What Middle School Band Teaches Us About Business Success

What Middle School Band Teaches Us About Business Success

school bandLast night I went to my local school district’s annual honor band concert. My youngest daughter is a musician and earned the honor of second-chair flute this year. All of my children are musicians, but she has a passion that well exceeds the other three combined. But that’s another article–you can read it here.

Since we had a musician in the band, she needed to arrive early.  This gave me quite a bit of time to observe the band and to see them interact with each other and with their director. And while I watched them prepare and rehearse and perform, I realized that there is much to be learned from the band.

Studying music has many well-documented benefits, including improving creativity and helping students increase both mathematic and language abilities.

But beyond that, there are many lessons musicians must learn that can help us in the business world as well. Here are just a few that stood out to me last night.

Be a Team Player

Have you ever played in a band or orchestra? It is most defnitely a team activity.  In order to create music that will be pleasing, the band members need to collaborate and work together.  Just one musician deciding to go off and do his own thing can make the whole thing fall apart.  There is a time and a place for individuality in both business and band music, but it needs to be appropriate. If you’ve decided to work with a team, be a part of the team. Work together and support one another so you can all be successful. Know your role and do your part. If you are the leader, be the leader. If you aren’t the leader, don’t undermine his or her authority by deciding to do your own thing. Have you ever watched a band try to play with an inexperienced director, one who didn’t know how to bring the band together? have you ever played in a band where the musicians didn’t follow the director’s cues? It’s not a pleasant experience for either musician or listener.

 

Be aware of what those around are doing, but focus on what you are doing and don’t worry about your bandmates’ performance.

It is important both in band and in business to be aware of what your colleagues and competitors are doing. But if you get too hung up or too worried about what they are doing, your own performance is going to suffer.  I have seen many entrepreneurs drive their business into the ground because they were so worried about staying ahead of the competition and one-upping their competitors that they stopped focusing on what they did best.

 

Practice Makes Perfect

The band never sounds as good on the first run-through as it does after a few practice sessions. It’s the same with your business.  Do you want to be known as the authority? Then work to become one. Know your field of expertise. Study and keep up with the latest developments and trends. Don’t rest on your laurels or think you know all there is to know.  That is the short road to business failure.

 

You’re Only as Good as Your Next Challenge

In a band, musicians are ordered by “chair.” It’s actually a very literal term. You sit in your section of the band in order of skill, from the best to the worst (I’m sure there’s some PC term for the kid who sits last chair, but you can find it on your own). The best is First Chair.  You can move up from your assigned chair by challenging the person who sits in the next chair up the line from you. A challenge involves the challenger selecting a piece of music for you both to play individually and to be judged by the band director. If you’re better prepared than the other guy, you win the challenge. It’s the same in business. Those who succeed in business are those who are constantly focused on being prepared for their next challenge because they know it’s coming. Don’t be caught by surprise.

 

Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

We all need a little help now and then. Some pieces of music are more challenging than others. A good music teacher can push you and inspire you and help you figure out the rough parts to truly hone your skill. There are very few self-taught, world-class musicians around.  There are also very few self-taught, world-class entrepreneurs around. The best ones, in both music and business, recognize the importance of teachers, mentors and coaches.  A great coach or mentor will push you and inspire you and help you figure out the rough parts to help you succeed in business.

 

And just like in the band, when we’ve learned our lessons and applied them, the result is a beautiful and inspiring thing.

What lessons have you learned from life that you have been able to apply to your business? Please share them in the comment section below.

Filed Under: Life Lessons, Steps to Success

Do You Want More Blog Readers?

boy readingDo you want more visitors and readers for your blog? Do you wish your blog visitors would share your posts with their friends and followers? Would you like to accomplish all this without adding more to your workload? Would it make your day if I told you there is a simple way to make this all happen?

There is.  You can use plugins to draw more attention to your blog posts, to share your posts more easily throughout your network and to make it easier for your readers to share your posts with their networks.

Here are a few of my favorite WordPress plugins and add-ons for post sharing and increased interaction.

