PogoPlug puts you in control of your cloud computing. It is your own personal cloud. Normally, there is a fee involved in using a cloud service, but with PogoPlug, you will have unlimited cloud functionalities and file sharing possibilities free of a service charge. Pogoplug even has a free mobile application allowing you to access your files, music, videos, and everything else, anywhere you go, through your smart phone. Watch this demo video for a quick overview:
On Wednesday August 18th at noon MBA moms will be educated on a new and revolutionary fitness plan by MBA member and exercise physiology instructor Kristen Scott. Kristen has graciously opened the doors of her workout studio to us, and will be giving a demonstration as to how anyone can work towards a fitness goal and achieve a “beach body”. If you would like to make your fitness goals a reality, you are welcome to attend our meeting to be held at 1920 Shadowridge Dr., Ste 102Vista, CA 92056
(next to Hi-Definitions Hair Salon). For more information and questions please call Kristen at 760-277-1651.
I have been fortunate to meet a fabulous lady, Edith Moricz, through a connection on Linkedin. Edith and I have not actually met in person, but we had the opportunity to work together at some point towards a fundraising for the hospital for which she worked. Through this purely virtual collaboration, we grew fond of each other and formed a lasting friendship.
Our busy lives prevented us from keeping in continuous contact, until recently. A few months ago, I was delighted to hear from Edith again, this time regarding her new venture: Beyond Success Online, a virtual magazine, which aims to be a source of “creative and fresh inspiration for the savvy woman entrepreneur”. Edith bestowed upon me the honor of being the subject of a feature article in her wonderful magazine. I hope that you take the time to read the article, support Edith’s efforts, and learn a little more about who I am and what makes me tick.
My family and I attended the Comic Convention (ComicCon) held recently in San Diego Convention Center. We were blown away by the massive scale of this convention, and the huge number of people that traveled from all over the world to attend this event. If you had not known any better, you’d laugh at the claim that there is a global recession, and that people are holding back on non-essential discretionary spending. Some ComicCon fans go as far as spending thousands of dollars on costumes so they can appear at the Convention looking like Darth Vader or any other well known fictional character. Gosh, even the City of San Diego got into it, and changed the street signs to Klingon language!
As you may know, I was trained as a scientist, which has engrained in me a tendency to analyze every situation, and try to learn something from it. My analysis of ComicCon has led me to this: Imagination is King. No matter how challenging people’s financial situation maybe, they are willing to invest in finding salvation in the power of theirs and other’s imagination.
The lesson that the business owner side of me takes away from ComicCon is that being creative is the only way to be truly competitive in this hard economy. Businesses that use the power of their imagination, and think outside the box will no doubt stand out and win over competition.
You probably think, sure, it is easy to say that we need to be imaginative, but what if one is not a creative person by nature? What if I told you that creativity is a learned skill? That’s right! If you want to learn how to capture your creative genius, attend the MIBU Conference and take good notes. This year, the organizing committee has dedicated a whole track to teaching you how to embrace creativity.
Note: Special Discounted Pricing for MBA Connection Subscribers, Take 10% Off Your Registration Fee By Using the Discount Code MBA10
Dear stay-at-home mom,
It is so wonderful to be able to dedicate your full time attention to your family, and raise happy healthy children whose needs are met by a wonderful mom like you. Your husband is also a great beneficiary of your self-less dedication to your family, helping him to focus on advancing his career and bringing home the dough. Life is going great and everyone is happy, but have you ever stopped, fast forwarded your life a few years, and wondered where you stand in the lives of your loved ones?
Here is a scenario I run into very often as someone who takes an active interest in issues related to moms: a couple starts a family, mom quits her job and puts her career aspirations on hold to dedicate her life to the well being of her family. Everyone loves the situation, everyone is happy. Fast forward a few years, kids have grown, and so has expenses associated with meeting their needs. Now you have to find resources for multiple birthday parties, extracurricular activities, camps, games and game stations, latest toys, clothes, and accessories that everyone else’s kids have, not to mention saving for college and your retirement. Your kids become frustrated and resentful when you tell them you cannot afford to buy them the stuff they want to keep up with their peers, and your husband becomes resentful because he works as hard as he can but cannot keep up with the increasing demands on your family budget. Guess who gets the blame for this situation? You! Don’t be surprised if your family turns to you and say straight to your face “why don’t you go out and get a job and contribute something to the family?” or ” why don’t you get a job so I can buy that prom dress I want, or go out with my friends?” You see, human beings, including your loved ones, have a short memory. They do not remember how much they loved it when you stayed at home, dedicated your life to their needs, and the price you paid for it: your career.
