Dear Government,
A few weeks ago, the banks got like a gazillion dollars in bailout money for knowingly packaging unsustainable loans to (un)suspecting people who bought houses they couldn’t afford. Why haven’t you bailed out my neighbors? Or rewarded those of us who made intelligent decisions and can make our payments? So far, you’ve only helped the banks that should have been smart enough not to make the poor loans in the first place.

To celebrate the bailout moola, directors are still moving ahead with their miserable tropical beachfront retreats complete with piña coladas and cabana boys waitresses, CEOs are lining their golden pockets with taxpayer money, and Citigroup is laying off  50,000 employees. Now I’ve read that car companies are asking for their share of bailout bucks as well. * Cue the marching band *

In other words, dear government, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Sure, those companies should have been responsible from the beginning. Hats off to our new homeboy, Senator Christopher Dodd (from some state far away), when he called their company boardrooms, “devoid of vision.”

I get the trickle affect it’ll have on small business owners like yours truly (moi) and Joe the Plumber (you know, the white guy with the ripped jeans and booty crack). But, why not just start from the bottom (with the financially responsible) and work your way up? My closest fellow Diva Mogul friends an I hereby declare ourselves the Group of Four Diva Moguls. We would like a session with Congress to discuss how we can boost the economy with a fraction of the amount those greedy- piña colada- drinking devoid- of- vision- money- suckers auto makers and banks are demanding.

Sincerely,

Diva Mogul
CIO (Chief Intelligence Officer), Group of Four Diva Moguls

Thanksgiving is practically here already. It’s next week! I’ve been busy with projects, clients, and emails galore.  Just when I was stepping up my work pace, a not-so-divine intervention took place that has tied me to my bed. So here I am… a one-woman show and sick, sick, sick (but slowly improving) with work piled up high on my desk. On top of everything, I’m leaving town on a business trip this weekend and may or may not have a mini van full of (still yet to be 100% confirmed) guests pulling into my driveway just hours after my own arrival. What’s a Diva Mogul to do?

In an effort to improve my own quality of life and sanity this Thanksgiving, I have opted OUT of cooking this year. I refuse to run around from store to store the day before Thanksgiving in a mad dash to find enough mushrooms to complete my gravy recipe, again. I also have to mention that I’m a vegetarian, who has never cooked meat before, hosting hard-core carnivores. Instead of dealing with the disgusting nightmare of the store selling out of pre-cooked bird carcasses, I took a strong dose of cough syrup and drove my Diva Mogul Mobile to the nearest organic food store to pre-order a fully cooked and prepared dinner. I ordered a small vegetarian feast and a small carnivore feast which should be enough to feed everyone. Problem solved. Now I can concentrate on work…

Today, get over your fear of asking for referrals!

I’m feeling very generous with you, so I’m going to give you another piece of FREE MARKETING ADVICE! As I mentioned in my last post, it’s important to step up marketing when the economy take a dive. Not all marketing has to be expensive or cost something, so take advantage of the small opportunities that present themselves!

How much of your business is based on referrals? The great thing about this type of marketing is that it’s FREE and doesn’t require an advertising budget!

TIP: You appreciate customer referrals, so TELL THEM.

Don’t forget to add this to your email signature as well! It’s unfortunate, but it won’t dawn on most of your customers that you rely on referrals until you TELL THEM!

Here’s an interesting story:

My friend is a real estate agent and was always too embarrassed to ask clients for referrals. A couple months ago, she decided to bite the bullet and simply come out and say it. Her speech goes something like this: I don’t do any outside advertising and my business is based exclusively on referrals from clients like you. I just want you to know that if you ever know of a family member, friend, or acquaintance that could benefit from my services, I would sincerely appreciate your referrals.

Guess what? She got exactly what she asked! All of a sudden, referrals started rolling in because of this.

JUST ASK!

Photo Credit

When the economy starts to tank, it’s time to step up your business marketing. Big time. Consider it an investment, not an expense. Lucky for us, there are many low cost and free marketing opportunities out there that can and should be utilized by all businesses, rich or poor.
TIP: Utilize the automated signature at the bottom of your email.

It only takes you a few seconds and you’ll quickly save lots of time because you’ll never have to think about how you should sign the email or what information to provide. This area is often overlooked which is unfortunate because it’s FREE MARKETING SPACE! A real no-brainer so use it! In addition to signing your name, you should include your website, phone number, business name, and tag line.

Depending on your business, you can place monthly specials or discounts in this area.

For example:
10% off your next purchase.
OR
December Only: free coffee with purchase of a pastry when you mention you mention where you this signature promotion.
OR
Free tax consultations now through December 1.

Another idea is to keep it fresh with weekly or monthly tips for your customers and contacts. If you’re a website designer, give them one-liner SEO pointers or tips for a more attractive website. Personal organizers can give clues on how to keep clutter at bay. Use your imagination.

Large bookstores are so overwhelming. After walking up and down the aisles searching for your favorite section, you finally locate it…but the search isn’t over! It’s now time to pick out a book! Today I found myself standing in the Business & Management area absolutely overwhelmed. My eyes didn’t know where to go. Up? Down? Right? Left? Turn around and check out the other shelf?

