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Strategic Visioning: Know Your Worth!

on July 1, 2011 in Education, Motivation & Inspiration, Relationship Networking, Success Institute, Uncategorized, Women in Business

Guest Post by Dr. Venus Opal Reese, DefyImpossible.com

Your net-worth will never exceed your self-worth.

Ali Craig - My Business BFF

If you find yourself doubting your ability, or worried about money, or scared about the future of your relationship, or stressed about your kids, or angry with your body for not being able to do what it use to, I would like to share some strategies that have made my transition from suffering to sailing through my growth process gentle and fulfilling. These strategies are part of my new series, “Net-worth through Self-Worth: Breaking the Inner Glass Ceiling” Blueprint!

Let me clarify: when I say self-worth I do not mean self-esteem. And I don’t mean self-efficacy. Self-esteem is a psychological term about your appraisal and evaluation of yourself in terms of your belief and your emotions. Low self-esteem means you think badly and negatively about yourself; high self-esteem means you think well and positively about yourself. The presupposition is that there is a “self” already there for you to think negatively or positively about. What is more, self-esteem is based on your own self-appraisal and self-evaluation. It is based on what you are saying to yourself. Self-efficacy is your belief that you can accomplish a particular goal. Both Self-esteem and self-efficacy are self-determined.

Self-worth, as I am using the term, is based on valuation. Valuation is a finance term, an ethics term, a property term, and a philosophical term with regard to personal valuation: dignity. Valuation is not dependent on internal measures; valuation is determined by outward assessment of an asset to a particular group, community, or market. When I am working with my clients, they don’t have a clue about the value they bring to all the lives they touch. Neither did I. I did not know my value so my sense of self-worth was completely skewed. I would give my services away for free, date people I had to convenience that I deserved respect, and kept friends around me that made me feel like cramp. I would only buy second hand clothes from Retheads and the Goodwill because I did not want to waste money on frivolous things. If I did not need it to survive, then it was a luxury. And all of the affirmations in the world where not helping me change my company or my behaviors. I thought I was going crazy: was I just a glutton for punishment? Was I out to sabotage myself? Was I mentally tied to my broken past?

When people focus on self-esteem and self-efficacy, they are looking inward for evidence that they are good and capable. But if you think you are a looser or stupid, how effective will it be to keep going to that well? When you shift your focus to self-worth you begin to look outside of you for evidence that your brain can believe. Have you ever noticed that no matter what anyone else tells you, you believe what you truly think, deep down inside? So short of spending thousand of dollars on someone’s coach, on self-help books or in program after program, perhaps its time to flip the script.

Please be clear: if you are not well, then please get professional help. This conversation is not for people are not well or who are clinically depressed; this conversation is for those of us who are disappointed and disheartened with life. We thought life would look a certain way or we would be further along than we are or we would have married someone rich. But life said no. Now we are making due: some areas are good, most are “OK” and others are just “fine.” I am speaking to successful, well people who are willing to do the real internal work to go from good to great and from great to exceptional.

Here are three Net-worth through Self-Worth strategies that will reveal to you your self-worth and move you forward in fulfilling your destiny:

1. Mirror Mirror: Go to a mirror in your house and if you are committed to immediate results do this in the buff. Stand in the mirror and utter the most powerful statement in the universe: I am. First you will notice how distracted you are with your nose or a pimple. Stay with it. Be with all of your imperfections. Accept them. Breath through them. Don’t give up on you. Stay with you. You are training your brain to not bailout on you. Say “I am._____” and keep saying it until you are moved to tears by who you are. Say as many “I ams” as you can think of. Let your body feel the sensations as you rebirth you to yourself. If you can speak you powerfully looking yourself in the eye and really connecting to you, you create new brain patterns of recognition of who you are for yourself. By so doing you bring dignity to yourself for yourself. Personal valuation.

2. What would your life look like if…: Pick 5 to 10 people you know who love you. Give each of them a call and or have lunch with them. Ask this question: what would your life look like if I had never been in it?” And sit back and learn the value you have brought to their lives. This is a life-changing exercise. It is the one that put me on the path of knowing my worth. Write it down for future reference.

