand where I’ve been. I didn’t know that this would be my end, but I made a good decision about the start.

If you’re asking yourself, “Is this all there is?” I encourage you this month to make a start and find that catalyst for change. Mine was a new jacket. Have the courage to discover yours.

Technorati Tags: acquaintance, actress, backpack, costume pieces, fabulous jewels, glimpse, haircut, hairstylist, job, Katherine Lazaruk, lipstick, makeup, mirror, relationship, scarf, schlump, spare time, unhappy person

It can be discouraging and overwhelming, trying to determine how you’re different than others in your market. This is particularly true of very competitive professions such as realtors, mortgage brokers, financial planners, and life or business coaches.

Let’s pretend for a moment that you’re an actor and I’m a movie director. In order to draw the very best and most passionate performance from you, I’m going to help you get in touch with your “story behind the story.” Tell me everything relevant that makes you, YOU?

By crafting your unique, authentic background story, we will insure that you attract the right kind of clients. These will be the people who, upon hearing or reading your story, feel that they know, like and trust you, before they ever do business with you. There is a way to tell your compelling story that makes your prospect feel, “Wow, she’s talking to me!”

Your Assignment, Should You Choose To Accept It:

1. Schedule a decent amount of uninterrupted time for this: write out – even if it’s only in point form – what in your life experience, has led you to the business you’re in today. Trust me, nobody gets to this point in time by accident. Even if you think you just fell into your business by accident, I guarantee there is a reason why you attracted your present business.

Tip:I urge you – don’t make the mistake of thinking what brought you to this point in time is “insignificant.” If you’re not willing to go through this exercise of what unique skills and talents you bring to the table, why should your prospective clients take the time to get to know, like and trust you?

2. What do people tell you about yourself? Make a list of all the positive attributes others have complimented you on. Try to identify only the special qualities that you believe your clients could benefit from. For example, rather than, “I’ve been told that I’m a really nice person,” turn that around so it sounds more like, “People tell me I’m a really good listener and because of that, they feel comfortable sharing their challenges or hopes and dreams with me.” See what I mean?

Make sure you’re tuning them into their favourite radio station: WIIFM (What’s In It For Me)

3. Now turn that list of your positive attributes into as many tangible, measurable results people get from working with you, as you can.It’s critical that you know this, so even if you don’t actually have any clients yet, be sure to do this exercise – it’s one of the most significant parts of what will become your marketing and client attraction program.

4. Finally, using your compelling story and your knowledge and experience that makes you an “expert,”(don’t worry; expert is a relative term) what ONE niche could you be known for addressing? What problem (or want or desire) can only YOU solve, in the way you solve it?

Tip: Stuck? How many wives, sisters, mothers, daughters are there in the world? Only YOU have the unique qualities that you do!

One of the most exciting parts of building your client attraction system is crafting your irresistibly compelling “offer.” Just as you wouldn’t write a book or make a movie without knowing:

• who your target audience is
• what they are looking for, (to learn, to be entertained, to be inspired), and
• how you can deliver that to them, using your unique skills and talents,

….neither should you put one minute of time, money or energy into a plan that doesn’t address WHO, WHAT and HOW.

Once you know that, I can’t wait to share with you how the right compelling offer can literally position you, and your business, head and shoulders above your (friendly) competitors!

Until then, remember: step into your greatness with ease and grace  :>)

Technorati Tags: attributes, background story, business coaches, business tip, clients by design, exercise, financial planners, Karen Dodd, life experience, mistake, mortgage brokers, movie director, passionate performance, point in time, professions, prospective clients, realtors, self help, talents, uninterrupted time

The idea of having a professional image is not a new one – uniforms have been standard for many occupations for centuries. The difference with personal branding is that the concept is not to make you look like one of the crowd, but rather to make you stand out from it. 

When considering your personal brand you should look at many factors: the way you speak, the way you look, the car your drive, your education, and your character, but the single most important aspect to consider when building your brand is that it has to be real. It has to reflect the real you. A personal brand that portrays a false image will be apparent to everyone you come into contact with and will do more harm than good. 

Identify the unique aspects of your personality, skills and experience and use those to make “you” stand out from the crowd. By building on a personal brand that it true to you, your efforts will be more rewarded and your image will be more realistic and authentic. 

Using social media is an ideal way to build your personal brand, to expand and reinforce your network, but there are risks that you should be aware of.  

Here are some tips that will help you take advantage of social media to build your brand safely: 

1. When networking on Facebook or other social forums always use the privacy controls to limit access to your information (usually you can find these by clicking on “account”). 

2. Use Facebook, LinkedIn and other networks to make people aware of what you do or want to do. Highlight your unique experiences in these forums 

3. Google yourself or use Pipl to see what’s being said about you and do the Granny test on the results – if Granny wouldn’t approve then perhaps the content isn’t appropriate to enhance your business profile. 

