You are making the transition from retiring after 35 years of teaching to a new business you’ve been thinking about for 10 years. You’ve done your research, worked with the local university offering courses for start up business and established some goals. Now you are working on establishing an online presence.

You’ve spoken to several webmasters, to other relatively new entrepreneurs and you are ready to start your website. Based on your research you understand that your website content should be unique because way too many sites are simply regurgitating old news.

Let’s faces, chances are slim that your news is going to be cutting edge. However, here are some tips that will give your content uniqueness and have readers returning.

Change your writing style if your writing is boring. It’s easier than you think. For good models of a writing style you can use look at all of the do-it-yourself home repair sites. They’re very functional: a beginning short paragraph about the problem and then step by step how to solve the problem. No one on these sites is trying to be an exciting writer. It’s more of a black and white style. You can try that also and mark that as your style.

Or…you can hire a ghost writer which I think requires more work because the writer you hire doesn’t know your content.

Another way to give more interests to your website is to describe real life examples. Describe a problem you’ve solved for a customer, and use that as a jumping board to offer more general advice. Use these case studies to show your readers how you’ve helped your customers address challenges. Now you’re the expert in your readers’ minds without you actually saying so.

Write about the areas in which you want your customers to use you as a resource. For instance, I want readers to hire me as a copywriter and I’ve earmarked one of my blogs to focus on writing: how to write, how to market with your writing, how to get publicity with writing. Check it out at www.ruthanbrodsky.com    Even this post, is related to website content, emphasizes my areas of expertise.

Find out the challenges that are taking place in your industry and write about those ideas. If you’ve attended a conference or workshop write about some of the controversial topics that were discussed. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel of information! You can pass on any gems of information you learned elsewhere. Just be sure to give them full attribution. Better yet give your opinion of the topic. Readers will appreciate your frankness.

List 4 questions your clients ask you constantly. Answer each in a short article or post. If you publish weekly, that’s a month worth of content! You can write 5 or 10 top tips on each of those topics.  If you find more questions, do the process again. And if you can’t think of any questions, send all your current clients/customers a quick e-mail, asking them what topics they’re most interested in learning more about.

Finally, recommend books and resources that you use, and offer full reviews on them.

These content writing tips will help get your new business in the direction you want – more readers with better writing.

To your writing success.
Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
RAB & Associates
Copywriter & Content Creator
Business Writer
Health Writer

The choice is yours: self discipline or regret. Which will cause you more pain?

Disciplined effort generally results in multiple rewards. That seems to be one of life’s guidelines. It’s not a new law or one I invented. How well you sow is how well you will reap is one saying that’s  has been around for some time.

Life is full of laws that both govern and explain behaviors and my parents had even more laws and sayings that went with those guidelines. All of them were directed to the belief that if you are disciplined your rewards will be much greater. It’s not tit for tat but an abundance of rewards.

Great concept! Someone skeptical, such as a teen, may think it sounds more like bribery. If you are good and do nice things for others your reward will be multiplied.

Is that concept applicable to business? if you’re fair and honest and patient with others will your reward will be much more business? In other words, if you give more than you expect to receive, will your reward be more than you expect.

Keep in mind that things of value requires care, attention, and discipline. Even our thoughts require discipline, as we consistently determine our codes of conduct, or our thoughts will be confused. And if our thoughts are confused, our confused results are likely to b confused.

In business we are constantly bombarded with the need for discipline for:

• paying your bills on time,
• arriving to appointments on time,
• using your time more effectively.
• paying your taxes,
• having regular meetings with your associates,
• learning all you can learn,
• teaching all you can teach,
• reading all you can read.

When you neglect discipline there is a price to pay especially if you take your successes for granted. It’s important to take everything seriously because life’s not a practice session.

Think about your life at this moment. There are probably areas that need immediate attention. Maybe you’re thinking of giving up, or starting over, or getting out. It may be that the only missing ingredient to your success  is a self-imposed discipline that will make you try harder and work more intensely than you ever thought you could.