Tweet Old Post

Tweet Old Post is my favorite blog-sharing plugin. Using Tweet Old Post you can choose to share any or all of your blog posts on a periodic basis.  It randomly picks and tweets old posts at an interval specified by you.  There are many available customizations. You can choose to tweet or exclude specific categories or specific posts. You can also select specific date ranges. It takes less than five minutes to set up and I have seen a definite increase in visits to older posts since I have installed it.

 

Networked Blogs

Networked Blogs is not actually a plug in, but a Facebook app.  Networked blogs can publish your blog posts to your Facebook feed as well as tweeting it. You can also place a Networked Blogs widget on your page which will allow readers to have your blog posts automatically published in their news feeds. It does require a little more effort to set up than some of the other options, but once you are set up, it’s an automated process, allowing you to set it and forget it.

 

Jetpack Sharing

The Sharing plugin is one of the components of Jetpack, WordPress’ collection of blog enhancements recently made available to WordPress.org users.

This plugin allows you to include the sharing options of your choice automatically with every post. It enables your readers to share to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, StumbleUpon and LinkedIn, as well as a few other sites. You can also add other custom sites of your choice. Using a Sharing plug in allows your readers to share your posts with a single click. It really doesn’t get much easier than that.

 Shareholic is another simple sharing plugin with many options that is easy to use and very popular.  Doing a quick search on wordpress.org’s plugin page will bring up dozens of choices so you can customize your site in any way you want. Just make sure that the option you choose will be simple for your readers to use.  Getting too fancy or complicated defeats the purpose and will lead to less sharing, not more. This is true of any sharing option.

These are just a few of the tools you can use to attract more readers to your blog.

 

Do you have a favorite sharing plugin? Do you have a plugin you’d like to know more about. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Filed Under: Wordpress

Six Rules for Entrepreneurial Success

This is the third in an occasional series about becoming an entrepreneur. You can find part 1 here and part 2 here.

making money in businessOnce you have your small business up and running, it is definitely not time to sit back and wait for the profits to roll in. As I have said before “build it and they will come” only worked in Field of Dreams. It is very easy once business starts picking up to begin getting so overwhelmed by the jobs that we forget to manage the business.  The goal of every small business owner should be to work ON your business and not just IN your business.

Pay Attention to the Details

Don’t get so busy that you let the little things slide.  Take the time early in your business to develop an organizational plan that can support you in your growth. As you get too busy to do everything yourself, know what you need to outsource and delegate and do it. If you are having trouble figuring out how to delegate and release control, try reading The E-Myth by Michael Gerber. This is a great instruction manual for every small business owner. You should be controlling the essential functions of the business that match your strengths and that bring in the income and outsourcing those functions that are not the best use of your time and talents.

Keep Your Overhead Low

There is a great temptation for many new business owners to invest in the accoutrements, to have an office and all the trappings that give the image of a successful business. That money is always better spent giving the business a solid foundation than a pretty image.  Save your money for essentials; cut corners on the luxuries. If you can work from home in the beginning, it can save you thousands in your first year. If your existing computer, smart phone and laptop will do the job, wait to upgrade until your business has the cash. Whenever possible, adopt a pay-as-you-go policy of investment. Avoid the temptation to use credit cards to finance your business.  If you must borrow, seek out a low-interest SBA loan, but be prepared to show a solid business plan and give full financial disclosure as part of the process.

Keep Learning

When you are in business for yourself, you need to be on top of your industry. You need to know what’s happening in the business world and you need to  make sure you have the latest information available for your niche. There are many ways to keep up with the business world. Subscribe to magazines in your niche (many trade publications are free, either online or in your mailbox). Learn who the key influencers in your industry are and follow their blogs and Twitter accounts. Find out if there are industry associations for your niche, both nationally and locally, that you can join for support and learning. Budget to attend industry conferences and conventions.  You can learn more about the benefits of such training in this blog post. Read and listen to those whose advice and information you find to be worthwhile. But don’t ever be lulled into thinking you know enough.

Find a Mentor and/or Coach

Coaches and mentors aren’t just for beginners. Most CEO’s and successful business owners have coaches. Having someone to keep you accountable, to help you stay focused, to break through barriers and increase productivity are just a few of the benefits of having a coach on your business team. Coaches can provide specifically tailored individual and small-group assistance to help smooth your road to success.

