The minute you have a better idea, or think of something else you want to know about the story, you are thinking like a reporter.  And you’re on your way to becoming a source for a media professional, that is if you can explain it in a captivating way.

A credible news story must have an ‘official’ voice, an ‘expert’ opinion or refer to factual data.

Contrary to how it may look when you watch the news or read the headlines, there is a method to the madness. There are actual definitions of what makes ‘news’.  It’s not always about calamity and mayhem.

Believe it or not, reporters want to cover interesting stories.  Those story ideas have to come from somewhere and someone. What information or expertise do you have that reporters need? Are you or your ideas controversial?

The media, like anything else, can be handled IF you know how.  Until you do, you’re missing a golden opportunity to change lives, get exposure for your business and gain instant credibility.

Join marketing and media expert, Annetta Wilson, on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday, 05.22.12 at 1:30 PM as she shows you how the media can become your marketing machine!

Do you have a story that reporters need?

Picture this:

Consider this: anytime you want to have someone do what you want them to do— that is a sell. I want to expand ‘sales’ to mean something more noble than pure manipulation. The way I am inviting you to re-imagine sales is to relate to it as providing the opportunity for others to take inspired action in their own self-interest. Force doesn’t work and bribery isn’t sustainable. But if you react, you loose the opportunity to influence. So first things first. Tend to your self-image so you don’t loose the shot.

Here is a Defy Impossible Insight to get you started:

1. Tend to  your Self-Image: if you feel like a fraud (or stupid, or pushy, or too nice, etc.)  and someone says something or doesn’t say something that smells like they think you aren’t the real deal, you will knee-jerk react internally. Identify all the negative ways you see yourself and locate the gold in them. If you see yourself as a fraud, for example, acknowledge it and focus on what character value has been developed from avoiding being a fraud. I was always told I was stupid. So I went and earned four degrees to cover up that I am stupid–according to my inherited self-image.

The character value I developed from covering up my stupidity was attention to detail. I am really particular about understanding things and people. I notice everything.  So instead of talking to me like I really am stupid, I simply focus my attention on my attentiveness and understanding of others. That gives me different actions to take with clients. It cuts the reaction off in it’s tracks. When you take on the practice of locating the gold, in essence you are resetting your self-worth blueprint. Your self-worth blueprint is like your fingerprint: it is unique to you and it is inherited. Your self-worth blueprint determines what you will and won’t allow you to do, have, or be. It is the gate-keeper to success. It has all the keys and it controls the locks. But if you create new practices that formulate new brain patterns of recognition, you transform your self-worth blueprint.

When was the last time you focused on your self-worth?

Join Self-Worth expert, Dr. Venus Opal Reese, on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday, 05.15.12 at 1:30 PM CST as she shows you how YOU can transform your self-worth so your sales skyrocket!

Most business owners have heard about fraud and about hackers breaching systems to steal credit card data.  You may have recently heard that one of the larger processors Global Payments was breached and they lost around 1.5 million credit cards.

Are you aware that every business that processes or stores any credit card data must by compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)?

Any business who uses software needs to run a network security scan run at least quarterly.  You need to have policies in place regarding how you handle credit card data and track who has access to that data.  Make sure you understand these requirements for peace of mind and to keep your customers data safe.

Join risk awarness expert, Natalie Donahue, on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday, 05.08.12 as she discusses what PCI DSS is, and what it means for your business.

Do you have policies in place regarding how you handle credit card data?

Just like an actual family reunion, your Google+ Hangout can showcase your Business Family Tree. This is a great place for business coaches, recent graduates, and other client prospects to share and learn about the “family”. This willingness to share strengths, weaknesses, and lessons goes a long way with building trust and strengthening your client community.

What I love about the Hangout feature is that it is encourages brainstorming. You can walk away with a pseudo-MindMap and action items that will get you closer to your strategic goals.