The most valuable form of discipline is the one that you impose upon yourself. You don’t want to wait for things to deteriorate so drastically that someone else must impose discipline in your life.

How we think about hard work does impact the quality of our lives.  What we decide about the rightful ratio of labor to rest will establish certain work ethic. For instance every time we choose to do less than we could it affects our self-confidence negatively. On the other hand, every time we choose action over ease or labor over rest, we develop an increasing level of self-worth, self-respect and self-confidence.  It’s how we feel about ourselves that provides the greatest reward from any activity. In other words, it’s not what we get that makes us valuable but what we become in the process of doing that brings value into our lives come from no other source.

Much success in your efforts to change,
Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
Copywriter and Content Creator
Health Writer
Business Writer

Keep in mind that you’re a product of your environment. One conclusion then is for you to choose an environment that enhances your development toward your objective.

Think about the past 20 years in terms of your environment. What are the things around you that you know for sure are helping you toward your success? Are they things such as your lap top, your smart phone, your virtual assistant, your cleaning lady? What are the things that are holding you back?

The motivational gurus tell us that the first step toward getting somewhere is to decide that you’re not going to stay where you are. Not only are you not a captive of your environment what you turned out to be is not your mother’s fault! You wouldn’t believe the number of people I know in their 50′s and 60′s who still blame their parents for their unsatisfactory life styles.

If you don’t like where you are, make some changes regardless of your age. Isn’t that why you’re looking at changing careers? It may take you longer than you want but you will make changes in your life because you can.

Some people are inspired to make change by envisioning their future. You may want to try projecting your goals in life and imagine how your success will be in the future. What is taking place is that you are focusing on your future, not your past. That’s not to give up the lessons and memories of the hard knocks you received and learned from. It means enjoying the good memories without living in the past and use any bad ones as lessons in life.

Be like the little choo choo train who kept saying “I think I can, I think I can” as he made his way up the hill. I don’t remember who said this but the cards you’re dealt in life are less important than the way you play them.

Everything depends on the way you look at things. I prefer to think of the glass as half full rather than half empty. I am one of those, however, who don’t see every problem I have as an opportunity. I look but there may or may not be a good side to every situation. If I can’t find anything good about a situation I push it aside and find a situation that is more positive. I’ll spend more time in that direction.  And maybe that is the good side of the situation – motivating me to find something else.

When I was starting to learn to play golf and then compete I was told I would learn more from my failures. That’s another philosophy that doesn’t work for me.

I’m convinced you need to be aware of and realistic about failures. I’m also convince you can learn much more from your successes which is probably why I don’t believe that bad things must happen to good people.

One of the questions I am continually asking myself especially on those days when much of my grand scheme seems to be falling apart is:
What can you do, starting today, that will make a difference? 
That was a major daily question when the recession started.

Sometimes you don’t have to do much to do something remarkable.  It may be something as simple as eliminating the daily trip to the coffee shop to save a few dollars is all it will take to make you feel better about yourself.  After all, what about all those stories of people turn nothing into something, pennies into fortune?

One of the things that I do get excited about is when I use my abilities to do
those things that are necessary to get the result I want, turning something  negative into success. Changing careers and retiring is the perfect time to explore this changed mindset.

Much success to your positive thinking.

Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
Copywriter and Content Creator
Business Writer
Health Writer

A friend of mine is planning to retire from the business of private fundraising for profits and nonprofits. She loved being the director of development for an independent K – 12 elementary school in the suburbs and she would like to go into the same business.

Barb knows this business every which way but she was worried about how she was going to sell herself or any product she came up with such as a manual containing how to carry out certain functions.  I explained to her she knows so much about this business that she wouldn’t have to sell.

Basically she wants to be a consultant and she will be an excellent one. What she doesn’t realize is that her description about how someone sells is very outdated. What she doesn’t realize is that she was inadvertently selling while working with clients as a consultant in her previous job. She could  become her own worse nightmare when selling and she  wanted no part of it.

