READ THEIR COMPELLING ESSAYS FOR YOURSELF ... CLICK HERE

Again, we congratulate our Tools for Teaching Winners at Catalogs.com and we thank Nasco for partnering with us for this incredibly worthwhile cause.

READ THEIR COMPELLING ESSAYS FOR YOURSELF ... CLICK HERE

Again, we congratulate our Tools for Teaching Winners at Catalogs.com and we thank Nasco for partnering with us for this incredibly worthwhile cause.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the reading…

Sheepishly, we found we'd been missing the boat. Something as simple as changing the words on call to action buttons could give us 10%+ increase in customer response rates. Whoa. Say that again? 10%? Who would have thought? With our eyes now open, Catalogs.com is a testing fiend. Currently we're in the midst of two follow up tests and have plans to continually test and refine the visitor performace of our site.

My advice for ALL companies on the internet … invest in testing. Regardless of whether your company has a strong or weak technology department, it's worth the endeavor into some type of response rate testing. You may find that your current web pages are perfect as they are, but chances are you will be able to improve your response rates through just a few A/B or multivariate tests. And in todays economy, who wouldn't want an extra 5%-10% more sales.

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I was flabbergasted! But in retrospection, maybe I should not have been so surprised. It is quite unfortunate those companies have suffered so much, and that one of the MOST expensive components on P&L’s is employee health insurance.

At Catalogs.com, we decided that it was worth the extra hours and hours involved in obtaining competitive quotes from 8 different health insurance companies, and keeping constant the same percentage that we pay for our employees. We ended up switching plans, offering an HMO that had very low co-pays and excellent prescription benefits, and still keeping the plan affordable for ALL employees. Of course it would have been more profitable to have simply reduced the percentage we pay, but that would NOT have been a good outcome for our employees.

Employers … remember the basics … look out for the well being of your employees, do everything you can to make them healthy and productive … and most importantly, try to be fair and keep them happy. Trust me … it will help you sleep better most nights.

True Story … We have had a client (let’s just call them “Mr. I'm Never Happy”) who has been live on Catalogs.com for over three consecutive years.

“Mr. I'm Never Happy” called up and said

“We need to cancel our relationship with Catalogs.com because we are not achieving a high enough ROI (Return on Investment).

We were very surprised and asked “Really, what are you getting.” “Mr. I'm Never Happy” said,

“Well, we are averaging only a 10x ROI.”

The carpet cleaning crew that night had to pick me up off the floor. For anyone not clearly understanding how to calculate an ROI, it’s simple:

“Mr. I'm Never Happy” spent $1,000.
He received $10,000 (ten thousand) in sales revenue.
“Mr. I'm Never Happy” is still NOT happy.
He wanted to receive and I quote “30x ROI” or $30,000 in sales, having only spent $1,000.

Are they crazy!

Let me “vent” and tell you what else “Mr. I'm Never Happy” received, in addition to 10 X ROI:

1. Increased brand recognition and exposure.
2. Tens of thousands of targeted and qualified visitors directly to his website.
3. He acquired loyal customers that more than likely will have repeat purchases.
4. He benefited from Catalgos.com Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

I apologize for using my blog to vent, but in today’s economic environment where so many companies are struggling to survive, it sickens (and angers) me when corporations get greedy. Ten times ROI (10x) is an extremely respectable rate of return. Simply take a look at your own bank accounts and stock portfolios this year. Have you made $10,000 by ONLY investing $1,000? Wouldn't a person with REALISTIC expectations be jumping for joy?

It’s also no surprise to me that women are not as “concerned with equality issues, nor are they patting themselves on the back for their pre-eminence – they are simply dealing with the often bewildering changes and uncertainty in our economy as breadwinners, spouses, mothers and daughters. It’s not the anachronistic battle of the sexes anymore but how we all – women and men – grapple with a new economy and new era.”

Personally, I always grew up with a “working Mom” and one who truly excelled in her career. My own Mom was the 1st female executive, EVER, of Magnavox Corporation in the 1970’s, and was featured on the front cover of a marketing/trade magazine that was the first time, EVER, that a female graced the front cover. We are talking some 30+ years ago! So to me … it is no surprise that working women are excelling in the workforce, and honestly, I am NOT surprised that given the recent economy … working women are now becoming the dominant players.

