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Make sure they know!

January 14, 2013 By

They say “silence is golden” but it can spell doom for any business. No doubt, you offer a great service. But do you tell your customers or clients all about what you do and the benefits to them?

I have known many people, that I have done business with, that offered other services than what I was using but didn’t mention it. Sometimes this would result in a lost opportunity for them. I used to work for a carpet service that installed and cleaned carpet. Often, when on a carpet cleaning job, we would be asked by the customer who we recommended for new carpet. The customer didn’t know, that for 40 years, we sold carpet. Why? Poor communication. Had the company been more mindful and properly informed their customers of all they did, they would have had an even better business. Don’t assume anything! They don’t know what they don’t know.

Here are a few ways to make sure that you don’t leave any money on the table.

  • Literature: Be sure to give your customers or clients something that tells them what you do and the benefits of what you do. This will ensure that they are aware of what you do. Brochures are useful ,especially if you are unable to talk with them, due to time restrictions. 
  • Newsletters: Newsletters are a great way to inform your customers or clients of any new service you might add. It’s also a great way to keep in touch. You could also notify them of changes to you website or discounts.
  • Direct Mail: If you are adding a new service or are expanding, announce it. It’s another great way to keep in touch. You could send a reminder for repeat service. Don’t assume that they will remember how often your service may be needed. 

Not everyone is going to be as passionate about what you do as you are. By properly notifying and educating your customer, you will increase your chances of doing more business with them.

Everyone’s Articles – The 919 Local Business Network

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After the “Cliff” – What You Need to Know About 2012 Tax Returns (Due in April 2013)

January 3, 2013 By

Now that we’ve successfully climbed back up the “fiscal cliff” that has garnered so much media attention lately, what does it all mean in terms of 2012 taxes? [Insert drum roll please….]  The short answer is “not much”.  After it was all said and done, the rules for 2012 tax returns remain pretty much unchanged from last year.  However, one change that will impact everyone is the reversion of the Social Security portion of payroll taxes returning to 6.2% from the previous 4.2% effective January 1, 2013.  Although most people will not be affected, the “cliff deal” does also set in motion some tax increases for certain individuals once they cross the $ 250,000 threshold beginning in 2013.

So what do you need to know for 2012 tax returns due in April?

Buyer Beware – New Tax Preparer Regulations are in Town!

Is your tax preparer registered with the IRS?  Effective January 1, 2013, ALL paid individual income tax preparers must be registered with the IRS in order to be in compliance with recently enacted tax laws aimed at protecting the integrity of tax preparation.  Unregistered tax preparers will be unable to e-file your returns.  Therefore, check in with your tax preparer early in the season to make sure they are compliant!  Also, always make sure your tax preparer signs his or her name on your return.

2012 Increased Exemption Amount ($ 100)

The amount you can deduct for each exemption has increased by $ 100 to $ 3,800.

2012 Standard Deductions Increase ($ 150 – $ 300)

Standard deductions increased between $ 150 and $ 300 depending on filing status. 2012 standard deductions are listed below.

Filing Status

Standard Deduction

Additional Deduction if 65 or Older

Additional Deduction If Blind

Single/Married Filing Separate

$ 5,950

$ 7,400

Add $ 1,450

Married Filing Jointly

$ 11,900

$ 13,050 if one spouse is at least 65, $ 14,200 if both are at   least 65

Add $ 1,150

Head of Household

$ 8,700

$ 10,150

Add $ 1,450

Child Tax Credit ($ 1,000)

The child tax credit remains $ 1,000 for each child dependent under the age of 17.

American Opportunity Credit ($ 2,500)

A credit up to $ 2,500 per student is available for the first four years of undergraduate education and is a refundable tax credit in many cases.

Student Loan Interest

Many individuals are able to deduct up to $ 2,500 in student loan interest paid during the year on qualified student loans.

First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Repayment

Certain individuals who participated in the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit between 2008 and 2010 will need to pay back all or a portion of their tax credit. See IRS website for more specifics.

Increase in Retirement Plan Contributions ($ 500)

Most participants in retirement plans such as 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and most 457 plans can increase their annual contribution by $ 500 to $ 17,000.

Adoption Credit

Decreased from $ 13,360 in 2011 to a maximum of $ 12,650 per child in 2012.

