Great Companies Come From Great Visionaries—You Be Yours

Warren Buffet. Bill Gates. Oprah Winfrey. The late Steve Jobs. Pretty hefty names, right? We all know their names and what they’ve accomplished in their lives and contributed to the world. But other than the obvious…international fame, financial wealth, larger-than-life business empires, what do you suppose these amazing people all have in common? Their beginnings were all fairly humble—from very poor to blue collar to upper-middle class. And they were all Visionaries. They all had the ability to envision what they wanted their lives to be, and the brilliance and determination to make it happen.

Why am I telling you all of this? To point out that greatness begins with a vision. When you first realized that you wanted to be your own boss, you surely had a vision of what that would look like. You dreamed of how things would be someday…maybe your vision included acquiring multiple companies or getting a patent on the next great thing that the world can’t live without. Or maybe it was simply to provide a solid financial foundation for your family and future generations. Whatever the vision was, you had one in some form or fashion. We all did.

And where would we be today without the brilliance of such visionaries as Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Sam Walton? I imagine us stumbling around, on foot and in the dark, looking for the best price on those new snow boots for the kids or the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for that special someone.

So, my question for you to ponder now is…How’s it going? Are you still the great visionary of your company? It’s not as easy as it sounds, is it? With the ups and downs, ebbs and flows we all experience in our businesses, sometimes the vision gets a little gray, a little foggy. If that’s where you are now, then it’s time to clear your head and get back in touch with that great vision you once had. There’s also nothing stopping you from creating a new vision if the original one no longer fits your life plan!

It’s important to always be the great visionary for your own business. If you haven’t already, take time to create the image of what you want your business to look like and what it will take to get there, and then put a plan in action to make it happen. It doesn’t have to be on the same scale as Warren, Bill, Oprah and Steve; it just has to be yours.

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Mind Mapping—It’s Like List Making on Steroids

Teacher Businesswoman Writing Mindmap Complex DiagramAre you a visual learner? Do you see things more clearly when they’re laid out in front of you, on a list or a white board? I think most of us are that way. There’s something about getting the whirlwind of ideas out of your head and on to a piece of paper that really helps to clarify the project at hand. Am I right, or what? From a simple to-do list to an elaborate Gantt chart, that visual aid can pull things together and help you get your plan in place for moving forward.

I have to admit—I’m a bit of a list junkie myself. I love making lists of my projects, my must-do’s, my want-to’s, and even my hope-to’s. While I probably won’t go cold turkey on my list making, because it does still work best for some things, I have just recently discovered another way of laying out a project that works much better than those Post-Its (can’t believe I just said that!). It’s a very cool tool called Mind Mapping.

Mind mapping has actually been around since ancient times, and has been used successfully in all varieties of situations. It’s an easy and fun way to brainstorm a work project, plan out your week ahead, address a challenge or even take notes in a meeting. It allows you to get your ideas on paper as they come to you, whereas with a list, you might be stymied trying to capture your thoughts in the order they need to be done, which can be really frustrating. Because our minds think in terms of images rather than words, a mind map is much more free-flowing and can actually inspire more creative ideas and make the process more productive.

Using a visual image of a tree, here’s a quick summary of how a mind map works:

  • In the center of your paper or white board, you write down the main topic of your mind map. This becomes the trunk of the tree.
  • Reaching out from there, like branches on a tree, list 3 or 4 sub-topics that need to be considered as part of the project.
  • Now start brainstorming! Under each of the branches, begin drawing smaller branches, listing, in no particular order, your ideas, thoughts and even images that pertain to each sub-topic.
  • Continue to grow your tree with more branches, large and small as your ideas keep coming.
  • Note…By association, using images and colors will help you to connect all the branches and remember your mind map later as you work through your project.

Admittedly, this is just an overview of the mind map process. For more information and step-by-step instructions, check out these articles:

“How to Make a Mind Map” at WikiHow.com

“Why Mind Maps Are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread” at Teamwork.com

Mind mapping is easy and fun! You can keep it simple with paper and colored pens, or you can get technical and use a mind-mapping program if you like. Either way, give it a try and see what you think!

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Life is One Big Lesson–Embrace It!

Here we are…standing in the doorway of another new year! Like most new years, this one will surely bring with it many opportunities, challenges, successes and probably a few failures. Will you welcome whatever comes your way, and grab the lessons that each experience brings? Or will you step back into the shadows, hoping you can just get through the year unscathed?

