Yes, You, Too, Can Prosper in a Down Economy

Tired of the gloom and doom pouring out of Wall Street, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, OXY (made that last one up but...hey, it may be the call letters for some news show, somewhere...and if it isn't, let's start one with those call letters, anyone game?)...

I know I'm sick and tired of it all. I know that life is hard all over for a lot of people. I know that life is not as rosy right here, in my office, as it was a few weeks ago. I know that we're wearing our thinking caps all day now...hey, wait a minute, when weren't we wearing our thinking caps? Truth: never. Our thinking caps are on all the time. And yours should be, too.

Here are some places to get the innovation, the creativity, the nudge to not only step out of the box but to stomp it to death... remember, it's not up to your clients and/or customers to save the day. It's up to you. You can do it. Not only that, but I know you can do it...WELL...and prosper in the coming year.

One word of advice before I share some totally awesome places that will inspire and energize you... get yourself in front of women: we are where it's at!!!

First, a local client shared this with me and I've been fascinated by it, ever since. It will get you thinking - in the right direction. "MITA's Five Steps for HIgher Motivation and Achievement" This is content from Dr. Ellen Weber, who is surely one of the smartest women I've ever read... I believe her #1 about Questioning is worth printing out and reading, over and over. She says, "The brain creates pathways to information in response to questions." While her work is aimed at "students"... not business professionals, aren't we all students, of life, from beginning to end?

Next, at Collective-E (in pre-beta, whatever that means), women can find help getting the right PR. To be honest, I like their site and their idea, but Peter Shankman has been offering free PR for some time now. If you're not familiar with HARO, get familiar with it now.

Over at Smarter Than Your Average Blog, this post caught my eye, "Branding is a key to Blogging Success." Since I'm speaking on this topic at the end of the month, for our local RPCN group, I was quite interested in Alvin Ramirez's thoughts on branding and blogging. His big take away: "...hard work is to be taken as a given."

For you SAHM and WAHM (you know who you are), Moms Rising is a great resource. In fact, I bet most of you know about it already. Came to me via Twitter. Gotta love Twitter! Check out The Motherhood Manifesto while you're there.

That brings me to Boomer Diva Nation... Wow! I LOVE Boomer sites. We boomers need to stick together - and we need to stick to everyone else, too! I mean, the world is a diverse place, thank goodness. Let's all play nice together and when we want to step back and be among those who might be more in tuned to the nostalgia we love - so be it. For me, that would be visiting Boomer Diva Nation. Take a moment to read some of the articles. Right now, I'm drawn to "Surround Yourself with Brilliance."

My mentors and coach(es) Bruce Peters and Lee Thayer both agree that you need to hire the BEST - that you need to CHALLENGE yourself and allow others to challenge you, also. And, you need to be training your replacement. So, surround yourself with brilliance and you will, indeed, be on track for prosperity in the coming year.

p.s. visit this link at Innovative Economy and be blown away by this concept!

Now - what tips and tricks do YOU have that you can share?? We're listening.

Comments

[Lynn Thomas]

I’m with you. Instead of complaining look around you and put your effort into retaining customers, try some new incentives. Think outside the comfortable box we live in and get motivated to make some adjustments. I recently joined Boomer Diva Nation. What a talented group of awesome baby boomers. Surrounding yourself with “positive” people like the Boomer Divas is a great way to keep positive. I met Beverly Mahone, the founder of the group, at a local networking gathering. She exudes positive vibes and her warmth and caring about others drew me in.

[Claudia @ NJ Baby Boomer]

What fun to see Boomer Diva Nation mentioned! I love being a part of the group, and appreciate what the leader, Beverly Mahone, has done to pull such a wonderful group of women together.

Great article!

Claudia L. Meydrech, CN
happynutritionist.com

[Lisa Marie Mercer]

Baby Boomer Divas rocks! Thanks for the mention!

[Joyce Mason]

Thanks for mentioning Boomer Diva Nation! I joined this group of dynamite women only seven weeks ago, and I can attest to power of networking with like-minded boomers in full bloom. As one of the other boomers said to me recently, we are in a place in our lives where we have come into our own. It's great to have a supportive community that helps each other with all the challenges of this exciting phase of life. I have learned more about internet tools and various other business skills in the past two months than I have learned in years.

[Beverly Mahone]

Thanks so much for recognizing Boomer Diva Nation. We are definitely women on the move and making a difference in our own personal and professional lives---as well as the lives of others---and yes--we are a diverse group of international women. We love the journey we're on and we invite other Boomer Divas to join us!

Love your site!

[Michelle / chelpixie]

One the best tips I can share is music. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but putting our thinking caps on sometimes meaning switching our mood to lift us up.

Find music that sets the tone for your day out of your collection and crank it when you need the inspiration to get you moving on days when the news gets you down.

[Yvonne DiVita]

@Beth - I like your site. Hope a few folks give you a look-see and maybe even sign up. Let me know when your site launches.

@Lee - You have really given us the right numbers. Why is it that people need numbers to recognize value or worth? Anyway, thanks for sharing because this really hits the nail on the head.

[Beth Schoenfeldt]

Thank you so much for mentioning our new company collective-e, we offer very targeted PR Opportunities and also design pitches based on trends and topics we see within our membership. There will be much more when our website launches in a couple weeks!

[Lee Drake]

Yvonne, great points all. I was at a recent seminar on marketing where it was described to me like this:

Ok, take your whole market for your product or service - what is it worth? Now what is your total yearly income from sales into that market? Ok what percentage of the market is that? Lets say that market shrinks by 1/2! That sounds like a lot right? So let's say you have .5% of a billion dollar market and that market now has only 500,000,000 to spend. IF you can maintain your current customers - why you now have 1% of the market instead of .5. Customer retention is king. And what is your upside? You still have a 499,000,000 upside! Unless you absolutely rule your market (and how many of us do these days) you should be pouring money into advertising, social networking, lead generation, and other activities that will bring you a better share. While others are pulling back - you should pull ahead. When the market DOES expand again (and it will) if you've concentrated on rule one and attracted dedicated and loyal customers and concentrated on keeping them - you will bounce back wonderfully by just retaining your current market share!