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Freelancing For The Longrun

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by Lucy Long

There is nothing better than going on a run outside with the wind in your hair. We give ourselves time to think and release endorphins. These runs outside are very comparable to the steps one should take to succeed as a freelancer. Freelancing is a lot like going on a run: from our changing speeds to our music taste, each component relates. Although running and freelancing appear to be entirely unrelated, they oddly fit together like a glove.

 

1.   Speed

All avid runners know not to go full speed at the beginning of their run. Sometimes, it may be hard at the start. You may be too tired or not excited, but after some time, you will forget about the hardships. It’s all about working up to a steady and comfortable pace.

This is exactly what it’s like to start freelancing. It may be hard to find clients at the start, but after a while, we will begin networking with our connections and find freelance opportunities. The important part is not to give up. A freelancers inbox may be empty at first, and they are frustrated that they’ve devoted hours to crafting those ideal outreach emails. But, after finding the perfect client to work for and gaining some experience, the freelancer will start a slog jog.

 

2.   Running Community

When going on a run outside, I can almost guarantee you will see another exerciser getting in their daily swear. I always wave to these individuals or give them a head nod of acknowledgment out of common courtesy. Sometimes I see them repeatedly for a few days, and it’s customary to say “hi”- they are a regular on my route. You may be thinking: How does saying hello to random people you see on your run relate to freelancing?

Well, freelancing is all about making connections; we have to network ourselves so our name can be passed along to other bloggers, businesses, media etc. The only way to grow our service is to market ourselves to others and make genuine connections that may end up being profitable. Once we have these connections, we have to provide for them and manage freelance expectations of our different clients.

 

3.   Music

Each run requires a different playlist. I like to switch it up each day, so I don’t get bored; maybe even play a podcast if I’m feeling it. My music ranges from country to 80s hits, ensuring that I never get bored. The different music we choose is similar to the various services we need to offer as a freelancer. From what I have learned, the best way to market yourself is to provide more than one service.

For example, if a business is looking for a freelancer, they would instead hire an individual who can create content and SEO work, rather than hire someone who can only do blog writing. Then If you are not a jack of all trades, your client will have to hire another person to do the other service, lowering your pay and potential.

The best way to attract clients is to market yourself and show off what you can provide. By enhancing your key attributes and broadening your portfolio, businesses will be drawn to your services.

 

4.   Shoes

Have you ever run in a shoe that doesn’t fit quite right? If not, let me tell you, it hurts a lot, and you can risk injuring yourself. Think of Cinderella’s sisters, they tried to force the shoe on them, which was not pretty!

If we offer a service we are not quite good at, we risk tanking our business. We do not want to get a lousy reputation by trying to force something to fit. May that be a shoe or specific skill- it’s best to stick to what you know will produce positive results. It’s imperative to find the right fit!

 

5.   Fuel yourself

The most crucial part of running is to make sure you fuel yourself properly. By eating before a run, we give ourselves the energy to fuel our miles, and food after a run helps our muscles recover from the strenuous activity. By disregarding our nutrition, we risk fractures, and our runs will be slow.

Fuel for runs is like practice. By practicing, we can make sure that we are able to get work done with the intended results adequately. We can practice our work by helping a friend do a task in your toolbox of services or go pro bono for some clients.

 

Conclusion

By understanding what it takes to become a freelancer in the long run, we are helping pave the way for success. The key points any freelancer needs to realize is that it will first be slow to pick up clients. But, after finding work, we must remember the importance of networking, broadening our services, being honest about your capabilities, and practicing. By understanding these concepts, freelancing will soon become natural.

 

Just like going on runs, it will take some time until we reach that steady pace. Just tie on the right shoes and get the playlist going because you are headed in the right direction.

 

Lucy Long is a Strategic Communications major with a Data Analytics minor at Texas Christian University. She also spends her time writing for Carson Leslie Center blog.

 

 

 

 

Five tips for working from home from a pro by @DeannaCabinian

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by Deanna Cabinian

As someone who’s been working from home since 2017 and who’s worked from home off and on since 2009, I’ve figured out what works best for me in terms of creating a professional environment and maximizing productivity. If you set yourself up for success working from home can be just as fulfilling and more importantly as productive (if not more so) as working in an office.

