Meet Vicky Wu, Marketing Guru

In her own words, here's a bio of Vicky Wu...

My clients are like my family. In over 30 years spent working the marketing and advertising for businesses big and small, I've uncovered some golden themes and tactics that work wonders, no matter the size of the budget. Nothing puts a smile on my face more than enjoying my client's success as the result of their marketing plan. In my years of experience doing marketing with top level organizations like Nokia, Southwest Airlines, the Dallas Cowboys, CENTURY 21 Judge Fite, and a number of nonprofits, I've uncovered some tough strategies that are super powerful and can easily be applied to smaller business with minimal time and budget. I love teaching others, from simplifying complex marketing strategies, to teaching couples to ballroom dance for their wedding!

To learn more about her work, check out http://vickywu.us/ and Vicky Wu's Facebook page.

1. How did you first know that you wanted to pursue a career in marketing?

Looking back, with 20/20 hindsight which we all wish we could have before we begin, I was thinking with a marketing brain when I was still in elementary school. I remember designing things; one that comes to mind is this amusement park which had a theme of fruits and vegetables. I've been an artist since I was that age, drawing and painting, so I would sketch out the whole park on paper, drawing the rides. A tomato would be a spinning cup-type ride, with the seeds being the cups you ride in. But I would go beyond that and be designing all of the other little pieces that would go into it, the parking lot, the logo, totally branding the entire thing on paper. I would even draw out what the customers look like--I was doing customer "avatars" before it became a big thing or I had even heard of them--and what the TV commercial would look like.

I didn’t know any of this was "marketing." I just knew I was having fun.

Moving into middle school or junior high, I continued taking art classes, in addition to having personal lessons from family members who were professional artists, and while I wanted to be an artist, I didn't want to be a starving artist--a business acumen was emerging even then.

In high school, I began taking journalism classes and became editor of the school newspaper and the school yearbook. I knew I didn't want to become a journalist, but it's when I first became interested in advertising from working on the ones in the newspaper and yearbook. I remember going to meet with the counselor to talk about college, explaining how what I wanted to do wasn't offered at any of the local community colleges, which was all I felt there would be any hope of affording, and knowing my parents wouldn't be able to help with bigger colleges anywhere else. His suggestion was I needed to decide what I wanted to do with my life that wouldn't require college at all, or something I could take at the local college. Even as a teenager I didn't think that was much help and felt it was just trying to squash my dreams. So I knew I may have to blaze my own trail, and that's exactly what I started doing. I like to tell my clients I made the mistakes so that they don't have to!

I didn’t realize that the field of marketing was exactly where I wanted to be until my second full-time job (the first one was in advertising), but once it all clicked together, I forged ahead by learning as much as I could from the best in the industry, and continuing my education and earning my degree (from a four-year university, not our local junior college). Continuing to learn and seek and develop best practices is a big part of my professional life today.

2. I noticed a variety of both "DIY" and "done-for-you" solutions offered on your website. Could you tell us a little more about your business and what you do?

Our services are broken down into three levels:

Do it yourself – this is for the entrepreneurs who want to do the marketing, graphic, or social media work themselves, have the time and desire, but may not have all of the technical skill. Our training programs help them learn the skills they need to know without having to make all of the mistakes that we learned from over the years.

Our newest addition to this level is our Business Startup Marketing Mastermind training program, which is a convenient hands-on platform which takes a small business owner step-by-step through a proven system to begin and boost their business marketing. Each lesson has specific how-to instructions and helps the business owner tie everything together without needing any prior knowledge of marketing. It's fed out in small bite-size pieces so that the program is convenient and not overwhelming.

Do it with help – this is for businesses that have someone on staff, maybe the owner or another employee, who can do the work (either they already know some of the technical skills or they've gone through our training) but need help with strategy and direction to implement it in the manner most strategic for their business to realize the greatest return on investment. This includes our marketing coaching programs, Marketing Bootcamp, business coaching, and the "Hire a CMO" program.

Have it done for you – this is for the business that wants to outsource some of their graphic design, social media, and other marketing pieces. The problem with finding your own freelancers is that you often have to go to multiple places to have the differing pieces accomplished, and this can result in a lack of brand consistency, which is very bad for a business. We have a whole team of freelancers on call so that you can have all of your needs met in one place, and provide an account manager who acts as your Marketing Director or Art Director to oversee it all and make sure your brand messaging and design is consistent.

3. For small business owners, how can they know when it might be a good time to work with a coach or consultant?

When an owner has the desire to grow their business to the next level, whatever that may be, yet is feeling the pain of already too much work and knowing they won't have time to invest to achieve that growth without something else dropping, it's a good indication that it's time to bring in some expertise.