For me, every experience is a learning opportunity, and I welcome every one of them. In my business, I’m constantly looking for ways to better serve my clients. Whether it’s developing a new skill or service, or turning an unfortunate criticism into a tool for improvement, I embrace it, I learn all I can from it, and I use it to serve my clients at a level they deserve. I do the same in my personal life, as well. The more I learn and grow, the better I can be for myself and my family.

We all enjoy our successes; our victories throughout the year. That’s easy, right? But trying to stay positive through the challenges and failures…well, that’s another story, and I totally get it! What if you could see through the challenges and failures, and find the positive lessons in them? Would it help you get through those tough times?

Every challenge, every failure you experience, in business and in life, carries within it a positive lesson. Understanding this is extremely empowering, and once you understand, you realize that you can face every situation head on, draw the positive lessons from it and move on to do better next time. I’ll show you what I mean…

Challenges are your opportunities to test yourself. Your knowledge and skills, your problem-solving abilities, your ambition, determination and even your patience will be called upon when you face a challenge. The lessons here are in how well you navigate through the challenge. What are you doing right, and what can you improve upon for next time?

Failures bring with them your greatest opportunities for learning! You will rarely learn as much from your successes as you do from your failures, if you pay attention. Did you give it your best effort, even though it didn’t work out? Are you proud of the commitment you made? Did you increase your knowledge? These are all positive lessons to look for in your failures. Take note of the positive things you gained from the experience, and use them to your advantage next time. And let the rest of it go as it serves no purpose.

Successes hold the easy lessons. For instance—hard work and dedication pay off; be proud of your accomplishment without being boastful; and share your success with those who helped you get there.

The next time you’re faced with a challenge or a failure, or even a success, try looking at it with a different mindset. Keep the lessons and let go of the rest of it. Life is one giant learning experience. Embrace whatever comes your way and be thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow!

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How YouTube Videos Can Help You Connect, Share and Grow Your Business!

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In my last article, I offered 5 ways to re-ignite your passion for your business. What if I told you that offering YouTube videos will address 4 of those 5? Yep, it’s true. Using videos in your business can help you—

  • Promote a new service, program or product;
  • Provide technical advice related to your skills or expertise;
  • Expand your reach as far as targeting a new market; and
  • Network with new groups of like-minded colleagues and peers.

I know what you’re thinking…video? No way! I’m not a speaker! And besides, how can it really help my business? Okay, think about it. Videos are everywhere; in every business these days. Attorneys offer instructions on completing legal documents; plumbers, handymen and other craftsmen use them to teach DIY projects; and tech experts share how-to’s on every internet program and tool you can imagine. You can even find YouTube tutorials on how to use YouTube!

Videos work especially well for online coaches. You can create your lessons using video, upload them and share the links with your students. People are visual and oftentimes seeing the face behind the name, and watching a video rather than reading text helps them to retain the information.

Pretty nice, don’t you think? And it’s really not as intimidating as you might think. There are several very user-friendly programs for creating, uploading and sharing your videos. Windows Movie Maker, for instance, is a free download as part of the Windows 7 Live Essentials package, and is pretty simple to use.

All you need to get started is a simple webcam if you’re going to produce videos from your computer, along with a good quality mic/speaker system on your computer. If you’re going to produce videos “out in the field” as they say, you’ll need a flipcam or other camera/video device, which can be very inexpensive to buy (I’m talking like $40!). And of course, you need a YouTube account. It’s free and just takes a few minutes to set up. That’s it for the basic tools to get you started.

Here’s a quick rundown of how you can use Window Movie Maker to create simple, yet amazing videos—

Create your live video using your webcam or flipcam (following the instructions that come with your device), and save the file to your computer.

Note: An alternative to a live video is to start by creating a slideshow using PowerPoint or other images. If you want to include screenshots in your video, using the Windows Snipping Tool makes this an easy task. If you produce your video from a slideshow, simply use the Windows Sound Recorder (available on your Windows 7, under Accessories) to record your voice while playing through slideshow you just created. Save the file to your computer.

Open the Windows Movie Maker program and pull up your file. The Movie Maker program is very intuitive, and allows you to edit out any parts you don’t want, add introductory slides, music, and much more. It sounds much more difficult than it is, I promise!

Once your video is finalized, upload it to your YouTube account. From there, you can do final edits, name it, give it search tags, and even choose to make it private or public. You can also grab the URL for the video and share it with others via email and social media, and you can even embed it on your website or blog.

