Appreciate Where Your Business Is

Why isn't my business growing as fast as I want it to? Why isn't growing as fast as other people who are in the same business? Does is feel like your business is growing by inches instead of feet?

If you want to break the cycle of feeling unaccomplished and unfulfilled, it's time to start focusing on what matters: you. You’ve been focusing your energy on the wrong things. If you are worried about others, you are not focused on yourself. I know this all too well because that used to be me. I would look to see what everyone else was doing and how they were doing it. I would spend my time watching what other business and relationship coaches were marketing and branding. But I realized I was wasting time worrying about everyone else and wasn't focusing enough on me.

After trying to be them for so long, I decided to give me a try. I started to believe I was just as good or better doing it my way. I embraced my own unique story, products and content, and I didn’t feel the need to copy anyone. You have to shine with your own tools and information and trust that you are enough. If you keep looking back, you will more than likely miss what's right in front of you. Stop comparing yourself to other people. You could go further if you focused on your own unique gifts, rather than getting stuck on what others do better than you. It’s time to stop comparing and start doing.

You got where you are today on your own merit, so you don’t need to worry about anyone else. Once you can let go of what’s holding you back, you'll be ready to be a BOSS:

B — Be yourself. Stop trying to be like other people. Play up your own strengths and not your weaknesses.

O — Opportunities are all around you, but you don’t see them when you’re too busy trying to be like someone else. Keep your eyes open.

S — Strengths are what you should focus on. The main reason people don’t get acknowledged or appreciated for what they do in business is that they are constantly trying to do things they are not good at or are trying to make it seem like they can do everything when they truly can’t.

S — Security is vital. You must be secure in who you are. You were born to be original with your own fingerprint, your own thoughts, your own creativity and your own devices -- so, stop being a copycat. You have everything you need inside of yourself, but you are too afraid to let it shine. Now is the time to change that.

My prayer for today: Heavenly Father, as I am waiting for growth, help me to not look around and compare my business to others'. Give me patience, help me to trust your process. I want to appreciate everything you have done for my business. Help me to fully appreciate right where I am and help me to see in my mind where I am headed. Like a captain steers his ship, please guide me Lord, steer me in that direction. Remind me that you are with me every step of the way. Help me to do what I need through you to see this business prosper. Let me be grateful every step of the way, because I know that you will move and elevate my business to where you want it. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen

Isaiah 54:2-3 – Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back;lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out of the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” - John F. Kennedy 

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough,and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” - Melody Beattie

 “'Thank you' is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank youe xpresses extreme gratitude, humility, and understanding." Alice Walker

I hope this helps you to appreciate where YOU are in your business! If you need help with anything in your business, please don't hesitate to reach out to me by call or text at 612-208-9434. I am always here and happy to help. 

To your success~
 

Who is Your Ideal Client?

Every entrepreneur should be intensely focused on his or her prospective customers. The ability to find a customer, sell your product or service to that customer, and satisfy the customer so that he buys from you again should be the central focus of all entrepreneurial activity. The greater clarity you have with regard to your ideal customer, the more focused and effective your marketing efforts will be.
Everyone is in the business of customer satisfaction in some way. The most important activity of any entrepreneur is to clearly identify the very best customers for your product or service, and then focus all marketing, advertising and sales efforts on this particular type of customer.

Here are some tips to help you find your business's ideal customers:

1. Define your product or service from the customer's point of view. What does your product do for your ideal customer? What problems does your product solve for your customer? What needs of your customer does your product satisfy? How does your product improve your customer's life or work? 2. Define the ideal customer for what you sell. What is his or her age, education, occupation or business? What is his or her income or financial situation? What is his or her situation today in life or work?
3. Determine the specific benefits your customer is seeking in buying your product. Of all the benefits you offer, which are the most important to your ideal customer? What are the most pressing needs that your product or service satisfies? Why should your customer buy from you rather than from someone else?
4. Determine the location of your exact customer. Where is your customer located geographically? Where does your customer live or work? Where is your customer when he or she buys your product or service?
5. Determine exactly when your ideal customer buys your product or service. What has to happen in the life or work of your customer for him to buy your product? What time of year, season, month or week does your customer buy?
6. Determine your customer's buying strategy. How does your customer buy your product or service? How has your customer bought similar products or services in the past? What is your customer's buying strategy? How does your customer go about making a buying decision for your product?

Imagine placing an ad in the newspaper for your perfect customer. How would you describe your perfect customer? What prospective customers are the most likely to buy your product or service immediately? What are the most important qualities that your ideal customer would have?