In every business, and every area of every business, there's a tipping point where future growth is limited by current resources. Every small business owner understands exactly what I'm saying. A point at which, to take the business to the next level, it is either going to require more time than the owner can devote, or require more expertise than the owner currently has (or wants to have). Yet they haven't grown enough yet to justify additional salaries.

There are a lot of things a small business owner can do on their own in the vast realm that is marketing. There are SO many choices today in the area of marketing; it can be very hard to know which ones you need to pick and choose. If they have little experience in marketing, they may not be as easily able to determine which tactics could be most efficient for their business and provide the best return on investment – which can result in being inefficient with their finite time. No business owner has the luxury of things taking longer than they need to or not bringing the best results!

A coach or consultant can bring years of expertise with numerous business large and small, and help a business focus their marketing strategies and plans based upon what has been proven to work. It can allow the business the flexibility of not having to hire a permanent position before the business has grown large enough to justify that type of ongoing expense.

4. What are some of your favorite parts of your work?

There are so many stories I could share, but they really all boil down to developing people and businesses. I am proud when a business achieves a goal (and I'm a HUGE fan of a business envisioning and achieving a big, hairy, audacious goal--when it's right for the company--and even better when I'm the one helping achieve!).

I am proud when I coach an employee or company and they enhance their marketing efforts and achieve their goals. I am proud to see them proud of themselves.

Really for me it;s all about the win. The win for the company I'm working with. That's a win for me.

5. Is there anything in particular about marketing that you wish more people knew?

Not knowing what you don't know can make it harder on you. Yet it doesn't have to be hard at all; you need a simple plan and a simple strategy and to know how to tie it all together. The biggest concept that I share with all of my clients is don't keep switching up your strategy. Most strategies are longer-term and take time to fully develop; yet once they do, they quickly snowball and bring bigger results than you may have imagined. But you never may get to that point if you give up after a week to try something new.

Thanks, Vicky!

Meet Asif Zamir, Toronto Business Consultant

Asif Zamir lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and started working to help support his family when he was around six years old. By the time he was a teenager, he had worked for several companies and also been self-employed. Over time, he began working as a consultant to help businesses succeed, with an emphasis on new, small businesses in the startup stage. He devotes much of his time to ministry and philanthropic work.

Learn more about Asif by visiting AsifZamir.com.

1. When, as a young man, did you realize that you wanted to go into business for yourself?

When I was young, around age 6, I would sell candy door to door, and people would buy from me because I was cute. I liked the freedom of managing my finances and setting a schedule. At age 15, I dropped out of high school and started my own business consulting company. To be honest, I didn't have much of a choice; I had to drop out of high school and start a business because I was dirt poor for the majority of my life, and we were struggling to get by financially. So I took a chance at doing something more with my life than just getting by. It's not like traditional jobs were paying big money to teens back then, so I needed to start a business to have a shot at real money.

2. How do you choose the business ventures that you want to pursue?

When I was young and dumb; even 8 years ago it was all about the money, and that gave me nothing but heartache and stress. Now I think about my happiness and my relationship with the client. I'd like to make money, lots of money, but I'd also like to build a friendship. I'd like my client to reach or surpass their goal, but I'd also like to enjoy the entire process. If I can gain a friend, that's ideal, and if we can both make a lot of money, that's even more ideal.

3. What's your advice to other people who want to be self-employed but aren't sure where to invest their time and money?

My honest advice is to not be self-employed. Honestly, it's a lot of hard work before you reach your goals, usually 10 years. Most people can't handle this, and it destroys their marriage and self-esteem. If you understand this fact and still want to do it, have a vision for the long term. I see so many people fail because they think, "I'll start a business today and be successful tomorrow, and if not, then I'll quit!" And those people always fail every time. But people who have a vision for 10-20-30 years always succeed. Always. Take a look at any success story: the person worked for many years to achieve what they wanted. Go ahead and read 100 success stories online, and you'll see that it usually averages out to more than 10 years of hard work. People who think it takes a few weeks or months are mentally insane. Go ahead and invest in your education. If you're going into a business, know everything about that business. When I was 15, I read every book available in the library and bookstore. I find if people won't even read a book on a subject, they aren't really interested.

4. How do you find time to do all the philanthropic work that you do?

That's where my life gets tough. Typically people want financial freedom for the purpose of gaining time, and so I've gained time, and now I use up all my time by giving it away. It's tough for me to balance it out because everyone wants an hour, or a hundred people want ten minutes, and I'm learning to say no to a lot of people and a lot of invites. I try my best to take it as it comes to me. A few days ago I had a relaxing evening planned for myself but instead spent it visiting someone in the hospital who specifically requested my visit. I won't get another relaxing evening in for a while, but I'm trying my best to keep my life balanced; like I said it's a struggle for me.

