The Power of Social Media
Let’s talk about social media and what it can do for a small business. One day about two months ago I was on twitter and listening to what other businesses were doing. I found out that Intuit was awarding grants to small businesses. I began following @lovealocalbusiness right away. That led me to the site…
Tell A Story
I’ve got a car to sell. I could run a short ad in the local paper and hope someone gets past the age of the car and calls me. Or I could list it on Craiglist and make flyers and put around town. I know I need to tell a story and give this car…
Not Just Talk Anymore
It’s here – the Age of Conversation 3 book. 171 Authors go from just talk, to print and then it’s up to you to put it into action. Almost three years ago, an online conversation between two marketing pros—an American and an Australian—evolved into a collaborative writing effort by more than 100 bloggers from nine…
Happy Mother’s Day
I’m one of the luckiest daughters in the world. I have a phenomenal mother. She worked for over 40 years as a school teacher. It was okay for single women to teach in the 50’s. But when they got married they were expected to stay at home and take care of their husband and raise…
Know, Like, Trust
People do business with people they know, like and trust. How do you get someone to know, like and trust you? You ask a lot of questions. Feel Good questions. How did you get started in business? What do you enjoy most about what you do? Use the FORM method of asking questions. Ask questions…
5 Reasons to Volunteer
Oh boy – someone else asking me to do something for free. I bet that’s what you are thinking. Yes, we can use some volunteers at the Franklin County Historical Society. We need people to help create tours and lead them, to clip newspaper articles and obituaries, to file things, to work in the museum,…
Selling the family farm
My dad is in the hospital. Has been for almost a month now. He’s got diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s. In the past 4 days his mental state has rapidly deteriorated and his blood sugar is low. The nurse tells me the low blood sugar or perhaps a urinary tract infection can cause the…
Communicate with Glenda
I’m going on a 3 hour road trip next Sunday. With two friends. Becky and I can talk for the 3 hour drive with no problem. Glenda can’t. She has cerebral palsy. We’ll take apart her 150 pound chair and put it in the trunk. We’ll get her in the car too (not in the…
Dreaming in Real Life
Image by nickwheeleroz via Flickr We have two flower shops in our community. One is closing. The two shops share orders from their wholesalers – because individually they can’t afford it. So with shop number 1 going out of business, it may very well put enough pressure on shop number 2 to go out of …
You call yourself green?
It’s a good time to be talking about being green – this week is Earth Week. I propose it’s time to stop talking and do something. Why? Here’s just a few facts: The EPA reports toxic chemicals in our home cleaning and personal care products are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than…