Work Smart. Live Smarter.

Have you ever thought about what you would do if an employee or independent contractor stole from you or misrepresented your brand?  What if the internet went down?  Would you be able to continue building your business and processing orders?  These are only a few very important considerations that business owners need to consider and we many don’t.  You, on the other hand will know what steps to take in order to prepare your business for the unexpected after listening to this episode of the WSL Show.

As 2012 approaches, are you looking at your client attraction, client services, client retention, team management, financial and legal systems to improve them in the coming year?  If not, now is a great time to do so!

In this episode of the Work Smart Lifestyle Show, Brian Moran, Executive Director of Sales Development at the Wall Street Journal shares some powerful tips for entrepreneurs and ‘intrapreneurs’ who want to prepare for some serious progress in 2012. Brian’s extensive background in the publishing industry (former Publisher and Associate Publisher at Entrepreneur Media Inc, Associate Publisher at Inc. Magazine and on the management team at Success magazine) has taken him from corporate America to the entrepreneurial world and back again.  Now, he is well positioned to share his journey and his insights to help you get a leg up on your competition while answering the tough questions about what is really going on with your business.

Learn how to up your game on social media while filling in systems gaps in your business so you can reach your goals now and in the future by listening to this powerful 30 minute episode of the Work Smart Lifestyle Show.  If you have any thoughts, questions or comments, feel free to share them in the comments section.  Thanks so much!

“Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make them come true.” 

Every year around this time, I start thinking about the goals that I set for my personal, family and professional life and how close I came to reaching them.  I also create a plan for goals for the upcoming year.

“Your dreams come true when you act to turn them into realities.”

In this video, you will see four steps to get you thinking about your goals and how to achieve them in 2012.  And if you are looking for a place to find support in this endeavor, of course I am happy to help.

Step 1:  Clear the clutter in your physical, emotional and professional worlds.

Step 2: Get clear on what you want to achieve and why it is important to you and the world around you.

Step 3: Build a network of people online and off who support your vision (and whose vision you support).

Step 4: Take massive action (start by listing out what your goals are what you will do every month and week to move toward your vision).

Writing your goals and dreams down is the first step to making them a reality.  So, I invite you to write down one of your goals for 2012 and one action step that you will take toward your goal in the comments.  Thank you for believing in the beauty of your dreams!

“If you want to leave your footprints on the sands of time, be sure you’re wearing work shoes.” – Unknown

This week, I had the pleasure of attending the premiere of More Business of Being Born, a fantastic documentary series about birthing options executive produced by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein.  When I arrived at the premiere, Ricki was outside, smiling happily and shaking hands with attendees.

I remembered a tweet of hers from earlier in the day where she said she had been dancing for 4 or 5 hours and I was in awe of how hard this woman works. She and her dance partner, Derek Hough often receive the highest scores on Dancing with the Stars, which means they are dancing like crazy all day, for many days in a row.  On top of that, Ricki is raising 2 boys, promoting #MBOBB (More Business of Being Born) and getting ready to launch the new Ricki Lake Show.  This woman works HARD and because of this, she is amazing, inspiring… powerful!

Success doesn’t fall into your lap.  It is a choice.

As I sat in that movie theater watching #MBOBB, I was touched by the many stories of the birthing experiences that Melissa Joan Hart, Cindy Crawford, Alyson Hannigan, Christie Turlington, Gisele Bundchen, Alanis Morissette and a few others shared.  Birth is an experience like no other that involves an incredible amount of focus, love, power and strength.  At the same time, as I witnessed these amazing women, I couldn’t help but think about business in relation to the birthing process.

From the moment an entrepreneurial idea is conceived, it must be nurtured and cultivated and finally birthed into the world with thoughtful consideration.  We have many choices to birth our businesses and in this process, we can choose to educate and prepare ourselves or just go with the flow (or a combination of both).  In the end… some things are out of our control, but the ultimate outcome is a result of our hard work, focus and dedication, combined with some element of destiny.

