What is stopping us from achieving our goals? How can setting mini goals help our chances of accomplishing our over all goals?

When I left for Ecuador in the beginning of April, I said that I wanted to be able to do 10 pull-ups by the time I left. Seriously. I, for some reason, thought that this was doable. On my first day in the park, I warmed up with some jumping jacks, push-ups and squats, as usual. I made my way over to the pull-up bar (you may prefer to call them “monkey bars”), I jumped up to reach the bar, pulled with every bit of strength in my muscles, strained my neck a bit, and didn’t move an inch. Not one little inch. I was just hanging there on the bars like a big neon sign that said, “FAIL.”

As if that wasn’t embarrassing enough already, it’s even on camera. But, I’m taking that video to my grave.

I thought that I would be able to build up enough strength to do 10 pull-ups in a matter of 4-5 weeks. I couldn’t even do ONE! Some would choose to say that I’m unreasonable, but I prefer to say that I’m ambitious. That’s beside the point, though.

As soon as I realized that I couldn’t start with my eyes on accomplishing 10 pull-ups, I changed my goal. I kept the same long-term overall goal, but created a new short-term goal to help me accomplish the bigger target. I restructured my goal to say that by the time I left Ecuador, I would be able to do just one pull-up. There. That’s better. I can take steps toward accomplishing one pull-up, and I can feel like less of a loser while I work toward 1, then 2, then 10.

I struggled and struggled and struggled to get this one stupid pull-up when I was doing my park workouts 3 times per week. It wasn’t until 2 weeks into my Ecuadorian adventure that I began to feel like I was getting closer to my goal. I began to pull myself up just a little bit further each time I tried. By the time the last week came around, I was closer to doing a pull-up than I had ever been before! But, I still couldn’t do it without a tiny little push of assistance.

I came back to the States, and said that I would continue trying for this… I was so close already, I just had to give myself two more days on the monkey bars and I’d have it! Sure enough, two park workouts later, I did my first pull-up.

How can setting mini goals help you accomplish your 10 metaphorical pull-ups?

Maybe your company wants to reach a certain sales number this month.

Maybe you want to reach a very specific goal weight, or lift x amount of lbs.

Maybe you have 20 tests to study for, and need to know it all by the end of this month.

What are you doing today, this week, to help you reach those goals?

You won’t wake up tomorrow and have your sales number reached, or be at your target goal weight, or be the smartest human on the planet, but you may wake up tomorrow with a more specific mini goal accomplished that helps you reach the end result.

(PS this is why New Years resolutions are epic fails… because people set giant unrealistic goals that they may WANT to accomplish, but accomplishing them is way   too overwhelming when no mini goals are set to build up toward the bigger picture).

When you start checking off goals from your list, you’ll literally see yourself getting closer to your overall goal. I just crossed off “milestone pull-up número uno”. Next, I’m going to cross off “milestone número dos”. Then tres, then cuatro… you get the picture. Each time I accomplish another mini goal is just one more important step toward accomplishing my big, originally unrealistic, goal. The unrealistic aspect to it will slowly disappear as you make your way closer to the finish line.

Here’s my living proof that I did my first pull up!

Happy goal setting, and let me know how I can help!

Jessie

****

Updates!

*I am finishing up a free eBook to help small businesses create their own websites. It’s a super simple step-by-step guide, complete with photos and tips. It will be released this week, and will only be available to email subscribers… so make sure to sign up in the form below!

*I’m adding “eBook design” to my services offered, on top of the social media management, email marketing services, and WordPress installations, so if you know of anyone looking to launch an eBook or who needs a pretty PDF created for whatever purpose, please send em my way.

*I’m currently in Texas for a few weeks before I plan my next move. I’m thinking Portland, Oregon, or Boston, Mass! Stay tuned.

RSS is cool and all, but you can also view the original post here: Achieving one pull-up will help you achieve ten

I am going to take you through the steps to creating your own pretty website today! And don’t freak out – you don’t need to know about HTML, CSS, Dreamweaver, or anything like that to get started. Knowledge of these certainly wouldn’t hurt, but they are not required by any means!

If you’ve already got a personal website, that’s great. Send this post to a friend who doesn’t! If you don’t have any sort of personal site floating around in the interwebs, then I will make sure that you are covered and know how to make one by the end of this eBook.

Sign up in the form below to receive your free step-by-step guide to creating your own website!

(photo)

RSS is cool and all, but you can also view the original post here: How to create your own website

Hello, all!