Plug-In Electric Vehicles ($ 2,500 – $ 7,500)

Plug-in Electric Drive Vehicles placed in service during 2012 may be eligible for a credit ranging from $ 2,500 to $ 7,500.

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) ($ 140)

The amount of Earned Income Tax Credit for taxpayers has increased by $ 140. Filers can claim up to three (3) children and earn higher levels of income before phasing out of the credit. The maximum credit for three children claimed during 2012 is $ 5,891

Employer-Provided Education Assistance ($ 5,250)

Up to $ 5,250 in employer-provided undergraduate and graduate education costs can be excluded from gross income for 2012 (previously only applicable to undergraduate education).

Educator Expenses

Teachers and educators are allowed to deduct up to $ 250 of the cost of classroom supplies.

Sales Tax Deduction

Taxpayers have a choice to either deduct state income tax or state sales tax as an itemized deduction.

Tuition and Fees Deduction

Students may be able to deduct up to $ 4,000 in qualified tuition and fees paid to eligible colleges and universities.

Mortgage Insurance Premiums

Taxpayers are able to deduct mortgage insurance premiums paid on mortgages taken out after 2006 as an itemized deduction.

Deductible Vehicle Mileage

The following rates apply to most vehicles used for the purposes listed below during 2012.

  

Purpose

Charitable

14 cents

Business

55.5 cents

Medical/Moving

23 cents

Simply Taxes, LLC is a local year-round tax preparation firm with an office located in North Raleigh. Our Raleigh accountants are ready to work one-on-one with you to help maximize your refund opportunities and to provide other tax services in the professional manner you deserve!

The information contained within this article is for general guidance only. As such, it should not be used as a substitute for consulting with professional accounting, tax, legal or other competent advisers.

Related Articles

2012 Federal Income Tax Rates

2012 North Carolina Income Tax Rates

2013 Income Tax Return Due Dates (For 2012 Returns)

Guide for Choosing a Tax Preparer

Standard Deductions vs. Itemized Deductions: Which Deduction is Better for Tax Returns?

Simply Taxes, LLC is a local year-round tax preparation firm with an office located in North Raleigh. Our Raleigh accountants are ready to work one-on-one with you to help maximize your refund opportunities and to provide other tax services in the professional manner you deserve!

The information contained within this article is for general guidance only. As such, it should not be used as a substitute for consulting with professional accounting, tax, legal or other competent advisers.

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Right To Know YES Prop 37 GMO Labeling

November 5, 2012 By

Genetically Modified Foods Are Not Labeled In America

We can change that!  Go To My Campaign Page

Dear InSider Friends and Associates,

I took the action step to help friends in California. Why would I do that? Because what happens in one state can happen across the country. California is the front line battle grounds for transparent government and industry. 

Lobbying efforts and corporations (with the same status and rights as individuals) have changed the political environment. YOU don’t have a say in this country if you keep quiet and leave it to the next person. YOU will not know what is in the food you eat every day. 

Do you want Genetically Modified Organisms hidden inside every package, vegetable, fruit, fish, and piece of meat you eat? Do we have enough science to tell us the outcome of feeding these Frankenfoods to developing children over the period of decades?

The answer is NO we don’t. However, we do know that signs are beginning to show up that disease is out of control in America, while every other country on the planet seems to have made Labeling GMO a requirement. 

I encourage you to click the link. Go to my campaign page. I have already donated to the cause. I will be making phone calls before it is too late. I have endorsed the campaign.

VOTE YES on PROP 37 in California so we have set a precedence in this country.

The same vote will be coming to North Carolina and every other state to show our consensus on this issue. Then maybe the federal government will step in and make it national law. 

Go To My Campaign Page to donate or learn more. 

I love comments. Let me know if you have taken action, have a question or anything else.

By the way, I set my goal very very low at just $ 100. I know some people can donate that much in one giving donation. So, give whatever you can $ 5, $ 10 and the funds to support this effort will rise. 

 


Everyone’s Articles – The 919 Local Business Network

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You Don’t Need to Know the Answer

November 1, 2012 By

We live in a scared, angry, and confused world right now. There are a lot of business owners struggling to figure out how to sell their products. There are unemployed people struggling to find work. The struggle is almost always unnecessary; there are millions of people who simply haven’t recognized the nature of the real problem. We have a tendency to look for answers and solutions, when in fact, what we need is a connection.

