Every business is part of a bigger story. Sure, there is a history to your company and the people who work with you. But you can actually be a part of someone else's story if you are doing business right. A business should exist to bring value for others. Clients and customers find us because … Continue reading Storytelling On Your Website
Do you remember hearing the tagline, "1,000 songs in your pocket," when the iPod was released? How in the world would have been able to understand the iconic shift in multi-media accessibility from our current frame of reference (CDs, walk-mans...) without a picture like this to help us imagine?
Above all, I wanted to be truthful and exact. For me a landscape hardly exists at all as a landscape, because its appearance is constantly changing...You have to know how to seize just the right moment in a landscape instantaneously, because that particular moment will never come again, and you're always wondering if the impression … Continue reading Truth In Nature
Don and I had the privilege of watching How I Built This Live with Guy Raz as he interviewed Curt Richardson, the founder of Otterbox, at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, CO who says he "grows to give."
For owners, the path to success in our business is more complex and requires great perseverance and grit. We need to be clear on what we are pursuing and why.
Austin Kleon reminded me recently of the importance of walking in the morning - every single day - in his awesome book, Keep Going. I've been trying to keep it up, even during these quickly changing seasons in Breckenridge, CO. I LOVE to walk. As an introvert, it's a time for me to process all … Continue reading The Morning Walk
For a local business, much of the most influential impacts of marketing will not be online - they will be from tangible factors: Do you have a great product? Do you deliver an amazing experience that people want to tell others about? Do you have a location that is easily accessible and pleasant to frequent? … Continue reading Marketing Your Local Business
Winter, you may say - isn't that obvious? 😉 Well, while it is, in fact, still winter - and our family sure does love long winters here in Colorado - I think personally and professionally, it's valuable to step back and assess which season of life we are experiencing. That way, we don't expect it … Continue reading Which Season Are You In?
I am a hopeless romantic. I love movies like Serendipity where two people meet and "re-meet" each other because of a series of chance encounters or click moments. I personally keep my eyes wide open for these moments and have a secret delight when I'm in the middle of the experience. To me, they seem like … Continue reading Chance Meetings
Ever notice that in some friendships, when you really get to know someone, you tend to stop paying attention to or caring about those minor outward traits like what they are wearing or how they styled their hair? When you might have seen someone who was "sloppy" or "nerdy" or "loose," or even "polished" or … Continue reading First Impressions and the Long Haul
Have you read this book - Mindset, by Carol Dweck - before? I've heard of it for years but decided to plunge in and read it this month. I gained many insights from it and have really tried to think about my own mindsets - especially around money, growth, and success. I am someone that … Continue reading Grow Your Mindset
Has something ever taken you out of life for a season - perhaps an injury, a loss, or even a bad decision? I can only imagine as shock starts to slowly bleed into reality. "This is real. This is happening." It's probably like watching a movie and wishing you could push rewind to rewrite the … Continue reading Broken
Do you feel "stuck" in any way? In your career? Emotionally? Health-wise? Relationally? Last week I had the surprise "honor" of getting my car stuck in the snow. I had just dropped off my kids at the bus stop and decided to try to make my way up the bank as I had done many … Continue reading Stuck?
Don and I have worked with business owners around the country for years, helping them to grow their business through strategy and sales and marketing systems. Creating and executing systems around prospecting, nurturing, follow-up, closing and servicing is most important but can be challenging. However, a few simple habits along with a commitment to a … Continue reading Managing a Digital Business
...is to just jump in and do it. There are many people (myself included sometimes!) who are more comfortable taking their time, thinking about things, planning, and preparing for a situation. And that is great. But honestly, the best way to learn how to do something is to just do it. I've seen this personally … Continue reading Best Way to Learn
How do you start your day? As for myself, I had been pretty unpredictable over the last several years of life, and would just jump into a work/homeschool/life juggling act each day. Often times, before mid-morning, I'd feel like the day had "gotten away from me." Over the last month or so, I've returned to a … Continue reading Morning Routines
As opposite as we are, Don and I are very similar when it comes to starting something new. We "test" the water before we jump all in. Now, we are definitely not the type of people that test, test, test, test, and never really get wet because honestly, they never totally intended to in the … Continue reading Testing a Concept
I spend a lot of time working with professionals around writing and sharing their ideas online. We help companies grow their revenue through building trust with prospects and keeping that trust with customers. One big part of that trust is grown through writing and sharing valuable content on their sites. Sometimes it is easy for them … Continue reading Writer’s Block
It is common knowledge that defining goals sets successful people apart from the masses. There is a desire and clarity which allows them to focus and work towards something very concrete. I remember a mentor in college who would always say, "If you aim for nothing, you will hit it every time." It's so easy to … Continue reading Setting Goals