Business is not easy and neither is child birth, but it is incredibly rewarding.  So, how do we stay focused on the mission at hand without getting sidetracked by things like morning sickness, an aching back, a social media troll, delays in production or legal challenges?

The key is to remember your WHY. Visualize what it will look and feel like to achieve your end goal. 

Do you want to raise a happy and healthy baby/business?  Is your goal to eventually sell your business, so it can grow into an even better and more powerful brand or do you want to sustain it indefinitely?  What do you plan to do when the business is sold?  Will you donate money to charity?  Will you send your children to college?  Will you relax in a tropical paradise with your significant other?  Will you write a book about it and keep on going?  What is your WHY?  Write it down, print it out, post it everywhere you will see and remember it every single day.

If we want to dance all day until we are bruised and bleeding, only to slip into a beautiful dress to promote our next baby…  while incubating another dream (like Ricki Lake), we have to be willing to go the distance.  We have to be willing to put up with the bumps and stumbles in order to make it to the rainbow and realize our dreams.  Success doesn’t just fall into our laps because if it did, we wouldn’t appreciate it.  We would simply take it for granted.  Even parents who adopt babies have to jump through hoops in order to hold that baby in their arms. Right?

So, now I want to ask you this… Are you doing everything you can to prepare yourself for success?  Do you know your why?  Do you have role models to follow (like Ricki Lake) who can inspire you to keep on going (with a smile on your face) when times get tough and days are long?  Are you so in touch with your dreams and your goals that even the “ring of fire” can’t keep you from pushing ahead?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

(BTW, the ladies in the pic above are some fabulous Social Media Girlfriends who love to support Ricki Lake, another Social Media Girlfriend!  From the left: Jane Graves, Lori Moreno, Jeryl Jagoda, Lynn Gosselin, Jodi Okun and myself. Dabney Porte joined us in spirit on the paper!)

Birthdays are for giving, right? 

Well, in this video… there are 3 wishes or gifts that I have for you.

I don’t often get too personal on my blog, but today I want to share some things with you because that is how we build our relationship.  I am 38 years old today and I am very grateful for the life that I have.  My husband and my daughters are my most favorite people on the planet (although my mom, dad and sister- and her family are right up there too!) and I get to laugh with and hug them every day.

Although my mom was diagnosed with cancer over a year ago and we have had our ups and downs, we have been able to celebrate her life and she knows without a doubt that she is loved.  We are all blessed to know her and every day is a gift to be in her presence.

We all have our challenges in life, but the goal is to keep a smile on and embrace those challenges as opportunities.

Every morning, I get to look out at the ocean from my bedroom, kitchen and living room windows each morning and appreciate the beauty of the ocean and the sun.  It never gets old. Life is good.

I am so very grateful for the many friends who have come into my life.  Some have stayed, some come in and out of my life and others have gone their own way.  I love you all.

So, thank you for stopping by and celebrating life with me.  Thank you for your messages on social media, I appreciate every one of them!  And I wish you an amazing day. If you haven’t already watched it, please enjoy the video I made for you.

Thanks again for being here and for making the world a better place.

Deborah L Smith of Jersey Bites

If you have ever thought aboutdeveloping a daily deals program to market your business or if you want to get more clarity about using social media for your business, this episode of the Work Smart Lifestyle Show is for you!

The fabulous Deborah Smith is a dynamic speaker and educator on the topic of Social Media Marketing. Her company, Foxtrot Media, LLC, offers consulting, training and management of Social Media programs for business. Deborah is a certified LinkedIn instructor and offers on site corporate training for sales and marketing professionals as well.  And in this episode of the Work Smart Lifestyle Show, Deb shares her journey from starting an online nanny matching service in the Aol days of the internet to building a food blog that has 37 contributing writers and is well known in New Jersey for being the site to go when you want good eats.

Smith began employing email groups and online message boards as marketing and networking tools for her own Ecommerce business in 1998, well before the term “Social Media” was ever conceived. When the new and improved social tools emerged, she was an early adopter and quickly saw the tremendous value for business owners.