Ready to get started with your first Google+ Hangout? Keep these tips in mind:

• Establish a purpose.
• Establish a format (big thanks to Peggy Duncan for a great example).
• Be Teachable!
• Be Consistent.

Join social media expert, Melissa West, on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday 05.01.12 at 1:30 PM CST, as she shares 3-Steps to A Social Media Plan that is simple and sustainable.

What do you like about Google+ Hangouts?

A business person calls her fiance from her hotel room out of town. “I miss you,” she tells him. Does she say it with her full attention, or with one eye on cable news? Is she thinking about a potential client in the bar? Is she flirting, sleepy, or rushing him off the line? The same words can be delivered from an infinite range of intentions.

The subtext always expresses our deeper motivations, the ‘under the table’ and subconscious agendas that truly run our lives. This is the level of communication we sense when we are ‘reading between the lines’.  Just as the characters in a movie know very little about the underlying intentions that drive them, we don’t generally start out aware of the power of our own subtexts in our lives, sometimes turning to personal growth or spirituality to seek understanding. We soon learn by experience that even small changes in our subtexts can make major changes in our life stories as well.

Without the ability to discover and change our personal beliefs, feelings and conditioned thinking, we repeat and respond to every experience life offers us from the same set of intentions. Nothing ever changes. Fortunately one of the gifts of the Creative Entrepreneur is the power to become aware of subtext.

Here is one simple technique:

Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings especially in times of stress.  Ask: “where am I coming from?”  Repeat this question for every answer until you sense a bottom line.  That  is subtext.

Join award winning Hollywood producer and director, Barnet Bain, on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute as he shows you the three raw materials, and six tools responsible for everything you create as a creative entrepreneur.

Has being aware of your subtext ever changed an experience for you?

American Express OPEN VIP Contract Connections, a free event on April 25th in Dallas, features one on one meetings for buyers/sellers with federal and local government buyers as well as large prime contractors. This event also features a networking expo with small business resources and the opportunity to connect with potential teaming partners. Register for free here: www.vipgovtcontracting.com.

[1] US Small Business Administration 2010

Leave a comment and let us know if you will be there!

Two things:

1. The 80-20 Rule, which says that we get 80% of results from 20% of activities. So review the clamoring to-do list as well as your mind, and focus only on the top 20% that are most important to generate the results you need. Delete as many of the remainder as you can, and park the rest elsewhere on a master task list.
2. Think of the Outcome/Result you want, then focus only on the next action that will take you that way. Remember you cannot “do” a project. You can only do each step until you complete it.

So don’t overwhelm yourself with more than you can do. Just focus on one thing at a time, make sure it’s a high payoff activity, enjoy your progress and your results!

Join Productivity Specialist, Nancy Hagan, on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday, 04.17.12 at 1:30 PM CST as she shows you the keys to “Focus” and how to navigate through distractions that are zapping your greatness!

How do you organize your day effectively?

Here are a few tips that will help ease the pain if you become proactive in the process:

Tip #1. Start the search for schools that are a good fit for your child.

Find schools that offer maximum financial aid.  Some are more generous based on their endowments.  Start with a list of 20 to 30 schools  and begin to research their aid history.  Some schools will help more than others.  A good place to start is with College Board’s website(www.collegeboard.com).

Tip #2.  Apply to schools that your student has a good chance to be admitted to.

Grades and test scores sould be in the top 25% of the application pool.  The higher your students GPA, test scores and more importantly, community service attributes, the better chance of admittance and endowment scholarship consideration.

Tip #3. Research the schools Merit Scholarship qualifications.

Merit scholarships are based overall talents of your student.  Family income is not a determining factor when qualifying for these types of awards.

Tip #4. Always complete the Free Application For Federal Student Aid.

You may be pleasantly surprised even if you are a six figure family.  If you don’t apply for FAFSA, you will be ineligible for any type of federal aid including student loans as well as many merit scholarships.