In a perfect world an employer would understand the true value of motherhood, the essential skills that it takes to manage activities for a family, manage a tight family budget, do conflict resolution, volunteer and raise funds for PTA and sport activities to name a few. In an employer’s eyes, full time motherhood does not constitute a legitimate line item in a resume. So, your best bet is to plan for your future, and either keep up your professional skills by working part time, starting a home-based business, or learning new skills by going to school part time. With the advent of technology and vast internet-based resources it is possible to keep up or advance your professional skills, while you are spending your life doing the most important job in the world.
One of my goals by establishing MBA is to create a go-to place for moms for education, friendship and growth. Visit one of our meetings and find out how we can help.
Chapter leadership at MBA is on a voluntary basis for a period of six months. On June 2nd, we said goodbye to our fabulous Marla Elliott of Familiworks as she completed her leadership term and headed for her summer time occupation up in Malibou. We sent her off with flowers and a hug goodbye.
Marla passes on the leadership role and the leadership binder to our dynamic member Joann McLemore of Arbonne International. We are excited to have Joann as a leader as she is full of energy and has fantastic people skills.
Leading a networking chapter has many advantages. It provides a means of gaining leadership skills, conflict resolution, meeting management, and creates credibility.
At the same meeting, Jane Naskiewicz presented a workshop on secrets of creating a “findable” website. She summarized the important points of her workshop in a whitepaper and shared it with the group. This document has been placed in the member-only section of the MBA website for our members to download at their convenience.
We are so blessed with all the strong and smart women in our group who do not hesitate to share their knowledge and leadership skills for the benefit of the group. We are a lucky bunch.
The meat is in the follow up, right? Every successful business owner is well aware of this fact. Leads and contacts will not turn into a sale unless you pick up the phone and follow up. With our increasingly busy and hectic lives, it is tempting to make our follow up calls while driving and trying to run errands. This is a bad idea, and here is why.
While visiting a street fair with my family, I came across a local chamber booth (will not say which one), gave my business card and asked to be followed up to learn more about joining the chamber. A week later I got a call from the person who took my card. She was calling me from her cell phone, the reception was really bad, and I could here loud car noises through the phone. It was also very obvious that she was completely distracted with something else, which I am guessing was driving. Call me picky, but all the while talking to her, I remember thinking “you mean I do not deserve a few minutes of your time so you could sit down and call me with a good reception, and undistracted?” Needless to say, I was pretty annoyed and did not end up joining the chamber.
So, my advice to you is, value your prospects and leads, make them feel special, and whatever you do, Don’t Follow Up and Drive.
As business owners of the 21st Century, the lessons we should all be learning from this report is as follows:
The full report released by Edison Research and a video presentation can be found here. I encourage you to read the report, and watch the video. Someone has already done the market research for you, now the onus is on you to act and bring your marketing strategies upto speed with the modern world.
Remember: if you need help with social media management, and developing mobile apps for your business, we are here for you.
There was a time when marketing a small business was simple: attending networking meetings, cold calling, putting an add in the newspaper, and direct mail. However, marketing efforts in the modern world now includes e-newsletters, blogging, podcasting, v-logging, social media engagement, and speaking arrangements, to name a few. It seems like the modern world constantly throws at us new ways to work “in” our business rather than “on” our business. Perhaps, the best solution to getting back on working “on” the business is to use the old “you’ve gotta let go to grow” strategy; i.e., find someone else to work “in” your business. Engaging the world using social media and the internet is powerful, but it is extremely time consuming, and requires consistency to work. If you feel the need to “let go” so you can “grow” take a look at our business services and let us know how we can be of any assistance.
We are proud to announce the unveiling of our iphone app. Now entrepreneurs can reach us anywhere, anytime, connect with our social networks, find MBA Chapters, review our business services, and read our blog, all on the go.
Here is a short video of MBA on iphone:
Download MBA iPhone App on your mobile phone
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