“That was the light bulb that went off in my head,” Sandra says. “I thought, maybe I should start freelancing and see how that goes.”

A few months later she had her website up and began pushing her brand. (She can now be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as well.) But, what if things didn’t work out?

“I knew I could get another job at a PR firm,” says Sandra, “but I was a bit disillusioned by the whole corporate environment.”

Her first job out of university had been at a PR firm that specialized in the entertainment industry and did about 80% event planning. She enjoyed it at first: she gained valuable experience and was excited by the idea of meeting actors. But after awhile, she realized what she really wanted to do was hone her skills in media relations, come up with story ideas, pitch them, and see the results in the paper or on TV.

So, two years after joining the PR firm, Sandra decided it “wasn’t a good fit for me” and quit.She did some travelling, worked part-time and took courses in marketing communications through the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). Then she helped her artist friend with that launch party, and discovered she liked the idea of being an entrepreneur who worked for herself.

Although she’s been running Middle Child Marketing for several years, she just recently completed a six-month mentorship program with the Women’s Enterprise Centre. WEC paired her up with mentor Cathy Kuzel, owner of The Connected Woman.

Why mentoring?

“When I started my business, I heard all over the place that you need a mentor or a business coach,” Sandra explains. “It was in the back of my mind, but I didn’t actively pursue it. I wanted to make my own mistakes, and in the early stages, I didn’t know what I wanted to work on with a mentor. It wasn’t really until 2010 that I seriously started to think about it.”

That’s when the Olympics came to Vancouver, BC and all her usual clients took a break – and business dried up.

“It was almost like starting from square one,” she says. “I had to learn about the process of getting clients and sales for myself, where previously I relied mostly on referrals.”

It’s not the first time she’s participated in a program to help her learn more about business. Just 1 1/2 years into her business, she took a government-funded, two-week consulting and contract program.

“It was intense,” she says. “I call it Business 101. It was equivalent to a first year business course you’d take in university. It was very valuable to me, someone who didn’t have a business background.”

She chose to take her mentorship program through WEC for two main reasons: its structure and length. The program is structured so you work on three main goals with your mentor, and the program is fairly short at just half a year. Other programs she looked into were up to 1 1/2 years, which she felt was too long. Sandra liked being paired with Cathy Kuzel, a general business coach, as opposed to someone in the same field.

“She’s great with business systems, which is what I needed to focus on,” Sandra says, adding one of the most useful systems she learned was how to create a sales funnel.

“I didn’t know what a sales funnel looked like, so it’s one of the things that we discussed,” she says. For example, how many people should you approach in a month and how do you keep track of it? Cathy helped her devise a paper binder system that she used for a year before recently moving to an electronic format. In addition to the initial three goals, Cathy helped her with other ideas, like sending a ‘cold’ email to a potential client.

“We went over my email template with a red pen, and I learned the difference one word can make in an email,” she says. For example, “using ‘I’ too much instead of ‘you’ because you should be focussing on the client, and what challenges they have, and the solutions you can give them.”

They also went over her business plan and conversion rates together and found ways to improve them, and Sandra changed her business card, adding a QR Code to it.

“That was Cathy’s idea,” she adds. “I’m not the first to do it, but Cathy mentioned that it may be the future.”

How did the mentoring work out?

“2011 has been my most successful year yet. It’s really due in part to this sales funnel system Cathy helped me create,” Sandra says. (Her sales increased by 377%.) They also talked about other things, like, “If someone tries to talk you down from your rate, don’t just say ‘yes’ right off the bat. See what else can be done to work with that client without sabotaging your own business as well.”

If you’re thinking of doing a mentorship, Sandra says it’s important to be honest with yourself and your mentor. The bottom line is, if it’s going well, great! Stick with it! But if you’re not benefitting from it, then end the relationship.

“Learn from who you feel will give you the best advice,” she says. “It’s your time. Always make sure you’re learning and that you can put what you learn into action.”

Sandra's Business Tips:

1. Make sure you love what you’re doing. If you’re thinking of starting a business and the thought of it is scarier than doing it, then maybe it’s not the right one for you. But if you can picture yourself in it and loving it, then it’s a sign.

2. Make sure you have some sort of education. Take courses at Small Business BC (or your local business centre), do a ‘start your own business’ program through one of the colleges, (Douglas College has a one-year long “Success Program.”) Or learn from others who have already done it. That way, you’ll know what some of the challenges are that you can expect.

3. Get out there and try it. Get a website up because it’s what people look at. Get yourself out there. Ask people to give you feedback on your website so you can test it out. If you don’t start it, you won’t know what to fix.

4. Keep learning. There’s always new technology; social media has grown so much. Subscribe to industry-related newsletters and company blogs. Keep on top of competitors and trends that your industry is adopting.

5. Know when to quit. If it’s not a good fit your you, if you’re not having fun, if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, if your sales aren’t growing year-to-year, then maybe it’s time to change things up or get out of it altogether.

"…there is no contradiction between running a business and helping the less fortunate."

One of the best ways to create awareness about your business and build trust among potential customers is to pursue community service opportunities. Thanks to the internet, the scope and sorts of service opportunities available to entrepreneurs are easier to find than ever before. What follows is a simple road map that can be used to find the right opportunity for your business.

1. Identify your products and services

As an entrepreneur, identifying your main products or services should be the first and easiest step in finding the right community service opportunity. In some cases, you might be focused on one product or service; in other cases, your business might encompass several deliverables. By way of illustration, and for purposes of this essay, consider three hypothetical examples:

(a) ABC Tech specializes in web design
(b) ABC Finance specializes in saving people money
(c) ABC Writing specializes in resume writing

2. Find beneficiaries in need and serve them

Once you have identified your main products and services, the next step is to find beneficiaries through community service projects. Using our three examples, here are some possibilities.

(a) ABC Tech, specializing in web design, decides to devote a portion of its time to creating or upgrading websites for small, nonprofit organizations that assist victims of domestic violence. Because such organizations are focused on crisis management and often run by volunteers, they may not have the bandwidth or expertise to create a functional, user-friendly website.

(b) ABC Finance, specializing in saving people money, decides to devote a portion of its time to providing personal finance tips to families in financial distress. Because such individuals may be struggling to keep their homes and other assets secure from debt collectors, they may benefit from tips on creating a budget, avoiding debt, and taking charge of their financial future.

(c) ABC Writing, specializing in resume writing, decides to devote a portion of its time to delivering educational workshops to women at homeless shelters. Because such women need assistance getting back on their feet and into the workforce, they may benefit from expertise on crafting a great resume and marketing their skills to potential employers.

3. Publicize your efforts through the media

Once you have decided on a suitable community service project, it is important to publicize it through all available media.

One easy way to create awareness about your project is to issue a joint press release with your nonprofit partner to local media outlets (television stations, radio stations, and newspapers). Although there is ample guidance on the internet about the mechanics of writing a press release, and although most media outlets publish the names and email addresses of their staff online, it is probably not sufficient to send a press release to a busy reporter without a phone call. Journalists work on tight deadlines and are constantly receiving emails. If you can identity a reporter who focuses on community issues, go ahead and call them and make a pitch for your story.

It is critically important to use all available media to create public awareness about your project. If your project receives coverage in the mainstream media, make sure to also distribute it through social media. For example, if you are lucky enough to appear on television, many television stations will often grant you permission to reproduce the footage on YouTube, where it can be a permanent record of your accomplishment and source of free viral advertising. Similarly, if your nonprofit partner publishes an online newsletter and maintains a presence on Facebook and Twitter, you can showcase your work through these media as well.

Although the basic goal of a business is to make a profit, and although profit is impossible without marketing,

By marketing products and services through community service projects, entrepreneurs can enjoy free advertising, a positive reputation among potential customers, and the satisfaction of helping others in need.

Raj Singh is a freelance writer and founder of the Capital Idea Network.

The “Real” World

Well, when I took a swing at entering my accounting data I made a big “Slinky knot” mess out of my Peachtree accounting file. Oops. I didn’t learn how to FIX my accounting in college. That would have been useful! I learned what I know from falling in holes and climbing out of them.

As a business consultant, I see lots of financial reports. Most of them have a few “Slinky knots” in them…accounts that are just wrong. The data in those accounts are the result of mistakes in data entry. In my consulting work, I start by helping my clients get to KFP – a Known Financial Position. Let’s get the accounting correct. That’s the first step. From there, we can see the impact of operational, marketing and sales behaviors. The good news is that you can always improve your financial situation once you know what it is. I am kind of like Super Nanny. I show up, we work together to clean up the accounting and we put simple systems, routines in place to help you stay at a KFP.

Sometimes, we clean stuff up and then it gets messy again. Just like Super Nanny, I go away after my consulting visit. It is up to my clients to maintain the systems we put in place. I can always come back and I often help over the phone. However, the key to staying at KFP is your willingness to learn enough about the accounting systems to enter data properly and to fix things when they get balled up.

If you are the owner of a very small shop, you might be the Financial Manager of your company (as well as the Service Manager and Marketing Manager and Salesperson, etc.) That’s the way it goes. If you dream of being a bigger shop, take heart that every big company was once just your size. The way out is through. Take responsibility and do a good job as the Financial Manager. Quit looking for a magical solution (accounting fairy?) who will handle the accounting for you. Learn how to do it yourself and document your basic procedures. This will help you hand off the accounting duties successfully.

In larger shops, sometimes the accounting duties get handed to:

•    The Financial Manager
•    The Office Manager
•    The owner’s wife, mom, daughter (other relative)
•    The Bookkeeper
•    The Secretary
•    The “Girl in the Office”

Whatever YOUR title, if you are the one who is responsible for the financial information at your company, I am here to help you. The following are a few tips and tricks for finding and fixing the “Slinky knot” messes in your accounting program.

Financial Fix Tips and Tricks

It’s probably YOU:

I often hear something along these lines, “That number wasn’t there yesterday. It must be a QuickBooks problem.” That weird dollar amount in your financial reports probably has a very simple explanation. Somebody, maybe you, entered that information. In every accounting software program, there are debits and credits. Sometimes the debits and credits are not visible from the data entry screen. You will have to do some digging. Follow the flow of information from the entry point to the Income Statement (aka Profit & Loss or P&L) and/or Balance Sheet. (In my lengthy career, there have been only 2 cases where the accounting program was corrupt. Chances are YOU are the problem. Start trouble-shooting from that assumption.

Stay current with your financial reporting:

I recommend a WEEKLY review of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement. Some contractors I know get daily reports. That’s great! Once a year at tax time is just not going to cut it. Get to KFP and run the financial reports at least once a week. It is so much easier to find and fix a mistake that happened in the last few days than trying to track down something goofy from six months ago. Also, you can fix the mistake in the current month. That is better than having to re-open a previous month and adjust it. Once I “close” a month, I don’t like to open it again.

Go line by line down the Balance Sheet and Income Statement and look for “weird” things:

If you are just getting started with this process, I can help. Or, your accountant may help you learn what’s “weird” and what’s right. What a great opportunity for him or her to add value to your relationship. KFP means that every account is RIGHT. It reflects what you have in Assets, what you owe in Liabilities and what you own in Equity. The Sales account should equal what you have sold for that period of time. The Expenses should reflect what you have expensed for that period of time. The financial reports should be current and true.

Here’s a list of “weird” things that may need fixing:

• A dollar amount that is positive when it was negative last time (or vice versa.)

• A negative Asset. (Unless it is Accumulated Depreciation or Amortization. Those numbers are “contra” accounts and serve to reduce the value of the associated assets.)

• A negative Liability.

• A negative Sales account (unless it is the Customer Refunds or Discounts…contra accounts.)

• A negative Expense account. Now, an account may look weird but be right. For instance, if you enter a rebate for your Insurance it will show up as a negative expense for that month. Drill down and make sure.

• An account that is very different from last week or last month. If all of a sudden your Advertising expense went from about $2,500 per month to $300,000 this month, drill down. Something may have been miscoded.

• Have your accountant help you make the weird things right with an appropriate Journal Entry or reversing entry.

• Find out how it got weird, if you can, and update the data entry procedure. Written procedures are KEY to staying at KFP.

• If you don’t know how it got weird, at least get it to right. If it is a small dollar amount, create an adjusting entry and watch to make sure it doesn’t get weird again. If it does…look through the previous week’s transactions for that account to find the entry. This is forensic accounting!

Pay particular attention to your Payroll liabilities:

I recommend using a Payroll service like ADP or Paychex. The number one reason: The service handles the liability so you don’t have to. The service will tell you what the cash requirements are to pay your team and Uncle Sam. They will do the tax payments for you. The Journal Entry to enter Payroll is much easier if you don’t have to keep track of the appropriate liabilities and payments. Follow the flow of debits and credits. You could create a sample transaction for your Payroll procedure and reference it every time you enter Payroll.

Frequency

If you do this once a week, YOU will get intimately familiar with the accounts and the dollar amounts. You will become an expert in what looks right and what looks “weird” and how to fix the weird stuff.

Next post, I'll give you tips to help you untangle any financial messes you may have discovered while checking through your financial statements.

1. Not taking social media seriously

There’s over 800 million people using Facebook, and over 200 million Twitter users – not to mention, a similar number of folks on LinkedIn, and yet many businesses still dismiss social media as a flash in the pan. Your business has the potential to take advantage of this massive online hub; ignoring it is a huge folly. You don’t have to start with a presence of your own if you’re not comfortable. Using social media to listen to, and learn from, others in your industry can be a valuable research method, and it is also a great way to get a feel for how social media is used in your sector.

2. Ignore it and hope it will go away

Back in the early nineties when I sold Internet technologies, lots of companies weren’t convinced that the Internet would take off, so they ignored it and hoped it would go away. Many were left scrambling at the last minute to catch up online and some didn’t survive. A hundred or so years ago many naysayers dismissed the phone. The same story is now replaying with regard to social media. Don’t stick your corporate head in the sand – social media isn’t going away and the sooner you accept that, the less risk to your business.

3. It’s only for small business

I’ve read a few articles recently that write off social media off as a tool that’s only useful for small to medium sized businesses. Many large, established businesses use this as an excuse because they have done things the traditional way for so long that they know no other way. However, pioneers like Whole Foods, Southwest Airlines and Ford are proving that social media can be a driving force for larger organisations too, if it’s done right.

4. The Intern can do it

Many organizations get a young intern to maintain their social networks because this person has hundreds of Twitter followers, or is on Facebook all the time. However, just because you are familiar with using these tools socially doesn’t mean you know how to use them for business. I am not saying an intern can’t do it, but you should make sure that they understand your goals, mission, audience, brand and such first, so that they can represent you appropriately online.

5. Failing to consider company strategy

Point 4 leads me nicely to point 5 – not approaching social media from a strategic perspective. Only 8% of companies surveyed in a recent Forrester report are using social media in ways that tie in with their corporate objectives. Again, companies often embark on using social media for the sake of using it rather than using it from a strategic perspective. Before your company sets out on the social media path you should ask – who is your target audience, what is your message, which tools are right for your business given your brand and mission, and how can you use social media to augment your everyday activities. If you do that, your social media efforts are more likely to amount to something.

6. It’s all about you

In the old business world, marketing was all about corporations; all activities centered around the product and service, and not the consumer. Every message had to be vetted – which took time and meant the the company was in control. Many organizations take this approach to social media, and then wonder why they are spending lots of resources but have few results and little return to show for it. They aren’t succeeding because they need to re-engineer their approach. These days, it is not about you, but rather, it’s about your audience and every social touchpoint should reflect that. To be effective in social media you need to focus on your target audience, be able to move faster, and to communicate in the moment before content gets outdated.

7. Blatant selling

This is the biggest faux pas you can make with social media. Never use social media to blatantly sell. It is okay to promote your offering, but in your face selling is off putting. Here at Out-Smarts, we use the 80-20 rule – 80% of our posts are aimed at adding value, and only 20% are promotional.

8. Failing to set goals and objectives

As with any other business function, you should set goals and objectives before you start rather than haphazardly setting up your social shop (as it were). What is it that you hope to achieve? You may want to build community with your target audience, extend your reach to new communities, use social media as a conduit to extend the reach of your content, drive traffic to your website, etc. Whatever your goals are, you should document them, quantify them and make sure that they are achievable.

9. Failure to measure success

Many companies have no idea whether their social media presence is benefiting them or not, nor are they able to respond to what is being said about them online. Once you’ve determined your goals, you should put in place tools that allow you to measure your success and to listen effectively. These might include free tools – for example; for web traffic analysis you can use Google Analytics, to measure your Facebook following use Insights, for Twitter use counters or paid tools like Radian6 that allow you to monitor and measure engagement.

10. Failing to take a holistic business approach.

Up until recently, many businesses have looked on social media as a stand-alone approach rather than considering it as a way to complement and augment their entire marketing strategy. 2012 is going to be the year when the penny drops and companies realise that the best social media projects are those that complement their real world activities.

When you become overwhelmed, your workload, thoughts and situations feel like they are out of control leaving you feeling upset, frustrated or unsure what to do next.

Overwhelm can occur whenever you experience change — even when the changes you are making are positive and moving closer to your goals. Similar feelings can be experienced when you encounter unexpected changes or your schedule revs up and taxes your time and energy leaving you feeling like you have too much to do.

When I work with clients, it is not uncommon for each to enter a state of overwhelm at one point or another as they gain momentum.
Take these three steps to help conquer your overwhelm.

1. Narrow your choices

When faced with too many choices, you are more likely to avoid making a decision. A study led by Sheena Iyengar, a management professor at Columbia University Business School, demonstrated that you are ten times more likely to make a decision if offered only six choices, than if you are offered 24 options. More choice leads to more confusion and decision making inertia.

Quickly identify your top three best options and make decisions from these options only. If you have a clear vision and understand the deliverables and outcomes you want to achieve

2. End the ‘Rattling Brain’ Syndrome

The ‘Rattling Brain’ syndrome occurs when information, ideas, or action items are bouncing around in your brain. This leaves you easily distracted, unable to concentrate or focus.

Free up your brain and take time to write down all of these ideas and thoughts. Use your journal, a notebook to get them out of your brain. Resist using your computer, tablet or smartphone – you will make a stronger connection when you put pen to paper, and this act of writing it down will set things in motion. Later, crossing it out will keep the momentum going.

At the end of each day, take 10 – 15 minutes to write your top three priorities for the next day, and write in your journal to recognize your own successes and thoughts from today.

3. Use the 15-35-10 Rule

When you feel as though you have way too much to do and not time to get it all done, the 15-35- 10 rule can provide the framework to ignite your day and the results you achieve.

Set a timer for 15 minutes and do as many things on your list as you can – answer emails that require a fast answer; make a phone call that gives a go-ahead, or files a piece of paper. The goal of this first step is to cross off as many items from you list as you possibly can, regardless of their priority. You’ll feel great when you reduce your list so quickly.

Next, reset the timer and choose “your frog”, the most overwhelming or unpleasant item on your list. Work on it for 35 minutes. Do not answer the phone, respond to emails or allow yourself to be distracted by other items on your desk. Just work on this one daunting task until your timer rings. If you are on a roll, keep the momentum going by continuing to work until a natural break in your work flow occurs.

Now, take a 10 minute break away from your desk. Take a walk, get a glass of water, or stretch – anything but work. This is time for you to rest and rejuvenate yourself.

Repeat the process again each hour. Your focus and productivity will soar and feelings of overwhelm will be reduced.
Break down projects into parts and parts into steps and take one step at a time so it’s all more manageable and less overwhelming.

“When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.” ~ Unknown

1. Zinc:

Zinc is an important mineral in supporting the immune system, collagen structures (skin and bones), and taste and smell. Zinc also affects the utilization of keratin (hair, nails) and is involved in balancing blood sugar.

An interesting note about zinc is that it competes with copper and the body requires a higher amount of zinc in ratio with copper for optimal functioning and disease prevention. In Vancouver, BC, people are often zinc deficient due to the large number of houses and apartments that have copper water pipes.Other causes of zinc deficiency include digestive malabsorption, diabetes and chronic illness.

Symptoms associated with zinc deficiency include:

• Dry hair or hair loss
• Frequent colds and flus
• Slow healing of wounds
• Decreased ability to taste and smell accurately
• Mental fog
• Fatigue and low energy
• Sugar cravings

Foods containing zinc:

• pumpkin seeds
• sunflower seeds
• mushrooms
• whole grains
• meat (lamb, beef)
• seafood

Supplement recommendation – 25-50mg zinc citrate daily*

2. Selenium:

Selenium is required in small amounts but without it, the thyroid can’t make thyroid hormones, sperm and egg production is compromised, the liver can’t function, and mental focus lags. Deficiencies occur with smoking, drinking alcohol, birth control pills, and those with digestive absorption difficulties (e.g. Crohn’s, colitis).

Symptoms associated with selenium deficiency include:

• poor thyroid function (hair loss, dry skin, fatigue, weight gain, low mood, memory loss, muscle aches)
• reproductive disorders and infertility (male and female)
• mental fatigue

Foods containing selenium:

• brazil nuts
• mushrooms
• seafood
• cheese and butter
• meat (lamb, beef, chicken)

Supplement recommendation: 55mcg selenium as selenomethionine*

3. Magnesium:

Magnesium is a ubiquitous mineral in bones and muscles and your body uses a lot of it daily. Its main use (along with calcium) is in muscle contraction, nerve conduction, and bone integrity. Other important functions include aiding metabolism and aiding brain function. Deficiencies occur with poor diet, digestive disorders (e.g. Crohn’s disease, celiac disease), diabetes, and excessive alcohol consumption.

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include:

• muscle weakness
• agitation
• insomnia
• headaches
• sugar cravings
• nausea

Foods containing magnesium:

• spinach
• Swiss chard
• molasses
• pumpkin seeds
• mustard greens

Supplement recommendation: 250-500mg magnesium citrate* (often found in a liquid with calcium citrate in a 2:1 ratio e.g. 500mg calcium citrate, 250mg magnesium citrate)

4. Iodine

Iodine is a mineral essential to thyroid function and creation of thyroid hormones (T3, T4). Iodine used to be consumed in adequate amounts in iodized table salt, but the decrease in salt in diets and the increased consumption of sea salts (which do not contain iodine) has contributed to an iodine deficiency.

Symptoms of iodine deficiency include:

• hair loss
• dry skin
• fatigue
• weight gain and inability to lose weight
• low mood
• memory loss

Foods containing iodine:

• sea vegetables (especially kelp)
• yogurt
• cow’s milk
• eggs
• strawberries

Supplement recommendation: 1100mcg iodine* (often taken as Lugol’s iodine solution)

Most mineral imbalances can be corrected with dietary alterations.

* Before supplementing with any individual nutrient consult with a naturopathic physician to ensure safety and correct dosing, as mono-supplements can lead to imbalances in other nutrients in the body.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you that it worked extremely well for me but basically has caused my cats to have nervous breakdowns! It appears to have affected one of them so profoundly that my beloved soul-mate has threatened to permanently disable the audio volume on my speakers if I don't voluntarily turn it down at night. So, the lesson learned appears to be that not every suggestion works for everybody (or species).

This Stuff Really Works

Now that I've digressed, this month, I wanted to share with you that although hitting the proverbial wall, crashing and burning to a crisp was not high on my list of fun things to do last year, I have to tell you that taking the time off to heal and write, works!

I continue to be amazed at the huge progress I have made in my mental, physical and spiritual health as a result of listening to those around me who had been urging me to take this "time out" for a number of years. However, I remain one hundred percent cognizant that many of you simply cannot just step away from your businesses and continue to survive, much less thrive. Believe me, I couldn't do it for many years, which is how I got myself into this pickle in the first place.

Quality Versus Quantity

As the early part of the year tends to be a time when many of us are either setting goals or wondering why we can't stick to the ones we've already set, I thought this would be a good time to talk about a different approach to goal-setting.

I only had two goals going into this year. One, was to have the first draft of my manuscript ready for the 2012 Surrey Writer's Festival this October. The other was to continue taking care of my health. I am on track and seeing tangible results from both.

In the past, I've made a list of at least a dozen personal and business goals. I immediately started feeling that I was losing ground almost as soon as the end of January approached. I was very hard on myself and either drove myself to distraction by trying to achieve them or, I gave up and subsequently felt worse about myself. Neither of those alternatives brought me joy.

What Would Happen If?

I would ask you to indulge me for a moment and ask yourself, what would happen if I focused on just one or two "changes" (versus "goals") and what would that mean to my life?

Don't fall into the trap of saying you should lose weight or eat healthier. Yes, those are worthy changes but they still snap of the over-achieving goal-setter. It should be a WHY that is big enough to make you cry. In other words, making this one change would literally change your life.

For example, although this may seem like a "duh" to others, I had not internalized that without the ability to live without constant pain and fatigue, no amount of achieving my other goals would be worthwhile. So, basically everything else I wished to accomplish came secondary…or not at all.

Your Mission Should You Choose to Accept It

1. Assuming that you need or want to continue working in your business and can't take an extended sabbatical, in your journal or on a piece of paper write ONE action that you can honestly see yourself doing this year and commit to it. It might be as simple as going to yoga or meditation one night a week but the benefits from it would make everything else you do, more joyful.

2. DO IT! Don't let business or family commitments get in the way. This is something for YOU that you do every day or week, that is non-negotiable. Think of it as being as fundamental as showering or brushing your teeth; you wouldn't even think of not doing it!

3. Keep track of your progress. For some, it's journaling; for others it is just taking down-time to think and reflect. Use whatever works for you that will give you honest self-feedback.

Until next time, remember to be authentically YOU and discover the magic of making ONE life-changing habit versus a tonne of often-broken goals!

“You were born an original, why die a copy?” ~ Oscar Wilde

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, “What?” At this time of year when we’re bombarded by ads that tell us we need a whole new look, a whole new body and a completely new way of being, I’d like to be the voice in the wilderness that says instead of looking to create something new, how about looking to the past to discover the ‘old you’ and what was great about that person?

I dare to stand up and say, “There’s nothing wrong with you.” And, “You’re perfect just as you are.”

I’m not suggesting that there isn’t room for ‘sharpening the saw,’ but do you actually know what you’re sharpening? Maybe you’re not a saw, maybe you’re a hammer and maybe it’s time to start being the best hammer you can be.

So much time in our society is spent working on our weaknesses; I say it’s time to embrace your strengths and let the true you shine out.The poet Mary Mackey wrote, “I grew in rings, like a tree. At the center I’m always ten with pink glasses and braces.” I’m willing to bet that your authentic ten-year-old is every bit as amazing and fascinating as anything new your current self could cook up!

Here are some tips to uncover your true self and start building from a solid foundation:

1.    Take out a piece of paper and a pen you like.

2.    Think back to your kindergarten self or even earlier if you can remember back that far.

3.    Ask yourself these questions:

a.    What kinds of things did you like to do?
b.    What topics and information interested you the most?
c.    What kinds of clothing did you like to wear?
d.    What activities were your favourites?
e.    How did you move in the world?

4.    The answers to these questions will give you a good indication of who you really are. Perhaps you’ve developed an appreciation for grand opera over your lifetime, but if you really loved crazy dancing to country tunes as a kid, it might be worth giving that a try and see what it unlocks. If you loved turtles and being in nature, how can you manifest that love in the here and now? If you loved wearing colourful tights and dresses, is there a way you can add that love of colour into your adult world?

Ultimately who you are at 4 is who you are at 104. There are layers of sophistication and learning that get added, and it’s time to understand which of those layers are really yours and which are just stuff put on you by other people who said you ‘should’ be, do or have certain things in life.

Oscar Wilde said it best: “You were born an original, why die a copy?”

Take your ‘old self’ out for a walk and you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to be, do and have all that you need and want.

New confidence.

You know that feeling when you do something you never thought you could do? I mean, never ever? It’s kind of like when you give birth the first time, ladies, right? When I was about 15 months pregnant with our first child, I got freaked out about the physics of the whole thing. I used to walk around Wal-Mart and size up women with kids, thinking “I’m as tough as her…maybe tougher…if she can do it, I can do it.” This running journey is kind of like that. It’s pushed me beyond my former limits in a lot of ways: time management, physical exertion, and, of course, sharing this journey with you as we plod our way toward the finish line.

New wardrobe.

Actually, it’s my old wardrobe, but it fits again and it’s still somewhat in style. Which is fabulous. But, really, do Mom jeans and polo shirts with baby food stains ever go out of style? See?! We’re fashionistas!

So here’s the breakdown of this week.

Monday:

Monday, our training program calls for a five minute warm up, alternating jogging/walking for 90 seconds and then 3 minutes, and then a five minute cool down walk. I was super nervous about the 3 minutes but, surprisingly, it wasn’t that tough. Don’t blank out on me here, I’m fat, too, remember? This is me you’re talking to and I have spent the last five years eating chips on the couch and becoming an expert in all things Grey’s Anatomy. See? Yes. We are the same. Hug!

Wednesday:

Wednesday, we were joined by a new fabulous person named Dana. She is a science teacher from a town near here and her mom saw the article in the Kaleidoscope. She is a great addition to our team! On her first night of running, she was initiated by God himself with a pouring down, thundering rainstorm with winds so hard the rain blew sideways. Remember that storm last week? Yeahhh…we were training in that storm. Isa is out of town, so Susan, Dana and I ran in the pouring down rain and I carried my Mom’s black umbrella to shield my new Mobile Gateway iPhone 4 from the rain. In the end, it was a miracle my iPhone 4 still works…it’s not as fragile as one might think. Umbrella or not, we were soaking wet but we finished!! We stopped by the Rolla Rural Fire Station on our way back to the car. Alek, the friendly fireman, good naturedly posed for a picture with us and didn’t even complain that we dripped water on their beautifully clean floor. I’m telling you – we felt like superwomen after that training session.

Friday:

Friday, Dana and I trained by ourselves because Susan was waiting on the air conditioner man to come fix her A/C unit. After the torrential downpour we ran through on Wednesday, it was a breeze to complete this session. Who knew it would be so easy to do run this long!

So I’m a little freaked out about next week. We have to run for a little longer and there’s still a lingering thought that something might happen and I may not be able to physically finish this. Plus, there’s the email from the guy who told me I’m doing it all wrong. Anyway, let me tell you this! My skinny jeans are loose!!! I feel fabulous. I feel like an athlete. I do not feel embarrassed about my body anymore. I feel like I’m setting a great example for the kids, who are now walking with me on my off days. And, I feel very grateful to be able to share this journey with you. Oh, and guess what? We have a new person joining our team next week!