A connection is not a sales lead, a business card, or a phone number. A connection is not a Twitter follower. A connection is not an opt-in to an e-mail distribution list. A connection is heart-to-heart. You know you’ve made a connection when somebody says, “I’m listening,” “I’ve got your back,” “I believe in your vision,” “I care,” or “Is there any way I can help?”

I remember one particularly dark evening in 2009. I was in complete distress. My finances were a disaster. I had no idea what I was going to do. I remember talking to a close friend who lived in Atlanta. She asked me what was going on. I quietly told her that I was scared to death, and I started crying. She didn’t say anything for that moment, but it was a deep and meaningful kind of silence. I don’t remember what was said after that or how the conversation went. But my friend revealed herself to be a true friend. She didn’t have the solution to my problems, but she empathized with me so fully and so completely that I no longer felt like I was alone. In that moment, I felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.

There have been other times when my true friends have helped me indirectly in this same way. I can’t explain exactly how it works, but when I don’t feel alone with my problems, it’s like my personal power comes back on after a blackout. I stop feeling sorry for myself and start thinking clearly again. I stop thinking about doom and gloom, and I start seeing clear, practical action steps. I stop sinking into the quicksand and I start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

In 2007, when I started to get out from behind the computer and connect with people, I was able to see new meaning and purpose for my life. It was these simple connections that motivated me to change my eating habits, lose 40 pounds, and stop smoking. I didn’t find new answers or solutions. I just discovered a new reason to make use of the answers I already knew.

It’s unfortunate that people go to business networking groups and never move past the superficial cocktail-party shallowness of “what do you do?” conversations. Frankly, I’d be happy if no one ever asked me “what do you do” again. My closest friends don’t need to ask me for a business card, because they already have my number in their phones and I already have theirs. In my opinion, the purpose of any networking activity—or any group, for that matter—is to create deep connections and drive those connections deeper.

Deep connections save lives, restore marriages, build trust, and fulfill dreams. Those are the kinds of connections we all need more of. The next time you find yourself wondering how to solve a problem, consider what would happen if, instead, you focused your energy on deepening your connections. I promise you that if you deepen your connections, the answer will present itself. It will be a better answer than you ever would have come up with on your own.

Everyone’s Articles – The 919 Local Business Network

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The Simple Logic of Letting Google Get to Know You Better — Google+

September 27, 2012 By

Why Not?

When I wanted to discuss the amazing benefits of Google+ with folks, several people responded to me, “Why would you want to let them know where you are?” How strange, how big brotherish, I thought. Why not let Google know you? It is simply logical. So for the benefit of all those who can’t go to Martin’s presentation this Friday (which I would not miss for the world) I offer this little collection of info to give you a hand.

Make your Two Pages

Given that there are so many spammers out there, and fake businesses, and absurd competition for the search engine pages, having Google get to know you, your business, your websites, and link them all to your authorship is simply good business. The process is getting less complicated. You can set up a Google + page for yourself in a flash, and you can set up a Google+ page for your business just as easily.

Get Verified!

In both cases Google sends you a verification to make sure you are real, human, not a robot, and not somebody else spamming your page. They go out of their way to make sure it is you. Then, when you verify your identify with the postcard they send you, its you, no doubt about it.

Then you put their code in your website head for all your pages; you link to them and they link to you – sweet. You get to correct the map, make sure you set a viable address, whether you have a physical store or not, and pop up the photo that you will want to have showing up on all your search engine entries in the future – the photo that could make you famous!

Link Yourself Together

Once you have both of your Google+ personal and business sites verified, you can link them together on the same identity. You also link there every social media page and site on which you regularly post. Think about it. When you post articles on your own website or here or anywhere else, Google will know it is you, the real you – every time. Because they know it is you, then you become a trusted resource.

Be A Trusted Resource

This makes you more reliable than all the untrusted people and businesses. Think about it. Google’s recommendation by validating you as a real person is a pretty good thing. We don’t often think about all those who are not. Trust is good.

The code you put on your site will set you up as a “rel=’author’ “ or “rel=’publisher’ ” on your business site. Learn about these “rich snippets” and what they can do for you in the articles I mention below. This sets you up for the ultimate search engine plug – your author photo. Google gifts you with a vote of trust – your very own mug shot on the search page. Really, talk about an eye catcher, and I don’t mean the money you spent on your “do” – I mean Google validating you for others.