4. Use your profiles in these forums to present an appropriate professional image. Include a good headshot that is authentic and don’t post any photos, videos or images that compromise your image. 

5. Portray yourself professionally (as appropriate to your industry) in all forums. 

6. Be true to who you are: transparency leads to trust – if you have a good reputation people are more likely to do business with you. 

7. Remember that you have a valid and unique opinion. Don’t be afraid to voice it. 

8. Always be respectful of others. It is okay to disagree but be polite about it. 

9. If you are young and looking for a job be aware that a party boy or girl image may seem cool to your peers but it won’t help you get a job or grow your professional network. 

10. Online networking is a vital tool for anyone trying to build a career but don’t get sidetracked or sucked in. Avoid this by scheduling time for online networking and sticking to it. 

11. Don’t make friends with everyone and anyone. Be selective. It will help you manage the volume of information and will also expose you to less risk. 

Personal branding is being used more and more to help people highlight their professional attributes and experience, grow and enhance their networks, build business and to find new careers. In our next post we will look more closely at which social media tools to use and how to use them to do this effectively.

Technorati Tags: career purposes, centuries, crowd, economic times, education, experiences, facebook, false image, linkedin, Mhairi Petrovic, networking, occupations, peers, personal brand, personality, professional image, prospects, single most important aspect, social forums, uniforms

Welcome to Part 1 in a series designed to help you take charge of your desktop. Each of these articles will showcase a different piece of software each focused on helping you to organize your computer in different way. First up for review is called Fences by Stardock, a company known for their user experience enhancing software.

Fences is a simple and easy-to-use application for the PC, available in both Free and Pro versions. By allowing you to organize your desktop into various containers, or 'Fences', and then letting you hide your files and shortcuts when they aren't in use, this software is designed to help keep your desktop cutter to a minimum.

Once installed, you can choose to allow Fences to automatically organize your current desktop icons into pre-set ‘Fences’ or you can create your own. Creating a Fence is easy; you just have to right-click and drag your cursor to the size you want and release. You’ll be prompted to name your new Fence and any icons within your selection will be automatically added to that Fence. You can add or remove additional icons just by dragging them to or from the Fence.

Once a Fence has been created, you can move or resize it whenever you want, and any icons contained within the fence will move and shift positions with it. If add more icons than the Fence can show, scrollbars will appear on the side. This allows you to contain many icons within a small area. You can even change the colour and transparency of the Fences to suit your background, or taste.

Another useful feature of Fences is the ability to quickly show or hide your icons. By double-clicking anywhere on your desktop, the Fences (along with the icons contained within) will disappear and by repeating this action, Fences will display them again. You can also choose to exclude certain icons or even entire Fences from disappearing. This feature is great if you want to show off your desktop background, or just want certain icons always visible (like the Recycling Bin).

All of the features mentioned above are available for Free (for personal use), however Stardock has also recently release a Pro version as well, available for $19.95 USD. The Pro version contains some additional features that helps make it easier to stay organized:

• Configure a default Fence for any icons (in the Free version icons must be placed in Fences manually)
• Automatically organize icons into different Fences (by name, file type etc.)
• Sort icons within a Fence (by name, date added, times used etc.)
• Fade individual Fences until you mouse-over them (in the Free version, you can only set a global transparency)
• Future Feature – Customize the look and feel of each Fence individually
• Future Feature – Enables additional customization options with the use of custom images, logos, textures etc.

I've been using Fences myself for over a year now in both my home, and at my office, and I'm found it incredibly useful in allowing me to stay organized with my large number of documents and applications. It's also extremely lightweight and uses almost not additional resources to run. Unfortunately I have been unable to try out Fences Pro first hand, so I can't say if the features are worth the additional cost, however I can definitely give the overall product a big thumbs up. Head over and download it yourself today and let me know what you think in the comments below.

Technorati Tags: containers, cursor, customize, desktop, desktop background, desktop icons, fence, fences, free, Matt Mayer, organization, organize, shortcuts, software applications, Stardock, Stardock Fences, Tech Talk, transparency

As virtual assistant who on average has 7 – 10 clients at any one time, it is incredibly important to keep everything well-organized. 

Many of my clients want me to help organize them, or give some suggestions that might make things easier for them to keep a handle on all the appointments, commitments and deadlines they have, along with just regular everyday things. I think the best way to do that is to share how I go about keeping my clients happy and cared for. 

Time Tracking

There are a number of great systems out there, some that require a fee to join and some that are currently free. Because many of my clients hire me on a retainer basis, it is especially important to keep track of time spent on each client and each client task. 

