I’m showing the E Seeders how to use Word Press.
WIL2WIN – The Unpaved Road
Don’t forget where you came from – it paves the road to where you’re going.
Chris says in class, “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”
How true it is.
My life’s been on a crazy ride the past few months. A great ride, but crazy nonetheless. For a while, I was stuck in a rut. Knowing what to change and how to change it were both extremely challenging. So I did what anyone does in that situation. I reached out to those who knew me best and were my biggest supporters to help find the courage to make some necessary changes.
And now here I am. I’m in the process of starting a marketing consulting business geared towards small businesses. I’ve always known I wanted to be my own boss, I just couldn’t focus on which boss I wanted to be. I have lots of ideas for future business ventures, but picking just one and pursuing it was scary, to say the least. And that’s where my support system became a pot of gold for me. You know who you are, and I have a huge debt of gratitude to each of you for putting and keeping me on track. But I’m taking this time to say a special thanks to the one that believed in me and my ideas before even I did.
Over ten years ago, I had already started talking about “someday, I’m going to own a business”. And my poor mother would sit and listen to me drone on for hours about pipe dreams, and she’d even go so far as to say she enjoyed every word. I know she did, because she’d always get excited with me, and offer up a lot of ideas to go along with mine. And then we’d part ways, and I’d fall back into the reality of life and put off thinking about that “someday” for months on end.
And now it’s becoming reality, and I’m so excited to share the reality of it with her. Nine times out of ten I’ll go to Mom with what I believe to be a great idea, or a new avenue to pursue, and she’ll respond with “That’s great, Andee. Remember I told you about that?”. “No”, I’ll reply. “Sure. I sent you an email about that three years ago. You must not have been at a point in your life to open your mind to it.” Lo and behold, she was right. She’s known my path longer than I have. I guess that’s a natural instinct, being a mom. I’m not sure. But I’m sure glad she paved the way for me. Thanks, Mom.
Take a moment and think of how you got where you are. Is there someone to thank for that? If so, give them a holler. I bet they’d love to hear from you.
Safe travels.
‘Til next time,
Andee
WIL2WIN – “Word” of mouth, or more simply, power of the mouth
There’s a lot of people who need to be sold on the powers of networking. My best guess to why this is, is that the general mindset is “I know who I need to know, and I’m busy keeping my relationships with them. I just don’t have the time.”
Yes, most of the time, networking is work. But so is everything else that provides a bigger return on investment. And what’s the investment to network? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. There are no dollar signs related to the costs of networking. Just a little bit of that magical thing called time. And in many cases, the time investment is minimal.
We’ve all heard of word of mouth, and that its impact can be great. But relying on your customers or clients to start the word of mouth is expecting a lot out of them. Make it easy for them. Give them something to talk about. What experiences are you providing them that they just have to tell their friends about? How did you make them feel like your number one customer?
Some of you may be thinking, “yeah, sure. Word of mouth is great, but I don’t have a story to tell. Or, no one would listen. Or, what’s the big woop of affecting just one person? It’s not like they’re going to bring me 10 new customers from one solitary experience.”
Here’s a fun little exercise. It’s easy, it’s free, and it doesn’t require much time at all. And the results might even make you laugh. Next time you’re in a public place, yawn. Yup, just yawn. And then start watching the results. There’s no doubt it’s contagious – it’s like a human game of dominos. Apolo Ohno does it before each of his races. I watched him during the Olympics and did exactly the same thing (and just did it again when I found the image online). In fifth grade science class, Jessie Micke passed me a note. It said “yawn” in big letters. I did.
What’s great about this exercise is that you can measure the results, and they’re immediate. What’s also great is the added benefits of yawning. Yawning allows excess amounts of oxygen to the brain. Extra oxygen causes us to be more alert. Alertness allows us to think clearer. Thinking clearer allows us to communicate better. Good communication is exactly how we start the effective game of word of mouth. Word of mouth…well, I think you get the picture. Ahh, the power of the mouth. You have more power than you realize.
(And for the record, I yawned twelve times while writing this. Make that thirteen.) Did you?
