The Marketing Mentress: October 2015

Friday 30 October 2015

I Think I Can!

Are you feeling overwhelmed because it all lands on you, the owner?

There are many "hats" to wear as a solopreneur. There is the financial hat, the organization hat, the marketing hat, the sales hat, the planning hat, the people hat, the boss hat, the human resources hat, the networking hat,..and the list goes on. There are new hats all the time. The big question is how does one manage all of them at one time?

Short answer is, "You don't."

It is all a matter of priorities. Set aside time to plan your day, every day. Take that hour to just sit and think about what needs to be done that day, and then make a list. Once you have the list, then prioritize it with "A, B, C". "A's" being top priority, and so on.

Do the hard things first, and the rest will come easy. Once the hardest tasks of the day are complete, it gives you a boost for the rest of the day and a huge sense of accomplishment. For instance, if making phone calls to follow up on past appointments and check in with clients is hard for you to do, and the telephone feels like it weighs 500 pounds, do that task first and get it out of the way.

If you are trying to figure out what the "hard" things are, think about what it is that you procrastinate most often. Bingo! It is usually the "hard" things...the things that we dislike the most.

Then move on to the next hard thing on your list.

As you work through your day, you will see that the "C" list does not always get completed, so you can move those items into the following day, or even schedule them into another day either that week or later in the month.

Personally, I have a hand written daytimer, as well as my electronic systems. What is in my manual calendar is also in my electronic systems. My manual one is always open on my desk, so I can easily see where I am at that day or in the days and weeks to come. I love my electronic calendars because they give me audible reminders about when it is time to move on to the next task.

Try this for three weeks and you will feel like the "little engine that could".

"I think I can; I think I can; I think I can! Phew! I thought I could; I thought I could; I thought I could!"

Christine Till
The Marketing Mentress
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Thursday 29 October 2015

Did You Vote for Change?

So you voted for change, but are YOU willing to change yourself?

All too often we find it easy to criticise our government, or our teachers, or our leaders, or our boss, or our family members but we fail to look at ourselves.

For instance we say that we want our town or city to make a better effort at recycling, but we are too lazy to carry our recycling bags two blocks to the recycling depot. Or we complain because people are littering the streets and yet we just walk by, leaving the litter laying there.

When was the last time you stooped down to pick up a wrapper on the street to deposit it into the nearest garbage receptacle?

We want our government to change the way they are spending, but what are we doing to change our own spending habits? We want a balanced budget, but are we balancing our own budgets, or are we living beyond our means?

We want good jobs for higher pay, but less taxes and more benefits. Where is the money going to come from to give us our cake and let us eat it too?

Perhaps if we expect our leaders to do things for us, we need to think what we can do to help them.

Have you ever thought about that?

Somehow, somewhere, sometime the "Piper must be paid."

We all have our opinions on how the country should be run, but we expect our leaders to "do it all". Since when did we come into this world entitled?

In our family we had one rule. That rule was "to live our lives in such a way as to create harmony in the home". Imagine what our country or province would be like if we all had that one rule and we all lived it?

So, the next time you are walking down the street and see garbage laying on the sidewalk, will you stop and pick it up, or will you just add your wrapper to it?

Life is not all about me; it is about how many people I can help.

What about you?

Make it an awesome day!

AACK! I Lost My Job!

You worked for most of your adult life and suddenly find yourself ... Fired!?

How does that make you feel?

Let's back track a bit.

January 4th of 2011, I walked into my office at a senior care corporation ready for the new year with my marketing plan in hand and was promptly invited into the conference room!

As I sat there listening to my boss tell me how he thought highly of me and my work ethic, I remembered a few things that I had managed to accomplish for his company. My heart was saddened by the fact that I was not that important to his company...after all my hard work! Some consolation it was to realize that I had been there longer than any of the other sales representatives he had hired, because now I was Fired!
(Oh they tell you you are being laid off or pink slipped, but those are just glossy words to cover the fact that you are quite simply just Fired!)

All my life, I have been able to adapt to any job presented to me. I did not present myself as a "frump", or so I thought, and I did not have "dementia". Surely I could just go out and find another job?

NOT!