This is my last article from Manta, Ecuador. My lease is up in 3 days, and I’m headed back to the States to figure out where to head next… Portland? San Diego? Thailand? London? Chicago? Key West? Hawaii? I don’t know. Suggestions are welcomed.

The past four weeks have been very eye opening for me. I looked at my Ecuadorian adventure as a retreat from the hectic lifestyle of Washington, D.C., and it was exactly the kind of change I needed to give myself in order to keep my sanity. Now that my time is ending, I find myself in an odd situation (of course), and I’m back to the drawing board. Ordinarily I would be upset at the fact that I’m back to searching for where to go, but there’s a difference between going back to the drawing board and going back to square one (I despise square one…)!

The drawing board is place to reflect on what I am doing, building, and creating. It’s a chance to reevaluate where I am and the direction I am heading, and to make whatever I am doing better and stronger.
Square one, on the other hand, is starting over from scratch, with no plan of action, no idea of what to do, and basically feeling completely hopeless and lost (been there, done that, no thanks, I don’t even like squares).

Where are you?

Are you at a point where you know you’ve got ideas and a plan, but just need to optimize your thoughts and create a strong plan of action? Or are you at the dreaded square one and feel like you’ve got nothing in the works?

To the square one-ers, don’t beat yourself up. We all start at square one, and we work our way up toward the drawing board.

A month ago, I was at square one, and now I’m at the drawing board. I have a start, and I have an idea, I just don’t have a location. I wouldn’t say I’m homeless…. okay, fine. I’m a little bit homeless, but that’s beside the point!

The point is that once you get past square one, when you’ve got an idea, you’ve got a dream and a goal, the next step is taking it to your drawing board.

How can you make your dream a reality? How can you move yourself from the square to the board?

If you want to quit your job to see the world, do it, but do it strategically. Apply for a credit card that gives you reward points (like the Chase Sapphire), work toward reaching the spending limit so that you can utilize your points for airline miles (if you have a family member/relative/friend who can use your new credit card to help you hit the limit for their own bills/purhases, they then can write you a check to get you at that limit. Or, if you can do it on your own, use that card for every little purchase you can – even just for a stick of gum at the gas station). Use those points to go travel! Put in your notice, leave on good terms (please), and go fulfill what you want to do. You may not be staying at the Ritz wherever you decide to go, but you’ll at least have the freedom and the power to go.

If you want to get out of your parents house, but have no money and no job prospects, then take a chance on yourself and create something. Do something. Freelance. Find an editing gig online. Look on Craigslist under “misc” jobs, and find ways to earn some random bits of cash here and there. Save your money. Go talk to people. Let them know what you want to do…you never know when you’ll meet the right person (but I’ll tell you one thing – you aren’t going to meet them by sitting home, eating crappy food, whining about your misery, and not going outside).

If you want to build a company, build it. You know what square one feels like… it feels like shiza. So get off of it. Start building your company. If you have a full time job and can’t seem to find the time to focus on it, you will use that excuse forever. There’s a way around it though – wake up earlier, and stay up later. Use your lunch breaks. Replace happy hour with “build your business hour.” Use the time you waste on Facebook and Twitter to instead build what you’ve been talking about building for three years. Start at square one, and get your butt to the drawing board.

Let me know how I can help you get started!

My current drawing board

I have a company (which I have recently established as Split Aces Media…because I love black jack and gambling and think that splitting aces has more of a metaphorical meaning than just splitting aces in the actual game of black jack). I need a place to land for a while so that I can focus on building it! I would love to do it while continuing to travel, but I think it would be best for me to pick places to live for at least 1-2 month increments so that I can truly focus. I can go anywhere. I need to figure out where. However, I had a lot of seclusion in Ecuador – tooooo much seclusion. I thrive around people, so I think I need to be in or near a big city.

This brings me to my reflections on my month in Ecuador, and the nine lessons I learned while I was in Manta:

One of the best things about Ecuador was how much money I saved while living out here. It was financially one of the best decisions I could have made for this past month as a young 20-something new to entrepreneurship. For example, here are a few items from my grocery receipt this past week… compare these prices to what we generally pay in the States, and it hurts to think about.

• 6 Apples (manzanas, if you will) $2.19
• 3 Pears $0.79
• 3 Onions $0.40
• 6-pack of light beer $4.49
• 2 Zucchinis $0.17
• 1-lb Ground beef $1.13

You get the idea. It’s friggin’ cheap. It’s also approximately $3.50 per person to eat out at a restaurant. This $3.50 includes a chicken breast, a cup of white rice, 4 fried plantains, a cup of lentils, plantain chips, and a Coke or water. Compare that to my life in D.C.? It really makes me want to both throw something at a wall, and break down into tears at the same time.