My top five tips for working from home:

  1. Create a dedicated workspace. If you’re lucky you have a guest room (or a “catchall room” as I call the room in our house where I work) to set up your desk and computer in. Being able to shut the door during a meeting and at the end of the day really makes it feel as if you have gone to work and the day has ended. Don’t be afraid to get creative, though. I’ve had coworkers work from walk-in closets and hallways with a window.
  2. Establish a routine that starts with getting up at the same time every day. You might deviate from this on some days, especially on Friday, but for the most part having a set time of getting up helps contribute to the “I’m going to work” mindset. It also ensures you have enough time to eat breakfast and get ready. This leads to my next point which is…
  3. Dress like you are going to the office. Yes, you can sneak in yoga pants once in a while but in order to maintain your professional persona (and watch your waistline) it’s a good idea to put on real pants. I sometimes wear dresses or blazers when working from home and do my hair and makeup every day. It makes me feel more prepared to work. I have one colleague who wears heels during meetings. Some offices are more casual than others, but I always feel better when I dress with purpose.
  4. Block off time for lunch and breaks. If I didn’t block time for lunch on my calendar I would have a very difficult time squeezing a meal in. The same goes for walking breaks. I do some of my best work during a loop around the neighborhood. I usually come up with a creative solution to solve a problem I’ve been encountering or remember a project that should come onto my work to do list.
  5. Buy yourself the right equipment (and expense it if you can). Order yourself a hands-free headset to take calls like this one, and make sure you have a printer and scanner for when you need to email documents with your signature to other departments or vendors. Other items I’ve found useful are a light therapy lamp for the harsh Chicago winters and essential oil diffusers like this to help create a calming environment.

If you follow the above tips you’ll be a work from home expert in no time.

What tips do you have for working from home?

Share in the comments.

 

Deanna Cabinian is the author of One Night, One Love, and One Try (aka The Thompson Series). When she isn’t writing she works as a consumer marketing director for a global media company. Find her online at www.deannacabinian.com.

 

 

 

 

3 Ways To Engage Millennials In The Workplace by @Colleen_Batch

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by Dr. Colleen Batchelder

For years, companies have tried to figure out the one answer that would win Millennials to their company. They’ve hosted Quidditch tournaments, installed game rooms, and held ping pong Olympics for their employees every Friday night. However, these fun and games might have worked for a while, but in 2020, they’re falling flat and not engaging or even entertaining Millennials anymore.

According to Gallup, “Contrary to popular belief, Millennials, when applying for jobs, place little importance on whether a company encourages creativity, is a fun place to work or offers an informal work environment. In fact, Baby Boomers are more likely than Millennials and Gen Xers to say that creativity and fun are ‘extremely important’ to them when applying for a job.”

In many ways, creativity is the frosting; not the cake. This is why, if companies want to engage Millennials, they have to invest more into the ingredients for the cake than the frosting.

Millennials want more than cereal buffets, game rooms, and rock walls. They want more than entertainment and enticement. Millennials want to work for companies that want to work with them.

Engaging Millennials is not rocket science. But it does take work. It requires leaders to reconstruct their perception of this generation. Millennials are not judging a company’s creativity. They are looking for companies that provide equal opportunities for mentorship, meaning, and education.

If you’re looking for ways to engage Millennials, then check out these three tips:

 

PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN

This is huge! Millennials are lifelong learners. They don’t see education as a means to an end. If anything, they see it as a journey that is continuous.

Millennials are the most educated generation. However, this abundance of education is not always based upon their love for learning.

Since 9/11, Millennials have faced multiple recessions, setbacks, and uncertainties. In many ways, this generation grew up believing that education was the only means for survival, financial security, and protection against economic downfall.

This is pivotal for companies to understand. For Millennials, their access to education equates to job security. This generation values diversity and the opportunity to gain insight. However, their interest in two-fold. Education is continued out of curiosity and out of fear.

 

OFFER OPPORTUNITIES FOR MENTORING

For Millennials, mentorship is a give-and-take conversation. It’s also a holistic relationship. If you’re planning on starting a mentorship program, then make sure you get feedback. Sit down with a few people and ask them what they need, how they want to grow, and what they want from a mentor. Once you know the basics of their expectations, you’ll be able to construct a solution that meets their needs.
Millennials see mentorship from a drastically different perspective than most.
Younger generations grew up with a lateral leadership model. This includes calling adults by their first name and conversing with elders like peers.

When Millennials came out of the womb, they were given all the privileges of adulthood, starting with the ability of choice. Children added their voice and their vote to family decisions. And their dreams were fully supported from a young age. In many ways, they grew up fully supported, valued, and heard.

Millennials were raised with the expectation of equality.

When being mentored, they expect to be on equal footing with their boss and their team. They also want mentorship to be a two-way conversation instead of a one-way conversion. One of the worst things that companies can do is try to make Millennials in their image. They’re not interested in being a carbon copy.

From birth, Millennials have been making their own decisions and expecting to be on equal footing with their parents, their bosses, and their peers. This is why, they’re inclination and preference towards lateral leadership is imperative to note.

If you want to mentor a Millennials, then expect every day to be casual Friday. They won’t be honoring hierarchy.

 

CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEANING

Millennials are not impressed with companies who do good for the sake of raising their numbers or increasing their followers. If a company really wants to engage Millennials and provide opportunities for them to find meaning, then they have to start at the source.

This generation wants to work for companies that offer opportunities for growth, meaning, and mentorship. They don’t want to serve the company’s agenda and pose for a photo op.