After sending out a myriad of resumes and managing to receive 4 job interviews with one job offer at $10.00/hr, the penny dropped. The flood gates opened at the realization that I would now have to work harder than I had ever worked before in my life!

What was I going to do?

One minute morale was high and I was unstoppable; the next minute I was down in the deepest of despair. -But I was smart; I had a sharp mind; I looked sharp; what was happening to me?

Thank goodness for my podcasting show. It was here that I found my life saver!

I used LinkedIn to find people to interview for my Eldercare 911 show, and now I was using LinkedIn again to find people to interview on my marketing show. While I was searching for someone to interview, I found a wonderful life coach who helped people deal with their life's griefs and losses.

You know what? I feel that people come into our lives at certain times because it was meant to be.

As I interviewed her on my show, the realization struck me that she was what I needed to help me deal with the loss of my job. All this time I had thought that Grief and Loss coaches helped people deal with death. What a surprise to find out that anyone who has suffered a loss in some way, has emotional baggage to deal with. Here I just thought I could deal with it myself.

I never would have thought that I needed a grief and loss coach, never in a million years. How fortuitous that was!

I was raised being told that we make our beds, and then we have to sleep in them, no matter how tough it is. I was never taught how to deal with losing a job that meant so much. I loved working with the seniors and giving info sessions for them and their families. It was heart-breaking to find myself suddenly out of the picture. -And I was not dealing with it very well.

It has been a huge blessing in my life to have found my Life Coach. She has helped me in so many ways to rebuild my self-esteem.

It is important for me to share part of my story with you now, because I have found a wonderful resource for people who have suffered grief and loss in their lives.

"Divorce Magazine"!

In this magazine, we can find helpful tips and resources for those of us who are going through some sort of grief and loss, whether it be from divorce, death, retirement, or loss of a job.

Check it out! www.womanition.com

If you have a product of service to help people through grief or loss, please Call Dorothy Briggs at
1-780-761-3000. www.divorcemagazinecanada.com

Saturday 10 October 2015

Does Running Your Business Feel Like You Are Herding Cats?

Let's say that you started your business with a full blown business plan.

Oh! You didn't!

Then you've come to the right place.

When I worked as a business consultant with the University of the Fraser Valley College in Abbotsford, BC a FEW years ago, I had the pleasure of advising 32 different businesses each year. The program was a 10 month program, and it was my responsibility to go into each of those 32 businesses each month and help them implement the things they were learning in the program into their own business.

Do you know what I discovered?

I discovered that 85-90% of the small businesses I was working with were technically bankrupt. I am not kidding!

One of the first things I did with each of my 32 businesses is sit down with them to assemble a simple 12 month cash flow projection. I felt that I could not help them until I had some idea of where they needed help, and a cash flow projection usually is very revealing.

Each business would be in shock as they saw their bottom line getting deeper and deeper into the "red" as the months progressed. They would invariably gasp and turn to me in amazement saying, "I need to get me a good salesman!"

Their next question usually was, "Do you want a sales job?"

Here's the straight goods. If they do not know how to market and sell their own products better than anyone else, they cannot begin to teach someone new, like a salesperson, how to sell their products or services for them. What usually happens is the new salesperson will just bring their old habits, both good and bad, into the mix. This could leave the business in a more precarious position, because they wasted good money paying the salesperson ... especially if the sales do not increase significantly.

It is all about ROI = Return on Investment. There will need to be more sales than before, not just to cover their regular expenses, but to also pay this new employee.

So, if you do not have a business plan, you are staring failure in the face.

All the businesses that were in the '85-90% technically bankrupt range' had started their businesses "flying by the seat of their plans." (Quote from Betska K-Burr)

However, I bring you relief!

Dorothy Briggs has brought together 25 successful women in business to share their incredible stories and tips for how to "Plan Your Business", Grow Your Business", and "Grow Yourself". We have now written and published our book.

"Mentoring Women Leaders", is being launched October 23rd, 2015.

On the 23rd, Buy your copy: http://bit.ly/MentoringWomenLeaders

Here is the special offer for you, when you purchase a book that day!

Upon receipt of your invoice from Amazon, show us your copy, and then book your seat at any one of the dates and times available in November.