If you want to do this on your own, Google “Couch to 5K” or download the app on your iPhone or Android and let us know how it goes! There’s a great Facebook page for “Couch to 5K” participants and you can also email me at mlbroxton@bigkonline.com. We’d love to hear from you and see your pictures! We may post them online and share your story. Just remember, no matter how poor the run, it’s better than sitting on the couch! See you next week!

See also:

Couch to 5k: A Much Needed Do-Over (Week 3)

Couch to 5K: This is Why People Quit (Week 2)

Couch to 5K: Getting Started on Getting Fit (Week 1)

Couch to 5K: One Mom’s Journey Back to Health (Week 0)
 

But imagine if we loved ourselves unconditionally. How would it impact our lives if we loved ourselves despite our errors? Even if we screwed up over and over again and made the same mistake over and over again – what if we loved ourselves anyway?

The struggle would be over. How do I know? Because I've been there.

When we get angry with ourselves because of our weaknesses and imperfections, we are literally choosing to go to battle, and the war is with ourselves! Imagine if your child had the same weaknesses as you. Imagine if he made the same mistakes over and over again. Would you be ashamed of him? Would you make him feel guilty every time he made a mistake?And if you would treat him this way, how do you think it would impact his self-esteem and self-worth?

How are you any different than your child? If you have a weakness, an addiction, an imperfection or a flaw of some sort how is it helpful if you beat yourself up over it? What if you just accepted yourself as you are and loved yourself anyway?

So how do you love yourself even when you screw up? Here it is in its simplest form – you give yourself no other option but to love yourself! Breathe…and re-read.

Yes, you love yourself now no matter what! You love yourself like you love your child! You love yourself period! You give yourself no other choice no matter how hard it is!

When you screw up, no matter how many times, your default setting is to love yourself anyway.

And what happens when you do? The struggle is over, there is no more battle and you slowly but surely begin to heal your life little by little and before you know it your weaknesses, flaws, imperfections and addictions slowly begin to fall away because there is no more resistance. There is no more battle; no more being at war with yourself.

How do I know this? Because I've been there. Unconditional self-love = freedom!

Daily Affirmation:

Dear _______________,

I have many imperfections, flaws and weaknesses. The only option I want to choose when I make a mistake is unconditional self-love. This can be a very difficult task; to love myself no matter what. But I know that being angry with myself or feeling guilty and shameful doesn't help me in any productive way.

___________, please help me to love myself no matter what, each and everyday despite my errors, weaknesses, addictions, imperfections and flaws because I know that when I love myself I heal myself little by little.

Thank you! I love you! And so it is!

On one hand this is very sad. You see countless amounts of incredibly talented individuals get voted off because they weren't the fans' favourite. Most likely they have been developing their talent for years only to get bumped out by someone who is less talented but is better at delivering what the crowd loves. I will never forget an episode of America's Got Talent where, admittedly, the most incredible talent was outed by an only average singer because he was cuter and told lots of sob stories about what he would do with the $1,000,000 if he won.

On the other hand, the strategy of truly understanding who you're marketing to (your voters if you will) is a second-to-none approach. When you know who they are, what they want, how they spend their money, what their problems are, etc., you can develop your organizational strategy accordingly. Every organization succeeds because it has a target demographic and it delivers what that demographic wants (not needs).

Ideas for finding out the needs of your target market:

1. Study your competitors: what products do they offer, which social media tools do they use to connect to their prospects, what do they blog about? When you study someone who is already serving the people you wish to serve you will get insight through the services they offer and the topics they write about what some of the problems are of your target market. Take their ideas and repackage it in a way that is unique to you and your personality style.
2. Join topical Linkedin groups: which groups are your target prospects a member of? Don’t join groups with people who do what you do but join the groups where your ideal clients are. Once you’re in the group, listen to the discussion and contribute meaningful ideas. Don’t promote, don’t spam – just get involved in the conversations that interest you.
3. Take a survey: why not ask your existing clients how they have benefited from your work? Ask them questions like: why did you choose to work with me? Which benefits did you think working with me would bring you? What have you like the most about working with me so far? Which problems have I been able to help you solve? You’ll find out so much about your target market by polling the people you know who have already hired you.
4. Study your industry’s key words: as you’re reading blog posts on your topic make note of the key words the author uses. Use free programs like google adwords to see which variations of these words/phrases people are searching for and how often. Start a list of the words related to your niche that people are searching for and begin to incorporate them into your blog posts, copy and social media profiles.

You can be the most qualified, highest quality professional in your field but if you’re not giving your prospects what THEY want (instead of what you think they need) you’ll never be able to grow your business. When working out your strategic plan, think about the X-Factor and that your ultimate success lies is your ability to connect with your audience and not just in how great a talent you are.

For advice and tips on setting up Google Analytics on your website, check out our earlier blog post.

Why you should be using Google Analytics

1. Measuring your website performance over time.

Using Google Analytics, you can easily compare your site’s performance with its past performance over a specific time period. We like to compare both this month versus last month, and how we’re performing this year versus the same time last year.

2. Visitor loyalty.

It’s great if your website is getting tons of hits, but if those people visit once and never return then something isn’t resonating with your target audience. Analytics tracks all visitors to your website and determines how many are first time visitors versus returning visitors.

3. Integrate your adwords account.

If you already have a Google AdWords account, you can integrate it with analytics to collect campaign, ad group or keyword specific data. The data collected includes cost, conversions, impressions, clicks and whether the ad resulted in a sale. You can even see your profit margin for each ad that led to a sale.

4. Dashboard customization.

The basic Analytics dashboard comes with all kinds of useful tidbits of data; including, most popular pages on your site, visitors, bounce rate, time on site, traffic sources, etc. But, there’s a lot more to Google Analytics than the dashboard. These other metrics, such as the Adwords overview, top landing pages, goals, and the keywords entered into internal search must be accessed manually from the left hand navigation bar. If you find you use manually accessible features often, you can add them to your dashboard using the ‘add to dashboard’ button at the top of the page. Once you’ve added something to your dashboard, it will stay there until you choose to remove it. It’s also possible to rearrange your dashboard to your preferred layout.

5. Internal search.

If you have an internal search bar on your website, Analytics tracks exactly what people are typing into that field to find things on your website. It also tracks what page they were on when they made the search, and where they ended up after completing the search.

6. Assign access to your account.

You can give people two types of access to your Analytics account. Administrator access gives key people full access to your account, whereas read-only privileges allow people to run reports, but they are unable to make any changes or access your website specific Analytics code.

7. Set goals.

It’s easy to set up a goal for almost anything you would like users to do on your website; including, visiting a certain page, making a purchase, signing up for your newsletter, ad conversions, etc. This will give you a clear idea of whether people are taking the steps on your website that you would like them to follow.

8. Scheduled reports and easy exportation.

If you can never remember to check your Google Analytics account, it’s possible to set it up so that regular reports get emailed to your inbox. Or, you can schedule reports to regularly be emailed to key employees, in a variety of handy formats. It’s also possible to export your data in a CSV file where you can view and manipulate it in Excel.

9. Funnel visualization.

This is a great tool that allows you to see when visitors are backing out of the conversion process on your website. For example, it lets you know if most people quit trying to buy your product at the shopping cart step, or if people stop signing up for your newsletter when they realize how much personal information they have to divulge. This information lets you know what it is about your conversion processes that are deterring your customers.

10. Bounce rates.

The bounce rate is the number of people that immediately leave your site after landing on it. You can look at the bounce rate for each individual page to determine which ones are ‘sticky’. If the majority of people land on a page of your website and leave right away, you may want to rethink the copy or layout of that particular page.

This article was written by Corrie Scott, a Marketing Associate with Out-Smarts Marketing and a graduate of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia with an honours degree in Commerce. Her professional interests include marketing, economics, and law, and she has aspirations to pursue a joint MBA-Law degree.

The schedule that my husband has at work is weird and he is gone most of the day and doesn’t usually get home until after the kids are asleep. I’m doing most of the parenting and many days feel like a single parent. Sometimes I ask myself where is my 8-hour break that moms who work outside the home get?

In the time that I have become a mother I have also become a work-at-home mom. This allowed me to make money for groceries and extras that we wouldn’t normally have as a family on one income. It gives me the opportunity to branch out from my role as mom and focus on being a woman; a working woman. I get to network with other moms and business owners and escape from a world where I talk about Max and Ruby and toys all day long.

With my kids being so demanding at their young ages, they need me to be for them all the time. Luckily, my toddler and preschooler are great at entertaining themselves, but I still have to take care of a newborn plus be at the other two’s beck and call. I hear this a lot, “Mommy, come color. Mommy, come play. Mommy do this. Mommy do that. Mommy I need this. Mommy I need that.” I think you get the point. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing with them, but from 7am -8pm is a LONG day together even if I get a break from one (naptime). I cherish the memories I had when all kids were napping from 1pm until 4pm every day. It was my time to be able to catch up things around the house but usually I spent the three hours working my tail off so that I could focus on the kids when they woke up.

Now that our schedule has changed again with the new baby, I have gone from getting the Mommy guilt when they were napping to what I now call Business Guilt. Since, I don’t get a solid break until after 7:30pm, I have to fit the business into our schedule throughout the day. I do make my kids rest from 1-2:30 pm, but it is still  a time that is flooded with questions and I need this. Usually when I hit my stride in an email or post, someone needs me or wakes up from their nap. (This actually occurred as I was writing this sentence.)

I always knew that as my children got older, fitting the business into our schedule was going to be a little different, but some days, I feel like my business or my “fourth baby” gets neglected. I am seriously passionate about helping other small business owners get more exposure for their companies and I wish I had more time in the day or more money to get a babysitter but I don’t, so when the kids need me the business gets the brute end of the deal.

Balancing work and kids has been a struggle since one child has cut out naps, because I am mom all day long. No longer do I have a 3-hour break in the middle of the day to focus my attention on business. I have to fit it when I can. So if that means checking twitter after I get the kids’ breakfast ready or answer a few emails before my husband leaves for work or make a phone call while my older two are playing with play doh for an hour then so be it. My business is not something that I want to just fade away because my children need me. It is still an important aspect of who I am and who I want my children to see me as.

Your office should support you energetically. For example, are the colours on the walls supportive for productivity? What about clutter – does your office look like it should be featured on the next edition of HGTV’s "Consumed"? Also, be sure to look at enhancements. Is the art on the wall leftover pieces that didn't fit anywhere else in the house? The answers to all these questions are very important when trying to create a space that will keep you focused and happy in all of your office-related work.

With all the focus on high-tech equipment and gadgets these days, people often overlook the subtle but equally important energy requirements. These things help you feel focused and productive. But before we talk about these subtle things, you must make sure your office is free of clutter. You don't want to energize the clutter. In Feng Shui, this doubles it! So de-clutter and either organize it, file it, or get rid of it!

Here are some Feng Shui principles to create a balanced office space:

• The position of your desk is most important. It should be in the power position of the office, where you have a view of the door from your chair and a solid wall behind you for support. If you cannot place your desk where you have a view of the door, then place a mirror on the wall you are facing so you can see behind you.

• Keep all electrical wires neatly wrapped with ties or enclose them in a tube so they are not visually seen. This also keeps you safe from tripping over them when moving around the office.

• Make sure the door to your office can open freely. This is the entrance to your success and productivity. It affects your entire business.

• Paint your office wall a colour that provides supportive energy. White is a metal colour in Feng Shui and helps to get you motivated. Also, add more metal objects and less wood objects if you are having trouble focusing. Metal gives you that energetic tension needed for productivity.

• Motivational art on the wall also enhances focus and productivity in a home office. Art that shows teamwork, success, and a positive attitude is good.

• Energize new business and wealth by adding uplifting plants, like bamboo. You can use silk plants or trees if you do not have a green thumb. Pictures of large trees give added energy to income generation.

• A water feature provides flow to your career success. A small tabletop water feature with a gentle sound works well. Be sure to use the fountain every day and fill it with fresh water. This keeps your wealth flowing and doesn’t allow it to stagnate.

• Stay organized in your office. This isn’t an option – it’s mandatory for success. You can't work in a chaotic space. Mentally, you see the clutter before starting your work and it subconsciously irritates you. It is crucial to your creativity and energy levels to spend a few minutes effectively tidying up. Your creativity will flourish – just try it and you'll see!

• Clean all the electrical cords – they magnetize dust. In Feng Shui, this is negative energy. Move things around in your office, and clean underneath and behind furniture. Just like spring cleaning, your office deserves a deep cleaning too!

By surrounding yourself with good energy in your office, a nice cup of coffee, a good chair, beautiful scenery, and nice music, you will be inspired, creative and productive. You will manifest good things and the rewards will be abundant!

Make lifestyle changes slowly.

If you try incorporating all of your chosen lifestyle changes at the same time, it will be difficult to follow them all. Instead, incorporate your lifestyle changes slowly over a period of time, in order to give your body an opportunity to adjust to them, both mentally and physically.

Dietary fats are not all bad.

Remember that although dietary fats can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, they also contribute to satiety (feeling full after a meal), give our body energy, help protect our organs, and help our body absorb certain nutrients and produce important hormones. The good dietary fats, which include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, can lower bad cholesterol levels when consumed in moderation. The bad saturated fats, which include saturated and trans fat, raise the bad cholesterol (LDL) levels in your blood. Therefore, when making food choices, try to choose food items that contain the healthier types of fat, but remember to consume them in moderation.

Eat more meals at home.

Many restaurants and fast food establishments are offering great deals as a result of the economy in order keep, and even increase, their customer base. However, from a health standpoint, it may not always be in your best interest to take advantage of these specials. Be sure to read the nutrition label before making your purchase to determine if it’s really a healthy bargain.

Drink more water.

Cut back on sodas, energy drinks, and alcohol – these products not only cost more than water, but are also not as healthy. Need some added taste? Add some fresh lemons, strawberries, or cucumbers to your water for some healthy flavor!
Don’t buy junk food. Vending machines and the end caps in grocery stores often contain more junk food than healthy options. Brown bag your snacks and meals for work, school, or wherever you might be going that day.

Stay away from fad diets.

Their claims sound great – quick, easy weight loss without much exercise involved, if any, and you can be thin for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, many of these fad diets not only do not deliver on their weight loss promises, but many of them can be damaging to your health as well, both physically and psychologically. In addition, many fad diets tend to over-emphasize one particular food item, or type of food, which contradict the guidelines for healthy eating. Remember that traditional weight loss and weight maintenance methods recommend a well-balanced meal plan with a variety of foods that are low in saturated and trans fat, in addition to being physically active.

Carbohydrates do not cause weight gain.

Weight gain is caused by calories and fat, not carbohydrates. Excess carbohydrates are not any more fattening than calories, regardless of where they come from. Note that fat contains nine calories per gram of fat, whereas carbohydrates contain only four calories per gram of carbohydrate. Many people do not realize that most of their energy comes from carbohydrate consumption, making carbohydrates a vital part of their meal plan.

Your task:

Are you considering making a lifestyle change in 2012? If so, make a list of the changes you wish to make, then determine their level of difficulty. Begin by incorporating the simple changes, then move on to the changes you feel will be more difficult. Soon you will be reaping the healthy benefits!

Here are some tips to make your toast special for any occasion:

Don’t drink and speak.

Now I know that during a special occasion people drink and that’s fine. What I’m saying is don’t get inebriated and then speak – you’re going to sound like an idiot, slur your speech and make a fool of yourself! Speaking sober is my recommendation – drink after, not before.

Share a personal story.

Nothing touches people more than a personal story or experience shared. Keep it short though, don’t ramble on. There is an art to storytelling and that’s something I always work on with my clients.

Don’t tell an Internet joke.

Unless you have amazing comedic timing, telling an Internet joke is never a good idea. If you tell your personal story right, you will be able to infuse it with natural humour and get people laughing anyway.

Use the full potential of your voice.

When you give a toast you typically raise your glass right? Well you do the same thing with your voice – use its full potential and make it as varied as possible. This is a tough one for many people and something I work hard on with my executive speech coaching clients. Try your best – your audience will appreciate it.

Use BIG body language and gestures.

A toast is a grand gesture that should fill the room with warm, positive energy that enthrals your friends and family. That’s not going to happen if you are slouching with a frown on your face. So stand up straight, smile and use big arm and hand gestures to really liven things up.

Practise on your family or co-workers.

It’s always a good idea to write down what you’re going to say (don’t read it though – memorize it) and practise on people you trust and get their honest opinion.

We went through six keys to giving a great special occasion toast. If you’ve enjoyed my column over the year I would love to hear from you, so remember to keep in touch with me by leaving a comment below.

But here’s the really silly part. Have you ever adjusted your selling price to match or beat his price?

If you took Economics 101 in high school or college, you learned that selling prices for goods and services are determined by “what the market will bear.” That means that consumers – the market – decide what a product is worth and will give so much money, but no more, for that product.

After doing a fake-voice phone survey of a few companies, and setting your prices somewhere in their range, you might say you are charging “what the market will bear.” This beats going to the trouble of figuring out what your company’s break-even point is. “We can’t charge more than what the market will bear!” is delivered as a logical reason for maintaining below-cost selling prices.

But here’s the rub. The “what the market will bear” rule applies to commodities. Commodities are products that don’t differ much from vendor to vendor. Gold, for instance, is a commodity. Gold is gold is gold. Gold will follow the Economic rule of ‘what the market will bear’ pretty nicely. It will be directly affected by the law of ‘supply and demand.’ Economics 101 works well when you are talking about commodities.

But it doesn’t count for much as far as your products and services go.

Here’s the real rule, the ‘street’ rule, the rule they don’t teach you in Economics 101: the market doesn’t set the selling price. The marketers do.

• Why does Coca Cola sell for three times the price of store brand cola?

• How come Rolex sells watches for $50,000 when you can get a very nice watch for $100?

• Why would anyone pay $15,000 to cross the Atlantic on the Concord when a jet plane will get you there for about $500?

The marketers in this world differentiate their products, and make them something more than a commodity. Marketers create and communicate features that benefit consumers. Benefits add value to the product. Coke is the real thing. A Rolex is a symbol of wealth and power. And the Concord goes really fast. (Speed is always a cool product feature). Higher value commands a higher price.

If value equals price, then there is no sale:

V = P; then, No Sale

Cash in pocket will only be exchanged for something that has a higher perceived value. So, if a product is worth exactly what you are charging for it, no one will buy it. What usually happens is that you will drop your price until the value of your product becomes bigger than the price:

V > P ; then, Sale

However, the marketer increases the value until the price looks insignificant:

V > P ; then, Profitable Sale

You see, there is a huge problem with basing your prices on what your competition is charging, on what the market will bear. I bet your competition is even more ignorant than you are when it comes to knowing his break-even and his true costs of doing business. He got his selling price by calling other companies, companies that are now out of business. Don’t assume that your competition knows what he is doing!

Lots of folks get confused when they set their selling prices. They look at what everyone else is charging, then they hope and pray that they can make money at those prices. So, don’t beat yourself up. Just do it the right way.

How To Price Yourself:

• Decide how much money you want to make.
• Offer a terrific product.
• Figure out ALL your costs of doing business.
• Come up with a selling price that makes your dreams come true.
• Adopt a marketer’s mindset.
• Create so much value for your product that your customers beg to buy it.

And forget what the market will bear.

First some Statistics showing why it's important to get your audience engaged:

People on Facebook

• More than 800 million active users

• More than 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day

Activity on Facebook

• More than 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages

• Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events

Mobile

• More than 350 million active users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices

Savvy business owners are now including Facebook as part of their marketing plan but the downside is that fans are being inundated with offers, promotions and sales tactics from these very owners.

How do you get YOUR message heard above the ‘noise’ coming from these Facebook pages?

As a business owner, the secret to succeeding on Facebook is to observe the 80/20 rule.

• 80% of your status updates should offer no-strings-attached value

• Offer/sell products or services the other 20% of the time

To attract and convert your fans into customers, focus your posts and status updates on creating relationships through conversations. As with any business, once you’ve developed that rapport and built a solid relationship, your Facebook fans will be more receptive to what you are offering/selling in future promotions.

Here are 10 MORE Facebook Conversation Starters

1. Ask them what info they need – What’s your burning question for the day about (insert topic).

2. Give them reasons to share – You’re the best and to show our ‘love’, here’s your link to a complimentary ebook. Yes, you can share! (insert link)

3. Share quotes related to your business – “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw

4. Leverage the celebrity factor – Here’s our Founder, Cathy Kuzel with Trevor Linden at the National Speakers Bureau event last week. Definite ‘handsome’ factor!

5. Ask them to submit a photo related to your subject matter – Have you had your picture taken with a celebrity? Please share and post it on our wall.

6. Give a ‘heads up’ on upcoming events/announcements – FOR YOUR EYES ONLY! Facebook fans, stay tuned – tomorrow we’ll have news just for you!

7. Share a story about the history of your product/business – The concept for our re-usable gift bags started in 2004 when . . .

8. Share events – For our fans in the garment industry, you just might want to attend the XYZ Fashion Show being held on . . .

9. Share your values and beliefs – This December 1st, we join the global community in observing World Aids Day to raise awareness of AIDS and HIV.

10. Express Gratitude – It’s because of YOU that we’ve reached 10,000 fans. You’re the best!

And, as promised, here's one more bonus conversation starter:

11. Have Fun with Contests – The first five people to find our previous post about (insert topic), tag it and share it wins coffee on us!

The key to leveraging Facebook as a marketing tool is to keep in mind that “hard sales” (ie: promotion after promotion after promotion. . .) just doesn’t work.

Now Go Get Connected!

As an entrepreneur, having a more flexible work schedule was probably one of your desired items, particularly if you came from a very structured corporate job. If this was high on the desire list, why has it fallen down the priority list now?

The 3 R’s of entrepreneurship are Rest, Relaxation and Rejuvenation. Each component is vital if you want to remain a creative, productive entrepreneur and a great leader of your business. There are various ways you can include each “R” into your daily routine.

1. Get A Good Night’s Sleep

This is one of the most challenging aspects of most people’s lives, especially when you are an entrepreneur. Many entrepreneurs will work late and get up early, only to repeat this cycle of burning the candle at both ends over and over.

As an entrepreneur, your brain is active creating new processes, creating and innovating. This is possible only when you are able to rejuvenate at night. A lack of adequate sleep has been shown by researchers to affect your memory, mood, motivation, judgment, and your perception of events. It also impacts your ability to learn new tasks.

Consider setting a regular daily sleep routine with set times to rest and rise. Sunshine (when possible) during the day also helps.

 2. Take Frequent Breaks

Some refer to this approach as the Pomodoro Approach. Before you start a task, set a timer for 25 minutes. When the timer rings, get up from your desk (or away from what you were doing), and take a 5 minute break. Repeat this cycle three more times but take a 25 minute break after the 4^th cycle.

Taking frequent breaks gives your eyes, brain and body a break, allows you to stretch and change your position. Use the mini breaks to get some water so you stay well hydrated. Take a walk around the block for some fresh air and exercise during longer break.

Each break will allow you to rest the brain cells, and help you relax.

3. Play Hard

To be a successful entrepreneur, you work hard. It is equally as important that you play hard. Schedule at least one day per week where you totally unplug. Stay away from your computer (and smart phone), schedule time with family and friends or alone time activities that you love to do. Curl up with a good book, play a round of golf, go for a walk or hike, spend time with a significant other, play with your kids or meet a friend for tea. Whatever it is, ensure it’s something you really enjoy (save the housework for another day!)

Don’t forget to schedule a holiday each year. If a week away seems too long, initially start with a four-day weekend and build up to a week away. Then aim for two weeks a year!

No matter what options you choose, include the 3 R’s in your daily routines to improve your brain power, gain productivity and efficiencies! Preschedule your R3 time and use good time management techniques to honour these timeslots. Your business will thank you!

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." ~ John Lubbock

The best approach to preventing colds and flus is through lifestyle changes which lay the groundwork for your immune system to efficiently recognize and destroy foreign bacteria and viruses. The foundation of good health begins with:

• Regular exercise – 30 minutes a day of moderate enjoyable activity supports immune function

• Whole foods diet – whole grains, lean meats, healthy fats, and a variety of vegetables increases antioxidant and nutrient status

• Plenty of fluids – one to two Litres daily

• Low sugar intake – minimize sugar as one teaspoon can suppress immune system function for up to five hours

• Stress management – positive coping methods (exercise, yoga, meditation, social activities) help decrease cortisol levels (cortisol is a stress hormone which impairs the immune system)

• Sleep – good quality sleep allows defense systems to operate fully

The health of a company is connected to the health of its employees. Maintaining a positive, active and healthy lifestyle will help reduce sick days and improve workplace productivity.

If the symptoms of achiness, sore throat, stuffy nose, and general malaise have already begun, it is important to support and maximize defense mechanisms to reduce the length of illness and return to work in a healthy productive state. Options to decrease the length of your cold or flu include:

• Garlic – has the widest spectrum antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral activity of all foods; consume it in its raw form to benefit from its active properties

• Homemade organic chicken broth helps thin mucous

• Sleep – the most important remedy for cold or flu illness as it allows for repair and optimal immune action

• Drinking plenty of fluids during illness helps the body get rid of toxins and waste products; at least two Litres of water or herbal tea daily is recommended

• Echinacea – a good quality Echinacea like MediHerb will help improve your body’s defense reaction to the virus or bacteria

• Vitamins A, C, E, and zinc and selenium – decrease the life of a cold/flu virus, repair mucous membranes, and support immune and detoxification

• Complex homeopathics are beneficial – Boiron and Heel have remedies specific for flus available in health food stores

Emails are an unavoidable reality of doing business these days. Most small business owners I talk to receive anywhere from 200-1000 emails a day. And, not all of these emails are “business critical.” No wonder most of us feel overwhelmed by email and some of us even avoid it completely. However, as more and more business is done online, ignoring business critical emails could be catastrophic. Here are three tips to help you deal with the email overload without completely ignoring it:

Clear the inbox

The inbox is not a garage. Don’t treat it like a storage space. Think of the inbox like your living room. You work hard to keep the living room clean so extend the same principle to your emails. Keeping the Inbox clean helps you quickly scan through the emails you’ve received to pick the important ones that you want to read and respond to. It also helps you consume emails at bite size. Wouldn’t you rather deal with 25 emails at a time than 200? That can be achieved and it has to start with a clean inbox.

Follow the Rule of 4D’s

The decision making principle called the “Rule of 4Ds” has helped many of my clients get rid of email clutter and use email as an effective means of communication. Here is how you use this principle:

• Take each email and realize that you have four options in dealing with it. You can either “Delete it,” “Do it,” “Delegate it” or “Defer it.”

• “Delete” emails that do not have any value. These are the forwarded chain letters, newsletters that you no longer read and junk mail.

• “Do” as in respond or take action for the emails that can be acted upon in two minutes or less. These are the emails that require a quick response from you. It is better to complete them than to put them on your To Do list.

• Delegate” emails that can be effectively answered by a team member. Your team members, in some instances, may be able to respond to some emails better than you can because they are the first line of contact for various tasks.

• “Defer” emails that require your inputs, are important and take longer than two minutes to complete. Once you have finished this process for each email, set aside a 30 minute time block to go through and take action on your deferred emails.

Write effective emails

One of the best ways of minimizing email clutter is to learn how to send effective emails. In general, you want to ensure that your reader knows what he/she needs to do after reading your emails. Follow these four rules to start writing effective emails:

1.      Let them know what actions you expect them to take

2.      Let them know when they need to reply back by

3.      Give the bottom line first

4.      Be direct in your communications

Follow these tips and I can guarantee that your email communications and the level of emails you receive will both improve.

Over to you: What are some of your favourite methods to deal with email overwhelm?

In making dinner last night I got to thinking about cooking and leadership. What is the common ingredient of leaders who seem to get so much out of their teams while other leaders inspire nothing more than apathetic compliance from their staff? What makes the difference between the masterpiece meal creators and those who just make fill-the-hole meals when both have the same ingredients to work with?

From my work with all different types of organizations, I have come to see that people who lead great teams do not necessarily have a “better” team but are better at tapping into the true strengths of the individuals on those teams. They have the ability to get to the core of who that person is, find their passion and then assign them to an appropriate role where they will feel fulfilled and challenged.

An inefficient leader; however, delegates roles based on the operational to-do list without giving much attention to what could be accomplished if the right people were in the right roles. This person is lazier because taking the time to discover what incredible talent lies right under your nose is a long process of exploration and emotional involvement on the part of both the team leader and their team mate.

Is it easier to just go for a quick fix as opposed to setting your intention to create a masterpiece out of the resources you have? Of course, but what if someone were to tell you that inside your team you already had a marketing genius, a technology whiz, and a team building expert but you never took the time to find out?

Three steps to help you tap into your team’s talents:

1. Sit down one-on-one with each person on your team and sincerely ask them: so what do you love about your job? What do you hate? If you could do anything here, which role would you choose? What part of this team accomplishing it’s goal are you most passionate about?

2. Show you’re serious by taking notes as your teammate is talking. Use lead phrases like “tell me more what you mean by that?” and “so how exactly did you do that?” People love to talk about themselves and will be grateful for the attention you’re giving them.

3. Listen with no agenda. Don’t use the time to try to find them a different role on the team or to do a performance review. Just listen – review your notes later once they’ve left.

After you’ve completed this process with every person on your team, set your goal to make a magnificent entrée out of the ingredients you have. It will take some trial-and-error and will be a lot more work but I guarantee you that will be a meal worth making.

"He could be married. Gosh, how embarrassing would that be."

"You have a zit on your chin, maybe tonight's not the best night to be picking up men."

"What if you say something stupid? You do that quite often you know."

"If he was into you, he'd of noticed you by now."

And with all of that rationalizing you go home and never meet this man that you were so incredibly attracted to. You spend the next three years wondering if he might have been your future husband. Your only mistake? You bought into fear.

You're totally sick of your job. For years you've been wanting to be your own boss. There's nothing you would love more than to run your own consulting business. So, you do a lot of research and have some in depth discussions with your partner about it. He's totally supportive! You can't remember the last time you felt so great! As you begin to plan your resignation date from your current employment, there's an old familiar voice in your head…

"If you quit this job you will be putting so much stress on your husband."

"Most entrepreneurs fail, what makes you think you can do this?"

"How will you ever forgive yourself if you blow all your savings for nothing?"

"Let's face it, you're not really the entrepreneur type."

And with all of that rationalizing you stay at your job for the rest of your working years and you wonder everyday what it might have been like to be your own boss. Your only mistake? You bought into fear.

