Take Expert Advice And Do The Complete Opposite

Take Expert Advice And Do The Complete Opposite I should have posted this Wednesday but the fashion posts (dress for failure for men, dress for failure for women, did I cross the line?) were just too fun.  I should have posted this yesterday but I got too tied up in a presentation, getting my PC back, catching up on email, and a few writing projects, so I took the blog-day off. I hope you read this soon (a fun auction is about to close).  I got an e-mail from Elizabeth Marshall, who works on book projects with authors, including Michael Port.  In fact, she just coauthored a book called The Contrarian Effect: Why it Pays (BIG) to Take the Typical Sales Advice and Do the Opposite.  This book is just just $13.57 (right now) at Amazon. Why post a book on sales on my blog?  Two reason first, many of my readers have to do sales professionally, in their job. Whether they are in sales, own their own business, etc., this is good personal development to help do your job better.  Second, from a CEO of Me, Inc. perspective, we all need to brush up on sales, strategy, and marketing stuff.   Here are two more things youll want to know about: The Auction: You can go bid on things theyve collected (including 1 year of JibberJobber premium and the second edition of my LinkedIn book) Im sure youll find some EXCELLENT values there (see below for the list of things to bid on). The Teleseminar: I dont know the dates, but I think they are this month.  Sign up to hear Michael Port, Elizabeth Marshall, and a few hot-shot interviewers (I think Im one of them) talk about this book, and why it makes sense to take what experts say and do the opposite. Many Auction items are valued at hundreds of dollars, and come from people such as: Michael Port the Book Yourself Solid guy John Jantsch the Duct Tape Marketing guy Jill Konrath Selling to Big Companies (and mom of You Get It winner Katie Konrath) Pam Slim the Escape from Cubicle Nation lady Debbie Weil the company blog guru Rich Sloan the Startup Nation guy David Meerman Scott the New Rules of PR guy and a bunch of people who I dont know or havent heard of. Finally, heres an EXCELLENT review of this book, as well as what it has to do with Seinfield and George Costanza, by personal branding guy Dan Schawbel. So go check it out the book on Amazon and/or the auction and/or the teleseminar!     This post is sponsored by  Kathy Warwick of Confident Careers.  Kathy is a Certified Resume Writer, Personal Brand Strategist, and Career Management Consultant helping senior-level executives take that next step in their career.  Kathy Warwick is a JibberJobber Expert Career Partner. Take Expert Advice And Do The Complete Opposite I should have posted this Wednesday but the fashion posts (dress for failure for men, dress for failure for women, did I cross the line?) were just too fun.  I should have posted this yesterday but I got too tied up in a presentation, getting my PC back, catching up on email, and a few writing projects, so I took the blog-day off. I hope you read this soon (a fun auction is about to close).  I got an e-mail from Elizabeth Marshall, who works on book projects with authors, including Michael Port.  In fact, she just coauthored a book called The Contrarian Effect: Why it Pays (BIG) to Take the Typical Sales Advice and Do the Opposite.  This book is just just $13.57 (right now) at Amazon. Why post a book on sales on my blog?  Two reason first, many of my readers have to do sales professionally, in their job. Whether they are in sales, own their own business, etc., this is good personal development to help do your job better.  Second, from a CEO of Me, Inc. perspective, we all need to brush up on sales, strategy, and marketing stuff.   Here are two more things youll want to know about: The Auction: You can go bid on things theyve collected (including 1 year of JibberJobber premium and the second edition of my LinkedIn book) Im sure youll find some EXCELLENT values there (see below for the list of things to bid on). The Teleseminar: I dont know the dates, but I think they are this month.  Sign up to hear Michael Port, Elizabeth Marshall, and a few hot-shot interviewers (I think Im one of them) talk about this book, and why it makes sense to take what experts say and do the opposite. Many Auction items are valued at hundreds of dollars, and come from people such as: Michael Port the Book Yourself Solid guy John Jantsch the Duct Tape Marketing guy Jill Konrath Selling to Big Companies (and mom of You Get It winner Katie Konrath) Pam Slim the Escape from Cubicle Nation lady Debbie Weil the company blog guru Rich Sloan the Startup Nation guy David Meerman Scott the New Rules of PR guy and a bunch of people who I dont know or havent heard of. Finally, heres an EXCELLENT review of this book, as well as what it has to do with Seinfield and George Costanza, by personal branding guy Dan Schawbel. So go check it out the book on Amazon and/or the auction and/or the teleseminar!     This post is sponsored by  Kathy Warwick of Confident Careers.  Kathy is a Certified Resume Writer, Personal Brand Strategist, and Career Management Consultant helping senior-level executives take that next step in their career.  Kathy Warwick is a JibberJobber Expert Career Partner. Take Expert Advice And Do The Complete Opposite I should have posted this Wednesday but the fashion posts (dress for failure for men, dress for failure for women, did I cross the line?) were just too fun.  I should have posted this yesterday but I got too tied up in a presentation, getting my PC back, catching up on email, and a few writing projects, so I took the blog-day off. I hope you read this soon (a fun auction is about to close).  I got an e-mail from Elizabeth Marshall, who works on book projects with authors, including Michael Port.  In fact, she just coauthored a book called The Contrarian Effect: Why it Pays (BIG) to Take the Typical Sales Advice and Do the Opposite.  This book is just just $13.57 (right now) at Amazon. Why post a book on sales on my blog?  Two reason first, many of my readers have to do sales professionally, in their job. Whether they are in sales, own their own business, etc., this is good personal development to help do your job better.  Second, from a CEO of Me, Inc. perspective, we all need to brush up on sales, strategy, and marketing stuff.   Here are two more things youll want to know about: The Auction: You can go bid on things theyve collected (including 1 year of JibberJobber premium and the second edition of my LinkedIn book) Im sure youll find some EXCELLENT values there (see below for the list of things to bid on). The Teleseminar: I dont know the dates, but I think they are this month.  Sign up to hear Michael Port, Elizabeth Marshall, and a few hot-shot interviewers (I think Im one of them) talk about this book, and why it makes sense to take what experts say and do the opposite. Many Auction items are valued at hundreds of dollars, and come from people such as: Michael Port the Book Yourself Solid guy John Jantsch the Duct Tape Marketing guy Jill Konrath Selling to Big Companies (and mom of You Get It winner Katie Konrath) Pam Slim the Escape from Cubicle Nation lady Debbie Weil the company blog guru Rich Sloan the Startup Nation guy David Meerman Scott the New Rules of PR guy and a bunch of people who I dont know or havent heard of. Finally, heres an EXCELLENT review of this book, as well as what it has to do with Seinfield and George Costanza, by personal branding guy Dan Schawbel. So go check it out the book on Amazon and/or the auction and/or the teleseminar!     This post is sponsored by  Kathy Warwick of Confident Careers.  Kathy is a Certified Resume Writer, Personal Brand Strategist, and Career Management Consultant helping senior-level executives take that next step in their career.  Kathy Warwick is a JibberJobber Expert Career Partner.