3. Identify your angels, advocates, and ambassadors: For success in business and in life you need people who are not you or your family members to champion you to yourself through their actions and the world. I call them my Triple As: your angel takes care of you, has your back, and provides gifts and assistance based on what you will give the world through your genius. My angel is Kym Yancey, the President of eWomenNetwork.

Kym Yancey - My Angel

He has helped me see me in ways I would never have granted myself. He has done so by demonstrating his belief and faith in me by providing me opportunities, telling me what to do and where to go for training, and by putting his name on the line on my behalf. That’s an angel. An advocate is someone who will fight for you in your absence. This person is a warrior and will go to bat for you, even if it means they have to fight you for you!!! Lisa Nichols is my advocate.

Lisa Nichols - My Advocate

She fights for my bigness in spite of me. She gifted me her Ultimate Success package so that I could keep growing into my calling. She championed me to me and stood for me to keep going, no matter what. An ambassador is someone who will sing your praises from the hill tops, especially when you can not see the forest for the trees. I was at the See Jane Succeed Live event with Michele Dekinder -Smith and I had an upsetting “aha!” moment. We were doing an exercise and were directed to write down the people who were supporting us in our business. When I finished my list, all the names I wrote were family and friends. I did not have a single business person on my list. Do you realize how incongruent it is to have a business but not a network of business friends to help you with your business? I was devestated. Michele changed what she was talking about and took the time to let me know that I was making new friends and that it was like going school for the first time. And I said, “but I don’t have any business friends!!” through my tears. Michele said, “You do now. I am your business friend. Who else wants to be Venus’ business friend?” I got business cards, hugs, and hope. That’s what an ambassor provides.

Michele De-Kinder Smith - My Ambassador

In terms of self-worth, begin to look outside of yourself with regard to the asset you are to others and to the world. Let that determine the valuation you place on you, your time, and your talents. By so doing, you will commend a higher fee and speak yourself as a profound contribution to all the lives you touch. When you value you, you honor you by the company you keep and how you treat yourself. Treat you with dignity by virtue of all you give. You truly are priceless.

With all the love my heart can hold…

Join Dr. Venus Opal Reese on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute as she discusses “Breaking the Inner Glass Ceiling: 5 Secrets to Big Money and a Life that Defies Impossible!” 1:30pm CST, July 5, 2011

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Maximum Benefit from Your Accountability Partnership

on June 22, 2011 in Success Institute, Women in Business

Guest Post by Robert MacPhee, Heart Set, Inc.

Wow! I was talking to my dear friend Stephanie Perez this morning about accountability partners. Both of us have been in accountability partner relationships over the past several years with mixed results. You know this arrangement, right? It’s simple. You and your partner call or e-mail each other every day and make specific action commitments. You start the call by reporting on how you did yesterday and then make commitments for what you will get done today. The premise (a very accurate one in my opinion!) is that we will often do something when we commit to someone else that we would not do if we “only” committed to ourselves.

Stephanie and I both agreed that the hard core “do it or suffer the consequences” approach did not work for us with accountability partners, and that, in fact, it sometimes created ADDITIONAL resistance to taking action. The five year old boy in me comes out, saying, “You can’t make me!”

So here’s the idea we came up with this morning, one that any accountability partnership can use: structure your accountability call using the Manifesting for Non-Gurus approach. Each day check in with your partner and tell him or her who you are, what your intention is, how you expect to FEEL when that intention is manifested, what attachments are showing up and what actions you are committed to accomplishing today. Wow. The conversation ends up at the same place – action commitments – but feels totally different than it does when we just focus on actions and consequences… And it only takes a couple of minutes to structure the conversation this way. Time well spent if you ask me…

Stephanie and I started this new approach to our accountability partnership today. I invite you to try it too.

Join Robert MacPhee on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute, 6.28.11, at 1:30pm CST to learn “How to Generate Results with Ease”.