5. What projects are you currently working on, both business and charitable endeavors?

I'm working on one of the most interesting business ideas ever with a lady who wanted to run errands for strangers. She's very rich now and has a full staff. I helped her set up her website, and draw up a plan and structure, and most importantly I helped her set realistic goals and gain her first 250 clients and hire her first employees. Gosh, she's basically more successful than me now. She charges anywhere from $50-$200/hour to do any errand for you. She's been asked to wait at a person's house for the cable man, to pretend to be a friend to an executive at a dinner, and everything in between; usually it's dropping off dry cleaning and picking up groceries, things along those lines. She makes a fortune, and I really enjoy this project; I'll be sad when my contract is finished.

I'm also participating in a beta-stage project which involves having churchwomen go to the streets, and paying prostitutes to attend church services so that they can connect with God, people, and social workers who will help them get out of the sex industry permanently. The project has been mostly successful, and I find that it's sustainable. Changing one life each week, helping one person at a time, it really adds up. Actually this one lady, she was really young when we met her in downtown Toronto years back, and she's graduated college now and you would never tell she worked the streets. She's brilliant and she's reaching her life goals.

Thanks, Asif!

Meet Lakeisha Hinnant, Life Coach, Author, and Entrepreneur

Lakeisha Hinnant lives to inspire. A successful business owner, life coach and author, Lakeisha loves helping wannapreneurs become entrepreneurs! Learn more at www.LakeishaHinnant.com.

1. What made you decide to complete your certification in life coaching?

I decided to complete my life coach certification to help women like me who knew what they wanted but had NO IDEA how to get there. We all need or needed help at one time to tap into our finest resources.

2. How does your personal experience as an entrepreneur help you to work with other people in achieving their own business goals?

My personal experience helps my client not make as many mistakes as I did when I finally started.

3. Would you tell us a little more about 2 Women and a Rig?

2 women & a Rig was birth April 16, 2014. We are a transportation company that deliver goods to all of the lower 48 states.

4. What do you think are some of the main obstacles that are holding wannapreneurs back from becoming entrepreneurs?

I think the main obstacle that hold wannapreuners back is FEAR! I think as being human, we can be our biggest hindrance. We think more than we act. No one really wants to fail, but you will never know if you don't try.

5. For someone who wants to go out on their own in business but isn't sure how to get started, what's your advice?

Trust your instinct, and do your research before you start anything. Most importantly, take massive action. You can do it--don't give up.

Thanks, Lakeisha!

Meet Rafi Chowdhury, Entrepreneur, Marketer, and Chess Coach

Rafi Chowdhury is the founder & CEO of Chowdhury's, co-founder of myCampusHacks, and an experienced digital marketer and chess coach based in Memphis, Tennessee. He helps companies in Memphis grow their revenue by directing targeted visitors to their websites. A graduate of the University of Memphis, Rafi Chowdhury holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. He is the owner of numerous awards and accomplishments including Shelby County Chess Co-Champion and winner of the Mid-South Psychology Conference, and he has been ranked among the Top 100 best young chess players in the nation. He has appeared on Commercial Appeal, ABC News, and United States Chess Federation, and has recently been featured on The University of Memphis Magazine, Startup Dhaka, and numerous other blogs and magazines. Rafi is currently working as a Digital Marketing Specialist at Total Concept Graphics in Memphis and consults with other local businesses about their marketing campaigns.

Connect with Rafi on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, and YouTube, and at www.rafichowdhury.com.

1. How did you first become interested in digital marketing?

I got into it when I was marketing my chess projects via Facebook. Then, I was interested in trying to increase my social following, so I learned more about social media marketing in the process. But it was not until I launched my personal blog, www.rafichowdhury.com, that I really began to understand what digital marketing is all about. I began experimenting on that site and learned a ton of stuff in the process about how to get traffic.

2. Does your academic background in psychology come in handy in your work with helping people get more traffic for their websites?

Most definitely. I use psychology all the time to figure out exactly what will appeal to a user. I begin by figuring out who the customer is. Then from there, I try to learn as much about the customer as possible and their behaviors online. Only then, I go about figuring out things such as the best platform to advertise to them, what sort of content to create, how to design the proper sales funnel, etc. Creative marketing is really nothing more than applied psychology, if you think about it.

3. What's the importance of getting local when it comes to building an online presence, and what are some specific ways that you help local businesses in the Memphis area?

You want to start local simply because it's usually low-hanging fruit for most businesses. If you are a local business and you can effectively dominate search engines for local searches better than your competitors, you can seriously grow your business. Google is taking local searches into account a lot more these days. In fact, Google is putting heavy efforts to get Google + to become even larger, so Google is now giving some special ranking privileges to those companies who have a large Google + circle and are sharing good content on their Google + and Google Local business pages.