Your ability to clearly define and determine the very best customer for your product or service will determine your success in business. How could you find more perfect customers for your product? How could you create new customers for your product? Define your unique selling proposition and communicate this key benefit in every customer contact.

Most entrepreneurs aren't clear about their ideal customer. For this reason, they waste a lot of time and money trying to sell their product to people who aren't good potential customers.

Your ability to clearly define and focus in on the customers who can most rapidly buy your product or service will be essential to your business success.

My prayer for today: Thank you Father for giving me people who understand my entrepreneurial spirit because they have it to. Being around people who think like I do, energizes me. Please continue to bring me people who think outside the box, and, who encourage me to think a little harder and dig a little deeper. Thank you for my business cheerleaders, my support team, my customers, and my team members. Please continue to help me find people who make me want to do better and better. Would you not only bring like minded people to bless me but also help me to be a blessing to other like minded people. Thank you for giving me other entrepreneur's to link arms with. In Your Name I pray, Amen

Eccl4:9–“Two are better than one,because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall,one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” 

1 Cor 15:33 – “Do not be misled: bad company corrupts good character.” 

Prov 13:20- “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”


”Everyone is your best friend when you are successful. Make sure that the people that you surround yourself with are also the people that you are not afraid of failing with.”-Paula Abdul 

“Surround yourself with like-minded people. Success is a group activity.” – Angel Alzona“

Who you hang out with determines what you dream about and what you collide with. And the collisions and the dreams lead to your changes. And the changes are what you become.Change the outcome by changing your circle.” – Seth Godin

 “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn

I hope these tips will help you to find your ideal prospect! If you need help with figuring out who your ideal prospect is, don't hesitate to reach out to me by phone or text: 612-208-9434. I am always here and happy to help!

To your success~
 

Prayer for Distractions in Your Business

Being a business owner comes with endless pressure on my time. Appointments, jobs, paperwork, clients, team members, the list goes on and on. There are days when I feel like the work will never be done and no matter what, I will never be caught up. On days like that, I am tempted to get discouraged and give up.

Here is my prayer for today: Heavenly Father, when I am feeling tempted to give up and am discouraged, help me to stop and breathe. Please give me create ways to manage my time. Stretch my hours in my workday so that I am able to complete everything that I need to during my work time. I don't want to be a workaholic so please help me to manage my calendar and all that you need me to do. Lord, help me to stay focused when I need to be in full work mode. Help me to turn off all the distractions, like social media and other time suckers that keep me from doing what needs to be done. Without you in the middle of my time, I work aimlessly and get nothing done. Would you be ever present in my work day so that I can accomplish all that I need to. I want every minute of my time to glorify you Lord! I want to get all my work done so that I can concentrate on all the non working parts of my life. I want to honor you with my time. Help me to set boundaries. Help me to make better decisions with my time. Help me to overcome distractions and concentrate. I need you desperately in this area! In your name I pray, Amen

Ps 31: 14-15 But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands;deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.



Eph 5 15-17 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 

“Those who make the worse use of their time are the first to complain of it’s shortness.” –Jean De La Bruyere

 “Time is really the only capital that any human being has and the only thing he can’t affordto lose.” – Thomas Edison

 “Either you run the day or the day runs you.” – Jim Rohn

 “People often complain about the lack of time when the lack of direction is the realproblem.” – Zig Ziglar

I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me! Feel free to share it with your team! If I can help you in anyway in your business, please feel free to call or text me at 612-208-9434. 

To your success~
 

Love, Serve, Prayer in Your Business

It's been awhile since my last post. I am excited to be back and going to continue sharing tips and tricks when it comes to marketing. I am also going to share some scriptures as I grow closer to the Lord and invite Him into my business. I hope you welcome Him into your as well!

It is scary to try to price products and services. If they are priced to high, they won't sell. And I feel bitter when I under price myself. Help me to find a happy medium. Help me to make a fair living from a fair product and by providing a fair service. Help me to know exactly who to market my service to so that price is not an issue. Help me to be profitable. I know you give us the wisdom and talent to gain wealth, Lord. Help me to heed your instruction and glorify you with the income my business makes. Amen

Cor. 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 

Tim 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 

“Pricing is actually a pretty simple and straight forward thing. Customers will not pay literally a penny more than the true value of the product.” – Ron Johnson 

“Charge what you are worth and do not apologize” – unknown“

If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents. Value what you know and start charging for it” –quotenor.com

I hope this helped you, feel free to share it with your team! If you have any questions or need help with anything in your business, please feel free to reach me at 612-208-9434. I am always here and happy to help!