Tips in Writing a Resume

Tips in Writing a ResumeOnline resume writing service providers have made the job of writing a resume easier and more streamlined. To write a professional resume the following steps should be taken:First, to write a resume, you must know what your resume is all about. A resume basically consists of two parts: the information that you want to include on it and the things that will be taken into consideration when it is presented to the hiring company. If you are not aware of this, you must take into account these two areas.For example, the section on the back will probably include the person's education. However, the resume may contain information that is irrelevant. You should avoid including information that could be confusing and difficult to understand. If possible, get the help of a professional resume writer to handle this.The content of the resume must be organized properly in order to maximize its chances of being approved by the hiring company. A resume may contain sections l ike the qualifications, work experience, educational background, certifications and other relevant information. In general, the sections should be designed in such a way that they come in sequence.If you follow these steps in order to organize your resume, you will not only avoid the disadvantages of having an incoherent resume but also eliminate all potential problems in getting your resume approved. When the employer reads the resume, he or she will recognize it easily. It will also get the desired attention as soon as you take time to prepare the resume.Furthermore, the inclusion of vacancies that are not widely advertised can lead to wasted time as the company may not be in a position to give priority to a resume that contains jobs that are not advertised widely. Therefore, try to find the necessary jobs that are going to be advertised. It may be very difficult to do so, but it can be done with some patience and perseverance.Moreover, if you would like to make a good impression on the employer, you must ensure that you research the skills and employ's knowledge about the company you are applying for. The Internet is your best ally in this matter. You can get to know about the nature of the company and its operations easily through online search.Besides ensuring that the resume is ready, it is also important to be confident in the contents and style of writing the resume. After all, it is your first introduction to the world of work and a major decision to be made in the world of employment.