If you’re ready to dive in and create awesome videos for your business, you can find several helpful tutorials on (where else?) YouTube, including a couple that I found particularly helpful:

Videos are an easy, inexpensive way to reach your clients, peers, students, colleagues and prospects. So go on; don’t be shy. Dive in try it out! Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be hooked! And remember, the Gretchen Christy Virtual Team is always here to help! We work with extraordinary life and business coaches who are looking for a true business partner to bring their BIG ideas into tangible, clickable reality. Want to learn more?

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Want to be More Productive? Get Organized!

Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is only 43 days away, which means there are only 72 shopping days left before Christmas! The busy holiday season is fast approaching. The best way to face it head-on is to be prepared, and the best way to be prepared is to be organized.

image - productivity3Organization leads to greater productivity, and when times are busy, your productivity level is the key to staying on top of your busy work days. That’s often easier said than done, right? I hear you. But there are so many easy, effective tools and tactics for staying organized and increasing your productivity, there’s just no excuse not to use some of them!

Let’s look at a few ideas for keeping your business organized so that you’re operating at maximum productivity every day—

Calendar/time management. Whatever calendar program you use, whether it’s Google, Outlook, or some other great tool, are you using it as effectively as you should be?  Try these simple tips for keeping your calendar organized—

  • Use the features such as flagging, categorizing and color-coding to quickly identify calendar items. You can categorize items by client, business, personal, whatever’s best for your business needs and work style.
  • Block times on your calendar for everything you do. Include times for admin work, client work, lunch, workouts, business development, and anything else you need to do on a regular basis. Blocking times is a bit of mind game; if it’s on your calendar, you’re more likely to make time to do it, rather than just try to work it in when you can. That’s how things fall through the cracks and don’t get done!
  • Whether you use a cool tool like Evernote, a full-scale project management program like Teamwork or Basecamp, or a simple notepad, it’s important to record your tasks and to-do’s somewhere. The busier you are, the more difficult it is to keep it all in your head. Don’t try. Grab a notebook or sign up with one of the online tools, and get those to-do’s out of your head and onto a list!

Schedule/meeting management. This goes along with calendar management, but at the same time, it’s also a process on its own. A few tips for scheduling your meetings—

  • Make use of the meeting scheduling feature on your calendar when setting meetings with others. It’s more efficient than trading emails, and you can set up reminders to help you stay on time. It also makes cancelling and rescheduling a much simpler task. Wow…organized and productive. Bam!
  • If you schedule a lot of meetings with prospects, clients and others, consider using one of the many online scheduling tools. From uber simple to very robust, there’s one out there that’s just right for you. Once it’s set up, you can add the scheduling link to your website and your email signature, and empower others to schedule meetings with you within the parameters you have established, while you’re busy being productive on other things!

Email management. This is a big one. Emails can be a huge productivity killer. Following these simple tips will help get them under control—

  • Be objective as you look through your email subscriptions, and if they truly are not of value to you, or you simply don’t have time to read them, unsubscribe to them.
  • Create priority folders for certain types of emails, or emails from certain people, and then set up rules to send those incoming emails directly to the priority folders. This helps to keep your inbox manageable, but more importantly, it keeps important emails from getting lost in the crowd.
  • Set up templates for recurring or frequent email responses. This is a great time-saver if you receive a lot of emails that require the same response; for example, coaching clients asking about lessons or programs; inquiries about your business services, etc. Once you get them set up and begin using them, you’ll love how much time it saves you!

Getting organized always takes a little time and forethought, but it really is the path to productivity. So get organized, be productive, and you’ll rock your work day, every day, even through those hectic holidays!

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Social Media Vocabulary—It’s A Language All Its Own

Since our focus the past few weeks has been all things social media, I thought it might be helpful (and fun!) to end the month with a list of terms commonly found in our social media and other online circles. If you’re like me sometimes, just reading through some of today’s articles and postings is like trying to read a foreign language! Avatars and hashtags and tweets, oh my! Not to mention the acronyms! There’s an acronym for almost everything these days! LOL, right?

Here’s a quick list of some of today’s widely-used terms in social media and online in general. Of course, the key word here is today, because new ones are trending and going viral all the time!

To give kudos where kudos are due, the list below was compiled from a recent blog on the awesome social media site, HubSpot.com. To keep the list here brief, some of the descriptions have been shortened. You can find HubSpot’s full list in its entirety here.