There is a little mistake that can cost you your happiness, and that little mistake is listening to your voice of fear. How do you know if you are listening to the voice of fear?

Actually, it's quite simple to detect. If you are always justifying, rationalizing or being practical when opportunities knock, chances are very good that you are buying into the voice of fear. And a sure way to know that you are listening to fear: fear makes you feel bad. When you are listening to fear, you feel disappointed, sad, stuck, etc.

Your Mission:

• Write down five things you haven't done because you were justifying, rationalizing or trying to be practical.
• What exactly were you telling yourself?
• Were those things really true or were you just scared?
• How can you take your control back?
• Write out a daily affirmation, like the one below, and say it to yourself every day.

Daily Affirmation:

Dear ________________.

I am beginning to notice how often I buy into the voice of fear. I do not want to live a life controlled by fear and so I ask that you give me the strength to quiet that voice and the courage to say "YES" to the opportunities that come my way. I trust that when opportunities come to me, they come to me on purpose and with a purpose to help me grow into the person I am truly meant to be. Thank you! I love you! I trust you! And so it is!

1. acknowledge the conflict exists;
2. communicate effectively about the conflict, and
3. take personal responsibility for the conflict

Conflict resolution skill #4 is: resolving to make conflict resolution a priority.

Think about this for a moment. We all know people who seem to thrive on conflict; this is sad but true. It seems as if for every person who avoids conflict at all cost there is a person who never misses an opportunity to create it. Regardless of the circumstances which created the conflict, conflict cannot be resolved unless you make it a priority to resolve it.

In your relationships and your business you must be willing and determined to resolve conflict from the perspective of what is best for your business and what is in the long term interest of your relationship.

The mistake many people make is they fail to prioritize their business or relationship and get bogged down on the specifics of the conflict and who is “right” and who is “wrong.” Focusing on the minor details of an argument instead of focusing on what is at stake for the business or your relationship from a long-term perspective makes us run the risk of losing sight of the forest from the trees. When this happens, conflict remains unresolved and ill will is perpetuated.

Tenacity is an admirable quality when it provides resilience for learning something new. But when tenacity gets us stuck in a conflict, refusing to let go of it, it can be responsible for leaving our conflicts unresolved – which eventually destroys our relationships and the productivity of our business.

The next time you are faced with a business or relationship conflict that you are having difficulty letting go of or resolving, ask yourself this question: “Is maintaining the conflict worth your relationship or the productivity of your business?” Chances are you know the answer to this question. If you make it your priority, all conflicts are resolvable.

See also:

Conflict Resolution Success in Business & Marriage (for an overview and list of the five skills)

Conflict Resolution: Acknowledge the conflict exists (skill #1)

Conflict Resolution for Women in Biz: Communicate Effectively (skill #2)

Conflict Resolution for Women in Biz: Taking Responsibility (skill #3)

This will not be the case for me when my third child comes along. When my son was born, I had been running my business on my own for about seven months and it was still in the growth stages. In October (he was born at the end of November), I started planning on what I was going to do when he arrived. Was I going to take a break? Could I really go on maternity leave for an extended period of time? Did I really want to step away from all the hard work that I had put in for someone else to help me during this time?

I truly love my job and would not change anything for the world. The great thing about being a work at home mom is that I am able to create my own hours and live on my own schedule. Going on maternity leave as a sole business owner is hard to do but if you run your business out of your home and do not have a brick and mortar then it is doable.

Schedule Guest Contributors:

I enlisted the help of other mom businesses owners to write six weeks of blog posts. This ensured that even if I couldn’t write my own material my readers would still have something to read about running a business, marketing tips, etc. while I was nursing the baby or taking care of my toddler.

Hire a Virtual Assistant:

If you don’t have staff on hand to take over emails or simple tasks then hire a VA (Virtual Assistant) to do some of the work for you. Yes, there might be emails that pertain to just you but I’m sure many of your emails can be answered with a stock answer. They are also available to help you with your social media as well. There will be a fee with this service but if you really do need a break, it’s well worth the help.

Don’t run big promotions or giveaways:

Do as I say and not as I did. The only thing that I was thinking about during the end of my second pregnancy was “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that I’m running a huge Holiday giveaway and hosting my first ever Holiday Gift Extravaganza (to promote businesses over the holidays).” Luckily, I was smart about one thing and I wrote out all my tweets and Facebook mentions ahead of time so that all I had to do was copy and paste. I apparently like to add stress on top of an existing stressor, like pregnancy, so needless to say it was a very hectic holiday season in our house.

Have a staff member fill in:

At the time of my first two pregnancies, I did not have the advantage of having staff members being able to fill in and help out after I had my babies. Now pregnant with my third child, I know that I have a reliable and trustworthy co-owner that will be able to handle tasks while I am gone. The thing is, maternity leave might actually be something that I could do this time because I know that my business will be in the best hands if I’m gone.

Find someone to play with your other children:

For me this will be one of the major challenges when bringing a new person home to take care of. My children have been known to nurse every hour on the hour for an hour at a time, so whenever the day may come that I bring a new baby home then I will need someone to entertain the older kids. Does this pertain to you? Enlist the help of your husband (if he’s able to take off work), your mother, friends, or a nanny. After having two rambunctious kids, taking care of a newborn is easy. I’m pretty sure if I just had to take care of a newborn then running a business would be a cinch. I could answer emails and do conference calls while sitting on the couch nursing a baby.

Whether this is your first child or fourth child, remember that even if you love your business as much as I do, take a break, even if it’s just a day. That’s all I did with the second one ‘cause can you believe it, I was answering emails in the hospital and cooked a Thanksgiving meal the next day. Crazy I know, but there is such a thing as too busy. Enjoy your newborn and the bond that they will create with their siblings. They are only little once. Your business will survive if you take a break. All you need to do is find the right people to help you out.

QR codes (or Quick Response codes), those little black and white squares that look like crosswords, are appearing everywhere: in magazine ads, on product labels, on bus stops, you name it. If you scan them using your smart phone you are taken to a related webpage (without having to type in the URL). I blogged about them a year or so ago and have watched with interest as they proliferate. Marketers love them but are the really resonating with their intended audience? I decided to find out.

According to a recent Comscore report, 14 million Americans scanned a QR code using their mobile device in the month of June. So people are using them but it is interesting to note that the main demographics were males aged 18-34 in the high income bracket – so be cautious in using these if your target markets differs. Another recent report in this CNN article in the US surveyed students and only two out of 10 even knew what a QR code is.

QR codes are a great marketing tool in theory but using them is far from a seamless experience. In the last week I scanned several QR codes and have been frustrated by the lack of compatibility between the QR scanner on my phone resulting in the appearance of error messages rather than taking me to the enticing, targeted websites I expected to see. Of the 10 or so codes that I scanned only one worked seamlessly to launch the intended web site – the rest I gave up waiting on and couldn’t be bothered to download another barcode app that would work.

Here’s an example: I ate out recently and saw this QR code (see photo) being used in at the MAC Shack in Kerrisdale (Vancouver, BC) as part of a promotion. Above the code, it says "Every Scan is a Winner!" and under the code, it says "Win free drinks, up-sizes, desserts and $10 or $25 gift cards!" So in my quest for QR knowledge, I decided to scan it to find out what my prize would be. Sadly I never found out because the app failed to launch properly, I ended up frustrated, annoyed and hungry for more. It didn’t put me off my mac cheese thankfully (nothing could) but it did give me some food for thought.

In this case, I only wasted a few minutes tinkering around trying to get it to work but for the marketer who devised this campaign, their time in putting this together was rendered useless (I’m assuming that I wasn’t the only one that tried to scan it in vain). There are far better ways to build your audience (tried and tested ways) that work. Not only that but from a marketer’s perspective when your audience is expecting something and they don’t get it (or it fails to work), what does that say about your organization. It’s all about the optics. If you can’t get it right then why bother wasting your audience’s time.

Sources in the telecom industry tell me that the next generation of phones will be able to scan these automatically so the problem of unstandardized apps may go away but in the meantime, marketers should give close consideration to their audience and to making sure that their QR codes work seamlessly with as many of the readers as possible. Otherwise, it might be better to consider more tried and tested methods to grow your community. Don’t get me wrong, the potential for QR Codes is huge and one day they will be a marketing tool that you can’t ignore but for now not so much.

For better or for worse, people usually want to learn more when they discover how their closet and clothes can affect them.

The rising popularity of Feng Shui has been extraordinary. Did you know that there are over 1,000 Feng Shui consultants in California and the popularity of Feng Shui in Canada is on the rise? Feng Shui is the art of balancing and harmonizing the flow of energy to create beneficial effects in our lives.

People get excited about Feng Shui, but they don’t realize that they need to clear the clutter first. Hanging a mirror in your closet to attract more wealth is good, but not if it is mirroring clutter as it will double your problems! It is vital to have a good flow of life force energy in your closet. Feng Shui principles teach ways to improve energy flow and clearing clutter. In your closet, for example, you will be able to lift that stuck energy and experience dramatic results.

Most of our closets are filled with clutter. This is negative energy. Clutter is like having problems hanging over you – waiting to be dealt with. It restricts us from thinking clearly and freshly. If it’s the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning, you will tend to wake up sluggishly. Clutter stashed higher than eye level will have an oppressive effect and may induce headaches.

Take a look at your closet and really ask yourself, “Do I really need all this stuff or am I just hanging on to it out of guilt?” If the answer is the latter and you don’t love the item(s), then it’s time to let go (you can donate clothes to charity or sell them in a consignment store). These items are holding your life back in the past and you can’t move forward. They will make you feel tired, lethargic, and depressed. On the other hand, keeping the things you love creates positive energy and opens up new opportunities in your life.

Keeping your closet clean will allow the energy to move more smoothly and harmoniously around the space. Remember that Feng Shui knows no bounds. Even though your stuff may be hidden in your closet and you don’t see it all the time, it is still part of your space. Your clo

set holds negative energy when filled with stuff.

Most people wear about 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time. If you have any doubt, take this test for a month. Each time you wear something and clean it, hang it at one end of your wardrobe. At the end of the month, you will find you are wearing the same clothes most of the time.

Separate the clothes you love to wear from those you don’t. This will help when trying to clean your wardrobe and dump the excess. Be clear on your criteria for whether something stays or goes though. For example, observe the colors. Do they uplift and enhance your energy? This alone will likely help you sift through the majority of your clothes.

In the same way we decorate the walls of our homes, we choose colors, textures and fabric designs that reflect our own energy vibrations. People go through color phases. Next, rank items based on feel. If you don’t like the material, shape, or anything else about it, let it go. You owe it to yourself to create a collection of outfits you absolutely love.

Make a decision to never buy anything that isn’t quite what you want because you know it will end up in the excess pile. Resolve to buy clothes that you love and look great, even if they cost a bit more. Get a friend to help you choose styles and colors. If you look good and feel good, you’ll raise your energy and attract prosperity. Some people keep things they haven’t worn in over 20 years. If you haven’t worn it in the last two or three years, then let it go.

Comfort shopping is one sure way to end up with clothes you will never wear. The trick is to never go shopping when you feel emotionally out of sorts.

Some people hang on to clothes that are too small because they’re planning to lose weight so they can wear them again. Life rarely happens this way. Instead, find something that makes you look and feel really good exactly as you are now. What will happen? You’ll lose weight. Love yourself exactly as you are, instead of waiting until you lose weight.

In addition, clothes in need fixing or a new zipper hold negative energy. Every time you look at them, they remind you of not having time to fix them. This is an energy drain. Everything you own is subconsciously connected to your energy. This is considered a lack of respect and care for yourself. If you don’t intend to fix something or don’t love it enough to keep it, let it go. Someone else may love it. What about clothes in need of constant ironing if you hate ironing? Launder and iron them for the last time, and consign or donate them.

Don’t put up with second best. When you nourish yourself with the best clothes, you’ll attract the best in other areas of your life too. If you are just getting by with the clothes you have, love them and be grateful. When resources become available, replace these clothes to feel even more wonderful. Most people are surprised how quickly this becomes possible once they set their mind to it. Remember to live with what you love!

Use this list (below) to see how you can make simple ingredient substitutions that can help reduce the amount of calories, fat, sodium, cholesterol, and sugar in your meals.

Your task:

The next time you see a recipe that looks great but are concerned about the nutrition value, use this list to substitute one or more of the ingredients. This change can lead to a long-term habit of substituting ingredients, while allowing you to expand your healthy recipe collection.

"How could that be?" you gasp. Any of those activities, if you find them enjoyable, are a great escape from the normally hectic tasks that seem to consume your days. But, that's just it—you're using any of those pleasurable activities to escape just being in the present moment. I mean just being.

Being Versus Doing

When was the last time you ate a meal while reading a book, a newspaper or watching TV? While doing that, were you aware of the taste of every grain and morsel that you put in your mouth? Did you chew each bite, perhaps thirty times, or until the food was pulverized? Do you even remember the tastes and scents and textures that you experienced from the time you started your meal until your plate was empty? When was the last time you consumed a meal, with or without another person being present, completely in silence, focusing on nothing but the taste and your gratitude for having that meal?

Now before you tune out and think I'm another of those woo-woo crackpots, I want you to know that this perspective is coming to you from a still-reforming Type A personality. Multi-tasking (even though I coached my clients not to do it) was my middle name. If I didn't have at least five things going on at the same time, or several files open on my desk simultaneously (ten was my record), I didn't feel that I had achieved anything. I fooled myself into thinking I was being super-productive, getting so much done in a day.

I did that for a long time. Until, as you may have read in my bio, I hit a wall, crashed, and burned to a crisp. Believe me, it wasn't pretty. I was physically in pain, emotionally drained and spiritually void.

Coming Back To Yourself

I had heard, countless times, how if you just become quiet long enough you will hear the answers. Are you kidding me? I didn't even know the questions! Even if I did hear a response, I would doubt it, figuring I was making it up or hearing voices in my head.

For me, the turning point in what felt like a fruitless struggle to find the answers came with an unexpected opportunity to attend a one-week meditation retreat. Quite fortuitously, a new friend emailed me on a Sunday, I just happened to be at my computer, and I was literally able to grab one of a precious few cancellations before too many other people knew about them. I didn't even know if I could really afford to go or where I'd be housed or with whom.

Was it a coincidence that all that happened seemingly out of the blue? And that I happened to be at my computer on a Sunday, which is rare? I think not. It was the beginning of starting to hear the answers. Your moment of truth may not be the same as mine (it probably won't be) but if you pay attention, you'll become aware of the right opportunity for you to figure out what it will take for you to slow down long enough to come back to yourself. But how exactly, does one "come back to oneself?"

I'm glad you asked.

Your Mission Should You Choose to Accept It

1. Connect with your breath.

As Buddhist Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh says in his book, You Are Here, mindful breathing is a kind of bridge that brings the body and the mind together. If through mindfulness of the breath you generate harmony, depth, and calm, these will penetrate into your body and mind. Don't think too hard about meditating (unless you want to). Instead, just say silently to yourself, “Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.” Practice doing that throughout the day, when things get hectic. You can do it in your car, when walking on crowded sidewalks, or when taking your dog for a walk.

2. Without mud there is no lotus.

Without experiencing pain, we'd not know joy. If we didn't feel anger, we wouldn't understand compassion. Without life feeling hectic and chaotic, we wouldn't recognize peace and tranquility. Be grateful that you own the "bad" stuff in order to know the good. Think about what adversities you've had to deal with, like having had a difficult childhood, being in an abusive situation or personal demons you've managed to overcome (and remember you're still a work in progress). Take the time to write those down and then journal some more on how those experiences can be used to help others with understanding, love and compassion. If you read my last article, you'll find this exercise extremely helpful to get in touch with your Blessing, Essence and Mission.

3. Catch Yourself Multi-Tasking.

For some of us this nasty habit has become so ingrained that we're not even aware that we're doing it. Curiously, even though I didn't think I was aware in the past, I recently remembered that tightness I'd feel in my gut when I was doing too many things at once. I mistook it for an adrenalin rush which was conducive to working well to deadlines. In a way it was because I ended up with almost flat-lined adrenals. Don't go there! Instead, do this: type out and put somewhere highly visible: Focus ONLY On (your task at hand) Until Completion. Alternatively, you can download a bell to go off randomly or at least once an hour, at which time you stop what you're doing, close your eyes and take three deep in and out breaths.

To get the free download, click here if you're a PC user or here for Mac.

Until next time, remember to be authentically you and discover the magic of living in the present moment!

If you're asking yourself, "I’ve got the ‘Page’ now how the heck do I engage people on FB?" you are not alone. We're smart, we're savvy and we're darn good at what we do – it's just that we need someone to show us how to get the ball rolling, right?

10 Conversation Starters

Here are 10 ways to get your fans to comment, like and share your posts on Facebook:

1. Offer tips – Create an “Intriguing Introduction” guaranteed to encourage conversation. Read more on our blog . . . (then include a link to your blog)

2. Ask questions – How do you follow up with customers? Which method works best – phone, email, text or . . .? Pleases share your tips and ideas.

3. Answer questions – An excellent question Linda! I would recommend the ‘2 Pocket’ networking method. Anyone have other suggestions for Linda?

4. Start a poll – Who’s your favourite (Vancouver Canuck)? Why?

5. Share the results – The results are in! 65% of the people who responded to our poll said that (Daniel Sedin is their #1 favourite Canuck)!

6. Solicit Feedback – How are we doing? Is our content relevant? Want more? Less?

7. Make Announcements – We’ve just reached our 100th member of The Connected Woman Association!

8. Respond to comments – (Sabine), that’s a fabulous idea! Thanks so much for sharing!

9. Celebrate holidays and special occasions – Happy New Year! Here’s to YOUR success! – Happy Valentines Day! Did you remember the flowers?

10. Share “little known facts” – Did you know that the . . . (insert fact)

These are just a few ways generate conversation and turn your fan page into a contributing factor to your business. The purpose of Facebook is ‘socializing’ so do it! Write the majority of your posts and status updates with the focus of creating conversations. Using it for ‘selling’ and blatant self-promotion will just turn people away.

If used properly, a Facebook fan page can become a very strategic part of any successful business marketing plan.

Now Go Get Connected!

see also:

10 MORE Conversation Starters for Your Facebook Page

Our customers today want more from the businesses they buy from. As a business owner, you want to set the bar high and attract others who support your vision and will help you achieve the goals and outcomes identified. Your goals and values should be transparent so customers can identify with you and support your efforts. Short-term success is not the desired outcome. Instead, efforts should be directed toward long-term sustainability. In addition, each of the results attained must be measureable.  

Sustainability is often thought of in terms of social or environmental sustainability.Economic sustainability is the third area and critical for business longevity. Sustainability, by definition, requires that results can be maintained over the long-term and resources are not depleted or damaged permanently in the process.

As a business owner, leadership in sustainability is important but often not top of mind. I reckon sustainability in business is a whole lot more! As a business owner today, it is important to consider sustainability in three critical areas.  

1. Earth Friendly

The “green” movement has heightened our awareness of environmental sustainability.  Business owners have the ability to take many steps to reducing their carbon footprint. The key is to integrate earth-friendly activities into everyday activities in your business rather than have them as a separate initiative.

Some easy earth-friendly initiatives you can implement easily include:

• Work from home – a common choice of small business owners which eliminates commuting
• Allow your team to also work from home can create a very productive team while also providing an environmentally friendly benefit for all
• Turn off task lights and screens when you are away from your desk
• Shutdown the computer at night
• Print on both sides of paper
• Choose recycled paper or paper from sustainable forestry practices
• File documents electronically instead of printing and filing hard copies
• Use reusable cups and water bottles instead of disposable
• Check out the earth-friendly options your suppliers have to offer 
• Choose suppliers who maximize your ability to choose earth-friendly supplies and delivery options
• Order less often to reduce deliveries

2. Be a Good Corporate Citizen

Social sustainability encompasses your community, your suppliers and your team. Philanthropy is one component of social sustainability.  When you are a profitable business, it is important to “give-back” to community endeavours. These efforts can include financial donations as well as donations of time or skills.

Social sustainability also includes a business owner’s responsibility to ensure they offer a safe work environment and pay a decent wage. In some areas, the living wage has been established to reflect a wage that is necessary to keep employees above the poverty line. The living wage includes wages and benefits including vacation and health care benefits. All workers are covered by employment and work safety regulations in your areas.

When you have a good social sustainability program in place, you are viewed to be a good employer and therefore able to attract and retain top talent. In addition, customers and your neighbours will view you as a good corporate citizen.

3. Focus on Black

A sustainable company is one who is able to generate revenue that covers current expenses and allows for profits that can be reinvested into the business and the community. Economic sustainability will enable your business to meet all current and future government regulations and ensure proper protection of all assets, including risk and crisis management.

Are you like so many small business owners who turn a blind eye to your financial reports? When you fail to closely track your financial reports you may not be able to react appropriately when things spin out of control. Need some help?  A business coach with a sound knowledge of financial reporting can support your efforts to stay in the black with an eye on the green.
 

6. Keep a Master To Do List.

I recommend a single subject, spiral bound, three-hole punched, college-ruled notebook for your Master To Do List. You are going to have lots of great ideas for your business. However, you can’t do everything all at once. You will learn to prioritize your ideas and focus your energy on the things that will have the most impact on your business success. When you, or a team member, have a good idea, or think of something that needs to be done, a “to do,” jot it down on the Master To Do List.Also, use your Master To Do List to jot down anything that needs jotting down as you go through your day. Don’t use Post-its or scrap paper.

7. Keep a Journal.

This is where you write down the story of your business. Insert a few blank pages and store them in the Journal section of your Biz Plan Binder. Date your entries. You will learn wonderful lessons as you create and implement your business plan. Keeping a Journal will help you to remember those lessons, and give you a nice way to pass the lessons along.

8. Look in the mirror.

Look yourself in the eyes and tell yourself, “Now is the time. This is what I want. And I am committed to this Extreme Makeover – My Business Edition.” Do or do not but make the decision! Commit to winning. Commit to being and doing your best.

9. Take action.

Commit to the times on your calendar to flesh out the Biz Plan. You are going to tear down your business and build a brand new, profitable one. Block out your calendar with time to do the actions required in your Biz Plan. Delegate and hold team members accountable for their assigned activities. Plan…and go!

10. Be happy with where you are now.

You can’t have a happy ending to an unhappy journey. Decide to be happy now. Decide that the journey is going to be just as important as the results. There is no “there” which you will achieve that will make you happy. Enjoy and acknowledge the successes and challenges along the way. Reflect on the results and change the Biz Plan as needed. Expect miracles and embrace serendipitous events. If everything went according to plan, we wouldn’t have anything to write about in our memoirs!

A Couple of Extra Tips…

Could you do all this in your computer? Sure you could. Whatever you are comfortable with. I have a printed version of my Biz Plan in my Biz Plan Binder, and I keep the digital files on the computer.

Don’t copy someone else’s plan just to hammer one out.

Don’t use a canned template and merely fill in the blanks.

Don’t waste time building a Biz Plan because you think you should. Put your thought and heart and soul into your Biz Plan. The energy you put into your Biz Plan will super-charge your business.

Do share your Biz Plan with your family and your team. If you would like to share your Biz Plan with a banker or a potential investor, pull out the most critical sections and share those.

For showing to bankers and investors, I suggest a formal Biz Plan include:

Setting Sights

• Your Mission
• Your Goals
• Your Target Market
• Your Elevator Speech
• The Executive Summary

Building the Team

• The Organizational Chart

Making Money

• The Financial Plan

Getting it Sold

• The Marketing Calendar/Plan

Getting it Done

• The Top Projects List

Making Sure

• Your Story

OK. Ready? Set! Go go go! I congratulate you on your Biz Plan and your amazing, expanding, inspiring business!

1. It makes dollars and cents.

When you work with a pro, you understand basic wardrobing concepts such as how many pieces of clothing you actually need to fulfill the roles you play. You spend less on stuff you don’t need and learn how to invest in things that will last and will work. You save time because you know what works, what doesn’t and why and you can easily and quickly sift through the shops and get dressed faster.

2. It’s easier to be accountable with someone there to help.

If you have a guide and a cheerleader and wise advisor behind you, you are far more likely to reach your image development goals, whether that is a physical body change or a simple sort and purge of the clothes that no longer serve you. Furthermore, you get practical tips and strategies for implementing your changes and someone to keep you on track for the long term.

3. You get an objective opinion.

It’s fantastic that your relatives, friends or colleagues want to help and it’s great if they have an eye for fashion. However, are they dressing you in what’s good for you, or what they like? With a pro, you get (if they’re well trained and certified) an objective opinion that is based on your colouring, your body type and your personality. It’s not that your friends don’t have your best interest at heart; it’s that they don’t have sufficient training to be the best help possible.

4. Who you are is who you attract – what is your image attracting?

There’s a common misperception that if you work with a pro, everyone will like how you look and what you wear. This isn’t true. What will happen is that you will feel more comfortable with how you look and you will like how you look and this will help you attract the customers that are ideal for you. It’s okay to be different, as long as you understand what you’re communicating with your image and who it’s attracting. If you’re unsure, or not getting the clients you want, it’s time to work with a pro to assess what’s happening.

5. You can take your image and business to the next level.

You get professional assessment, strategy and implementation for taking your image and business to the next level. Your business is you. Your values, your character, your energy and your image are what your customers are buying. That’s not to say that all customers will come to you immediately when you’ve refined your image; it’s more about attracting the right customers for you. With the right pro, you’ll get proven systems of analysis, assessment and implementation for you to create the image that’s absolutely aligned with who you are and what you do in the world.

Businesses like mine can get away with a weekly or even monthly newsletter to share with their readers about promotions they have currently have going on. There are some businesses where they are able to just send out newsletters when needed. It all depends on what you need to share with your readers and how often they are actually going to read what you say.

Even though you want to keep your readers in touch with you, be mindful that they are taking the time out of their busy schedules to read what is happening in your world. They don’t want to be bombarded with unnecessary emails but do want to open the ones that intrigue them the most. 

How to gain new opt-in subscribers:

When looking to gain new subscribers to your email newsletter, one thing you must remember is that they need to be opt-in subscribers. Do not just randomly add people to your list without them knowing what they are subscribing to. They will be upset they are receiving a newsletter they didn’t sign up for and they might take it out on you. You want to keep your subscribers happy. One way for your list to grow is by having a link on your website or blog that invites people to join your list. Make it enticing by offering some sort of freebie that will draw more people to sign up. This can be tips, coupons, a free e-book, first to know about promotions, whatever suits your business best. It is also important if you want your list to grow to put your sign-up link on everything that you send out. Put it in your email signature, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and then on every exit page of your site. It doesn’t need to be a popup window, but maybe a satisfaction survey that will get people to give you their email.

How to keep the subscribers interested:

Know your audience! Do your clients need to be updated on a daily basis due to coupons or freebies? Do you need to send your subscribers weekly emails to tell them about promotions or sales you are having on a particular item? Do you just want to update them on important news that has happened in your company? These are all questions you need to ask yourself before committing to a daily or even weekly newsletter. You must have the time to publish these emails and still make them interesting enough for your subscribers to continue reading each time in order to keep your numbers up.

Don’t take it personally when people unsubscribe to your newsletter:

The important people, the buyers, will stay because they are interested in what you have to say, the promotions you tell them about now and what exciting things they can expect from you in the future. Remember that the people who leave were never going to buy from you. These are the people that could have signed up to get a freebie or as an entry for a giveaway. What you really want for your business (and need) is the quality people who are going to buy from you to stay.

Everyone has a list of emails they have to go through on a daily basis so make sure that your subject line is one they want to open. If you can hook your readers on a great subject line then they will want to see what you have to say inside the email. This is a great tactic for any email you send out, but an important one for sharing your news with your fans. Keep them intrigued and they will come back for more (maybe even share with their friends).

When Steve showed up, not only were my husband and I prepared for a day of heavy lifting but my four year old son Aidan had rake in hand ready for the adventure of finding the grass in our yard. Out came the chain saw, pruners, and twine. Aidan was enchanted; I was praying that our neighbours would happily come over and help us clear this eye-sore so I didn’t have to do it. No luck.

As I stood there I thought about why so many employees put themselves in this position day after day, showing up to a workplace they dread and doing a job they don’t like.

“How could they put themselves through this agony every day?” I wondered.

After binding and hauling piles and piles of scratchy bushes with hands that were raw from tying twine, I looked over at my son working alongside Steve. He had been working with us since the beginning but didn’t show any signs of wear and was totally engaged in the task at hand. For hours he had been dragging branches from the back of the yard to the front and picking up scraps and dumping them in the compost bin. He hadn’t stopped for snacks or a break since we began and looked as happy as I had ever seen him. I had to ask: why was he so engaged and enchanted by this project instead of being resentful and mechanical in his work (as I was)? What separates employees who are engaged from those who aren’t?

1. Their work contributes and is meaningful to the success of the organization.

Every branch that Aidan dragged was one less we had to move. Bit by bit he saw that his work was playing a part in fulfilling the goal we were setting out to accomplish and he was so proud of his progress.

2. They need to be sincerely acknowledged for their specific contribution to the success of the organization.

While we worked throughout the day, he was constantly being praised for how hard he was working and how great he was being a team player. With every word of belief, he became more committed to doing an even better job.

3. They are given responsibility with the freedom to make their own mistakes without fear of being fired.

At one point during the day Aidan wanted to use a pair of sharp pruning shears to cut the limb off of a branch that was too big to move. As his mom, I realized the potential danger in letting a four-year-old loose with very sharp scissors; however, I also understood that showing him that I trusted his judgement and his commitment to be careful was more important to me than protecting him from potentially cutting himself. Needless to say he took the scissors, cut the branch very carefully and then put the scissors back in the tool kit. Was it possible that he could cut off his finger? Yes. Did he feel great because I gave him the freedom to handle a difficult situation by himself and he succeeded? Yes, and to me, that was worth the risk of a trip to the emergency room.

As the sun started to go down and the work was almost done, I heard Aidan say “great job Steve! You are a good man and did a GREAT job.” I had to laugh – here was my son encouraging the landscaper despite how tired his own little body was. Where I had just been going through the motions all day, he still had enough love to give for the purpose of building up the group because he was fulfilled in his role on the team. After flopping into our recliner to watch Dora the Explorer he said to me, “Mommy, we sure worked hard today. I can’t wait for Steve to come and do the back yard!”