Women’s lib is no longer the “hot button.” According to Time Magazine, there are more than 145 foundations today designed to empower women around the world, in the belief that this is the greatest possible weapon against poverty and disease (compare this to only ONE major foundation in 1972 – the Ms. Foundation). Look at the recent winners of the Nobel Prize … five women won the Nobel Prizes in the same year for Medicine, Chemistry, Economics, and Literature.

Look at our past election year --- Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Tina Fey and Katie Couric were lead players, not the supporting cast. And we all know that President Obama was raised by a single mother and married a lawyer who outranked and out earned him.

The statistical look back from the 1970’s to today, by Time, is unbelievable:

* Today, 57% of college students are all women, compared to in 1972 it was 43%
* Today, 95 our of 252 (38%) of ALL TV-News correspondents at ABC, CBS and NBC Today, 71% of women with children under age 18 are in the labor force, compared with 47% in 1975.
* Today, 32% of females are layers, compared with 3% in 1970.
* Today, 28% are medical doctors compared to 8% in 1970.

Now, don’t think we’re on level playing ground … because we are NOT yet.

Women have made gains in pay, but STILL lag behind men (in 1972, for every $1 men made, women earned $0.58, whereas in 2008 women earned $0.77 for every $1 men earned).

Are women happier? Does this “NEW” dominance and power bring satisfaction? Not necessarily. According to University of Pennsylvania economist Justin Wolfers, women are now free to wrestle with the same pressures and conflicts that once accounted for greater male unhappiness…. Modern life in a global economy is simply more stressful for everyone but especially for women, who are working longer hours WHILE playing quarterback at home. Equal numbers of men and women report frequent stress in daily life. Something in life must bend.

As for me, at Catalogs.com, let’s see (mother of 3, daughter of 2 parents who are ailing, philanthropist, employer, and CRAZED woman). Am I happy … well, I will buck the trend and disagree with Time Magazine and yell a resounding YES – I’M HAPPY! Though I’m stressed and desperately trying to find the time for my 1 hour deep tissue message that was given to me 14 months ago as a birthday present, I still can say I’m happy. I truly believe, in my heart, that women are more satisfied and feeling better about themselves than they did in the 1970’s. It might be the simple fact that today, we have more choices … we have the ability (or control) to alter our lives … we have more education opportunities …. We have technology that is aiding our efficiencies and improving our multi-tasking roles … we essentially have more tools which lead to more options.

Now the ominous ??? The task of reading and sorting the essays. From what I have read so far, they are very compelling, many written truly from the heart. What a difficult task the “team” will have here at Catalogs.com, judging and choosing a contest winner from all of these incredible entries.

5 will be lucky winners … stay tuned. Winning announcement will be in late October.

Last weekend we invited a teenage girlfriend of our daughter (for privacy purposes, let’s just call her AMY) to join our family for a long weekend getaway at the beach. Amy has always been truly a lovely girl, always smiling, happy to help clear the dishes, always saying the polite “thank you” when required.

However, she would not stop texting. Morning, noon, at the beach, and before bed. I finally became so annoyed on Day #2 that I asked -

“Amy, who is so important that you have to text constantly?”

And Amy answered-

“Well, all my friends love texting me.”

And then I said -

“However, you chose to come with your friend to the beach (i.e. MY daughter) and it’s pretty rude of you to be ignoring her. Remember, she’s your friend standing next to you”.

Obviously, my words meant nothing because that very evening, my husband and I decided to take everyone out to a very fancy restaurant. Amy proceeded to hold her cell phone on her lap… texting… throughout the entire Saturday night dinner.