Original post at Manifesting for Non-Gurus.com/blog

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Purpose, Passion and a Paycheck – How to Have it All!

on June 16, 2011 in Success Institute, Women in Business

Your Action Plan For Achieving P3 Status

Guest Post by Sharí Taber, CEO of The Peak Performance Group, Inc.

If you’re like the majority and aren’t experiencing this trifecta, sharpen your number 2 pencil and let’s get started! You’ll be inspired and encouraged to evaluate where you are and where you are going, against where you really want to be.

Would you say your career completely allows you to serve your purpose and passion?

If you are one of the lucky few, you’ll agree, as well, that your passion is being served as well and that when you receive your paycheck, you simply shake your head because you can’t believe you are being paid to do what you were born to do!

If you are not in a position where you are serving your purpose and passion, you’re probably saying, “Serve me up some of that, please!”

Having been in the personal, professional and organizational development field for 30 years, I feel qualified to say that those who are not serving their purpose and their passion within their career will never reach their fullest potential or feel completely fulfilled in any associated area:

Earnings,
Growth,
Fulfillment, joy and contentment,
Career,
Spiritual,
Community,
Integrity, or
Impact potential

P3 Status

It’s no wonder we think it’s a fairytale that one could actually enjoy all three at exactly the same time! If you are in your twenties, it’s unlikely you’ve experienced it and even more unlikely your mother could have set an example for what it was like to have it. If you are in your thirties or older, you likely had to “decide” it was possible, kicked family tradition to the curb and trekked out on your own to achieve it.

Let’s face it, ladies; if this is what we want, we’ll be among those setting the example. It’s pretty amazing that in the second decade of the 21^st century women are still paving new paths.

What does it mean to be serving your purpose through your career? It means that the work you do or the impact you make aligns with your sense of purpose in this world. Regardless of your religion, spiritual beliefs or absence thereof, nearly every individual has a sense that they have a purpose for being on this earth. Unfortunately, most never spend purposed time discovering what that is for them.

If you’ve ever felt dissatisfied with what you are doing in life, but can’t really pinpoint the source, perhaps it can be traced to an unfulfilled purpose. Are you serving your purpose every day?

What is Passion?

Passion results from being engaged in an activity or activities that energize you or “juice” you up! Passion is empowering. When you are executing activities related to your purpose, passion bubbles up naturally. When your career is built around your passion, you’ll never feel as though you are imposing on a prospect that possesses indicators of the absence of your solution. You’ll never feel the kind of exhaustion and frustration that you’ll feel when your activities are simply executed for the purpose of a paycheck.

When you are serving your purpose in your career, your earnings potential will skyrocket – whether you are an employee for someone else or you are a business owner. “Life-purpose” driven passion stimulates an emotional connection from others to your message and goal. When your career serves your purpose, the energy required to pursue goal related objectives is naturally high-octane – greater impact with less effort.

If you understand this principle, you also understand that the energy required to pursue goals in a non-purpose-centered career lacks high-octane, high impact results, joy and fulfillment.

J.O.B. The Enemy of P3 Status

A career that does not impact your life-purpose is nothing more than a J.O.B., which is an acronym for Just Over Broke. If you are working at a J.O.B. that is not a purposefully positioned transition into a purpose driven position (PDP) – you’ll always be Just Over Broke.

By identifying where you are one JOB vs. PDP scale, you can define the gap and create a plan to close it. Take the P3 Gap Analysis.

Identifying Your Purpose

Do you know what your purpose is? How to identify it? How to create a career that serves it? If not, my Purpose Profile will help you gain that clarity. The Purpose Profile helps you gain clarity about your Purpose and provide clarity around where you are and where you need to go from here. Take the Purpose Profile.

Paycheck Profile

It’s not uncommon to have scored in the 90 percentile on the P3 Gap Analysis and not be receiving the paycheck you want. Oftentimes, I speak with people who are serving their purpose and working in the field they are passionate about, yet not earning at their potential. We discuss the reasons for this in the Purpose, Passion and a Paycheck Workshop, hosted by eWomenNetwork’s Success Institute on June 21.