While I’ve been out here soaking up the sun and helping companies grow their social media footprints, I’ve learned quite a few lessons:

1. I’ve learned smarter ways to manage my expenses and bank accounts through Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich. Ask the me from a month ago if I would be caught dead reading a book on finance and that version of me would have slapped you in the thigh. And it would have hurt.
2. I’ve learned how much I love the Amazon Kindle. Some of the books I recommend checking out include The Hunger Games two and three, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, and Anything You Want.
3. I’ve learned not to pay $5.00 for a haircut, and not to eat Chinese food in South America.
4. I’ve learned how to not sweat the small stuff and the importance of traveler’s insurance. I actually just received an email from the insurance company to let me know that they are in the final stages of processing my claim – WOOHOO!
5. I’ve learned the types of “things” I can and cannot live without (ie do I really NEED 57 pairs of shoes? No. I need three: Flip-flops, work out shoes, and dressy shoes. I just WANT 57).
6. I’ve learned that other countries and cities really aren’t that much different than “home,” and it’s much easier to travel than I had previously expected.
7. I’ve learned that there’s a lootttt of retired U.S. citizens kicking their feet up on the beach in Manta. Seriously – my first week here, I immediately knew that my new best friends were going to be 60+ retirees from the States.
8. I’ve learned to slow down, appreciate what I have, read more, and enjoy the sunsets.
9.  I’ve learned that it’s okay to go back to the drawing board.

I am definitely going to continue working on my business, I am going to continue working for my clients and helping them build social media audiences, and I am going to continue blogging here on my website. But…. where do I put my backpack?

So, yes… I am back to the drawing board, but not square one.

I like it! I get excited when I’m in a new place, exploring new cities, trying new foods, learning new things… it’s fun for me and it makes me happier than sitting at a desk all day long! I get so happy when I am helping these companies grow audiences online, and I really enjoy teaching about social media and giving my two-cents when they have questions or need advice. And working while living in a place like Manta, Ecuador complete with finding deals like $4.49 for 6-pack of beer…well, that’s just glorious.

What are you working on? Let me know how I can help you get from square one to your drawing board!

RSS is cool and all, but you can also view the original post here: The difference between the drawing board and square one

Let me introduce you to my father: nerdy attorney by day, shark diving badass by weekend. If you think I’m kidding, I’m not. Did you see that picture above circulating around the Internet a few weeks ago? Well, that guy high fiving the shark is the editor of Shark Diver Magazine, and the guy behind the camera – that’s my pops. He keeps his life craaazzzaaayy, right?

Well… APPARENTLY NOT ENOUGH!

Because even this shark-diving, thrill-seeking, Jewish (had to) attorney living in The Woodlands, Texas felt that his life was sitting still for too long, thus pushing him over the edge.

Literally.

The guy jumped out of an airplane for his birthday yesterday… my dad went skydiving… on a whim…. with less than a day’s notice… because he wanted to feel more exciting.

I get it, though. We’ve all been there. We’ve all felt like our lives have been sitting stagnant for long periods of time at some point, and we crave a change, an adrenaline rush, we feel a spur of antsy-ness that makes us want to drop everything and just go DO something.

Yet, I imagine most people stop there. They stop at the thought of how they want to go do something, without ever taking action. It’s easy to get comfortable and to settle down into our cozy protected lives.

It’s easy to dream. It’s easy to imagine what our lives could be like. But it’s even easier to ignore all of that due to convenience and comfort.

My dad, as crazy as his life may already seem to others, was comfortable in his world, and he needed that burst of adrenaline to get going again! I applaud him for it! He wanted more, he went for more, and now he feels refreshed, excited, energetic, and enthused about life. All it took was one liiiiiittlllleeeee jump out of an airplane to get him back to his old (yup… 55 everyone. 55…) spunky self.

So you know what this means? It means it’s your turn. (You don’t have to jump out of a plane. I did it once, and I don’t ever want to do it again. I lived through it the first time – not going to press my luck).

It’s your turn to examine your life… your current state of mind. Are you perfectly content and excited about what you’re doing? OR are you screaming inside your head, “I’m BOORRREEDD!!!”

For me, my breaking point was when I realized that I am way too young to feel like I’m in my 40s by working a 9-6, Monday through Friday, plus an hour and a half commute each day to work, while spending entirely too much money on rent, food, and transportation. So, I gave myself the opportunity to go travel cheaply and work at the same time, and I feel about 150% better than I did just two months ago.

What do you need to do to feel that energy again?