And People will Find Your photo!

Do you know how many more people buy a book because a photo is on the cover? Same for the search page. If yours is the only photo-graced entry, guess where people’s eyes will go. You are more likely to get that dollar-laden click!

Oh yes, and the benefits of all the circles. That’s a bit more complicated. We’ll let Martin tell you about all that. But you go friending people and circling people and that’s another fun game, like dancing. I am focused on the sheer SEO value of all this, though. Let me tell you about the test Mark tried.

Get more SEO Value . . . from Mark

A friendly helpful local guy, Mark Traphagen, has a Google Plus column on Windmill Networking, which is run by Neal Schaffer, one of Forbes Top 50 Most influential people on Social Media. http://windmillnetworking.com/author/mark-traphagen/ will get you to the site. https://plus.google.com/+MarkTraphagen/postsgets you to his google page with tons of googly ideas.

Mark has been into the Google+ thing since close to the beginning and was one of the first in the area testing it out for his company, Virante. He does Google+ almost full time. Here are some of his articles that I found really useful myself when learning this: http://www.virante.org/blog/2012/01/23/our-guides-to-google-for-business-and-personal-use/

One thing he has shared about is that he did a test on a variety of social media, and found, strangely enough, that the changes that took place in his web result ranking after work building his Google+ identity was significantly more noticeable to him than changes in his ranking on other social media sites. I learned about this from him last Spring and checked with him again last evening before writing this. Again, he verified that his experience was a personal boost in his rank that was noticeable to him. Now Google is not promoting this or promising this. Actually Google promises nothing and is trying all manner of things right now, but for Mark, this social media platform was more beneficial than any other social media site.

So, just think about it. This is simple logic really. If Google verifies you and your business identity. If Google invites you to be regarded by them as an “author” on the web. If Google sees your work among others on a given topic or theme and “knows you” but does not necessarily “know” the others, well your guess is as good as mine. But I’m not going to walk past this and throw away free promotion. Are you?


By Pepper Oldziey, Web Design for Search Engine Success, Peppergraphics Design Studio and Google+ personal and new business page, so why not go plus me there, thanks :)

Everyone’s Articles – The 919 Local Business Network

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3 Habits That Carry More Weight than “Know, Like, and Trust”

September 12, 2012 By

You may have heard this saying before: “People do business with the people that they know, like, and trust.” I wish it were that simple. If this cliché were really true, then we could all just hang out at cocktail parties, behave like good citizens, and wait for the money to roll in.

No matter how well someone knows you, likes you, and trusts you, they still might not think of you as the person to call when they have a need for what you do. That is a function of branding and positioning, and there is no shortcut around it.

Business decisions are made based on a combination of different factors and emotions. The psychology of each buyer is different, but ultimately, people buy what they want. Volumes upon volumes have been written about the factors that can influence marketing decisions. In the small business networking world, I’ve observed that one thing matters a lot more than “know, like and trust.” When someone in your network has a need and is ready to make a decision, they are most likely call the person who comes to mind at that moment. How do you get to be top of mind? There is no guaranteed formula, of course, but here are three habits that will improve your odds considerably. I don’t claim to be a paragon of virtue when it comes to these three things; rather, these are habits that I strive to become a little bit better at applying each day.

1. Fitting logically into a simple category.
I’ve always been a “rebel” type, and I don’t like being stuck into a “box” or a category. But like it or not, people mentally file each other in categories, and you are no exception. If you’re a CPA, people can put you in the “taxes” category without needing any further explanation of what you do. The same goes for “auto mechanic,” “Realtor,” or any other profession. If, on the other hand, you have five different businesses and it takes you 20 minutes to explain what you do, people will say, “You know, I really like you, but I just don’t know how to refer business to you.” The worst category to be in is the “I-have-no-clue-what-this-person-does” category. (Ask me sometime to tell you about my short-lived days as a “Transformational Energy Consultant” or the phase when I introduced myself as a “serial entrepreneur.”)

