One of the wonderful things about owning a marketing company is that we are often able to represent some fantastic new ideas and companies. When we find a really superb one we like to share it with others.
Me In A Tree presents one of those rare and amazing opportunities to help others and we would like to tell you a little more about them. They are totally focused on assisting parents in the parenting process with positive and upbeat methods that work for today's modern family. You can experience a whole new level of joy and unity in your home just by playing around with an online program with your kids while having fun!
I could talk about it all day, but even better, why not go and sign up for their FREE pilot project and try them out yourself.
Below I posted a link to another article of a friend of mine who is also raving about the benefits.
It is easy to get wrapped up in the day to day struggles of putting food on the table isn’t it? In business I hear business owners always talking about how they have no time, and it is true that time is the one thing that limits us.
There are time stealers everywhere. Television, hobbies, church commitments, sports events and the work, work, work... Some of those things are even “good” things. It is important to spend time with the kids and the spouse. It is important to have some “me” time and some reflective time, but time gets away on us all too easy. We get busy working with our head down to the task and we forget to look up and around at the landscape. We forget to plan. If we do plan, we forget to look at the plan and to work on the plan.
Last week I was at an event with Doug Tibben and he encouraged us to find out the 20% of things that we do that creates 80% of our income, and then to double the time that we spend on that 20%. It immediately made me more profitable when I zoned in and focused on that 20%.
Focus is important.
When we play a game of darts we don’t just want to hit the board. There is a place on the board that we specifically want to target. We need to focus the same way in business.
There are certain activities that we do every day that we could train somebody else to do. So why do we waste our time there? Why don’t we hire someone to work for us for $10 an hour and get someone doing that for us so that we can focus on the things that make more money? There are other things that are highly specialized to our field and we are the only one in the company that can do those things. Those are the things that we should charge our premium time for. That is where we want to be. That is focus.
As the business owner we are the master of the ship and we are the one that steers the course for the entire crew. With compass and navigational charts in hand we need to keep going in the right direction. When a storm blows us off course we need to acknowledge it and redirect. When we have been making good time it may be good for moral for a quick stop at a sunny location to load up on supplies and have some R&R with the crew and then get back on course.
We need to let the team know the direction that we are taking. We need to engage them in the process and enlist their help in keeping us focused. It is great when one of them realizes their contribution and says, “I’ve got this, go and deal with that larger issue.” They can only do that though, if we first have taken the time to train them for it and then encouraged them by releasing them to do it. Having that person up in the lookout keeping an eye out for dangers ahead keeps us focused.
The owner of the business needs to know the plan and take ownership of the plan. If we don’t have a plan, then nobody has a plan. We can’t get bogged down slopping the deck. That is not our place if we want to get anywhere. Rest assured that the entire staff does not want the ship to be dead in the water. They want to be proud of where they work. They want to see benefits increase. They want to be part of something that is moving forward. They are happier when we are focused.
So how does one get focused?
Doug taught us that we should firstly write down 10 goals for the year. Then prioritize those 10 things. Then put a date on them. Next we should look at those goals every day for 7 days. I have been doing that and it helps. For myself I decided to go even a step farther and make a plan for the month based on those 10 things. What are the priorities? What activities do we need to do more of? What activities can I personally do less of? Who can I get to do some of the 80% activities so that I can be freed up to do the 20%? If we are going to grow this month what are the key areas where I need to focus as the owner to cause that growth to happen? Who can I enlist in the process to ensure success?
Focus, focus, focus...
This month we have hired sales people for Loyal2U and additional posting staff here in Calgary and in other cities. We are training others to do the 80%. We have also put specific people on specific tasks for the Calgary Business Network. We have goals for that company as well.
It is going to be an exciting month this month within our companies. How is it going to be at yours?
St. Valentine was a priest martyred during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius II. His crime was sneaking out to the woods to perform marriages for Christian couples when the empire would rather be feeding them to the lions in the Coliseum. Once thrown into jail he was visited daily by the Jailor’s daughter who he fell in love with. Although he was unable to declare his love for her, Valentine did manage to slip her a note of his affection with a single red rose. Thus the legend that we today know as Valentine’s Day was begun.