In the workshop, we’ll discuss how to identify and serve your purpose within your career and how to create a plan to make it happen for you!

My Paycheck Profile identifies the strength of your career growth plan and uncovers the gap between what you are currently doing to maximize your earnings potential and what you could be doing to maximize your earnings. Take the Paycheck Profile.

In the June 21^st workshop we will identify strategies to improve your paycheck and your earnings potential.

Your Plan to Achieve P3 Status

Sheri’ shows you how to serve your purpose, engage your passion and earn a bigger paycheck than you ever thought possible! In this life-changing breakout, she’ll share proven principles and practices that unlock your full potential for success and achievement.

Compete in the top 10% of your industry or career
Become a top earner in your space or field
Engage your purpose and passion to achieve more than you ever thought possible
Achieve the financial independence you dream of – no matter what you do fro a living
Create an exit strategy for commitments, career, clients or relationships that prevent you from serving your purpose
Develop a strategic action plan to achieve P3 Status!

Join Sharí Taber, June 21st at 1:30pm CST on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute to learn the three short, simple assessments that will help you clarify where you are today and what you need to do to build a career or a company that serves your purpose, allows you to engage your passion every day and, as if that wasn’t enough, how to achieve financial success as a result!

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Let’s Get this Party Started! The Conference can begin today, if you engage!

on June 15, 2011 in Annual International Conference & Business Expo, Events, Social Media, Technology, Women & The Media, Women in Business

Through all the wonderful social media avenues, we can start making Conference connections today! Here are three things you can begin now to start connecting with others that are going to be at the Conference as well as preparing for who you want to see once you arrive.

1. Of course, I encourage you to “Like” the eWomenNetwork Facebook page. Just to be clear, if you happen to live in a city where there is a chapter, you may already be connected to that chapter’s Facebook page. I’m talking about the corporate eWomenNetwork Facebook page. I am posting new things about the Conference daily, and by “Liking” us, you will have access to the information instantaneously. Instead, you run the risk that your chapter Facebook page is not lifting the information and posting it. That keeps you out of the loop, and heaven knows we don’t want that to happen!

2. If you are a tweeter like me, I would love to connect with you on Twitter too! I usually post 2-3 times a day, so you are sure to get the latest nuggets of information! I love to pass them on as soon as I get them myself. My tweets include announcements, reminders, opportunities, and encouragement. Please make a note of my Twitter handle: @SandraYanceyeWN (don’t forget the “eWN” after my name or your message will go to someone else). You may also wish to know the corporate eWomenNetwork Twitter handle: @eWomenNetwork. Finally, if you have wonderful comments you’d like to make about the Conference, just include the hashtag #eWN2011. When you include this hashtag, your Conference comments will be posted to the Conference pages on the eWomenNetwork website. How cool is that? We will promote you to all our visitors for posting encouraging words about the Conference.

Just to be clear, if you have comments you wish to tweet that are not related to the Conference, just use the Twitter handle @eWomenNetwork (and don’t use the hashtag). That way, your non-Conference topics will be in the appropriate and perfect place!

3. Finally, you can always check out LinkedIn. The Conference is listed as an Event on LinkedIn. You can share the information with your LinkedIn Network by clicking on http://events.linkedin.com/11th-Annual-eWomenNetwork-International/pub/699912 and then clicking on the Share button to send InMail to your contacts. You can post comments on that page as well. Does your chapter have a LinkedIn Chapter Group? That is a great place to share and discuss Conference plans for your Chapter.

If you are comfortable, please go ahead and set up Facebook and Twitter on your mobile device. If the thought of this makes you twitch, no worries! You can either skip this or we can help you once you arrive at the Conference. We will have the “Be Social” booth set up prominently in the Expo Area. Lisa Larter, from Ottawa, Canada, will be our Social Media expert this year (don’t miss her breakout session). She and her team will be readily available at her booth throughout the Conference to answer your questions and get you moving and grooving in the social media world. She helped me, and there’s no turning back now. What once seemed intimidating is now like second nature!