I love the bookstore. In fact, I could spend the entire day there reading books from the Business & Management section. If I were accidentally locked overnight in a bookstore, come find me here. What impressed me most was the fact that there are SO MANY GREAT BOOKS ON BUSINESS available in the bookstore. There is a book for nearly every subject, career, problem, or business theme you can imagine. From Marketing to Networking to Sales to Taxes…the list goes on. Someday, when you have a few hours, I highly recommend taking the time to dig through a couple of the thousands of books available on business matters. Invest in a couple of useful books while taking bits and pieces of knowledge from books you would never actually care to own.

What books do you recommend?

And what a day it has been. Indecision 2008 has treated me well. I’ve been living it up like a true entrepreneur with a residual income from Uncle Sam (for this day only). You see, I kindly volunteered my day to work the polls (no, not those poles silly) and was put on standby notice in case one of the workers was sick or didn’t show up. Apparently they didn’t have any problems because here I am. Here’s where the residual income part plays in…they pay me to standby even if I’m not called in for duty! Can I get a whoop-whoop?!

(ok…perhaps not mega bucks, but it’ll pay a bill or two or three)

Anyhoot, I woke up to the sound of RAIN after nearly 8 rainless months. Threw clothes on (then raincoat) and ran out to cast my vote before returning to my humble adobe home office to begin a cozy workday in my PJs. Got sooooo much work done in the A.M. that I decided to treat myself to a nice lunch out…at a brewery. Returning home 99.9% sober to work (and in case Auntie County Registrar of Voters calls), I continued my winning work streak until RIGHT ABOUT NOW.  I’m officially off election standby duty and ready to bust out of here for an election news surfing party.

Sometimes lack of communication can get you in trouble at work. Communicating the wrong message can make things worse. Here are a few tips to avoid a communication disaster:

Think before you speak.
So simple, yet so difficult. At some point or another, it happens to everyone…you open your trap and mutter words without thinking about what you’re saying or the consequences of your actions. Next thing you know, you’re the one with the pink slip. If someone annoys you, make it a habit to let the comments roll off your back, collect your thoughts, and process the information before striking back with fabulous whit.

Understand where the boss is coming from.
You don’t have to like the perspective where she (or he) is coming from, but you need to understand their reasoning. Perhaps it’s nothing personal and you boss needs to think with the head and not the heart. Or, maybe they really are out to get you…but you need to understand WHY.

Respect all beliefs and opinions.
You don’t have to agree with everything a boss or coworker says, but instead choose to listen and respect. They should do the same. Also, everyone should reserve the right to refuse non-work related discussions. Even if your boss is oblivious to employee feelings, you should make it a point to foster a comfortable workplace…even if they are voting for an idiot on November 4.

As an entrepreneur, people often look at me in admiration. Some faint and while others cry of pleasure or ask for my autograph. Just kidding. But seriously, I’ve heard more people than I can count tell me how cool it is that I’m an entrepreneur and explain that someday they’d like to do the same. This statement is often followed by a laundry list of excuses about what is holding them back.

What is holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur?

Time?
Is it a full time job? Kids? A full social schedule? If you really want to do something you’ll make the time. It’s about making changes in order to do what you want.

Money?
When there’s a will, there’s a way. The only thing holding you back is an excuse. Despite the…ooo…I hate saying this…so I’ll whisper…”ECONOMY”…there are still financial resources available to people who want and need small business loans. If you’re not ready to quit your day job, start becoming a weekendpreneur.

Ambition?
If you’re not ambitious, perhaps you’re not entrepreneur material OR simply haven’t found your passion quite yet. Keep your eyes and ears open and maybe someday something will click and you’ll be creating and marketing the next greatest thing!

Always remember: How you choose to live your life is a choice….so choose wisely!

“I’m stronger than yesterday.”
-Britney Spears

I’m not the biggest Britney fan, but her lyrics and tunes are obnoxiously catchy. There are more days than I’d like to admit that I find some portions of her songs unconsciously seeping into my brain. It can really get annoying (especially since I don’t know what comes before or after “I’m stronger than yesterday”), but other than electroshock treatments, I’m not sure what I can do about avoiding this unpleasant phenomenon.

There’s some truth to the quote above: I am stronger than yesterday. Although I’d like everyone to be honest and ethical, this is simply NOT the case. No matter how honest YOU ARE, there are always jerks who sleep just fine at night after lying and stealing. Lucky for me, I am a lesson learner and everything negative that happens…makes me “stronger than yesterday!” (Cue black belt Kung Fu Diva Mogul with nunchucks)

When you have bad experiences, do you take the time to learn from your mistakes or other people’s stupidity? Always remember that what doesn’t kill you…MAKES YOU STRONGER. Apply this to your business or career and you’re ahead of the wolf pack.

Geez. These MLM (Multi Level Marketing) people are in hot pursuit. They’re acting like I’m their ONLY OPPORTUNITY to make any money. What is hard to understand about the word “NO” and the phrase “I have absolutely no interest in being a part of XYZ Company so please do not contact me further”????

At least one of them finally gets the fact that I don’t want to be a part of “the team,” but today she emailed me asking if I would consider being a CUSTOMER. Oh, she also asked for NAMES of people that might be interested in joining their team. I started thinking about people whose lives I would like to make miserable… but then concluded that I wouldn’t wish this upon anyone. Yes, even THAT ONE PERSON.

The other MLM lady doesn’t get anything. At all. I gave her the same run-around I gave the other lady and she had the NERVE to call me today. She didn’t even remember me telling her that stuff! How many people is she annoying daily? Obviously too many to count or remember.

Take this as a warning: be VERY careful about who gets your business card. MLM people can never use YOUR services, they only want a larger database of suckers.