Don’t Sell Yourself Short

If you do not place value on your product or service and really own that value, no one else will either. Don’t try and compete on price.  Blake Discher said, “Competing on price is a race to the bottom.” Just because you are a new business does not mean your products or services need to be cheaper than your competition’s. Your pricing needs to be based on a combination of YOUR cost of doing business (which is NOT the same as your cost of goods, but we’ll get into that in a future post) and your value.  Do not underestimate the value of your time and your expertise. You did not leave the corporate world to work for minimum wage–or less. If your job doesn’t pay as much as working in a fast-food restaurant would, you might as well go work in a fast-food restaurant and save yourself some stress. You need to make sure you are worth the price and then settle for nothing less.

Set Yourself Apart

Part of your business plan should include your branding. Branding is more than a logo, a color scheme and a tag line. Branding is how your business will be known. It includes your reputation, the way you do business and most importantly, your USP, which stands for “unique selling proposition.”

What is it that you do differently or better than anyone else? Are your widgets cooler, stronger, more flexible or prettier than anyone else’s? Do you have an amazing code in your web designs that make them stand out from everyone else’s? Do you have a way with words that just makes your client’s copy sing? Market that unique talent. Make sure that everyone knows what your business can do that sets you apart from your competition and why they want to do business with you. Oh, and while you’re at it, do it in a way that builds you up without tearing your competition down. It’s really not that hard and will make you much more successful in the long run.

What advice would you give someone going into business? And what do you wish you knew when you started?
Share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.
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Filed Under: Steps to Success

Framing: a Photography Technique For Impact

When we think of framing photographs, we generally think of picture frames. But there is a different type of framing in photography. It is an image technique done in the camera that draws your eye and your attention to the subject of the image.

One of the really great things about framing is that it requires no special skills and no special equipment. All you need is a little patience and practice to develop the creativity to envision framing for some of your images.

Some framing opportunities are obvious, like this image of a light hanging in a window opening.

window and light

Other images might require you to walk around and look at your subject from several different angles until you find one the one that frames your subject.

st. george lds temple

Sometimes a little bit of creativity is required to create a piece of art from what might appear to be an ordinary landscape.

silhouette and tree

Creating frames isn’t limited to landscape or to the obvious. Sometimes being observant can lead to interesting compositions with unique framing.

flags in window

Another example of using positioning to create a frame for your image.  Frames are usually more effective when they are darker than the subject of the image.  The darker colors of the frame stop the eye from moving out of the photograph and move the eye back toward the lighter subject.

country path

And sometimes, frames can be created by circumstance. The two forward balloons create a triangular frame–one of the strongest elements of photographic composition–for the balloons in the back.

balloon fiesta

This is another example of the darker frame bringing your eye back to the lighter subject, in this case the sun. You can also see more examples of framing in my photographic techniques album on Marie Leslie Media’s Facebook page here.

afternoon sun

Have you tried using framing techniques with your photographs? Are there any other photographic techniques you’d like to see here.  Please leave your comments and suggestions in the comment section below.
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Filed Under: Photography

5 Keys to Entrepreneurial Success

5 keys to business success

Photo courtesy of Brenda Starr

In this previous post, I discussed some of the basic things to think about before starting your own business.  In this post, we’ll talk a little more about some of the keys to entrepreneurial success.

Focus

If you want to go into business for yourself, the first thing you need to have is a clear focus. What is it you want to do? Do you have a product to sell? Do you have a service to offer? If you don’t know what you want to do, take the time to figure it out. This may mean meeting with a coach or a mentor, taking advantage of free small business counseling services or even taking some college courses or career workshops. After being in business for a while, your focus may change, but if you do not know what your business is about, you can hardly expect your potential customers to know. Having no focus for your business is the short road to failure.

Once you have a focus for your business, you need to develop a plan.  What are you going to do? How are you going to do it? Will you quit your job and pursue this business full-time from the beginning or will you continue at your current employment while your business gets established? If you quit your job, do you have enough to live on (a business counselor will recommend a bare minimum of 6 months in savings and strongly suggest at least a year’s worth while you get going)? How will you sell your product or service? Who is your target customer? Are you selling to consumers or to other businesses?

Take the time to do the research.

