I am a warrior- I love being a warrior, but I have been thinking a TON about this lately on social media sites:
I want to be able to dialogue with people, absolutely! I, just like each of you, want to feel respected for my viewpoint. So here is my pledge:
1-I promise to practice this MORE often, especially with people I feel closer to. You are the ones I often think can handle my strong opinion and that’s not fair.
2-I also promise that if my opinion is super strong, I will post what I think on my wall or profile, but if you choose to jump in, you are fair game.
3-I will also promise to take the 1 minute “time out” when I write a response due to an emotional reaction BEFORE I post it, and then ask myself, how should I rephrase this or not post at all?
What can you do to make sure that social media sites remain a place of positive interaction and sharing, even when we disagree?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
I know I get it, immediate gratification feels good. And often we want the immediate result versus the one that will actually work. So we keep building new programs, making new “special offers” – hoping for those fast results. Think about how persistent you are as you watch this video:
See those calla lilies never gave up, and they are now reaping the rewards. Sometimes I think it’s easy to feel like they did over the last several years; tired, neglected, your heart and soul not nourished. Those things come when you are persistent.
I mentioned blogging as an example, persistence is key with blogging. And let’s face it, it’s NOT easy! Writing, doing a video, uploading, tagging, sending it out to the world. And it sits. Finally a friend may comment. BUT with persistence, by knowing who you are and what you have to offer the world, your voice can be heard and clients show up.
“blog about inspirational ideas…I just landed a client…client says, we should get together…I say, yes, it’s important that we click as it’s a very intimate process to be in your home the way I am…client says, oh not a problem, we’ve been all over your blog and already love you and what you do (including the color you use say’s the wife)! Oh yea…that’s why I do that!”
That is why I love the work I do.
Persistence pays off, I know cliche, right? WRONG! It’s true- ask those calla lilies in my front yard.
Where has persistence paid off for you?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
It’s truly amazing that when you choose to use social media as a SOCIAL marketing tool, a networking tool if you will, what can happen! I love the go-givers that participate with Warrior-Preneur and do my best to spread the word about who they are! I also believe that your ability to reach out and help someone that is already a go-giver is just plain smart! Lastly, I believe we as entrepreneurs learn from each others’ stories! There is so much wisdom inside them!
This week’s Warrior-Preneur facebook fan truly gets the art of engagement. Still building her personal brand and blog, she has for weeks now participated in Blogger Monday just by commenting, engaged on our biz pages on Facebook AND tweets with many people. She’s figured out who to “make friends” with and is a go-giver of the most selfless kind. EVERYONE should want to know a woman like that! Meet Louise Edington, this week’s Warrior-Preneur facebook fan!
(oh and did I mention that she’s a Brit- witty with a great accent!)
Here are some amazing things about her and what she’s looking for – see if you can be a go-giver and connect!
1 – one thing that makes you – not your biz unique: I think it has to be my love of learning in all aspects of life. The older I get the more I want to learn in fact. My first ski instructor, when I had my first lesson the week before my 49th birthday, told me that I’m very teachable and I love that compliment. I like to keep my mind and body active and learning new things does that for me. 2 – who are your power partners (not clients): My family, you (Ann), all kinds of books, my fellow childcare coordinators and the other wonderful staff at my company, mainly other women entrepreneurs who inspire me to succeed. 3- links to your blog and biz website if different: http://louiseedington.wordpress.com
http://ledington.aupairnews.com/
Twitter @LouiseEdington
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/louise.edington
Linked In http://www.linkedin.com/in/louiseedington 4- your favorite thing about running your own biz: I love that I can make it fit around my family and my other interests, being a mum has always been my most important job so my work has to fit in. 5- what you do: I am a Childcare Coordinator for Cultural Care Au Pair. I work as an independent contractor and the role is very varied. I market to find new families and have to figure out new and inventive ways of doing that – hence my loving Ann’s training, I interview new families, I hold monthly Au Pair meetings so I can get my Au Pairs together and see that they are doing okay, I conduct mediation’s and transitions when the host family/Au Pair relationship isn’t working out and I hold orientations for new host families and Au Pairs.