Deb actively markets Jersey Bites on the Twitter account @JerseyBites which currently has over 5,000 followers and Facebook Page with over 2,700 Fans. She shares some tips on how you can use social media as one of your marketing tactics.  We discuss online influence measurement tools like Klout and whether or not they are worth paying any attention to as well as many other topics that will help you get a new perspective on client attraction for your business.

If you have any questions or thoughts, please feel free to leave them in the comments below.  Enjoy!

Have you ever read the book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie?  (If not, make it one of your top priorities to read in the next few weeks!)  This book is a complete game changer for how you will see people and what they need from relationships. The bottom line is that in business and in life, people want to know that they matter.  They want to be important.  All people want to be heard.  They want to know that they matter.

What are you doing to let your audience know that you are listening to them?

In business, when you make a point of listening to your audience, the brilliant thing that happens is that they want to tell you more!  When they want to tell you more and you actually listen, your relationship gets stronger and your clients become brand ambassadors.  In turn, your business will get more visibility and your customers will be happy.

Here are 5 Ways that You Can Let Your Audience Know That You Are Listening:

1. Ask questions on social media about your clients’ biggest pain points.  Post questions to your Facebook Page, LinkedIn groups, Twitter profile and in YouTube videos as a way to start the conversation.  When you ask questions, you are taking your messaging from one way broadcasting to communicating and your audience will think of your brand when it comes to finding answers, solutions and resources.
2. Ask questions about your audience’s greatest accomplishments and then congratulate them.  People like to share their wins and often times don’t get the stage to do so.  Give them a place to shine and then let them stay there for a while as you share their magnificence with the world. 
   
3. Create blog posts that address the most common questions that you get asked.  Building on the questions that you ask your audience on social media, post answers in the form of blog posts, videos, tweets or comments that give your audience a way to take action on the problems they are facing.
4. Comment on blogs, videos and social media profiles from your biggest brand conversationalists.  This is a great way to give back to your audience and reward people who engage with you in the questions you ask.  Make sure to show sincere appreciation to anyone who frequently engages with your content, especially when they allow you to share your best stuff.
5. Create products and services that help your audience get what they want.  When you are listening to your audience, they will tell you what they are looking for to help them.  They are also asking you for a solution to their pain.  Give your audience what they want by providing products and services that directly relate to their needs.

Showing people that you care, offering them solutions to their problems and letting them know that they matter is what good business is all about.  What ways do you show your audience that you are listening?  I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas and stories in the comments!

Does it matter that you don’t have an MBA if you are a business coach?  Do you need a PhD to really help people heal?

The truth is that education and training can come in many forms and Hillary Rubin is the perfect example of this.  Hillary has mastered her technique of helping people heal their trauma and step into their confidence without a coaching certification.  Some people feel the need to acquire multiple titles and certifications and sometimes this can be a distraction from doing the work that matters.

Hillary is living proof that her clients can experience incredible breakthroughs and dramatic results despite the fact that she never graduated from college.

In this episode of the WSL Show, Hillary and I talk about how it feels to not have the piece of paper that validates your work with a degree or certificate, but to have the knowledge that truly can change people’s lives and how this impacts her business.  Hillary very generously shares stories of working with her clients and memories of own personal transformations so that you can understand what it takes to move past blocks.

Having been featured on Fit TV, in The Los Angeles Times, The Independent, Yoga Journal, the Huffington Post and Origin magazine, Hillary is a thought leader and an innovator who we will be hearing much more from and about. As a Spiritual Life Design Coach, wellness pioneer and certified Anusara™ yoga teacher, Hillary  guides women to become who they want to be but were afraid to become.

If you are interested in receiving the gift that Hillary has very generously shared with the Work Smart Lifestyle community, click here and enjoy the show!

The Question…

Can connecting with ALL 5 senses of your audience make your product or service offerings more appealing and potentially increase revenue in your business?

The Answer: Yes.