‘Til next time,
Andee
Holy Amazing Experience! Harmony Cafe, College Ave, Appleton
I woke up today and immediately started thinking about lunch. Those of you who know me, know that’s not unusual at all. First thing I did though, was log on my fave social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, Linked In – to see what’s going on in my world. And what caught my eye was a Turkey Flat sandwich Special at Harmony Cafe on College Avenue. Now up until that point, I’m friends with them on Facebook, but only because I want to follow what’s going on in the community.
Back to the Turkey Flat sandwich. I immediately felt like I had to have it.
And now I’m here, at Harmony Cafe. And I couldn’t wait until I got home to tell you all how amazing of an experience this has been! I’m overwhelmed.
First off, the look and feel: exposed brick walls, tin tiles (not sure what they’re really called) on the ceiling, booths made of reclaimed church pews. A piiiiiaaaaaannnnnnnooooo in the corner. (I want to play it. Trying. Really. Hard. To. Restrain. Myself.)
The menu: mouth-watering choices that to me, remind me a lot of Z Harvest in Green Bay. I had the black bean burger (yup, forgot all about the turkey flat once I walked in). The BBB comes with a glowing recommendation, from me.
The atmosphere: aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. AAAAaaaaaaaaahhhhh. Well, simply put – I want to move in. Is that wrong? I don’t have a lot of baggage, I’d only need a small corner. I’d sleep on a church pew. Just a black bean burger now and again is all I need. It could work, right?
Now I’ve been here two hours, and here’s what I’ve learned (my best stab at it since they employees are quite busy, so I’m basing it on flyers and eavesdropping. The Harmony Cafe is a program of Goodwill Industries, providing work to local peeps, and the proceeds “allow us to change lives & change our community” through education, disability assistance, cultural and family programs, support groups, and so so so much more. I’m telling you – grab your computer and your appetite and enjoy something from their expansive menu and the free wi-fi. And don’t forget to “check your biases and your temptation to pre-judge people at the door”.
If you are reading this immediately and are in/near the Appleton College Ave area, the Haiti Benefit has just begun – great live music and a few chairs left!
‘Til next time,
Andee
W.I.L.2.W.I.N.; my first Tweetup [your first whaaaat?]
I attended my first Tweetup this weekend.
[What the heck is a Tweetup?]
Short answer: social media extravaganza. Long answer: a group of shared-interest people who get together and discuss whatever topic it is that brought them together.
[How are they brought together in the first place?]
Short answer: Twitter. Long answer: a number of ways, but primarily through social networking sites. Tweetups form when two or more people have something in common and therefore cross paths on Twitter (ok, I’m sure other SM sites are acceptable too), and they have a conversation that probably goes something like this: “Hey, I like Chuck on NBC.” “You’re kidding! Me too. And so does my brother’s cousin.” “Well, how about we meet Monday at 8/7C at Stucs, you can invite your brother’s cousin, and we’ll put out the word to everyone we know and see who else likes Chuck. Then they can come too, and we’ll watch it and talk about it and all sorts of other fun stuff too.” And voila. You got yourself a Tweetup.
[What was your Tweetup for?]
Short answer: social media. Long answer: I was in it for the food. 
And to meet the people I’ve heard about in the area who either market themselves or area small businesses that I could learn from. Because like I said, I have a lot to learn!
[Well, what did you learn?]
No short answer here. ATW Airport is planning a kick @$$ viral campaign through Facebook, giving away free trips to Orlando to promote their new direct connection. Kim Sippola is so excited about it, she could hardly sit still! Ross LaRocco caught the whole thing on his iphone video camera. Spokespeople from FVTC’s Eseed (Entrepreneurship) course, Appleton Downtown Inc. , Red Shoes PR, and plenty plenty plenty of others were there. And they were all there with one common goal – to share their knowledge with others to help them get ahead in the rat race of business. So, small businesses – this is where you should start paying attention. There’s so much knowledge out there that people are just itching to share. And in many cases, it doesn’t even come with a price tag. Just people wanting to help people. So do me a favor. Just ask. You’ll be glad you did.