I explained to her that as a consultant she already has many of the skills you need to make a sale. The purpose of selling is not to take a client’s money but to help make that client’s futures better. Barb wants to  help clients and prospects find a solution to their problems. The end result for good consultants is often a sale or at the least a commitment for more contact.

Consultants are excellent at uncovering a client’s goals and challenge and helping them reach those goals.  I told Barb she just needed to recognize what she needed to do and bring those skills to her prospect at the right time. Even if she were asking them to be a resource for her she was developing a relationship with them. Barb had no problem working with people she already knew but she was uncomfortable making connections, uncovering needs and working closely with people she didn’t know.

Barb can’t rely on very much referral business because she’s been out of the business for over a year but I explained to her that she has a large number of contacts. Let them know you are beginning a new business, ask them do they want to be on your email list, and later send them a personal thank you note for listening to you along with a business card.

One of the best approaches to starting out as a consultant is not to sell anything for a while. I found that asking the advice of others is a great way to approach your new business. You can ask them about:

• Who should I be contacting?

• What professional groups are there?

• Is there someone in the local chapter that I could talk to for information.?

Compile a list of the professional groups and people to contact and start making time for those calls. If the contact is local, meet over coffee. If you get the commitment make a plan for your conversation with him. Always a good idea. You may not follow the plan, but you  are more likely to focus on the goal you set for yourself and not waste time.

One of the questions you should ask is what are the other person’s challenges in business? It will give you a better idea about how you may end up consulting for him and how you need to deal with some of the business challenges you will be encountering.

Barb is letting the world know you have a service: helping fund raisers achieve their fundraising goals. Somewhere along the line she needs to land on the approach of not talking about herself too much or not enough. That allows for a good exchange between the clients. For instance you don’t want to tell the client about how well you can solve her problems and list all the phases or the long process it takes to do the job well. All the client will see are the phases of your process and the expense that goes with those.

It’s not about closing but all about gaining your client’s trust. Your objective for this first meeting is to meet for a second time.

Much success with your consulting pursuits.

Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
Copywriter
Content Creator
Business Writer

She approached me like we were best friends telling me about her latest project and recent economic perspectives. She was about to retire from her job as the head of a human relations department for a national accounting firm.

“I think I could start an online business giving readers or listeners the benefit of all I know,” she began. “My topics could range from health and fitness to how to run a meeting or give a presentation. This is probably a good time to show people how to prepare for a job interview. I’m retiring soon and want to develop a second income stream. The internet looks like it may be an excellent location. What do you think?”

Her introduction was followed by several outstanding questions that anyone starting a business online would be looking for the answers. Her first question, first because after all it is the most important:

How much money can I expect to earn?
My usual response is how much money do you want to earn? And then we work back to the top to answer the question. I can tell you immediately you will not make a bunch of money right away.

• First you need to learn how to create and maintain a business.
• Then you need to decide how many hours and days you want to work.
• Your next decision is where do you want to work?
• Then you need to know the structure of your business and can you afford to operate it.  In other words do you have the capital to purchase online business tools and hire consultants?

Once you have all that information down you are ready to widen and deepen your investigation for your potential online business.

Her next major question was how much will this cost me and how much time will it take?

Jokingly, I told her it depends on how smart and athletic you are!

Not knowing her well I suggested putting in 10-15 hours a week to get started. If you’re very stimulated to get started you may want to put in more hours but don’t go overboard. No matter what you think, it’s best to schedule your tasks carefully and do one at a time. Don’t forget: this is the internet and not everything works the way it’s supposed to.

I also recommended a minimum of $1000 for an investment just to get up and running. This amount is a guideline and depends on the type of business you have and how quickly you establish clients and customers. Let me ask you: how long do you think it will take before you bring in an income of any size.

I ended our conversation by telling her that with the answers to those questions she was ready to write a plan to use as guidelines for her business complete with goals and more questions for later questions.

She did get one other question before we went our separate ways.
Now that you know what kind of business I want to create on the Internet, is there a name for it and are there guidelines for it somewhere on the web?

I gave her my card and suggested she call me later.

