More Than A Few Words

Ready to leave your nine to five job behind? Before you do, our guest Anna Lundberg suggestions you think about the following five elements necessary to create a sustainable business. 1. Create a vision for you business.  And this is unique to you.  Re-imagine success not as defined by others, but what you want your business to look like. 2. Get your mindset right.  This is about developing the confidence to face the ups and downs of your business 3. Create a business model.  Define your services and target markets, and how you will generate revenue.  4. Define your brand.  It is easy to get caught up in the day to day, focusing on the next sale, but some of your effort needs to be focused on building your brand platform.  This platform will set up up for long term success.  5. Find work life integration.  This doesn't mean balance and an even split between work and the rest of your life, but it is about defining how your business will fit into the rest of your life. 

We talk, write and create messages all day long. But do our messages actually create the impact we're looking for? That was the topic of the conversation with Patrick Donadio. We discussed a six step process for communicating with IMPACT! Patrick shared a simple acronym to make it easy to remember the six steps. . I stands for intention. So why am I having this conversation? Or why am I creating this content? M is the message and the methods you will use.  What do you want to say and how will you deliver the information? P is for the person the message is for.  How do you personalize the message based on who the receiver is going to be? The first half the process is all about planning the content. The second half is about how you plan the reception or delivery? A is for activate, bringing the message to life. How do you engage people in this interaction or communication and how you keep them engaged? C is for clarify. It is one thing to deliver the message and something entirely different to confirm the recip

Before we get into the how, let’s talk about the why. Well, the easy answer is that employee profiles are great content! They are the perfect light-hearted, human-interest kind of piece that folks love to see on social media and in email newsletters and they are a great way to regularly inject content into your blog. They really don’t take that much effort, don’t have to be that long and can be finished (from interview to finished article) in an afternoon. The bigger reason to write employee profiles? They are the perfect way to gain trust from your community. An employee profile portfolio is a valuable collection to have at your disposal particularly for businesses in the home service and any other service industry that entails a lot of 1-on-1 communication with customers. By having an opportunity to meet and learn more about your staff through these blog posts, you help customers become more comfortable with scheduling an appointment, inviting them into their homes or putting their trust in you.  So how do

As a business owner,  every day you make choices about how to spend your time, dividing it between the mundane things that have to get done, and the interesting things that move your business forward. If you find that you’re spending too much time on the mundane,  then maybe it’s time for a virtual assistant. In today’s conversation Jennifer Crawford, the founder of Sparent, shares some thoughts and how to decide if you are ready to hire a VA and how to prepare for a productive relationship.  KEY TAKEAWAY: If your growth is slowing down, because you are bogged down with mundane tasks, it may be time to look for a little help  About Jennifer ennifer’s passion is helping people grow their businesses. In addition to business and conference consulting, she is also the co-founder of a recently launched company, Sparent–a virtual temp agency staffed by stay at home moms with skills to spare. When she is not all up in your business, she performs with The Improv Imps, produces the Podcasting Smarter Podcast for Podb

Being a successful business owners depends on lots of things, but this week's guest Henriette Danel says it starts with just three things.  Mindset, Strategy and Action.   In this episode, she explores how these elements build on each other as you develop a strategy to attract new customers and grow your business.  More than a Few Words is part of the Digital Toolbox from Roundpeg. 

Great content does not happen by accident. The more planning you do up front, the better your results will be. In this episode, Lorraine sat down to chat with Sam Von Tobel for a timely conversation about content planning including creating your calendar, a new tool, Sharekit.io to improve the look of scheduled content, setting goals and measuring the results.  As you start your planning, think about the rhythm of the year.  Do you have a seasonal business?  If so you may want to plan content themes to match the seasons or the products that are more popular in those seasons.   Maybe you are going to run an aniversary promotion a calendar will help you anticipate all the assets (images, social share graphics, custom blog posts) you will need to make a large impact.  This conversation was sponsored by Sharekit.io.  More drink recipes can be found here. All reviews and opinions expressed in this episode are based on our assessment of the tool.  Key Takeaway - Make your calendar meaningful by outlining specific o

4-time Emmy award winner, Laura Bucker joins Lorraine for a conversation about stories.  How to pull the details from someone to build a story that will support your marketing messages in a compelling an emotional way.     

A cold call should really be called a new call because your goals is simply to build a new relationship.  Start the conversation with your power presentation. This is short, maybe eight to ten seconds which identifies who you are, what you do, and ultimately, what problem you can help somebody solve.  While you won’t make a sale in ten seconds you need to capture the attention of the other person with a message which will open them up to a longer conversation.  KEY TAKE AWAY -Be prepared for every conversation Bio  Charlie Cina captivates his audiences and teaches them how to master the right mindset, missions, and moves to reach their personal potential to drive massive revenue. Through his writings, speaking, and consulting, he has built a vast group of followers known as Disciples of Sales. Charlie believes that the ability to present and persuade are necessary life skills that everyone needs to succeed. He will teach you that your primary responsibility in business is to expose your brand, expose your pro

On January 7, 2010 we published the first episode of More than a Few Words on Podbean.  We had no idea how where the journey would take us, but we were hoping for a little fun and good conversations along the way.   Today, we are popping the champagne corks as we toast to the first decade.  Sam Von Tobel joins Lorraine as she talks about the roots of this popular podcast as where she thinks it will go from her.  KEY TAKEAWAY: Enjoy the show, then listen to a few more, they are short! 

