Hello from sunny San Diego!  I’m here for Social Media Marketing World put on by Social Media Examiner.  Looking forward to supporting the team and resting a bit in my fancy hotel room.

My big achievement:  Before we get started I wanted to share with you a big achievement – to some this may sound silly or even pathetic, but I promise you honesty.  A huge issue for me is money – in fact, it is probably my single biggest stressor – or should I say I allow it to be.  In the past I have put off paying bills, opening bills, checking my balances- depositing checks.  You name it, I have ignored it.  Last year I put  my poor accountant through hell at tax time.  This year – she has all my information to get moving and hard copies have been dropped off.

My P&L:  Also last week, I put in an application to a fellowship program which required my P&L from the last three years.  It was easy to put together.  And looking at those numbers – which I have previously ignored – was eye opening.  My financials really do tell the story of my business.  Income has been relatively flat but expenses in the area of staff have gone up.  I’ve been building the team internally so I can scale.  Now, the battle for me is sticking to a sales system.

Our three Big Topics:  

Topic 1:  Search your documents

As you know, on of my major goals is to get rid of post-it notes and napkins.   I want to put all the details on projects into single documents.  I recently went searching to consolidate writing ideas for my websites.  I had 7 different files!  I also had notes on my old laptop and even my new laptop – WHAT A MESS!  Now, I combined everything into one document.  I can share it with my team and they can easily comment. I am constantly attempting to streamline my efforts – even my journaling.  I’ve dedicated a portion of my planner page weekly layout to journaling so I can take notes in one place right on my calendar.  And now, when I attend a meeting or training I now only take notes digitally so I can easily transfer them to my book writing or blog.

Topic 2:  Guest Blogging
Guest blogging is when you write on someone else’s website.  It can be another local business owner, it can also be a major publication (and even something in between). It is great for SEO (Google loves those back links), it is great to share on social media, and you can get some exposure.  All Good.  Guest blogging takes time – you need to brainstorm – develop the content ideas (remember, they have to be unique, and then research requirements to get it actually published.  Start small (swap with another local business) and build.

Topic 3:  Check out your presence
In preparation for attending this conference I had to get my three websites in shape.  It still isn’t all done, but progress has been made.  I have JenniferGardella.com, a personal blog called My Steps in Time, podcast,  HotMesstoGreatSuccess.com.  I was ignoring it all but it all needed attention – consistency, better writing, updating.  Even my LinkedIn profile needed a bit of a touch up.  I went site by site and made a list of what needed to be done and I’ve been working through it.

Mindset Adjustment:

Take a deep breath in – spring is here –

If you live in the North East like I do we have seen a glimpse that the artic air is gone.

Marketing Tip of the week:

Check to see what your competition is doing

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