For those at distance, we have webinars that will be scheduled for you during the month of November. Skype by appointment.

Pick the session you want to attend and the date and time:

Plan your Business – Tuesdays November 3rd , 10th, 17th & 24th

Grow your Business – Thursdays November 5 th , 12th, 19th & 26th

Grow Yourself – Fridays November 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th

Session Locations are:

Preferred Client Services - #201 - 2327 – Ellwood Drive SW. Edmonton 780-439-9457

Investment Planning Counsel Energy Square - 10th Floor 10109 – 106 Street NW Edmonton 780-702-1551

Oct 23rd Buy your copy: http://bit.ly/MentoringWomenLeaders

Contact:

Christine Till

The LinkedIn Marketing Mentress

marketingmentress@gmail.com

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Mentoring Women Leaders

Did you start your business "flying by the seat of your plans"?

Did you get a bright idea one day and then decide that you could quit your job and start your own business?

Or did you watch your boss seem to do very little while you worked your fingers to the bone, and you got fed up being under the boss's thumb, so you quit and started your own business, only to find that now you were wearing all the hats, and there was no "you" as an employee to do all the work?

Or were you "fired" from your job, and you had no choice but to start a business of your own?

That was me.

I call it "fired" because if they did not have another job for you to go to, then you are not "pink-slipped" or "laid off". You are simply "fired". The other words are just used to gloss over the hard truth of it all.

As I attended networking meetings and met many other small business owners. It soom became clear that there were many in the same position as I was...out of work at fifty-ish. I was actually sixty-one when it happened to me.

I watched these other business owners fumble and throw up all over their audience with everything they could do and had to offer, hoping to find someone that would want to buy their services. They would come dressed in jeans and a polo shirt with a 5:00 pm shadow and have grey in their beard which made them look like they had been on a three day binger and hadn't shaved. It was sad to witness. I wanted to just go up to them and give them a hug whispering in their ear, "You need to lost the polo shirt." But that would kill their enthusiasm and break their spirits.

How could I help them in a concrete, but subtle way?

I could write a book!! And so I did.

My first book was all about being "Fired at Fifty" with lots of self-help tips and tricks for starting your new business on a shoe-string budget.

My new book, which I have co-authored with 24 other women is all about "Mentoring Women Leaders". When we were deciding to write this book, we did some research on the subject and discovered that there was no other book written in Canada on mentoring women.

We all need a mentor, and sometimes it is not a simple task finding that special person to mentor us, especially another woman. We cannot go to our mothers to ask for advice. We need professional advice for our business.

Get it now: http://bit.ly/mentoringwomenleaders

The topics and expertise we assembled to compose this special book written by 24 successful business women for the mentorship of other business women were in three categories.

The categories are:

Plan Your Business
Grow Your Business
Grow Yourself

Everything from managing money and finances to taking care or your own health and wellness is covered in this book.

It is my sincere belief that when you read this book and implement everything in it into your business, you have a great opportunity to build a successful business and make more money.

After all, what was the real reason you started your own business in the first place?

Get it now: http://bit.ly/mentoringwomenleaders

If you write a review on Amazon, you will have the opportunity to join one of our free 90 min. workshops or webinars on the topic of your choice...Plan Your Business, Grow Your Business, or Grow Yourself.

Christine Till

The LinkedIn Marketing Mentress
www.marketingmentress.com
marketingmentress@gmail.com

Canada According to Christine

Has the cat got your tongue, or do you really have a backbone?

Daily I read posts from Canadians and people from all around the world. What is the matter with us here in Canada?!!! We have become all wishy-washy with no integrity or desire to stand out from the crowd and be true blue dyed- in- the wool Canadians.

To me being a Canadian is standing up for my rights and the rights of others. It is allowing all people to worship how, where or what they may. It is having integrity by being honest and true to my word. It is standing up for what I believe in as a stalwart Canadian. It is being a good parent and teaching my children right from wrong and to respect their elders and to work hard for their living, and not depend on hand-outs from their parents or the government. Being a Canadian is not resorting to the

use of profanity when I disagree with something.

What do I believe in?