Using Classified Ads in Your Business

Why Classified Ads?

You are a small business owner or marketing professional and your budget is limited. You need a free advertising solution that can potentially reach new customers. Therefore, classified ads are the way to go.

In June 1836, French newspaper La Presse was the first to include paid advertising in its pages. This advertising system allowed it to lower its printed price, extend its readership and increase its profitability and the formula was soon copied by other papers.

Digital media is the new print media, and nowadays classified ads are often free! Therefore you get free ads and a backlink to your website as long as the ad is running (most free classified ads will run for 30 - 45 days, but the amount of time may vary). Some sites may charge you for what they call "premium" posting, but for the most part, you do not need to waste money on this.

Classified ads are a great way to get a backlink to your website. Given there are no follow links, they are still good to have, so a user can get to your website, which in a sense indirectly helps with SEO and page rank as long as that person does not bounce (leave the site right away).

Let us take a look at some of the most popular free classified ad sites out there and examine each one closely.

Free Ads Time

• freeadstime.org

As the name implies, this website allows you to post free classified ads. The setup is clean and the categories are clear. You can post an ad with or without an account. If you know how code the link by hand in HTML, then you can add it manually and you can add a backlink.

Pros: Simple easy to use. You can either create an account and keep track of your ads or post an ad without an account. If you post an ad without an account, they will notify you by email and you will be given links to edit the listing.

Cons: There does not seem to be a lot of posters using the site (this may depend on city and region). Manual implementation of HTML links.

FinderMaster

findermaster.com

A modern look and more than a few interesting newer features offered by FinderMaster makes it an ideal local classified ads site. Automatically detecting your region upon your first visit or its simple yet complex designs are examples of what you can expect to come across on your visit to this website.

Pros: Ads can be posted for free both as a member or as a guest. Its ease of use can’t be ignored and it covers a large number of areas and categories.

Cons: A great number of ads are posted in certain regions or countries and the other countries seem to be low in the number of posted listings.

WallClassifieds

• wallclassifieds.com

This classified ads site has differentiated itself both through its user experience design and its user interface design. Basically, navigating through the website is quite intitule and it very well can be a to go place for posting almost anything. It’s free, local, and yet again quite easy to use.

Pros: Most classifieds force you to browse through a few pages before seeing the results you’ve been after and this is not the case with the WallClassifieds. It saves you those extra steps and it enables you to select a city and the category right from its homepage.

Cons: You won’t be able to spot certain filters such as selecting the number of doors for a vehicle through its search pages.

Classified Ads

• classifiedads.com

This is a free classified ads site that is easy to use. All you have to do is click on "Post an Ad" and the site takes you to a page where you can post an ad first and fill out your account details later. The site is very clean and the categories are very well defined. The site is also very active with a lot of traffic.

Pros: It is quick and painless to set up a user account. You can add HTML to each listing, which means a backlink to your site.

Cons: Poor search engine. When I did a search in my city, I did not just get results for my city. The search results showed ads from all over the place, from Los Angeles, California, to Detroit, Michigan to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Only one of them was from anywhere close. This is annoying for someone who is impatient.

Backlink: Yes, no follow

Classified Ads Pro Tip: Use this site for backlinks. You can add as much HTML as you want. This will take the ad viewer directly to your website's landing page and that's exactly where you want them.

Oodle

• oodle.com

Oodle, Inc. is an online marketplace based out of San Mateo, California. It was founded in 2004 by ex-Excite executives Craig Donato, Scott Kister and Faith Sedlin.

Pros: Easy to use. It is integrated with USA Today, so your ads also appear on their site. As long as you manage to create an account and not get your account flagged for no reason, then it should be a powerful tool to reach new audiences due to its appearance on USA Today's classified section.

Cons: They do not offer HTML linking, so you cannot get a backlink to your site. The site is also either very buggy or it just did not like me, because it flagged my very first post and banned my account after I tried to make two more.

Oodle Pro Tip: Make sure your user account information is consistent with your social media profile.

Backlink: No (Yes if you have a premium, paid ad)

Penny Saver USA

• pennysaverusa.com

This is a popular site for anyone looking for coupons and discounted goods or services. Pennysaver USA has an easy way for you to upload coupons in the form of image files. You can also set a discounted price within the ad itself and you can also give people the chance to give you a best offer if you are willing to work with custom pricing.