6- who would you most like to meet ( type of person) that would help you get to the next level: I would like to continue to meet more female entrepreneurs who have, like me, emerged like a butterfly from motherhood and who continue to learn and grow and who are successful.
I hope you will take the time to get to know Louise! You can listen to the WarriorPreneur audio interview (with completely different questions) here.
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
Recently I did a great interview with Louise Edington that inspired something that’s been brewing inside me for a while. In that interview we talked about the fact that often early on, because of your fresh new exciting business, you often “get a sale” right away. What we often think is: “that was easy”. And that is the problem – see, it wasn’t easy – it was probably lucky.
Sales aren’t easy. I’m not trying to scare you–> I want you to know that it isn’t magic.
My sales success comes from these basic steps:
1-build a follow up system
2-learn to ask for the business
3-break down your goals. If you want to make $10,000 a month, what do you need to do to make it?
4-develop multi levels to engage, upsell, and ways to ask customers who they know that should know you and what you have to offer.
I give additional tips in my post on how to “Prime the Pump”
What do you need to start doing to build a sales process for your business?
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
Today is Facebook Fan Friday where I recognize those who support smart business, but it’s more than that. See smart Warrior-Preneurs understand that being on social media isn’t about pushing your stuff AT people, it’s about relationship building.
Therefore I am honoring those that get it! Who better to learn from than people that get what it means to grow a business through people!
This week’s Facebook Fan is Carolyn Jones, the Gate Lady. Carolyn and I have actually known each other for a few years- we met networking in person. She is an amazing photographer and I have watched her find her voice and give a voice to others, she is a woman worth knowing! I asked Carolyn:
1- one thing that makes you – not your biz unique: I am a sailor and lived aboard a sailboat for 4 years. While living aboard, I learned to work with teak wood, varnishing it, and to do fiberglass repair with epoxy. My two favorite smells! Varnish and penetrating epoxy… I once renovated a 7 foot rowing boat in my living room for a year…
2 – who are your power partners (not clients):Nikon, Slik (tripods), Kodak or/and Fujicolor, drug and alcohol treatment centers, (ex – The Meadows in AZ, Serenity Knolls in Marin), spiritual authors and speakers, (ex – Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Mike Farrell), independent/chain bookstores and art galleries for signing events, regardless of whether they carry my book or not, manufacturers/fabricators of wrought-iron gates
3- links to your blog and biz website if different: blog and website the same… www.gatelady.com
4- your favorite thing about running your own biz: First and foremost, I love the challenge of the varied tasks, from marketing/PR, to blogging, to social media networking, to joining author and publisher sites on line, to applying for guest spots on radio/TV shows, to working with the printer, to recording Wisdom Words by the Bridge Group videos for fan page, etc. Love setting my own schedule, intermingling work with pleasure and projects around the house.
5- what you do: I am the publisher and distributor of the book “Opening the Gates of the Heart: A Journey of Healing.” This includes getting the book printed while assuring printing and book construction quality, marketing the book to, for example, local Bay Area bookstores and other indie stores across the country, social media networking, planning the book’s launch event, getting press releases out, distributing the book, entering the book into contests (the book has won 2 awards… see below), scheduling and conducting speaking engagements/signing events.
6- who would you most like to meet ( type of person) that would help you get to the next level: In a word… Oprah. In reality, corporations and non-profits who would like to align with me to reach our target audience. Non-profits – align together to raise awareness about the non-profit and thus raise funds for them, corporations like Nikon – work together to bring awareness to or advertisement of their product or service and they provide me with funds, (target population = people on a journey of self-awareness and emotional healing, those who have journeyed thru their own gates that would like a reminder of where they started and where they wish to go in the future, persons in or contemplating sobriety, persons who have experienced or soon to experience loss, ie hospice).
Thanks CJ, for being such a great go-giver!
As you read about CJ how can you be a resource to her, connect her to someone she needs to know- THAT’s what it’s all about!
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