The theme that was recaptured during the renaissance was centered around the sacrifice of giving it all up for the one that you love. Then Shakespeare stimulated the masses with the stories of Romeo and Juliet and Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The tragedies of love lost has burned in the hearts of men and women motivating songs, poems and now movies in this last century.
Love is a big deal. It is an inherent need within the soul of every individual. A place or a person to feel completed in, and there is nothing so lonely than living without it and nothing so delightful as living within it. There is nothing so comforting as to be in the midst of it.
And at the end of the day when all is said and done... is there anything more important?
One of the best movies I ever seen was “The Notebook.” It is about an elderly man reading the romantic story of their lives to his aging wife with dementia every day so that she would have a glimpse of the memory of their love. It is a fabulous story of two people who had every reason to be apart and could not “fit” into each other’s lives and yet could not go one with any other. It is about time and circumstance trying to wedge between lovers and how nothing could in the end succeed against the spark and the resilience of true love. The thoughts would not go away, and their affection never waned. Even in their old age he would not let her go, but every day drew her back to her memory of him by reading to her from the story of their lives.
It is a wonderful story and like most wonderful love stories there were times when it did not look so good for the couple. There were times when they had to let that bird fly the nest to see if it would indeed come back.
This week having lost Whitney Houston I was reminded of her song that has always touched that deep part of my heart. There is nothing more Divine than self-sacrifice and putting the needs of another before your own. Like the love of Christ on the cross giving it all up for the ones that He loves, or in the case of the singer knowing that she wasn’t the best thing for the man that she cared for. For anyone who has ever lost anyone or given them up for a greater cause, this is a beautiful Valentine memory.
And a great memoire to Whitney whom we have just lost as well...
I Will Always Love You
If I should stay,
I would only be in your way.
So I'll go, but I know
I'll think of you ev'ry step of the way.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
You, my darling you. Hmm.
Bittersweet memories
that is all I'm taking with me.
So, goodbye. Please, don't cry.
We both know I'm not what you, you need.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of.
And I wish to you, joy and happiness.
But above all this, I wish you love.
And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I will always love you.
I, I will always love you.
You, darling, I love you.
Ooh, I'll always, I'll always love you.
For all of you, I pray that you find real and true love that knows the value of it and remains even in your old age when you can remember it no more on your own.
Last year a friend of mine invited me to go to a networking group with her. Although I had been to a few groups before I had never really been to one that was focused on business so I was pleasantly surprised to find a variety of people from several different backgrounds and vocations. I enjoyed it so much that I joined a couple of them over the next few months and became a regular attendee of a few of them.
I found that there are some major differences in how some of them are ran. Some are really interactive, others are more of a spectator sport. At least three of the most major organizations in Calgary are very structured. Typically a meeting has an address from their leader, everyone does a short introduction of themselves and their business, leads are exchanged, and in some cases even extracted out of the members by forcing them to pay a toll fee if they don’t have one for someone in the group. Fees are charged at most of these groups and they don’t include the price of your meal.
The foundation of each group was interesting to study, because as goes the leader, so goes the organization. Usually in the beginning of each group somebody had some passion for something good and it got started, but none seemed to be thought out with any long term plan in mind. Some had began out of a need for networking while others seemed to be more focused on the agenda of the upper management. I encountered one that was a non-profit and therefore it had no profit for the participants nor the organizers. Another one was very politically motivated but seemed to shift sides as circumstances changed bringing a question of doubt to those who had invested in it previously. If the leaders were excited sales types they could draw a good crowd but typically they lacked sustainability, and many systems had no sense of accountability for leadership or membership. Two that I encountered had no qualms about using spam techniques to reach potential new members, and even though members knew of these practices they continued to participate anyway.
At first I too was caught up in all of the excitement of it and wanting to play nice in the sandbox, I paid my fees and went to lunch every week. I was not even deterred by the fact that I wasn’t getting much business from the event, I was having fun and it was a business expense. However, as the year progressed and I became busier in my work I realized that I had to cut some corners and focus on where I was actually getting most of my business. That came down to two things.