I kissed him, told him how proud I was of him and then flopped on the couch, happy now that the 20 bundles of yard trimmings were now the garbage man’s problem!

The thing is, these bad days always contain a message. That's the funny part about life; it keeps us on our toes. If we want to avoid having crazy day after crazy day, it requires us to do a little detective work. Life doesn't just magically get better or less hectic; it's our job to reflect and make changes accordingly.

So here are a few key things I strongly suggest when you find yourself having one of those crazy days. I've listed them as do's and don'ts.

Your List of Do's

1. STOP! If you're having a crazy day, stop what you're doing and shift gears. Give yourself an adult time out. Take 10-15 minutes...grab a pen and paper and bring it with you.

2. Take your "time out" wherever it's convenient. Honestly, I often use the bathroom. As weird as that may seem, let's face it, there's a good chance no one will bother you if you're in the 'throne room'. While on your time out, take 10 deep breaths in and out. Breath in deeply. Hold. Breathe out deeply.

3. Take your pen and paper and do what I call a brain drain. Write down every single thing that's on your mind. Don't stop writing for two minutes. Write whatever comes to your mind. In other words, avoid being mindful and focused… just write.

4. Next, ask yourself these three questions and write the answers on your paper. "What is this crazy day trying to show me? What do I need to do differently? What can I change right now in this moment?"

5. Now browse over everything you've written. Circle only a few things that you want to concentrate on for the rest of the day. (Everything else can be transferred to a to-do list…after you get out of the bathroom).

6. Have a quick chat with The Big Guy (whoever or whatever that might be for you):

"Dear _______________, I am feeling ____________________ but I want to feel ____________________. Please help me choose this feeling now. Thank you. I love you. And so it is."

7. Get out of the bathroom, smile (don't forget to smile) and complete the tasks you circled. These are all that need to get done today. (Trust me, everything else can wait…nobody is going to die).

8. When you get home in the evening reflect about your day. What did you discover when you answered the three questions? What can you change in your life so these crazy days happen less often? Maybe you need help? Maybe you've put your kids in way too many activities? Maybe you've bitten off more than you can chew at work? Maybe you need to be more pro-active? Get clear about what is going on and get clear about how you can improve it.

9. Give yourself permission to make the changes you need to make. Love yourself by honoring your needs always!

Your List of Don'ts

1. Don't pretend nothing is wrong.

2. Don't blame other people for your crazy day. Take full responsibility for your life!

3. Don't give up on happiness (or on anything else for that matter).

4. Don't feel bad about your crazy day; instead learn from it!

5. Don't feel bad about what you need.

6. Don't strive for perfection.

7. Don't assume you have to do everything all by yourself.

8. Don't spend your whole day in the bathroom; people will begin to suspect something.

Myth: Eating before bedtime causes weight gain.

Regardless of what time of day you eat, calories and fat have the same effect on the body – your body will store extra calories as fat. What does make a difference is what you eat, how much you eat, and the amount of exercise you engage in on a regular basis.

Myth: Low-fat or fat-free means there are no calories.

Food items that are labeled as low-fat and fat-free are often lower in calories than the same portion size of the full-fat product. However, many processed low-fat and fat-free food items contain just as many, if not more, calories as the full-fat versions of the same foods. They may also contain added sugar, flour, or starch thickeners that help improve the flavor and texture once the fat is removed. These ingredients also add calories to food.

Myth: A normal body weight is a sign of a healthy individual.

A person’s body weight is one of many factors used to determine whether an individual is healthy. Note that the weight on a scale consists of two items:

1. body fat (adipose tissue), and

2. fat-free weight (all of the body’s weight excluding fat – muscle, bones, blood, organs, etc.).

Standard scales do not determine what one’s body fat percentage is – body fat percentage is the percentage of total body weight that is carried as fat. Note that muscle weighs more than fat, so if you see the number on the scale inching up, you may be gaining muscle and not fat. Some people use the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a way to measure their body fat; however, BMI is just a relationship between a person’s height and weight.

Myth: Eating sugar can cause diabetes.

Diabetes is not caused by the amount of sugar an individual consumes, but by a lack of insulin in the body. Because foods that are high in sugar are often high in calories, consuming too many of these types of foods can lead to weight gain. This in turn leads to an increased risk of developing diabetes.

Myth: Fresh fruits and vegetables are healthier than frozen or canned.

Research shows that frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh. Because frozen fruits and vegetables are usually processed within hours of being harvested, their vitamins and minerals are able to be preserved. Note that raw produce can sometimes spend several days in transit or in storage prior to them being consumed, losing important nutrients during this time.

Myth: Eating carbohydrates causes weight gain.

Weight gain is caused by calories and fat, not carbohydrates. Excess carbohydrates are not any more fattening than calories, regardless of where they come from. Note that fat contains nine calories per gram of fat, whereas carbohydrates contain only four calories per gram of carbohydrate. Many people don't realize that most of their energy comes from carbohydrate consumption, making carbohydrates a vital part of their meal plan.

Myth: Fad diets are a safe way to lose weight quickly.

Many fad diets are developed by people with no science or health background. Therefore, many of these diets are considered to be harmful to people, especially those with underlying health problems. Many fad diets tend to over-emphasize one particular food item, or type of food, which contradict the guidelines for healthy eating. Skipping meals is not a safe way to lose weight either, as people who skip meals tend to feel hungrier later on, and then eat more than they normally would. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Your Task:

Are there any nutrition myths that you accept as being true? If so, be sure to do some research before making any lifestyle changes. The Food Cop would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Copy is the written part of any of your marketing, advertising and promotional materials. I often share one of my favorite analogies from my friend, colleague and the first high-level mentor I ever invested in, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero. She says that copy is the DNA of all marketing materials. Think about that for a minute. Imagine stripping away the words from any broadcast radio or televisions script, print ad, brochure, website, billboard, business card…well, you get the idea. As you imagine advertising, marketing and promotional pieces without words you begin to realize how important your copy really is.

The bottom line (both financially and realistically) is you should have copy in all of your marketing materials that builds relationships, gets clients and makes money.

Often, those who have not worked with copywriters are not familiar with the process of copywriting. Some even expect that the copywriter will automatically know what you need. Others hope copywriters will magically turn out a proof perfect piece with the very first draft. Copywriters can (and good one’s will) make suggestions on marketing direction and provide valuable input based on experience. This direction comes once you have provided the basic project information needed to proceed. The expectations vary but the reality remains the same.

Copywriting is a process. You, the client, have your work cut out for you. You owe it to yourself and your selected copywriter to commit to due diligence. Your input is valuable and your initial legwork will make the difference between mediocre and money making content.

As you carefully review your current marketing, advertising and promotional materials, decide what else you might need to create copy for and create your content strategy plan (otherwise known as your Internet marketing editorial calendar), it’s time to make an important business decision: will you outsource to a professional copywriter or write your copy yourself?

While it’s been said that copy is one of the most expensive items to outsource, I have to challenge that a bit. I believe it can hurt your business and cost even more if you don’t have the right person writing your copy. I also want to make it clear that I am not the right copywriter for every project either. You’ll want to explore your options and find a copywriter who matches your voice and working style.

When selecting a copywriter there are three key steps you’ll want to take:

1. Do your due diligence. This means checking out at least three candidates and selecting the best writer for your job.

2. Get really clear on the process. Copywriters have processes, turn-around time, policies and specific ways they work. Make sure the copywriter of your choice has a work style that gels with you and the way you want things to work in your business.

3. Talk shop. Be sure to review websites, check out testimonials and, if possible, speak with clients who have worked with the copywriters you are considering.

Remember: All your advertising, marketing and promotional efforts are INVESTMENTS, not expenses. If you choose to write your own copy it’s wise to, at the very least, invest in topnotch copywriting training or, as I like to say, do what you do best and outsource the rest. Return on investment should drive all of your decisions, so make those decisions wisely and remember, your copywriter should save you time, bring real value to the table in form of creative ideas and experience and make the process as painless as possible for you.

Boring people is easy. Dazzling people is difficult. Whether you’re giving a keynote or pitching angel investors, you need to be amazing if you’re going to succeed. Good just doesn’t cut it anymore. Why? Because there’s too much competition out there. Here are seven ways dazzle your audience:

1. Write killer content.

Great speeches begin with great writing. This always surprises my clients. The last thing people think of when you talk about public speaking or presentation skills is good writing. But at the soul of both speaking and writing is the ability to communicate your thoughts and emotions with clarity and power. That’s at the heart of what I help my clients do. With these tips you will be better able to do that yourself.

2. Make eye contact.

Let’s assume you’re speaking to a small to medium sized group; then it’s essential to make eye contact and connect with your audience. Don’t think of them as potential clients or investors first, but as people just like you.

3. Dress to stand out.

About 8 times out of 10, I see people on stage wear the standard boring black suit. Why would you do that when there are so many beautiful colours in the Universe?

4. Act out.

Don’t just tell me, show me. Use your entire body to describe what you’re trying to say. I spend hours working on body language with my clients. It’s a huge part of any speakers’ repertoire and something that people often under utilize.

5. Use your voice.

A flat monotone voice is so dull. Imagine that your voice is a landscape – you want mountains and valleys. That way you’ll make your audience’s journey more interesting.

6. Respond to your audience.

It’s important that throughout your presentation or keynote you take cues from your audience. This takes attention and experience, but start with the basics. How do they look? Interested and engaged or bored? Are they asking questions? Be flexible and respond to their needs.

7. End BIG.

You want to end with something that will be both powerful and memorable. An emotionally charged personal story or a bold call to action. Something to remember!

We’ve gone through seven ways to make a more commanding impression the next time you have a sales presentation to give or are delivering a keynote. The key is to take one idea and implement it each time you take the stage (or the front of the boardroom). You can become a much more powerful speaker, with a lot of hard work and a little help from me.

In my previous post, I asked, Does Your Biz Plan Suck?

If your business plan, like one of those rundown houses, isn’t quite working for you, then why not make a new start? Why not be fabulously successful doing what you love to the delight of your customers and the well being of your wonderful team? Why not help someone else do that, too? Why not commit to your business and your life? Why not be one who makes their dreams come true?

Why not do an Extreme Makeover on YOUR business?

1. If you have a plan already, find it.

Dust off the one you showed to the bank 100 years ago. Read through it. Consider if what you wanted then is what you still want now. Marvel at the realization that some of the things you wrote in your Biz Plan have come to fruition. That’s cool! And that’s why business planning works. When you think about what you want and commit it to writing, you help bring that thought into reality. Look around you. Everything you see was once a thought. Thought begets reality. Biz Planning is a powerful tool for manifesting what you want. Look for evidence as you review your existing plan. If that plan captures what you intend to create and inspires you to get it done…then you are good to go.

2. Get a calendar and use it.

One of my mentors taught me to, “Plan or be planned for.” Biz Planning needs some attention, some of your time. And most days are just whittled away by others’ needs and wants. How many of your days have been dissolved by an endless stream of, “Got a minute?” interruptions? A calendar helps you lay claim to your time. Your calendar can help you focus time on planning and to engage the actions you commit to in your Biz Plan. If you use a calendar, take a clear-eyed look at it. The “busiest” people I know have wide open calendars.

3. If you don’t have a Biz Plan, carve out some time to create one.

Commit some uninterrupted time to think about what you want and write your thoughts down. How much time? How about…an hour a day? An hour a week? Make a commitment of time and carve it into your calendar. (In The Bare Bones Biz Plan, I encourage you to kick off your Biz Plan by working on it an hour a day, five days a week for six weeks. Then, you can commit to one hour a week to review and update your Biz Plan.) In that time, you could create a quantum leap from where you are now to the next level of prosperity and lifestyle. Use the time to think and gain clarity. NOTE: You do have the time. You won the lottery of time…you have all there is! You may have to stop doing something else to spend time business planning. You could stop doing something you hate to do, or feel pressured to do by someone else. You can find the time.

4. Get a two-inch, three-ring binder.

You can get a nice leather one at Office Depot for about 30 bucks. Make sure it is in nice, clean condition. Your best work is going in it. This Binder is going to house your Biz Plan. Call it your Biz Plan Binder.

5. “Tab” your Biz Plan Binder.

Get the customizable, write-on kind of tabs with eight tabs in the set. Use six of the tabs to organize your Biz Plan Binder like this:

a. Setting Sight.
What does it look like when you're done? How much in Sales? How many employees? Number of customers served? What services will you offer? What will you do different and better from the competition? This tab of your Biz Plan Binder houses the pages that describe your ideal business, your target market, your goals and how this business serves you, your family, your team and your customers.

b. Building the Team.
Who does what? Why, how and when? Use this section of your Biz Plan Binder to store your Organizational Chart and Position Descriptions. Keep your recruiting activities organized here.

c. Making Money.
Keep a current copy of your financials in this section. Are your books a mess? Craft an action plan for getting to KFP – a Known Financial Position. Build a Budget and set Goals, in dollars and percentages for Sales and Expenses at your new and improved company. Get real about your selling price. Crunch the numbers…and commit to implementing higher prices. Which leads us to…

d. Getting it Sold.
If you are going to charge more (and, face it, cutting costs won’t make up for years of financial losses) you are going to have to be more…be faster, nicer, cleaner, more organized, professional, timely and loving. And, you will need to discover better ways to communicate the value of your service to customers and prospective customers. Craft an action plan for improving your sales skills. Store your marketing plan under this tab in your Biz Plan Binder.

e. Getting it Done.
As you develop your procedures, sure-fire systems for delivering on your promises, store copies of your procedures under this tab. Create a Top Projects list and assign projects to team members. Be sure to include the due dates.

f. Making Sure.
Are you on the right track? Are you delivering what people want? Is this working? Ride along with your field team. Sit side-by-side with your inside team. Ask your customers to give you feedback: what’s working, what needs to be made over? Organize your Making Sure activities in this tab of your Biz Plan Binder.

The remaining two tabs are for your Master To Do List and your Journal, which will be explained in my next post.

See also:

Does Your Business Plan Suck?

How-To: Prune your Business Plan for Success

How-To: Create Your Business Plan in a Weekend

Conflict in our relationships cannot be created in a vacuum. At least two people are responsible for it when it enters our lives. Regardless of whether you started the conflict or you are allowing it to perpetuate, you have some personal responsibility for its presence in your relationship. If you want, you can choose to act childish and immature and refuse to take any personal responsibility for the conflict that exists within your relationship. If you do this however, you are putting the romance and intimacy, and your very relationship itself, at risk. As I mentioned in the article: Conflict Resolution Success in Business & Marriage, there is no such thing as a one-handed clap. Therefore, both partners are responsible for its creation and resolution.

Many times conflict can only be resolved when we take personal responsibility. Since we cannot change anyone’s behavior but our own, changing our behavior and/or attitude is often the best way to resolve conflict in our relationships. Although it might be difficult to realize and accept, many times it is our attitude and behavior that is at the heart of conflict in our marriage.Sometime we are totally unreasonable, rigid, unyielding or unrelenting about a position within our marriage which is creating the conflict. When this happens, it is impossible to come to any healthy conflict resolution. If we refuse to see the unreasonableness within a certain conflict while stubbornly refusing to give ground, the conflict cannot be resolved. It would be helpful to remember that there will be times when you want your spouse to admit their responsibility for conflict in your marriage and you will increase your chances ten-fold of getting your spouse to admit this if you have been willing to do this, yourself, at times. Remember, action speaks louder than words – lead by example, even within your marriage.

Once your marriage has a history of resolving conflicts in a healthy productive way (that means not leaving a trail of dead bodies in its wake – lol!) your relationship with your partner will grow deeper and more meaningful. Why? Because the next time a conflict surfaces, you will be confident in the knowledge that you and your spouse have been down this road before, have reached a successful resolution while coming out of the conflict with a deeper connection and understanding of each other.

See also:

Conflict Resolution Success in Business & Marriage (for an overview and list of the five skills)

Conflict Resolution: Acknowledge the conflict exists (skill #1)

Conflict Resolution: Communicate Effectively (skill #2)

No, not at all. It's just that I found that somewhere along the line I had lost touch with my gifts and who I really wanted to be going into the second chapter of my life. Sound familiar?

“Sometimes we have to lose ourself to find ourself.” – unknown

Author Tim Kelley, in his book True Purpose – 12 Strategies for Discovering the Difference You Are Meant to Make, tells us that we all have an Essence, a Blessing, and a Mission.Or, as he summarizes it:

• Why are you here?
• Who are you meant to be?
• What are you meant to do?

Essence

The most difficult one to describe and that is probably the biggest mystery to you, is your essence. Have you ever witnessed someone walking into a room and the energy seemed to change instantly – positively or negatively? That, is your essence. It's not something you do, but rather something that you are.

Blessing

Regardless of whether you know your true purpose or if you're presently in the right vocation, your blessing is what you bring to everything you do. Whether you are working, volunteering, or just comforting a friend, when you're doing your blessing, you feel good about yourself and you do what you do unconsciously. Even if you're not following your authentic path at this moment, you likely still have times that you use your blessing.

Mission

As Tim Kelley puts it, "your mission is the highest level instruction you've been given by your soul."

Have you ever had the desire to be a published author or to be an actor or professional singer? Just fill in the blank for whatever your dream has been. Did your self-talk quickly kick in with things like, "who am I to think that I could do that?" or "I don't have the talent to achieve my dream." That's your ego talking and it's the primary reason why you might be having trouble learning what your mission is. Your ego is trying to protect you.

Your Mission Changes!

It does not nemean that what you and I have been doing for a large part of our lives is our one and only mission in life. As with everything, it can change.

That's what's happening to me right now. For the first time ever, I found myself telling someone that if I had to choose between coaching and writing, I would choose writing hands-down. It was actually a bit of a shock to me! But I know that although I might miss aspects of coaching, I could still live and be happy. However, if I could never write again, I would be devastated. My life would be without joy and with my loss of creativity would go my hope and optimism.

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It:

1. Essence:

It's virtually impossible to know what your own essence is. So, ask three people (whom you trust and respect) what three words they would use to describe you. Don't be nervous! Most people will give you positive qualities about yourself unless you ask them specifically for the good, the bad, and the ugly!

2. Blessing:

Write down one to three things you do that, when you're engaged in these activities, you're not even aware of time going by. Even if you're in a career that is less than your ideal, look for the tasks that you do enjoy doing and would like to do more of. If that's not possible, then look to your hobbies or volunteering. Activities that you find joyful will emerge.

3. Mission:

Write out five or ten things that you love doing. Then, ask yourself: if I could have number one but not two, which would it be? Take your choice from that question and compare it to the next, and so on, until you are left with your one main choice. Chances are that this one main choice is, in some way, part of your mission.

The preceding is my version of some quick and simple ways to get in touch with who you are and what your true purpose is. To get into more depth, I highly recommend reading Tim Kelley's book. If you like to journal, you'll love the introspective exercises he leads you through.

Until next time, remember to be authentically you and endeavour to live in the present moment (more about that next time!)
 

A gift is an easy way to let your “team” know how much you appreciate their dedication and hard work; and show clients how much you appreciate their business. It’s your way of saying “thank-you” in a tangible manner.

Corporate gift giving is usually at Christmas time – and contrary to popular belief, it’s less expensive than you might think. For example, with planning ahead, you can order promotional items in bulk to significantly minimize your costs. Of course, if you are new to corporate gift giving, there are a few things you should know:

G³ – Gift Giving Guidelines:

• Before giving any corporate gift, check and be absolutely sure that gift giving is allowed with the company of your client.Many companies have policies in this regard. *NB: This is the most crucial guideline that you must follow.

• Do not give personal gifts. Instead, consider giving generic gifts that anyone can enjoy, like food gift baskets, office/desk accessories, tickets to events, restaurant gift certificates, etc.

• Corporate gift giving should never be used to compensate clients or employees for less than expected wages or services. A corporate gift should be something that is given in addition to the wage or salary of an employee. Gift giving should make recipients feel good about their accomplishments.

• If your company chooses to give a corporate gift for the holidays, be sure to check the recipient's religious or cultural background as there is the possibility of offending your recipient and defeating the entire purpose for the gift.

• When possible, consider giving the gift in person. Be sure to check with the schedule of the recipient, first.

• Corporate gift giving should be in line with your company's budget. Do not go overboard and buy gifts that you cannot afford nor should you try and save money by purchasing gifts that are "cheap."

• Employees and clients DO talk amongst themselves so to avoid conflict, give gifts that cost about the same price across the board.

Gifts are available for all budget ranges, from free coupons with a link to your site for an electronic download (like an ebook) to practically any dollar amount you want to budget. So when you are looking for ways to show your appreciation and support, reach out with a gift. (PS – I love chocolate!)

Now Go Get Connected!

Why Formspring?

Essentially a question-and-answer platform, you may ask what gives Formspring.me an edge over Facebook or Twitter? Although both social giants, Facebook and Twitter, allow users to post any content they desire, their primary focus is not centered on questions. By limiting the type of content and type of status updates posted, Formspring.me has created its own niche in the social networking space.

Benefits for businesses both small and large include tapping into the consumer’s mindset and listening to the types of questions their consumers want answered. Every entrepreneur’s dream essentially lies in finding a solution to a problem or question commonly asked among a target group of individuals. Businesses may also gain a substantial competitive advantage by asking the right questions prior to development phases for new products or ventures, essentially saving them a considerable amount of time and money.

Formspring.me is free, easy to use, and easy to understand. Its simplistic design and format create a comfortable atmosphere for users to ask their smallest or biggest queries. The only question left to answer is, what is YOUR question?

Written by Prianka Dhir, intern with Out-Smarts and a Sauder School of Business student. She is specializing in marketing and has experience in both promotional marketing and consumer relations via social networking. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta and currently residing in Vancouver, B.C., Prianka has a passion for innovative and creative expression through creative writing.

I have been known to sneak out of the house and go buy things I don’t need with money I don’t have. But even then, there is no escape from bossy machines.

Now the grocery store and Wal-Mart both have this self-checkout system where instead of them paying somebody to learn how to use the machine to tally up the money you are spending at their store, they get you to experience the double pleasure of spending your own money and checking out the groceries yourself. You scan your item and the computer goes, "beep scan, beep scan, put the item in the bag, put the item in the bag, take the item out of the bag, scan the item, scan the item, scan the item, call the cashier."

I live on an island, so I have to get a lot of groceries at once. I was buying my normal ten bags worth and there were six bags on this carousel. So when they were all full, I took one off to start another one and all Hell broke loose! The computer went mental! Hal 9000 mental.

"Put the bag back on the carousel. Shoplifter, shoplifter."

I called the allegedly human cashier for some support, but she held up her Carpal Tunneled wrists as if to say, “I’m not helping ya.” I stormed out, thinking, “I shouldn’t have to buy groceries this way,” and Stephen Hawking was still screaming at me,"Get back here. Put the items back on the shelf!"

The What, Who, Where, and Why

A common challenge faced by many entrepreneurs is systems. What are your systems? They are the steps you take to accomplish the tasks and procedures in your business. What needs to be done, who needs to do it, where is it happening and why is it important. When you create strong systems, a strong foundation for growth is created.

For example, when you are a solo-preneur, you are essentially the chief-cook and bottle-washer. You do everything in your business. When your time and energy is stretched, and growth is on the horizon, if you haven’t documented your systems, and know that they can effectively assist others to follow in your footsteps, growth will be challenging and frustrating.

Take a Step Back

When I work with entrepreneurs I find that taking the time to think through procedures, identify the best place for tasks and responsibilities to be delegated and create an environment for solid growth can be challenging. It feels like you are going backwards. Sometimes this is true, other times it is a fabulous opportunity to make some adjustments to make improvements in efficiency and productivity.

You are the expert in your own business. When you are close to the processes, you may not see where inefficiencies lie. Always ask yourself a few critical questions – Why do we do it (whatever it is) this way? Is there a better option? Is the right person responsible for this task? Are my clients best served with this model?

Three key factors to keep in mind when reviewing your systems:

1. Ask your staff/contractors where bottlenecks occur in your current systems and how they think these can be resolved. Like you, your staff or contractors may be just as frustrated as you are, and they can offer great insights. If your team performs the tasks, they are a great resource for you in identifying what can make things better.

2. Do your systems capitalize on the interests and best skills of the people completing the tasks? Often we delegate tasks to people because of their position, instead of their skill-set. Taking time to identify which team member has a key skill, or is better at completing specific tasks or managing responsibilities can improve productivity and employee satisfaction.

3. Focus on your client experience and determine if the procedures you have in place or are about to implement best meet your clients' needs. Do these procedure improve their experience with you? If not, what needs to change? Everything you do should be focused on creating a positive client experience in the most efficient and effective way.

Review, Revamp, Rejig

What steps will you take to review your internal systems? If you are unsure how to proceed, or if creating strong systems that allow you to grow are not your strong suit, connect with a coach who can be that external, impartial eye. Sometimes you, as the business owner, are too close to the problem to clearly see the solution. Sometime, your business is "your baby" and it is hard to make the necessary changes because you have always done it that way. With growth, things will change – usually for the better. You must be open to change and willing to undergo the instability that accompanies this change in order to be successful.

Change is a constant in our lives and businesses. It keeps us on our toes. Our systems allow us to grow and expand and breakthrough the overwhelm. As Susan Jeffers says, "Face your fear and do it anyway!"

I love this show. I love it that they even try to do the project in 7 days. I love it that the show gives a hand up to a family in need. I especially love the fresh start. From here on, things are going to be different and better for the family.

You’ve been selected!

Are you in need of a fresh start? Wouldn’t it be cool if you helped yourself to an Extreme Makeover – Your Business Edition?

How would you do it? Like the Makeover design team, start with a plan…a Biz Plan.

Of course, you’ve heard before that you should have a Biz Plan. You may even have a plan that you put together, once upon a time, for the bank when you went looking for a loan. That plan may be in a drawer somewhere or on a shelf, thick with dust.

Many people think of business planning like dieting. Yuck. You know you should eat better and exercise but it is easier just to muddle through the day. If business planning is drudgery, you probably won’t find time for it.

Even if you have a plan, most business plans – indeed, most business – suck. They are uninspired and lack focus, much like their owners. How about you? Are you ready for a Makeover? Great. Assemble a Biz Plan that gets your juices going and the profits flowing!

A Biz Plan can do two wonderful things for you:
 

• Helps you get clear on what you really want to be, do and have.

• Helps hold you accountable for taking inspired action in the direction of what you want.

So, set aside your thoughts about business planning. Yes, it takes a bit of discipline to craft a winning Biz Plan and a profitable business. However, it shouldn’t be a chore. It should be fun! Biz Planning can be a powerful exercise in creativity and manifestation of your dreams. Open your mind!

In my next couple of posts I will reveal how YOU can create a profitable biz plan!

Journal Assignment:

Are you happy with your business? Can you see ways of making it better?

Set the timer for 10 minutes and brainstorm all the things you can think of to create a better experience for you and your clients. When the buzzer goes off, review the list and see if there's anything you really like, that you can implement now or in the near future. If you need to, put the list away for a day or two and then go back to it with a fresh mind.

Alternatively, make a list all things you're not happy with.

Divide the page in two and on one side, list things about your biz that you're not happy with. When you've run out of things to put on that side of the page, ask yourself, "how can I change these things?" Write your answers on the other side of the page. In a few days, look at the list and see if you're answers are still the same. Add, remove, or change as needed until you feel happy with the result.

See also:

How-to: Create a Profitable Business Plan! (Part 1) – This is the next post

How-To: Prune your Business Plan for Success

How-To: Create Your Business Plan in a Weekend

The Price is Right! – Figuring Out What to Charge

I was recently talking to two new clients who were in different industries but had the same problem – business was doing well but they were working themselves to death! They both wanted to take a vacation but if they did, they knew the business could not sustain itself. And worse, there was no plan to get to the point where the business could sustain itself. All of their time was spent on getting through the day-to-day tasks and no effort was spent on growing the business or putting in systems to sustain growth.

And that’s okay. Some entrepreneurs just want to keep their businesses small. However, entrepreneurship means different things to different people and for those of you who want to one day grow your businesses, here are three things you must make time to do on a regular basis.

1. Review your strategy monthly.

Consider the process of growing your business as a series of big projects. For a project to be successful, it must be reviewed regularly so that project costs and uncertainties can be controlled. A project must have an objective, a start date and an end date. You can use this basic definition of a project to monitor and manage your business growth strategies. Take an hour or two each month to ask yourself some simple questions such as:

• What business growth initiatives did I commit to last month?
• What have I accomplished last month?
• Were there any challenges?
• What are the business growth projects that I’m going to work on this month?
• What is needed for this project to be considered complete?
• How am I going to meet the objectives of this project this month?

2. Go through administrative tasks.

Often, a prospect or customer’s impression of your business is directly tied to the quality of your administration. Think about it. The newsletters, emails, phone calls, invoices and thank you cards that your customers receive are all products of good administration. Make sure you give these tasks the attention that they deserve. If you’ve created a newsletter to stay in touch with your potential clients, make sure you are setting aside time for it.

Administrative tasks can often become “bottomless” and cause overwhelm. That is exactly why most entrepreneurs neglect administrative tasks. This results directly in unsatisfied customers and a lack of new leads coming into the business.

3. Document procedures and standards

Each business has a unique way of completing day to day tasks such as handling phone calls and emails. These “unique twists” communicate the brand position and company’s culture to your customers. As you go through administrative tasks, get into the habit of documenting procedures and standards. Is there a way that you think customer complaints must be handled? Write it down so that when you bring in outside help, you have an easier time explaining what needs to be done and how to do the job right.

Get into the habit of reviewing your business strategies every month and document procedures and standards to grow your business and sustain that growth.

Over to you! What are your favourite business growth strategies?

• why you started your business in the first place
• if you wanted to work more on your business than in it, and
• whether you want to remain as a "solo-preneur" or if you want expand and add staff

Would it surprise you to know that everything you do in your business – from what value you provide your clients, to what you charge, what kind of hours you work, and what types of clients you attract – all comes down to what LEGACY you are committed to creating?
 
Determining your purpose and turning it into your business should become your mission. Your mission and how you plan to take it to the marketplace and serve is what determines who you are, what you contribute, and what you will eventually be known for when you leave this earth.
 
Whether you are a photographer, an interior designer, a health and nutrition expert – you name it, it isn't about what you do that counts to your clients, it's about the transformation that you help them produce. Put another way, it's not the process of what you do that causes a prospective client to invest in your product or service. It's the results they believe they will achieve by working with you that determines your value in the marketplace. By focusing on communicating your transformational value to your prospect, you can actually work less and charge more.
 