Learn who and what your competition is. Research other businesses that are selling a similar product or offering a similar service, whether they have been successful or unsuccessful (sometimes you can learn even more from a failure story than a success story).  Find out what equipment and resources you will need to run your business.

If you are manufacturing a product to sell, research the process and learn how it works. Even if you are contracting with a manufacturer, you need to understand how the process works and what’s involved in it. Find out if there are education, training and licensing requirements for your chosen profession.

And then learn to be decisive. Learn when it’s time to stop researching and begin making decisions. Successful business owners are decisive and don’t engage in either second guessing or pointless perfectionism. Do the necessary research, make a decision, own the decision and move forward with it. You’ll know soon enough if it was the right decision. If not, make another decision and go in a different direction.

Be financially wise

Finance is probably the number one hazard of small business.  Too many business owners don’t do their homework to find out what it will really cost to start their business and what it will cost to run their business. Do you really need that high-end furniture and the latest and greatest computers and electronics? How will you pay for your start-up? According to one study nearly 60% of small business owners said they used credit cards for their start-up. This is a dangerous practice. If at all possible, try to adopt a pay-as-you-go strategy.  One of the first resources you need to develop is a good accountant. If you aren’t an expert money manager, hiring someone who is might be the very best business investments you ever make. They can help you  make sure your cash flow is sufficient to cover your overhead and help you to begin setting aside a cash reserve, helping you with the various employment taxes (it’s even more complicated than personal income tax).

Learn to Market

If you’re going to be an entrepreneur, you need to learn the fine art of marketing.  “Build it and they will come” only works in the movies. You need to be able to get your product or service out there and bring in customers. A business without marketing is like a car without wheels. It’s not going anywhere. If you can’t or don’t want to develop a love for marketing, you need to hire a good marketer, but I believe it’s critical for small business owners and entrepreneurs to be able to do at least some of their own marketing. Along with  marketing, you need to learn to network–online AND in person. If you are uncomfortable in front of a crowd or making presentations, join Toastmasters or take a public speaking course. A coach can also help you learn to speak and present effectively. And yes, it can be learned. I had to do it–and if I could get over my tongue-tied shyness, so can you.

Get a Support Network

Being a solo entrepreneur doesn’t mean you have to do this alone. In fact, your chances of success will increase exponentially if you don’t try to do it alone. Develop a support network.  Having a good family and supportive friends is a start, but you should also develop a network in your business community. Local business development groups, Chambers of Commerce and professional associations can all be good sources of support. Being able to talk to and share with other business owners and professionals who understand the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship, who can give you advice and feedback is essential not only to the health of your business but to your personal health as well. Starting a small business can be very stressful and a strong network can help alleviate some of that stress.

When I owned a portrait studio in New Mexico, once a month I met with a group of fellow studio owners. We exchanged marketing ideas, critiqued one another’s campaigns, helped one another learn new techniques, swapped crazy client stories, celebrated successes and commiserated over flops. We were also available to back up one another in the event of an emergency or to help out when an extra set of hands were needed. We not only helped one another grow our businesses, but became great friends as well.

I also shared space for a time with the owner of a very successful DJ company. Not only were we able to cross-refer and boost one another’s businesses, but it helped to have someone to share both business ideas and expenses.

 

What advice would you give someone going into business? And what do you wish you knew when you started?
Share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.
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Filed Under: Steps to Success

How to Organize Important Documents, Part 1

paper clutterToday’s post was inspired by my college-student son’s frantic search over the past three days for his W-2 forms. His tax returns have been complete for a couple of months and he is even getting a tax refund. But for whatever unfathomable reason, he elected to wait until this weekend to actually file. And then he couldn’t remember what he had done with his W-2 form.

 

Document storage seems to be most people’s biggest clutter issue.  Actually, figuring out what to do with paper of any kind seems to make the top of just about everyone’s clutter lists.  I consider myself a relatively organized person, but I have to admit, I HATE filing. As a result, my “to file” bin usually ends up overflowing before I schlep it down to the dungeon where I keep the file cabinets (yes, it is plural). I have two four-drawer file cabinets: one has always been for family documents and the other is a relic from my studio days. Since I only actually use four drawers for document storage, I could probably get rid of one but that would mean dragging it up from the dungeon and I don’t see anyone at my house volunteering for the task so it’s probably down there for good. Maybe I’ll even leave it when someday it’s time to move again. And, no, we’re not going to get into what lives in the other four drawers, but they really do have a purpose and are clean and tidy—well, except maybe the one on them bottom, but I’m not going down to look, so. . . .