As a result of my reply to her my next post is about information marketing.

Much success in your new business.
Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
Copywriter
Content Creator
Health Writer

Millions of Americans have been involved in encore careers for decades. Being involved in an encore career is not new. The major piece of news is that the numbers of people, especially those between 44 to 70 years old , is expanding. I haven’t seen the latest data but I suspect the upper age guideline is also going up – at least to 75,

That group in encore careers has a lot in common and also displays much diversity. A majority, for example, come from professional and white-collar jobs, has a college education, and come from cities. Actually it’s the younger group of baby boomers who happen to show more diversity.  This group is more evenly divided by gender while the other group was primarily women.  They are slightly less well educated and slightly more blue colored.

There are two trends for the pull of going back to work.

• One, of course, is to provide an income and health insurance. Don’t forget the health insurance; that is a primary.

• The other reason for the pull back to employment is to do a job that has purpose and meaning. Another indication that the meaning of retirement has changed. Baby boomers are seeking significance and meaning in their lives.

The message is that encore careers are a good experience and very satisfying. Income and benefits have become more important in the last few years and I suspect will continue to become even more important in the years ahead. If you’re a younger boomer you may be thinking of working longer, staying in your job past retirement age for the income and benefits.  They also believe that finding another job when they’re 60 will be very difficult and, based on my observations, that statement is very accurate.

The fact is that pollsters have reported for years that the majority of this county’s 80 million baby boomers plan to work well beyond traditional retirement age. The question then becomes what kind of work will they do? Many of them are working on an online-business.

If this sounds like you, again I point to Jason Fladlien and his instruction for working on line and making a profit. I learned a from his progoram on website themes. That’s not available anymore but just in case he opens it I’ll forward it to you.

Jason Fladlien is one of  my mentors and recently released his personal development program.

https://fladlien.infusionsoft.com/go/persdev/ruthan/

It’s not theory; it is a system which is modeled after Olympic athletes.  Can you think of a better model for effectiveness and success? These audios lead you on a personal journey of discovery that jumpstarts your success.

https://fladlien.infusionsoft.com/go/persdev/xxxxx/

I think you’ll find this is the tool everyone is looking for – complete beginner and pro alike.

Part of the answer is that many have already started their own business, working from home,  Others are continuing their careers in education, health care, for non-profit organizations, and for profit business. They usually work close to 40 hours a week but remark that the encore careers give them the flexibility they need and want to spend outside of their careers.

According the The Metlife Foundation/Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey found that the main reason for an encore career for baby boomers was a desire to stay active, productive, challenged and to keep learning. More than a third replied with practical needs such as income and health benefits. Almost all were looking for flexibility in what they do.

I suspect that the majority of those seeking encore careers are looking for flexible positions that take them somewhere in between meaningful work, a chance to serve, and an opportunity to maintain health benefits and an income; the best of all worlds.

Many baby boomers I know are trying different online opportunities for making money. Some have been very successful selling products on eBay or creating their own products and selling them.

I have a couple of other people I have worked with who are honest, reliable and very good doing what they do.
Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll find a program you can work with them.

To your successful encore career,
Ruthan

It’s not hard to dream about financial independence that you can actually achieve it and then face reality that it it’s going to be a struggle to believe that it’s actually possible for you? You are retired and spent some time exploring the world but now the bills are starting to pile up a bit. You can handle these with your pension and savings but there’s not much left for ‘just in case”.  The financial obligations that come with the new furnace you may need next year may be over the top.

The good news is you’ve already decided to start another business and make some contacts and already have plans. You feel confident you’ve made the right choices and can make it happen.
My advice is to set aside the time and do whatever you need to do to start that business. That may mean a few months of stress but then you can tweak your success and have more time to enjoy your family and nurture the relationships that are most important to you.
Have You Been Sucked In By a So-called Guru?

Let’s face it, the internet is the wild west where anybody can say anything.  The worst is the so-called gurus hawking their latest theory. You see, theory is only good for an academic.  What you need is a model.  A real person.  Models show “how to” not “what”.