The program I use is called MyHours. It enables me to set up individual projects (clients) and tasks (specific client actions), which I can allocate my time to each month. It also provides reporting capabilities that help with invoicing, and overall time tracking for my business. While this may not be the program for you, it is imperative that you have a program or system in place that will help you keep track of your clients’ time, and keep you on track. 

Calendar

Another thing I rely heavily on is my calendar. I have found Outlook to be very useful in keeping track of what is coming up for my business (networking events, invoicing, and training), as well as for my clients (deadlines, reminders, and strategy sessions), and even for personal time (sports, kids, scheduling in exercise). By making use of the Categorize button, I have color-coded my clients so at a quick glance I can see whose tasks I will be working on that day/week, and what deadlines are looming. I highly recommend taking advantage of the variety of different project-management software programs out there to find the right fit for you, but in the meantime, Outlook is likely right at your fingertips already. 

Schedule Time for Your Own Business

Finally, it is important when you are scheduling to include time to work on your own business. Whether your business is built on supporting others, like a virtual assistant business is, or in providing design, or materials, or educating your target market, you need to make time to plan your next step. A quote I once read has always stuck in my mind: “If you aren’t growing, you’re dying.” This is true in business, too.  

What are you going to do for your business this month?

Technorati Tags: appointments, business networking events, capabilities, commitments, everyday things, exercise, fingertips, glance, invoicing, myhours.com, personal time, project management software, reminders, retainer basis, software programs, strategy sessions, time sports, Tracey Ehman, virtual assistant

This week's question – "How do you stay motivated?"

If you haven't already – join our Facebook fan group, its fun!

One of the most difficult things in life can be recognizing that the career path you’re  following –  the one you spent years working on — is not in alignment with your current passion or life-goals.  

There are a two choices you can make. Continue in it and be unhappy, or make a change, and give up everything you've worked for, which may include the security of a steady paycheque, health benefits, and coworkers you like, for the unknown. 

Michele Partridge and Chen Lizra are two women who made the change. 

Michele: putting her children first 

Michele Partridge started in the film industry when she was 15. Over the years, she had been an actor, casting director, film producer and assistant video game producer. Then she opened an acting studio in South Surrey, BC. 

After 14 years of teaching, her school had a great reputation as a place where kids could study professionally.  

“The more successful you are, the more work there is,” says Michele. The school kept expanding – more students, more staff – until one day she was doing so much administrative work she no longer had time to teach.  

Running the school was starting to feel “more like work than joy,” she says. “It was becoming a full-time job, and I already had a full-time job of being a Mom.”  

She decided to sell the school and look for something that would allow her to spend more time with her children, who are 6 and 8. 

It was a big step to walk away from the business when she didn't have anything else ready to go, especially when it fulfilled some of her goals: to earn money and be her own boss. But to be truly in alignment with her life and career goals, she also needed control over her time.  

Whatever she ended up doing, she decided, it would involve the environment. 

“We were always enviro-aware in my house,” she says, “recycling beyond belief and doing things the green way, if at all possible.” 

About six months after selling the school, she was invited to a Norwex party. She wasn't expecting much. 

“It was [cleaning] clothes,” she says. “How exciting could be be?” 

But she went anyway, and was completely “blown away” by the demonstrations at the party. She ordered cloths for herself and “threw away all the toxic [cleaning] chemicals” she had around the house. When her (now) manager invited her to become a Norwex representative, Michele spent a month researching the company. 

“If I was going to tell my friends about this, I wanted to make sure it was on the up-and-up,” she says. 

A multi-level marketing (MLM) company, Michele has one manager above her, and 16 consultants under her, making up her team. The products are sold through home parties, so Michele decides when she wants to work. 

“The kids come first,” she says. Her new career allows her to work around her kids' schedules much easier than her previous career and gives her a better financial return on her time, she says, adding, “I would have to put in more time with the acting studio, for the same amount of money.” 

Chen: creating her dream life

Chen Lizra was an animator for eight years. 

“It was something I really loved,” she says, “but it was a crazy lifestyle. I couldn't find balance.” 

Year after year she was working 14-hour days, seven days a week. Sometimes she had to move to another city to get work. Originally from Israel, she also lived in Toronto and Vancouver, and eventually the long hours took their toll. 

“I was so unhappy at that time,” she says, “and burned out from working so many years like that, there was no other option: I had to stop and take care of myself.” 

Living in Toronto, she loved working in the animation industry, but no one would give her work outside of production, so she took a minimum wage, 9-to-5 sales job. She was broke, but it gave her a much-needed change and time to recover. A year later, she moved back to Vancouver and contemplated her next step. 

“It's very hard to find out what you want to do when everybody tells you you're going to fail,” says Chen. People are afraid of what they can't do, and they want you to be safe so they tell you not to take risks. 