It may be something quick like taking a half of a Saturday to go jump out of an airplane, and it may be something life-altering like quitting your job and moving to a new country. Or, try one of these random things I just thought of off the top of my head:

1. Go paintballing (Type in Google: “Paintballing in [insert city here]”… and then do it)
2. Go bungee jumping (Type in Google: “bungee jumping near [insert city here]”… and then do it)
3. Go skydiving (Type in Google: “skydiving near [insert city here]”… and then do it)
4. Try scuba diving (Type in Google: “scuba lessons near [insert city here]”… and then do it)
5. Take a Parkour class (Type in Google: “Parkour classes near [insert city here]”… and then do it)
6. Plan a road trip with your friends for a long weekend (Google maps)
7. Go camping (Type in Google: “camping near [insert city here]”… and then do it)

Whatever it is that you need to do, think about it, think about how to make it happen, talk to people who have done it already, and then go friggin’ do it!

Oh! And then tell me about it. I want to know your exciting stories (because I’m nosy like that).

Ciao!

RSS is cool and all, but you can also view the original post here: All it takes is jumping out of a plane…

For the past three weeks, I have been learning A LOT. I have been teaching myself how to be an entrepreneur, how to survive in a foreign country, how to speak Spanish, how to be a yoga instructor, how to do a pull up, and how to remember to wear sunscreen every day. All in all, the past 21 days have been exhausting, liberating, educational, and a whoollleee lotta fun!

To accomplish all of this learning simultaneously, as you can imagine, I spend a ton of time on my laptop Googling, researching, talking with people, and asking a bunch of questions.

Two of the biggest struggles I am facing are the how to be an entrepreneur thing, and how to do a pull up. (Learning Spanish is getting much easier now that I live here, and living in another country is also a lot less intimidating once I familiarized myself with the community and my surroundings).

So, here’s how I’m tackling these feats, followed by a plea for YOUR assistance.

How to be an entrepreneur

I’ve worked for someone else since I was 16 years old. I started my working life as a cart pusher and grocery bagger at Kroger’s in The Woodlands, Texas – in the middle of summer… in 100 degrees…. outside… pushing carts. Not so glamorous! I lasted about two weeks there before I got hired at Circuit City where I spent the next 3 years of my life. After Circuit City, I went to college, took a part-time job at the school newspaper as a sports reporter, accepted a copy editing internship with Shark Diver Magazine, and then, at the same time, took on another part time job with Fossil selling watches (and capitalizing on the super sweet 50% discount you get for working there)! Then, after a year or so at Fossil, I began working at Academy… (for yet another sweet discount, but this time on athletic clothing and fishing lures).

The only professional experiences I’ve ever had were working for other people’s creations. I didn’t know any better. I was never the little kid at the end of the street making and selling lemonade for a dime every day on hot summer afternoons, and I wasn’t the kid doing arts and crafts to take door-to-door around the neighborhood in hopes of turning a profit to go buy more candy. I never had that desire to be my own boss naturally instilled in me!

…Not until I realized that it was possible, anyway.

The age of the internet transformed my impressions of what my working life could be like – much more than I had ever learned in any classroom or previous working experiences.

I began reading blogs about young entrepreneurs and how they got started, I began my own blog just for fun to keep my family and friends updated on my life while I was away at school, and I began reading every entrepreneurial-based article I came across on Twitter, Facebook, and various news sites. And then, the seed was planted in my head that I could do something on my own, and an entrepreneur was born.

I learned that I could work online, and I could work from wherever I wanted in the world, as long as it had a Wi-Fi connection and a comfy couch to call my “office.”

So currently, that’s where I am. I am feeling my way around the world of entrepreneurship, metaphorically with a blindfold on, and I am learning how to handle multiple clients at the same time, and I love it!

I love being able to help small companies in need of online marketing help. I actually find it really exciting when I get an email from a client asking me for my advice, or when they send me an email with an idea that they had, but need my help making it happen. It puts a huge smile on my face to know that I am the one that can help them, and that I am not only doing it for money, but because I actually legitimately enjoy it.

Something has to be wrong, though. Work is not supposed to be fun! Weekends are supposed to be fun. But now, I realize that Mondays are just as fun as Saturdays because I am in a position to make my own schedule, and as long as I get all of my assignments accomplished, and I am as helpful and innovative as can be with my clients’ companies, the nine-to-five mentality that I’ve always had has gone right out the window.