Parents … this is your wakeup call. It is time to re-visit social etiquette and Manners 101, and remember the following:

1. If you allow your kid to have a cell phone, set limits to when and WHY it should be used.
2. Review how utterly RUDE it is to be texting when in the company of others.
3. Remind them how they might feel if being ignored by their friends simply because they couldn’t peel their eyes away from their cell phone.
4. Discuss with your kids the value of a “real conversation” and that the world does not need to revolve around gibberish, senseless, meaningless texting.
5. Remind your kids that when they are in the “real job world”, if their communication skills stink, likely will the position they hold.
6. Any real negotiations or sales occur through an actual conversation, not through 30 second text messages.
7. And most importantly, TALK with other parents and ask for feedback about your kids' manners. Ask if your kid was polite. And if not, take appropriate measures (i.e. no cell phone for a week). They’ll get the message!

The clock is ticking as I type and the deadline for entering Catalogs.com's “Tools for Teaching Contest” is soon approaching. You only have two days left to get those essays in for a chance to win up to $2,500 in school supplies for your classroom! What are you waiting for?!

You don't like it when your students procrastinate, so set a good example and turn in those winning essays describing how you would put your $2,500 gift certificate from eNasco to good use by September 30th.

May the teaching force be with you and good luck!

Now I realize, probably 99% of my personal girlfriends own several, several pairs of Donald Pliner shoes. However, I am not one to typically lavish myself with unnecessary expenses. One could say I am frugal and thoughtful about how I spend my money. In fact, I always said I would rather give a charitable foundation $2,000 extra instead of buying myself a Prada purse or four pairs of Donald Pliner shoes.

What have I been missing my whole adult life! Can I tell you seriously that EVERY single time I wear these shoes, I must get a minimum of three ooh’s and ahhs from other admiring women.

This morning, I attended a Women’s Executive Circle, where 24 female executives were gathered in one conference room on the 15th floor of a downtown office building in Ft. Lauderdale. In attendance were presidents of corporations, business owners & entrepreneurs, partners in law firms and CPA firms, and other highly successful full time working women. The criteria to be “invited to attend” this exclusive circle of professional female leaders include 1) the desire and commitment to empower other young women 2) to employ high-impact philanthropy to strengthen our community 3) to employ innovative mentoring techniques to help mold the next generation of business leaders and 4) most importantly – to give generously through philanthropy.

Ask me what I wore? A stunning Tahari deep lavender business suit with a pleated skirt, along with a wrap around lavender & hot pink & black knit blouse, and of course, my Donald Pliner shoes. One after the other, I received compliments on my SHOES. Why is this “sometimes” important?

1. As an executive (male or female) you need to dress the part. I may be old school in saying so, but if you dress poorly … no one will take you seriously for advancements. Even though neckties and bowties are not as widely required in the workforce, there is nothing as seductive as a well-dressed man, wearing an Italian cut suit, button-down crisply pressed white dress shirt with solid gold cufflinks.
2. Dressing well (especially in a sales or business development role) will give you a boost of confidence that is unmatched.)
3. Others will take you more seriously.
4. Others will LISTEN more attentively to what you have to say.
5. Others will attempt to come over and meet you or strike up a conversation.
6. And most importantly, it just FEELS GOOD to pamper yourself and feel that you are worth every cent you paid.

Why would a 22 year old college boy give a girlfriend Julia’s masterpiece? Years later I discovered why … because he was testing me to make sure that I could learn to cook as good as his mother. Yet, while in college, I read every word of that two volume cookbook as though it was my bible, and I have personally mastered 60% of all recipes (and successfully wooed that “boyfriend” who now is my loving husband of 19 years).

So WHY wasn’t I brilliant enough to due what Julie Powell did? She is the lucky soul who decided to cook her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and blog about it—365 days, 524 recipes. After a year of blogging and cooking, Powell had a following, wrote a book about her culinary adventures and got noticed by filmmaker Nora Ephron. Fame and fortune followed, through the very lucrative “Julie & Julia,” a tour de force written and directed by Ephron. And, to top it off, the most celebrated and brilliant actress Meryl Streep is playing the lead role as Julia.

Almost 48 years after it was first published, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child finally topping the best-seller list, bringing with it all the butter, salt and goose fat that home chefs had largely abandoned in the age of Lipitor. The book, given a huge lift from the recently released movie “Julie & Julia,” sold 22,000 copies in the most recent week tracked, according to Nielsen BookScan, which follows book sales. That is more copies than were sold in any full year since the book's appearance, according to Alfred A. Knopf, which published it.