Pros: A great place to promote discounts and coupons.

Cons: No outbound HTML links. You do however get one business profile link where you can add a single website. I do not see this as effective, because it is not noticeable.

Penny Saver Pro Tip: Be sure to have your coupon saved as an image file that can be uploaded. JPEG is always a good format. Make sure the image size is also not too large or too small. 600x400 pixels is a good size.

Backlink: Yes, no follow.

Locanto

• locanto.com

Locanto is a worldwide online classifieds network with areas dedicated to jobs, personals, for rent, for sale, services, community, real estate, vehicles, and pets. Locanto Classifieds is available in more than 60 countries worldwide.

Locanto Classifieds sites are operated by the German startup company Yalwa located in Wiesbaden, Germany. Locanto was launched in July 2006 with a local classifieds site for New York City. One month later, on August 21, 2006, the service was extended to the U.S. cities. With Locanto, you are allowed to include HTML code, links, and pictures in your ad, and your ad will remain on the site for 60 days.

Pros: They have a good search engine. You can set your search radius as low as 20 miles from your city or more and the keyword search is accurate and precise, so you get exactly what you want. Social media share buttons. Mini analytics.

Cons: I really did not notice any issues. The only downside would be a lack of users in certain areas (they seem to be more popular in some cities than others).

Locanto Pro Tip: Take advantage of their mini analytics options in the My Ads section of your account. You can keep track of how many people viewed your ad to find out if it is doing any good. Also, take advantage of the convenient social media sharing buttons.

Backlink: Yes, no follow.

USA Free Ads

• usafreeads.com

This site looks like someone created it in the early 90's and just forgot about it. Not only is it aesthetically unpleasing, but it is also not mobile friendly. I seriously have no idea why anyone would still use this site, but there are obviously still people making classified ad posts, which means there is still a good amount of traffic. Ads remain active for 40 days.

Pros: They allow HTML, so you can get a backlink to your website's landing page. This is great as a call to action ad in order to get people to click on your link.

Cons: Just about everything... The site needs a serious makeover. They are stuck in the 1990's. When I first hit the registration button, they had a wall of questions where I had to click a radio button to indicate whether or not I was interested in the service the site offered.

USA Free Ads Pro Tip: Do not sign up for the paid monthly memberships, they are not worth it (obviously).

Backlink: Yes, no follow.

Adland Pro

• adlandpro.com

Pros: Somewhat easy sign up. The categories are clear and the search engine gives you exactly what you want.

Cons: The design is a bit outdated. Not really that far outdated, but let us say this site would only hold up to classified ad website design standards before 2010. You also cannot put HTML links in the ad itself and the backlink to your website is not easy for a user to locate.

Adland Pro Pro Tip: You can sign up for an affiliate account and possibly earn money on the side if you have a website.

Backlink: Yes, no follow

Craigslist

• craigslist.org

Founded by Craig Newmark in 1995, Craigslist is definitely the most well known. Craigslist has sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, items wanted, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Throughout the years, Craigslist may or may not have developed a bad reputation as being a site frequented by criminals and unscrupulous individuals, but this is just a small outlier. The majority of Craigslist users are just regular people looking for goods and services. Ads remain active for 7 to 45 days depending on the location.

Pros: Almost everyone has heard of Craigslist and they still get a lot of traffic to their site. They are often considered the number one classified ads site. 

Cons: Craigslist only allows you to make two free posts a day for services per email account. There are A LOT of people using Craigslist, so popular categories such as Automotive Services, for example, can get quite spammy. Craigslist has also had a bad reputation in the media as a site frequented by dirt balls and psychopaths, but the media hype aside, that was just one guy out of hundreds of millions of users. Therefore, I would not hold it against Craigslist.

Craigslist Pro Tip: You can add HTML Links in the Employment and Community Sections. You can also get away with creating more than one Craiglist account if you want to make more posts per day. This may get tedious, but if you are getting leads, then it it may be worth the effort.

Backlink: Yes and No. Outbound links may or may not be allowed depending on what category you are posting your classified ad in. All of the service categories do not allow backlinking. You have to log into your account to renew an ad and you some renewals count against your daily post limit.