I work for a few hours every single day. Seven days a week. I generally work more during Monday-Friday for the simple fact that the clients I have happen to work on those days, and that’s when I need to be most accessible, but I also spend some time getting things done on Saturdays and Sundays. Sometimes I’ll work late at night and spend the day doing something differently, non-work related, and sometimes I’ll work early in the mornings and use my evenings to do something else. And it doesn’t feel like “work,” so I feel great about what I am doing and what I have the potential of creating down the road.

I don’t have it all figured out. While I’ve been working with social media for almost five years, I’ve only been in the entrepreneurial mindset for two months, and I’ve been actually practicing it for a little under a month. I’ve got a LOT to learn, and a long road of successes, failures, trials, and errors ahead of me.

That’s where YOU come in.

I would love some advice. I would love some tips. I need your expertise! If you’ve already done this, been down this road, teach me something you think may help me out in the long run. I want to be able to keep going with this lifestyle. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s nerve-racking, and scary. Yet, I love it! What were some of the lessons that you learned when you started out creating your own company?

I asked my friend Elissa this question a few days ago via email, and she gave me some really great insights about being a social media freelance consultant, and it was really helpful to chat with her about it. (Thanks again, Elissa)!

So please feel free to send me an email, leave me a comment, find me on Twitter, or whatever you can do to get in touch with me! I would love to help out in any way I can with social media stuff if you ever need it, and would love your guidance on entrepreneurship for insights I can’t gain from inc.com.

Doing a pull up

Along with being an entrepreneur and traveling around while doing it, I know it’s important to stay in shape and not to let myself get wrapped up in my computer for 24 hours per day with no exercise! I am doing my best to eat as healthy as possible (especially in a country where they love to serve amazingly delicious fried EVERYTHING and a giant cup of rice with all of your meals), and it’s definitely a struggle. But, I’m a work in progress, as always!

I’ve been alternating 3 days of yoga and 3 days of strength training every week, and then relaxing on Sundays. By the time I leave Ecuador, I want to be able to do at least one pull up. Originally, I told myself I wanted to be able to do 10 by the time I left Ecuador. Then I laughed at myself, asked who I was kidding, and altered my goal to make it more realistic. So I’ll take one. Just one.

Again, this is where you come in. (Yes I’m looking at you, Vic Magary, and anyone else who can do at least 10 pull ups with ease and won’t laugh at my pathetic attempts to accomplish just one). HELP ME GET THERE!

What do I need to do to get my first pull up accomplished? I am currently doing negative pull ups, holding hangs, and alternating my days with some back workouts with other days attempting actual pull ups. I’m ready to listen!

So those are my current struggles, and what I’m doing right now in Manta, Ecuador! I love social media, and I’m very happy that I made the decision to do this on my own, and I have already been lucky enough to work with some great people. I hope to not only continue working with them, but also to see how I can expand my efforts in digital marketing as well. I have lots of reading, learning, absorbing, and creating to do, as well as tons of working out to do!

Thanks for your help, and I’m excited to hear your thoughts on my newfound entrepreneurship as well as my quest to turn from weakling to super strong girl! I leave you with a video that my sister-in-law and I made of our park workout in Ecuador.

*Note the strategic cutting of the clip so that it looks like I already made it to the top of one pull up… but let’s be real about this… I started at the top of that pull up, and lowered myself down.

Enjoy.

PS! If you know of anyone in need of getting started with social media for their company, send them my way to see if I can help out!

RSS is cool and all, but you can also view the original post here: Being an entrepreneur and doing a pull up

I’ve seen quite a few articles recently about the importance of finding a mentor, and equally as important, being a mentor. I couldn’t agree more that both finding and being a mentor are super important when it comes to your personal and professional development.

My mentor

When I was in college, I landed a pretttyyyyyyy sweet internship with Discovery Communications in DC… and of all things, I was the Shark Week communications intern (who doesn’t like Shark Week? Everyone likes Shark Week). I knew right away, before I even stepped one foot into that smelly, non-dry cleanable, old great white shark costume that my boss was going to be a great business mentor, as well as a friend.

My mentor, Amy Hagovsky, the Director of Communications for Discovery Channel, is amazing. She is smart, business-savvy, meticulous to detail, creative, AND hilarious to top it off.

She’s not even paying me to say this.

She’s just really wonderful, and I feel like I was the luckiest intern that summer to be able to work for someone who is so great at her job. All in all, I can only hope to one day be as awesome at what I do as Amy is at rocking the PR world.

After my internship ended, and I was thrown into the “real world,” Amy was there to help me along the way. Whenever I was interviewing for various positions around DC, I would always discuss each company with Amy first, and she would give me pointers and tips of how to go about tackling the interview process. She reviewed my resume (probably a thousand times or more), gave me rock star recommendations, and let me know of opportunities every single time she heard of one in the DC area. She also dives with sharks – for fun (which automatically adds 30 points to her B.A. factor).