1. At Loyal2U we had created a social media vortex by using our own methods on ourselves first. We were getting new clients from our own marketing.
2. There was one network that was bouncing off our social media activity bringing us new clients. That network was the Calgary and Cochrane Business Network.
So what was different about CBN?
The first difference was their founder Jim Messner. He had also gone to many different groups over the years and had determined that networking organizations should be about networking. They shouldn’t be about collecting money to fund our political whims or starting our own little empire with a flashy website. Business owners want to get together to share what they do with other business owners, so why not provide an environment where that could be done naturally? Jim is a man of integrity so he attracted men and women of integrity. He is a networker so he attracted networkers. His first group in Cochrane was strong for years weathering the ups and downs of the economy and providing a steady base for entrepreneurs and sales people to meet.
The second difference was that the people that came out seemed to sincerely care about one another and want to give each other the platform. The atmosphere was friendly and truly non competitive. Even though other groups tried to eliminate competitiveness by not having more than one person from one industry present there was always a sense of striving. I remember taking a guest to a meeting who did data entry but she mentioned briefly in her introduction that she also took basic photographs while scrapbooking. A professional photographer told her at the buffet that she was not allowed to mention that because “he was the only photographer” allowed in the meeting, even though he had declared during his own introduction that he was too busy for anymore new clients. It seemed so petty, and worse yet, my friend did not want to go back again. Jim Messner though had always felt that a person should be secure in their trade. As a real estate agent, he has never been threatened by other real estate agents in the meeting because he knows what his unique offering is, and he is confident in that offering.
Ok so the difference was really only one thing. Jim Messner...
Really Jim built a solid foundation for CBN on trust. He had been in the RCMP for 20 years and he was and still is a man of his word. He built a solid reputation and an honest business and people felt comfortable with him. He felt that the networking should happen naturally as people got to know each other through interaction and through actually doing business together and then recommending each other would be the natural course of events.
I am really honoured that Jim has allowed me to carry that on.
We are really excited about the future with the Calgary and Cochrane Business Network and have several awesome announcements that are about to be made, but we go forward knowing that it is because there was a solid foundation that was already laid before us. Without a foundation it would be impossible to go forward. Jim and his associates and colleagues poured their hearts into the effort for many years and created something special that we can now build on.
Thanks Jim for founding the CBN and thanks for being a man of integrity. You built a solid foundation for us to go forward with.
It is amazing to me that small business owners are sometimes more savvy in the use of the internet than large companies who have unlimited budgets. It is also a phenomenon that many in government are not familiarizing themselves with useful tools at all. I wonder if they feel that they are already in a position of success and therefore have no need, or if they are still under the illusion that somehow their privacy will be compromised by engaging.
You see, the thing is about privacy... You don’t have any. It does not matter if you use social media or not. You still don’t have any. You have not had any for a few years now; you just did not know it. I know, I know, I know... I can feel your anxiety growing through the keyboard... But your discomfort does not change the facts. Have you gone to Google Earth and put your address in the search window? Do you realize that satellite is strong enough to read the mail off your table?
That is just one example. There are many more. Two years ago my 16 year old son had his friend in Edmonton hack my home computer near Calgary and read back to me my personal conversations on both Hotmail and Google, just to show me that it could be done. That was a teenager. Imagine if a professional hacker wanted your information? Would not being on Facebook somehow protect you? Unlikely...
Have you done a Google search on your name? You may not be on Facebook or Twitter but people may still be talking about you there. It is actually likely that they are. You just have no way of responding to it or defending yourself in the electronic marketplace if you are absent. Monitoring the chat is possible but you are not engaged. Silence is deadly to a brand and it is harmful to individuals as well. Social media is going on whether you are going with it or not.