But I digress.  Let’s get back to figuring out what to do with all that paperwork piled up from tax season.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need a file cabinet to organize important documents. There are many different filing methods and what you choose will depend on how much space you have, how much you have to store and your lifestyle. You can use a filing cabinet, a file box, accordion folders, envelopes or whatever else works for you. If you really have lots of time, you can even digitize everything and store it online, though it is best to keep paper copies of really important documents. Before deciding on the best storage method, you need to know what you are storing.

The first step in eliminating the paper clutter is just that:  Elimination.  I recommend you clear a large workspace. You can use the dining room table, the kitchen counter (just make sure it’s clean and dry) or even the living room floor. If you have a lot of papers to sort through, it may take you more than one day, so you might not want to use your bed—or the kitchen counter—as a sorting surface. You also need a trash or recycling bin and a “to shred” bin.  Some papers can just be tossed but some will need to be shredded.

Decide on some filing categories for your paperwork.  You’ll probably begin refining them after you do your initial sort, but for now general categories will do.  Trying to refine it too much is going to make this task more overwhelming than you already think it is. To start, take several blank sheets of paper and give each one a category name and arrange them on your work surface.  I suggest starting with these categories: tax-related, insurance, vital records, employment, education, finance, medical records, warranties & instruction booklets. You might also have additional categories such as recipes, correspondence or photographs.

Now that you are all set, grab that first stack of papers and let’s sort. Go through your stack and place each document on top of the appropriately named paper. As you sort, throw away trash such as envelopes, scratch paper, old grocery lists and all those magazine clippings full of “really good ideas” that you’ve never done anything with. They can easily be replaced with your Pinterest account for a lot less space. But don’t start on Pinterest until your done with sorting or these piles will still be here next tax season.

Once you have sorted through every pile of paper you have strategically placed all over the house (I bet you’d forgotten the desk was that color, didn’t you?)—and don’t forget your purse or briefcase, you are ready to move on to step two.  You are probably also ready for a break because if you’re like me, having to look at that much boring paperwork pretty much makes your eyes cross and your head hurt.

So, today I will finish off this post with some recommendations on what to keep and how long to keep it.  In my next organizing post, I’ll help you sort through those piles and figure out how to get it all filed so you can actually find something when you need it.

 

Documents

How Long to Keep Them
Completed Tax Returns, W-2, 1099, etc (IRS forms) At least 7 years, most accountants recommend keeping these permanently 
Documents used in filing your tax returns, business receipts, charitable donation records, mortgage interest, retirement plans, records for tax deductions taken 7 years. The IRS has 3 years from your filing date to audit good-faith returns & up to six years to challenge a return if it thinks you underreported your gross income by 25% or more. There is no time limit if you file fraudulently or fail to file. 
IRA/Retirement fund contribution records Permanently—keep the quarterly statements until you receive the annual one. Then you only need to keep the annual report if everything adds up properly. 
Bank Statements Keep anything needed for business documentation,  tax purposes or to document home  improvements. Non-essential documents can be disposed of after one year. 
Brokerage statements Keep as long as you own the securities. 
Bills & Receipts Keep anything needed to document large purchases or for warranty purposes for as long as you own the item. These can help prove value in the event of an insurance claim or the need for warranty service. Dispose of non-essential bill records once you have verified that the bill has been paid. 
Credit card receipts & statements Keep your credit card receipts until you get your monthly statement to make sure everything matches up.  Keep any receipts needed for tax purposes and dispose of the rest. 
Paycheck Stubs Keep each year’s pay stubs until you receive your W-2 to make sure the information matches.  If it matches, dispose of your pay stubs. If it doesn’t you’ll want to request a corrected W-2 from your employer. 
Home or Vehicle Ownership Records Keep them as long as you own the home or vehicle.  This should include records of permanent home improvements and major repairs, and everything related to buying or selling the property. You should also keep vehicle maintenance records as long as you own your vehicle. 
Insurance Documents Keep as long as the policy is in force or you have unresolved claims. It is recommended that you keep a copy of the policy for up to seven years (your agent is required to keep a copy of your expired policy for up to seven years depending on the state).  If you have medical expenses that will affect your tax returns, keep those for as long as you would other tax-related documents. 
Medical Records Permanently. These would be treatment records, diagnoses, etc., not necessarily bills and Insurance benefit statements (see above). 
Vital Records—wills, birth certificates, adoption decrees, marriage license, divorce decrees, diplomas, degrees and professional licenses  These should be kept permanently and in a safe place, such as a fireproof safe.