What you should look for in a mentor

Aside from selecting someone who would wear a shark fin foam hat in the middle of the office halls with you, there are several qualities that would make someone a great mentor – some of the obvious ones including: intelligence, success, and good looks (…duh).

Be choosy! Here are a few specific qualities you can look for when selecting your mentor:

1. Choose someone you automatically connect with. When I met Amy, I knew right away that she was going to be someone I could not only look up to as I developed my career, but also as someone I could go out to lunch or coffee with and be able to carry on a conversation about things aside from work, work, work. This made me feel comfortable enough to talk with her about work issues on a more personal level as well, creating a less “professional and etiquette-conscious” environment (ie… if I had a question about work that I wouldn’t ask just ANYONE in the office, I would ask her. Because, again, she’s awesome).
2. Choose someone who has done what you want to do. If you want to work in public relations, find someone who is awesome at PR, and learn from them. If you want to be a traveling journalist, find one, meet him or her, and develop a relationship with that person! If you want to be a full-time blogger, meet up with one, and learn how the heck they do it! Open up about your goals and plans, and ask this person to help guide you along your journey to success.
3. Choose someone who is good looking. Just do it. It’s not shallow – it’s business. Okay, fine. It’s shallow.
4. Choose someone you would feel comfortable talking about personal topics with. If you’re selecting a mentor, someone to look up to and someone you can continuously gain insights from, you’re going to want to be able to talk with them on a personal level. Mentoring extends far beyond just your career. It also carries over into your day-to-day life.

Once you’ve got your mentor in mind, step one is to talk to them!

If you already know this individual on a personal level, then your job is a lot easier already. Simply talk to your future mentor and request that they offer up some advice from time to time. In all likelihood, they will be highly flattered that you are even considering them as someone to be an “expert” in the field you’d like to work in.

If you don’t know this person already, that’s great, too! Start with an email. Explain who you are, explain that you’re not a creepy stalker, and explain why you want this person to be your mentor. Again, they will probably be flattered, and after that email, you’ve got a business mentor for life willing to help you out in any way they can.

How YOU can be a great mentor 

Not everyone is fortunate enough to be a mentor! (I haven’t had the pleasure of becoming one yet, but I hope one day to help out whoever needs my help)! So when the chance comes along, put a big smile on your face and be honored!

Don’t look at this role as if you are helping out some poor lost soul on a desperate mission to find success in his or her career, look at it as an opportunity for you to give back to someone who is in a position where you once were. I don’t care if you’re only in your early 20s and have only had a year or two of professional experience – that may be a year or two more than someone in need of your awesomeness. There’s someone out there who could use your expertise and your experience, no matter what it may be and no matter what stage you are at in your own career, and you have the chance to not only offer your advice, but to also be a friend to someone in need.

Work on finding yourself a mentor this week! Everyone can use one… whether you’re the president of a major company or an unpaid intern. Find a mentor, be a mentor. 

*Yes, that is me in the photo at the top in a shark costume. I was called Chompie, Jr.

:D

PS! I’ve picked my next country after I leave Ecuador in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

RSS is cool and all, but you can also view the original post here: Find a mentor, be a mentor

If there’s one word that makes me in cringe when it comes to social media, it’s the word “viral.” * Shudder *

Why does this word freak me out so much? Is it because it is associated with communicable and uncontrollable diseases? Well, yeah… but also because when used in terms of social content spreading wildly across the interwebs, it gives false hope and false expectations to your friend, client, or whoever it is who’s using this deadly terminology.

How can you avoid false expectations from your client?

Managing expectations up front is key. If a client comes to you with a photo or video and they mention that they think it’s great and that it’s DEFINITELY going to go “viral,” RUN.

Just kidding.

But before they get too excited about the possibility of it spreading across the internet as fast as that video of the cute little kid who got bit by Charlie, make sure to interrupt them mid-sentence to let them know that the chances of their content going viral are slim-to-none.

Stop looking at me like I’m being negative! The fact is that only 1 in 1,647,400,478 links go viral on the Internet. Yes, I just made that statistic up.

Sure, there are ways for your brand to take steps toward increasing views and getting much more attention than your average day, but I have to strongly encourage avoiding expectations of “viral content.”