It is always a thrill for me to work with women who decide to start their own business. For many, it had been a long-term goal or dream, and they were just waiting for the right time to jump in and move forward. Alecia Baptiste had years of experience under her belt in the field … Continue reading Monetize Your Knowledge and Expertise: Alecia Baptiste’s Story
As we've traveled through this consulting journey through the years, I've noticed seasonal trends. There are certain months when people are generally considering new opportunities. January is definitely one of them (September is a close second). Instead of fighting the natural inclination to jump on board and create New Year's Resolutions, use it as an … Continue reading New Year Ventures
"We're going to learn your song." "Why? - Because that's what bands do. We play each other's songs." --Mr. Schneebly, a.k.a. Dewey Finn, a.k.a. Jack Black - School of Rock Our whole family loved watching the movie, School of Rock this week. We still can't believe we've never seen it before. My husband was a … Continue reading That’s What Bands Do
My husband and I watched the movie Moneyball this weekend, and I loved it. I was surprised that I enjoyed it so much, but I did. This movie is based on the book with same title that details how Billy Beane and his assistant changed the game of baseball by only focusing on basic, concrete … Continue reading Lessons from Moneyball
After the hard work of writing engaging content that your readers will find helpful or interesting, there are a few things to consider and check-off before you hit that brave button, "Publish." 1. Choose Title Well It should be intriguing, easy to remember. Not terribly long. If you look carefully, you will see that your … Continue reading Publishing A New Article
If you ever were a saleswoman, now is your time to shine. 🙂 The Landing Page is for the person who needs your services, yet just needs that last final push to make the jump. Before visiting your landing page, they have likely read some of your content to be convinced of your credibility, but … Continue reading Landing Pages
As long as I've been in business, I've heard the mantra, "Work on your business and not in your business." In other words, it's so easy to fall into the trap of doing the tedious "grunt work" that we stop focusing on really investing time and work on the things that will grow our business … Continue reading Work On Your Business
How do you leave your mark best with others? Do you ever leave a conversation with a colleague or friend and replay it over and over in your mind? They might have said something that left you inspired or even challenged your thinking in a positive way, forcing you to chew on their words long … Continue reading Leaving Your Mark
I love working with women who dream big. They have a natural positive energy and passion about them. Ideas are always scrolling through their mind. When approached with a challenge, they can immediately think of many possible opportunities instead. They have a standard of quality and excellence because they believe what they are doing is … Continue reading Thinking Big
I have been thinking a lot about habits these last few months. And as much as I believe that as humans we can be spontaneous, creative, and adventurous, I'm believing more and more that we are essentially creatures of habit. There is much written about this. One of my favorite bloggers, Leo Baboata writes about … Continue reading Choosing New Habits
I remember the first time I met Susan. She was leading a monthly book club, and I showed up as a stranger, new to the city. I was warmly welcomed, and throughout the time together, extremely encouraged. Each month, the meeting was one of my main highlights. Susan was so wise. She had this ability … Continue reading Case Study – Susan Seay and A Powerful Moment
A room lights up when My-Cherie Haley walks in. She just carries that aura of confidence, sincerity, and class. She is full of life, laughter, and passion that is most attractive to those around her. My-Cherie owns Shimmer & Bliss, a company that makes hand-dyed air-silk scarves. Now, these are not just any scarves. Their … Continue reading Customer Profile: My-Cherie Haley of Shimmer & Bliss
My husband has a most deceiving outward trait. If you were to watch him line up his shoes, clear off his desk space, or de-clutter our garage, you would think he was just an OCD neat-freak. We've all met people like that. They are sometimes just visibly annoyed when something is out of place or … Continue reading Being Prepared or Being Ready
I had the privilege of speaking to a group of homeschool teachers last month about the affects and opportunities of living and working in this new economy. The "new economy" being that of uncertainty, innovative technology, and a digital socially connected world. As women, we have the opportunity to step into it boldly as supportive … Continue reading The New Economy for Women
Our family has started a new evening tradition this week. We have been watching multiple episodes of Shark Tank on Hulu, gathered around our large screen computer with blankets and snacks, ready to hit pause at any moment to talk about what we see and hear. It has been one of the most educational activities … Continue reading When People Buy You
I remember seeing Amy Kirk's name and farm classes come across in email announcements. I watched her evolve over months from an idea for a farm class to a full-fledged business, website and all in Novellas Farm and Schoolhouse. Without ever meeting her, I was so proud of her from afar. I had the opportunity … Continue reading Amy Kirk and Novellas Farm
One of the gifts I feel like I can give people, particularly women, is sight. As women, we are often our harshest critics, and we take for granted our uniqueness and talent. We assume that everyone can do what we do or learn what we know. We don't see that our habits, skills, experience or … Continue reading “I See You”
"How rich?" you might ask. 😉 Well, according to Tim Sanders, in his book Today, We are Rich, anyone in any financial position can be "rich" when they choose to step into a position of giving. In the first chapter of his book, Sanders shares an inspiring story about how his Grandma, Billye was able … Continue reading Are You Rich?
