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Stop Praying & Spraying

Stop Praying & Spraying

Whether you know the phrase “spray and pray” or not, you probably have experienced this phenomenon and possibly, like me, you have been guilty of doing it. When I first started promoting a group I founded over a decade ago, I whipped out a business card within...

Email Intro Etiquette

Email Intro Etiquette

Networking isn’t about collecting business cards it’s about building relationships. One way to do that is to make introductions between two people who may benefit from knowing each other. Sometimes you come up with the idea to introduce two people. Sometimes you...

Are conferences worth it?

Are conferences worth it?

Over the last few months I’ve been working on a new book and in the process asking my network to share their problems networking at conferences. Over and over I received questions that could be boiled down to - How do I get more value out of the experience of going...

Extrovert Privilege

Extrovert Privilege

As I’ve mentioned, I’m an extrovert. If bonus points were awarded on the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, I’d test off the charts for extroversion. That means I get energy from being around people. I’m able to keep up a demanding schedule (while caring for a toddler)...

Networking for Introverts

Networking for Introverts

Let’s face it. Networking means meeting people and if you’re reading this, you probably find that exhausting. Not to mention overwhelming. The worst part? It also often feels like a waste of time. Yet you know you have to network, because it is touted as being one...

are business cards dead?

are business cards dead?

You hit it off with someone at a networking event, and the conversation is going well. This person seems like a great person to stay in touch with. As the conversation winds down, you wonder whether you remember to bring business cards with you. But wait, are...

Graceful Exit Strategies

Graceful Exit Strategies

You’ve done it! You're in a conversation with someone at a networking event. You feel like it’s going well and you’ve enjoyed chatting with them. The whole time you’ve been a  little nervous because you never know how to wrap up conversations and often feel like...

starting at square one

starting at square one

My kindergartner is learning sight words in school right now and the teachers sent home some worksheets to practice. I don’t remember what it was like to learn to read and hadn’t much thought about the process until this year. Each night, we practice after dinner...

my philosophy of abundance
my philosophy of abundance

my philosophy of abundance

It’s early in the morning and I’m at a coffee shop a couple of blocks from where I work. I’m meeting with someone from my network who asked to “pick my brain” or have a “getting to know you” chat. This was a regular activity for me for many years - 10-15 years ago....

book launch to $30,000

book launch to $30,000

Is writing a book one of your New Year’s resolutions? Or did you recently publish one? Writing a book is not an easy task and I speak from experience having written two myself. For a book to be worth all that effort, it should be helping you meet your business...

Hobby

Hobby

As I look ahead at 2022, I’ve been trying to think of a word for the year. My word for 2020 was Revenue - which felt like a horrible joke in March, although it worked out quite well by the end of that very long year. My word for 2021 was Profit - I realized that...

why reviews are important

why reviews are important

Let’s say you’re getting ready to buy a new printer. Do you buy the one that’s available at Target? Do you first check reviews on Amazon? Have you ever found yourself checking Amazon reviews while standing in Target? Then you already understand why reviews are...

it was unexpected
It was unexpected.

It was unexpected.

It’s been so fun going down memory lane and sharing stories from a few years ago. I had forgotten this one, which in it’s own way is a lesson. Read on and see if you get what I mean… I did a thing. It pushed me way outside my comfort zone and now that it’s behind...

priceless
Priceless

Priceless

It all started because I wanted to get away for one night. It was September 2018 and my 5th wedding anniversary was in a couple of weeks so we arranged to get away for a night without our children. A night without our children. Just seeing that in print gets me...

Of course, I said yes.

Of course, I said yes.

My first book, “Croissants vs. Bagels: Strategic, Effective, and Inclusive Networking at Conferences” was published in July 2018. I put a ton of effort into the book launch and was very pleased with the results - 150 Amazon reviews posted within one week of the...

Yes, That Seth Godin!
Yes, THAT Seth Godin!

Yes, THAT Seth Godin!