Join senior partner at Bay Area College Planners, Dan Evertsz, on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute Tuesday, 04.10.12 at 1:30 PM CST as he shares insider strategies to access free money for college and provides you with a proven road map to get all your children through college without depleting your nest egg.

What have been your challenges with college funding?

Liza Mundy’s new book “The Richer $ex” just released in March, reinforces what has been happening in the real estate market over the last several years.  The National Association of Realtors reported in 2011 that 18 percent of all buyers were single women and 10 percent single men.   Women are becoming the primary breadwinners in their family and many are realizing home ownership is possible.

If you’re a single woman who has been thinking about purchasing a home, you’re not alone.

Single women—whether divorced, widowed, with or without children, or never married—represent one of the fastest growing segments of the home-buying public today.

Why are so many more single women purchasing homes today?

The answer is simple: Because they can.

Women now make up more than 50% of the workforce. They have outstripped men when it comes to graduating from college. Women now earn 58% of all college degrees.  They are waiting longer to get married.   No longer do women feel like they need to settle down with a husband before they buy a home.  Purchasing a home gives them a sense of security economically, and a place to live when they retire.

More women qualify as “head of household” then ever before; women are the breadwinners.

A study conducted by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing found that single women purchase approximately one million homes each year.

Because women are earning higher incomes, they enjoy more financial independence; not surprisingly, more single women than ever are buying houses and building up their home-equity nest egg as they pay down their mortgage.

What have been the obstacles to home ownership for single women?

A major obstacle has been a lack of information about the home purchasing process. Another challenge—helping women learn the ins and outs (and, admittedly, mysteries) of reading and, when necessary, contesting incorrect information in their credit reports.

Today’s real estate market offers many challenges for a novice homebuyer. It also offers many opportunities.

The Rise of the Woman Head-of-household
The single-women homeowner trend stems from the improving financial position of so many women.

“Assuming present trends continue, by the next generation, more families will be supported by women than by men. Not since women entered the workforce by the millions after World War II has America witnessed economic change on this scale. Some of this is driven by the dramatic rise in single-parent families…”
–Time Magazine, “The Richer $ex” by Liza Mundy, March 26, 2012.

It is evident the American household dynamics are changing making a women head of household a prominently growing trend in the housing industry.  The once impossible dream of homeownership is completely possible.

Post by: Jeanie Douthitt

www.smartwomenbuyhomes.com

Enter the social media internship.   The internship is an incredible way to benefit both the applicant and the business.  But it can also be a recipe for disaster if not managed appropriately.

When hiring an intern to manage your social media, ask yourself a few questions:

• Would I want this person on the phone with that huge deal I’m about to close, while the world listens?
• Would I want this person to immediately react and speak on my behalf when my business, products or services are highly criticized in the public eye?
• Is this person a savvy communicator, strategic thinker, and comfortable with a public presence?

Let’s also consider your responsibility as a business owner, and grooming young professionals to be masters of their craft and helping to launch them into a successful career.

The intent of an internship for a student is to learn and grow by applying learned skills in a business setting.  If you toss them a bunch of content and tell them to “post and chat” they will not be making the most of this career growth opportunity.  The internship is not about ‘cheap labor’ it is a coaching opportunity that needs to be taken seriously by the employer.

Too often businesses are simply looking to reduce cost and get online so they can look the other way and ‘let social media run itself’.  This does not work.  Making the investment to educate your social media interns will not only benefit your online campaign and protect your reputation, it could just result in a long term employee who becomes a solid, strategic player in your organization generating substantial ROI on your initial investment.

This is your image at stake, and the potential of an eager young professional.  Aren’t both worth the investment?

Join Social Media expert, Sue Koch, on the eWomenNetwork Success Institute on Thursday, 04.05.12 at 1:30 PM CST as she helps you begin to develop your strategy, analyze your competition, manage your time and truly see ROI in social media.

Have you had success with a  social media intern, or are you thinking of hiring an intern for you business?