  • Avatar – An avatar is an image or username that represents a person online, most often within forums and social networks.
  • Chat – Chat can refer to any kind of communication over the internet but traditionally refers to one-to-one communication through a text-based chat application, commonly referred to as instant messaging (IM) applications.
  • Connections – The LinkedIn equivalent of a Facebook ‘friend’ is a ‘connection.’
  • Fans – Fans is the term used to describe people who like your Facebook Page.
  • Favorite – Represented by the small star icon on Twitter, favoriting a tweet signals to the creator that you liked their content or post.
  • Follower – In a social media setting, a follower refers to a person who subscribes to your account in order to receive your updates.
  • Friends – Friends is the term used on Facebook to represent the connections you make and the people you follow.
  • Handle – Handle is the term used to describe someone’s @username on Twitter.
  • Hashtag – A hashtag is a tag used on a variety of social networks as a way to annotate a message. A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a “#” (i.e. #InboundMarketing).
  • Like – A Like is an action that can be made by a Facebook or Instagram user.
  • Meme – A meme on the internet is used to describe a thought, idea, joke, or concept that’s widely shared online. It is typically an image with text above and below it, but can also come in video and link form.
  • Mention – A mention is a Twitter term used to describe an instance in which a user includes someone else’s @username in their tweet to attribute a piece of content or start a discussion.
  • Recommendation – A recommendation on LinkedIn is a term used to describe a written note from another LinkedIn member that aims to reinforce the user’s professional credibility or expertise.
  • Retweet – A retweet is when someone on Twitter sees your message and decides to re-share it with his or her followers.
  • Tag – Tagging is a social media functionality commonly used on Facebook and Instagram that allows users to create a link back to the profile of the person shown in the picture or targeted by the update.

Here are just a few of the common acronyms you’re likely to see…

  • Application Programming Interface (API) – An API is a documented interface that allows one software application to interact with another application.
  • Direct Message– Direct messages — also referred to as “DMs” — are private conversations that occur on Twitter.
  • Instant Messaging – Instant messaging (IM) is a form of real-time, direct text-based communication between two or more people.
  • PPC – PPC is an acronym for pay per click. Pay per click is an online advertising model in which advertisers display ads on various websites or search engines and pay when a visitor clicks through.
  • RSS Feed – RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blogs and videos in a standardized format.
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Search engine optimization is the process of improving the volume or quality of unpaid traffic to a website from search engines.

And then, just for fun, here are a few common texting abbreviations that you often see…

  • AAR – At Any Rate
  • ADDY – Address
  • BRB – Be Right Back
  • BRT – Be Right There
  • BW – Best Wishes
  • CAAC – Cool As A Cucumber
  • CM – Call Me
  • COB – Close Of Business
  • COL – Chuckle Out Loud
  • DIY – Do It Yourself
  • DK – Don’t Know
  • IMO – In My Opinion
  • IYSS – If You Say So
  • IKR – I Know, Right?
  • LOL – Laughing Out Loud or Lots Of Love

Now that you know some of the terms and fun shortcuts, you’ll be all CAAC the next time you Friend, Like, Connect, Link and Mention!

 

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Online Business Forums—The “Other” Networking Platform

group discsussionWhen talking about social media, most of us immediately think about the usual suspects…Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Some of us may go a bit farther down the list of 200+ social media sites and include Instagram, Google+ and Tumblr. All are great sites for connecting with your audience! But there’s another key platform that’s really making headway these days as a successful marketing strategy, and that’s online business forums.

Whether you join an existing forum, or create your own, an online business forum is a powerful way to connect with people in the same industry, as well as potential or existing clients. For coaches with group programs, establishing a private online forum is a convenient way for your coaching clients to connect and share, get questions answered and find support and encouragement as they go through their coaching program.

Just as with the other social networking platforms, there are many professional forum sites to choose from, such as ProBoards.com and Boardhost.com. If you’re interested in adding online business forums to your marketing strategy, here are a few guidelines to help you get started:

  • Find the forums that are right for you. Just as with the other networking sites, you want to be where your audience is. Do your research, and ask your colleagues and peers where they hang out. You can also visit forum hub sites such as Board Reader and search for specific niche keywords.
  • Read the fine print. While all user agreements will include the typical legalese, each site will have its own specific rules. You need to understand them and make sure they fit with your goals for selecting that forum.
  • Create a reader-friendly username and avatar. Select a name and image that reflect your business, are easy to identify, remember and pronounce. Using your high school nickname and your dog’s image may be cool for you, but will it speak to others as an identifier of your business? In keeping with that, you’ll also want to make sure your profile clearly describes your expertise and business services. You can include a few bits of personal info like hobbies or favorite sports, but keep it brief.
  • Be professional. Many forum users are respected experts and bloggers in the area of interest of that particular forum, so you’ll want to maintain a high level of professionalism as you engage with the other users. Remember, you’re using this forum ultimately as a marketing strategy, so be aware of the underlying message you’re sending as you post your messages to the group.