When you do on-page optimization, focus on local keywords and focus on local on-page optimization. Try to rank for long-tail local keywords while taking into account commercial intent keywords. So, for example, the keyword "carpet cleaning facts" may be something a user is searching for when they are looking for more information about how they can clean their own carpet. On the other hand, the keyword "cheap carpet cleaners" is a commercial intent keyword since this user is probably later on the in the sales cycle and has already done his or her research and now is ready to hire or find an affordable carpet-cleaning company in his area. So, a small business owner (carpet-cleaning company, let's say) who wants to rank for local searches, may want to invest in the keyword "cheap carpet cleaner Memphis, TN," for example, if he wants to get business in the city of Memphis.

This is the kind of research I do to find out exactly the kind of keywords a business may want to target. I use Google Webmaster Tools, Google Adwords, Google Keyword Research tools, MOZ, and other analytics platforms to gather this kind of data. Once I have done keyword research and found the proper keywords to target, I then find out where the customers are and create unique content to market to these customers. It's really a lot more complex than this, but I don't want to bore everyone with all this technical stuff!

4. How would you define the role of chess in your life?

It has helped me in networking and learning self discipline, but most importantly, it has taught me how to do long-term planning and decision making. Almost every decision I make now, I think about how it might affect me in the future. I really do think this is one of the most essential qualities to have in order to stay focused. You have to always be able to see the forest through the trees no matter how complex the present situation gets. Chess has taught me that, along with like a million other things. If nothing else, it paid all my bills starting from early high school until now! Although no longer active in national tournaments, I still sometimes play in an occasional tournament casually or hop online for some speed chess games.

5. If you could give just three pieces of advice to anyone who is wanting to grow their business, what would you say?

1. If you do not have an online presence, you need to. Build a mobile-responsive website for your business.

2. Focus on creative marketing for growth hacking purposes. Be as transparent with your target market as possible. Remember, people buy why you sell them, not what, so be sure to sell them the vision first.

3. Content is King. This is the information age. Those companies who give out the best pieces of information for free will establish themselves as the top dogs within their particular niche. Target your niche and just give away as much free content as you can. Then, focus on how you can turn these visitors into paying customers. You have to be willing to experiment and learn (and be creative!).

Thanks, Rafi!

Management Consulting: Not Just for Established Businesses

The following is a guest post from SharedCxO.com, a company which uses a "shared team model" to provide marketing, accounting, legal, and tech services to small and middle-sized businesses. Find more information about their CEO advisory and outsourcing services here.

Management Consulting: Not Just for Established Businesses

Although entrepreneurs in start-up mode commonly think that management consulting is utilized only by businesses that have established themselves or grown to a significant size, the truth is that early-stage companies can benefit from management consulting a great deal. While I'm clearly an evangelist for business consulting services, having seen firsthand how they can turn things around for troubled companies and help new businesses get off the ground, I don't think I'm too biased when I say that the start-up phase is one of the times when management consulting is most useful.

The purpose of management consulting is largely to offer advice. And who can really afford to turn down the advice of a seasoned professional? Certainly not entrepreneurs who are growing a business from scratch--even if they're experts in their industry. There's always value in having someone review your plans, offer second opinions on ideas and help identify areas for improvement.

So here are 10 reasons why early-stage companies especially can benefit from management consulting.

1. Management Consulting Helps You Keep up with Changes

Businesses, old and new alike, existing in an ever-changing landscape. What's relevant, timely, and appropriate one day can be tired, outdated, and inefficient the next. A good business consultant stays abreast of fluctuations, from market instability to technological improvements to changes in standards or best practices, so entrepreneurs can stay focused on their primary goal: launching successfully.

2. Management Consulting Provides Honest, Unbiased Feedback

An entrepreneur will get glowing feedback about his idea from family, friends, and even his professional networks. Before you know it, he starts thinking his concept is foolproof. But truly unbiased and actionable advice is hard to come by unless you harness management consulting to take a look at the big picture. You'll get feedback not only about the concept behind your business, but about the details of execution, organization, and other critical matters. At Shared CxO, we pride ourselves on having outsourced executives who offer completely honest advice without the personal agendas or blinders that entrepreneurs will encounter when seeking feedback from others.

3. Management Consulting Solves Problems

In my experience working with incubators and interacting with entrepreneurs daily in the busy start-up scene in San Francisco, I've seen plenty of entrepreneurs hit brick walls at critical moments in their business's development. Whether the obstacle stems from a lack of planning, a lack of research, a lack of knowledge about a particular facet of business or something else, I'm positive that management consulting can help frustrated entrepreneurs solve problems. And the more experienced an executive is, and the more diverse his background, the quicker he can untangle even the most complicated issues facing early-stage companies. That's why we've cherry-picked only the most seasoned business veterans to work with our clients.