Final thoughts about classified ads sites

Disclaimer: Classified ads sites may or may not work for your business. In theory, classified ads are a great idea for free advertising, but you still have to keyword optimize your ads for full effectiveness. Sites like Craiglist have their posts indexed and crawled by Google, so keyword optimized ads also have a chance to appear in organic searches if you write the ad copy in an SEO friendly way. Keep in mind that the classified ads site itself also functions as a mini search engine for keyword optimized ads appearing on the site itself and if your ad is missing a popular keyword in the title, then people might miss it if they are using the classified ad site's search engine.

Are classified ads a waste of time and effort? What if no one is looking? What if the classified ads site itself does not have any relevant user traffic? The obvious answer is that no one is going to see the ad you posted, but you never know. It is like the old saying, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" If no one is there to witness this, then the answer is no. But is this ad a waste of time? No, it is not, because, at the very least, a classified ad will give your website a no-follow backlink, which is still better than nothing.

You may hear a lot about how useless no-follow links are, but look at it this way; a no-follow backlink on a site (even on a site that rarely gets visitors) is kind of like a way marker for someone who happens to exploring the less beaten path of the woods. What if that lone explorer happens to be there at just the right moment and hears the tree fall? What if that person turns into a loyal customer? Not bad for a free classified ad right?

I hope you found these sites and tips helpful. Feel free to share with your team. If you have any questions or need help with anything in your home business, please feel free to call or text me at 612-208-9434. I am always here and happy to help!

Happy Classified Ad Posting~
 

Blog, Blog, Blog

I’ve heard blogging referred to a couple of times recently as a mixture between an art and a science. If this is true (and I think it is), there’s no ‘right way’ to approach blogging if you want to be successful. There are plenty of people who’ve done a great job of it though, and I thought it would be useful to learn from them. Regardless if you are a pro or a beginner these tips will probably prove to be useful.

1. Get ideas from your audience

Create blog posts that answer the most interesting questions from people you engage with on social media.

2. Understand your audience

Understand your audience better than they understand themselves. It takes a lot of upfront research, and often means being a member of the very tribe you’re trying to lead – but it pays off. Understanding your audience better means you’ll have a better idea of what blog content will resonate with them, which is a good start when you get to writing blog posts.

3. Write for yourself first

Write for yourself first & foremost. Ignore the fact that anyone else will read what you write; just focus on your thoughts, ideas, opinions and figure out how to put those into words. Write it and they will come.

4. Build your email list

Start building your email list from day one. Even if you don’t plan on selling anything, having an email list allows you to promote your new content to your audience directly without worrying about search rankings, or other online roadblocks in communications.

5. Love your existing readers

Love the readers you already have. A lot of bloggers get quite obsessed with finding new readers – to the point that they ignore the ones they already have. Yes – do try to find new readers but spend time each day showing your current readers that you value them too and you’ll find that they will help you grow your blog. A blog is really two things. One, simply a piece of technology, a platform. But, two, it is a promise in the minds of most readers, who expect that the blog should have actual content with some elements of value that is hyper-targeted to their needs. Much like with a newspaper. Readers don’t just look at a newspaper as newsprint that is delivered on their driveway every morning. They look at it as valuable information about their city, where they live, and the things that they do.

6. Focus on building an amazing call-to-action

I’d blog and blog. Some of my posts were doing very well, but I had such hard time getting return visitors. And very few people bothered to follow me on Twitter. Don’t rely on people to do the work to find your Twitter account. Don’t rely on them to do the work to find your details in a sidebar. People are blind to sidebars. Thanks banner ads! Finish your blog post with some kind of call to action to sign up for an email list or follow you on Twitter. When I started doing this, I immediately increased my Twitter followers by 335% in the first 7 days.

7. Give stuff away

Give away free content that adds value to people’s lives “until it hurts” and they will love you and become loyal fans.

8. Be consistent

Consistency is one of the most important things that bloggers tend to forget. It’s much easier to lose your traffic than it is to build it up, so make sure you consistently blog.

9. Give away your knowledge

Don’t be afraid to showcase what you know. Too many bloggers hold back the good stuff out of fear of giving away the “secret sauce.” There is no secret sauce in a world where everyone has high speed Internet access at all times. Today, you want to give away information snacks to sell knowledge meals.

10. Be true to your voice

Stay true to yourself and your voice. People don’t care to follow sites so much as they care to follow people.Writing isn’t about picking the right topic; it’s about finding the right voice. What matters, what readers really resonate with, isn’t so much what you say, but how.