My son and I had the privilege of visiting a class at the University of Texas this semester. The professor, Dr. Kevin Foster invited us to attend his class on Intro to African American Studies. (or did I invite myself, and he graciously received us?! 🙂 The focus of the class was on Critical Thinking. … Continue reading Critical Thinking
Each day confronts us with opportunities to be creative. When we choose to step into them, a habit of creativity, imagination, and problem solving is strengthened. For our children, there are too many things that can distract them from the simple focus and attention of creative play. I came across the best list of toys … Continue reading Creativity
Something about Seth's recent post just grabbed me. "Who would come to your opening night?" he asks. In other words, who are your true fans who show up before they read the critiques, before the paperback version comes out - they show up because they are eager, they support you and your cause. They know … Continue reading True Fans
Writing, to a writer is like breathing. They can't help it. In the same way that an artist cannot help creating, or musicians cannot stop themselves from humming, tapping, playing -- a writer must write. It is a release, an outlet, an art form. In the digital world though, where content is king, writing can … Continue reading Why Write?
My husband and I have been playing more tennis lately. I've had to re-familiarize myself with my swing after several months off. It is astounding to me what a difference it makes in my hit when the ball connects with the "sweet spot" on the racket. It is solid, controlled, and powerful. As a business … Continue reading Live in Your Sweet Spot
Once you have a manuscript draft, celebrate and share it with friends and respected colleagues for initial feedback. Basic things to seek from them: Does your idea/story/knowledge connect or meet a need? Is it readable? What is missing? Next dig deep and work through important revisions, edits, and proofreading. You can have greater confidence … Continue reading Countdown to Publishing
Never before has it been easier to be a bonafied published author! Anyone who has an original idea, story, or system can now share it with the world. In a book. The publishing barriers to entry have been removed because we are no longer vying for shelf-space. The initial investments now are not necessarily capital, … Continue reading eBook Publishing
Betsy came across my blog one day and said, "I want one, too." But what she meant was, "I have an enormous amount of knowledge, experience, and passion that I want to share with the world and need a venue to express it." Betsy had been to undergrad at Vanderbilt and grad school at UNC, … Continue reading Case Study: Betsy Dewey
It is a miraculous thing, if you think about it, to be able to transfer the ideas and words in our head and heart into text. The jumbled passion of knowledge and emotion gain clarity as we are forced to organize phrases, sentences, paragraphs. When we re-read the stream of thoughts, they are powerful, almost … Continue reading Getting Your Message Across
The best content comes from the heart - passionate conviction or surprising insight that you are compelled to share with the world. Your language will be natural, fluid, and clear because you have something important to say. Always write like that. Then, once you have established great habits of writing, you can start optimizing your … Continue reading Optimizing Content
Everything is theoretical until you have a customer. You can plan and hope and imagine, but nothing is real until you are forced to deliver a product or experience to a real-live customer. We encourage you to sign up your first customer as quickly as possible. The trial and error cycle speeds up because you … Continue reading First Customer
Now, more than ever, you have an opportunity to understand the reality that you are the "product." Whenever you work -- actually, whenever you do anything -- you are "selling" and "branding" yourself. People come to know what you believe, what you know, how you are "useful/beneficial" to their own lives. When you worked for … Continue reading When You Are the Product
Because it is increasingly difficult to keep up with so many websites and blogs, many people use two popular methods to stay abreast of their readings and interests. Email Subscription The first is through an email subscription. When you visit a site that has content you value, you can "subscribe" to it by entering your … Continue reading Consuming Content
David Meerman Scott has been blogging since 2004. Until recently, however, his blogsite, "Web Ink Now" was pretty much outdated. Functional, but simple. In spite of that, he managed to build up a huge, strong tribe around strategies for marketing and leadership. He is clearly a respected expert in his field. I read his recent … Continue reading Starting Simple
Today, more than ever, the timeless habits of reading and writing are most valuable as a business owner. How does someone find you online? What is the best way to keep in touch with them when they do? Through your writing. Remarkable writing. Content that peaks someone's interest and invites them to linger and learn. … Continue reading Remarkable Content
I have always tried to be a person who was great at keeping in touch with others. In college, I frequently wrote to my sisters and best friends from high school via snail mail. After college, grateful for email and cell phones, I made sure to keep in touch with those new-found soul-mates from those … Continue reading Keeping in Touch
Mom Owners was inspired from moms like you. Moms like me. Moms that might have had degrees or careers but then dived deep into the world of diapers, board books, playdates, and family hikes. We never stopped learning or growing, but some of our focus had shifted because of time constraints. Instead of keeping up … Continue reading Mom Owners
Sonya Dalrymple 