Chen went on a two-week Buddhist retreat so she could meditate in silence. Her heart told her go to business school. This isn't the answer she was expecting, but “usually when I go after what's in my heart, it makes sense. It leads someplace that, at the end, works out.” 

She put herself through business school by teaching animation and her favourite hobby, dance. 

“I've always danced my whole life,” she says. “It's something I couldn't live without.” 

When Chen asked herself, “What do I want to do?” she came up with several ideas, and knocked each one off her list as she thought of reasons why she couldn't do them. For example, she wanted to host a TV show, but decided she couldn't do it because she hadn't studied journalism.  

One of her friends was living his dream job and Chen realized the only difference between them was that he believed he could have what he wanted, and she didn't. She began working on changing her thought patterns. 

“I started to get a vision that maybe I could take what I love and create a company,” she says.  

Chen began working on her dance company while in business school, and launched Latidos Productions in 2005, teaching dance and hosting dance-focussed tours to Cuba. She won an entrepreneur award in 2008 and a year later was nominated for the YWCA Woman of Distinction award. Her passion for,and growing expertise is, Cuban Salsa led to TV interviews and coverage in newspapers and magazines. 

“I've created a great company and a great life,” she says, adding, her dream life is a work-in-progress. Eventually she wants to train instructors to take her place so she can focus on other projects: a book and a TV show. 

TIPS:

1. Network. Talk to your friends, join networking groups and meet new people.
2. Learn how to use social media tools like Twitter and Facebook.
3. Enjoy what you do and mentor when you can.
4. Listen to your heart.
5. Believe you can have what you want, and then work towards it.

Technorati Tags: acting studio, administrative work, alignment, career, career goals, career path, casting director, Cathy Watters, chen lizra, coworkers, film industry, film producer, full time job, great reputation, health benefits, life goals, michele, michele partridge, partridge, south surrey, surrey bc, transition, transitions, two choices, two women, video game producer

Choosing just the “right colour”  is often the most daunting part of any decorating project or shopping excursion. How many times have you lost sleep trying to decide how to choose that perfect outfit for the interview, or the right shade of red shoes?  

Many of us are juggling schedules and have become quite adept at running businesses, families, and carpools but when it comes to choosing colours…ugh! Let me assure you, you are not alone: only 15% of the population is visual (and often already in the field of colour, fashion and design). So if you are in finance, medicine, education, technology, or some other field, chances are colour’s not your specialty.

You don't need to be an expert, but it  is important to know the basics.

Colour, when used properly, is a key factor in getting your image across and creating an impression for success. We all know how crucial that first impression is and getting it right the first time is often all the time we have. I’m going to introduce you to an invaluable business partner and explain how to use him to your advantage for your business and personal space, and wardrobe.

Meet MR. ROY G BIV. He stands for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet (a.k.a. purple). If you think you're “just not that into him” think again. He can help enhance productivity, improve your image, create more fun, more wealth, and more time…all with colour!

MR. ROY G BIV is often given a bad rap. You may have heard he’s complicated or all over the board with thousands of personalities, or “colours.” Fact is, there's only six, with variable shades, tints, hues and tones which just proves how multi-talented he really is. Do not underestimate the power of colour, the influence it has and what it can do for you.

Let me share the personal, powerful and influential side of Mr. ROY G BIV:

Red – Exciting and Passionate. Red is warm and sensual especially when we think of the ever popular red lipstick and red roses. How about the sense of urgency with red lights, stop signs and fire trucks? It can increase your appetite and is known to raise blood pressure. Red can represent aggressiveness and can be a real attention grabber, hence the “red dress” and we all know what a statement that makes!

Orange – Dependable and Strong. Orange is a fun, fresh, bright colour. Think of oranges, fall leaves or the setting sun. It complements yellows and reds and adds a feeling of warmth and comfort like cinnamon spice and pumpkin pie. Pairs great with brown to ensure a down-to-earth feeling.

Yellow – Friendly and Cheerful. Yellow is a colour of concentration and clarity. That’s why Post-It notes are yellow; it enhances memory. It’s also a lively, energetic colour. How much better do you feel on a bright sunny day?

Green – Compatible and Adaptable. Green is everywhere in nature and in many variations. It often blends in and allows other colours to do their jobs. Think about fields of canola or lavender. Do you see the green? Often we see the yellows and purples while green just sits quietly in the background, letting the other colours take center stage. Green represents new growth and sustainability.

Blue – Soothing and Relaxing. Think of the ocean and the sky. Blue is trustworthy, like a great pair of blue jeans. This is why many volunteer and police organizations, and the “blue collar” guy, wear it. Pair blue with your black power suit and you’re not only authoritative but trustworthy. Blue is a great team player and works well with other colours.