11. Give it time – This is why

Plan to invest in blogging for a long time before you see a return. The web is a big, noisy place and unless you’re willing to invest more over a greater period of time than others, you’ll find success nearly impossible. If you’re seeking short-term ROI, or a quick path to recognition, blogging is the wrong path. But if you can stick it out for years without results and constantly learn, iterate, and improve, you can achieve something remarkable.

12. Give your email list priority

If you’re blogging to create a business, a movement, or to support a cause, then you need to build an email list. It’s not an option. I don’t even consider my blog to be my community, my email list is my community. Caring about these people, writing for them, and delivering value to them should be your number one goal.

13. Write catchy headlines

No matter how great your content is, it won’t matter unless you have an amazing headline. People have a split second to decide if they should click on your post, and your headline will make them decide. The headline is also essential in making it easy and desirable for people to share your post. Keep your headlines SPUB: simple, powerful, useful and bold.

14. Be Yourself

There isn’t one specific set of rules to be successful in blogging. When I started blogging, I had the opportunity to learn from experienced and successful bloggers in the industry. One of the best lessons I’ve learned from them is to simply be me. I didn’t have to be too “professional” or use “big words” to impress others. I had to simply be me.
By being me, I enjoyed writing and the process more. It had me writing more than I usually would too. Emotion and storytelling have been part of how we communicate with each other and inspire action for thousands of years.

15. Keep it short

Working out the best length for your blog posts can be tricky. You generally need about 300 words minimum to get indexed by search engines, but otherwise the length of your post is up to what you think feels best. When I’ve written articles that were too long or had too many ideas, they didn’t get much of a reaction. When I read books, I often feel bad for the brilliant idea buried on page 217. Who will hear it? Stop the orchestra. Solo that motif. Repeat it. Let the other instruments build upon it. The web is such a great way to do this. Present a single idea, one at a time, and let others build upon it.

16. Make it worth referencing – here is how:

One thing I always try to keep in mind before publishing a post is would anyone want to “cite” this for any reason? Just like interesting research is great because it leaves you with a fascinating finding or an idea, I like for my posts to be the same. That doesn’t mean relying on research, but simply making sure each post has an original lesson or actionable item, making it “citable” on the web. When writing a post, I get into a mindset to answer just this 1 question with a Yes: “Would anyone email this article to a friend?” It’s an extremely simple proposition. Yet, it has changed my writing completely. If I put myself into a reader’s head going through a post and seeing whether someone will say “Oh, this is interesting, John will really like this”, then I go ahead and publish it. It’s almost like an invisible threshold to pass. I need to improve the post until this level is reached. I will iterate, find more research, get more examples, until I can truly imagine this happening.

I hope this tips are helpful, share with your team and comment on your favorite tip, I would love to hear from you! If you need any help with your blog or anything in your home business, don't hesitate to reach out to me, I would love to hear from you! You can reach me at 612-208-9434.

Happy Blogging~

Attitude

This morning as I was making some calls for my business I had a few scenarios play out: a whole lot of voice mails, a rude wrong number and a prospect who ended the call abruptly because she didn't want to do the work that I was describing to her about my company. I get it, working from home isn't for everyone. It takes work, effort, commitment and so much more. It takes Attitude! I could simply say "all my calls are going to be crappy today so why bother?" Instead, I remind myself that I need to keep going, keep making connections, I will find my yeses!

Attitude is a choice, and it can be the difference between success and failure. Each day, take a moment before you get to work to put yourself in a positive frame of mind. Here are five tips to get you started:

1. Make friends with change

No matter how many times we hear that change is inevitable, many of us have an instinct to resist it. Now is your chance to embrace it. Keep learning. Stay curious and remain open to new experiences.

2. Add a “to-be” list to your “to-do” list

To-do lists are important–they keep us organized and motivated throughout the day. Successful people see beyond the to-do and imagine a to-be. Who do you want to be? What do you want to be and where do you want to be? Answer those questions, and let the answers inform your to-do list.

3. Credit the people around you

If you want to be surrounded by great people, make sure to acknowledge their greatness. Be generous and genuine with compliments. You might be surprised by how people rise to a challenge when they feel empowered to do so.

4. Encourage success

A rising tide lifts all boats. By spreading your positive attitude to those around you, you’re setting yourself up for success along with your colleagues. Positivity is contagious, so be the one to start the wave–it’ll come back around to you just when you need it.

5. Gratitude is the key

Gratitude is a crucial part of any path to success. And, it’s pretty hard to be negative if you’re busy being grateful. Whether it’s your family, your health, or quality time spent with an old friend, keeping focused on the things that are going well in your life will invite other good things and keep you on the path to success.