I was horrified last week as I did some research on my favourite political party and discovered that most of the leaders can’t be found on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. Elections are being won these days by having intelligent campaign managers who use a combination of traditional platforms with social media elements. Those who do not engage – lose! But after the election is over ladies and gentlemen we need to wake up and smell the coffee. Do you want to stay in power? The fastest way to shift the heart of the nation would be to pull a Jack Layton and employ the efforts a bunch of college students and even staunchly committed Quebec could be temporarily duped into switching sides!
Companies that currently do 40 million dollars a year in sales with no social media presence are going to lose out to companies who are only doing $500 000 a year today. Why? Because online a good website and a great LinkedIn profile coupled with some active social media chatter redirects attention to a new brand. The end user on the computer can’t tell the difference between the two companies except by what is being said by the company itself and by the online chatter. How do I know? I create the marketing plans for several of those smaller companies, and we begin by collecting the data of where they are now and we examine where they want to be and that often means we are carefully analyzing the competition. If the largest competitor is not using social media or not using it correctly the conquest is easy. Time and engagement are the only factors we need to add to the equation. The amusing part to me is that we would work just as happily for a large company but often they think they have it covered because they have a marketing department (that is older than 2 years old) so they don’t examine new methods. They are doing good, why change anything?
The world is changing. Five years ago Facebook was nothing. Today it is huge. Groupon had a rise and a fall along with hundreds of other daily deal companies. The Yellow Pages which were so powerful a force are wiped off the map. It is pretty arrogant to think that we don’t have to change.
We need to get over it. There is no privacy. It is an equal playing field again due to the internet. If you are ahead in this game, you will only stay ahead if you adapt quickly to changing methods.
The only thing that will endear you to this new market is relationship. Relationship with the masses can only be done through social media. The people are waiting to engage with the leaders of industry, the leaders of government, and the leaders of thought. Those who engage, will be those who win. You get to choose if that is going to be you, or your competition. Choose wisely...
I once heard Rick Ciaramitaro say that the twin towers of hell were competition and comparison. Yet I am continually comparing and being compared to. Aren’t you? And the competition is fierce in business. But I think he meant this more personally. At least I hope he did because I rather enjoy the competition in business...
Like when you as a woman see another woman and compare yourself to her. She looks better than you do, she is more confident than you are or she is thinner. Many women do that all the time and men do it too. I had two guys together for a coffee last week and for a few minutes I thought I was going to be in the middle of a dogfight as they sized each other up and down and took a few swipes at each other. Wild times at Starbucks!
People are always comparing to each other and usually I don’t let it bother me but I was thinking about the way that we value ourselves and it caught my interest. I noticed something.
People seem to allow another’s comparison to brand a value or a lack of value on them as a person. For instance if I tell you that I charge $50 an hour for a service and then I wait to see if you raise your eyebrows, or if you tell me that you could get it somewhere cheaper, how will I respond to that? Will I devalue myself by wimping away and lowering my price? The comparison of others use to bother me and I use to respond to it. But more and more, I am seriously getting over it... and I think that you should too.
What are you worth? What is your service worth?
Is your offering unique?
If it is not unique then others can compare themselves to you. You have lots of competition.
However, if you think of ways to be very unique and then rebrand yourself, you can decide what you are going to leave on the table for your competition to have. You can decide what is simply not worth your time and you can let someone else have it. They will get so busy eating the crumbs you left behind you can get way ahead of them before they even know what happened. And then you have value. Real value.
When I started in business only a year ago, I was uncomfortable asking for $20/hour, but I am a fast learner and poverty is a good teacher. I quickly learned how to produce at $50/hour and by late spring I was charging $100/hour and I was pretty confident about it. Then I realized that I was worth much more than that. I had identified a unique offering and I was producing above what I was promising. So when a potential client asked me what I charged. I told him $200/hour and held his gaze. He exclaimed, “That is more than my engineers!” I responded, “Yes. It is...” and I did not look away.
The thing is though; I am worth way more than that.
And so are you!
So don’t set your value based on what your competitors are charging or based on somebody’s comparison of you. Do what you do with excellence. Do it with pizzazz. Think of ways of doing it that nobody else is doing it. Then multiply those efforts through staff and create a market niche that is so unique that nobody can compare with you. When the group of “THEY” tell you that they can get it cheaper at XYZ Company, look them in the eye and tell them squarely, “Have fun with that then. When it doesn’t give you results, I will still be here and my price may have gone up, but it definitely isn’t going to be any less than it is right now.” And let them go.