As a leader it can be frustrating when employees make mistakes but it may not be their fault. Before you blame them, Randy Clark suggests you step back and ask the following questions to be sure you gave them the best chance for success.  Have they been trained?  Were your expectations clear?  Do they have the tools?  Were their actions impacted by something outside their controls Were they following guidance from someone else? KEY TAKEAWAY: Sometimes, there is a perfectly valid reason an employee doesn’t follow instructions.    Randy Clark is an Amazon best selling author (management and business skills) who is passionate about management training. He works with businesses to create and facilitate leadership development. Although he continues to work with TKO Graphix as a consultant, Randy recently left his full-time position as Director of Communications for TKO to pursue his passion, leadership development. Randy gears his training to the needs of the client, offering training for future and current manag

Kerry Kathleen Heaps, founder of Book, Speak, Repeat  joins Lorraine for a conversation about becoming a public speaker. If you want to grow your professional speaking business focus on your story.  Think about the experiences and life lessons which make you uniquely qualified to give a presentation. Structure your presentation as a series of stories, not facts.  Your audience will remember the story long after the presentation is over. Beyond the story, you must identify 3 – 5 takeaways ( action items or relevant messages) which will make your presentation relevant and valuable for your audience. Finally, there are five things every professional speaker needs: A current bio, several core topics. Presentation summaries for meeting planners, specific takeaways for each topic and a current head shot. KEY TAKEAWAY – There are way more speakers than speaking opportunities, if you want to be hired, you need to make it easy for event organizers to work with you. MTFW, hosted by Lorraine Ball is part of the Digital

Awkward, Alone, and Afraid If you are nervous and anxious when attending a new networking event and the thought of shaking someone’s “maybe unwashed hands” gives you chills, then this conversation with Raven Richardson may be just what you need to hear this morning! 

If you are like most business owners you have developed a skill for making gut decisions. But my guest Dr. Gleb Tsipursky thinks that might just be the wrong way to approach your business decisions.   The author of multiple articles and several books on the subject, including his new one. Never Go With Your Gut  he presents a logical and easy to follow alternative. Listen to learn his five easy steps to improving your ability to make decisions on the fly. 

Every day for the past six years, Robby Slaughter has been asking a question of the day. Sometimes, silly, sometimes serious these questions generate responses between friends and strangers.  I sat down with Robby to understand why he does it, and what he has learned along the way. Look for Robby’s question every day on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/robby.slaughter

If you could go back and start your business over, what would you change? This week's guest Barry Magliarditi has three processes he wishes he had impletemented soon.  About Barry Barry Magliarditi is the founder and director of The Game Changers. He has been recognised for his thought leadership by the 30 under 30, 2015 Telstra Business awards and was chosen as Australian Coach of the Year for the 2016 Invia Innovation and Excellence in Business Coaching in Australia.

Like the index in the back of a book, you web site map outlines all the information on your website. It is a powerful tool while you are building the site. And when you are done it will help search engines index the information correctly.   This week, our project lead, Britt Baue explains how she builds a site map

We have all attended meetings where nothing got done. Maybe there were great discussions, and maybe you had lots of notes when you left, but nothing changed. This week, out guest Randy Clark, the author of the new book, "You Can't Talk Shit Done" explains you need a plan behind the words.    From weekly updates to companywide mission statements, businesses fail when there is too much talk and not enough action. You Can't Talk Shit Done provides frameworks for getting the most out of business interactions, from meetings and training sessions to conferences and seminars. Note:  We did not censor Randy's title. If it appears incorrectly here, that is the podcasting platform. 

Susan White, co-host of the Joy Powered Workspace Podcast  dropped by for a conversation about creating a work environment where people look forward to walking in the door every day.    About Susan Susan White is the CEO of Susan Tinder White Consulting, a Collaborator with Purple Ink, co-host of The JoyPowered Workspace Podcast, and co-author of The JoyPowered™ Team. Susan has a passion for identifying, developing, coaching, and retaining talent. Susan’s experience includes 30+ years as a Senior Vice President & Human Resource Executive at JP Morgan Chase. Currently, she consults with executives in a variety of industries, government entities, and not-for-profits. She is a faculty member of SHRM . Susan is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional, a Senior Professional in Human Resources, a member of National SHRM and IndySHRM, and has been an adjunct faculty member for the University of Indianapolis. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Business from Indiana University and has completed numerous post-graduate

We all have lots of contacts, but most of the people we know are just that, contacts.  Only a small, select few are true strategic relationships for us in our business.  But those select few drive us to be better, hold us accountable and help us find the fire within that we need to achieve great things.  This week, my guest David Nour explains how we can cultivate those very special relationships.  A thinker, keynote speaker, business advisor and best-selling author, David Nour is internationally recognized as a leading expert on strategic business relationships. The author of 10 books, including best-sellers CO-CREATE (St. Martin’s Press) and Relationship Economics® (Wiley), and the upcoming Curve Benders, he delivers 50 global keynotes annually. Nour serves as a trusted advisor and an executive coach and is an adjunct professor at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. A Forbes Leadership contributor, Nour’s insights have been featured in a variety of prominent publications, including The Wall St

Thinking about a side hustle?  Or maybe you have an employee who wants to do some freelance work on the side.  In this episode, we talk about the do's and don'ts of cultivating work on the side.  Our guest is Laura Briggs, a writer, entrepreneur and author focusing on the impact of the freelance economy.