Just keep focused on your long-term goals and what you want to achieve. Perhaps you want to quit your job, or perhaps you are eyeing that new car. Whatever it is, focus on the benefits of achieving your goal and you will have no problems keeping a positive attitude towards your home business. In fact, you will look forward to each day ready to work on your business.

Don't ever give up. If you don't ever give up, how can you fail, right? Keep knocking on that door until it breaks open, and you can achieve anything you want in your home business.

Go out and crush your day!




Hope this helped you, feel free to share it with your team. If you need help with anything in your home business, please feel free to call/text me at 612-208-9434.


To your success~

Prospecting on Social Media

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Organize Your Home Business Work Day

Running a home business has so many working parts that need to be managed simultaneously, that it can be hard for new entrepreneurs to prioritize every task that needs to be done. In many cases, home business owners spend too much time doing things that don’t lead to fast and profitable results. Here are suggestions for how to organize your day so that you're not wasting time, and your home business is making money.

Know Your Peak Work Times 
Many productivity books suggest that you don’t put email as your first to-do in the morning. Others recommend doing your hardest tasks first. But true productivity comes when you understand your peak work times—times when you feel the most focus and energy—and schedule your work accordingly.

For some people, getting into work mode takes time, so starting with email is an ideal way to ease into the day. Others experience an energy drain after lunch, so they should focus on more important tasks in the morning while their energy is higher and answer emails in the afternoon.  

Some home business owners have several energy peaks and lows during the day. For example, they might be energized to work early in the morning and again late at night. In that case, working during those times, and doing something else during the late morning and early afternoon is the ideal schedule.

If you're not sure about when your peak work times then take a week or two to track how you feel when you're working. Note the times when you feel low or high energy or feel very productive. You'll likely see some patterns emerge.

Prioritize Your Tasks

One of the biggest challenges of running a home business is to make sure you’re focused on the tasks that make money. You should prioritize your tasks in order of their results:

1. Makes money now: Doing work for or invoicing a client
2. Makes money in the near future: New projects, marketing, customer service
3. Makes money in the far future: Projects that take time to put together, networking
4. Business management: Non-marketing or customer service email, doing the books, filing, etc.

Organize and Schedule Your Day

Most home businesses will have the ability to have a set schedule with repeating tasks. For example, a freelance writer can have a set time to write each day.

While working from home allows for flexibility, it isn’t bad to have a routine for tasks you do regularly. A schedule creates a routine and habit, so you don’t have to think about what you need to do. It helps you organize and plan the non-regular aspects of your day around your normal activities.

For a schedule to work, you need to stick to it. So if you find you’re procrastinating a lot, it’s time to go back to reviewing your peak work times.

If you're easily distracted or overwhelmed, or you're procrastination, then it may be helpful to manage your workday by working on one task for 25 minutes without interruption (timed with a timer), taking a short break, and doing it again. After four of these cycles, you take a longer break and start the cycles again. The goal is to increase productivity and focus with a simple, uncomplicated method.

Manage Unknowns and Interruptions

The biggest challenge to home-based business owners is dealing with distractions and managing the tasks that aren’t scheduled. Too often you’re interrupted by a phone call or an unforeseen issue (i.e., your website goes down), throwing your regular routine out of sync. Another issue related to managing your tasks has to do with activities related to long-term projects, which often get pushed aside for more pressing tasks. To best manage activities that you haven’t planned for, you want to assess their importance and either do it, schedule it, or delegate it.

1. Do it: These are pressing issues or crises that must be dealt with. The challenge is in knowing if a task is so important that it automatically goes to the top of the list. Anything that can affect your income should be considered important. So if your website is down, you want to deal with it first. If a customer is complaining, you need to fix it fast.
2. Schedule it: For to-dos that pop up that need to be done, but not necessarily ASAP, work them into your schedule for later.
3. Delegate it: Any time you can take a task off your plate, you’ll have more time to focus on the important money-making tasks. So if an issue pops up, and you have a good virtual assistant, see if they can deal with the issue.

When working on a long-term project, the best way to manage those tasks into your schedule is to:

1. Break down the project into its to-dos.
2. Pick a “Done” date when you want the project completed.
3. Schedule in the to-dos from now until the done date.
4. Treat them as "important" tasks that can't be put off.

Use a System

There are many great online and print systems to help you organize and schedule your day. The trick is to find the one that works for you. Digital systems often have web-based and smart phone apps so you can keep organized while away from your home office. Some home business owners prefer a print system and the ability to physically check off to-dos. Some people use a combination of both.