Here’s how…

We experience life through our 5 senses.  Life is full of sights, smells, touch, tastes and sounds that we unconsciously connect with emotion.  If an experience touches multiple senses, the stronger the memory and the more likely we are to recall that which gave us the experience (positive or negative).

For example, think about an exciting time in your past that you remember vividly.  If it was your first concert, of course you remember the songs you heard, but you also might recall whether you were hot or cold, what you ate, what you wore, who you were with, the stage, the lighting or the costumes of the performers.  Now think of a negative memory from many years ago.  You probably remember many of the same sensory experiences.  Right? We don’t want to focus on the negative here, but the reason I bring this up is that if you want your audience to remember their experience with your brand for years to come, you will want to think about all 5 senses and how you can leave a pleasurable memory (not a painful one).

In business, we need to make sure that we are tapping into as many of these senses as possible so that we can really connect with our audience.

Sight

Some people love to read, so having a blog with written posts and interesting pictures is perfect for your visual enthusiasts.  Twitter, Facebook and Linked In are also visual connection points to reach your ideal client.  Video is a great way to capture the audience who prefers a visual experience while simultaneously tapping into the auditory memory.

Most businesses focus primarily on targeting the visual means of audience connection, which is fine if you have done your research and you know this is what your ideal client prefers.  However, many entrepreneurs assume that visual outreach is the way to go, while leaving out the multimedia experience that many consumers prefer.

Sound

Sometimes when I am surfing the web, working out or doing something that doesn’t involve intense focus, I like to play podcasts.  It helps me to stay informed and allows me to hear different points of view.  If you want to connect with people who prefer an auditory experience,  having a podcast or at least an audio option for your blog posts is a must.  If you have a podcast in the live format, such as a Blog Talk Radio show, your audience will be able to not only listen, but speak directly with you.  This is another powerful sensory experience that engages potential customers with your brand while promoting you as an expert and boosting SEO.

Touch

We all know that networking is one of the most cost effective ways to grow a business.  When we actively engage in live conversations with people, we get to shake hands with contacts and feel the energy that they bring to the world.  A hand shake and a friendly conversation with the right people can do more for your business than any webinar or blog post.  If you want to standout as an accessible business owner, plan to attend at least 1-2 conferences in your industry every year and set up networking lunches or coffee breaks so you can connect with your audience on a personal level.

Smell

This may sound like a strange sense to inject into your client attraction strategy, but let me put it like this… Make sure that whenever you are in a place where you may run into a potential client, joint venture partner or the press, you smell GOOD!  Back in the day when I was doing wardrobe for film, I remember the smell of certain big name actors and it was not pretty.  When we meet someone at a conference and they have an intense smell of body odor, that impressions sticks with us.  Personal hygiene and keeping yourself smelling fresh shows that you care about yourself and others and that you are professional.

Taste

Another interesting sense to bring up when it comes to business (unless you are a chef or offer some type of food or beverage product through your business) is the idea of taste.  How do we leave a pleasurable taste in the mouth of our audience when our business has nothing to do with food?  Maybe taste doesn’t always have to do with food…

Maybe taste has to do with the experience itself.  What overall experience are you leaving your clients to remember?  When your audience experiences your brand, what taste does it leave in their mouth?  And what are you doing to make sure that it is one that will keep them coming back for more? This is the key to growing revenue and creating loyal fans who will keep coming back for more.

The only way to truly know the answer to these questions is to test some of the 5 senses ideas presented here, come up with some ideas of your own (that relate to your brand and your audience) and then to ask for feedback.  This not only shows that you care, but it also shows that you are investing in the future of your relationship with your audience.

Don’t forget to always reward any type of feedback with a gesture of gratitude.  Once your audience shares their thoughts, preferences or experiences with you, honor their input by making adjustments to the experience that you offer as it relates to their needs and wants.  Maybe in the end, you will come to find that your audience connects best with your message through visual with audio means (which means you do more video) or that you get the best results in person (increase workshops or  speaking engagements).  The only way to know is to experiment and then to ask.

Now, let’s hear your ideas on how we can touch upon the 5 senses in the experiences we present to our audience. 