4. Management Consultants Love Forward Momentum

Management consultants simply love to see a company grow and achieve its goals. As such, an outsourced executive providing management consulting is incredibly motivated to help entrepreneurs overcome issues and move forward with their plans. They triumph when the start-up's off the ground. And it's easy to get caught up in this excitement. It's one of the reasons I love working with early-stage companies!

5. Management Consulting Teaches Entrepreneurs Valuable Lessons

A good management consultant doesn't just drop by, solve everybody's problems, and disappear. In management consulting, an executive guides entrepreneurs through the process of finding solutions for the stumbling blocks they encounter. Entrepreneurs actually learn from the engagement, and become better equipped to handle issues in the future.

6. Management Consulting Helps Entrepreneurs Stay Focused and on Deadline

Because of the sheer amount of activities involved in starting a business, it's easy for entrepreneurs to lose focus unless guided. Management consultants can keep entrepreneurs laser-focused on the tasks at hand. Management consulting also involves prioritizing activities so that entrepreneurs have a step-by-step walkthrough for what has to happen before the big launch. I've also seen entrepreneurs lose track of time or spend too much time on one particular aspect of business, at the expense of others. Business consultants can keep things running on time.

7. Management Consulting Involves Top-to-Bottom Analysis

Quality business consultants leave no stone unturned when analyzing an early-stage business--from the initial concept to the business plan, market research, company structure and organization, and post-launch next steps, management consulting examines everything holistically. Management consultants, as experienced executives, catch overlooked aspects of starting up a company. They're a second pair of eyes and ears to watch things carefully.

8. Marketing Consulting Sets Companies up for Branding

One of the biggest challenges for start-ups is simply being discovered. Brand awareness comes with tremendous time and effort, and often financial investment. Part of management consulting is teaching you how to plan an initial marketing campaign that gives your brand a shot in the arm. You'll learn the channels that will produce the biggest ROI and how to create a scalable, practical plan so that you don't exceed budget or spend too much time on a potentially fruitless activity.

9. Trust Is Implicit in Management Consulting

I completely understand the "play your cards close to your chest" attitude that some entrepreneurs adopt from the get-go. Nothing could be worse than investing time, effort, and money in a unique business idea, only to find parts of the idea or the idea in whole stolen by someone with more resources to make it happen. But in management consulting, an outsourced executive honors privacy without question. Entrepreneurs don't have to worry about details of their business plan leaked--everything is kept strictly confidential, which is not always the case if you appeal to peers or professional networks for advice.

10. Management Consulting Dots I's and Crosses T's

With a management consultant on board, you're no longer solely responsible for everything. Management consulting involves quality assurance and identification of areas of improvement. While entrepreneurs still need to be vigilant, with an executive on their side to help make sure everything is complete, correct and ready for the next stage of growth, they can have peace of mind.

Meet Christopher Berg, Career Coach and Consultant

Christopher Berg is a career coach and motivational speaker based in New York City. He runs a business called Go Berg or Go Home. He started the business with a particular goal of helping young professionals become more prepared and marketable in a tough job market.

1. What are some of the specific ways you help clients through your work offering career services?



The strength of our company is that we do a large amount of research on an ongoing basis. Go Berg has over 30 relationships with hiring managers, recruiters, staffing agencies, and HR directors throughout the Northeast region. Through these relationships, we are able to stay up to date on various industries, specifically what they are looking for in resumes, interviews, and skill set. Next, I have "secretly shopped" over a dozen colleges throughout the Northeast. I know what expectations college career centers are setting and what their limitations are. I have along extensive experience in HR, recruitment, hiring, interviewing while also achieving the highest certifications in resume writing and interview/career coaching. I offer young professionals the best services to make you stand out on paper, a chance to learn the best interviewing techniques, and the opportunity to network with my contacts to get one foot in the door. Thanks to the reputation we have built, my contacts know when they reach out to me they are getting top talent to fill their staffing needs. We help young professionals spread their wings in the marketplace by unleashing their confidence.

2. How would you define the servant leadership model, and how do you put it into action in your own business?



I am an avid servant leader. I learned about servant leadership in my master's program at Albertus Magnus College. Servant leadership is basically "serving others' needs first." I built my business with the vision of serving young professionals' needs first. When I graduated college, I was lost! I was taking little jobs here and there and living with my mom, with no clear guidance. Then a little lady named Sallie Mae came looking for money for something called student loans. I was deferring every chance I could because I simply could not afford it.