2. Specializing.
If you are known for being particularly good in a specific area of your profession, you tip the scales in your favor. For example, if you are a financial planner who has an exceptional talent for helping recently-divorced single parents with kids in college—and people know that about you—you will naturally stand out to the right person when the right time comes. Caveat: specialties take time, as well as trial and error, to develop. The first few might not stick. (I, personally, am still working on developing mine.)

3. Consistently showing up in the same places.
A lot of the business that I’ve gotten in the past few years might look like a stroke of luck. I happened to be in the right place at the right time, when the right person needed something and was looking for somebody like me. But I started to notice a pattern after awhile. The places where I showed up the most consistently were the ones that generated the most business and referrals. This is partly because the more often people see your face, the more they think of you. But also, when you show up consistently, people get to know all sides of you and understand what you do more fully than would be possible if you only stopped by once in a blue moon.

Developing referral relationships is like anything else: it’s simple, but not necessarily easy. You don’t have to be “slick,” you don’t have to be exceptionally confident, and you don’t have to be a natural salesperson. You just have to be willing to work on the fundamentals and keep at it.

Everyone’s Articles – The 919 Local Business Network

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Web Freelancing – What You Need To Know Part I

September 7, 2012 By

I’m putting together this short series on freelancing for web people to help answer questions I commonly get from people.

I’ve been a freelance web developer for several years, and started from almost nothing when I moved to the Triangle in 2005. Sure, I had some skills, but I had no network to speak of in the area, and precious little time to devote to networking.

Probably the first question I get most often is “how do you find clients?”.

This is a question with many answers, and I plan to go in to more detail in them in a future post. The very short answer is “networking”. The longer answer is there’s no shortcut, and “networking” has many connotations, most of which don’t actually play out all that well for tech-oriented service professionals. There are a number of “chamber of commerce” type events in most towns, but the “commerce” aspect is usually a problem for geeks. I don’t mean this from a social skills standpoint; I mean it from a utility standpoint.

Most often businessy “meet and greet” events tend to focus on retail businesses and personal services – you may find an abundance of insurance agents, but precious few database administrators. As with most things, it’s a numbers game – almost everyone at an evening or lunch “meet and greet” function has *some* need for insurance, but only a handful would even know and index from a pivot table (nor do they have a need to!).

As an aside, I’ve found a number of small business focused web developers who *do* target regional chambers have an odd sense of ethics, sometimes passing off shoddy work and domain name trickery to unsuspecting business owners, milking them for $ 20-$ 50/month (or more!). Not everyone does, but to compete effectively you may have to put in a lot of education time up front with potential clients. All that said, while I wouldn’t turn down general purpose “chamber”-type events, be advised that it probably won’t be a pot of gold for you.

So if not the traditional chamber of commerce events, what else does ‘networking’ mean to the modern web freelancer?

Tech events are a big one – getting plugged in to the local/regional tech communityin your area can be fantastically rewarding, both financially and socially. Whether finding events on regional social media sites or meetup.com, you can generally find 2-4 very focused groups of like-minded techies who can fill you in on the who’s who in your area. What follows from that is an understanding of what tech is hot, what’s not, who’s hiring, who the movers and shakers are, and eventually, how you can meet them.

Be warned – all of this takes time – there’s no magic button, and you may also find you’re overwhelmed.

Did I mention there’s no shortcut?  ;)

In an area like the Raleigh Triangle, there’s well over a million people – the more I’m here the more I realize both how few people I know, and paradoxically how connected we all are. I generally feel like I know very few people – I’m always seeing names of people I’ve never met. However, many of my colleagues consider me one of the more well-connected people in the area. To some degree that’s perspective, but a matter of diligence and time.

I’ve made it a goal to hit 2 tech functions per month in areas outside my own core skills – that’s meant going to Ruby groups, .Net groups, Java groups, marketing groups and so on. This alone has exposed me to far more people than I’d ever have met working in my traditional 9-5 jobs, and the resulting potential network effects are great.

Right now there’s a few good tech events coming up in the Triangle -NCDevCon.com, indieconf.com and codecamp.org. There’s certainly more – watch socialcarolina.org and inside919 to learn about others, but those three will connect you with some of the best and brightest for very little cost.  For those of you in other regions – google around – there’s always some great events going on somewhere!

“But… I live in the boonies, and there’s no tech events around me!” This can be a stickler, so here’s a couple suggestions.