My mentor, Jason Fladlien, a 6 figure marketer, understands that.  That’s why he has released his personal development program. https://fladlien.infusionsoft.com/go/persdev/ruthan/

It’s not theory; it is a system which is modeled after Olympic athletes.  Can you think of a better model for effectiveness and success? These audios lead you on a personal journey of discovery that jumpstarts your success.

https://fladlien.infusionsoft.com/go/persdev/xxxxx/

Look, you need to learn these techniques or you risk being left behind because others are.  Is that what you want? You will be better on the other side.  Don’t shortchange yourself by procrastinating.  You risk nothing!  Jason offers a 30 day, no questions asked, guarantee.

While you listen, my suggestion is to create a detailed budget for the next 6 months.  We all know we need a budget. The good news is that setting up a workable budget for yourself and your business is simpler than you think. Besides, this first step will motivate you to use your finances as a tool to create and develop that new business.  Your goal is to earn more money than you spend.

Once you’re earning more than you spend, you need to start saving money. Consider both short-term and long-term savings. Saving toward the way you’ve always dreamed about is motivation for most to keep working at your encore career.  Starting a savings program will also bring you peace of mind considering one of your priorities as you age is not to be financially dependent on your kids the other end isn’t a bill collector. Your bills will be paid and your future will be secure.

Credit is a key component in your roadmap but you should have enough experience from your first business and bringing  up your children to know that credit must be used wisely. Credit, kept in its proper place in your financial life, can be a tool in your financial prosperity. Misused, however, credit can destroy your financial life. If you have problems with credit, get a financial advisor to help you learn how to manage that component of your financial life.

The key is taking steps that lead you in the right direction. Bringing in extra cash with your new business will also give you a positive frame of mind.   For instance one of the ways I’ve learned to create added income is with an online business. As a solo entrepreneur starting a new business I had to learn a great deal. The fact is I still need to learn more.

In fact personal development has been a large part of my business strategy for the past few years.  Companies bring in corporate trainers to teach employees how to be better managers or learn new strategies. The same steps apply to you when starting a new business.  Not only do you need to learn new aspects of your business, you’re going to find that learning something new is an integral part of your business and will account for much of your success.

When I first started my online business I wanted someone to just show me the steps it takes to do the business. I knew I had to invest some time and energy to be successful. What I didn’t realize and nobody told me is that I needed to invest a lot more in myself than I suspected. Not a bad thing to do.

One of the first things I learned is that I couldn’t do my online business by myself.  I needed a team of people to help me. Since then I’ve made contacts. I can hire people on a needs basis to help me grow my business.

What about you?  Have you started a new business? What have you learned that you didn’t expect.  Let’s exchange experiences and we all can learn!

To your encore career success.

Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
Copywriter and Content creator
Freelance health writer
Freelance business writer

Stress is an unavoidable part of our lives. You can’t avoid it but you don’t want to keep it. It’s important for you but it can also get in your way.

In my last 2  posts I wrote about marketing at trade shows and conventions. Two readers commented how stressful those kinds of events are. It’s true! However, here are some things you should know.

There is good stress – alarming you to get out of the way of the bus before it hits you – and bad stress – my biggest client owes me money.

Everyone has stress; it’s a fact of life. The WebMD site describes stress as a “physical, mental, and emotional response to life’s changes and demands. Sometimes stress is motivating other times it can ruin your health. There are high levels of stress and low levels.

The events that cause stress are called stressors. We respond to stressors by reving up our nervous system and specific hormones.  The hypothalamus signals the adrenal glands to produce fore of the adrenaline and cortisol hormones and release them into the bloodstream. This increases your blood pressure and heart rate and metabolism. This is alright once in a while but not if you always feel you’re under the gun

Strategies for getting stress under control by the Mayo Clinic

• Avoid needless stress whenever possible. If crowded airports are stressful try booking your flight during off times.

• Think about alternatives if something bothers you. If you’re overwhelmed with work ask for help and figure out how you can better manage your time.
• Accept what you can’t change and find your good friends to tell your story.
• Adapt to the stress by changing your standards and expectations. Learn to redefine your standards and expectations.