For Millennials, meaning is intrinsic to creating spaces of equality, diversity, and equality. In order to create opportunities for meaning, companies need to work with Millennials and invite these generations to the table. This means that executive leaders need to lean in and listen to their team before offering volunteer signup sheets.

Creativity, Quidditch tournaments, and ice cream socials might have been a top priority for younger generations when they graduated college. But Millennials are changing, and their needs are evolving.

If you’re looking for ways to engage Millennials at your company, offer them mentoring, meaning, and education. Give them cake; not the frosting.

 

 

As a Diversity and Inclusion Strategist and Consultant, Dr. Colleen Batchelder helps leaders create companies where Millennials want to work. Her doctoral background in leadership and global perspectives gives her an added edge because she approaches generational dissonance from all directions, including from an anthropological, theological, sociological, and ethnographic lens. Connect with Dr. Batchelder on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

How to Create Opt-Ins That Attract Your Ideal Client

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by Tarryn Reeves

You may have heard the term opt-ins being thrown around but what exactly is it?

You know when you go to a website and there is a little box on the home page which says ‘sign-up now to receive your free checklist of five ways to re-purpose your content’ or something along those lines. Then you can choose to enter your name and email address and in return, you receive the free thing (usually via email). That is what an opt-in is.

An opt-in is a marketing strategy in the form of a free offering in exchange for contact information. What that person has achieved by offering you something in exchange for your contact details is to capture your information in order to email market to you in the future.

 

How exactly does an opt-in work?

You offer something of value (free of charge) to a potential client via a subscriber box on your website. That person gives you their information which you then store in their email database. The subscription then triggers a series of automated emails to be sent to the potential new client delivering their free thing and starting to build up trust and a relationship between the two of you.

 

What is the purpose of an opt-in?

I like to think of an opt-in as a first date. Now you’re not going to get married on the first date (unless you are starring in Married At First Sight!) so you need to treat this sign up as the start of your relationship with a potential new client. Once they sign up, you have now successfully captured that person’s contact information which you can use to further your position as an expert in their field and continue to market to them with the intention that they will purchase from you at some stage in the future.

 

The client journey through the opt-in

The person will sign up for your opt-in and receive the first email. Which will deliver the free thing they signed up for and start the relationship between your potential client and you. I would then recommend sending a further two emails in the automation. With a period of two days wait in between emails. The second email will aim to further position you as an expert in your field and nourish the new relationship. By offering more value to the potential client. The third email will again nourish the new relationship by providing further value and then making a clear call to action such as booking a discovery call with you to see if you are a fit to work together.

 

How to craft the perfect opt-in

There are many different things you could offer as an opt-in incentive to draw in new leads. A few of the most common opt-ins include:

Checklist
eBook
Mini training
Video series
Swipe file
Masterclass recording

The key thing to remember when developing the idea for your opt-ins is to provide something that your ideal client would find useful. Something that will position you as an expert in your field in the eyes of your ideal client.

Once you have that clear, you can go about creating the content for it, keeping in mind that you want to attract your ideal client. Make sure it looks professional, high-quality, and has your branding all over it!

Next, you need to come up with a name for your new opt-ins. You can go as fancy as you like with this but I would advise keeping the naming clear but enticing. You want people to read it, be excited by it, and understand exactly what it is they are getting when they sign up. Any confusion will result in hundreds of lost leads as people will just scroll on by.

The next step is to write up the copy for the email sequence you are going to walk your new potential client through. As I mentioned before, I recommend a minimum of three emails but this is essentially up to you. I like to draft my copy in a Word document first before setting them up inside my chosen email system.

  • Email 1
    Sent: immediately at the time of subscribing.
    What: This is the email that will deliver the free item to your new lead. I would also recommend adding something extra of value here to further nourish the relationship.
  • Email 2
    Sent: a minimum of 2 days after the first email has been sent.
    What: a little reminder to download the free item if they haven’t already and addition of further value to further nourish the relationship.
  • Email 3
    Sent: a minimum of 2 days after the second email has been sent.
    What: Something that would be of further value/interest to your ideal client, furthering your position as the expert. This is the place to include a strong call to action such as to book a call with you.

After you have written the copy, you need to create the automation inside your chosen email system such as ActiveCampaign, MailChimp, ConvertKit, e.t.c.

 

The next step

Is to build the sign-up for the opt-in box on the home page of your website. Include an enticing headline, place for the person to add their full name and email address along with a button that will submit the form.

Once that part is done, you can link the form on the website to the email automation and test! Always ensure you test the whole flow of the client journey to ensure you are happy with it before sending it out into the world.

 

 

Tarryn Reeves is a Business Freedom Mentor who has helped countless women to create the businesses that bring them the financial and personal freedom they are seeking. She teaches spiritual entrepreneurs how to share their unique message and talents with the world, connect with their soul clients and create a business that fulfills and supports them.