I believe that when people immigrate to Canada, they should be required to learn our language and conform to our standards of dress and culture. They can worship how and what they want in their own homes and churches, but do not try to force us to change our laws and standards to suit your religious beliefs or cultural standards. If immigrants want to come here, then they should be willing to conform to our societal structure, or not come here at all.

"Tit for Tat". If I was to go to their country there would be severe consequences for not conforming to their dress and learning their language.

I have nothing against turbans, but wear them in your church and in your home. I have nothing against jabib, but wear them at your own church and your own home. Don't think you can try to force us to change our laws so you can wear your turbans in our local constabulary or while pledging allegiance to our country. Equality means that everyone has to show their face, not that one person can cover their face while the rest show theirs. This is ludicrist! It is also attacking womens' rights in this country.

We need more people to stand up and speak out! If someone disagrees with me for speaking my mind, that's ok. I am a true blue dyed- in -the wool Canadian. I was born and raised in Alberta. I learned how to work hard for what I have and I expect all people to do the same.

That said, there are many Canadians who are taking advantage of those who are hard working. They are on welfare, even though they are healthy and able to work. It is my humble opinion that these people should be giving community service in return for their welfare cheques. There should not be anything just handed over for free. It should all be earned.

Now I agree that there are those who are genuinely in need of assistance, because they cannot work to earn their own living. We definitely should help these people. Single Moms have a huge challenge trying to work and raise children at the same time. In this case we should have daycare subsidies instead of full welfare cheques. The Moms could work and relax knowing that their children will be ok while they are at work. There is a solution.

Politics according to Christine:

Doesn't anyone in this country study their history? Voting for NDP, Liberal, or Independents is one step away from Communism. Read the history around what happened in Russia and Germany. The people were complacent and not wanting to ruffle any feathers, and look what happened to them.

We think that this will not happen to us, but if we keep on living our lives in complacency, we will end up not only like the Germans and Russians in Hitler's reign, but many other nations in the world have ended up in a similar position, and it is still happening in many countries. People just want to live their lives quietly without any war or stress. They want peace.

Peace and freedom are not free. We have to defend it and if necessary fight for it to the death. There are some things with which we will not put up.

I love what two Australian Prime Ministers have done. They have guts!

They stated that "immigrants have come there for freedom of religion and freedom from oppression and this country (Australia) was founded on Judeo Christian principles and we will not change." They also stated that the people who came to this country (Australia) could exercise the freedom they sought for when they came there by leaving and going back to their country of origin if they don't like living under their societal structure. And we need to have the same attitude here in Canada.

I believe I am one of the silent majority who has decided to speak up and speak out. Who else is out there of like mind? Let's hear reasoned discourse from you.

I'm Christine Till and I have grown a backbone!

www.marketingmentress.com

Are you Social...Really!??

Social media is not about posting and blasting information; it is about listening!

How often have you connected with someone new on LinkedIn and sent them a short message thanking them for linking up with you, only to receive a blast back with a long piece of sales copy? How did that make you feel?

In all my sales training, the one key element my teachers stressed was to listen twice as much as I speak. Many people think that they have to be a good "talker" in order to be a good salesperson.

Not so.

Dale Carnegie in "How To Win Friends and Influence People" shared a story where he had a lengthy conversation with a woman about her recent travels. They were at a party where he did not know anyone but the person who invited him. H

e simply asked questions and kept her talking. When the evening ended, the woman he had been listening to about her travels said, "You are the best conversationalist I have ever met." All he did was keep her talking about herself through questions. He hardly said anything...just asked questions.

Hint-Hint.

This has been a long learning process for me, finding ways I can ask questions and steer the conversation to where I can learn whether they would be interested in what I have or not. If I can see that they are not interested, or what I have will not apply to them, I never talk about business...just about them and all that they can do.

This simple technique works wonders for me:

F - O - R - M

Family - Occupation - Recreation - Message

First I ask about their family. Then about their occupation. Then I ask what they like to do when they are not working, for fun. By this time usually they ask me what I do. I keep it short and bring the conversation back to them, always keeping the focus on them and what I can do to help them in some way.

It is never all about me. It is always all about "them".