If you’re not sure what’s best for you, test the various options, taking in consideration how you work, and how many cues, triggers or alarms you need to keep you on schedule.

Ideally, you’ll want to schedule for the week, and maybe even a month. However, it’s important to review and adjust your daily plan as needed.

I hope these suggestions have helped you! Feel free to share with your team. If you have any questions or need help succeeding in your home business, feel free to reach out to me directly. You can email me at theresa@myownathomecareer.com or you can call or text me at 612-208-9434.

Happy Organization and Scheduling~

Work From Home - Is It a Scam?

How many individuals are looking to work from home around their families schedules?

Be careful, there are a lot of scams out there. If anyone promises a paycheck today or tomorrow is most likely not legit. Nothing comes from nothing and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

So many people assume that if you have to pay, it's a scam! Not always true! A job costs you gas, daycare, lunches, uniforms, insurance, etc. A home business usually has an investment as well. However a home business is not a job, it's a business. Just think if you were going to open a salon or sandwich shop, you need overhead to get the salon or sandwich shop open and keep it running.

Be cautious and do your due diligence. However, remember that when you Google a company, what you find are opinions of others. If you Google a light bulb or even a hot dog, they are scams. We eat hot dogs and light bulbs in our houses. Think about that!

When I was researching my company, a couple of things that I looked at that help me in making my decision was checking with the bank. Yes, I found out the name of the bank that the company using for writing checks to pay their contractors. I called the bank and asked them about the company. They gave me some great insight and I also asked about direct deposit. If a company is not legitimate, they won't share bank information or offer direct deposit.

I also checked with some of the credentials of the company. I checked out the BBB rating with the Better Business Bureau. My company was not accredited and that scared me but I dug deeper and found out that to be accredited, you are paying a membership fee and essentially paying for the rating. My company instead, earned their rating. To compare, I looked up other companies on the BBB website and saw lots of great companies that were accredited. I would much rather be a part of a company who has earned their rating and values their customers.

Like I said at the beginning, there is a lot of junk out there. And when I am talking with my prospects and they share that they have been sifting and sorting for what seems like forever, I share this information with them. After all, that is what we are doing, educating people. I encourage them to call our corporate office, our bank, Google search, check the BBB, and everything else but we also want them to understand that not everything is a scam. Yes, there are true scams out there, but if you dig a little deeper, there are true legitimate opportunities too.

I hope this has been helpful to you. Feel free to share it with your team. If you have any questions, feel free to reach me directly at 612-208-9434. I am always here and happy to help!

Here's to educating our prospects~

21 Leads From 1 Facebook Post! Say What??!!

Hey all and welcome to October!!

It's been a few days since my last post, I have been under the weather and also finishing up a project in our basement. This has been weird week weather wise..Monday it was 85 and hot. This morning it is 48 degrees and most people in Minnesota have turned their heat on! Not us though, not just yet! I am going to turn the heat on in my business though! Excited and ready to go!

I have been messing around with some marketing ideas and on Tuesday, I tried something different on Facebook and it resulted in 21 people reaching out to ME! It has been awesome! I tried it again last night and have had about 12 people reach out to me so far. What am I doing you ask?

Well, I will tell you. It's simple! I am creating curiosity. I am not giving away everything about what I do. I like to think of my advertising like a movie preview. If the entire movie is given away in the preview, no one needs to go see the movie, right? It's the same with marketing. Create curiosity.

I am in many different Facebook Groups and I do a lot of different advertising. I usually post a paragraph about me and how I got involved in my business and what it has done for me. Then I leave a link for people to visit my website. It works, don't get me wrong. But, I wanted more results for the work that I was doing. I shortened up my paragraph to just a few sentences and took out the link, instead asking people to message me for more information. Some did and some commented asking for more information. Instead of commenting back with a link or information, I said that I was sending them a PM. Guess what! That created more curiosity! It's like the domino effect. The more people see others asking for more information and you saying you are sending them a PM, the more curiosity it creates! This is how I had 21 people reaching out to me on Tuesday from one small post!  once you send them a PM, you can build rapport and chat with them about your opportunity and eventually get them on the phone!

Go try it for yourself, I would love to hear your results! Feel free to share this with your team. If you need  any help with anything in your business, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at 612-208-9434. I am always here and happy to help!

Happy Curiosity Seeking Prospecting~