After years of following the expectations of others to follow a traditional path, Tarryn discovered that conventionality was not for her. After being made redundant (and pregnant at the time), she realised that she now had the opportunity to start creating a life that was truly fulfilling for her. She established her own successful business when her daughter was just 6 weeks old.

Tarryn Reeves is brilliant at helping overwhelmed business owners turn their chaos into ease. There is no idea too big or too out there that she cannot help bring to life. She is a genius at helping women turn their soul’s yearning into a profitable business that impacts widely.

Tarryn Reeves will give you the tools and support you need to organize, grow, and scale your dream business.

Tarryn Reeves is a mother, chai lover, yogi, and has a wicked sense of humour. An avid gardener, she loves to explore alternative ways of living. She is equally at home running a Full Moon ceremony and nutting out a marketing funnel for her clients.

5 Ways to Market to College Students From a College Student Herself

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by Caroline Hughes

Marketing to specifically appeal to college students poses itself to be a difficult task. Keeping up with trending memes while trying to stay professional isn’t quite the easiest ball to juggle. So, take it from me! As a college student myself, I’ve provided data-backed insights into exactly what my target audience looks for in their purchasing decisions. Read on to see my top five tips.

 

1. Be Conversational, Not Promotional

The days of promotional copyright are over when it comes to appealing to the younger generation. We grew up overwhelmed by filled-to-the-brim media outlets; it takes a lot more than a witty catchphrase or a hot deal to grasp the attention of a young adult. Although professional tones have their time and place, most teens and college students follow brands with conversational, authentic rhetoric. Appealing to our sense of humor is a guaranteed way to gain some Gen-Z following. Take notes from brands like Wendy’s, who have previously launched sarcastic Twitter campaigns that us kids frequently buzz about.

 

 

2. Dress to Impress. . . Digitally

Hiring a qualified graphic designer or picking up some design skills yourself is imperative to the digital success of a business today. For a generation raised on Instagram filters, college students know how easy it is to capture high-quality photos, add consistent branding colors and fonts, and create witty captions, regardless of our major. So, if we are more impressed by our own social media skills than your business’, we may falsely assume you are not all that credible. Prioritizing a high-quality aesthetic that is consistent throughout all digital platforms will help you nail that first impression while gaining some impressions.

Additionally, hiring influences can be a great way to spread your branding across various platforms. Influences are essentially experts in the world of aesthetics, so they can offer some seasoned advice.

 

3. Videos Take the Throne

Although there are various tactics to employ to attract college students to your brand, videos will take the throne time and time again. A high-quality video will engage multiple senses, making it more difficult for viewers to switch to the next tab. Consider creating a YouTube account in your brand’s name. Even if you do not post regularly, it can serve as a home for any campaign videos produced.

The facts don’t lie: 93% of people ages 19-24 years old browse YouTube at least once a week, most using the platform over once a day. But the benefits don’t stop at just exposure: 40% of people who watch videos online click on the related link or feel compelled to share it with a friend. Videos are among the highest media forms to cause conversions, as long as you properly optimize them with SEO. Investing in keyword research will ensure that the time and money put into your first-rate video reaches your target audience.

 

4. Communicate That You Care

In this time of social unrest, every business must support a genuine cause. If you have enough money to rent out that chic new office space, you have enough to set up an initiative for a charity you care about. Most young adults now learn about the brands they buy their products from before making any purchases. This ensures they support business owners who align with their values.

A portion of your revenue may go to a relevant nonprofit, each product sold may be matched with a product donated, goods may be made sustainably, etc. No matter what route you take, ensure every business decision has that good-deed mentality backing it. Not only will it pay off with a more extensive customer following, but it will also provide personal fulfillment in your work.

 

5. Emphasize Affordability

Amidst all of our crazy trends and high expectations, we are still teenagers scraping by off of last summer’s job earnings. Although a strong aesthetic, authentic tones, knockout videos, and core values are important to us, the price will always impact our purchasing decisions. If your product or service is more high-end, one way to lure in young adults is to provide a student discount or free trial exclusively for students. This makes students feel valued and increases the chances they invest in your product or service in their post-grad years.

If you follow these five tips, you’re likely to see your young adult ratings boost as your marketing reflects our values, needs, and interests. It’s time to keep up with the kids.

 

 

Caroline Hughes is an honors student at Texas Christian University obtaining a Strategic Communication degree with a minor in Business. Caroline is a Content Creator with Magnus Opus, as well as publishing thought pieces on her personal lifestyle blog.

 

 

 

You Know This Song: Having Confidence to Sing the Soundtrack to Your Life by @NancySolari

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by Nancy Solari 

One of my favorite hobbies and passions has always been karaoke. But as my vision started deteriorating after being diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, I found I could no longer read the lyrics at a distance. I solved this by having the karaoke host at my go-to bar whisper the words to me while I sang, but when I visited other karaoke places, I ran into issues with the DJ or manager being uncomfortable reading the words to me. In my mind, I felt more secure when they assisted me, but the audience often sat there whispering among themselves, confused by my performance.