1. *Start your own group* I’ve started some user groups of my own in the past, and promoted them around some, and you become more connected and well-known simply by being a public face around something. People will contact you, asking for job referrals, favors, questions, etc. Milk that. It can definitely be valuable.

2. If you’re really out in the sticks, look at starting some virtual groups with similar meeting dynamics as face to face groups – Google Hangouts, cheap chat rooms and meetup.com have all made it very affordable to start networking groups around particular topics.But don’t just put up a group – spend time inviting people to the group (this is something I *do not do enough of myself* and is one of those things I kick myself for continually lagging behind on).

What else can you do for marketing?

Blogging is still effective, but you need to work that blog via social media – it’s not quite a full time job, but the people who get the most out of their blogs also tend to put a lot of time in the blog, both in content and curating and servicing the audience outside of the blog content.

Years ago I started a podcast.

While I’d say this isn’t for everyone, it can be an effective tool at building an audience of people over time, done properly. Notice I said ‘audience’? Audiences today can be as engaged or disengaged as you let them, so while you may think of a podcast audience as ‘listen/watch only’, the truth is that if you have good content, and engage people, they’ll become your network. 

On the other side of that – engage other podcast hosts if you follow them and like what they’re doing. I regularly offload work I can’t handle to my podcast listeners – I have a list of about 60 people I’ve built who’ve told me the type of work they want.

One listener from 3 years ago is now a good friend whom I’ve referred several thousand dollars of part time work too. It started because he emailed me that he like the show, had some questions, and it’s grown from there.

So… you’re marketing yourself… people are contacting you – the best type of potential customer! How do you proceed?

Find out at indieconf! Am I kidding? Well, yes and no.

I’ve got a couple more installments planned in this series about how to turn interested prospects in to clients, how to deal with those client projects, and how to keep the cycle going. The truth is… I’m busy! I will definitely be talking more about these topics on my podcast – webdevradio.com – but about 20 people much more experienced and focused than me will be presenting on all of these topics and more at http://indieconf.com/ this November 17 in Raleigh.

indieconf isn’t just for techies – we’ll have a couple of code-oriented sessions, but if you’re not a geek, don’t worry – you can skip those (we’ll have at least 18 sessions this year).

The majority of our speakers will be presenting topics like monetizing your community, staying focused and productive as a solo worker (harder than it sounds!), how to design your business around the life you want, copyright issues, legal and financial professionals focused on solo and small business workers, and more.

Have I sold this enough yet? If you work for yourself on the web – developer, designer, writer, marketer, anyone in between – you need to be at indieconf this year.

Register for indieconf today! or learn more.

Look for a part two soon…

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Baby Boomer Women Know How to Build Social Media Relationships

July 22, 2012 By

Baby boomer women in business know that building relationships is what helps us pay your bills. We also understand that our social media networks will generate a consistent stream of prospects, referrals and customers.

Like face-to-face networking, social media is about inviting people to have a conversation with you. That’s how we create relationships that win trust and a loyal following. It is NOT about immediately going out and asking people to purchase your products or sign up for your services.

In her article, 7 Traits of Entrepreneurial Baby Boomer Women, the author stresses the importance of building relationships and networks.

During the 4th Annual All BOOMER Women’s Social Media Summit, a panel of experts will share their own success stories of how they go about building social media relationships. Find out if the relationships you’re in are truly giving you the value you deserve.

Everyone’s Articles – The 919 Business Network – Local Business Networking

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What Men Know About Success of Which Women are Still Unaware

June 26, 2012 By

I got to thinking … that while women have ‘come a long way baby,’ even for 2012, still women  are paid 3/4 of what men are paid for the same work. That’s measurable.

My thoughts are around the skills and training that are not measurable … skills that have belonged to men, that gave them good results in business over time, while women were managing the home, which is a lot for sure, the men were learning about principled living, achievement, and leadership and applying it into business.

I see the application of the 100th monkey as a possibility here in that so infused over the generations is this man-to-boy training about virtues, principals and universal law, it may have become genetically inherent in today’s man. They already know it without the training.

With the significant depletion of male role models over the past 100+ years, many men find they have ‘forgotten’ some of these inherent skills and seek to rediscover them. They are the smart ones.

Whether true or not, I am clear that women are missing that vital information. It is not inherent and can be learned. I stumbled upon the tools men have been using for certainly the last 300-400 years, or maybe not. I was likely ‘guided’ to learn the tools to the extent that I become unconsciously competent in their operation and in their articulation. I am a teacher.