Very often, when I start mentoring a client, they feel that in order to make more income, they either have to work harder or add more "stuff" to their product offering in order to justify charging more. Or, they simply deduce that they need more paying clients to bring in more revenue.
 
Instead of trying to attract a greater volume of clients, what if you could attract fewer clients who each represent greater value to your business? By being clear on your Mission and your Transformational Value, you can do exactly that. But, you have to stop selling what you do and start selling how you help you clients.
 
By working with fewer clients who pay you more, you are accomplishing a number of significant things for both yourself and your clients. Let's just explore that:
 
1. Fewer Clients

When you work less hours with fewer clients, you can afford to serve them more effectively. If you believe that your contribution is to serve others (which I do), this premise allows you to be more effective in transforming the lives of those you work with. You will find yourself more able to be fully present, less stressed and more "intimate" in your work with them. You can afford to provide much more hands-on support when you serve less people.

2. Higher Value

If you build your value on higher-priced products/services, you can afford to stay in the game long enough to truly be of service. How would you feel if you knew you were providing really good value but couldn't afford to stay in business because you weren't charging enough? Then one day, someone (many people) call, only to find you've gone out of business? Or worse, you've become a burned-out wreck! You can't serve others if you don't serve yourself and your needs first.

3. Charging More

By charging more for better results, you actually develop client loyalty. The more "skin in the game" they have, the more likely it is they will continue to buy from you over and over. They will also provide you with more high-quality referrals because they can point to tangible changes for which you were responsible. Think about it: if they know your product/service produces results, why would they want to switch to investing in an unknown?

Marketing Assignment (Part 2)
 
1. What is your Mission?

What Legacy do you wish to create? By getting really clear on this, you are better able to answer the next question, which is…

2. What is your Transformational Value?

Write out exactly what results someone will achieve by working with you or purchasing your products.  Be sure to keep you and what you do, out of the equation. This is all about them! What will their life look like when they avoid the pain or achieve the gain?

3. How do you communicate your Value?

Write out exactly what you will say the next time someone asks, "What does it cost to work with you (buy your product, etc.)?" If you are not 100% prepared for this question or you give them a number right up front, you may as well kiss the prospect goodbye! Abraham Lincoln would spend two hours sharpening his axe and one hour cutting down the tree. Knowing how to communicate value, versus quoting your price, will be one of the most significant things you will do in your business. It will allow you to work less, attract the right clients, and take your business and your income to the next BIG level!

Until next time, remember to market authentically and attract new clients by design!

Back to the point. Monday was fabulous. We’re re-doing the Week 2 training plan because of illness, etc. week before last. Isa, our next door neighbor, joined us again. He’s doing a great job! Susan also joined us this week and her love of running has motivated us and helped us pick up our pace a little bit. That first day with her was a shock to my slow jogging/shuffling system, but I’m working the right muscles and it feels awesome!

Wednesday was a little trying. Ava got pretty tired and no amount of “tag, you’re it!” motivated her to move those little feet any more. Plus, she fell down and skinned her arm and was very dramatically upset that I could not procure a Band-Aid, cold washcloth, and Neosporin out of thin air. Like Oscar winner upset. But, she kept plugging along and we made it home.

Friday, Annamarie had the great idea for Ava to take her scooter with us. It was a fabulous idea and I could just picture her little curls blowing in the breeze from under her princess bike helmet as we sailed through another run. When attempting to implement the scooter idea, however; Ava spied her bike and decided to take it. It had a low tire. I thought I knew how to air it up. I clearly did not and the tube popped out before we even made it out of the fire station parking lot on Lions Club Drive. Susan and Isa graciously waited for me to sort through all this and get the bike back in our vehicle. They also waited graciously as Ava had the first of several meltdowns because my magical powers were found lacking again and I could not produce her scooter out of thin air. Grandma and Grandpa to the rescue, they found us at the halfway point and, with scooter under foot, we started on the journey back home…the epic journey. Fast forward through another fall (and this time a skinned knee, for which I was again ruled totally inept for not being able to produce the washcloth, Band Aid, and Neosporin), and countless stops so we could monitor the one drop of blood that had seeped out of Ava’s knee, we finally gave up, skipped the last 90 second run, and walked it the rest of the way to the car.

It’s at this point I have a tough decision to make. I need to get in shape. I want to work this training program, but it is not working for me to do this with Ava. Do I scrap the training program and just walk at whatever pace she can? My heart says, “Yes!” but my mind tells me that if I lose this momentum, I’m going to eventually stop and be right back where I started, three weeks and two pant sizes ago. Little Man wants to go, too, and there’s definitely no way a 2 yr old can do this training. Here’s what I’m thinking: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I will continue to work this training with other grown ups. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, I could just take the kids for a nice 30 minute walk. We could put our “running” shoes on and make it a big deal so they feel special. I want them to feel special, know how much I love them, and learn great exercising habits early. This sounds like a plan and I’ll let you know how it goes! Wish us luck!

See also:

Couch to 5K: Storms and Skinny Jeans (Week 4)

Couch to 5K: This is Why People Quit (Week 2)

Couch to 5K: Getting Started on Getting Fit (Week 1)

Couch to 5K: One Mom’s Journey Back to Health (Week 0)

To these questions there is only one true answer: there is no such thing as one perfect way to accomplish anything nor is there one type of personality that is destined to be more successful than any other personality type.

Want to know how to stand out as a brand? Why not try being authentic to who you are? When everyone else is trying to be like everyone else, why not be the one not trying to be like everyone?  For example; do you hate business suits and heels? Throw them out. Do you hate Twitter? Don’t use it. Are you excitable and silly instead of being calm and collected? Go ahead and bounce off those walls. There is no one-way to win in business and anyone who says so is lying and has not built a business.

Who you truly are is unique and precious. Instead of listening to what all the “experts” are saying, why not take a moment to reflect on how you want to run things? Ask yourself: what do I want? What do I want to be remembered for? What do I truly believe is the best way to do this?

Action step: stop the noise by doing a media fast. For one week, totally unplug from ALL social media. Don’t check your facebook, your twitter, or your linkedin (post that you’re away on vacation and will be back soon). This week, take that same social media time and use it to stop and think about how you want to represent yourself and your business. There is no better feeling as a business owner than being able to do what you love in a way that you love to do it.

For more incredible ideas for how to truly stand out by being your remarkable self, read Seth Godin’s book: The Purple Cow.

I could relate…can you?

For those of us guilty of living under the microscope, let me explain my perspective about why this happens and how we can correct it.

Why this happens:

It is my observation that those of us, who are guilty of focusing on our faults, are the same people who are ambitious and motivated to be the best we can be. If we are being or doing something we don't like, we focus all of our attention onto it in order to change it. But can our faults really be the building blocks we need to reach our personal best?

How can we move forward in life, reach our goals and accomplish our dreams when we focus on what we're doing wrong instead of on what we're doing right?When we focus on our faults all the time, we put ourselves in a very vulnerable position. Would you inspect your children for their faults or would you encourage them based on their qualities and strengths?

I agree that self-reflection is an important practice, but to pick ourselves apart is an approach that isn't getting us anywhere. When we pick ourselves apart we are treating ourselves harshly; we are over-looking all of our wonderful qualities.

How we can correct it:

Lets remember the reason we put ourselves under the microscope: it's because we are open and willing to improve ourselves so we can be the best we can be.

In my opinion, if we are eager to become our greatest potential, then our attention should be focused directly on our qualities, gifts, talents and strengths. We must focus on what we're really good at, on what we do right and on what we've already accomplished. These are authentic building blocks; these are positive motivators. When we focus on all that is good about ourselves, it inspires us to keep moving forward. To me, it makes all the difference to focus on who we are rather than on who we are not.

If the law attraction is true, and I believe that it is, then we want to place our focus on things that have a positive impact on our energy. When we are focused on our qualities it certainly gets us excited and that excitement surely impacts our energy!

Three helpful rules you can choose to implement in your life:

1. I will not focus on my faults or weaknesses unless there is a reason for me to self-reflect.

2. I will not allow others to focus on my faults or weaknesses unless I have specifically asked them for constructive criticism.

3. When I catch myself focusing on my faults or weaknesses, I will say, "STOP" and redirect my thoughts to my qualities, gifts, talents, strengths and accomplishments.

What Is Crowdsourcing?

Crowdsourcing according to Wikipedia is ‘the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to an undefined, large group of people or community (a "crowd"), through an open call.’ Interestingly, Wikipedia itself is a great example of crowdsourcing online – all of the content is input and administered by people like you and me across the globe who have insights and knowledge they want to share. But I digress.

The proliferation of the Internet and social media brings the ability to tap into the collective knowledge more easily and this has been the catalyst that has really amped crowdsourcing’s viability from a small business perspective over the last five years.

Two Approaches to Crowdsourcing

There are two approaches to online crowdsourcing for business.

1. Formal Crowdsourcing

This is organised, structured crowdsourcing where service providers are connected with potential projects and opportunities through a facilitator like Vancouver’s Hire the World. Similar to outsourcing, crowdsourcing takes the activity of farming out specific tasks or requirement and taps into the online population for both the fulfillment and in more and more cases the feedback on decision making.

E-Lance has long been in the business of facilitating the outsourcing of work online. If you need a logo, for example, and have limited resources it is a great place to start to find the right design for you. Over the years however, online outsourcing has evolved to encompass the crowd as participators throughout the fulfillment process.

2. Informal Crowdsourcing

This is something that you might have done without even realising or thinking much about it. Have you ever asked a question on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and received answers? More than likely you have. Congratulations, you just crowdsourced.

Let me give you an example of informal crowdsourcing. Our website recently had some issues. We found out about it as a result of a post on our Facebook page from a follower who had been trying to access one of our blog posts but try as he might he couldn’t get the post to load. We tried to recreate the issue internally but couldn’t so we put the word out on Facebook and immediately our “crowd” went into action. Within about 10 minutes, thanks to feedback from followers, we were able to isolate the problem to MAC users (one follower on Twitter even suggested that there was an issue with some specific code on our site) and to quickly and easily rectify the issue at no cost and with little effort. We were able to fix the problem in a matter of minutes and get the website up and running again, all thanks to crowdsourcing and the Out-Smarts crowd.

Which crowdsourcing approach you take will depend on the challenges you are facing and the task at hand. Crowdsourcing can be used for everything from something as simple as getting directions to the best Italian coffee house in Gastown for an important meeting, to researching your market, getting feedback from clients, learning about new technologies, getting design, admin or other work done to asking your clients for feedback on your products and services. The only limitation might be your imagination.

The Risks of Crowdsourcing

With crowdsourcing, the possibilities are endless but as with every approach there are risks that should be taken into account. In order to identify these, I crowdsourced by asking a question on Quora and LinkedIn (you can click to read the responses). Luca Hammer on Quora (thanks Luca!) pointed out that you shouldn’t use crowdsourcing for sensitive tasks, should be able to define the task appropriately so that response meets your expectations and that you don’t always know who you are working with and whether they are trustworthy. To this I would add that you should always verify for yourself any information and feedback that you get when using crowdsourcing as a research tool and always do some due diligence to protect yourself from the risks when tapping into the collective.

The Internet connects billions of people worldwide, each individual has skills or knowledge but in isolation their knowledge can only impact their direct circles. With enhanced communication capabilities and social hubs that connect people, being able to source the collective to get work done, to make decisions and to be more productive becomes possible through crowdsourcing.

Although we have never had more methods by which to communicate with each other than ever before due to modern technology, i.e., blackberries, iPhones, laptops, droids, etc, our ability to effectively communicate is not at such a great place these days. Listen to TV, talk radio and the media in general, and you'll notice when conflict – or a mere difference of opinion – arises, effective communication goes out the window. People yell at each other, talk over each other, insult each other and nobody appears to be actively listening to each other. The only thing I ever hear communicated during these conflicts is anger and the fact that nobody is effectively communicating anything!Lack of effective communication usually plays a very big part for why conflicts never seem to get resolved.

The ability to effectively communication is the linchpin for conflict resolution in our business and our relationships. In a previous article, I discussed the importance of acknowledging a conflict exists, and now will discuss what you need for effective communication to take place in order to begin resolving the conflict.

1. Verbal communication:

Words have consequences so choose your words carefully. You can pretty much say anything to anybody if you choose your words wisely. The more emotionally heated the conflict, the more important it is to select non-inflammatory words, one’s that do not push anyone’s "hot buttons."

2.  Non-verbal communication:

Perhaps even more important than the words we use to communicate our message is our nonverbal communication, i.e., body language, tone, attitude and overall demeanor when speaking. More than 50% of all communication takes place non-verbally so remember it is really important to be cognizant of how you deliver your message. We have all been involved in conflict with someone where we have said “it is not what they said as much as how they said it”.

3. Actively listen:

How many times have we been in an argument or heated discussion with our spouse, business partner, friend, etc, and we say to ourselves: “they are not listening to a word I am saying.” This happens when people are not actively listening to each other. Hearing what someone is saying is not the same as actively listening to them. During conflict, most people are not actively listening; rather they are listening with their own hidden agenda – often to find faults with the speaker’s argument or to just silently wait for them to finish speaking so you can finally say what you have to say. In order to actively listen we need to listen with an open mind and an open heart. Make every effort to honestly listen to their side of the conflict and try not to interrupt. Understanding one’s side of an issue doesn’t mean you agree with them, but it can become a starting point for compromise and negotiation.

The ability to effectively communicate is the single most important variable that dictates the overall quality of our lives – and without it conflict in your business and marriage will never be resolved.

Once a quarter, I comb through my business plan. I read through it, skimming over the pages and focusing on the items that have eluded me so far in the quarter, in the year and in my life. Now and then, I notice something that I have not gotten accomplished. I consider if I am making any progress at all in this direction. It’s in the plan because at some point that goal made sense to me. Now, I question, “Do I care whether or not I accomplish this goal?” If it has ceased to inspire me, I scratch it from the plan.

So, my business plan is getting slimmer. Interestingly, the fewer goals on my list are getting bigger and bolder. That’s pretty darn exciting.At least to me, and that’s the idea. I get fired up reviewing my plan and focusing on the few things I am absolutely going to make happen.

Pull out your business plan and take a look at your mission, your vision and your goals for this year. How’s it going?

What? No plan? No problem. Just consider how last year went and that’s what will probably happen this year. Only a little worse. Or a little better. If you want a quantum leap, or at least a major change of momentum, putting a plan together may help you think in dramatically different ways. Those thoughts of what you would rather have, what you really, really want, are what’s required to revolutionize your life. Writing down what you want, from your business and your life, is a business plan. Easy enough.

Did you put a plan together once upon a time, and then stuffed it in a file somewhere? Maybe the plan was required to get a bank loan, or your spouse’s consent, to start your business. Before you started your business, the plan was perfect, a home run. Once the first shot was fired in biz battle, that plan might have gone into the file cabinet without another thought.

That’s one of the tricky things about a plan. You have to launch your intentions in the uncharted waters of the future. Still, it is worth doing a plan, and updating that plan, because it is a powerfully positive tool for making what you want happen.

So grab your plan and a pencil…and start pruning.

Start with your Mission Statement.

Put your hand over the words. Do you have it memorized? I thought not. Count the words. Are there more than a dozen? Start pruning. Answer this question, “Why are you in business?” in under 12 words. Work it over a few times until you really care about your Mission.

Nail down your Target Market.

Now, who really cares about what you do? Who would be willing to pay you for it?  Imagine your favorite customer. What does she drive? Where does she shop? What does she want from you? You might ask and find out. Put together a succinct paragraph describing your Target Market.

Review Your Goals.

Do you really want what you have listed? Do you believe in your Goals? Cut the list down to the five most important Goals. Include a Financial Goal and be specific in dollar and due date. Re-craft your Goals using words that reflect your intention. Be specific. “More money” is not a Goal. “Sales at $100K per month for Quarter 1, 2011” is a Goal. Create Goals that double as affirmations. Get rid of every Goal that someone else wanted you to put on this list, if it doesn’t mean much to you. Add a biggie, one that really gets your blood pumping. Why not? This is supposed to be fun.

Staffing.

Look at your Organization Chart. Take your pencil and cross through the name of the person who needs to go…now. Shake off the denial and allow that person to go be a winner elsewhere. Next, look for someone who is not quite ready for a promotion but shows willingness and has “fizz.” Promote him now, and see if he can fill in the gap between what he has and what he needs to do the job. Take a risk.

Marketing and Sales.

Review your Marketing Plan and Sales Processes. Upgrade the words that you use to communicate. For instance, I have added the word “explore” to my sales presentations. “Let’s explore a few ideas for working together.” It’s friendly, non-threatening, and allows both parties to consider if working together is a good idea. Strike the word, “estimate” from your vocabulary and all your sales and marketing systems. “Estimate” means “no one is buying today.” Call it a “presentation” or a “visit.” Pay attention to the words you use and the effect they have on the people who hear them. This small adjustment may have a big impact on you and your team.

Look at your Top Projects List.

If you have a stalled out project, why not prune it? If you have delegated this project, ask, “What’s the hold up?” Then, listen for the obstacles. Be willing to sit in silence until your team member comes up with something. Does the project need to be cut into smaller pieces? Consider what a next step could be and set the due date. You might move the project forward, or learn what another step could be. Consider also what would happen if you just aborted it? If it is a great opportunity and you really want it to happen, then make it happen. Otherwise, scratch it from the list.

Customers and Quality Control.

In The Bare Bones Biz Plan, one of our sections is called Making Sure. "Making Sure" is the Quality Department. Make sure your customers are well served. Ask them. Scrap your page-long customer survey and replace it with one question, “How did we do?”

May your pruned plan provide new focus and energy as you pave the way for next week, next quarter and the rest of your best year yet!

The best way to maximize your shopping dollar is to invest in a wardrobe module of basic pieces, including one jacket, two bottoms, three tops and the accompanying accessories in colours and styles that flatter your body and natural colouring. After getting the basics down, add some personality to your style by finding unique and one of a kind items to mix-and-match into your modules for fun in the closet and out!

One way to add a personal touch to your wardrobe is to search out what I like to call Secondhand Treasures.These are thrift or vintage items from various thrift and consignment stores in the Lower Mainland and can include basic wardrobe pieces but also fun accessories such as brooches, scarves, hats and shoes. You can often find real treasures in these places; bargains on designers such as Elsa Schiaparelli (jewellery), Chanel and others. It’s a bit of an adventure though, so it’s best to plan ahead. Here are some guidelines for effective budget shopping:

1. Decide on a time frame for your shopping trip; plan to take a minimum of three hours and a maximum of seven.
2. Decide which stores you would like to try and map out a circular route from your home to the various stores and back.
3. Set your budget for the trip and either take cash in that amount, or watch your credit spending carefully.
4. If you are looking for a particular item, stay focused and spend your time looking only for that item to save time and energy.
5. Wear comfortable shoes and clothing that can easily be slipped on or off; try a basic leotard or tank and bike shorts under your regular clothes if you’d like to try something quickly and not worry about exposing yourself.
6. Bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated and plan to bring or buy snacks.
7. Bring your own bag for purchases; if you’re planning to take transit or walk to shop, a backpack is easiest on your back and arms.
8. Have fun! For this type of shopping, it’s more the journey than the destination.

Top three chain stores to try: Salvation Army, Value Village and SPCA thrift stores.

Top three consignment stores to try: Turnabout, Changes Consignment and Talize.

All of these stores can be easily found on Google and are great places to find those lovely Secondhand Treasures. Enjoy planning your treasure hunt!

Sometimes, what we don’t want is what comes back to haunt us, and will keep at us until we finally learn.

About three years ago, I was going to get rid of all of my Change Management materials. I wasn’t using it, and it had ceased being an interesting part of my consulting business.However, I had lots of resources, and in the time that it took me to go from contemplation to action, a business offer came through to do – you guessed it – Change Management work with an IT company. I remember thinking, “This is the last thing I want right now,” but it was a fun and successful gig.

Fast forward to last month. I finally gave up all of my Change Management materials, and handed them over to a friend who teaches Change Management to interested students. I have no idea the age or origin of some of the books and articles, and I told her to throw out whatever she couldn’t use, or pass them along to her students. So guess what happened about a week after that? You guessed it – I got another call for a Change Management gig. Fortunately, I still kept all my soft copies and a few choice binders, which just happened to be the right ones.

Clearly, the Universe has some plan for me and Change Management, because one client is leading to another, and I’m suddenly getting a lot of Change Management training and coaching requests – and I’m finding new fun in incorporating positive psychology into a strengths-based change approach. This could have legs!

I just hope it doesn’t lead to more whiny offspring…

Assignment

Being flexible and open minded can help you find opportunities you weren't expecting. Make a list of opportunities that have come to you unexpectedly in the past. What did you do to help you see these opportunities? Are there any skills or actions you can replicate now to help you open more doors?

Alternatively, make a list of things you have said "no" to lately. Pick one and imagine where it might have led had you said "yes." The point of this exercise is not to make yourself do things you don't want to do, but to help you stretch your imagination and mindset so you'll be better able to recognize opportunities that are right for you, when they become available.

A food allergy occurs when your body's immune system reacts to a substance (usually a protein) in a food item that your body sees as dangerous. This in turn sets off a chain reaction within your body. Ingestion of this substance may trigger the sudden release of chemicals, including histamine, resulting in symptoms of an allergic reaction. These symptoms can occur within minutes and can be mild (such as rashes, hives, itching, swelling, or a runny nose) to severe (such as difficulty breathing, wheezing, loss of consciousness, etc.) and even life-threatening. Most food allergies develop early in life, and many are outgrown upon reaching adulthood.

However, many people who believe they have a food allergy are actually suffering from a food intolerance, which is not life-threatening. A food intolerance is different from a food allergy.A food intolerance occurs when your body is unable to digest a certain component of a food, such as lactose (a sugar found in milk) or gluten (wheat, rye, oats, and barley); monosodium glutamate; or sulfites (a preservative). Symptoms of a food intolerance may be unpleasant, including abdominal cramping or diarrhea.

A skin prick test or a blood test for IgE antibodies is commonly used to begin to determine if an allergy exists. A skin prick test is usually less expensive and can be done in the doctor’s office.

Numerous foods are known to cause food allergies. However, the following food items account for 90 per cent of all food-allergic reactions:

·        Milk

·        Egg

·        Peanuts

·        Tree nuts (walnuts, cashews)

·        Fish (pollock, salmon, cod, tuna, snapper, eel, and tilapia)

·        Shellfish

·        Soy

·        Wheat

Did you know that some beauty products also contain common allergens, such as milk, egg, wheat, and tree nuts?

Unfortunately, there is no cure for food allergies or intolerances. Therefore, people with food allergies or intolerances need to avoid food items that make them sick. Even trace amounts of a food allergen can cause a reaction, and most people who have had an allergic reaction to something they ate thought that it was safe.

To avoid eating a food item that is unsafe, it is important that food labels be read carefully before purchasing or consuming food items. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that FDA-regulated manufactured food products that contain the following ingredients list these ingredients on the product label:

·        Milk

·        Soy

·        Peanuts

·        Wheat

·        Crustacean shellfish (the specific type)

·        Eggs

·        Tree nuts

Eating out can also be challenging for people who suffer from food allergies and intolerances, as many menu items and dishes include a combination of ingredients. Food items that trigger allergies might be prepared on the same counters, with the same utensils, or in the same pans as non-allergy causing ingredients. As a result, cross-contact can occur, meaning that a food allergen can sneak into what may otherwise be a safe meal. If you have a food allergy or intolerance, be sure to speak with whoever is preparing your food to inform them of your allergy or intolerance, and ask them to be especially careful when preparing your food.

Dress your best

You get nominated for an award through the local chamber or business woman’s association – what’s the first thing you do? Go shopping for something new to wear of course! For most award ceremonies you want to look glamorous, but still professional. Remember, you’ll want to use photos of the awards on future marketing materials so don’t wear anything too revealing or too crazy. You want to stand out, so consider wearing a colour that complements your skin tone instead of boring old black.

Speak from the heart

Don’t just tell them how you feel, show them how you feel. If you’re overwhelmed, take a moment, it will add to the drama of the speech. If you want to scream with excitement, that’s great too! Tell them a personal story or share some of the sacrifices you have had to make to reach this point in your life. Make it personal and real for your audience.

Watch your filler words

When you’re nervous, one of the first things to happen is…um, err, ah…you know what I’m talking about, those ugly filler words that say nothing and take away from your credibility. Working on your pace and breathing will help control the onslaught of filler words. It’s not an overnight process, so practise this well in advance.

Be prepared, but not too prepared

You know you’ve been nominated, so now the work begins. Research the award and the other nominees. Invite friends and family to the awards gala so you have friendly faces to look at when you get to the podium. Remember to thank people and be gracious, but please don’t pull out a list! Great speeches are a balance of good writing and spontaneous bursts of brilliance.

Be quirky

This is one you probably haven’t heard before. People try too hard to be funny and usually bomb as a result. Instead why not be quirky? For example, you could thank someone unexpected, like a teacher from your school days or your psychiatrist! It will make your speech more interesting and probably get more laughs than you think.

Remember just the fact that you’ve been nominated means that people have noticed your hard work and accomplishments. It is an honour just to be nominated – that’s not just something people say, it’s true! Share the good news of your award nomination and/or win in your bio, on your website, on your social media profiles and anywhere else you can think of. That way your accomplishments will live on forever.

Journal Assignment:

Part 1: Think of a business award you'd like to win. (If you don't know of any, look online to see if your local Chamber of Commerce, Board of Trade, or business groups offer awards.) Imagine you've been nominated. Following the tips in this post, craft your acceptance speech. When you're happy with what you've got, practice it in front of a mirror. See, hear, and envision your success!

Part 2: Look up the requirements for that award and apply for it. If you don't yet meet the requirements for it, put together an action plan with a timeline and work on making yourself eligible for the award in the future. Being nominated for awards is good PR, so make it a part of your marketing strategy to apply for at least one business award each year.

Facebook – Silent Tagging

With changes occurring almost daily on Facebook, it’s hard to keep up with what you can do to promote your business and what will get you blocked or, worse, get your fan page taken down. Awhile back the big thing to gain followers quickly on Facebook was to have referral contests that were directly driving traffic to your page via a Facebook contest.

Then the rules changed and Facebook does not allow people to run contests or giveaways on your fan page or they will revoke your fan page. So there are ways to still run referral contests, but the contest must originate from your website or blog. Of course people found more ways to get huge numbers of people to “like” their pages and that is the world we are in today: Silent Tagging* Ladders. *Silent Tagging is when you use the @ symbol and then type your fan page. Below is an example of a Silent Tagging post you may see on someone's Facebook page.

“SILENT TAGGING EVENT! Tag your business page here for our tagging session. “Like”those
that come before and after you with your personal account. Business page “likes” don't
help numbers. You MUST tag “the HOSTING PAGE” on your page to participate and "like"
the other pages here. Otherwise we may remove your post. Thanks for participating!”

What this does is create an easy way to gain exposure to your page in front of roughly 5000+ fans that are listed on these sites. Some people gain 30-40 new people every time they do a Silent Tagging Ladder and can participate in these all day long if they have the time. To find some of the many pages specializing in Silent Tagging, do a Facebook page name search for "Silent Tagging" and see what comes up.

Twitter – programs like Tweepi.com

Have you ever wondered how some people on Twitter have 20,000+ followers? Most of the people with huge numbers of followers found them through applications that help you to follow many handles at one time.

Again, a great way to get exposure for your business or blog is to be seen by as many people out there as possible. If you have a legitimate website, an avatar of your face or business logo and a good description of your twitter handle then most people will follow you. If you are lacking in any of these places, then most likely your follow number will be lower because you look like a spammer. For example, do not have the “Twitter egg” be your profile picture, because that is a surefire way to get marked as spam.

I have used sites like Tweepi.com in the past as a Guerilla marketing technique especially when seeing who is following my competitors. I still don’t have 20,000+ followers but that’s okay with me.

I’ve worked hard to sustain and engage with the followers that I have on both Twitter and Facebook. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a great tactic at the start of your business to spread the word about your product or service, but after you get these followers you have to keep them. The best way to make clients out of your thousands of followers is to make sure you engage with a majority of them.

That could be by sending out tweets of blog posts that you have written or writing Facebook statuses that ask your fans a question of the day. Either way, one you gain a substantial number of followers then you have to figure out how to keep them around. At the beginning it’s all about quantity so that your presence is known, but after awhile you can make buyers out of your fans by having quality posts and tweets.

Back in the early 80's, I had the tremendous good fortune to have been invited to build a small food outlet in a new and trendy area of Vancouver called Granville Island. The concept of having a public market on a man-made island which had previously been a foundry, was the beginning of moving consumers from mega grocery chains back to shopping at Ma & Pop-type shops. My shop was profitable from day one, which was quite a feat, as at that time you expected to be two to five years into your business before it was in the black.

I remember as if it was yesterday, a conversation with my accountant right after he had gone over my balance sheet. I was a little nervous because although I knew we had really good cash flow, I actually had no idea if I was making money or not.He put down my paperwork, took off his glasses and said to me, "Okay, now's the time to dump it." I was horrified! I erroneously thought I had had a really bad year.  However, he went on to explain that this was the very best position I could have been in and that it was the ideal time to sell.

But do you know what? The business was my baby. I had no idea what I would do if I sold it and I told him so. Want to know what he said? "Who cares? Take the money, go chill out on a beach and figure out what you want to do next."

The end result is that I didn't sell that business, and it languished for another two or three years, at which point I was burned out and needed to sell it and didn't get nearly the price that I would have if I'd sold earlier on. Why do you think I procrastinated on selling and moving ahead? Lack of VISION. If I had been building that business, knowing I was going to sell it at its most successful point I would have been much more aggressive in developing my marketing, keeping it in a highly profitable position and I would have had a succession plan for myself.

Even if you are in a highly personal consulting-type business, where you are really the business, always be thinking – what would I be doing in my business if I was expecting to be bought by a successful company? Besides having that VISION, the second part of the equation is how are you going to build the client-base or goodwill that will become your best asset?  Which brings me back to the business consultant I talked to earlier this week.

As was my experience with my retail store, he had found himself in the fortunate position of never having to market his business. In his case, he worked solely by referral and up until a year ago and actually had potential business slipping through his fingers because he was too busy to follow up. In fact, he brought a partner in for that very reason. Nice problem to have, for sure. 