One night, I was at a bar with my friends and serenading them with the well-known Britney Spears song “…Baby One More Time.” The manager agreed to whisper the lyrics in my ear, but I had to repeatedly lean down to hear her; my body swaying like a pendulum during the performance. Suddenly, a woman got up from her seat, marched towards me, slammed her hand on the stage, and shouted: “You know this song!” Without another word, she disappeared, and I never encountered her again. But I immediately started singing the song without the manager and to my surprise, she was right: I sang the song perfectly. I realized I no longer needed my “karaoke crutch” of having the words read to me in order for me to succeed.

The next day, I was still perplexed by the mystery lady and my triumph in the bar. But it gave me the chance to understand I had become too dependent on others. The interruption of my song allowed me to recognize this and trust my abilities again.

In order for us to grow into being our most authentic selves, we must plant the seeds of the following qualities…

 

Let disrupters Into Your life

When I performed at karaoke bars, I was content with someone feeding me the words until the I was jolted into realizing the truth: I knew the lyrics and was capable of singing on my own. What I needed was someone to assist in my overall personal growth.

We need these people in our lives, because there are insecurities we cannot recognize in ourselves. The woman who interrupted me on stage saw the discomfort in my body and gave me the impetus to perform without assistance. Our friends and family do the same for us: They give us guidance and provide opportunities that endow us with confidence.

 

Believe in Your abilities

When my vision started worsening, I began leaning on those around me. It was only when I started singing on my own again that I grew more self-reliant. I developed a new habit of listening to the song a few times to learn the melody, and practicing for hours before performing. I discovered if I messed up the verses, I could just smile and make them up as went along: I learned how to adapt and become a stronger.

To find this self-assurance, I had to examine what I liked about myself. Nobody is perfect, but we have to consider a skill we take pride in and let it be our signature trait. For some it might be a physical attribute, and for others it may be intelligence. We can use confidence in this singular feature to build our self-worth in other areas: It becomes like a business card defining us in the best way possible.

 

Play Only Your Soundtrack

 My ability to sing and do karaoke is important because it stems from a time before I lost my sight. The music industry was a career path I went down for a brief period. I was going to music award parties, meeting with presidents of different record labels, and recording my music. As exciting as the industry was, I encountered sexual harassment that made me feel powerless.

One night, I was at an industry party that opened my eyes. I found myself scanning the room and observing new artists who were indulging in drugs. In that moment, I went to the bathroom; tears were running down my face, and I felt adrift in a sea of partiers. I looked in the mirror and told myself: “These are not my people.” I immediately left the party and walked away from the music industry. I found the confidence to step out of that world, and I felt like I gained my soul back.

By confronting what I desired in life and have conviction in my morals, I left behind people I knew would not have assisted my growth. To find our true selves, we need this self-reflection. I found when I journaled or voiced my thoughts into a recorder, I effectively discovered my inner pain. When we examine ourselves through a different prism, we learn what holds us back and can create change in our lives.

The soundtrack to my life is far from complete, as I continue to be challenged by my vision every day. But each time we are confronted with adversity, we must remember our best verses will be about overcoming hardship, and the greatest songs often take years to write. Along the way, when self-confidence meets our authentic selves, we come one step closer to finishing the album to our life.

And that is music to my ears.

 

 

Nancy Solari is an inspiring example of living life with a positive mindset, regardless of the challenges you face.

At sixteen, she was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa: a progressive retinal disease that leads to blindness. Over the years, Nancy experienced significant vision loss, but refused to let this dissuade her from following her dreams. She obtained a BA in broadcasting and psychology from the University of Oregon, worked for Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight, had a successful singing career, and was a top-producing Realtor in Southern California.

Nancy went on to obtain a life coaching degree, and launched Living Full Out in 2008 to help others achieve their goals. An accomplished coach, speaker, and host of the national radio show, Living Full Out with Nancy Solari, she shares her tools for success with audiences and organizations all around the country.

 

 

 

Confidence and Vitality: The Art Of Healthy Living by @AlkasTotalFit

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by Alka Sharma

You can tell a lot about a person when you watch them walk into a room. They are either timid or confident. Some people almost peek in with a shy fear, while others do not seem to care and command a presence… a confidence.

The confident ones are easy to spot. Demonstrating confidence is being sure of yourself and your abilities. No arrogance, but a secure, calm, quiet, inner knowledge of who you are. Confident people feel ready everyday to take on challenges, tasks, and opportunities regardless of what may be around the corner.

Consequently, it is hard to feel sexy or be confident and full of vitality when you are physically or mentally unhealthy.

 

Confidence Is A Journey

My personal journey towards feeling confident started when I had extreme weight challenges that led me to a lack of self-confidence, not to mention the lack of self-esteem that came with it.

Emotionally, I was a wreck. I became withdrawn from the outside world because physically my body was hurting me. I did not know how to respond with power.