Fast-forward almost a decade later and what has changed? College grads are feeling the pressures of getting a job more than ever. Then one day it hit me. After attending a college career fair, I was in charge of hiring recent graduates for a leadership development program. After numerous interviews, I was shocked at how many students were unprepared for the interview, what was recorded on resumes, and the lack of confidence in their presentation of skills. I knew the market needed someone like me to help. The essence of servant leadership is having a passion to help others, and that is what I love to do!

3. Would you tell us about some common issues that you see coming up for young professionals and recent grads in today's job market?


Great question. I do have to break it up into two sections because there is a clear difference between young professionals and recent grads.

The most common issue I see in young professionals is how they are playing the organizational game and not knowing how to get promoted in their current career. I hear it all the time from frustrated young professionals. "I don't make enough money," "I don't get the recognition for my work," or my favorite, "Someone else got the position and I have no idea why!" I can absolutely help with these young professionals understand how the system works! How do I know how it works? In my current studies in my doctorate program, I'm focused on researching this matter and I have personally used it in my own career and have received countless promotions by following a PIE model. Want to know what PIE is? Just give me a call!

For recent graduates, it is just helping them debunk some of the myths about what a resume should look like, what some college career centers are teaching, and setting realistic expectations. I have tons of clients who become discouraged because they keep getting declined and passed over on jobs because they are simply not qualified for the position. Coaching to realistic expectations is my strength and unleashing the confidence is key when working with recent grads. Lastly, exposure!!!! It is all about exposure and understandably many college grads do not have the connections. I can help them gain the exposure so their likelihood of getting more interviews and the probability of landing a job increases.

4. Why did you decide to start your own consulting business, and what has your experience been so far when it comes to going out on your own?



Honestly, I feel I can help people. I know the in and outs of the job market game and my experience, story, and expertise can help others. I wish there had been something like Go Berg when I graduated. For most of my clients, they just need a kick in the "you know what!" I know I did at that time in my life! I want to help, spread my message, and use my gifts to help others.

Going out on my own is scary. I still work full time, pursuing a doctorate, while running a business. Time management is key in my life and my experience thus far has been amazing. The feedback, the follow-up letters, the pictures of my clients' working in their new positions makes my heart smile. There is no better feeling then knowing we helped someone start the next journey in his or her life. It is very powerful!

5. If you could give just three pieces of advice to someone who feels that he/she is struggling to find a good job, what would you say?


First, look at the jobs you are applying for. I guarantee half are out of your experience realm. When I pass up on candidates and send the "no thank you letter," I am really just saying, "You do not meet the qualifications of this specific position."

Second, take your current resume and read it aloud or record yourself reading it. It sounds crazy, but I use this technique with my clients all the time. If you are stumbling over your words, have a lost facial expression, or find confusing descriptions, you can imagine what the hiring manager is going to think.

Lastly, avoid online resume writing companies. If you can't meet and have a connection with the person writing about YOU on paper and shaping what is arguably the most important document in a career that helps open doors, AVOID! I recently paid four online companies and sent in a purposely-incorrect resume, and I was shocked on what was edited, not edited, overlooked, and changed. These services are overpriced and misleading. When you are seeking career help, just ask, "What makes you an expert?" because you can tell a lot from that answer--trust me!

Thanks, Christopher!

Meet Mickey Mikeworth, CFO and Business Consultant

Mickey Mikeworth is a Chief Financial Officer based in Minneapolis/St. Paul who consults with small business owners. I previously interviewed her for this blog back in December 2012, when she discussed the connections between prosperity and philanthropy. Today she tells us more about success for businesses of all sizes. Learn more about her on LinkedIn, and follow her on Facebook.

1. How did you become interested in focusing your work on small business owners?

My favorite part of working with business owners is their courage to be active in their own thoughts. They are willing to express ideas and will take the risk of moving those ideas forward.

My focus has always been on prosperity in action, and business is a natural fit for those ideas. I built a business model that supports the rapid and sustainable growth of business, and it can be applied to all businesses. The Prosperity Based Business Model is the business model that all of my clients use. We focus on three parts of the business: efficiency, economy, and environment.

2. What does it mean to you for a business to invest in its customers?

Investing in the customer is about taking the experience of customer as your primary and foundational investment and reason for being in business.

Companies can invest in things that may not "look like" they create revenue, but they actually do. I did a walk-through with a restaurant the other day, and the sidewalks were dirty, the sign was bent, and the food looked like it was tossed on a plate. We reviewed what the customer would like to see in their establishment, and it made the entire business planning efforts change. The business owner invested in better care of their customers. They power-washed the sidewalk and every part of the establishment, upgraded the bathrooms, added lighting and swag, chose bright-colored fresh foods, created options for smaller portions, and added a huge happy hour. Now the customer can feel great about stopping by for a clean experience and healthy food at a low price. This is a very different approach than the outdated fried menu they had been serving.