Recruiting Secrets from Some of the Worlds Best Employers

Recruiting Secrets from Some of the Worlds Best Employers The employer review site Glassdoor has just announced its ninth annual Employees’ Choice Awards, celebrating the Best Places to Work in 2017 across North America and parts of Europe. They choose their winners by putting together anonymous employee reviews which have been shared with them over the last 12 months. Users were asked how they rated their workplace, career opportunities, work-life balance and the real deal-breaker; would they recommend their employer to their friends?. There is one category for  the UK; 50 Best Places to Work, honouring employers with 1,000 or more employees. But what we wanted to know is how these companies recruit their best staff in order for them to be rated so highly? Kirsty Gill is the Executive Vice President of People  at software design company ARM Holdings, which was ranked number 2 in the UK. She had this top tip for recruiting: “Hire for tomorrow, not today. There is a set of well understood pre-requisites for successful recruitment;  a strong company brand, a swift recruitment process, skilled interviewers and an attractive proposition but what truly differentiates is ensuring you bring people into the business that are not just able to do the role advertised, but are going to thrive and succeed in your organisation. For ARM this is looking beyond the skills and experience required for the role and considering the capabilities, including working preferences and behaviours, that mean our people will grow along with the organisation and be able to meet the challenges of tomorrow.” Andy Wicken is the People Director at home emergency insurance firm HomeServe, which ranked number 3 in the list. He said: “When you recruit, seek candidates who not only have the skills for the advertised role, but also those who share the same values as your organisation; who will drive your culture forward and innovate at the same time. Our values also form part of the interview process so we are able to identify candidates who will enhance and, more importantly, grow our culture and our business as well those who embody what we are trying to achieve. Attracting talent from a mix of backgrounds also gives you flexibility to develop your people so you should look for candidates who can bring something new to your business too, not just in the role they start their career with you in, but in other areas of the company too.” Catherine Hearn is the HR Director of Resourcing and Talent at the BBC. The public service broadcaster was ranked 18 in the list. She says: “Having an in-house team responsible for all hiring, aligned to divisions, who are subject matter experts able to support, and where appropriate, challenge. Hiring processes should be as  efficient  and reactive as possible, but these are transformed by having the recruitment undertaken by people who are connected to the  organisation’s strategy and culture.  By establishing a single point of accountability we are able to drive a co-ordinated approach to fast-changing needs for all hires, recognising the importance and value to the BBC of the types of hires including internal and contingent labour. By embodying our values the recruitment team strive to  provide an enhanced candidate and hiring manager experience which has a beneficial effect on all our metrics, including time to hire, quality of shortlists and offer acceptance.”

Hard Business Lessons Teach Success - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Hard Business Lessons Teach Success - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career “It was a horrible experience! I may not be cut out for this should I quit?” Especially in the early years of getting business up and running, we instead feel more like simply running. But upon careful examination much may be learned. It is those who are willing to admit their errors and examine them inside out to prevent future mishaps that will succeed. In the early years caution is required when attending networking events. Excitement in meeting successful others sometimes over-takes sound judgment. Promises are heard such as, “If you purchase my program, I will teach you everything I know so that you too will become well known.” This is an empty promise. Having just met, the party offering to help doesn’t know you or how you perform. They are simply doing everything they can to sell you a service, and most likely it’s an expensive service. After the fact, it becomes evident much money was wasted and seems as if you are set back further than when you began. What may be learned from this? 1. Those who work with their clients’ goals in mind ultimately do much better Pressure tactics may work for a little while but then bad word of mouth spreads. One’s reputation is on the line at all times and must be carefully guarded. You build a sound reputation by learning your prospect’s circumstances, goals and desires and then working together on their behalf. 2. Rationale is a requirement for conducting business When an “opportunity” is offered, consider all the extenuating circumstances. Cost, time, and value should be at the top. What will your benefit be and will the value justify the time and cost? 3. Don’t repeat the same Should you be serious about building your personal brand and business, strive to develop the relationship first with everyone you meet. Ask friendly questions, such as: What is your business about? How may I help you? Posing these questions are mini-tests working on your behalf. If the questions and friendliness are not reciprocated, you know this person is not a good prospect or potential partner down the road. However, if in return, you hear similar questions asked of you, the signal is given that this is a relationship worth exploring. By promoting friendly dialogue and holding out a helping hand upfront, even as a person new to business, the dynamics change. You project confidence and put yourself out as a role model positively building your personal brand. In turn, this attracts people to you and your business. Establish your leadership further by willingly teaching others. Through social media and all other platforms offer insight into your industry that outsiders need to know. For example, pest control services could tweet how to eliminate pests; realtors provide posts on buying and selling; or healers give insight on preventative measures. Mentor students and teach classes to build community. The added advantage to giving away some of your knowledge is the positive feedback that will further build your confidence and stance in your profession. Make yourself available to your public and the better offers will arrive. This is another key to the Smooth Sale! Author: Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC, (800) 704-1499, was honored by Open View Labs with inclusion in their international list of “Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012.” Elinor authored the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results”, Sourcebooks and the best selling career book, “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews”, Career Press.