I questioned If we are born with confidence or if we must build it? I concluded that confidence is a person’s ability to believe in themselves and their strengths to succeed. So, it is both a trait we have inside us that must be built.

The greater your confidence becomes, the more aware you become of life, and more engaged. When you gain confidence, you increase your vitality.

 

Vitality Examined

For a long time, my internal emotions were dormant and I had to regain, reclaim, and rejuvenate my confidence. I desperately wanted change. Vital health is our number one asset. As I plucked up the courage to walk into a gym there was this fear that came over me of, “I don’t belong here among fit bodied people.” Simultaneously, another voice was telling me remember the change I was looking for in my life. This was the voice I chose to listen to.

I was on the road to being healthy and I could not wait. Changing felt great. We all need to be pushed at times. Working out releases endorphins and makes you feel energized. You begin to see a new glow about you. There comes a feeling of being full of vigor and joy.

 

Our Health Is Our Wealth

As working out was giving me this joy, I was loving the ride for the first time.  I was seeing the difference, gaining confidence from my posture, walking tall, feeling proud, my confidence was hitting the roof, I saw energy levels increase. My vitality was booming. During the day I became more productive and had a greater mental focus to carry out tasks.

Working out and feeling good about your body is the most amazing feeling.

What is equally important?

Self care practices. Research. Question. Ask. Carve out time for yourself. No matter whether it is going to a spa or getting pampered. Take time for yourself away from everyone including your spouse or kids (it is healthy). Read a good book. Take a class. Learn a new skill. Have tea and soak in the sun.

 

Moving Forward

Mentally we all need this. Carving out time for yourself is essential. It provides us new energy to tackle the days ahead, increase our vigour, our liveliness, that get up and go, that ‘joie de vivre’ feeling we experience that comes from the power of self care.

When I began to adopt the practices of self care, I began noticing huge shifts from an energetic perspective. Gaining clarity allowed me to become focused on tasks, and wow, it was powerful.

Being physically and mentally healthy enables us to successfully merge our personal life, family, relationships, and running and managing a successful busines consecutively.

 

 

Alka Sharma is founder and CEO of Alka’s Total Fitness. She helps women gain inner strength through empowerment, taking control of their health and fitness. By transforming women’s lives, they build relationships while getting strong and fit at the same time all while having fun. Alka is an accomplished professional ballroom dancer having competed both locally and internationally. She truly enjoyed the high of dance performance and training which led to her journey inside the fitness world.

Alka’s inspiration came from Gillian Michaels. Gilian is strong and dynamic both physically and mentally. It’s a character she admires along with her drive and tenacity.This drive and tenacity was apparent when Alka launchd her fitness studio. She can be found at Alka’s Total Fitness.

 

 

 

 

Looking to Start (or Grow) Your Business, Start Here! by @jillmcabe

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by Jill McAbe

The pandemic’s impact on the U.S. workforce has left an unprecedented 30 million wildly talented and ambitious Americans jobless. But amidst the uncertainty, there are many “accidental entrepreneurs” who have discovered a silver lining — the gig economy.

Oftentimes, a layoff leads people to take the leap into creating their own business, either because they have to in order to generate income or this is the push they’ve been so desperately waiting for. Severance or unemployment pay can also give them the runway to get income through the door while in the initial stages of starting a business.

However, there is a widespread gap of knowledge about how to efficiently build a business that sells talent and time keeping solo entrepreneurs from achieving their potential. There is so much noise about what to do that it’s confusing for anyone to figure out what should be done first, second, third, and so on.

Well-meaning practitioners and coaches will tell you that you need a brand strategy, content marketing, social media, funnels, client journey mapping, public relations, systemization, advertising, graphic design – the list goes on. In a way, they are right; you may need all these solutions at various stages in your growth. But there is an order of operations that will make each project more successful as it builds on the last.

When you do the right work at the wrong time, you risk not getting the benefit you hoped. You’ll end up spending time and money on things you didn’t need, and eventually, you’ll find yourself needing to circle back and do it again when the time is right for you.

When it comes to being immeasurably better with your time, one of the smartest things you can do is pick the right project at the right time. To do that you need to figure out just where you are on the Gig-Economy Career Ladder (GECL).

 

Basecamp

Businesses do one of two things: they solve a problem, or they fulfill a desire. You have developed a skill that you enjoy and sell it to fulfill a need or desire, but your business is inconsistent. It demands too many hours from you, or you cannot step away from it and keep money coming in. If this is the case, then congratulations; on the GECL, you’ve made it to basecamp. The great thing about being at basecamp is that it means you are ready to leverage everything you have learned about yourself, your industry, and your clients, and turn it into your ideal business.

