Recently, I attended a networking event for my company. The speaker that night spoke about good networking practices. One of the practices she referred to was making sure to follow-up with everyone you meet at these events. She aptly referred to it as “pinging”.
The word “ping” takes its name from a submarine sonar search — you send a short sound burst and listen for an echo or a “ping” coming back. So, in networking terms, when you send out a ping, whether with an email, a phone call or a hand-written note, you’re inviting that person to “come back” and communicate with you thus beginning a relationship with that person. One that will hopefully benefit you both long term.
I always make it a practice to send out hand-written thank you notes to everyone I meet at these events. I like hand-written notes, because they’re a physical manifestation of your company (your brand) to that potential client, strategic partner or referral source. A hand-written note sets the tone for your company. Hand-written notes also differentiate you from most other
businesses. Ask yourself when the last time you received a hand-written note from someone you met at a business setting was?
Read more in our March 2008 WBO Magazine
This article was written by Kristine M. Lewis, owner of http://www.dreampressonline.com Dream Press provides stationery and gifts personalized just for you! Products include stationery, favors, labels, calling cards and more! Kristine resides in Michigan with her boyfriend and adorable 6-years-old son – Ben.
March is Women’s History month. Women’s History month isn’t one that many are aware of in my opinion. I think we need to make it more important. So I’m writing this article so people know what a woman in the 21st Century goes through.
Women in the 21st Century are so much different than women in the 20th Century. We have so much more we can do and so much more that is expected of us. We work, take care of the family, clean, and so much more. For a long time women didn’t have jobs. A woman’s job was to stay at home and raise the children. The husbands expected the house to be clean, the children to be well taken care of, and dinner to be on the table when they got home. Basically, women were to be at home at all times. We were not allowed to work and if you did, that meant something bad.
Well times have changed and more and more families are requiring two incomes to survive. The price of food, gas, and homes has skyrocketed and most families can’t afford to live decent and only have one income. That’s why so many women are looking into Home Based Businesses. A Home Based Business allows the mom to be at home with the children. It allows them the flexibility to be at home when the children are sick or when they come home from school. It also allows them the great feeling of helping support the family while being at home.
Read more in our March 2008 WBO Magazine
Corrie Petersen runs a successful VA and Advertising business. Check out her website at http://www.virtualfreedom4you.com. You can also sign up for her free advertising tips newsletter at http://getyoursoload.com/advertisingtips.aspx.
I have an organizational website filled with lists and planning pages. While I use these lists myself and feel ever so grateful to have them available to me, what I really need is two more of myself. Each of us would have a full plate of responsibilities. Each one of us would squeeze as much out of our day as possible. At night, we would go to bed knowing that we had been productive, done our jobs to the best of our abilities, and accomplished much. The responsibilities would be distributed as follows:
1. One position calls for a Homemaker Me. She would prepare at least 2 different breakfasts (one child wants oatmeal while another wants toast) in the morning, possibly 3 different lunches, 1 dinner, and provide numerous snacks throughout the day. She would dress all the children in the morning to take all the kids to the bus stop in every kind of weather and pick the kids up later in the afternoon. She would plan menus and buy the groceries. She would make sure the family had not only clean clothes, but also that said clothes could be found in family members’ own drawers. Dishes, floors, wood surfaces, sinks and toilets would all fall under Homemaker Me’s duties. Homemaker Me would record every transaction, keep books balanced, and would have the added responsibility of wondering how to pay every bill or expense that appears.
Read More in March 2008 WBO Magazine
Jennifer Tankersley is the creator of www.ListPlanIt.com where you can find 250 lists and planning pages including cleaning schedules, daily to do lists, grocery lists, and holiday/party planning to put your world in order.
In the Client Abundance coaching programs, we work on implementing several strategies that are designed to PULL your business forward, almost effortlessly. One of those strategies is creating a powerful vision for your business. My private clients have found this exercise to be both motivating and inspiring, and I’m certain you will too.Once a year, I take a short retreat to work on revising my vision for my business (and my life). This is an annual break I take away from my business (but with my family, although some of my clients prefer to go it alone, which is perfectly fine) to really think about and decide what I want the next 1 to 3 years to look like. I write my vision and I create a whole bunch of goals for my business. I also use this time to talk with my husband about my vision and goals. He is a great sounding board for all the ideas I come up with… and we usually have this conversation while hanging out on the beach… 
Being near the water definitely has some powerfully positive effects on my brain, and I always come away from this retreat with a renewed sense of energy and passion for my work.
Creating a powerful vision is your first step on your path to achieving your own business success. Knowing where you are going will make the journey that much easier and faster, as well as simply more enjoyable. So, let’s get started…
Step 1: Book your retreat
Book a 2-3 day retreat so that you can work intensively on your detailed 1 to 3 year vision. Get a very clear picture of where you intend to be 3 years from now. Book the time to do this. Make the commitment.I have booked the following dates for my vision retreat:________________.
Step 2: While on your retreat, answer the following questions:
What do you want your life to look like in 3 years?
What is your inspiring and compelling vision for the future?
For your business? For your personal life? Read more in our March 2008 WBO Magazine
Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & CoachT, founder of ClientAbundance.com and creator of 21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success SystemT, teaches professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com.
If you publish an ezine regularly, inevitably there are times when you get stuck and can’t quite come up with the perfect article for your issue. Sometimes just taking a break and coming back later will give you a fresh start. But other times you need more of a “writing prompt” to get you going.
The following 7 ways should help you get unstuck and get writing:
1. Write a Tip Sheet
Sometimes it’s easier to get started by creating a list of tips: How to _______; The 5 Ways to ____________; Top Ten Tips to _______________; Write a couple of sentences for each tip, and before you know it, you have a completed article full of practical information for your readers.
2. Answer Your Most Frequently Asked Questions
As your clients interact with you, you’ll likely get the same kinds of questions over and over. Take one or two of your most frequently asked questions and answer it in an article.
3. Use a Client’s Scenario
Protecting your client’s privacy (or not, if they give you permission), use their scenario as a case study. Explain the client’s situation and what recommendations you gave, as well as what the results were. This will help build your credibility in your prospect’s eyes as well, as this gives them the chance to see you “at work.”
4. Comb Through Your Reading Box
Do you have a Reading Box (or tray, file, pile)? If you’re like me, I get a ton of info via email everyday that I really do want to read, so I have a box where I toss all the stuff I print into (actually, it’s now two boxes!). Go through your own pile, and see what ideas pop up for you from there. (I do this often when I’m trying to switch from mommy-mode to businesswoman-mode.)
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WBO Featured Articles | WBO Magazine | 
March 1, 2008 7:19 am | 
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