3. How can a business invest in creativity?

Pick a creativity budget. Investing in new ideas costs money and time. Budgets give financial direction and help everyone tune into the opportunities that are possible to invest in. I have seen budgets build a monthly breakfast meeting with a mountain of art supplies and a topic, annual business tour parties that brought the staff to new places for inspiration, and budgets used for group improvisational lessons.

Give permission to look at the WOW of services that are being delivered and received. Taking a real look at how to improve everyday situations to be spectacular will really pay off. I have seen a retail store add giftwrapping to every purchase, house cleaners leave behind hand-wrapped caramels that they made on an antique dish, and staff office meeting transform by adding floral bouquets for each staff member to take home.

Turn in the open sign: Open yourself and your team to accepting ideas that may not match the rest of your business. Adding in ideas that stretch thinking will also stretch the perception of how your business will fit into new market areas. Google was once a new invention.

4. Tell us about some of the unique partnerships you have seen clients forge with unconventional businesses.

These are by far my favorite part of opening your thinking. I have seen a coffee shop partner with an urban farmer to grow crops ON the coffee shop and create an additional revenue stream through a market opportunity to sell produce real time out of the existing coffee space. They try to have something fresh every day in either vegetables or flowers. The shop smells wonderful.

I have seen simple and effective geographical pairings, like a tax office that specialized in artists which chose a location right next to an artist boutique shop.

My last project paired a luxury hand-crafted ice cream company with a remodeling company, and they added an ice-cream party to clients after they finished remodeling their kitchens or decks. They had the common investment in handcrafted quality. I am still waiting for an opportunity to pair knitters and sewers with the exotic pet industry. I see so much creative energy that could be generated into real innovative products to appeal to an already artistic crowd.

5. If you could give just three pieces of advice to a person wanting to grow their business what would you say?

Invest in your own ideas. Ideas need attention through research and development. Commit to doing the work of the necessary financially planning for those ideas to come to fruit. Planning creative time is a prerequisite to growth because it is so hard to draw five or ten hours out of already packed schedules.

Integrate new capital resources. Not all capital is cash. There are actually ten different types of capital that we invest. Sometimes the reason a product becomes popular is about emotional or social capital.

Step out and invite in new energy. Getting top-notch advice will allow profit margins to grow faster. Just the action of exploring with someone new will give life to the business. There is so much great talent out there, and consultants are waiting to serve. Don't let your attachment to the cost of hiring a consultant constrain your thinking. Coaching as an investment usually pays out at a rate of $4 to every $1 invested.

Thanks, Mickey!

Meet Mark P. Salsbury, Human Capital Management Consultant and Author

Mark P. Salsbury is a Human Capital Management Consultant who has over 30 years of business experience. He is a popular speaker as well as a consultant and the author of the book, Human Capital Management: Leveraging Your Workforce for a Competitive Advantage. Mark's firm is called Salsbury Human Capital Management, LLC.

1. Why are people more important to organizations today than they were in the past?

Having a motivated and mobilized workforce has always been important, but in today's global marketplace, having a workforce that is a competitive advantage is more critical than ever. The reality is that competition can come from anyone, anytime, anywhere. Best practice process management is now a commodity, and product advantages are short-term, so the only real sustainable advantage left is people. When considering that demographic trends will make the competition for people even more intense in coming years, it should be no surprise that human capital will be the most critical asset that organizations need to maximize going forward. 

2. Why do many organizations under-utilize their human capital?

Too many companies still consider people a commodity, and others don't have the know-how, interest, or commitment to taking the actions necessary to make Human Capital Management a centerpiece of its organizational strategy. Additionally, many CEOs come from functions that are more concerned about products or profits, and since human capital programs are often difficult to measure, some managers see them as "nice-to's" rather than "need-to's."

3. What inspired you to write your book, Human Capital Management: Leveraging Your Workforce for a Competitive Advantage?

Human Capital Management is a much misunderstood and under-appreciated subject. I felt it was time to take the concept mainstream and recognize it for what it really is, an organizational practice that utilizes people as a tangible asset. Human capital is as much an organizational asset as buildings, manufacturing equipment, or cash. Recognizing this, I felt compelled to share my understanding of this topic and provide a roadmap for leaders who are committed to transforming their people into a competitive advantage. 

4. What is the difference between a Human Capital Management consultant and an HR consultant?

HR consultants typically have an expertise in a particular aspect of HR, like compensation or organizational development. They may focus on bringing a specific training program into a company. 

In Human Capital Management, the consultant's focus is in examining how the client organization can utilize its people more effectively with particular attention on the return-on-investment of the company's people investment. The consultant then guides senior management and/or HR to identify and build a plan to maximize the utilization of the workforce.