Indigo, Violet (or Purple) – Creative and Spiritual. Purple is the colour of fun and shares properties from both blue and red. It’s a passionate yet peaceful colour with a calming and creative vibe. Soothing lavenders to rich eggplant, purple has a long history associated with royalty and wealth.

Using colour in your space to enhance or create a mood, project an image or add more fun and excitement doesn’t have to be expensive. A coat of paint can be the least expensive element in the room for the most impact. The right colour can make the old look new and new look fabulous!  

And for those who aren’t brave enough to paint the walls in colour and want a more neutral background like beige, gray or white, bringing colour in through art and decorative accents like pillows or desk accessories can liven up a room in an instant. This works the same in your wardrobe: keeping your basic pieces neutral, like a black suit or gray skirt, and having fun with colours in your blouses, shoes and accessories can make for a very impactful impression.  

Keep in mind, colour is not just what we see, but how it makes us feel.

Technorati Tags: bad rap, blue indigo, business partner, carpools, education technology, excursion, first impression, hues, invaluable business, Leslie Redshaw, medicine education, mr roy, orange yellow, personal space, personalities, red shoes, roy g biv, tints, variable shades, violet, wardrobe

Technorati Tags: blouse, blush, business cards, business structure, Chris Green, corporate database, fledgling enterprise, gross revenues, independent contractors, input tax credits, mature business, proprietorship, proprietorships, puberty, realistic possibility, registration database, sensible shoes, skin tight jeans, tax man, trade name registration

If you invested some time in yourself and your business by doing the previous blog’s assignment you should have some valuable insights with which to move into Step 2: Designing The Business Of Your Dreams. 

In working with self-employed professionals and very small business owners who struggle to attract new clients consistently, I always start by: Reconnecting With Your Vision.

I suspect that you’re at one of two stages in your life right now. One, you’re still searching for your purpose and how best to use your unique skills and talents in a business. In that case, we’re going to get crystal clear on your passion and determine how you can make that into a viable business.

Or two, you are very clear on your purpose – you’re doing exactly what you want to be –  but you’re unsure how to most effectively market and attract clients to your business, consistently and easily.

Perhaps you’ve lost sight of the vision you had for your business and why you started it in the first place. If you fall into this category, we are going to look at how you’re applying your skills and talents and create systems that will bring the passion back into your business – and make client attraction a worry of the past.

Question 1 in my last blog was, what do you want your ideal business to look like? In painting an exquisitely detailed picture for yourself, you no doubt talked a lot about “what’s in it for you.”That’s perfectly okay; don’t feel guilty! But, now it’s time to figure out what unique skills and talents you offer your clients that make you different from your competitors.

For example, as a Client Attraction Specialist, I often get the question of what makes me different than other marketing or business coaches. After taking stock of where my passion and strengths lie, I am very clear that I only work with very small business owners and I only specialize in client attraction –  nothing else. By so doing, my “transformational value” to my clients is that I help them attract more clients in record time, which results in them making more money than they would on their own. And I do this, not by teaching old school sales tips and techniques. Rather, everything I teach is based on heart-centered principles. As a result, my clients attract the right kind of clients, based on authenticity and mutual respect.

Your Assignment, Should You Choose To Accept It:  

1. Write down 10 things that set you apart and makes you unique from others in your field.

Tip: Be sure to make these “transformational statements” client- or prospect-focused, and avoid labeling what you do. For example: 

“I help put my clients into the kind of home that not only meets their family’s needs but that makes them feel proud, secure and gives them peace of mind,” is infinitely better than,

“I’m a realtor and I help people to buy or sell their house.” 

2. Now that you know what transformational value you offer your clients, write a profile of exactly what your ideal client looks like. 

Tip: Resist the temptation to be all things to all people. Trust me, it will never work and you run the risk of targeting your marketing messages to the “lowest common denominator.” Instead, realize that there is enough abundance for everyone and you will do your best work with the kinds of clients you hand-pick, according to your strengths and unique ability to solve their problems. 

3. Once you know what your ideal client looks like, thinks about, and values, you’re now ready to ask yourself, “what would she do, or pay, practically anything to help:"

￭ Increase her income
￭ Save time, money or stress
￭ Achieve peace of mind, or…
￭ whatever you add from your own list

Congratulations! You’re now well on your way to identifying both your unique and exciting market niche, and how only you can best serve your ideal clients.

Most of us dream of designing the home or lifestyle of our dreams. If you’re going to start (or re-energize) a business, why not design it in a way that fulfills your financial, emotional, spiritual and intellectual needs?

I can’t wait to “speak”  to you next issue, as we explore simple, yet effective ways to craft your marketing message that will have you attracting your dream clients quickly and easily!