However, if your client is insistent on not being happy until every eye in America has viewed his or her photo/video/whatever, or that they won’t be happy until they create something capable of becoming viral, here are a few ways to increase views to your link, and to show the client that you have done everything in your power to make it happen:

1. Create something awesome. Be ridiculous, and be different! If you’ve got something that people have already seen 1,000 times on the internet in some form or another, chances are that it’s going to end up as just a needle in a haystack, with nothing awesome about it.
2. Utilize pop culture, and find a way to connect your content to recent happenings in the world! For starters, look at what’s trending on Twitter. If you want to create something that people will talk about (and talk about in mass quantities), look at what’s already trending, and get some inspiration from that. Read the news, read a popular book, watch a new TV show. Find some sort of connection to the world!
3. Think about what makes YOU want to share other brands’ content. Make a list of qualities that a piece of content must have before you share it, and make sure that your content has most, if not all, of those qualities.
4. Get in contact with the people you know will care. Do you have a friend/colleague/acquaintance with a large following and you think he or she may enjoy it? Share it with them, and ask them to help you spread the love. Disclaimer: Don’t be the guy/gal begging for everyone you know in the world to share your friggin’ video. No one likes that person. Only put in the request if you know it would be relevant to their particular audiences.

Managing expectations with your client is one of the most important things you can do initially…as soon as you meet them, right up front.

“Hi I’m Jessie. Don’t expect your content to go viral. Let’s just look at it as a bonus if it does. Nice to meet you.”

Well, you don’t have to be that abrupt about it, unless you want to be. But, luckily, most people (I hope) are levelheaded enough to realize that it’s very difficult to create viral content, and all they will ask of you is that you give it your best shot (which you should always do, anyways, if you want to keep them happy!). Even specialized viral marketing firms can only do so much. It’s a lot of hit and miss, trial and error.

“It can be difficult to predict what will go viral, but catchy content can increase your chances.” – Entrepreneur.com

What other tips would you add to the topic of either managing client expectations or creating catchy content?

Hey, speaking of awesome content, check it out for your daily dose of inspiration!

photo 

PS. Ecuador still rocks.

RSS is cool and all, but you can also view the original post here: Managing client expectations: “Viral” is a four-letter word (not literally).

When I made it to my apartment in Ecuador after three flights, one hotel, and a few taxi rides, I arrived with both of my backpacks, and all of their respective belongings. I’m lying. My Canon 30D camera was stolen out of a bag inside of a bag … inside of another bag.

Impressive.

I couldn’t even be angry – the amount of effort and strategic sneakiness it took to steal my camera in this manner is just flat out impressive. Okay, I’m lying again. I am indeed a little bit upset about it, but I can only hope that whoever stole it needed it more than I did.

So how did I get over the fact that on the very first day of my new life in Ecuador, I had something like this happen?

For one, I looked out my window, saw the ocean, smiled, and instantly became happy again. Two, I had purchased traveler’s insurance just three days prior to the mishap, and the cost of both my camera and my lens will be fully covered under the plan I chose!

*I paid the nice fellows over at World Nomads $183 for basic traveler’s insurance, and the cost of my camera and lens was approximately $1000 all together. I’d say purchasing insurance was a smart choice*

Aside from the insurance and the sunny weather and beach outside my window, I weighed my options: I could either let this little setback ruin the start of this highly anticipated chapter in my life, call it a bad omen, and turn around to go back to my comfortable world, OR I could say, “Meh. Sh*t happens,” and move on with my life.

Clearly I chose the latter.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right?!

So what can we learn from this guy? (Heads up – he drops an F bomb twice…NSFW)

The choice is yours to decide how you handle unfortunate events. We always have a choice when it comes to our attitude, and I find it much more beneficial to not sweat the small stuff.

I had a camera stolen from me. Not the end of the world. Sure, it was a pricey item and it broke my heart to know that some people could be that messed up in the head to steal from another person, but at the end of the day, it’s just a camera.

For the gen-y-ers out there, maybe you’ve recently lost your job, or maybe you can’t seem to find your first job. Well, this economy is weaksauce right now. Jobs are hard to come by, and even super small companies get hundreds (if not thousands) of resume submissions for just one position. Don’t sit around a mope about it! Pick yourself up, and hit the job searching sites. Go meet people, get off your couch and out of your sweatpants and make good things happen for yourself! Go to a gym, go to a happy hour, go wherever you feel like you can meet and connect with people. Make a website (some people say that personal websites are the new resumes). We make our own luck, and very rarely will a job and money fall into our laps – you need to make it happen on your own, and it might not be easy.

