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Sometimes, when you find yourself surrounded by a lot of smart, high-energy, impassioned entrepreneurs, all of whom are saying “Yes!” to their dreams and goals, you become painfully aware of how you are saying “No!” to your own dreams and goals. This happened to me recently at a 3-day marketing intensive. I [...]
Then…bam! You slam headfirst into some kind of resistance, obstacle or emotional frazzle that leaves you limp, lost and without a clue. All of sudden, you are surrounded by copious amounts of soggy Kleenex as you belt out several choruses of pitiful whining. How do I know? Uh, hum, well,… I’m a meltdown veteran. I’ve had plenty of them, believe me. And so have most of my entrepreneurial buddies. It seems part and parcel of the entrepreneurial journey. But here’s the odd thing about meltdowns. They’re often followed by some kind of breakthrough… in your business, your clarity, your state of mind or your creativity. A breakthrough is like a little epiphany where you are magically transported above the dark debris of your meltdown and can suddenly see your situation, your path and even your next step with excruciating clarity, renewed insight, and inspiration… and, if you’re really lucky, tons of juicy creative energy and giddy joy. But man, getting through those meltdowns can be tough. Even when you know there’s something good on the other side. So, as a seasoned veteran of the meltdown/breakthrough cycle, I thought I’d offer some gentle guidelines to help you when and if your own suffocating sense of overwhelm, not-enoughness or creative burnout starts to melt you down. How to Meltdown With Ease and Grace… and Rebound Quickly! Meltdown Maneuver #1: Stop Doing! Start Listening! When there’s a lot to be done and you’re feeling behind, when you know what to do but can’t seem to find enough time to do it, you naturally think, “I’ve got to get at it! Do more! More! More!” Wrong. Continue reading How To Take Charge (Gently) of Your Entrepreneurial Meltdown Today, we continue our month-long focus on email marketing, including how to write emails that are irresistible and use email to build rapport, trust and connection with those you are meant to serve. It always feels bad when someone unsubscribes from your email list. Especially right after you’ve sent something into which you [...] March is Email Marketing Month! During the entire month of March, I’ll be giving you tips, ideas and off-the-wall insights about how to get your bulk emails opened, read and responded to. Because, hey, if you’re going to take all that time to write a great email or email newsletter, you want people to read it, right? Right!
It was an unusu But this Saturday was different. I opened Firefox, logged in to my MailChimp account and started writing a little love letter of appreciation to everyone on my Diva News email list. This is a list made up of mostly friends, fans and people who’ve asked to be kept updated on my musical life and singing gigs. Many of these people are longtime connections from my California days, some are recent friends in New York. What happened next shocked me. I got more unsubscribe requests from this one, short email than I had in the past 3-4 years of sending monthly issues of Diva News and random updates to this particular email list. This is the email I sent to them on that Saturday morning:
That was it. I had 6 people unsubscribe. But I also received a slew of lovely, personal emails from people who shared what was happening in their lives and expressed their appreciation as well. But I couldn’t get over the fact so many people had had a negative reaction to this email. What had caused these folks to unsubscribe? Had I broken some unwritten rule? Did I offend them? I didn’t understand (at first) why this email, which was merely an expression of love, caused certain people to unsubscribe! So, I did some investigative work, and here’s what I learned: A couple of week ago, I was on a Gordon Ramsay kick. Perhaps you’ve heard of him. That f-bomb dropping, Michelin-star-winning Scottish chef and TV personality who is the star of several reality TV shows, Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen and Ramsay’s Best Restaurants? Well, I’d never heard of him until about a month ago. [...] It’s Valentine’s Day. The perfect day to talk about Love and Business. Particularly, Love and YOUR business. If you’re an entrepreneur, chances are good that you are in love. Cupid’s arrow pierced your heart and you fell madly in love with the work you do now. Whether it’s website design, life coaching, making [...] What yardstick are you using to measure yourself and your achievements? Are you measuring your progress by other’s achievements? Are you comparing yourself to others in your field who seem to be doing more, having more, getting more? Do you look at those top gurus and multimillion dollar business owners (who always seem [...]
Once upon a time, there was a young, over-worked and stressed-out business man named… Jim. Or at least that’s what we’ll call him for the sake of telling this story. Jim was having a small, informal party at his apartment in Cold Spring, New York, so he went to a small, local grocery store to buy supplies. He stocked up on chips, dips and the other food items he needed to make some low-key but tasty hors d’oeuvres. He bought bottled water, beer and different kinds of soda, including a 12-pack of root beer. But once Jim got home with his provisions, he realized he’d left the12-pack of root beer at the store. Did he leave it at the checkout counter? Or maybe it was on the lower rack of his shopping cart? He wasn’t sure, so he called the store and told them that he’d left the 12-pack somewhere. “No problem, sir, we have it right here,” said Whoever answered the phone at the store. “Would you like us to deliver it for you?” Deliver it? This store doesn’t deliver, thought Jim. “Well, yeah, sure. That would be great! Thank you so much!” Jim answered. He gave his address and then got busy preparing for his party. Continue reading Customer Service a la Mode: Where’s Your Ice Cream? Numbers and I don’t get along. We just don’t jive. We coexist but on a completely different wave length. I have a kind of number dyslexia where sometimes numbers get transposed either in my head or when I go to write them down. So, the number 384 becomes 348. Sometimes I unconsciously add [...] |
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