Well, guess what happened? The economy changed and people started to pull in their horns. Although he is still doing very well relative to his competitors, he now realizes that he needs to start marketing. And he's starting from scratch at the worst possible time – when he needs clients! It's a bit like going to the bank for a line of credit when you need it rather than planning in advance and putting it in place when you don't actually require the money.

The sad part is that this gentleman's situation is not unique. In fact, I would say it's pretty well the norm. Most solo-entrepreneurs and professionals spend so much time working at their craft and doing what they do well, that they typically don't give marketing much thought. Sometimes they differentiate marketing their business from sales or advertising. However, the reality today is that marketing is all of those things and in order to avoid going to the well when it's dry, you simply must have a marketing system that operates automatically.

Marketing Assignment (Part 1)

The good news is that your marketing system can be put in place fairly quickly and with relatively little expense. Here's Part 1 of your marketing assignment for your own business or practice:

1.  Focus on your vision for yourself and your business.

Why did you start your business in the first place? Over time, do you want to work more on your business than in it? Do you want to stay as a sole practitioner or do you want to expand and add staff? No matter the answer, pretend that you're going to one day be bought out by a hugely successful organization, and build with that in mind.

2. Determine what you need to do to add to or change your product mix.

For example, if you want to stay a solo-entrepreneur (without expanding locations or adding staff), what products or services could you develop that would add more value to your customers? Focus on knowledge and expertise that you already have, rather than reinventing the wheel. One of my clients who owns a wine-making store decided to rent out his luxurious RV and designed driving routes his customers needed to take wine-tours. It has worked phenomenally well!

3. Reconnect with your clients and prospects.

Take advantage of high-tech tools to become high-touch – things like a weekly or bi-weekly ezine, blog or a simple email that provides tips and tools that your market would find helpful. Save customers the time and money they would otherwise have to spend to get that information for themselves. If you're not sure what they would find valuable, use a survey service like Survey Monkey(it's free and easy to use) to find out. Just be sure to keep it to no more than five or six well thought out questions that only takes a couple of minutes to complete. Alternatively, send an email asking, "What is the #1 challenge that you are experiencing in your business today?" My favorite is: "If I could give you one gift that would help you in your business today, what would it be?"

Be sure to read my next article, Discover Your Ideal Clients and Charge More. It will help you build on this plan and learn how determining your value attracts more IDEAL clients. Until then, remember to market authentically and attract new clients by design!

“My friend was running something of a Ponzi scheme, except that he was conning himself instead of clients.”

The article illustrated how you can fool yourself (and your banker!) into thinking you have assets when it’s all just a house of cards. I have seen lots of balance sheets built on faulty accounting. If you are starting to sweat, read on. You can fix your financials and you can turn around a bad financial situation f you are willing to apply some bare bones business basics.

Bare Bones Biz basics

In business, there is ultimately one financial Scorecard: The Balance Sheet. Every other financial report is a subset of the Balance Sheet. This is the Balance Sheet equation:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

Assets = Claims on the Assets. This equation is in line with the universal law, what goes around comes around. Or, for every action there is a reaction. It’s how we keep financial score in the game of business.

Warren Buffet’s Rules for Business

I love Warren Buffet. The guy makes money the bare bones basic way. He builds companies that make profits. Here are his rules for business:

• Protect the Assets. The assets are your ‘stuff.’ What you have. The first financial objective is to protect the wealth you have.
• Grow the Assets. The second financial objective is to expand the ‘stuff.’ Grow cash and other Assets.

That’s the game! Let’s look at the three ways that you can grow Assets.

1. Through Liabilities.

You can borrow money. When you buy a new truck, and get a loan for that truck, Assets go up and the Liability (a loan) goes up.

2. Through Owner Investment.

You can put your own money into the company. Perhaps when you got started you wrote a cheque from your personal chequing account and opened up your business chequing account. Assets go up and Owner’s Investment (an Equity account) goes up.

3. Through Profits.

Sell stuff for more than it costs and create profits. Assets go up and Net Income goes up. This year’s profits show up in the Equity section of your Balance Sheet. When you lose money – sell stuff for less than it costs you – Equity goes down and Assets go down. That’s the elegant, beautiful, sometimes horrible truth of the Balance Sheet.

Are you winning or losing the game?

Make sure the Balance Sheet is right. Then, take a look at the numbers. If you have more Liabilities than Assets, you are going backwards. You’ll have a negative Equity balance. You may be able to fix it. The long term fix addresses the reason you got in trouble in the first place. You have got to charge more than it costs. And you have to have enough Sales at the right price to cover all expenses and make a profit. You might be able to borrow more money and you may be tempted to put more of your own money into the company. You might even entice an investor to infuse some cash. However, the only way to create wealth is to generate profits.

Profits solve lots of problems.

There are worse things than going out of business. Like building a mountain of debt or getting into tax or bank fraud trouble. You could go out of business. (It may be your best, most liberating option.) Or, you may be able to fix the one you’ve got. Ready to make the leap to profitability? I challenge you.

This year, my kids came back for a stopover. Some friends said I was asking for trouble by weakening my perimeters, but I was thinking of my retirement. When I get old, my kids will have to reciprocate and let me come stay with them. You may call that emotional blackmail, but I call it financial planning. With the current economy, I’m on the Freedom 55 plan; I’ll retire when my kids are fifty-five.

I wasn’t an empty nester without borders. I had stringent guidelines. They couldn’t go to the bathroom in the middle of doing the dishes — I had fallen for that one for ten years. There were to be no extracurricular activities in the bedroom, unless they brought someone home for Mama.

What’s the harm of having kids back at home? There was a time when it was customary for young people to live at home until they got married. Farmers. Italians. Cultures that knew enough not to kick kids to the curb, especially not when they were still of use to their parents. Back in the day, the role of adult kids was to make sure Mom and Dad would never have to be in the same room together. Talking about their kids’ latest stunts bonds a couple. Once they’re gone, what is there to chat about? Golf handicaps? The remains of their RRSPs? The latest episode of “Grey’s Anatomy”? That’s how my marriage ended. During the TV writers’ strike, the kids moved out and we were left in a room together pointing a remote at the TV with nothing to say.

People say they like having their space back, but in the old days, there was no space. People lived in three-room farmhouses and had to share a bed with four other people. With the current energy prices, that might not be such a bad idea — think of the money you’d save! Less than a century ago, they had less space and people turned out okay. Now we have 1.5 kids and 2,500 square feet of house and we feel crowded if the fruit of our loins is camped out in the rec room.

Many also argue that kids need to be independent, but we forget that they’ve been in daycare since two and had their own key to the house since they were five. We even cancelled Grade Thirteen so they could get through life faster. And just because they’re not under your roof, doesn’t mean they’re not asking for cash.

Now I know they can return for too long. My cousin Francine’s daughter boomeranged back pushing a baby carriage before she’d even reached legal drinking age. Francine has a kid with a kid in the basement and her aging mother living in the spare room. Poor Francine is on call 24/7, sandwiched between three generations of people who want her to wait on them. There are endless doctor’s appointments for knee replacements for her daughter. Apparently they gave out after too many childhood soccer games. The other night Francine was up until three in the morning giving dating advice to her mother, my Aunt Marjorie, who is 76, but apparently still has a lot of Romeos sniffing around in the seniors centre.

I had my two kids return under my roof for a very limited time. There was a definite shelf life to our reunion, but I found out what good people they had become. As twenty-somethings they were actually nice to me. In fact, I believe it’s far worse for teenagers to live at home. Kids should move out when they’re fourteen and come back when they’ve stopped sighing and saying “Whatever.”

When my kids moved out again, I realized I liked thinking of someone other than myself. I get weirder and weirder living on my own. I have started making small things into big deals. I could run a small country on the energy I am now putting into cooking and cleaning and my animals. At Christmas, I bought myself a pet, a dog named Gus. He’s a Shih Tzu I got from the pound and, because he had fleas, he was shaved in the back. He looks like Kurt Russell with a reverse mullet: party in the front and business in the back. I brag about him. I have 346 pictures of Gus — more than I took of the children. Every morning I tell him, “Go out to the kitchen and make Mama a cup of joe.” Yes, he sleeps with me but he isn’t allowed on the couch. It’s crazy; I used to leave my real kids with babysitters I’d just met, but with the dog I’m running background checks on the kennel to make sure they don’t have any priors.

At night I sometimes pretend he’s Lassie from that the old ’50s TV show. Lassie knew if people needed her help. Lassie would go and find them in the well. So I say to Gus, “Go get the kids. Tell them Mama needs them back home with her. Go, boy! I think one of them has fallen into $25,000 worth of student loan debt and needs his Power Rangers bedroom back.”

Gus is cute, but not that bright. He just stands there not staring at me, then walks around three times, gets up on the pillow and goes to sleep like he doesn’t understand a word I’m saying.

As an entrepreneur, we ARE the company and our appearance should reflect that. Every industry and/or organization has its own culture and standards of dress and there are a few universal guidelines.

Here are a few pointers to be ‘best dressed’ without the stress.

Under-do it.

Unless your job is in the entertainment or fashion industry, clothing should never be distracting. Your personal style still can shine through – just don't make it scream. Think of it this way: Would a potential client spend more time focused on what you're wearing than what you're saying? If so, you should probably save the outfit for another occasion.

Look around.

The old rule – dress for the position to which you aspire – still holds true. What is your manager or other professionals in your industry wearing? Notice whether your peers wear suits each day as opposed to business-casual clothing, and follow their lead.

Pay attention to details.

From head to toe, your appearance should be polished and neat.

Temper dress codes with common sense.

Keep in mind that guidelines on attire rarely are comprehensive. While it's wise to review them, don't assume they're definitive – some of the rules may be unwritten. Again, it comes back to observing others. If you've never seen anyone in your business wear capri pants, you may want to think twice about wearing them to work.

Business Casual for Women:

Women can often get away with a wider range of attire than men. Let comfort and professionalism guide you when you're dressing for business casual occasions.

1. Ask your human resources department for official guidelines. Business casual means different things at different companies. At a large corporation, it may mean slacks or a business skirt; at a smaller company, it may mean a cotton sweater and a floral skirt.
2. Work for yourself and YOU are the HR department? Then ask HR at your client’s office what their guidelines are for casual attire.
3.  Before you go casual, check your daily planner to make sure you don't have any meetings that require formal business attire.
4. Unless it’s part of a uniform, wearing jeans to work is never a good idea.
5. Wear shoes that are comfortable and appropriate for your outfit. Funky platform, athletic shoes or strappy sandals might be formal enough for some companies; however, it's more typical to wear closed-toed shoes. (bunny slippers are optional!)
6. Keep the makeup light. Let your natural beauty shine through.

Leaving your clothing to chance prevents you from defining your image and shaping perceptions of yourself and your business. Not caring about how you look can translate into sloppiness and slovenliness. These images can, however unfairly, guide people's perceptions of your work.

First impressions really do count so make sure your appearance give the perfect ‘introduction’.

Now go get connected!

You are Your Leader

In any given situation, a leader is considered to be the single most important factor in follow-through. You are the leader of your own life, career and business. You are also the leader of the outcomes that you desire. If you have a team to lead, it's your job to be clear at the end of every meeting who is responsible for what and by when. The same holds true for you.

Goals or Pie in the Sky?

Now is a good time to review your written goals. Yes, I said written goals. If you don’t have your goals written or drawn in a mindmap – what’s stopping you? Writing them down makes them real! Goals that aren’t written are dreams and as real as a pie in the sky. Then, share your goals with others (i.e. your coach, mastermind group, your team). As the leader of your business or department, communicating your goals will help engage others and keep you accountable too.

Improve Your Odds

Are you following through effectively? If not, then what's stopping you from reaching your desired target? Anyone who has played golf has heard the need for good follow-through. Yet, in reality, a good follow-through in your swing reflects a good path on the way to the impact with the ball. But, if things are not well set before and during impact, the follow-through doesn't improve the results.

Success is a chain reaction, from the conception of an idea to the documented results. Each step plays an important role to the ultimate outcome. Once you set things in motion it is your follow-through that will maintain momentum.

Opportunity Cost

When you lack follow-through, your great ideas, dreams and goals fizzle-out and are nothing more than an idea. Today, businesses are encouraged to engage employees and embrace innovation. Training and development is one method used to help with this process. It’s a start but not enough.

Each person who embraces life-long learning, whether self-initiated or employer provided ensures they evolve and grow. Without on-going growth and development you will not be prepared when new opportunities are presented. If an opportunity passes you by…what’s the cost to you?

Break Through

Why gamble with your goals? Don’t let time wasters, procrastination, your own fears and other obstacles get in the way! Take action today.

Have you been doing the same thing with the same results? I’ve written about accountability partners before – they keep you on track! Consider investing in yourself (or your employees) and work with a Coach. They offer a different perspective and are just as committed to your success as you are. Another great option is to participate in a mastermind program. Working with a group of committed, motivated business people, business owners or professionals who are focused on the success of all team members ensure you will grow faster and achieve more. What’s more, they won’t let you forget to follow through!

What’s Next?

I encourage you to revisit your 2011 goals and action plans. How is your progress? What should stay? What needs to be tweaked? What needs to be removed? Make the revisions and create a realistic action plan to achieve your goals before the end of the year.

Of course, all women of child-bearing age should maintain a healthy lifestyle to help reduce the risk of birth defects and chronic health problems in their children. During pregnancy, nutrition is one factor which affects fetal growth and development, and is within a women’s control. For these reasons, it is important that pregnant women eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods from all of the recommended food groups.

Most pregnant women need 2,200 to 2,900 calories a day. Note that doctors take into consideration a women’s pre-pregnancy BMI (body mass index), rate of weight gain, maternal age, and appetite when determining how many calories she should be consuming daily. A gradual increase of calories throughout pregnancy and as the baby grows is standard.

• The first trimester does not require any extra calories.
• The second trimester requires an additional 345 calories a day.
• The third trimester requires an additional 450 calories a day.

The recommended weight gain for pregnancy is:

Single pregnancy:

• Underweight women (BMI < 19.8): 28 – 40 pounds
• Normal weight women (BMI 19.8-26): 25 – 35 pounds
• Overweight women (BMI 26-29): 15 – 25 pounds
• Obese women (BMI > 29): 13 pound minimum

Twin pregnancy:

• Normal weight women: 37 – 54 pounds
• Overweight women: 31 – 50 pounds
• Obese women: 25 – 42 pounds

Where does this weight gain go? Only about 1/3 of the total weight gained during pregnancy actually goes to the fetus – most of the rest of the weight gain is accounted for by the increase weight of the maternal tissues.

If you are concerned about gaining too much weight, understand that dieting during pregnancy, even for a short period of time, can be hazardous, as diets can be deficient in the nutrients that are vital to fetal growth. To help avoid consuming too many calories, cut down on sugary and fatty foods. Replace regular soda, sweets, and fried foods with healthier options, such as low-fat milk, whole fruit, and whole grains.

Folate, iron, and calcium are essential nutrients that should be consumed in the recommended amounts both before and during pregnancy to help ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Folate and Vitamin B12:

Folate, or folic acid, plays an important role in preventing neural tube defects. Shortly after conception, folate helps develop, and then close, the baby’s neural tube, which in turn becomes the baby’s spinal cord and brain. A neural tube defect occurs when the neural tube does not close properly. Women who consume enough folate, particularly in the weeks prior to conception and during the first six weeks of pregnancy, may reduce the chances of this occurring. The recommended daily intake for folate is 400 micrograms during childbearing age, and 600 micrograms during pregnancy. Food items rich in folate include citrus fruits and juices, avocados, asparagus, spinach, chick peas, pinto beans, lentils, liver, and nuts. In addition, some food items are fortified with folate, such as breads, cereals, and pastas. Some women may want to consider taking a vitamin supplement that contains folic acid.

Because vitamin B12 assists folate in manufacturing new cells, pregnant women need to consume a higher amount of this as well. Food items high in vitamin B12 include meat, eggs, and dairy products.

Iron:

A women’s body conserves iron during pregnancy; however, because the developing fetus is drawing upon this iron to create its own iron stores for its first few months of life, the pregnant women’s iron stores decline. Therefore, if a pregnant woman does not consume enough iron, there is a risk of maternal iron deficiency anemia. Therefore, it is recommended that pregnant women consume at least 30 milligrams of iron a day. Food items high in iron foods include spinach, kale, leafy greens, beans, fortified cereals, red meat, chicken, and fish.

Calcium:

During pregnancy, calcium is needed for the healthy development of a baby’s teeth, bones, heart, nerves, and muscles. If a pregnant woman does not consume enough calcium, it is taken from her bones for the baby. To prevent this, pregnant women should consume at least 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day both before and during pregnancy. Food items high in calcium include low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt, cheese, and calcium-fortified cereals and juices.

Caffeine:

Even though there are no studies stating that caffeine causes birth defects in human beings, women who consume too much caffeine during pregnancy may increase the risk of spontaneous abortion. Therefore, it is recommended that pregnant women limit their caffeine consumption to one cup of caffeinated coffee a day.

Healthy eating during pregnancy can also help relieve some common discomforts during pregnancy. To help prevent or alleviate constipation, be sure to eat food that is high in fiber, and drink plenty of fluids during the day. If you are experiencing heartburn, it is important to eat slowly and consume small, frequent meals; drink plenty of liquids; and avoid spicy and greasy food.

There's something about that statement that can silence a room. I totally get it though, why would we want to talk about our pain when we can engage in small talk? And let's face it; it's a heck of a lot easier to talk about the weather than it is to talk about our deepest pain. Even more, we're not always greeted with open arms when we talk about what's hurting us. Our pain often makes others uncomfortable.

So, we put on our mask and we live our lives as if nothing is wrong. It feels like this is the sensible way and it certainly feels like it's the easiest way. But yet when we're alone and we take off our mask, our pain is always there to greet us. It doesn't go away, despite our best efforts to ignore it.

Women are finally coming out of the woodwork though. They've co-existed with the pain of their body obsession for so long and the insanity of body image is so heightened that it's becoming more and more difficult to ignore.

I read a joke the other day, it said, "Everybody thinks that a girl's dream is to find the perfect guy, hahaha…not at all…our dream is to eat without getting fat!"

While the joke is funny, it's not a joke at all. Albeit nearly the entire female population can relate to the struggle of eating vs weight gain.

There isn't anyone who can determine for you whether or not you might be a diet-holic. Like any other addiction/attachment, you would need to come to that conclusion on your own. (And you might even call it a different name.)

If it helps at all, I acknowledged my diet/ weight loss/ body obsession addiction nearly two years ago. And here were my most predominant tell-tale signs:

1. I woke up thinking about my body and I went to bed thinking about my body.
2. I would dread going to parties or functions if I was having one of my so-called 'fat days.’ I would even sometimes go as far as 'calling in sick' just to avoid going altogether.
3. My only motivation for working out was to lose weight. I didn't care that my body needed to move. All I cared about was whether or not I was burning fat.
4. I compared myself to other women all the time. For the most part, I thought I always fell short.
5. I denied and restricted myself from certain foods for long periods of time. Eventually, I'd find myself binging on them and I would hate myself for being so weak.
6. I was always dieting and trying new diets. At one point I was living off of protein shakes, lean cuisine meals and fat burning pills.
7. I never liked my body even when I was at my smallest. My body was never skinny enough.
8. I was a pro at losing weight quickly. If I needed to drop 5 pounds in a week, I could do it…hands down.
9. I would have given up almost anything in exchange for what I thought was my ideal body.
10. When I would confide in my friends about my life's problems, my problems were always related to my desperate desire to lose weight.
11. I fantasized about how great it would be to have a skinny body. I imagined the clothes I would wear and I imagined how others would admire me.
12. Sometimes I would cry because I wasn't skinny. I just couldn't understand why I couldn't have the body I so desperately wanted.
13. My happiness was determined by how I felt about my body. If I was feeling good about my body I had a great day. If I was having a fat day, my day would be miserable. 
14. I absolutely avoided getting into a bathing suit even if it meant missing out on an exotic vacation.
15. I put my health on the line in order to be skinny.
16. I felt horribly guilty anytime I didn't workout or if I ate something I thought I shouldn't be eating.
17. I hung on to old clothes determined that I would eventually fit back into them.
18. I felt like a failure over and over again in my life because my body size wasn't what I thought it should be.
19. The size of my body ruled my life. I spent 15 years chasing a skinny body.
20. My need to be skinny eventually lead to depression.

These were my deepest pains. They were NOT normal despite my determined efforts to justify them. I pour my heart out to you not because I love to air my dirty laundry but because if it helps one woman to acknowledge and change the way she sees, thinks and feels about her body then it makes it all worth it.

Aside from our advances over the years, many employers see women as part of a stereotype. It's true that men and women have different approaches to work but these differences do not make one gender any less or more capable than another. However, there are two things that do affect women’s performance at work: her own attitudes and actions along with the attitudes and actions of the people she works with. It’s hard to excel when you have a boss or co-workers who think less of you because of your gender.

People should understand that this is a new era, where men and women are equal. Sooner or later, even the most “old-boys-club” boss should realize this too. And this can only be done if we show them some proof. We must show them that we, too, can conquer the business arena. But with all the hindrances, how can women stand out from the masculine word of commerce? Here are some tips:

• Keep on developing your strengths and work on your weaknesses. All of us have some weaknesses but this should not stop you from achieving goals. It is also good that you focus on your strengths. If ever you really can't develop your weaknesses, you can always delegate them to others. Do not waste your time focusing on it. On the other hand, you should take advantage of the skills that you already have and use it to be on top of your game.

• Show people what you are worth. Since we are women, most people do not have any idea what we are worth. They would continue to neglect us until we show them our value. Don't let yourself be undermined and taken for granted. In order to let people know your value, you should first discover it yourself. So, put yourself on top of your priority list.

• Use your 'feminine' talents to your own advantage. We all know how friendly and charismatic women can get and this is the skill that you can use to your benefit. How? Well, you could use your charms to create a web of connections, your network, that will help you in the business world.

• Trust your instinct. Mothers, girlfriends and ladies always have a feeling when something is going right or wrong. And usually, these intuitions will turn out right. This goes the same with business; you should also incorporate your instincts in your strategies.

• Never let your emotions get you. Women are known for being emotional. As compared to men, we are more in touch with our emotional side. This is never good when you are handling business matters. You may be deemed unprofessional when you become too emotional. (If you can’t control your emotions, find a way to take a quick time out so you can regain your composure. This could be as simple as suggesting a coffee break or visiting the ladies room.)

• Be aware of over thinking things. This is another trait that women have that can truly affect their careers. It is the nature of most of us to worry over the slightest things. Yes, there are times when this will work to our advantage however, focusing on the little things will cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture.

• Plan your moves. Since we are the ones who clean the house, budget our household money and taking care of the kids, we are used to planning and organizing things. These are the two best traits that you can use to win the business race.

About the author: Sarah Grace V. Villaflor is the relationship manager of Nanostyle. NanoStyle is the first and only to imprint 24kt gold on Cubic Zirconia jewelry. The company is famous for creating elegant love pendants and Christian pendants.

This month I want to cover the less-discussed interpersonal aspects of strategically positioning your business for greatness.

1. Self Improvement:

We have all heard the cliché, “Your business can only grow to the extent that you do.” (The problem with clichés is that they’re usually true.) When was the last time you attended a seminar related to growing your business? What books are you reading? Do you apply what you’re reading in those books? Do you have a business coach who can help take you to the next level? If you’re not getting better then your business won’t move ahead either. Some ideas: put some training audios on your iPhone and listen to them while you’re driving, attend one new seminar about your industry each quarter and join or create a mastermind with other leaders in your industry.

2. Staffing:

Do you have the right people in the right jobs? Did you know that often by simply rearranging the roles of your staff your productivity will improve? Take the time to really get to know your staff. Find out who they are, what they love (or hate) about their current role and what their goals are. When you line up what they want with what they’re doing at work you’ll see improved morale but also better results. If you have someone on staff who brings the team down, fire them – it will hurt you more to keep them around.

3. Social media:

Are you having conversations with your target market? Are you intentionally learning about what their wants and needs are? Are you taking in their feedback as free advice for how to improve your product or service? Companies used to spend thousands of dollars to gather that market data  and now you can get it for free. Don’t feel like you have to be everywhere online – get involved in the forums where your target prospects are and then dig-in getting to honestly know them. They will thank you for it with repeat business. (Read the book “Thank you Economy” by Gary Vaynerchuk for more ideas.)

4. Service:

Is your business’ focus to be truly of service to your target prospect or just to close the sale? I love Jim Rohn’s expression: “If you help enough people get what they want, you will always end up getting what you want.” Your buyer can sense when you’re looking at them like a paycheck so change your focus. Approach your marketing with the mindset of, “How can I truly help this person? What does my prospect stay up at night worrying about? How can I communicate with them in a meaningful, personal way?” When you take the focus off of the bottom line and put it on truly customizing solutions for your prospect your business becomes so much more fun, so much less pressure and much more profitable.

Building a business is a dynamic process – there is never a finish line. If your business is not constantly changing, improving and re-inventing it will indefinitely get left behind those that do. Success in business is never an accident; it takes a lot work and attention but the great news is that you can do it. Find yourself a great strategic thinking coach and you’ll never be the same again!
 

It’s a rare entrepreneur who doesn’t need 10 extra hours in a day. So the first thing you need to realize is that having a lot of projects going on is normal for the situation you are in. All of us entrepreneurs feel the pressure of way too much to do and much too little time to do things in.

However, the time you have is the time you have. No one has figured out how to have more than 24 hours in a day. So the focus then shifts to how to best use the time you have.

Focus on Quality not Quantity

Be sure you understand the money making, business growing activities in your business. Invest most of your time in those.

Learn to distinguish between important and urgent. Urgent is getting your clothes from the cleaner before it closes. Important is making 10 prospect / customer contacts a day. Returning a phone call from your best customer is both urgent and important. Resist the urge to be dominated by the urgent instead of the important.

Draw a box and put a vertical line down the middle and a horizontal line across middle. Label column 1 Urgent and column 2 Non-urgent. Now label row 1 Important and row two Non-important. You now have four boxes. Write each of your to-dos in one of the boxes. Spend some of your time on the Urgent/Important activities and then most of your time on the “Important” activities. If you find that you have too many Urgent/Important activities, it could be a warning sign that you are going to burn through your time, effort, energy and money resources very soon. Watch that box carefully!

The Secret of Life is One Thing

Yes – doing one thing intently is the path to peak productivity. The human mind works best when it is focused. It's okay to have a backup task at hand if you get stuck on the first, but pick up on the backup task only when you're really stuck.

Now, if you want to chuck something at me and scream "Yes, but . . . I've got umpteen things to do!" remember that the key to productivity is to prioritize and get the most profitable tasks done. Pick the one that gives the best return on your time and energy. Do that one. And then the next one. And then the next.

Owning / running a small business is a marathon, not a sprint. Marathons are run step-by-step, one after the other.

Feeling better?

Great! Now maintain your momentum. I’ll see you next month with more strategies to help you increase your productivity and profits. Until then, send me your questions or comments below.

Monday:

The training program called for a slightly more difficult session. Ava went with me again and did great! Toward the end, she wanted to stop and admire the flowers growing along the sidewalk. I slowed my run to accommodate and watch my beautiful child sniff a flower (moms, you know what I’m talking about here…it’s a Kodak moment). Just in case you ever consider this same move, let it be known that I highly recommend not running sideways. Something snapped in my knee and thus began what has now been a week of ice packs, a knee wrap, and Aleve.

Tuesday:

Ava and I went back to the sport store and picked up some running shoes for her, too. It feels great to know that she is learning early how good it feels to exercise. Plus, the running shoes are super cute and, in my opinion, help prevent injury. Regular tennis shoes are flat on the bottom. Running shoes are made to support your foot in the right spots and promote a “heel-to-toe” pattern when your foot hits the ground.

Wednesday-Thursday:

The summer flu gifted me with its presence and I took that opportunity to get reacquainted with our couch. It had missed me.

Friday:

I still felt crappy and started to think things such as “OMG. Why did I start writing about this? What if I can’t finish? What if this just becomes another good intention to get healthy that I don’t follow through on?” I felt like I had to go run on Friday because it was my day. It was the day I scheduled to do it. Then a neighbor heard I was training and stopped by the office to see if it would be ok to join us. Knee or not, I said yes and we had a great run. Ice and more Aleve after the run, but it felt awesome to just get out there and do it.

Saturday:

I was going to run to make up for Wednesday’s lost session, but my knee still hurt from Friday. So, I made the executive decision to give my knee a rest over the weekend and just repeat Week 2 again next week. My goal is for Ava and me to run the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 5K in Rolla on Sept 24, so we have plenty of time to work this program at a pace that fits the stuff life throws at us.

That night, stopped by the a local brewery for the first time with lifelong best friend, Elizabeth Skyles-Jordan, who was in town for her 15-year class reunion. It is a great place to socialize in a clean, smoke-free environment. I am a huge fan now of their coffee and live music! Brent Copeland and the ACP Band were playing and it was awesome!

Sunday:

While at the water park with the kiddos, I thought about you. I couldn’t wait to tell you that for the first time in years, I wore a regular swimsuit without the skirt thing on the bottom. Do I look fabulous? No, I do not. Do I still look at skinny moms, calculate their child’s age, and try to justify why they are skinny and I am not? Yep. The difference is that I have a new sense of pride, knowing that I am following a proven, doable, scheduled plan to get healthier.

Watching our Little Man play in the sand, I had some time to reflect on life. This week’s training didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, and a few days were really discouraging. It occurred to me that this is why people quit. We have great intentions, start down the right path, and then something happens and we get thrown off our course. The difference, I think, is not how many times we get thrown off track, it’s that we climb back on and keep going.

Preview into next week:

Monday morning, stepped on the scales – frown. Stepped into a size smaller pants because my other jeans are in the laundry and they fit – SMILE!

Want to join us?

Check out the Couch to 5K training program available online. It’s free and fantastic!

About the Photo:

We had a great time at Public House Brewery listening to Brent Copeland and the ACP Band on Saturday night!  Pictured (left to right): Michele Broxton (me!) and Elizabeth Skyles-Jordan.

See also:

Couch to 5k: A Much Needed Do-Over (Week 3)

Couch to 5K: Getting Started on Getting Fit (Week 1)

Couch to 5K: One Mom’s Journey Back to Health (Week 0)

Often called social advertising, this method (based on a very old approach) takes advantage of the growing number of people using social networks (700m on Facebook, 100m+ on LinkedIn, etc) to advertise to people in a highly targeted way – usually according to their likes, geographic demographics and other defining characteristics. It can be a really useful tool to drive traffic to your website, and especially to build your connections because each follower or connection has given you their implied permission to keep in touch, and are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.