There are so many benefits to using online forums as part of your business marketing strategy. For more great tips and advice, I recommend this article at Inc.com.

If you need help with your marketing strategy for online business forums, we are here to assist you! Our Virtual Team works with extraordinary life and business coaches who are looking for a true business partner to bring their BIG ideas into tangible, clickable reality. Want to learn more?

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Hootsuite is Pretty Sweet

Since my last blog offered you a few guidelines for incorporating social media into your marketing plan, I thought it only right that this week’s Cool Tool be something to help you stay on track with your efforts. After all, even if you find it fun and easy, managing your social media takes time, doesn’t it? I find that to be so true for me, and for many of my clients, too. So let’s see if I can simplify things for you a bit and show you how to use Hootsuite to help work your social media plan.

I have to say I was a bit blown away when I first learned that there are currently over 200 social media platforms out there to choose from. Imagine how I felt when I found out that there are just as many tools available for managing those platforms! Talk about mind-blowing! So how do you choose which one to use? First, decide on the criteria you need, and then do your research to see which one might best meet those needs. It’s also good to reach out to your colleagues and peers and see what they’re using.

Of course we can’t even begin to cover all of the tools out there, so let’s just take a quick look at one of the more popular ones—Hootsuite. Here are a few of the features that keeps Hootsuite at the top of the list when it comes to social media management.

  • A broad range of apps (web-based, mobile and desktop) and add-ons (for Chrome and Firefox) makes it extremely versatile.
  • You have the ability to save updates as templates, which reduces the amount of time spent preparing similar posts.
  • Of course, you can schedule multiple updates in advance, and there’s a really nice feature called Autoschedule that will choose the time to release your posts in order to give them the best chance of being seen. This works well to help keep posts from appearing on all of your networks at the same time. How cool is that?
  • You can shorten links, add images, files and even locations. That’s a huge help!
  • You can set it up to receive an email notification when your updates post.
  • There is a free version for up to 3 social network sites, which is great for small businesses or those just starting to create their social media presence.

Hootsuite takes a bit more time to set up than some of the other services, but it is such a robust system, it’s worth the effort for those who need or want all of the features it offers. And with the time you’ll save once you’re up and running, you’ll wish you had done it sooner.

And as always, if social media just isn’t your thing, partner with a virtual team that can handle it for you! Our Virtual Team works with extraordinary life and business coaches who are looking for a true business partner to bring their BIG ideas to into tangible, clickable reality. Want to learn more?

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Reaching Out

As you’ve heard me say before, I tend to put others before me. My kiddos, my husband, friends, family, clients; everyone. It truly matters that all have what they need and if I can be a part of making that happen, then I will and it feels good. I’m a natural humanitarian….and that can be both a good and bad thing.

One thing I’ve really noticed lately is that I need to honor my own feelings and desires as much as I do those of others. There have been some things going on in my personal life and it’s been affecting me in different ways. I’ve found by not dealing with these feelings, I’m letting my emotions of anger and hurt build up inside. Then what happens? I become the snappy wife and mom who ends up taking my emotions out on those who matter most. This feels horrible, after the fact, of course.

To end this, I’ve committed to myself going forward that I’m going surround myself with those I love most, who are a positive inspiration and make me smile. I have to remember that they don’t know I need their support unless I ask and share with them what’s going on.

Bottling my emotions up inside serves no one and brings me down and leaves me feeling raw. I’m tired of feeling this way, so I’m going to stick to my own word and reach out to my soulmates when necessary. I encourage you to take a look inside, and if you are holding on to unhealthy emotions, make a commitment to yourself to reach out to those who care about you. Let them help you help yourself.

It FEELS GOOD just writing this! Thank you as always for listening.

With love and gratitude,

gretchen-sig

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Truth

SunflowerHave you ever heard the saying “The truth will set you free”?

I know firsthand that being in difficult situations can be tough; especially when there’s confrontation involved. But the number one thing I’ve learned, and a very important life lesson is that no matter the circumstance, stating the facts or the truth will always set you free.

At times, you don’t want to hurt others’ feelings and are willing to compromise yours; or maybe it’s true that you’ve hurt someone and the truth needs to be told. The bottom line is that once what needs to be said is said, a huge sigh of relief will come over you and you’ll know you did the right thing.

Don’t be afraid to speak the truth, regardless of fear. The truth will ALWAYS set you free.

With love and gratitude,

Gretchen

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