[Who do I ask?]
Short answer: anyone. Long answer: I challenge you to find someone who will say to you, “No, Phil/Mildred. I don’t want to help you.” Everyone, in some capacity, has something of value to teach you. But in the event I’m wrong, ask me. If I can’t help you myself, I’ll find someone who can. But please do yourself the favor of raising an eyebrow to this whole social media craziness and entertain the idea that it could just maybe, maybe possibly, someway somehow be beneficial for your business.
In the meantime, for those of you on Twitter already, check out @atwtu. There’s some cool people I want you to meet.
‘Til next time,
Andee
W.I.L.2.W.I.N. (What I Learned Today While I Networked) – social media; not for everyone, but everything to some
Today’s WIL2WIN revolves around the much-debated topic of social media. I’m not even going to try to scratch the surface with this post, since it’s far too daunting and quite frankly, I have far too much to learn.
Social media is here, people. For some of you, you’re nodding your heads – up and down, with a smile on your face. Others are nodding their heads, left and right, with their eyes squinted in disgust. Still others are wondering if social media is prom with news reporters covering the event. Whatever your familiarity with social media, I encourage you to give it a shot.
I don’t pretend to be an expert, but I’m enjoying testing the waters. I’m a Facebook junkie, a Linked In enthusiast, and a Twitter toe-dipper. Twitter is finally starting to make sense to me, but I’ll tell ya. It took a while. Between all the jibberish URLs, the @ and # symbols, I couldn’t translate the content in between them. But once you start to get the hang of it, it’s hard to shut the computer off.
Need help on Facebook? Ask anyone who goes out on a Saturday night. If they’re socializing on the weekend, I can guarantee you they’re living on Facebook in their day job. Even if they say they aren’t. Linked In? If you’re a job seeker, go to FVTC on Wednesdays at 1:30 to the Student Employment Services office. Jamie Voster is a GREAT resource. (Thanks in advance, Jamie – and no, we’re not related. I have a bonus S!) Twitter? Good luck with that. Ha, just kidding.
Truth is, whether you’re a job seeker or not, I’d be happy to help with any of these as much as I can, because thanks to networking, I’ve gotten a much better grasp on these tools myself. Special thanks to Jamie Voster for kicking me in the butt to get on Twitter. In the communications industry that I’m in, it’s a discredit not to be on it.
All these sites (and more) hold a lot of value. Namely small businesses who don’t have a marketing budget to build awareness for their brand. What a better way to get people talking about you than in a convenient forum where people are excited to share their opinions!
More to come on this subject, trust me. I’m just getting started!
‘Til next time,
Andee
WIL2WIN (What I Learned Today While I Networked) – my car dies; where do I go?
Hello everyone. I’ve been tossing around the idea of blogging for a while now, but I couldn’t come up with a theme or a reason. But I’ve been networking like crazy the last two months and it dawned on me that I’m learning so much about so many things, why not share it with everyone else? You can decide whether it’s relevant to you.
Today’s WIL2WIN comes from the Job Seekers Network that I attend through Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, WI. First off, let me start out by saying that for those of you in the Fox Valley that are looking for jobs, if you’re not going to Chris Czarnik’s class, you’re not looking for jobs. This guy is incredible.
Anyway, today’s WIL2WIN is actually something I learned last week, and it has nothing to do with job seeking. But it’s networking at its finest. To show us how well networking works, Chris asked the class to volunteer a reputable auto mechanic’s name, if you had someone you felt strongly about. Al Huss out of Kaukauna was said more than once (plus, my mom also recommends him).
Why am I sharing this? Well, first off, if you’re in the Fox Valley and could use a reference for a mechanic, there you go. But more importantly, it’s because I’m passionate to meet and work with the small businesses that have that passion of making customers their top priority. I want to help them succeed in business, because the small mom-n-pops are what make the world go ’round, in my opinion. And if I can tell even one person that Al Huss is a great mechanic who won’t try to pull one over on you, I will. It’s easy. Try it for yourself.
‘Til next time,
Andee