“One of the biggest mistakes any entrepreneur can make is to avoid the “archaeological dig” of discovering your WHY.” – Liz Dennery Sanders

As the founder of PR and celebrity outreach firm Dennery Marks, Liz knows how to get the attention of the right people and turn those relationships into revenue.  Liz also discusses the value of giving back to the community and the success this can bring to your soul (as she has experienced with the Step Up Womens Network).  She explains why networking for business and play in order to grow your business and your brand is essential as well.

Speaking of networking, make sure to follow Liz on Twitter for some great branding tips.  And just launched this week… sign up for the new She Brand Candy designed to give you quick weekly tips to keep your brand in delicious shape.  ON the show, Liz shares that her ultimate goal is to empower hundreds of thousands of women to build brands that change the world.  This episode of the Work Smart Lifestyle is one step toward her reaching this goal.

If you know any women who are looking for some help with branding or creating clarity around their marketing plan, hit some of the social media buttons at the bottom of this post and feel free to share!

I hope you enjoy this episode of the WSL Show as much as I did and if you have any thoughts or questions for Liz or myself, feel free to leave them in the comments below.

Have you seen the tweets about Klout lately?  People are very worried and upset.  They feel used.  They feel confused.  They also feel helpless because they have no control over what seems like a big indication of their online success.  Anything that measures your influence seems like it would be important in business, but I would like to propose that you take a step back and think about a few things before you let your online influence scores ruin a perfectly good day.

There has been a heated and very interesting debate going on about whether or not you can accurately measure anyone’s online influence.  Companies like Klout, Peer Index and Tweet Grader (among a mushrooming list of other contenders) strongly believe in their measurement algorithms and metrics and they will tell you that THEIR analytics are the only true measurement of your influence…

But can anyone truly measure someone’s online influence when the very idea of social networking is that anyone can get involved, anyone can be heard and anyone can make a difference with just 1 tweet?  And more importantly, why does it matter that there are companies who measure your online influence when there are discrepancies between all of their scores?

As entrepreneurs and thought leaders, shouldn’t we be more concerned with our online reputation than a hypothetical measurement of our influence?

Months ago, when I discovered that there was a score being placed on my social media activity, I was excited at the idea of being able to compete with myself.  Now, I would be able to raise the bar and see the impact I was making.  In some ways, I thought it was an ROI for all of the time I spend connecting and engaging to attract my ideal clients. I knew that if I wasn’t attracting a new client every few weeks, I was at least able to see how my activity was impacting my online influence through this score.

And then things began to unravel…

After a few months of seeing my score dip when I wasn’t online during the weekend or when my child was sick or when I was actively working with clients or attending conferences, I realized that these measurement tools are actually NOT a good idea for entrepreneurs who want to have a social life offline.  In addition to that, these tools do not take into account who I am direct messaging with or who I am having phone conversations and then lunch with.  And on the flip side of that, how could my online influence be greater than high profile media stars like Maria Shriver, Kathy Ireland or Oprah?!

I’m flattered, but… Really?

So, I decided that my social media influence is not something that will attract clients to me, my online (and offline) reputation is.  And therefore, I believe that as lifestyle entrepreneurs who have passions and goals outside of our businesses, it does not serve us to focus on the supposed score that is placed on our social media activity.

What serves us is to know our goals and values and to build systems into our businesses that allow us to take breaks, spend time unplugged from technology to engage with our offline loved ones so we can do things that inspire us and ultimately live with purpose and meaning.  If we are so worried about keeping our online measurement scores up to maintain the illusion of success, how can we live in the real world?  How can we be making a difference for others?  And isn’t that really influence is about?

So, now I look at the measurement of my online influence as a very loose indicator of my connection with my audience.  But the score is not the end all – be all of who I am or the work that I do.  It is more like a video game that I can smile at and say… I’m more influential than Oprah.  See! 

What do you think?  Is it important to know what your online influence score is?  Does this score help you to attract your ideal clients?  Or are you more focused on building a solid online reputation and doing your great work?