That wraps up my highlights on how to maximize your Conference experience by getting social and starting now! Enjoy the tips … more to come next week!

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Put a little Show Business in your Business and Unleash Your Star Power!

on June 7, 2011 in Success Institute, Women & The Media, Women in Business

Guest Post by Barbara Niven

Every time you perform, speak, talk to a video camera, network or take a meeting….you want to WOW them! To do that, it’s not so much what you say, but how you say it. You can’t plan it or memorize it…you have to live it and be in the moment, so that the air crackles between you and them. That is Star Power! And I promise that you can create it every time. It’s a step-by-step technique that actors use…not to be fake…but to be our most authentic and emotional and revealing. When you do that and also plug into your passion, it’s contagious.

And sorry, it’s not all about you. It has to be all about THEM. True stars create a real experience for their audience and viewer. They take them on a real journey. It’s a full-out magic ride.

So you can’t just be all about imparting knowledge. Get out of your head because that is going to keep you stuck and removed from your Heart. No matter what your message or product or service is that you’re talking about, you must speak from your passion and truth, and especially your Heart so that your audience takes that journey with you.

And when you do…and they do…that’s when the magic happens. That’s when you have unleashed your true Star Power.

It’s never just you doing a monologue. It’s always a dialogue so that you include who you’re talking to. Always think of it as sending it from your heart to land directly on the heart of your viewer, whether you’re speaking in front of a large group or to that one person who is on the other side of the camera lens, watching you at home. It must be your most personal and passionate communication, straight from your heart. Your truth will then travel straight to their heart and they will be moved.

And remember to have fun while you’re at it! That is the secret that makes magic with your audience. The more you play and have fun, the more your audience does too, no matter what material you’re delivering. In fact, the heavier the material, the more you have to find the opposite. Don’t play a “mood” – go against it. Dip into it for an effect, because emotion is a powerful tool, but then turn it into something else. Be unpredictable. The audience will love you for it.

Be unique – reveal yourself. Don’t try to be like anyone else, because you’re not. You are special. And you have your own quirky sense of humor, your own delicious imperfections, your own sense of timing, your own unique way of talking or walking. These differences that make you YOU are what make you compelling to watch, especially when you are fueled by your passion and sense of play.

Think about movie stars like Katherine Hepburn, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Will Smith and so on. They are movie stars because they know how to connect to their truth and they are unpredictable in how they convey their message. They don’t just ask themselves “how would somebody else play this part.” Instead they integrate the words into their entire being and when they speak, it’s magic. That’s why you can’t take your eyes off them! They are compelling to watch. And each of them, if given the same script, would act it out differently. They use their own unique qualities.

You must too. Play with it and unlock yourself to all the possibilities. Don’t try to do “what you think they want.” Change it up. Do something difference each time. Shock yourself and shock the audience! They will go on the journey with you. For instance, I start out different speeches that I give in a number of different ways. For one, which is for my “ACT AS IF to Live your Dreams!” presentation, I open by running up screaming from the back of the room clutching my fake Oscar, as if my name was just called at the Academy Awards. The energy is electric and the room is full of laughter and excitement and magic before I even say my first word!

Dare to be different in everything you do. Mix it up. If you’re at a networking event, do something that doesn’t sound like everybody else. Put your real passion into your 30 second message instead of just your name, business, blah blah blah. Don’t waste your valuable time. Use some drama. Ask a question, put in some emotion and humor, stand out! You will be remembered…and your business will grow.

I wish you lots of success and fun while you’re building your business. Get out there and share your passion, your service and your product with the world. You have the power to change lives! Get excited about it. When you’re fired up, it’s contagious. That gives you charisma and STAR POWER! If you use it, people will walk out the door differently after they leave you, with a new sense of their own power and purpose. And you’ll have them as a new client. That is a beautiful 360 degree win.