I remember it like it was yesterday, it was mid-2015 and I had left my career just six months earlier to pursue speaking as a business. I was feeling a bit unmoored. After having my days clearly defined by endless deadlines, I was the one who had to decide what was...

I found your wallet
I found your wallet

I found your wallet

I pulled up to the restaurant and parked my car. As I got out, I nearly stepped on a wallet sitting on the ground just outside the driver’s door. This was about ten years ago and not the only time I found a wallet, but a memorable one. Immediately, I looked through...

A Burst of Willpower

A Burst of Willpower

For years, I struggled to take a simple step that would improve my health. I tried a lot of different hacks to make it a daily habit. I knew that it would not take more than a minute of my time but somehow could not get into a rhythm around doing it. Of course,...

This Surprised My Wife

This Surprised My Wife

My wife is sitting at our kitchen table scrolling through Facebook when something catches her eye and she starts to laugh out loud. A moment later she calls me over to read the post and when I do, I’m confused. I had never heard about the #TargetDressChallenge and...

why?

why?

Why do you open my emails? Is it my witty subject lines? I do aim to write “open loops” - a concept I first shared with my list back in July 2018 in one of my earliest emails with a story and a “your challenge for this week” section. According to Copyblogger, “open...

Adulting my business

Adulting my business

After my wife and I got married we realized it would be smart to meet with a financial planner. At our first meeting, I asked to see a list of all the “adult” documents we’re supposed to have - our financial planner laughed. But when she handed us a long intake...

lesson finally learned
Lesson finally learned

Lesson finally learned

Our family is moving later this week - that’s a story for another email. There is a lesson I learned the hard way during this process though that I wanted to share. Although, truth be told, I doubt you’ll learn this lesson simply by reading about it. That’s because...

it was worth it

it was worth it

“Do you want to be filmed discussing gender over dinner?” That may not be the exact quote, but it’s essentially what I gleaned from the email I was reading. I had a million questions and a few reasons I almost said no before reading any further. For starters, the...

Yes, I sleep.
Yes, I sleep.

Yes, I sleep.

Sleep. I think a lot about sleep. Mainly, I think about whether my kids are getting enough sleep. And whether I’m getting enough sleep because of my kids. When I’m feeling a bit run down, overwhelmed, or lacking focus - I start to get myself back on track by making...

I wear a lot of hats.
I wear a lot of hats.

I wear a lot of hats.

It’s true, I do wear a lot of hats in my business. A quick review of all that I do would take at least 20 minutes and you’d still miss some of the pieces of the puzzle. I wrote “Croissants vs. Bagels” an Amazon bestseller which has nearly 200 reviews worldwide. I...

Don't wait years.
Don't wait years.

Don't wait years.

The next cohort of The M.O.R.E. Program for Entrepreneurial Women just got underway, which is quite exciting. When I was having my first one-on-one coaching calls with each of the participants, I started to see a pattern. They had really, really big ideas of what...

No Beans.
No Beans.

No Beans.

Last week I shared that a very unlikely thing has happened to me… I’ve become a seltzer drinker. Every day, I’m getting used to this new identity and I’ve experimented enough with various flavors that I can now say plain seltzer with fresh lime is all I really...

It's time to come out.
It's time to come out.

It's time to come out.

It’s time to come out. I haven't been able to come to grips with my new identity, but it's time I share so I can find my community. It's been years of trying and failing. I kept going back to my old ways. I was being stubborn or at least going with what was...

You make the topic sexy.
You make the topic sexy.

You make the topic sexy.

I just had a very interesting conversation with my friend Jeffrey Shaw, host of the very popular podcast Creative Warriors. Jeffrey had recently heard me being interviewed on The Profit First Podcast hosted by Mike Michalowicz.   While Jeffrey has known me through...

Empowering Introverts
Empowering Introverts

Empowering Introverts

5/8/2018 Have you ever been voluntold to do a task that ends up being an amazing opportunity? That happened to Susan, one of my clients. I had encouraged her to get involved with her industry’s association. Not to just show up to a few events over the year, but to...