Learning to delegate is always helpful. Find your support network. Sometimes that’s all it takes to get back on the bright side.

Much success managing your stress. It’s not simple.

Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky

Copywriter

In my last post I wrote about preparing for the event.
It’s all about self management to make your time rewarding.

To avoid distractions before I even get to the convention is to:

• Make sure I have all the facts – date, time, location, where I’m staying.

• Some conventions send you an advanced schedule. I will download it off my email and keep in with me during the convention.

• Know exactly what it’s going to cost you and who is going to pay you: a client? Your company?

• Understand why you are attending

•   To find out the latest trends and find out information about your business niche or to make contacts

• Plan you clothing. Make sure your shoes are comfortable. Keep in mind that this is a business. If the final awards dinner is formal wear a tux or cocktail style suit.

• Schedule your travel and convention so that you have some down time especially of you’re traveling to a different time zone.

Today it’s so much easier to bring everything you  need to record expenses, take notes, and gather information. You can use your smart phone  or note pad .

• You still need to bring your own business cards and lots of them.

I usually schedule one day for working at the booth and the next day working the hospitality suites. Then there’s regrouping when I get back home.

Whether you are in the booth or in front of it, the work occurs before you ever show up and ends after you follow through.  If you’re new to the association giving the conference but it’s a great market for what you do, take the time to learn all about it. Talking about the association will make it easy to start a conversation with someone else attending.

I like to map out my route at the convention to make sure I visit the exhibits that are an absolute must. I make a list and carry it with me.

After my first convention I also learned to not take every one’s brochure or hand out or handful of candies. Not only will you be schlepping around 20 pounds but you are adding calories.

One last piece of advice that was given to me by a very scholarly gentleman at an education conference. Make an effort to sit with people you don’t know at dinners and luncheons. Introduce yourself to the people at your table. You may be surprised at how likely it is that you both have a friend or colleague in common. Shut your cell phone off and listen to everything carefully. When lunch is over stop and take notes and follow thru with a couple of the people you’ve met, maybe with an article about their area of expertise.

Enjoy yourself and keep smiling.

Ruthan

To your successful marketing yourself at conventions.

Ruthan Brodsky
Copywriter
Health Writer and Consultant
Business Writer and consultant

Tradeshows and conventions are experiences from your past when you were starting out in your field and wanted to make a name for yourself. It probably was 15 years ago when you went to your last trade show but now that you own your own business, it’s time to count them in as one way to meet colleagues and grow your business.

You’re now a one person business and your first thought was:  who has time for this nonsense?  Bad question. Better answer – you need to make time for this part of your business – getting your name out there.  This is your in person Face Book. This is the place where you can learn from others. This is the place where you can help others.

Some of the events on the agenda will be called social. Don’t kid yourself; this is all about business. And you do need to work.

If you’ve ever staffed a booth at a conference or convention you know it’s work. Ladies – no heels. You’ll be standing up in those booths and walking the conference aisles. Meeting colleagues is actually the most important part of the convention. Getting their trust and enabling you to meet some of them and know they are good resources makes the time spent at the convention well worth while.

One of the keys to having a convention work for you is planning ahead. First, just figuring out how you’re going to meet all the people who are working the booths may be overwhelming when you first arrive. You also want to know the other things scheduled for the day.  Look for a bulletin board or check your email. You may be attending 4 or 5 events for the day. That means you’ll need an assistant to take charge of the booth when you’re gone. Or you could be one who leaves the booth empty providing you don’t have something not taken.

Regardless of your role in the event, attendee or working the booth, planning for the trip is important. In your plans, figure out how you’re going to do follow – up.

Your first step to prepare for a day at a trade show is to make sure everything at your home office is covered – whether it’s  automatic response to  your email or making sure the dog gets fed.

More on how to work a trade show or convention in my next post.

Ruthan

Ruthan Brodsky
Copy writer
Freelance health writer
Freelance business writer