 

Exploration

The easiest way to think about the exploration phase of a business is to think of research and development. The exploration phase is where you take ideas and test them and see if they have merit before dumping all sorts of cash or time into them only to find out they’re not going to work out. Projects to focus on during the exploration phase include:

  1. Identify a target market you can predictably find and that you want to serve
  2. Develop a proprietary solution for a problem your target market will pay to solve
  3. Confirm that your target market will pay you to solve their problem
  4. Test your sales process and solution delivery
  5. Refine your marketing and sales until you can predict your sales volume
  6. Refine your marketing, sales, and solution delivery to ensure worthwhile profit

The things you are looking to prove in the exploration phase are that you have a target market that you can reach and who will buy from you, that you have a solution at a price that is profitable for you to sell, and that you have marketing or advertising channels that lead to a predictable volume of traffic and eventual sales conversions.

 

Exploitation

Once the viability of your idea is proven, you can advance to the exploitation phase. The types of activities that are the focus of this phase have to do with efficiency and expansion. Because you’ve locked down your service or product, you will finally be able to streamline your operations with tried-and-true standard operating procedures (SOPs). It makes sense that you will be positioned to create standards once what you sell is standardized. Standardizing your processes is a key to becoming the owner of a system that makes money with or without you. The exploitation phase is also where you pick up a megaphone and tell everyone what you do through activities including marketing, advertising, and public relations. The types of projects that you focus on during the exploit phase are:

  1. Clarify a business vision, mission, strategy, and structure
  2. Create standard operating procedures for marketing, advertising, sales, solution delivery, legal, and administration
  3. Continuously improve all your standard operating procedures
  4. Outsource everything you can
  5. Manage your systems, not your people
  6. Enjoy your newfound free time (or start the explore phase for another solution!)

 

You are better off going through the exploration phase five or ten times than jumping to the exploitation phase before you’re truly ready. Once you have successfully explored an opportunity, you can move to exploiting it very quickly.

 

 

Jill McAbe is a Business Coach, High-Performance Expert and the #1 Amazon-Best Selling Author of It’s Go Time: The ALL-IN System For Unstoppable Success in Business and Life. By focusing on success-skills that are grounded in the contemporary sciences, Jill helps talented creatives, coaches, and professionals design and build purposeful, six and seven figure service-based businesses that work on-or-offline. Jill carries a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University, is a faculty member of York University’s Schulich Executive Education Centre and is a Top Teacher on the global career-skills platform, Skillshare.

Simple Ways to Invest in your Business with Professional Photos

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Business Photography

by Courtney Henry

Your brand, your genius in the world deserves polished and professional photos that represent it to the fullest.  Hiring a photographer can be a simple investment with an infinite return!

Because how many times have you found yourself scrolling through your favorite online platform seeing the same girl with her motivational coffee mug tucked neatly into an all pastel background, wistfully “working” away.

Maybe the journal is placed to the left of the succulent instead of the right this time–either way, how intrigued were you really to sift past all that vanilla and find what the content was about?

I’m willing to bet the answer is…not so much.

What does pause that scrolling fingertip to actually click and learn more?

As sophisticated and evolved as we all think we are, our inner puppy will forever salivate at the sight of the bone. And in this case the big juicy T-Bone is your online photos.

Thanks to COVID-19 folks are now working, studying, connecting,and BUYING online like never before.The first weeks of March alone saw an 18 percent increase in in-home data usage compared to the same period in 2019, with average daily data usage rates exceeding 16.6 GB.

In this hyper saturated atmosphere you have no choice but to elevate yourself above the fray. Which is why hiring a professional photographer to provide you with your own personal “stock” of photos is a simple, instant way to polish your website and social media presence.

Investing in your business by using professional photos is A MUST for your Brand. Here’s why…

Original Photgraphy for your online business

BRANDING 101: Be An Original

Consumers are craving authenticity in Brands more and more. They hate feeling ‘duped’ and  are looking to relate to the story of the product so that they too feel a sense of ownership and trust in where they recycle their dollars.

Being the Boss Lady that you are, you harness this powerful knowledge and meet your ideal client right where they are. Who needs fluff and gimmicks these days when you have the truth on your side?

And the truth is YOU. You in all your personality, quirks, and varying hats you wear even outside of your business.

Hiring a professional photographer gives you the  freedom to really let your individuality shine through.

Whether that be in your Wardrobe: By infusing your online photos with personal style you not only feel confident (and comfortable.) You also really *pop* against all that BASIC filling the rest of your feed.

*Note: You still want images that will grow with you so while I’m all about taking fashion risks, it helps to think timeless instead of ‘trending.’*

The Unique Location You Choose : Coffee shops, desks in front of windows. We get it, you’re productive.

Let your work ethic speak for itself in how you show up for your clients, and let your visual representation show off  some local flavor. Perhaps highlight some artwork, inspiring architecture, or energetic intersections.

Incorporate Authentic Scenes & Props: This is where you can really let loose by choosing things to compliment your wardrobe and your location with material that is unique to your Brand/life.

Maybe being transparent about being a working mom is something you take pride in, show off you juggling those gorgeous kids! Or if diversity is a pillar of your brand, set up a client meeting scene and be intentional in using POC…and of course actively seek out those clients after the shoot!