 

Oh, and those W-2 forms my son couldn’t find? They were in the To-File bin (where I told him to look, but he didn’t) in a manila envelope neatly labeled “2011 Tax Returns.”

Don’t forget—next week I’ll be walking you through what to do with all those neatly sorted piles you have so you can get all that paper clutter organized and out of site before next tax season.

How do you manage your paper?  What do you most need help with? Please share your questions, comments and feedback in the comment section below.
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Filed Under: Steps to Success

Are you Ready to be an Entrepreneur?

jewelry, jewelerHave you come up with a killer idea that will make you millions? Do your friends and family rave about your photography/sewing/baking/artistic skills and constantly tell you that you should be getting paid for your talent? Are you thinking it’s time to start your own business?

Starting a business can be an exciting and life-changing adventure. It is not, however, for the faint of heart and it is definitely not for the uninformed. Before you quit your job and order those business cards, there are a few things you need to consider.

 

First, do your homework.

Know what’s involved in starting a business.  There are some rules and legalities that must be followed for you to be a legal business.  If you need help learning what you need to know and do to start your own business, there are many free and low-cost resources out there.  First, and my favorite, are the Small Business Development Centers, run by the SBA.  They give free business advice and many centers offer free and low-cost business development classes. Next is SCORE, who offers free small business mentoring and advice. And finally, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has a small business center with resources to help entrepreneurs get their business off the ground.

These organizations will do a LOT more than just help you with the legal side of business. They can help you clarify your focus and your business plan, help open your eyes to both the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship  and help you with all the questions you don’t even know you need to ask when going into business for yourself.

 

Pay close attention to the legalities of running a business.

If you are exchanging goods or services for money, you have some legal obligations to attend to. If you’re not planning to be a legal business, don’t even bother. In most states, you are required to register with your state tax board.  Different states call it by different names, but it is the entity that is responsible for overseeing the collection of sales tax. This is not an entity you want to run afoul of.  Many, many years ago I became acquainted with auditor for California’s State Board of Equalization. One of the first questions he asked me is if I was collecting, remitting and reporting my sales tax properly.  Thankfully, my answer was then and still is, yes. He told me he always asked his friends so he could warn them that tax boards have the power to seize your business for non-payment or underpayment of sales tax revenue. And generally, if they have reason to believe you aren’t compliant, they get to shut you down first and THEN investigate.

confectioner, entrepreneur

Don’t fall into the mistaken assumption that if you are only “doing it as a hobby” that you are exempt. Find out the law, before you find out the hard way. And while we’re on legalities, if you are planning to run your business out of your home, make sure you find out whether it’s permitted in your municipality. Some cities allow home businesses, some do not. Some allow signage for home businesses and some do not. And others allow certain types of businesses to be home-based, like a photography studio, but don’t allow others, like a hair salon. There’s nothing that can put crimp in your entrepreneurial dreams quicker than a grumpy neighbor who doesn’t like the extra traffic you’re generating and reports you to your city’s zoning board.

Do you have the necessary insurance for your small business? If you are working from home, call your insurance agent. Every policy does not cover every home business. Do you have sufficient liability insurance to cover the possibility that a client or delivery person might be injured while on your property? Do you have liability insurance to cover the possibility that your product might injure someone? If you are providing a service, do you have professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance? And what about your business equipment? If it’s not insured and it’s stolen or somehow damaged, you could be out of business that fast.

 

Do  you have the commitment and the integrity required to be in business for yourself?