Until then, remember: step into your greatness with ease and grace. 

Technorati Tags: blog, business coaches, dreams, insights, Karen Dodd, Marketing, no doubt, passion, reconnecting, small business owners, taking stock, talents, viable business, worry

“Good-looking, well-fitting clothes can help women feel beautiful and empowered,” says Malene Grotrian. She and her business partner, Jenna Fortin, own Malene Grotrian Design (www.malenegrotrian.com), a company that creates fashionable clothes for women. 

Just over a year old, Malene's company is represented in ten stores across Western Canada. The only Canadian designer to have a show in New York Fashion Week (NYFW) 2009, Malene drew attention not only for her stunning designs, but for showcasing West Coast designers only: she accessorized with Jane Monteiro's jewellery and Fluevog shoes. 

Malene gained a lot of publicity because of this, and appeared on the front page of the Vancouver Sun's Style section in September, 2009, resulting in over 150,000 visits to her website. 

“It's been growing so fast,” says Malene, noting some people are amazed when they find out how young her business is. Jenna projects that by 2012, their combined wholesale, studio and custom design sales will be between $400,000 and $500,000 annually. 

This sounds like a Cinderella story: someone follows their passion and single-handedly becomes 'an overnight success.' But, it hasn't been overnight, and Malene is quick to point out that, with staff, an off-site production manager, and a slew of supporters, “it's not a one-man show.” 

HARD WORK PAYS OFF 

“I always wanted to be a fashion designer and an entrepreneur,” says Malene, and she remembers sketching designs as a child growing up in Denmark.  

However, the competition to get into design school in Europe was fierce, so even before applying to it Malene took classes to increase her design knowledge and illustration skills. Eventually she applied, successfully, to design school,  studying fashion in Italy and interning with a tailor in Ottawa, Ontario.  

“I knew that if I wanted my own business…I needed the experience in the technical skills of creating the clothes, and the industry experience of running a company,” says Malene. So when the tailor offered her a job, Malene accepted and did pattern making and fittings for two years. 

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

After that, Malene and her boyfriend moved to Calgary, Alberta, where Malene planned to start  her own business. Then came a shock: she wasn't allowed to open a business because she was not Canadian, and the government told her to get a job or leave the country. She flew to Vancouver, BC, for an interview and got a job as a designer. 

“I felt at home from day one, ” she says. “I met a lot of welcoming people, and this felt like a place where I could be creative.”  

The company she worked for was doing wholesale at first, then opened a boutique store, giving Malene the industry experience she'd been missing. 

STARTING HER BUSINESS 

Now a Canadian, Malene finally started her business, working out of her home for six months before moving into a boutique studio in downtown Vancouver. She also joined a weekly networking group. 

“I would highly recommend having some kind of business network where you can go for support,” says Malene. “You need other professionals around you, to inspire you to do your business better.” 

This is where she met Jenna, who at that time was doing marketing and sales for another company. Jenna loved Malene's designs and offered to help by doing some PR and writing the newsletter. This is how the producer of NYFW heard about Malene Grotrian Design. 

Although excited by the invitation, Malene wasn't sure her business was ready for the exposure. She mentioned her worries to Jenna and a few colleagues at the networking group. They formed a 'think tank' that met regularly in the months leading up the event, focusing on the question, “how do we make this work?” As a result, Malene rebranded her website and label, and got the social media component up and running. 

Malene, Jenna, and a few supporters flew to New York and got a one-bedroom suite in a hotel close to Times Square. That one bedroom suite acted as their command centre, where they did everything from interviewing the models and fitting the clothes to creating marketing materials and doing PR. They worked so hard, “we didn’t leave the hotel for the first week,” says Jenna. 

This is also where Malene and Jenna discovered they made a good team, even under pressure. 

“I think that’s because we have different skill sets,” says Jenna. “I don’t know how to sew a button on a shirt, but I can help with sales, marketing and PR.”  

FINANCING THE BUSINESS 

Because of the recession, banks are wary of investing money in new businesses. But in the fashion industry, payment terms are as long as six months, so you have to put out a lot of money and wait a long time before getting anything back.  

“It means you've got to be smarter and tougher,” says Malene, “and think of other ways to get what you need when you don't have lots of money to start with.” 

She credits her family for helping her along the way.  

“They helped me get things started, and we've been able to get this far on private financing and a small line of credit,” she adds. 

All of the hard work has been paying off. 

“When people wear our clothes, they feel beautiful,” says Jenna, “and they talk to their friends about their positive experiences.” 

Tips:

1. Invest time and energy in your network to build relationships.
2. Have a good team of people around you who can do what you can't.
3. Figure out what you're best at and delegate the rest.
4. Be true to yourself. You will have more energy if you do what you're passionate about.
5. Communication among partners is extremely important.
6. Create balance in your life. You are the business; if you burn out, your business will suffer.