5. How did you personally become interested in Human Capital Management?

Over the course of my career, and especially in the last 20 years, I learned that there are certain organizational components that when utilized together, produce tremendous results in mobilizing the workforce to achieve great things. My curiosity on the subject began many years ago when I discovered an employee survey that was targeted at the effectiveness of an organization's human capital rather than how satisfied employees were. This is when the light bulb went on for me, and ever since, I've concentrated my efforts on building organizational systems that maximize the use of people as a competitive differentiator.

6. Could you give us an example or two of an organization that would benefit from a transformation to Human Capital Management? 

Many organizations don't perform to the expectations of management or their shareholders for a variety of reasons, and many of them are people-related. Maybe a company hasn't been able to develop a strong performance culture, or the development of a customer-focused environment hasn't been created. Other companies may take such a strong performance approach that they burn people out and have high people attrition. I've also seen good companies who had a solid base of people and good management, but they've underperformed as a total organization because they didn't know how to combine all the elements of a Human Capital Management System together. When companies are able to transform to Human Capital Management, ultimately they will see it in their bottom line results.  

Thanks, Mark!

Meet Stacey Mathis, Copywriter

Stacey Mathis is the founder of Stacey Mathis Copywriting/Consulting, a team of copywriters and marketing content writers who focus on messaging for businesses and professional organizations that target working women, mothers, families, lawyers, nonprofit constituents, and clients of coaches and consultants.

To get an idea of Stacey's work, here are links to a few samples of her writing:

--http://staceythewriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Dynamic-Business-Growth-Team-Building-B2B-Web-Content-Revised.pdf
--http://www.nyhealthandwellnessfairs.com/
--http://staceythewriter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/img032.jpg
--http://www.renaissancecharter.org/

1. When did you start transitioning from your career as a paralegal to your career as a writer, and what motivated your career change?

Even as a paralegal, I always had an interest in English and creative-style writing. In 2004 I discovered that copywriting was a field that I could not only pursue, but one that I could do while maintaining my career as a paralegal. The two fields actually complemented each other.

2. In your experience, what are some qualities that make for effective copywriting?

Copywriters have to have the ability to tell a story. You also need the ability to let go of your own preconceived ideas and be open-minded enough to view things from your target audience's perspective. In essence, you have to become your audience. You have to be willing to take the time to learn what makes your target market tick, so you can craft copy that appeals to their identity. Lastly, you have to patience, because it may take you days to come up with something as seemingly simple as a headline, let alone the days it could take you to write the body of your piece. People think these wonderful words on ads magically happen. It's actually a painstaking process.

3. When a business owner is planning to hire someone for freelance copywriting or content marketing help, what are some tips you'd suggest to the business owner for an effective collaboration?

Copywriting customers should always request to see the portfolio of the copywriter they plan to hire. You want to make sure their style jives with your needs for your project. For example, if you have an obscure product, like you manufacture thermal anemometers, you want to make certain that the copywriter you hire has a background in science and technology. Check their work.

4. What do you most enjoy about your work?

The solitude. I am an extroverted loner, so working unaccompanied is right up my alley. My team is remote and primarily virtual and that suits me just fine. The other aspect of copywriting that I enjoy is helping people improve their businesses. It really gives me so much pleasure to craft messaging that gets results for others. It's why I do what I do.

5. Would you tell us a bit about the work you do to provide other writers with resources to build their own writing businesses?

As a freelance copywriter, I have to stay abreast of all the latest developments in my industry in order to stay relevant. I've simply structured a way to impart this knowledge to new copywriters. My blog, www.staceythewriter.com, provides me with a method for doing this, utilizing various media, e.g., e-courses, a newsletter, special "how-to" reports on the field, audios, infographics, videos, articles, and a Twitter feed. Whatever I learn for my business, I share with my community of blog visitors and now Facebook and Google Plus visitors as well.

Thanks, Stacey!

A Great Blog about Kids and Communication by Nigel Lane

Nigel Lane is a speaker and coach who works with schools and parents on a variety of issues related to communication, motivation, professional development for teachers, and negotiating contemporary issues as parents. I enjoyed visiting Nigel's blog recently and reading his thoughts on a variety of topics, especially topics related to how to talk with kids about their use of online technologies.

Should your kids have smartphones? What are some ways to initiate thoughtful conversations with kids? These are just a couple of the questions that Nigel's posts bring up.

Nigel has a wealth of personal and professional experience. He's a dad and a grandfather, and he has worked with children and teenagers in several contexts, from schools to correctional facilities. He was a chaplain in a young offenders institution for a number of years, and he has worked in schools in many different capacities.

In addition to his speaking, coaching, and consulting work, Nigel is the author of 101 Practical Ways to Motivate Your Child, an ebook filled with practical tips.

For more about Nigel and his work, check out http://nigellane.com.au/.