Here at Out-Smarts we always emphasize the importance of strategy when it comes to any social media or internet marketing project, and social ads are no exception. First of all, you need to consider your audience. Who are they and which networks do they use? This will help you determine whether to use Facebook, LinkedIn or another network. Next, you need to consider your goals and how you will measure success.

We were approached recently by a client of ours who had (as an experiment) run simultaneous ads on Facebook and on LinkedIn. The ads were almost identical but whilst the Facebook ad had a phenomenal click through rate, there was not a single click through on LinkedIn. They wondered why this had happened, and how they could track whether the Facebook ads converted to actual business for them.

There are two issues here, the first being the target audience. The reason they were more successful on Facebook is that their target audience is much more likely to be on Facebook, and using it on a regular basis, than LinkedIn. When you are considering which social advertising forum to use, it is always important to consider which tools your audience uses – doing so will help you cut to the chase and will make the likelihood of  success higher. If your product or service is aimed at a consumer or broader target audience, then Facebook is going to be better than LinkedIn. If your product or service is business-to-business then LinkedIn will be the way to go. If you have a large brand aimed at the mom community, Twitter might be your best bet.

The second issue is how to track the success of your ads. It is important to consider what your goals are from running the ads (do you want to build your following, drive traffic to your website, etc, and by how much?) and then put processes in place that allow you to do this effectively. If web traffic is your goal, Google Analytics allows you to track conversions from your Facebook ads (but that is a whole other blog post!). If you want to track sales, put processes in place to ask people who buy from you, or who inquire about your products or services, how they heard about you. What is important here is to set realistic goals and outline how you will track them, otherwise why bother?

Once you have determined which tools are best for your audience and how you will measure your success, the process of creating your ads is relatively simple. In the coming weeks we will be creating some how-to posts designed to help you do just that.

Here are a couple other posts about online advertising. These two links will take you off-site:

An Introduction to Internet Advertising

The Future of Digital Advertising – iAds and Promoted Tweets

Give yourself permission to be okay with where you are right now.

That doesn't mean you are resting on your laurels and won't continue to grow, but the key is to let yourself enjoy where you are in the present. You'll find this is a much better place from which to move forward — when you've savored the moment and you're ready to move to the next project.

Examine how you can take what you love doing and leverage your time.

Whether you are a coach or you're in sales, look for ways to share your message once but to many people. For example, rather than making a presentation to 10 people one-on-one, consider doing a seminar or teleclass where you can reach more people simultaneously. "Seminar selling," as it is referred to, is being used more and more by everyone from financial planners to fitness professionals.

Use your sense of purpose to guide your slight edge decision-making.

"Ikigai" is an Okinawan term for sense of purpose. Keep your sense of purpose rooted in all that you do. On a daily basis, ask yourself this question, "What can I do to make the world a better place?" And on an hourly or decision-by-decision basis, ask," Is what I am doing right now directly contributing to my goal (or purpose)?"  If the answer is "no," then look at how you can refocus by doing the right task at that moment.

This is what Ralph Marston recently said on the subject of purpose:

"Where there is purpose, there is energy. Actions directed toward a compelling purpose will create a powerful momentum that lines up events and circumstances in your favor. Purpose gives you a reason to get going each day and strengthens your determination to persist when the going gets tough. Purpose pushes you firmly toward your highest level of accomplishment."

Don't make the mistake of thinking that you're living your purpose even when you're in the job or business of your dreams.

What the heck does that mean, you ask?

The best analogy I can think of is someone who hypothetically has scrimped and saved and studied to put herself through medical school and is now a physician at one of the best hospitals in the country. However if she is overworked, stressed and feeling disconnected from her patients, she has probably lost the passion and zest for the sense of purpose that propelled her into her profession in the first place.

So, even if you're working in a field that you're passionate about, be sure to take the time to reconnect with your craft, the people — the sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that attracted you in the first place.

Your Assignment:

Are you fully present or are you always thinking of "what's next?"

Ask yourself these questions: 

1. What are some truly great and significant successes that I have already achieved in my business? (this would be your "brag to myself list.")

2. Am I taking regular times out to savor and celebrate where I am and what I've already accomplished?

3. What two things could I celebrate today by giving myself little rewards (a walk on the beach, your favorite latte, a massage)?

Write down one way that you could "leverage" what you are currently doing one-to-one that would allow you to use your time more effectively and reach more people.

Could you do a paid or free seminar or teleclass? Could you put a short audio or video up on your website or on YouTube? Use your imagination and get creative. The key is not working more hours but rather, working less while reaching more people and creating leveraged or passive income.

Write these three things down and put them where you'll see them every hour of every day (your office wall, on your computer, whatever):

1.  "Is what I am about to do right now taking me closer to or further away from my goal?"

2.  "Focus Only On (your current project) Until Completion."

3. "What can I do today to make the world (yours, your clients') a better place?"

Write down three reasons that made you get into your business in the first place and then ask yourself:

"Do I get to do these things in my business on a regular basis?"  If not, identify three ways you can re-connect with your passion immediately – and do them!  If you are truly living and working your passion and purpose, you will never have to work a day in your life!

Until next time,  remember to market authentically and attract new clients by design!

Who else would do all that complicated, loosely defined work? Only his wife would take a job that requires the diplomatic skills of Madeleine Albright, the financial finesse of Warren Buffet and the managerial skills of Jack Welsh. And only his wife would do the job for free!

Some couples manage to work together smoothly, offering each other the best of their complimentary talents. The best companies I know are family businesses. Others create a living hell for themselves and their shell-shocked employees. The worst companies I know are family businesses.

My friend “Lisa” works with her husband…and they are a great team.

“Sometimes I am amazed at all I’ve accomplished. I went to college, got a BS in Nursing, and set out to save the world. That’s when I met the man of my dreams, and married him. I got into the business just to help for a little while. We had four employees back then, and I took on Payroll and Accounts Payable duties. Before I knew it, I was working full time. The process of making money intrigued me.

We grew the company to two locations and 30 employees. I am proud of myself for all the skills I’ve developed. I learned how to market our business, and I am an expert on our computer system. We sold our business a couple years ago, a big win. I started wondering, 'Could I use these skills in another business, or should I start my own business?' Then, my husband said, 'Let’s do it again.' I might be crazy, but we are building another service business together!"

Lisa is a great model for working with your spouse without killing each other. I’ve assembled a few suggestions for working together and staying married. By applying these suggestions to your family business, you also set the stage for a smooth departure, should you decide to fire yourself…or fire your husband.

Good advice for Biz Owner Spouses (or partners, significant others, and other family members):

• There can be only one boss. This is a toughie. At some point, you will come to an impasse and one person must make the call. Decide now who it will be. Create a formal Organizational Chart with one person at the top.

• Pay yourselves…both of you. Pay everyone who works at the company, including yourself and your spouse. Pay at least what that position is worth in the market. Once you start paying yourself, you can drop your ‘I’m doing you a favor by working here!’ resentments. Your husband, and your employees, will be so relieved!

• Write down who does what, when and how. Create written job descriptions, policies and procedures. You’ll get along better if you aren’t stepping on each other’s toes. Play to your strengths. Do what you do best. And write down how you do it.

• You could leave and he could stay. Really, do you want to work with your husband? You could get your procedures documented and the Organizational Chart established. Then, you could leave without chaos breaking out all over. You could check the work of the person replacing you. You could review the financials weekly (briefly) and monthly (with a fine-tooth-comb). And that would take, what, maybe a couple hours a month? If you have systems in place, you could earn yourself some freedom.

• Get profitable. When you are broke, your options are limited. Educate yourself on how to make money. Learn the basics of accounting and finance. Raise your prices, beef up your service and make more money. Most of our bad habits were born of the stress of being broke and hopeless. Money buys options and some breathing room. You may be able to work better together as you get the financials “fixed.”

• Be kind. Try to talk through the tough issues, without arguing. Tell your husband what a great job he is doing, without expecting anything in return. You can’t control anyone’s behavior but your own, so aim for kindness.

While some couples figure out how to make love and money together, don’t be surprised if you aren’t one of them. It can be tough.

If you are unhappy working with your husband, deal with it before the situation gets any worse. “Susan” and her husband were married for 27 years. They started their company in their first year of marriage. They argued endlessly about money and employees. Finally, they sold their family business the same day they got divorced! The business sale closed at 11:00 am; the divorce papers were signed at 3:00 pm.

Ask yourself, “Do I really want to work with my husband?”

When you are ready to fire yourself, or him, these suggestions could help you transition out of the company. By paying everyone, you are budgeting in a salary for each employee. The money for a replacement is already there. The organizational chart job descriptions make it easier for a new person to come on board. And solid profits make everything a lot less stressful.

You might even decide that you can both stay.

This article resonated with many readers and I have received emails asking me to write, in more detail, about each of the five conflict resolution skills I mentioned, skills you can use in your business and your marriage for greater success. In this article, I will address the first one on the list: Acknowledge the conflict exists.

Conflict is an inevitable part of all relationships; this is true for romantic as well as business relationships. At its core, conflict stems from differences. These differences may reflect disagreements over goals, values, ideas, perceptions, motivations, to name just a few.

Couples who survive and thrive through the challenges of entrepreneurial life have successfully learned the conflict resolution skill of acknowledging that conflict within their relationship exists. Sounds like common sense, right? Maybe so, but many people have sought my help for their relationships and/or businesses that are on the verge of collapse because one, or both partners have refused to acknowledge and accept the fact that there is, indeed, a conflict within the relationship.

How can you possibly work on healing a marriage, or repairing a business, if you do not accept the fact that a problem needs to be worked on and resolved? The ability to successfully resolve conflict is at the heart of every healthy marriage and business. One of the reasons many people do not know how to resolve conflict in a productive manner is because they are in denial that a problem exists. Why? Because on some level we believe it is easier to ignore or deny a problem because by acknowledging it means we have to stop what we are doing and spend time, energy and resources – all of which are in scarce quantities – to work on and resolve the problem or conflict.

The ability to successfully resolve conflict is at the heart of every healthy marriage and business.

Let me give you an analogy to explain what happens if you deny the fact a problem exists in your marriage or your business. What may start out as a small crack in the foundation of your house, over time, becomes bigger and bigger and bigger, eventually making the house unstable and the crack irreparable without putting in a huge amount of work. If the small crack had been acknowledged, addressed and fixed, when it was tiny, the problem would have been easier to resolve. Leaving it unacknowledged allowed the problem to grow with devastating ramifications.

Whether working together in the same business, or partnering to manage the demands of family and self-employment, you need to acknowledge conflict exists to resolve it in a healthy manner.

It isn’t just your marriage that is at stake, but the health and success of your business as well!

Neata Auttapong Goutier moved to Canada in 2004 and within a year had opened her first spa. Neata shares how she started, and provides tips on running a family business.

Growing up in a small rural village in Northern Thailand, my sister Nisita and I spent most of our time helping our parents with their small business ventures. My father, Sao, sold fruit and vegetables in the local market along with his tapioca. My mother, Suay, had a modest noodle stand in front of our house. Instead of flashy displays, she increased the quality of her noodle dishes and the price. Soon, she had the most successful noodle stand in the village. It is from my parents that I learned what to do to be successful in business: innovation and quality are the two most important things that I keep in mind, and also the two things you have the most control over.

Upon settling in Vancouver in 2004, I looked for opportunities to open my own business. I had spent many years working in high-end traditional spas in Bangkok, so started my career working in a couple of large Vancouver spas. After a couple of months, I decided to indulge my entrepreneurial spirit and open my own spa.

Through connections within the immigrant community, I met a woman who had opened a hair salon in North Vancouver many years prior who had a vacant room for rent. Enlisting the help of my husband to help renovate and decorate this little room, I realized after it was completed that this would be the first Thai Spa in Vancouver! Through hard work and the support of my husband and the local community, within eight months I found myself overbooked and needing an independent storefront to showcase my work.

The procession to establish my own spa became a reality in August of 2005. Looking back, it seems as though time flew by, but in reality there were many hurdles and obstacles that stood in the way of smooth operations. This included:

-         trial by error mistakes

-         training and maintaining staff

-        and ensuring the highest level of client care and treatment quality.

Seeing my little business grow and the reactions of our spa guests made it all worthwhile. I dedicated myself to establishing strict protocols and introducing them to my staff. Many of the stressful problems we had encountered in the past melted away.

I brought in family members to work in the spa, and set my sights on opening future locations. Six years and three locations later, Sabai Thai Spa has established itself as a reliable, professional, and authentic spa business. My sister, Nisita Auttapong, is now the Spa Director for the new West Vancouver location. It is with great pride that I offer these lessons that we’ve learned over the years:

1. Accept the reality:

Assess everyone’s strengths and weaknesses in your business circle. Don’t put a spendthrift in charge of your finances or put someone in a customer service position if they’d be better off doing construction or maintenance. Assess your own strengths and weaknesses. You are often your own worst enemy, so make sure to keep a clear perspective about your own role in the business. You are a human being and not a machine. Forgive and truly forget past mistakes. They are part of the expense of doing business, not personal errors; in the big picture it simply does not matter. Holding grudges only builds animosity and lack of trust within the family circle. If you don’t accept that you have lessons to learn as well, you will not grow with your business.

2. Just go with it:

Even if everything that can possibly go wrong one day does, remember that you are going to wake up to a brand new day the next day. Treat every mistake as an opportunity to do a better job next time, and be flexible within your daily routine. If you start your day preparing for the worst but expecting the best, you will never be disappointed.

3. Take time away:

You will be more focused and keep your business passion alive when you have a fresh mind and body, so make sure to take rest and respite when you need it.

 4. No micromanaging allowed:

Keep clear protocol for each job description and try not to step on each other’s toes. In each family, there is a different dynamic, so leave room to allow each other to ask for help when needed, and to deny help when it is offered if it is not needed.

5. Make it happen!

When an obstacle is encountered, gather the forces and make it happen. Through due diligence, a clear eye on the goal and true dedication, any hurdle can be overcome. Being open-minded and flexible as well as trusting each other are some of the greatest benefits of working with family.

Neata Auttapong Goutier, owner of Sabai Thai Spa, opened the first of her three locations within a year of moving to Vancouver. Neata's husband (who is also co-owner), her sister and a cousin all work in her family business.

Do you go the route of traditional marketing by sending out flyers? This can get quite expensive. Wouldn’t it be great to do some cheap, low cost (read: FREE) Guerilla Marketing yourself on Social Networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google +?  The goal of using these social networks is to promote your company, so it’s easy to get that gung ho feeling and want to share the news about your business to the world – never knowing that somehow, somewhere in the social media universe someone might see your approach as spam.

Here’s your first roadblock and how do you overcome it?

Let me first tell you about a few things that I have learned along the way that have caused a block in my marketing scheme:

Facebook:

While Facebook is a great way to make connections,  set up an online store and share with people around the world information about your product, there are a few stipulations and rules that they put on users and administrators of pages they just don’t tell you about.

• When using a personal page, a great way to network with others in your circle is to add them as friends and then post status updates about your business so your new “potential clients” and friends can learn what you do. The one caveat to this is that you may not add an excessive amount of people in one period and I want to say that number is somewhere between 50-100 in a day. This range might seem wide but it really just depends how fast you are adding people and how you are adding them. TIP: Once you get the message from Facebook asking if you know this person personally then it’s time to stop or you might get a 3+ day block from adding friends.

• When utilizing a fan page, an effective method of spreading the word about your product/service is to go and “like” other pages where you can find clients and people that would have an interest in your page that you would like to engage with on a daily basis. So what do you do? You post a message on their page that says you are liking them from your page (with a link back to your page) and have some freebie or question that will get them to engage with you personally. Great, but here’s where the block can come into play. TIP: Posting what Facebook calls unnecessary or spammy links in excessive amounts (apparently 30+ links in a day) will put you in a 15-day Facebook “posting jail.” You may only post on pages that you administer, your personal page and other people’s personal pages but no fan pages: no comments, no links.

Twitter:

Twitter is the quick response social media where you can make friends in an instant with just 140 characters, but according to Twitter there is a limit to how many friends you can make.

• You have set up a Twitter account, so what now? Go on a search for potential clients or friends of yours that might also have accounts. At one point, you find a slew of people that could be great to engage with and buy from you and so you want to follow them all. But all of a sudden you get this message from Twitter saying that you have exceeded the amount of people you are allowed to follow (which is 2000). In order to lift this block so you are able to follow more people, you must either unfollow a bunch of your folks or wait it out until you have about 2000 fans of your own. This is a long and tedious process that hinders the mass marketing you are doing for your business.

• One other block that can make business slow down is tweeting too much in a designated amount of time. I have found this can occur when a Twitter Party is going on or a live chat is happening. You have so much to say and want to make sure that you are tweeting to everyone in a short period of time. Twitter then sees this as spam and while you are making connections, they put a stop on your tweeting, so be aware when you are networking and in a great conversation, it might all stop on a dime.

None of these blocks are meant to deter you from social media but to warn you that what you think is a great way to get your product out to the masses, the networks think of a spam. I understand that, yes, what some people are doing is considered spam but what most of us are actually doing is business.

If I had all the money in the world, I would send out flyers to each and every one of the businesses or people that I make a connection with on a social network, but it’s so much easier to tell them about it on their Twitter handle or on their Facebook wall. What the networks don’t take into account is that some of us aren’t spammy, we are just trying to make a decent, honest living.

Here are some tips that you will help you overcome your biggest obstacle – yourself:

Visualize Success.

You must have a clear vision for your business. Your business model and ultimately your business plan will be based on your vision. If you stumbled into your business like so many people do, there is still time to refine and focus your vision.

Surround Yourself with Positive People.

This is something I come back to again and again. We all have those days when everything seems to go wrong and it’s so hard to keep pushing forward. That’s when you need to turn to your family and friends and absorb their encouragement and positive energy.

Seek Expert Advice.

If you have a mental block, need to solve a problem or develop a specific area of your business then get help. I have a business coach in one key area of my business. I’m actually surprised by how many entrepreneurs feel they know everything and can solve every problem alone. That’s just ridiculous! Reach out and get an expert to help you.

Stop Being Afraid.

Are you scared of failure, success or something else? Regardless, get over it! Fear holds you back, stops you from taking risks and seeing new opportunities. I know it’s easier said than done, but if I can do it then so can you.

Believe in Your Vision.

We come full circle with this one. You have a vision, now you have to believe in it with every ounce of your being. Pour your heart and soul into it. Don’t allow doubt to enter your mind for even a moment.

Recently I’ve had so many people ask me what the secret to my success is. So listen up, here it is – a change in mindset. After years of self doubt and fear, I finally believe in myself and the power of my dreams. You have what it takes, but now you need to take that leap of faith and believe that you have the power to realize your dreams. So rip out the fear and self doubt that has been plaguing your dreams and allow faith and positive energy to propel you towards your true destiny.

Commute

I now have to commute into work. I mean, I have to go outside the house. My previous commute was seven steps down into my basement. Now, I actually have to get in the car and drive. I’d almost forgotten which was the gas and which was the brake pedal. Well, not quite – I still did the occasional grocery shopping run, even when I was working out of my home basement. But with online shopping, a dedicated work-from-home entrepreneur doesn’t really need to get outside on a regular basis, let alone use the car.Now I do. Which brings up the next point…

Parking

You mean I don’t have my very own driveway to leave the car in all day? Hmph. Sheer awkwardness. How did we evolve to the Internet, quick-rising yeast and Louboutins and I still have to drive around the block several times looking for parking?

Suits

Ok – I don’t actually have to wear a suit every day, but I do have to think about what I am doing that day and pick my clothing appropriately. This also means make-up every day, doing my hair nice every day, and wearing appropriate shoes. I don’t think my wardrobe has enough professional variety to show my colleagues a different outfit every day of the week. What was I saying about all that online shopping?

Lunches

With the money I’m now spending on parking and gas, I figured I’d better save a few pennies and actually pack my lunch. What a change this is from the “just open the fridge and see what’s hiding in the back that needs to be used up” strategy I had before! Either I pack my food (and heavens forbid I should be extra hungry or suddenly get a craving for something I didn’t pack) or else I shell out $15 for a day’s worth of caffeine, sugar, fats and maybe a bit of protein. No fresh fruits and veggies in sight – at least, not for a reasonable price! That $7.00 salad would cost me about $1.00 in ingredients at home!

Community

The main reason that I agreed to take a full-time onsite job was the people. I have been lonely – as many solo entrepreneurs are – working from my home basement. The blessing, however, has an unanticipated dark side – people actually want to talk with me. Used to be I could just put my head down, blast through a whole bunch of work, send out emails and drafts and proposals, and wait for others to get back to me. Now? That behaviour is considered “anti-social” apparently. Who knew? I’d better go back to kindergarten to learn how to play nicely with others.

Although I write all of the above with tongue planted in cheek, there is some truth behind the levity – there is a definite difference between working in my home office, which I have done for seven years (a professional eternity), and working with actual co-workers in an actual workplace. The irony is that my business has been all about helping leaders be better leaders, helping teams be better teams, and helping individual contributors be higher-performing. Guess it’s time to actually put into practice much of what I teach to others!

Let’s talk about ‘style.’ Style is not dependent on the external world of fashion. A person with style is able to use the external world of fashion to express herself fully and to show who she really is through what she wears. Style can be clearly defined in three words or less (for example, my style is natural and creative) and can be easily created when you understand exactly who you are and what you like.

Trends may or may not work for your personal style. A trend is just a theme in fashion and fashion is just what most people happen to be wearing at any given time.Fashion at its purest is an art form and sometimes artists have different agendas than the women who wear the clothes they create.Let’s take a look at three hot trends and see how they may fit into a personal style.

1. Graphic Prints

A huge feature on this year’s runways, from tartan to large scale colour blocks, graphic prints are out in full force. This trend may work for you if you a) have a bit of a dramatic streak or b) have a heavy bone structure and high contrast colouring. Incorporate this trend in small doses into your business wear in either a blouse or scarf, as pattern is considered more casual in business dressing.

2. Duster coats

Duster coats have reappeared on the runways and are fabulous for those of you that are tall and slim. If you like the duster coat effect and are short (like me), you may incorporate this trend in a lighter weight fabric or in a ¾ length with similar styling. It’s also a touch dramatic, so if you enjoy being noticed, this trend might work well for you.

3. Leather skirts

If you like natural materials and don’t have an ethical bias against wearing leather (you could wear faux), this option could work for your style. Leather is quite a flexible material as it can range from quite dramatic in black patent to softly natural in an earthy tan with rough detailing and comes in many weights to suit different body types. Leather may not be acceptable as a regular feature in your business wardrobe but can be incorporated into casual Friday or afternoon/early evening networking.

The most important question to ask yourself is whether or not the trend you’re considering works for you or if you’re allowing an outside influence to tell you what you ‘should’ be wearing. If it doesn’t work, don’t do it! If a trend particularly suits you, get a few more pieces and spend a bit more, as trends can typically be worn for at least two seasons (sometimes more) without completely dating you. (Fads, more extreme versions of trends, last only for a season, so be cautious in choosing). If a trend is very bold but you find yourself attracted to it, you can always play with the edges of the trend, finding the general feeling of it in a piece that works for you. For example, if the large scale graphic prints don’t work for you, look for pieces that have a suggestion of the graphic in a colour and shape that suits you.

Overall, be sure that everything you wear is in alignment with your true self and you’ll always be happy in (and out) of your closet.

People have actually said, “Deb, you are a good hugger.” Others have said, “You can let go now; you’re acting like a stalker.”

At cocktail parties around K town, there seems to be a lot of people double kissing — a gaggle of revellers who insist that one kiss is not enough; that if you kiss them you are going to have to turn the other cheek.

This is how it goes. You say, “Oh, hi!” and move toward the person, perhaps kissing them on one side of the cheek, and then just when you’re about to move on to the next person, they pull you back in for the second smooch. Frankly, it feels contrived, affected really, but when I expressed my concern to one partygoer, she said, “Dahling, the double kiss is so Montreal.” She said it with a British accent (even though she’s from Napanee), which proves my point.

This double kissing has also leaked into the business world.I travel a lot for work. One week I was in Montreal and later in the same week I was in Toronto in hopes of securing a particular deal. During a momentary lapse of memory, I forgot which city I was in, leaned in and double kissed my perspective client — right on the smacker. I turned red and said, “It’s so Montreal.” Suffice it to say, I got the job.

My point is that no matter what city you live in, the double kiss does not belong at work. Can you imagine Donald Trump saying, “It’s a done deal; we double kissed on it.” In fact, in some businesses the double kiss means the deal’s off; that when you get home there’ll be a horse head in your bed — lest we forget the Godfather movies.

The reason I’m protesting this so much is because I had just gotten the whole hugging thing down. I had learned to hug just the right amount of time, not too tight, not too long. I had learned to put down my purse so I could do it with both arms. People have actually said, “Deb, you are a good hugger.” Others have said, “You can let go now; you’re acting like a stalker.”

But it is a miracle I can hug at all, given where I come from. My people are a repressed tribe; we’re Irish. It’s not that body contact is repulsive to us — we love a good bar fight — but we don’t go around touching people when we’re sober. When I was growing up, if a woman embraced you it was likely she was burping you or performing the Heimlich maneuvre. Some of the tenderest moments of my childhood were when I had a piece of gristle lodged in my windpipe.

And the men? Well, they stood outside by the truck and if a woman walked by, they put their eyes to the ground for fear they should turn to stone. Sure, there was an occasional relative who would say, “Come on, give us a hug.” That one uncle would hug, the one you wanted to avoid like the plague, the same one who would come up to my aunts and say, “Why don’t you ladies smile?” Like women are supposed to walk around grinning all day!

Random hugging like this starts to feel forced. It has no meaning; a lot like the standing ovation. People in this country stand up for anything. Maybe a Grade 3 student’s harp recital of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star doesn’t actually require you to jump to your feet and yell, “Encore!” Half the time, I’m not sure if the audience likes the performance or they’re trying to beat the rush in the parking lot.

So instead of running around hugging and double kissing, maybe we could return to the handshake. The handshake is acceptable with people you know and people you don’t. It says, “I may like you. I may not. You’ll never know.” The handshake is two hands coming together. You can look a person in the eye, so they can’t pick-pocket you.  

Whether we shake hands, hug or double kiss, I just think we should all get on the same page. Whatever we decide, it should reflect the times we’re living in. With the onslaught of global warming, maybe it’s time hand-held fans come back into vogue. Not those hand-held electric jobbies, but the old-fashioned fan, like the ones from a Jane Austin movie. We could sit coyly on the divan and flutter it back and forth in front of our faces. Of course, at my age, people might not know if I was saying hello or having a hot flash.

Diaspora is an interesting concept. Still in beta, it purports to allow you to "share what you want, with whom you want"; you choose exactly who you share your photos and what-not with, and you retain ownership of your stuff. You can sign up for an invite on their website.

If you are a Twitter fan, you should check out Trensdmap which gives you real time local Twitter trends so you can get the scoop on what is happening in your Twitterverse.

CoverItLive is another social media add-on tool. This one is aimed at bloggers – CoverItLive is a tool that allows you to broadcast live commentary to your followers.

Ghostery calls itself a "window into the invisible web" – tags, web bugs, pixels and beacons that are included on your web pages in order to get an idea of your online behavior. It tracks the trackers and gives you a roll-call of the ad networks, behavioral data providers, web publishers, and other companies interested in your activity.

SocialBakers is an online tool providing social media statistics across countries, brands, articles, Twitter and so on. Very handy for internet marketing types.

Empire Avenue is another interesting website, this one lets you grow your social capital (whatever that means). It is actually a social game that lets you buy and sell shares of people online and websites.

And strictly for fun, if you are looking for some new ideas, why not swap some on The Idea Swap – keep swapping until you get an idea you like!

You now have over 4,000 followers on twitter, a few thousand friends on Facebook and over 1,000 connections in your LinkedIn Group . . . so now what?

Here are just some simple tips and techniques that you can follow to stay afloat with the tsunami of social media:

1. PARTICIPATE:

Just sitting on the sidelines and reading the discussions that come up will not make you any friends! Networking and connections are all about creating relationships and you create relationships by participating. Join in discussions and express your opinions. Find topics that are relevant to you and your clients and comment on posts. You are an expert in your field so offer relevant resources and best practices. Share your knowledge and experience and ask questions. Participation will expand your connections, increase your presence with others in your industry, and you will likely learn a few things in the process!

2. PROMOTE:

It’s not all about you. It’s about promoting others. Take the time to ‘like’ your clients’ pages or share upcoming events that are being sponsored by clients. Retweet topics that resonate with your followers or support your company’s objectives.

3. POST:

Update your status and keep it ‘fresh’ by posting new content such as photos, articles etc. Even if it’s just once a day.

4. PURPOSE:

Your missives should have a purpose or ultimate goal in mind. Have an upcoming workshop? Don’t sell, tell. Each day list a new tip or technique that your connections can use while alluding to the upcoming event. If you don’t have a purpose why are you there?

5. PLAY NICE:

Seems like a no-brainer but there has to be rules if we want to keep the connections we have and attract new connections as we go along. LinkedIn groups with massive spam posts or tweets with inappropriate topics or blatant promotions on Facebook usually dissolve very quickly. Counter productive don’t you think?

Entrepreneurs today are being pulled in so many directions when it comes to their businesses – in addition to product development, customer service, finance, marketing et al – social media has added an entirely new dimension to the number of jobs we do within that business.

Always remember to “keep it simple,” “sell your strengths and hire your weaknesses” and when in doubt, “shout” out to your friends for help!

Now go get connected!

As an entrepreneur, you are your business, especially in the first stages and any second you spend in the ‘Beautiful Trap’ means that you have one less second to connect with the women around you and perhaps create a moment where you both realize you’re exactly perfect and exactly in the right spot at the right time.

What is the ‘Beautiful Trap?' It’s the place where your perception of beauty doesn’t equal whatever it is you see when you look in the mirror. In this place, you feel that every other woman has it together, you’re intimidated by seeing them look all put together at networking meetings and you find yourself thinking ‘they really know what’s going on, they’re so beautiful and successful and I’m not.’