Original post from Show Business 101

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Countdown to Connect – 3 More Conference Tips to Optimize Your Experience!

on June 2, 2011 in Annual International Conference & Business Expo, Relationship Networking, Women in Business

Guest Post by Sandra Yancey, Founder and CEO of eWomenNetwork

We are just 41 days away from the 11^th annual eWomenNetwork Conference. In an effort to help you be fully prepared, I am sharing some ideas and tips to help you maximize your Conference experience! I want to again thank Susan Rueppel, a veteran Conference attendee, for sharing her observations with me and urging me to build upon her valuable insights. Following are three more things you can begin to do right now so that you, too, can glean all that the Conference has to offer:

Refine your 60-second introduction! The culture of the eWomenNetwork Conference is one of support and assistance. We believe that when ladies are standing in a small circle and someone else begins approaching, everyone should take a step back and widen the circle. You never have to worry about those awkward instances when people turn their heads and pretend they don’t see you. No way! Not at eWomenNetwork! You will always be invited to join the circle and asked to introduce yourself. When this moment happens, you want to be prepared – not so prepared that it’s like you are reciting your national anthem. You want to make eye contact with the others in your presence in a warm, friendly, authentic manner. Be you, be intentional, be clear and be memorable! Not confident your introduction is the best it can be? Hire a coach to help you! If you are a member, this is the perfect reason to use your two complimentary coaching sessions! Remember, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Your 60-second introduction should be solid!

Know what you need! You will be amazed at the number of times you will hear my five favorite words, “How can I help you?” This is your moment to get the ideas, information, resources and connections you need to resolve a business challenge or gain assistance with something you are excited about. Come to the Conference trusting that you might get access to the one thing that could bust your business wide open from the person you least expect! Be prepared to complete these sentence stems: If I could waive a magic wand and address one thing that would propel my business to new heights it is …. Or, one thing that I am really excited about, but not sure how to go about it is …. Completing these two sentence stems are great ways for helping you get clear on areas where others can help you.

Update your eWomenNetwork eProfile! That’s right. The women that come to the Conference are serious about doing business and establishing great connections. You will be sharing your business card with lots of attendees. Each of us will be trying to hone in on the critical few we want to follow up with. It is not unusual for attendees to go back to their rooms and use their laptops and iPads to learn more about you. When they check out your eProfile, you want them to be even more impressed about you and your business. You’ve probably heard one of my favorite sayings, “Better to be prepared and there be no opportunity, than for there to be an opportunity and you not be prepared!”

These three tips will undoubtedly help you leverage your time and interactions with others in the most effective and beneficial way. I’ll be back next week with three more tips on preparing to get the most out of the eWomenNetwork Conference! I’m excited about blogging and connecting with you before you arrive in Dallas! We are sure to have a fun and productive time together!

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Hot Tips to Maximize Your Profile

on June 1, 2011 in Social Media, Success Institute, Women in Business

Guest Post by Gail Z. Martin, President, DreamSpinner Communications

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at eWomenNetwork profiles. I’ve reviewed hundreds of profiles out there. Some profiles make me want to pick up the phone and call the person right away. But many of the profiles are not nearly so exciting, not as attention-grabbing, not as likely to get a call or an email from a prospective client.

What makes the difference between a “wow” profile and one that just doesn’t get a response? You might be surprised. It isn’t fancy degrees or experience with big-name companies. In fact, what catches my eye is something that could be working for everyone with a profile on the site: Personality.

Most of the profiles I see on the eWomenNetwork site and other sites really don’t give me a sense of who the person is. I don’t get a sense of personality. I don’t grasp what they can do to make my life better. There’s no clear explanation of how their product or service makes some kind of transformation for their client, if they even describe their product or service.

On the other hand, there are some profiles that I’ve seen out there that would make a wonderful introduction if they were a keynote speaker at an event, but they don’t show the benefits for me as a reader that would make me want to contact the business owners. I might walk away feeling, “Wow that person has won a lot of awards and they must be very important and they’ve really achieved a lot. Good for them.” But it doesn’t make me want send them an email because I don’t see what they’re going to do for me.