Quarterly Reports - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Quarterly Reports - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Four times a year, publicly traded companies are required to submit quarterly earning reports to the Security Exchange Commission.  The information disclosed in these reports provide a snapshot of the financial health of the company. Earning reports are part of a stewardship process â€" investors have entrusted firms with money to run the company and thus the company owes the investors an update as to the happenings within the organization. This idea can be used in your career management and networking efforts. Provide your networking circle and mentors an update four times a year.  Give them information as to your career situation, work projects, advancement opportunities, etc. in order demonstrate to your networking circle the value of the continued investment of their time and energy on you. Think of this as a stewardship practice. The communications will go a long way to developing your brand with your inner circle of contacts. Go ahead, pick four dates (most companies release their quarterly reports in January, April, July and October).  Place these dates on your calendar along with a list of recipients  for your report. Draft a concise note highlighting your recent work projects and accomplishments, detail your plans for the upcoming quarter, and wrap up by offering your appreciation and willingness to help the recipient if the opportunity should present itself. These updates will be anticipated by your inner circle of mentors and contacts and will go a long way to building your brand the relationship with your ‘investors’. Author: Kevin Monahan  is the Associate Director of the Notre Dame Career Center.  In this role, he leads the center’s  employer relations efforts in addition to coaching  young professionals in career management and career change capacities. He combines career consulting services with employer outreach to help find opportunities for both constituencies.  He is the author of the  Career Seeker’s Guide  blog.

5 skills a student part-time job gives you for life

5 skills a student part-time job gives you for life This post was written by an external contributor. Charlotte Whittaker lays out the life-long skills a part-time job can teach you. It’s pretty common for students to get a part-time job, yet most students tend to view their job as a means to pay their rent without realising the valuable skills they subconsciously develop whilst working. You may have a part-time job right now; perhaps you’re a waiter or waitress in a local restaurant, and perhaps you don’t think you’re gaining much from the whole affair except a nice pay packet. But the truth is, with every exhausting shift, you’re gaining skills that are not just transferable to your CV, but stick with you for life. The confidence to take control Being able to lead effectively is probably one of the most noticeable skills you develop whilst working in the customer service industry. When considering how timid people tend to be on their first shift, it’s pretty incredible how little time it takes for a member of staff to learn to problem solve without having to ask for help. Having the confidence to offer solutions or instruct your colleagues on what to do becomes second nature to any waiter, barista or retail worker. As you become more comfortable and better at your job, people will see you not as a newbie, but as an equal, and turn to you for help and leadership. Getting used to responsibility whilst working a part-time job (which probably isn’t that personally important to you at the time) sets you up for leadership roles in your future careers, meaning you will be a pro at controlling any high pressure situation in the years to come. The ability to control your emotions Customer service jobs can be emotionally draining, to say the least. Having to confront the British public is something only very few people are able to naturally handle without needing a lot of mental preparation. However, dealing with angry customer’s complaints over little mistakes you made can, although at the time feel like a weirdly intense guilt trip, help you build a thicker skin in the long run. You learn to take criticism, not lash out in defiant anger and maintain a polite composure. The same is said for the stressful rush hours whilst on shift; even though all your responsibilities pile up on you, you can’t have a breakdown in front of all the waiting customers. Eventually you just learn to maintain a positive demeanour, which is crucial in a professional environment and day-to-day life in general. Becoming more diplomatic with people you don’t really like In school, falling out with people at least once a week is kind of inevitable, but a part of growing up is realising that it’s just easier to stop socialising with people you tend to clash with. In a job, this can sometimes be unavoidable. There will always be that one colleague who really gets on your nerves, or one person with whom you simply can’t make conversation. Learning to accept the company of those that you don’t particularly like is crucial for whenever you’re on shift together. In time, you learn to be diplomatic and pleasant with those you originally thought you simply couldn’t cope with. Learning to cope under pressure Customer service based jobs can be surprisingly stressful as you can often be exposed to a high pressure environment. There can be times where you have a million things to do at once, where you’re left on your own to deal with a seemingly overwhelming problem, or you might just have the added stress of needing to perform well in front of your manager. Becoming able to efficiently deal with stressful environments prepares you for whatever life throws at you in the future, be it a bad day at work with a very long to-do list, or when the insane amount of adulthood responsibilities seem as though they’re getting too much. Improving your patience with people As I mentioned before, the British Public can, at times, be rather difficult to deal with. Sadly, customer service based jobs tend to adopt the “customer is always right” policy which prevents us workers from snapping back at ridiculous complaints or unreasonable requests. Although at the time this may seem unfair, being forced into politeness actually helps us develop a tolerance for difficult people. You learn to become more patient and build a thicker skin, meaning you are less likely to retaliate defensively, which will help you prepare for possible confrontation in future jobs or day-to-day life. Connect with Debut on  Facebook,  Twitter,  and  LinkedIn  for more careers insights.