The key to success as an entrepreneur is to be able to consistently deliver a quality product or service in a timely manner that your clients and customers believe to be of value. If you do not have the commitment to follow through on your promises, even when the work may be tedious (and much of what we entrepreneurs do is incredibly tedious) or the integrity to not promise more than you can deliver, self-employment may not be your best choice. I have seen more than a few small business owners who went out of business, and some who even ended up with legal troubles, because they did not act with integrity in their businesses.

 

And, finally, are you willing to risk failure?

There is a popular mantra that says “failure is not an option” but in the business world, you must recognize and accept that it can happen. Knowing that failure is a possibility and generally not one you want to face can help you plan for the hard realities of the business world. No one goes into business believing they will fail, but the most successful people go into business knowing they can, and making the necessary plans and preparations that will help them avoid failure.

 

Do you have any questions about starting your own business?

Please share your thoughts, questions and ideas in the comment section below.
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Filed Under: Steps to Success

The Sweet Sights of Spring Photography

Spring is really beginning to bloom here in Colorado.  I have to confess to allowing myself to be too busy to go out and photograph the blooms on my pear trees this year, so when I noticed both of my apple trees sporting pretty white blossoms AND the neighbor’s beautiful lilacs peeking over the back fence, I knew I would be regretting it if I didn’t take a break to go out and capture a few images.

lilacs, photography

I spend a lot of my time in spring on flower photography.  I think it’s pretty  much a no-brainer. I LOVE flowers. They have always been one of my favorite photographic subjects. Though I have no problem stopping by the florist for a selection of blooms to indulge my photography habit, thre’s nothing more fun for me than photographing the spring beauties in their natural habitat.

While I would love to have a macro lens–it’s VERY high on my wish list–these were taken with Canon’s 28-135mm lens. Don’t let a lack of “perfect” equipment keep you from getting out there and making some great art.  Your creativity is limited only by your willingness to experiment and your innovation and imagination.

apple blossoms, photography

I love the blossoms on the fruit trees. They are always such delicate little flowers and hold the sweet promise of fruit this summer and fall.  Cross your fingers that the predicted snow for this weekend doesn’t do in my sweet apples. I have two honeycrisp trees and we’re hoping we’ll be eating our own sweet apples this year–at least a few.

apple blossoms, photography

I haven’t gotten around to planting lilacs of my own yet–the fruit trees and grape vines were our bigger priority–but thankfully many of my neighbors have beautiful lilacs in all shades of pinks and purples. I haven’t found any white ones yet, though. Perhaps I’ll plant some white ones just for variety’s sake.

lilacs, photography

I love the delicate little lilac flowers–and they smell soooo good.

lilacs, photography

What’s blooming where you are? What will you go out and photograph this weekend? Or will you create some other art?

Share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
Filed Under: Photography

Read Your Way to the Top

reading

Since this week is National Library Week, I thought I would share a few favorites from my reading list with you.

I am an avid reader and generally read at least two books per week, in addition to blogs, daily newspapers and magazines (yes, I’m pretty old school–all my books are on paper, too).  I mostly read non-fiction, though I do slip in at least a couple of novels each month. My favorite non-fiction books are business, success and self-help books.

Today’s list are a few recent reads that I’ve found helpful enough that they’ve made it to my “buy” list.

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

This is my most recent book. Gay Hendricks is the president of The Hendricks Institute and is  a specialist in relationship transformation and body-mind therapies.  This book is about breaking through the internal things that hold you back from complete success. So many of us come that close to getting where we really want to be and then it’s like we’re stuck. Gay Hendricks addresses what he calls the “Upper Limit Problem” and how we can break through. I’ve only just begun working on this one, but I can already see a difference in my productivity and in my stress level.

Eat that Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy

This is a great, simple motivational book full of great ideas for getting things done.  Instead of getting into all the psychology of why you should be doing these things, it just focuses on telling you how to get them done.  It is a fast read, but it’s intended to be read over and over to help you internalize the principles and develop them into habits of productivity.

 

Read their Mind by Sandi Krakowski

This is a marketing must-read. To be successful in business–and in life–you need to learn to really listen to what people need and want.  This book gives clear and straightforward instructions about how to develop that listening skill and how to apply it in your business.

 

The Gift in You by Dr. Caroline Leaf

Everyone has gifts. Everyone has skills and talents that make them unique and set them apart. Do you know what yours are? This book can help you discover them and help you overcome the blocks in your life that are keeping you from making the most of them.