Malene Grotrian Design is hosting a Fashion Show on April 29, 2010, to launch their Fall/Winter 2010 Collection.

Technorati Tags: business partner, Canadian designer, Cathy Watters, cinderella story, Denmark, design knowledge, fashion designer, fashion in italy, fashionable clothes, fitting clothes, fluevog shoes, fortin, HARD WORK PAYS OFF, illustration skills, Jenna Fortin, Malene Grotrian, new york fashion, new york fashion week, ottawa ontario, OVERCOMING OBSTACLES, overnight success, stunning designs, style section, vancouver sun, West Coast designers, western canada

Decisions, decisions. Where to begin? It’s on all of our minds. While spring cleaning is often viewed as a daunting, long drawn out process, it can be turned into a rather entertaining and rewarding venture.

Whether you choose to tackle the entire house, basement and garage or just one room, being prepared with the proper tools and resources will make life a lot easier when it comes time to re-purposing, recycling or selling your unused and unwanted items.

Like with any organizing project, you first need to sort your items accordingly. Create the following categories:

• Keep
  
• Re-purpose
  
• Donate
  
• Re-gift
  
• Re-cycle
  
• Sell
  
• Trash
  

Remember, almost everything can be at least recycled. While nearly all of us are familiar with sorting items into these categories, here are a few ideas and resources that will assist you and make the process more enjoyable and gratifying.  

REPURPOSE

Find new uses for, or re-purpose, items that are no longer being used in the way they were intended. Here are just a few examples:

1. Over the door shoe bag organizer: It may have been a good idea at one time, but come on, let’s face it, most of us have more than 10 pairs of shoes! Instead of tossing it into the landfill why not re-purpose it and use it to house all of those irritating chargers? It keeps them tidy and in one place so you no longer need to scuttle around the house looking for that much needed Bluetooth headset charger!

2. Do you have extra bungee cords that never get used? Use them to hold your items against the wall. Put two nails into the wall far enough apart so that when the bungee cord is stretched out and attached to the nails it is tight against the wall. Now tuck your item behind the cord. Use this method in a garage or workshop to hold up your brooms, shovels and rakes in one place.

3. Have you ever found expired sunscreen while cleaning out your bathroom cupboards? Did you know that it can be used as shaving cream?

4. Not using your old file rack in the office anymore? Try and use it in the kitchen for storing cookie sheets and cutting boards.

5. What to do with all those old road maps? Why not use it them to wrap gifts or dress up old cardboard shoe boxes which, in turn, can be used to store memorabilia.

Before you toss or donate an item, think of ways that it could be re-purposed. Try going online to find new and amusing ways to re-purpose. Here is one link to get you started:  

Saver Queen, “Loving the Frugal Life” (saverqueen.com/2009/05/05/repurposing-junk-for-home-organization)

RECYCLING

Recycling can be an overwhelming task but with a little tolerance and commitment it can be very rewarding. Try doing your own search online by simply typing “How to recycle….” and fill in the blank. You will be amazed at how easy it is!

This links you to a list Natural Resource Canada’s list of places where you can recycle just about anything, from computers to chemicals: (www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/mms-smm/busi-indu/lin-rec-eng.htm)

These two links take you to Environment Canada’s website. The first one takes you to articles about recycling and repurposing. (www.ec.gc.ca/education/default.asp?lang=En&n=C88A0E73-1)

The second one takes you to a page that explains a bit more about “reuse” and how you can use social networking sites, like Freecycle and Craigslist, to give away the things you don’t want. (www.ec.gc.ca/education/default.asp?lang=en&n=09BFEE5A-1)

SELL

You may have stuff that you want to sell and may not be sure how to go about it. First, items should be clean and in good working condition. If you choose to sell the items online, be sure to find a well-lit area to pose the item and take a clear picture of it. Decide on a price for it and what you are willing to take as a final offer. Write a brief but good description of it. There are various ways of selling your unwanted items. Here are just a few:

1. Post pictures and descriptions of your items on a classifieds website such as Craigslist, Buy and Sell or eBay.

2. Post your items on a social media site’s marketplace such as Facebook.

3. Take your items to a consignment store or auctioneer. Search online; there are many clothing, furniture, home décor consignment stores and auctioneers around.

4. For those of you that have a lot of valuables, it might be worth your while paying for a table at your local flea market.

5. Posting an ad in your local newspaper and hosting your own garage or yard sale is also an effective way of selling things.

Whatever method you choose, be patient and give yourself time to sell your items. If space is an issue you may want to consider donating your items instead. There are various charities and organizations that provide free pickup services. With a little bit of research online, you will be sure to find a local organization in your area. You can also call around to various charities and if the first one or two you call don’t pick up items, they may know who does.