Lego, making near-record profits, lays off 1,400 people - with no criticism from anyone - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Lego, making near-record profits, lays off 1,400 people - with no criticism from anyone - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I am incredibly disappointed in Legos recent decision to lay off 1,400 staff even tough they have near-record profits.?Here are the facts: Legos revenue fell 5 percent in the first half of 2017 to 14.9 billion Danish kroner ($2.38 billion) compared with 15.7 billion Danish kroner in H1 2016. Net profit came in at 3.4 billion Danish kroner, compared with the first half of 2016s 3.5 billion Danish kroner. They will therefore lay off 1,400 people approximately 8% of the workforce. Normally in a situation like this, Id suspect leadership of doing layoffs to placate stockholders, but Lego is privately owned, so thats clearly not the case here. Crucially, the company is?not losing money. In fact, even though sales have fallen slightly, profits are essentially constant and at near-record levels for the company, so its hard to see exactly what motivates this move. What has really surprised me is that there has been no pushback or criticism from the financial press. It makes you wonder: What kind of a business climate are we living in when this kind of decision is met with nothing but approval from all observers? Im sure no one at Lego or in the financial press cares the slightest bit what I think, but I thought it was important that someone speak out against this kind of leadership. Hence this article. Lego?s chairman of the board and former CEO, J?rgen Vig Knudstorp, says that the layoffs come because the company has become too big and complicated: The way we do business, the way we do our marketing, the way we do our market management, but also how we run the whole administration of the company unfortunately has become too complicated as weve grown the company massively over the past 12 to 13 years. Thats whats really hindering us in executing in a strong way ? as we used to ? and therefore we are finding it harder to grow in some of our very well penetrated and established markets. But if the organization has become too complex, you dont fix that just by laying people off you do that by fixing the organization. In that context layoffs may even be counter-productive. Trying to streamline your organization becomes a lot harder when youre simultaneously laying off 8% of your staff and dealing with the ensuing organizational and psychological fallout. Mostly Im disappointed with the attitude towards employees revealed by this decision. Layoffs carry huge psychological costs for both those who lose their jobs and for those who remain?and therefore they should be a last resort when all other options are not sufficient. In this case, lego clearly had many, many other options. I see this move as a huge lost opportunity for Lego. They could have cemented their reputation as a good workplace that can handle a minor drop in sales and profits in a way that doesnt make staff pay the price. As a consequence, I have removed all mentions of Lego from my next book, Leading with Happiness. Id included them in a couple of places as an example of a company where leadership cares deeply about its people this is clearly not the case any more. What should they have done instead? In my next book I share the story about a tech company that lost half their revenue and found a way to come out stronger and more profitable without laying off a single person. If a company can do that when its very survival is threatened, Lego could definitely have done something similar when theyre still incredibly profitable. Related posts Leading with Happiness my speech from the World Happiness Summit in Miami This is why leaders should put happiness first Does employee happiness boost profits? This CEO just gave the best answer ever in 30 seconds Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Client Case Study Alexandra Franzen - When I Grow Up