Marketing Schedule & Social Media Calendar

Once you have your own awesome database of photographs for your business you can then seamlessly plan your future content months in advance. Leaving you more time to grow your business.

Make your life–and your copywriters life easier by planning your content around an already creative, irresistible image. This is a brilliant hack that thousands of successful content masters swear by.

You simply go through your arsenal, choose the order of pics you’d like to share  for the month, focusing on design and aesthetic only, and then schedule the accompanying Copy out and around that framework, at the most optimal time for that particular platform.

This batched approach works wonders and the beauty is you never have to worry about continuity or formatting because that work is done upfront. AND you just saved yourself hours of deciding which royalty free image you haven’t already seen, or used before.

Playing the Long Game In Your Business

Screen time notifications these days are telling you your activity has gone up 400%! This may read as bad news for one’s productivity, but is oh so good news for your business that now lives online.

Now when I say live online I don’t mean camping out at Grandma’s.

I mean Brands that show up as your dream home with a guest house. Spilling over with personality, warmth, authentic engagement, and of course your excellent service/product.

In other words, LIVINGGG.

Your business must be sustainable in order to achieve this and believe it or not having clear branding imagery helps keep the mission unmuddied and growing.

More Pro-Tips to make your investment stretch are:

  1. Spacing out the image leaks. This builds suspense and keeps your content feeling fresh and inventive.
  2. If the photographer is open to it, request that “background” photos be taken. These photos may be used to help fill in the gaps and provide buffers that are still “on Brand” for your website and other profiles.

Individuality in Your Business

Your brand, your genius in the world deserves polished and professional photos that represent it to the fullest.

Snagging your ideal customer is really only a FLASH away.

 

 

Courtney Henry is a Renaissance Woman who resists through thriving. In just three decades she has shone her light all over the world as a professional ballet dancer, poet, and educator.

Courtney is now a Business Owner and Copywriter in the natural hair and organic beauty niche. And is passionate about empowering women and people of color to find the perfect words to upscale their business and connect them with their ideal clients, authentically.

A wanderlust at heart, she splits her base with her husband and first born between Dakar, Senegal and the U.S.

 

 

 

Your Organization Needs A Website, And It’s Easier Than You Think

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by Michael Magnus

When our daughter was 4 years old, her response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey was “I want to give away my drawings to help the little babies whose houses got hurt.” We shared her story online, posted some pictures, and in two days she raised over $600 with her art to send diapers down to Houston. This sweet sentiment continued after her first fundraiser, and because of the foundation of her philanthropy, Pictures Helping People.

Now, three years in, we realize a fundamental mistake that we made in supporting her big heart; we only used social media to share the story. It took us three years to get around to putting together a website for her. And, why is that a problem? Lost potential.

  

Link Building 101

There is a marketing discipline called Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which consists of strategies and tactics to rank higher for certain phrases on Google. There are a lot of moving pieces to SEO, but one of the more simple things you can do to help potential donors or clients discover your services is to get more links back to your website.

Links from Facebook and other user content sites aren’t taken into account in Google’s algorithm; however, a link from a news story or another page can go a long way in helping rank higher for key search terms relevant to your organization.

In the case of Pictures Helping People, a cute kid with an uplifting story to share garnered more media attention than we were really prepared for. Our daughter was featured multiple times on local news stations, radio stations, newspapers, and also appeared on NBCLearn in partnership with Red Nose Day in 2018. These stories evolved into articles on Parent Toolkit and more. We were, and continue to be, extremely proud of our daughter and her servant heart.

Unfortunately, since we hadn’t created a website for her (after all, why would a kid need a website?), we missed the opportunity to have those links direct back to a source that would have gone on to help her support even more people as she continued to fundraise for those in need with her drawings, paintings, and crafts. Fortunately, by the time we did finally get around to it, she was old enough to be able to help design her own website.

 

 

But Aren’t Websites Expensive and Time-Consuming?

In theory, they can be. Hiring a designer to build a site, deciphering hosting options, creating content, and so on can be a costly and time-consuming endeavor. If you are managing an established organization, it may be worth that effort.

However, if you’re getting started and want something simple, inexpensive, and DIY, know that there are website builders out there that substantially lower the barrier for entry. For a fairly nominal investment of time and money, you can use some of these “drag and drop” designer templates to quickly pull together a starter site that you can be proud of. This also gives a place to link all of your mentions as people begin talking more about your organization and services so that you can start building “search equity” in Google and other search engines.

Think of your website as your online catalog that doesn’t require printing or storage, people can find it on their own, and you don’t need to have any fancy design programs to create something that looks good. The technology has been simplified to the point that we no longer have an excuse not to do a better job telling our story online.

 

 

Michael Magnus is a digital marketing lecturer and principal consultant at Magnus Opus, focused on championing measurable storytelling in both aspects of his professional life.