So the first thing in making your profile magnetic to the type of clients that you want to attract is to truly make it personal with your passion for your subject. This is where you become focused on benefits and not just features.

If you give me a list of bullet points that name your products, you have given me a list of features. If you give me a list of bullet points about how I will feel or what will be better in my life after I’ve used your product or services, you have given me a list of benefits.

You want your profile to be benefit oriented so that the person reading down through your profile can hardly wait to get to the contact information because they’re saying, “I want one of these. I want this in my life. I want to make those changes. Wow. How do I get it? Where do I sign up?” They’re not going to feel that urgency to contact you if your site is all about you. It’s got to be focused on what’s in it for them.

Your profile has to be passionate. It needs to be personal. One way to make your site more powerful is to share what got you started in this business in the first place. What did you want to do better? What did you want to change? What did you set out to do or how do you make a difference? That needs to shine through your profile. Infuse the profile with your passion, and with the benefit that the reader is going to get out of working with you. If you do this, your profile will stand head and shoulders above most of the profiles, not only that are on eWomenNetwork, but on all of the online groups.

Your profile needs to have some other very basic, very valuable information. It needs to have your name and your company name, as well as an email address that you check frequently. Make sure that you have your phone number and your website listed. Have a good, professional photo that makes you look friendly and welcoming.

Now moving down into the body of your profile, think “benefit oriented.” Think about the problems that you solve for your clients or what your product does to make the people’s lives better who buy it. Focus on what they get out of it as opposed to what you might want to tell them. They want to know what’s in it for them. Think about your benefits more than your features.

Let your passion shine through and help us see you as a person. So many of the profiles out there are so bland. They’re so lifeless. There’s just nothing energizing about them that makes us read them and go, “Wow. I want to meet that person.” They’re just boring.

I’d also suggest that your photo be fairly recent so that if someone meets you they’ll recognize you. I just had to renew my driver’s license and I guess that’s the state’s way of making sure that you’re not forever sixteen. Make sure that the photo makes you look good and is a professional and recent photo.

Spice up your profile with a link to a business-related video you’ve posted to YouTube, or an audio greeting. Create a link to a free download on your web site to give people a reason to click through to your home page. When they request that freebie from your website, now they’ve opted in, which gives you permission to stay in touch with them. Give them a reason to get in touch with you now.

Your profile is the first step toward getting to know all of the fabulous women who are a part of eWomenNetwork. Make the most of your eWomenNetwork profile so your ideal prospects and potential partners will be attracted to you. Don’t be shy about finding other members whose profiles attract you and introducing yourself to get the conversation going. You might be surprised at what can happen!

Join Gail Z. Martin 6.7.11 at 1:30pm CST on Success Institute to learn more about “Working the Room: Six Figure Tips to Maximize Your Networking”

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How to Optimize Your Conference Experience!

on May 27, 2011 in Annual International Conference & Business Expo, Events, eWomenNetwork Foundation, Women in Business

Guest Post by Sandra Yancey, Founder and CEO of eWomenNetwork

The 2011 annual eWomenNetwork Conference (#eWN2011) is just 47 days away. Susan Rueppel, a long-time eWomenNetwork member and devoted Conference attendee, has gathered some valuable tips for optimizing your Conference experience. From Susan’s list, each week we will be featuring three things you can do now so that you feel well prepared to take full advantage all the benefits—from soup to nuts—that the Conference has to offer.

Over the next two weeks, we recommend the following:

Order business cards – take plenty (200-300). We recommend that the back is blank so that people can write down notes about you, like what you are looking for and how they can best serve you. We also recommend that you bring cards that are not coated with a waxy finish that doesn’t allow people to write on them.
Check out the Conference banner on the website. Particularly, click on the link Travel & Hotel.