Franklin talked about virtuous living several hundred years ago. In fact, since the start of human society, living via virtue was always the foundation. Why? I believe because simply it makes us feel good. Reporter Hill synthesized the principles adopted by our most successful citizens about a hundred years ago, to see what it was they were doing that the rest of the population were not, and documented them in a volume noted the #1 best seller of all time, second only to the Bible. That book is Think and Grow Rich.

Now it is time for women to add these tools to theirexpertise, to finally be paid the exact same as men for the same work, and truly go toe-to-toe in the business world with men. For our children and theirs, one day it is my prayer these skills will show up inherently for women as they have for men.

  • Women stepped forward in the 50′s when my mom took her first part time job for ‘pin’ money.  Our family did not depend on it.
  • Women stepped forward in the 60′s when I flew troops into Viet Nam, sang in a rock band, and lived in San Francisco.
  • Women stepped forward in the 70′s and went to work full time (and it soon became depended upon), where we saw beginning the breakdown of the modern marriage and family.


Women CEOs know these tools. They made it their businessto learn them. And as a result they excelled.

If you are a woman who is highly curious, knows she doesn’t know a fraction of what is out there, is aware that men know many things women don’t know, and are still in confusion as to Why THEY haven’t reached full blown success as so many others have, you may want to study with me.

A number of people asked me to do a deep dive lunch and learn about these tools. I have agreed for when the student is ready, the teacher appears.

Here are the vital tools women have been excluded from learning and applying to reach success:

Principles of Success.Which are the most important? Why? And how do I apply them in my life and business to upscale my business?

Effective Goal Achievement.What we know about goal setting for achievement is minimal and ineffective. The steps for powerful goal setting are actually the OPPOSITE of what we have learned and believe and the direct cause of NOT achieving goals.

What we Believe is ALWAYS  a match to our level of success.We must be clear as to how we came to believe what we do so we can DUPLICATE  the process to create beliefs that serve success, rather than inhibit it.

Consider trading 3 hours Friday June 29to dip into each of these areas to begin your own exponential GROWTH in your own potential. You are simply ‘missing’ vital information that men have had.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!

REGISTER

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©Leslie Flowers June 2012, exponential personal growth expert, helps mature women re-engineer their businesses and their lives by steeping them in living life with principles and virtues. Faculty member in Mindset Mastery at the Ultimate Life company, with Bob Proctor, you can catch her programs on mastermind excellence and expert goal setting and achievement at their site. You may read her archived voluminous personal growth teachings — Drops of Awareness — at PathsofChange.com, which house each step on her own path of change over the past 10 years.

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Everyone’s Articles – The 919 Business Network – Local Business Networking

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Will they know who to call in an EMERGENCY ??

May 17, 2012 By

What would happen if you got into a serious accident and emergency personnel needed to contact your loved ones?

Would that person’s phone number be easily accessible?

Many people think that placing all of their emergency contacts on their smartphone will help the EMT’s, but what if your phone is no longer at your side? How can paramedics match you to your phone without a picture ID?

The hCard and Emergency Contacts have aligned their services to bring help to you when you can’t make the call yourself. As a member you can print out a card that has your special ID and a toll-free number, a paramedic can place one call to the number and then Emergency Contacts will call your loved ones, list your allergies, special medical needs and physician contact numbers. The emergency contact card should also include your pharmacy, the closest hospital number and address, and your children’s school information.

In addition to carrying The hCard’s emergency contact card you can:

Have your emergency contacts printed out by every phone and on the fridge

Include the poison control number

Know how to use your alarm system to contact fire, police and medical personnel

Teach your kids how to make an emergency call for help. They’ll need to know to dial 911, provide their full name, address and give a description of the emergency. A good way to prepare is to role play an emergency situation with the phone turned off.

hCard members are also eligible for receiving full Emergency Contacts coverage for all of their family members at a great savings.

Don’t count yourself any longer as one of the few people who carry their emergency contacts. Use the hCard to make the listing of your contacts easy—hopefully you’ll never have to use it.

Everyone’s Articles – The 919 Business Network – Local Business Networking

Filed Under: Inside919 Tagged With: , , ,
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