You’re so busy making assumptions about how great ‘they’ are that you’re completely forgetting they’re busy making exactly the same assumptions about you. You’ve probably heard the phrase, "When you assume you make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me.’" Sure, you think, that’s old news, what does that have to do with beauty and me as an entrepreneur? Here’s the thing. It’s a self-made prison that will keep you down forever. This attitude of assumption is creating isolation, depression and self-deprecation on a massive scale and the worst part is it does NOTHING to further our businesses, our lives and ourselves.

Last week I suggested to a client that she was beautiful. She looked at me in horror and immediately started coming up with all the reasons why that couldn’t possibly be true. When she finally ran out of steam I asked her the same questions I’m going to ask you right now.

“Do you love to eat great food?”
“Do you love to watch a great sunset?”
“Do you enjoy your time with friends?”
“Do you delight in hearing music?”
“Are those things beautiful?”

If you agree that these things are in fact, beautiful, as she did and you consume these beautiful things, then you are full of beauty, therefore ‘beauty-full’. Nothing is more ‘beauty-full’ than a woman who lives by taking in beauty and nothing is more attractive than an entrepreneur that allows her beauty to shine out.

As I challenged her, I challenge you too. Get out of the Beautiful Trap. Here’s how:

1. Notice the beauty that is passing you by daily. Take it in and let it shine out.

2. Catch yourself when you notice you’re in the Beautiful Trap and step out by reminding yourself you are ‘beauty-full.’ If you’re at that meeting with those women, then you’re meant to be there, you belong there and you need to start making your connections.

3. Take someone else out of the Trap with you.

Don’t wait. Do it today. Do it together. It’s time.

Whenever you make a decision to make a change from your routine, your Gremlin (that little voice that sits on your shoulder and feeds your mind with negative self-talk) will start to talk non-stop to try to get you to stop. According to Mel Robbins in Success Magazine, our brain operates in two modes: danger mode or automatic. The Gremlin is loud and clear and tries to stop us from making a change when we are not in automatic mode.

Fear is one of the major roadblocks you may face when deciding to make a change that will take you outside your comfort zone. You many have a fear of failure, a fear of success, or fear of the unknown but the result is the same; if you listen to your Gremlin you will not take the next step in the process.

Dr. Phil McGraw had this to say about fear, “Fear can be rational or irrational; understand that YOU have control of your fear. Be aware of your self-talk; we respond to what we say to ourselves proportionately. Be willing to challenge your fears.”

“When you face your fear…it empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams.” ~Les Brown

Fear knows no boundaries. It affects the successful and motivated and the average person in much the same way. The only difference is how each person responds to their Gremlin. If they quiet the Gremlin and excite their Cheerleader, then they make the decision to move forward and reap the benefits.

When I work with my clients, it is not uncommon for us to address individual fears that are holding them back from achieving their brilliance. Each person faces different obstacles, and reacts to the challenges differently. Together we identify ways to stay focused on the big picture and deal with the Gremlin.

Taking steps to quiet your Gremlin include:

• Counter your Gremlin’s voice with a positive, rational statement that is exactly the opposite; e.g., Replace "I’m a failure" with "I now know what steps to avoid to reach my goal."

• Write down the positive counter statements and rehearse them so they become automatic thoughts.

• Post your goals (ideally in a pictorial form) where you can see them daily. When you see your goals frequently you will stay focused on the goal and it will appear more real, thus silencing your Gremlin.

• Regular exercise helps stimulate endorphins (the feel-good hormones). Endorphins help reduce stress and negative self-talk.

• Discuss your fear or challenge with a Coach or Mastermind team. When you get external input, the fear is reduced and rational thoughts and potential solutions replace the Gremlin’s voice.

“When you face your fear, most of the time you will discover that it was not really such a big threat after all. We all need some form of deeply rooted, powerful motivation: it empowers us to overcome obstacles so we can live our dreams.” ~Les Brown

Want to fix it? You can. You can change your business – and your life. It’s a matter of thinking new thoughts and taking aligned action. But you better get going. The older we get, the faster time goes. We are just too old to waste time.

I talked to a business owner the other day. He told me he wanted to grow his company to four trucks. However, he also told me he didn’t like to move too fast and change was difficult for him. I replied, “OK. It’s taken you 25 years to add the second truck. You are fifty years old. At this rate you will be 75 by the time you add the third truck. Really?”

I wrote a terrific book called The Bare Bones Biz Plan. It’s a six-week program for creating a winning business plan and business. I’ve been thinking. What if you didn’t want to take six weeks? What if you wanted to power it out over a weekend?

One of the reasons I wrote a business planning book in the first place is because so many people approach me with a rapid fire description of their business concept. But, I can’t get my head around it and their words are all over the place. So, I ask, “What have you got written down? What can you show me?” At that point they usually just point to their head. “It’s all in here.” Well, moving the ideas to paper, to a binder, to your iPad or computer, is the start of making it real. Thought begets reality. Thought moves to material form by writing it or typing it.

What if we condensed the process of business planning? From Friday evening to Sunday evening, you could think about and clarify your vision for your ideal business. You could lay out the inspired action that will move you in that direction. Profitably. Without draining your time and energy for no real reward. Without creating a pile of debt. And, you could hit the ground running on Monday.

Want to help me test this? Why not clear out a weekend and follow this game plan. Prove that you can take charge of your time and commit to 48 hours of focused thought and action. If you can pull that off, you will increase your confidence that you can make sweeping changes in your life. Ready to go go go?

Commit to a weekend in the next month. Write in on your calendar. In blood. And communicate to all who may come looking for you that you will be on a retreat and unavailable. Arrange to have dependent family members depend on someone else for the weekend.

Here’s your agenda for the weekend.

Friday evening

Go to the office supply store or check your office for the following items…

• A one-inch three ring binder. Get a nice one. Your Biz Plan is going inside.

• A hundred sheets of paper. (So you can create a few drafts of each exercise.)

• A set of write-on tabs to “tab up” your Biz Plan. Six or eight come in a package.

Note that you could create your Biz Plan on your laptop, or your iPad;  whatever works for you. You want to make the Biz Plan easily accessible and demonstrable. For instance, if you found yourself sitting next to Warren Buffet on an airplane, could you easily whip out your Biz Plan and go through it with him? That could be a “readiness meets opportunity” moment for you.

Go to the supermarket and stock up on food for the weekend. The idea is to have simple, healthy food at the ready so that you can prep and eat without a lot of fuss.

Saturday and Sunday

Rise and Shine…Think and Plan…

On Saturday and Sunday, flesh out the Biz Plan and put it in your binder. These are the essential elements of a sound business plan. Tab up your binder accordingly. And start writing!

• The Mission – Why should this business exist? What’s the point or purpose?

• The Elevator Speech – How can you communicate to your customers what problems you solve, differently and better than anyone else?

• Your Goals – What do you want to achieve this coming year? The next?

• The Organizational Chart – Who can help? What would they do for you?

• The Financial Plan – How will this business make money and how much? How much will you need to charge to make it work?

• The Marketing Plan – How can you get enough of the right calls, at the right time, from the right customers?

• The Top 10 Projects – What projects could you energize that would help you solve your most pressing problems or capitalize on your most compelling opportunities?

• The Executive Summary – How can you communicate all this in one page? To show to investors, team members, your spouse or partner. And to help you gain clarity about what you want and how you are going to get it.

One last thing:  you can’t do this wrong. If you spend two days thinking and planning only good can come from that. We are too old to let yet another day, another year, go by as we stand helplessly on the sidelines of our own lives. One weekend could make all the difference.

REQUIRED ENTRY:

"What is your favourite Glamheiress Kids product?"

NOTE: please name one product, even if you love them all!

Bonus entries at end of review. (Worldwide, Ends: 9/18)

THE REVIEW:

Glamheiress Kids is an online boutique offering glitter/glam clothing and accessories for children. There are some items for adults, teens and even boys, but most of the things are girly-girl kids and can fulfill the dreams of any little princess who loves to dress up.

A few of the many, many items you'll find on their site are: tutus, hair clips, bracelets, bags, fashion scarves, shirts, head wear (feathers, tiaras, etc) and baby wear, like these cutie-pie lace bloomers that can fit over diapers. And this is just the tip of the iceberg! There are also cool things like bracelet pens, printed ties, and, well, lots more.

Glamheiress Kids' motto is: "Live the Glam Life" and their website promises "Accessories and Bling for your sweet little thing! Every Princess and Bad Boy's Dream Shop!"

It's run by Shanna Rimer and Jen Okell, best friends since high school who grew up to become teachers, mothers (with four children between them) and new entrepreneurs. They started their business in November 2010 and in less than a year, their products are being sold in over 70 stores in Toronto, Richmond Hill, Montreal, Bolton, Woodbridge, Thornhill, Markham, Niagara Falls, and surrounding areas.

Glamheiress Kids sent me a package filled with accessories that I turned into two great outfits. And not just any ol' outfits. I felt smashing! The items I received from them were: a pink purse with brown polka dots; a one-size fits all white watch; shoe jewels that look like glittery diamonds; a white summer scarf printed with peace symbols; and several flower hair clips of different colours and styles.

The first outfit I put together for the beach (which you can see in the photo at left) includes a white flower in my hair, along with the white scarf and watch, that matched very nicely with things I already owned, like my white eyeglasses and shoes. I also clipped a bright pink flower to the purse, and put the shoe jewels on my sandals. I love that the shoe jewels are also peace symbols and matches the scarf. (Love the shoe jewels? They also have heart-shaped ones!) Now, I did feel a bit shy about putting a flower in my hair at first due to my *ahem* age, but I've seen a few adults in my area wearing flowers this summer so…am I fashion-questionable or an early trend adopter? Answer: who cares? I like how fun and girly I feel when I'm wearing it, so I'm going to keep doing it (At least when I'm heading to the beach!)

Another outfit I wore to a business networking meeting includes ALL the same accessories, but instead of putting a flower in my hair, I used three flowers of complementary colours (pink, peach and white) to decorate the purse. I also wore a short-sleeved white shirt and white-and-orange flower-print skirt. Everything matched nicely, I felt very summery and chic!

The watch is pretty cool because it's "one size fits all." The strap contains a metal band inside that curls around your wrist, and to adjust it, all you do is let the ends overlap as much as needed. I love the scarf! It not only makes me feel fashionable, it's also useful. It can be used to protect yourself from burning in the sun, or give you a litle extra warmth — like a shawl — if the sun goes away.

I've been using the purse almost every day since I got it. And here's a secret: it's actually a lunch bag! Could you guess by looking at the photo? I didn't know until I opened it up and peeked inside. There's a transparent plastic layer (so you can spill anything and clean-up is a breeze) and under that is a silver thermal layer to help keep things cool or warm, depending on what you put in there. I have a mini 7-inch laptop which fits nicely. Now I can take it with me and know it's protected from sudden temperature changes when I'm out and about, especially in the winter. It has three small pockets on the outside, great for cell phones and wallets. I clip the flowers to the pockets so I can coordinate with whatever I'm wearing.

Oh, those flowers! I'm looking for ways to use them on everything! I added one to my favourite hat, another is on my beach bag. Did I mention I'm a gardener? I've got a weakness for anything flowery AND anything that glitters. GlamHeiress flowers fulfill both my addictions! The centre of each flower comes with a glittery bauble that catches the sun. Some have extra beads or sequins on the petals (looking reminiscent of water droplets) and some have pearly beads instead of glitter-gems (a.k.a rhinestones).

As with any product with small parts, I'd suggest that parents examine everything before giving it to a toddler. Make sure the jewels are secure. When I first opened the package, I decided to test how durable the flowers were. I had to give a solid tug to get one of the pearl bead centres to come off (which I repaired easily with a glue gun) and in the several weeks I've been using the items to decorate my purses, I'm pleased to report that nothing has come off on its own.

THE RULES:

• Only one person per household is allowed to enter.

• Include your email address on all entries.

• Open worldwide, 18 or older.

• You are responsible for ensuring you are following the laws of your own country, city, etc. If GiveAways are prohibited in your geographical area, do not enter.

• Leave a separate comment for each entry.

• We'll use Random.org to pick a winner.

• Do the required entry first, then do as many of the bonus entries as you like.

• By entering this giveaway, you are agreeing to hold EWM and the GiveAway Sponsor harmless of anything and everything.

• We are not responsible for any costs associated with accepting delivery of the prize. (for example, if there's a cross-border fee  or taxes levied by your own government, etc, the winner is responsible for it.)

• We'll be drawing the winners on Monday, September 19. If we have not been able to contact a winner by email within that week, we'll draw for a new winner.

THE GIVEAWAY:

Glamheiress Kids is giving away not one, not two, but THREE prizes to lucky EWM readers. What are the prizes? You get to choose your own! Three people will win store credits which can be used on www.GlamheiressKids.com, as follows:

1st Place: $100

2nd Place: $ 50

3rd Place: $ 25

REQUIRED ENTRY:

"What is your favourite Glamheiress Kids product?"

*** Please name at least one product so we know you visited the website. Thanks!***

Everything below is a BONUS. If you did the required entry above, you are entered and don't need to do any more unless you want to.

BONUS ENTRIES:

Do you want more chances to win the giveaway? You can enter any, or all, of the bonus entries below after you've done the "required" entry. Remember to leave a separate comment for each completed entry. Thank you! PS. EWM does not collect your email address for anything other than running this giveaway (unless you sign up to the newsletter, in which case, you'll get a newsletter. If you don't like the newsletter, you can unsubscribe later – but please read at least one issue. Thanks!)

•     "Friend" Glamheiress Kids Facebook Page (let us know which FB name you're using)

•     3 entries – Subscribe to Entrepreneurial Womans newsletter (Subscribe once AND confirm, then place your 3 entries below. In order to confirm: we'll send you an email asking you to confirm by clicking on the link in that email. If you forget to click that link, unfortunately, your 3 entries will be void when we pick out the winners.)

•     1 entry – "Like" Entrepreneurial Woman's Facebook Page (let us know which FB name you're using)

•     1 entry – Follow Glamheiress Kids on Twitter  (@glamheiresskids)

•     1 entry – Follow Entrepreneurial Woman on Twitter (@ewoman_magazine)

•     You can get 1 entry per day for tweeting this:

I entered @ewoman_magazine & @glamheiresskids #giveaway! Enter here: http://bit.ly/nkbgRz #ewmpr2
 

Have fun, and Good Luck!

Disclosure: I received products from the company for review purposes.

Want to see your product reviewed? Contact cathy@entrepreneurialwoman.ca with your proposal.

Visit http://www.nischnasch.com/bookshelf/ and tell me one thing you learned.

(Hint: Don't want to say what everyone else said? Click on some of the images you find on that page and see what happens.)

*Bonus Entries* are located after the review. (Worldwide, Ends: 9/18)

THE REVIEW:

A package arrived the other day from Britain. When I opened it, I saw a square fabric cover made of blue and green felt. It was decorated on the front with a glittery gold star and tied up with blue yarn. Inside this fuzzy package was a book, which slid out of the felt bookcover easily. Appropriately, the book is called The Fuzzy Fella and is one of five children's books by Natascha Taylor, a Canadian-born writer/illustrator who currently lives in London, England with her daughter Phoenix. The front of the book promises "a very, very true story for little kids, big kids, grown up who still know how to be kids and especially those grown ups who need to remember how to grow down."
Adults and older children will find it a fun and humorous story to read aloud, as there are places in the story where you can play with your delivery, whispering or yelling as the story unfolds. Children will like it because the story is told in rhyme and what small child doesn't love rhyme? It's like listening to words playing together!

The illustration is colourful and free-flowing, similar to how children draw, expressing ideas visually without getting caught up in details.

What I really like about this book is that it's tactile. The title promises something by containing the word "fuzzy" and the reusable felt bookcover delivers on that promise. In addition, the text on the front cover is raised so very small children will enjoy running their fingers along it to explore the difference between the smooth and raised areas.

I won't tell you who the Fuzzy Fella is (you'll find out at the end of the story) but I can tell you is that he can be as BIG as a house, or as *small* as a mouse, and can be everywhere or nowhere, depending on the moment.

The Fuzzy Fella has his own Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/FuzzyFella

To see other books by Natascha, visit her bookshelf : http://www.nischnasch.com/bookshelf  

Natascha is giving away three copies of The Fuzzy Fella to  lucky EWM readers. For ALL ENTRIES, please include your email address.

ENTRY RULES:

• Only one person per household is allowed to enter.

• Include your email address on all entries.

• Open worldwide, 18 or older.

• You are responsible for ensuring you are following the rules and regulations of your own country, city, etc. concerning GiveAways. If GiveAways or contests are prohibited in your geographical area, do not enter.

• Leave a separate comment for each entry.

• We'll use Random.org to pick a winner.

• Do the required entry first, then do as many of the bonus entries as you like.

• By entering this giveaway, you are agreeing to hold EWM and NischNasch harmless of anything and everything.

• We are not responsible for any costs associated with accepting delivery of the prize. (NischNasch is taking care of initial postage, but any extra fees, taxes, etc. are the winner's responsibility.)

• We'll be drawing the winners on Monday, September 19. If we have not been able to contact a winner by email within that week, we'll draw for a new winner.

REQUIRED ENTRY:

Visit http://www.nischnasch.com/bookshelf/ and tell me one thing you learned.

Everything from here on in is a BONUS.

If you did the required entry above, you are entered and don't need to do any more unless you want to.

BONUS ENTRIES:

Do you want more chances to win the giveaway? You can enter any, or all, of the bonus entries below after you've done the required entry. Remember to leave a separate comment for each completed entry. Thank you!

• 1 entry – Join The Fuzzy Fella Facebook Page (let us know which FB name you're using)

• 3 entries – Subscribe to Entrepreneurial Woman's newsletter (subscribe once and place your 3 entries below in the comment section)

• 1 entry – Join Entrepreneurial Woman's Facebook Page

• 1 entry – Follow NischNasch Publishing on Twitter (@nischnasch)

• 1 entry – Follow Entrepreneurial Woman on Twitter (@ewoman_magazine)

• You can get 1 entry per day for tweeting. (If you submit multiple tweets on the same day, we'll only count the first one and extras will be deleted.)

I entered @ewoman_magazine & @nischnasch #book #giveaway! You can enter too: http://bit.ly/ofLzkE #ewmpr2

If you are already a follower of any of the Facebook Pages, Twitter accounts, or the newsletter, just let us know which name you used when signing up and  add your entries.

There are so many ways to enter! Have fun, and Good Luck!

DRAW DATE IS SEPTEMBER 19th, 2011

Disclosure: NischNasch gave me a copy of the book to review. Want to see your product reviewed? Contact cathy@entrepreneurialwoman.ca with your proposal.

Did you know that 77% of leaders have no concept of how to develop a clear business strategy? I read recently in the amazing book Dive Deep that entrepreneurs are primarily trained to improve the skills of customer service and marketing without investing any time in the skills of strategic thinking, strategic planning and then strategic action. The results: lack of direction, flat profits, and little to no influence on their target market.

After working with many clients who lacked a strategic plan, I identified that there are five parts to becoming more intentional in your company’s approach:

1. Sweet Spot

What is your business’ sweet spot? How do you want to differentiate your company from that of your competitor? Have you identified a niche market you desire to serve more than any other market? A great piece of advice I read from Seth Godin’s book Bootstrapper’s Bible is to not try to do the same thing as your competitor but to study what they do and then dramatically improve upon it thus separating yourself from your competition.

2. Simplify

What do you have going on that does not support you accomplishing your main goal? To have many projects simultaneously going on is a terrible business objective. Pick the project that will create the most desired results and then pour all your resources into becoming the best in your industry at that one specific thing. Do not multi-market yourself. People want to buy from the best so focus on becoming the “it” company for that one particular thing and scrap the rest.

3. Support team

Who is your key in-house support team that is a part of making business decisions? How often are you connecting to talk about the business strategy? Do you run a weekly staff meeting? Do you have a strategist on the team or are you all just guessing your way to success? Most leaders do not prioritize regular “huddles” with their core leaders and therefore week-to-week get nothing profitable accomplished.

4. Strengths

What are the strengths you’re bringing to the table? Are you actually working to those strengths or just putting out fires all day? Do you know what you should and should not be doing with your time as the leader? Are the people on your support team working to their strengths? Why or why not? Put the “aces in their places” and watch what happens.

5. Scheduling/setting boundaries

Why do so many leaders just “react” to their day without an intentional game plan? Do they think responding to whatever the most urgent thing is on their to-do list without putting any time into activities that will actually move their business ahead is a good plan? Let me put this to rest; it’s a disastrous course of action. You’re the leader – set some boundaries and take back control of your time. Ideas: office hours, personal assistant, decreasing your current commitments etc.

Ask yourself after each question: does this sound like me? If so, you probably lack strategy too. For how long do you want to spin your wheels working in your business but not making any progress? Like most leaders, you’re great at what you do but not at working a game plan. Stop the craziness. Start fresh. Get clear. Become intentional with your time. Move ahead. Feel excited again.

I often remind my readers how important it is to keep the faith.

In fact, losing faith in what we’re working toward may be one of the biggest reasons we fail. Many people who give up, quit only because they have lost faith in what they’re doing; for some reason they decide it isn’t working or that it will not work.

Here are 5 very powerful and simple ways you can keep the faith when working toward your desires.

1.     Get out of your own way.

Often times when we’re working toward something there is an element of trust that God or the Universe will have a hand in helping us succeed.But if we’re constantly hanging on to a ‘certain way’ or if we insist on controlling absolutely everything, we inadvertently dismiss opportunities, insights and synchronicities that could otherwise help us or make things easier for us. Let go a little, trust that you don’t have to do everything on your own and allow time and space to unfold naturally in your favour.

2.     Acknowledge progress with gratitude.

When you get bogged down with negative thoughts about what your trying to accomplish, this is the perfect opportunity for you to sit down and write what is and has been working for you. This is also a good time to express deep gratitude for what you’ve already accomplished; gratitude is a sure way to cultivate positive thoughts and emotions.

3.     Practice self-care.

In these fragile moments you’re probably banging your head against the wall anyway, so you may as well shift focus for a little while and do something a little more refreshing. Try some of these: take a nap, read your favourite book or watch your favourite show, do something active, sweat, take a bath, etc.

4.     Nurture your faith.

Do this alone and without distractions. Pray, journal, meditate, use affirmations or mantras, walk in nature, etc. Consciously choose positive thoughts about who you are, what you want to do and what you want to have. Remember this: it requires only the desire to be, do or have something in order to make it happen. Know that if you have a strong desire to be, do or have something and your motives for these are for the greater good, rest assured nothing is standing in your way.

5.     Take a step back.

Sometimes we need to be the observer in our own lives. What could you be doing differently? What could you be doing more/less of? Do you require outside support? Do you have lists and are you interacting with those lists often? Do you have too many distractions? Are you planning and scheduling your time?

If you enthusiastically squealed "yes!" and you own a laptop, you have everything you need to run an info-product empire!

But – and here's the caveat – you must know how to create a product that people actually want and will buy. Not knowing what you don't know can cost you hundreds of dollars and hours of frustration; something I don't want you to experience!

First, let's define exactly what an information product is. I'm happy to tell you that it can be just about anything that you can imagine and create, as long as it's from your knowledge and expertise and can be delivered to 5,000 as easily as to 50. It could be a home study system, a tool-box, an e-course, a series of teleseminars, an e-book and/or manual, a series of article or interviews, cds, videos…the list is endless.

As promised, here is my short-list of do's and don'ts to keep in mind when creating leveraged packages and programs that can provide you with a six-figure income:

1. Do choose your information product niche carefully.

Don't create a home study or packaged program (or teleseminar, or anything else) that is already being addressed en masse. Do look to create an information product that has high demand and low supply. For example, there are a lot of programs available on how to market your business and attract new clients. So there is high demand and high supply (not good). However, upon doing my research I discovered that there's very little, if anything, directed toward the Fifty-Plus and Fabulous woman who in starting a business in the second chapter of her life. As a result, my company now speaks to that market.

2. Don't over think it!

In my experience working with entrepreneurs, they tend to over complicate the process of creating an information product, thereby holding them back. If you can speak into a recorder or write about your passion and expertise, it's very quick and easy to produce a simple binder and CD-type product.

3. Do have a professional graphic designer design the packaging of your product.

Nothing says "amateur" like having the front cover of your info product look like you did it yourself – even if it's a simple e-book. Just like when you meet someone for the first time, your creation never gets a second chance to make a first impression. Do produce something that is attractively designed (ideally branded) that makes people want to buy.

4. Do rebrand and re-launch your info product every year or two.

You do this by including new information that you didn't have in version one, therefore making it more valuable. This also allows you to put your price up if you want to. You want to make sure that the customers who bought your previous version get a PDF of the updates, free of charge. They don't usually expect that and it surprises and delights them! Remember, it's from your "wowed" customers that your referrals come from.

5. Do consider including a component of your product that has to be purchased each year.

For example, an info kit for writers would typically include a directory that you publish and update each year. This would be different than making that update available for free as in #4. Your info product might typically sell for $297 or $397 and they'd purchase a new directory each year for $99.

6. Don't over or under price your info product.

Here are some examples of what would be typical (but by no means exclusive):

·        $297 – 5 cds and 1 binder

·        $497 – 5 cds, 1 binder, and a workbook

·        $997 and up – 10 cds, 2 binders, and a workbook

7. Don't just create your information product and then put it out for sale!

To be successful, it's important that you follow a proven step-by-step pre-launch cycle.

First, announce it and tease in your ezine, on your website and in blogs. Then, be sure to direct them to your sales page and start taking pre-orders. Next, you want to conduct interviews and do teleseminars to share free content but that also previews your upcoming product. That in turn, leads to you "sneak previewing" the product, which if you have affiliates, will encourage them to promote for you. Finally, you want to announce your product launch to your own list and then, and only then, would you go into flat-out launch mode.

8. Do consider hiring a mentor…

…to teach you the finer points of creating and launching a successful product launch. As long as you know you have something worthwhile to offer, the money spent on coaching as it relates to the profits you'll receive from a good info product (not to mention sharing your gifts and talents) represents a very high return on investment.

I hope this has been helpful and that you'll be inspired to create your own info product that allows you to get your message out in a big way, as well as provides a limitless source of passive and leveraged income to compliment what you're doing day to day.

Until next time, remember to market authentically and attract new clients by design!

See also: Passive Revenue: Repurposing for Profit (Part 1)

Here’s the plan:

Follow the “Couch to 5K” training program and run in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 5K in Rolla on September 24, 2011. The training program requires 30 minute training sessions 3 days per week for 9 weeks.

Week 1: Getting Started (Shopping Highlights)

Monday, June 13, 2011

First workout completed: 30 minutes of alternating running and walking. Jello jigglers should sponsor my runs – they would make a fortune. Here’s a FYI for you: The iPod “new” arm band to hold iPod Touch/iPhones doesn’t work with iPhones that are from 2009. Silly me. I questioned the guy repeatedly at the store I bought it from (cough… walmart). He assured me that it would work. He showed me an iPod touch and it sorta looked like it would work. I hoped it would work. It really does not work. The guy was like 72 and I seriously doubt he has ever even held an iAnything in his hand. Why do they do that? Who in their right mind would put a senior citizen in the electronics department unless they were totally hip and…techie…and…is this like asking for the impossible? Has anyone ever seen a person over, say 65, who was a techie? I know one person, but I don’t think he’s over sixty five…and he’s been working on techie stuff in his basement since rocks sparked and made fire.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Stopped by Mobile Gateway to see if my husband was eligible for a phone upgrade. We both are! Picked up an iPhone 4 which I love, love, love. The “Couch to 5K” has a downloadable app that integrates your music playlists with the workout instructions. It makes for a wonderfully relaxing workout. Your music plays, every minute or two the “Couch to 5K” app tells you whether to run or walk, and you can feel all the right muscles working in your body. Love it! My friend, Annamarie, also told me that there is an Android “Couch to 5K” app, too. Yay!

Just FYI, we stopped by the new AT&T Corporate store in Rolla to check prices on the new iPhone 4 and the price is exactly the same as Mobile Gateway except… the corporate store doesn’t have any iPhone 4’s in stock! In fact, the iPhone 4’s are on back order and our rep said they not sure when they will get any. That didn’t stop them from trying to sell us seven different things from accessories to protection plans. When we went into Mobile Gateway, they just answered our questions, processed our order, checked to make sure we understood how our new phone worked, verified the phone worked correctly after activated, and sent us off with a smile. No pushy sales tactics or “upsells.”  Efficient helpfulness…just one more reason why our family and business uses Mobile Gateway.

Friday, June 18, 2011

Week One complete! Per the “Couch to 5K” program, I trained 3 days this week.

Week 1: The Details

Monday:

I thought my previously injured foot was going to bring me to a puddle of tears, but kept going and completed the training session.

Tuesday:

I felt like I had lost 10 pounds and looked fabulous in all my clothes, which I repeatedly told my husband, who graciously gave me frequent high fives.

Wednesday:

With my previously injured foot wrapped well, I worked through the sore muscles from Monday’s workout and felt like completing this journey was actually possible.

Thursday:

I was totally exhausted, but able to comfortably get in my skinnier jeans from before my last pregnancy. Went to a Rolla Choral Arts Society fundraising meeting with Cindy Beger, Jeff Sandquist, Mary Kwantes, and Joanie McEnanney at Panera Bread. For the first time in years, did not feel self-conscious about my mommy body.

Friday:

This was the most awesome experience ever. As I laced up my running shoes, both kids wanted to go running with me. So, instead of driving to my normal parking spot at the fire station on Lions Club Drive, we all laced up our shoes and walked to Grandma’s. Little Man, who is two, stayed with Grandma while Ava and I walked over to the fire station and worked our training session. I was a little hesitant to take her, because she’s just 5 and I was afraid she wouldn’t be able to make it the entire 30 minutes. She did great! It made me start thinking about healthy families, and getting kids in the habit of exercising early. Plus, taking her shopping for workout gear would be so fun – head-to-toe hot pink and glitter!

Places to run in Rolla, MI (USA):

If the weather is nice, a great place to train in Rolla is on Lions Club Drive. It’s flat, safe, and the flowers growing along the road are really relaxing. When the weather gets rough, the indoor track at the Centre is very nice. Plus, it would be great to take a cool dip in the pool to celebrate another completed workout! Couch to 5K, here I come!

About the Photo:

Ava and Michele Broxton after a training session for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 5K in September. Couch to 5K, here we go! Photo: Robert Mendoza Photography (573) 201-3336

See also:

Couch to 5K: This is Why People Quit (Week 2)

Couch to 5K: One Mom’s Journey Back to Health (Week 0)