Lessons to be learned:
1. Follow your passion.
2. Don’t let rejection hinder your efforts.
3. Continue striving and building something that is important to you.
4. Keep ethical and honest.
5. Stay focused.
6. Be relentless.
7. Show tenacity.
Enjoy life … and maybe great fortune and success will come to you in very unexpected ways.

Get Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes at 60% OFF thru BookCloseouts.com

Stories like this happen to blacks, whites, Hispanics, Jews, Catholics, Muslims and every ethnic and religious group in the world.

This is why I have chosen to join Women of Tomorrow, a non-profit group whose mission is to help young girls at high risk have mentors to learn from and who can guide them in the right direction.

I know what you’re thinking, OK Leslie, you already have 3 kids, run a company, have 2 ailing parents who you take care of, and are already extremely active in raising money for different agencies.

Why spread myself so thin? Actually, I’m doing this for ME. Having had some difficult challenges in my own youth, I feel that I truly can help many girls who need a good role model to guide them.

This is different from anything I’ve ever done. I’m not raising money, I’m providing my past childhood experience and my current success as an entrepreneur and business owner to teach young girls important lessons.

I recently took 4 hours out of my busy work day to be trained as a mentor for Women of Tomorrow (WOT). WOT was founded in 1997 by Television Journalist & Author Jennifer Valoppi and Telemundo President Don Browne as a way to help young at-risk young women live up to their full potential. Women of Tomorrow is about women helping women and its program model is unique and effective -- highly accomplished professional women meet with small groups of at-risk girls in public high schools once a month to discuss ways to overcome obstacles and to provide skills for success. In its first year of operation, Women of Tomorrow commissioned an independent psychologist to conduct pre and post self-esteem tests of the girls participating and a statistically significant increase in the self-esteem of the WOT Mentees was found.

As of today, over 2,000 girls have been mentored, 98 schools participate, and $2.3 million dollars have been awarded as scholarships to help these young high risk girls have a chance to reach their dreams.

Me, well I can’t wait to begin. I have a whole line of topics which we will be discussing monthly at the high school, as well as a list of fascinating and accomplished guest speakers which will hopefully encourage and motivate these girls to stay on track, and most importantly, learn that they should never give up and say they can’t do it. Just like the little blue engine who always told himself “I think I can, I think I can” – these girls must remember this childhood lesson applies even as a teenager/young adult.

Regardless, the essays that keep pouring in are compelling and very interesting. It will certainly be a difficult choice to make when selecting five winners.

We started the morning with a lavish buffet breakfast, lot’s of chit chat to catch up on events and travels during the summer, and then began our sessions with a few ice breakers.

On to business, where we listened to a professional speaker who had flow in from New York to discuss our first session on fundraising techniques “How to Deliver a Two Minute Elevator Speech.” The speaker was great. She called upon several board members to role play in front of the entire group. How can you get your message across in 2 minutes or less, which will spark the other person's interest? Fascinating role playing and listing to what works, and what doesn’t. In essence, you have very little time to hold the attention of someone you are trying to entice to give money to your organization. It is imperative that you have 2 – 4 different elevator speeches memorized so that you can draw upon the particular speech that is in order.

Next were our agency overviews. How can you ask for money if you don’t understand the needs of all the agencies you represent? We spent many hours preparing a wonderful pocket size booklet that describes 18 agencies, the populations served and amount of funding requested and the amount allocated. The idea being to keep this handy booklet with you at all times, even during a quick cup of coffee with a potential new donor.

After lunch, “Empowering Yourself as a Leader and a Philanthropist” was conducted by truly amazing women who had flown in special from Baltimore for the mornings retreat. An extremely accomplished and successful business executive, entrepreneur and professional fund raiser, she inspired us through her own stories and experiences, as she has traveled all over the world raising much needed money for various philanthropic agencies.

What did I do other than cut bagels, platter lox and cream cheese and make the coffee… I Personally led a 30 minute discussion on Organization and Time Management. I pulled from my first hand experience.

At the end of the day, though we all gave up 7 hours of our precious Sunday, everyone collectively felt as though we learned a great deal, bonded with other board members and honed our skills.