Client Case Study Alexandra Franzen - When I Grow Up Um, do you know that Ive coached hundreds of women since I started offering dream career guidance in 2008? And that these women are freakin rock stars, leaving soul-sucking jobs and traveling the world and launching creative, grown-up businesses and simply doing work that fits their lifestyle goals? Well ya do now and youll hear their stories firsthand in my  Client Case Studies series!  Alexandra Franzen  hired me back in January 2010 after giving her dream job 4 months notice (!). She knew she wanted to work for herself, but had no idea what she could offer, and could I help her? I was 2 years into coaching and 3 months from quitting my own bridge job, but I confidently said Yes. Now, shes a published author *many* times over and a sought-after copywriter and teacher. I cant get enough of this wise, kind, inspiring woman, and I know youll feel the same. Why did you decide to work with me, a creative business coach?   It was December of 2009. One night, I sat down and Googled something like Help! I hate my job! Please help! Someone! What should I dooooo. OK, not that exact phrase, but something pretty close! Through my Googlings and Internet wanderings, I found my way to your website. {cue: the heavenly choir of angels singing!} I had never hired a life coach or a career coach before. I thought coaches were for, like, soccer? But something in my hut (heart + gut) told me to hire you a.s.a.p. At the time, it was a pretty big stretch for me financially, but I did it. What were you doing work-wise when we started working together and what are you doing now? When I hired you, I had a 9-to-5 job at a public broadcasting company. It was a great job in many ways. I felt proud to work for a company that produces some of the best public radio shows in the world. Annnnnnnd yet, I wasnt particularly happy. Every morning, when I stepped inside my little beige cubicle, I felt so tired. Even if it was 9am sharp, even if Id had three cups of coffee already, I felt heavy and drained. My days were filled with endless emails marked Urgent! and so many meetings and lots of red tape. It felt like every decision, no matter how small, had to be approved by at least 2 or 3 people. Some days, I felt like my entire job was just to run around the building nagging people to approve things. Ugh. I kept trying to convince myself that this was the perfect job for me and that I should be happy. But it just wasnt the right environment for me. I wanted to reinvent my career and do something else with my life. But what, exactly? I dreamed about being some type of writer or artist but how would I make money? I didnt knoooow! I hired you to help me take those first few baby steps into self-employmentto start piecing together a plan. Its been a little over 8 years since I hired you. Today, my life is completely different! Heres my career snapshot * Im a published author (non-fiction and fiction, too). * I also work as a copywriter, writing coach, and writing teacher. * Ive led writing classes in 18 cities around the worldand online classes, too. * I work 1:1 with clients to help them develop all kinds of creative projects, like podcasts, videos, courses, websites, pitches, speeches, and more. * Basically, I get to WRITE ALL DAY LONG (HOORAY!) and earn a living doing something that feels so meaningful to me. Its a dream come true. What was your biggest takeaway from our work together? From you, I learned that no matter what you love to do (baking, blogging, weaving shoelaces into bracelets, whatever!), there is ALWAYS a way to translate your passion into a career. It will take time. It will definitely require hard work. But its doable. Theres always a way. Every dream is doable. Think of someone who is currently in the shoes you wore when we first started working together. What advice do you have for her?   JUST GET MOVING. Put a simple website together (my first website had three pages and a headshot that I took with my cellphone camera while I was sitting in my parked car! Haha! It was not fancy at all). Put some services together (you can always tweak things later if you want to!). Start testing your ideas. Start reaching out to potential clients. Start emailing friends and family to let them know, Hey, Im taking my career in a new direction! Dont over-think every little detail. Just get things moving. Move, move, move and as you move forward, more clarity and refinement will arrive. But you wont figure things out unless you get into motion. Is there anything thats been a game-changer for you when it comes to your business that you can share? Wed love a good resource or a mindset/productivity tip! When Im having a mopey, unproductive, or anxious day, I remind myself * TODAY IS NOT OVER YET * Even if its 10:55pm at night, there is still time to turn things around and end the day on a positive note. You can take 5 minutes and write one thank you note to a mentor. You can take 5 minutes and email one more potential client. You can do something (big or small) that leaves you feeling strong and productive. Theres time. TINOY! Whats on the horizon for your business? Wed love to hear about any upcoming offerings or goals! * I have a novel which comes out today. Its called SO THIS IS THE END: A LOVE STORY. Its a book that poses the question, If you had 24 hours to live, what would you do with your time? * Recently, I was asked to be the Editor for a brand new division of a publishing company. (I cant reveal the specifics yet but I am VERY excited!) * My goals for 2019 include: write another novel teach 2 or 3 writing retreats in Hawaii learn how to dance like a member of *NSYNC (lifelong goal!) and maybe get strong enough to do ONE real, actual pull-up at the gym? I CAN DREAM. Where can we find you and your work? alexandrafranzen.com