It feels good to let a few go.
Don’t let negative people devalue you. Don’t take on high maintenance clients because you are afraid of losing money. Don’t work for immoral idiots, or law-breakers, or people who promise you time and help but they never deliver. You are worth more than that.
Spend your time looking after the ones who are loyal2U. Give your attention to the ones who pay you for your attention. Create positive experiences with positive people and enjoy the journey.
Well we are already off to a great start for the New Year. Loyal2U is growing and we have taken on some very exciting clients that we can really get into promoting. It is always fun when you actually believe in your clients, in their products, in their services and their events. We have built relationships with several of them and have highlighted them on our website as well as online in our social media channels.
Over the last year we had some real learning experiences. We tried a partnership and that did not work out. Yet, we were able to stay good friends, and that often cannot be said. Therefore I see it as a victory. Christine Kerr and myself will go down in history as being sisters and of a heart to continue to bless one another. A lot of what we did in the beginning of last year was experimental but by the summer Loyal2U was having some pretty steady successes in modern marketing. In July Velda’s Grower Direct had their annual event and sold 9000 bouquets of flowers by 11:00 am and they were extremely pumped about Loyal2U! The CBN also showed a dramatic improvement in their overall open rates and the response from their email list and that was a huge encouragement that we might know a thing or two about email marketing and social media.
By this last fall we were taking on a steady stream of new clients and gotten our business plan to a place that we could feel confident about the strategies for the future, taking on both employees and investors, taking it up a notch again. So coming into 2012 we are confident and equipped. Whether we are helping a company get their marketing done across Calgary, Alberta, Canada, or targeting a trade show in the US we know now how to reach into that market and pull out appointments and sales for our clients.
In anticipation of the New Year a couple of wonderful opportunities have fallen into my lap and our whole team is thrilled with the developments. Firstly we acquired a Mommy-blogger site, and since I happen to employ some Mommies it is a perfect fit. We will be able to promote many of our favourite activities for kids and Moms around Calgary in a very personal way as well as help some of our gals really grow their writing skills.
But the very best thing for me personally is a very special treat that will go down in my personal journal as the best gift ever to date thus far...
Since starting my own business with Loyal2U I would have to say that one of my most enjoyable weekly activities is definitely going to networking meetings. I absolutely love it. I get some kind of thrill from just being around colleagues, potential clients, loyal friends and interesting people. I have sincerely enjoyed giving out free advice about email marketing and social media and as I have grown a large network on LinkedIn I have met many of my connections over coffee and many others right in the networking meetings that I attend.
Although I have attended many different kinds of networking meetings, my ultimate favourite has been the Calgary and Cochrane Business Network. Even though the meetings are typically once a month per chapter, I have often attended all of them in a month, even driving to the opposite end of the city or Cochrane for 7:30 am. I have met a lot of phenomenal business leaders and learned some amazing things that I have applied in my own business. These bits of advice have saved me thousands of dollars and kept me going through the tough times, so that now we can enjoy a healthy and prosperous future.
One of the most amazing people that I have met is Jim Messner the Founder of the CBN. Jim carries a heart for true networking unlike anyone I have ever met. He is sincerely concerned for the business people in each chapter and is continually looking for methods that bring results, events that inspire and tools that equip. He is a man of integrity and vision and someone that I hope that I can be like when I grow up.
So having said that, it is with great delight that I make the announcement today that Jim has asked me to be the General Manager of the CBN. I am truly honoured to be asked and I plan to invest myself into the venture for the betterment of each of the chapters over the coming years. We have already began to make plans for an exciting future and I have been consulting with experts from across several industries to bring you the best platform in 2012. We will have many fantastic announcements at our next meetings and we will re-launch Cochrane on February 10th at 7:30 am at Cochrane Toyota. You will definitely want to be there for that one!