Remember, Spring is about new beginnings and transformations. Removing unwanted items from your home will give you back that much needed space, energy and balance in your life.

Make it enjoyable and rewarding – Happy Organizing!

Technorati Tags: bathroom cupboards, bungee cord, bungee cords, chargers, decisions decisions, Jasmine Beierle, landfill, nails, organizing project, pairs, proper tools, rakes, repurpose, shaving cream, shoes, shovels, spring cleaning, trash, unwanted items

Foursquare is a location-based social network and is purported to be the next big social media phenomenon despite ongoing privacy concerns. It is a game-based application that lets you explore the city and earn points, badges, and in some cases, free drinks by “checking-in” at different establishments.  

Launched just last year in only a few cities around the world, Foursquare now has over 400,000 unique visitors (in January). Since September there has been a steep increase in activity as users catch on to this popular social networking game and this is only expected to grow since Foursquare went global in January.

Playing Foursquare

Foursquare allows users to check in from their mobile phones when they are out and about at dinner, sports venues, tourist venues and even at the hairdresser. As a user, each time you check in to a location you are awarded points.

Once you start accumulating points or visiting locations frequently you are awarded badges and titles like Mayor. Foursquare apps are available for download to most major smart phones including iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Palm Pre allowing you to check in easily using your mobile phone. 

If you think it sounds like more of a game than a serious business network, you are right. But if your business is location based, it is a game you really should be taking seriously. A little friendly competition can do wonders to bring people back to your location again and again, so businesses are beginning to clue in to the loyalty potential – and Foursquare – as a tool to spread awareness. Many businesses are offering incentives to those who become mayor and to visitors who offer tips about the location. 

Foursquare Tips for Business 

1. Make sure you are listed on Foursquare. The best way to do this is by joining the community, downloading the phone app and adding a venue from there (read this post from Dave Tailor for more detail on how to do so). 

2. Consider offering incentives for those who visit frequently and sign up with Foursquare to promote these. Every time someone signs in to your location, their followers see this, so the more Foursquare visitors you have the better – it’s like free advertising! 

3. Monitor Foursquare to see who is visiting and especially to track tips. Foursquare users can provide tips about your location and since this is user driven you may want to reward positive tips and be prepared to go to bat if someone posts something negative. Most of the tips I have seen to date are positive. 

Conclusion 

All businesses should be aware of what Foursquare is, make sure they are listed and to keep an eye on what is being said about their business. If Foursquare does take off, as is predicted, then more and more of your clients will be using this tool to share their nights out, business meetings and fun.

Technorati Tags: android, apps, badges, business network, cities around the world, clue, establishments, free drinks, hairdresser, iPhone, loyalty, networking game, privacy concerns, serious business, smart phones, social networking, sports venues, steep increase, tourist venues, unique visitors

Does this scenario sound familiar?:

You wake up in the morning, have a shower, and eat some breakfast. Next, you sit down in front of your computer expecting to have a productive work day. All of a sudden, you look up to realize it's 7pm and that project/article/finance report you were hoping to get completed is still sitting there, barely started. You exclaim to yourself as you wish that you could rewind your day to find out where you spent all that time. Well, unfortunately, you can't rewind time, but you can use Manic Time (www.manictime.com).

Manic Time is a free time-tracking application for the PC that sits in the background and helps you track your computer activity including:

• When you are active or away (idle) from your computer.
• Which application you were using, when you used them, and for how long.
• What websites you visited, and for how long (optional)

All of this information is tracked along multiple colour-coded timelines within the program. By mousing-over a particular block of time, you can see what program or website was active at that time, and how long you spent in it. By highlighting and 'tagging' certain blocks of time with notes, you can track time spent on a specific project, or track those 'time wasters' you want to avoid in the future. You can even tag the time you were away from your computer.

This data is displayed in easy-to-read graphs and can also be exported to your favourite spreadsheet program. This is great if you want to do more advanced charting and analysis, or just want to archive the information. In addition, all of Manic Time's data is stored locally on your own PC, and is not collected or transmitted elsewhere, so you don't have to worry about privacy either.

The software can look a bit confusing when you first boot it up if you don't know what you are looking at, but it's easy to learn and there are tutorials on the website available to explain the features. There is very little setup involved, and most of your day-to-day interaction with the software will be to tag your time, or to check the statistics.

Ultimately, Manic Time won't solve the problem of ineffective time management on its own, but it can help you be more aware of how you spend your time and allow you to see your improvements day by day.

Technorati Tags: computer activity, computer software, free time, graphs, improvement, Manic Time, Matt Mayer, notes, productive work, spreadsheet, tags, time management, time wasters, tracking