Tips from Susan Rueppel, Ph.D., Chief Intuition Officer, ChiefIntuitionOfficer.com

If you plan on flying into Dallas, you may wish to explore American Airlines. AA is a national sponsor of eWomenNetwork. That’s great news for you because they provide a discount on flights for the Conference. In order to capitalize on our sponsorship savings, call 1-800-433-1790 and give the American Airlines Representative our STARfile number 9971AN, or go to www.aa.com/women and enter it there.

Did you know that if you fly American Airlines, you can help the eWomenNetwork Foundation in a big way and it costs you nothing? That’s right, when making your airline reservation, simply either mention or enter the Foundation’s Business ExtrAA account #756327, and AA will gift “matching miles” to the Foundation. Isn’t this cool! This is how we fly in our Grant recipients and Emerging Leaders so that they can experience the Conference just like you! Again, nothing is taken away from you! You can still use your own frequent flyer number and accumulate AAdvantage miles. This is simply an “added” benefit and bonus to help the eWomenNetwork Foundation!

Finally, don’t forget to make your hotel reservations. At the discounted rate of $149, our room block is selling out fast. We can’t guarantee that the hotel will honor our special discounted room rate after our set-aside block has been met, so make your reservation today to secure your room at our special rate. For your convenience, you can click here to register or call 1-888-421-1442.

With these basic fundamentals out of the way, we’ll be back with more information to fill you with more strategies to pace yourself, take full advantage of all the offerings, and ensure that you maximize your Conference experience!

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Can’t Stop Thinking About … Why Staying Focused Is So Important

on May 26, 2011 in Education, Success Institute, Women in Business

Guest Post by Sherrin Ross Ingram

The ability to remain focused and not be distracted is one of the most overlooked and underdeveloped skills necessary for consistent goal achievement. However, in a world where multitasking is said to be instrumental to success, staying focused for an extended time on any task may seem next to impossible. That’s because you are likely bombarded everyday with a tsunami of emails, phone calls, text messages, meetings, and the everyday demands you subject yourself to. Most of these are unimportant and all are taking up valuable mental energy that should be dedicated to executing the details of your daily action plan.

Not staying focused may be costing you everything you desire and deserve: achievement, success, wealth, quality relationships and your health. Those who are focused and consistent are the ones who achieve desired results sooner than later. That’s why improving your ability to stay focused is a core success skill that you want to proactively develop.

Ask yourself these power questions:

Am I making significant progress or completing the most important tasks every day
Are my current efforts producing the results I desire sooner than later?
What would it mean to my career, my business, my income, and the quality of my personal time if I learned how to stay focused on my most important tasks until they’re completed… in spite of distractions?
Am I truly ready to enhance my performance and accelerate achievement of my most important goals?

If you are serious about consistently getting the most important things done everyday, then join me on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute’s Tele-Session, May 31st. I’ll be revealing some of the most powerful principles and strategies available for staying focused, including:

(1) The single most important tool that will get you back on track from a mental distraction within seconds every time and how to use this tool correctly.
(2) The #1 most overlooked reason why most attempts to consistently focus fail and the strategy that will help you overcome it.
(3) The five guiding principles that exponentially enhance your ability to stay focused.
(4) The #1 myth about staying focused and how to avoid falling victim to it.
(5) How to combine the five guiding principles and power strategies to create a customized strategic plan to consistently stay focused.

Don’t waste another minute working harder and smarter without the power of focus working for you. This small investment of time and money to learn some of the most powerful strategies for staying focused and consistently getting the most important things done will reap huge rewards for you now and in the long run!

Original Post from Can’t Stop Thinking

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How to Avoid Some of the Critical Mistakes Small Business Owners Make

on May 21, 2011 in Coaching Corner, Education, Success Institute, Uncategorized, Women in Business

Most small business owners focus on attracting more clients and making more money, however, they often struggle due to lack of step-by-step guidance when starting and growing their businesses. To gain some insights about how to avoid some of the Critical Mistakes Small Business Owners Make, here are tips from eWomenNetwork Premier Success Coaches Katrina Sawa and Margot Morgan:

Tips from Katrina Sawa, Premier Success Coach and owner of Jump Start Your Marketing