 

Socialmorphosis: Transforming Your Business Through Social Media by Georgia L. McCabe

Does social media overwhelm you? Are you not sure of the how’s and why’s. Checkout this great book by Georgia McCabe to discover the benefits of social media and how to get started.  Follow the story of photographer Alexia as Georgia guides her into the world of social media.  This book is a great read for novices and more advanced users alike. Georgia clearly explains both how to use social media and how to measure its effectiveness.

So, what’s on your reading list?  Share your must-reads in the comment section below or on my Facebook page.
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Filed Under: The Bookshelf

Do You Have a Plan B?

I had no internet yesterday. I’m sure that doesn’t seem like a big deal to most people, but for me and my virtual life, it really altered the course of my day. Much of my daily work is done online. I interact with many of my clients and potential clients through the internet. Yes, I do have a smart phone, but have you ever tried to design a website with a smart phone? Neither have I. And I’m pretty sure I really don’t want to start.

I used to have an app on my phone that acted as a modem for my desktop computer without running up data transfer charges but when my Druid Droid became possessed and had to be traded in for a, umm, less confused model, I lost the app and can’t get it again. Darn.

So, no internet. We won’t really go into why we had no internet. Just suffice it to say that internet cables can be buried in the most interesting of places and much shallower than state regulations dictate, and next week they’ll be reburying that relocated cable.

plan b ahead

Yesterday morning I found myself with an abundance of quiet time. Thankfully, I did know the night before this would be the case so I had a little time to mentally plan for it. I did get some good writing time in, though it can get tricky when you’re a non-fiction writer and you need to reference things online. Thankfully for my free time (I couldn’t run errands; I had to wait for the cable guy to come and fix the internet), I had just made my spring cleaning list over the weekend. I now have a superbly clean kitchen and bathroom, a purged wardrobe–along with a very large stack of clothing to take to the resale shop for credit, or to Goodwill for what the resale shop doesn’t take–and a reorganized pantry. And on the work front, besides writing most of another chapter for my current book project, I finished reading The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks (I highly recommend it) and did a little associated work with that, and I was able to pull together and complete a couple of graphics projects for offline clients.

It’s probably good to be unplugged every now and then, though I would prefer it by choice and not by slice.

The timing was interesting because just last week I needed to have some computer work done and it necessitated wiping out my primary hard drive, reinstalling the system and starting over. While I am diligent at backing up my data, this meant backing up things I don’t normally worry about. I got everything–almost. I forgot to back up my Outlook data file and while my calendar is synced with Google, my address book isn’t. Thankfully, I just backed it up a couple of months ago and it’s pretty much just my Christmas card list and my relatives, I really haven’t lost any data. I just need to sort through all those back-up discs and re-install it before Christmas.

But what the computer clean-up meant was being completely computerless for a couple of days. And for me, that required lots of planning ahead and having a Plan B so I wouldn’t get too far behind on my work. I’m not good at loose ends; I’m not good at having time on my hands without knowing what to do with it. I mean, that’s fine for the occasional Saturday, but really not good for my work days.

What was my Plan B? I made good use of the Editorial Calendar plugin on WordPress and planned a week’s worth of blog posts in advance.  I also put Hootsuite to work and populated my twitter and my Facebook posts for the week so I wouldn’t disappear from the social world. Why a week’s worth when I only planned to be offline for two days at the most? Because I know things can go wrong. While I didn’t expect it, I did anticipate the possibility that it wouldn’t go according to plan (it’s happened before) and I might need to either get parts or a whole new computer.

Thankfully, I didn’t. Everything went according to plan and, other than the tedium of re-installing half a terabyte of data, it was all good.  I also went through my project lists and looked for projects that didn’t require any computer time.  While that mostly meant non-work projects, I did print out some research materials and plan for some library time so I could continue with my writing and design projects while I was biding my time in the analog world.

As a result, I got a distraction-free day to catch up on some projects that really benefitted from my attention AND I got a speedier, better-running computer and no stress. Oh, and I now have a landscape plan for my yard.

Do you have a Plan B?

 

Please share your thoughts, questions and ideas in the comment section below.
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Filed Under: Life Lessons, Steps to Success
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