Maybe you’ve gone through a recent breakup. It stings. It sucks. And it either makes you really fat or really skinny. It’s an emotionally painful setback, but it’s better to find these things out about your ex-significant other sooner than later. He or she sucked anyways, and you’re better than them. Or maybe they are actually really nice people, and it just wasn’t working out – I don’t know your situation. But you see where I’m going with this? Get off the couch, put down the ice cream, and go outside. Go for a run, release some endorphins, and put a smile on your face! Okay, fine – breakups are really no fun at all. I’ll give you two days to sit on your couch. But after those two days, cut it out, eat something healthy, and go exercise.

The fact of the matter is, life happens. The good times come and the good times go. The bad times come and the bad times go.

Right now, I’m in a good place. I have a beautiful home in Manta, Ecuador, I have an amazing support system of family and friends, and I am working every single day to try to build a social media business on my own… and I’m getting a really baller tan at the same time (yes, Mom, I’m wearing sunscreen)!

So today is great. Tomorrow may bring another setback. It may be minor, or it may be colossal, but either way, life happens. And we all need to TRY to be as prepared as possible to handle whatever comes our way.

What are some steps that you take to handle a setback?

(I eat. Don’t judge me).

Some methods I find helpful for taking my mind off of the bad days are:

1. Doing yoga and meditating
2. Exercising
3. Listening to loud music and singing at the top of your lungs (it can even be a sad song. I don’t care. Just sing).
4. Catch up with an old friend.
5. Write about it. Seriously! Keep a journal. Or, if you’re worried about someone finding it, then write it out, and then burn it. Problem solved.
6. Bake.
7. Watch this clip from 1999.

I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week, and remember to keep on keepin’ on!

When life gives you lemons…

-Jessie-

Oh! Check out my resources page to see what I’m using as basic necessities for my trip, and how you can create a simple WordPress site like mine to get started blogging about the things you love! If you have any questions, I’m happy to help.

RSS is cool and all, but you can also view the original post here: Handling a setback, and making lemonade…or something like that

Howdy, or shall I say, “Hola!” since I’m spending the next month working on my Spanish skills!

My “office” has been somewhere different every single day for the past week. I have worked from three airports (Miami, Quito, and Manta), one hotel room, one giant sofa, a noisy sports bar, and a poolside patio. I am a huge fan of working from wherever seems to draw out the inspiration for the day (I tend to need changes of scenery quite often or I get antsy). FYI – today I chose my couch.

Anyways, down to the good stuff.

A few days ago, I downloaded a free (yes, free – there are plenty of free resources out there) eBook from HubSpot on how to utilize the Facebook’s timeline for brands to the best of your abilities. If you are interested in launching a Facebook page for your business, or if you already have a Facebook page and don’t think that you are using it to its full potential, there are resources and people (ahem… like ME) that can help you!

Click here for this free comprehensive guide.

It’s quick and painless… and super helpful all at the same time. The Guide to Facebook Business Page Timelines takes you through the steps you need to create the foundation for a successful Facebook marketing strategy.

It can’t give you everything though – the brainpower has to come from…well, your brain.

After reading through the HubSpot eBook, check out these brands getting the Facebook thing done right, and see how you can model your own strategy after theirs. What do you like that these brands are doing? What don’t you like?  Be a nerd for a few minutes and actually take some notes on what you like and what you don’t like from these three brands.

The Rock Boat

This brand page, created by a company called Sixthman, is managed year around for a one-time per year event known as The Rock Boat. It’s basically a giant floating music festival, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone. But even though this event occurs just once a year, they keep their page fresh by continuously posting photos, band updates, behind-the-scenes videos, and interviews with musicians. Along with all of the pop culture/music awesomeness they are promoting, they also utilize the customizable apps underneath their cover photo like champs and really draw attention to their messaging.

Oreo

Not only are oreos sinfully delicious, the company that makes them also happens to rock at social media. Take a look at how they creatively take advantage of their cover photo space to create more of a personal experience for their customers. They also engage the user by including printable games, plenty of visuals, and several open ended questions to rally conversations! With 25.7 million fans, I’m sure we can all learn a thing or two from their practices. *Side note: I realize that not every company has the time or the resources to execute extensive social strategies such as this one. That’s fine! Just start somewhere, pick and choose what you think you can make time for, and see where it takes you! The important thing is getting started, and you can work on growing your audience footprint from there.*

Pappas Group 

This company is a creative advertising agency based in Washington, D.C., and they are really great at creating brand unity, utilizing visuals, and sounding personable in each post. Look at their cover photo, default photo, and app boxes under the cover photo – they are all unified, and it gives off a solid, strong appearance across the page.

It’s important to remember that if you see some brands using techniques that YOU wouldn’t like to see, chances are that you are not alone, and there are others who don’t want to see it either.  It’s also important to remember that you can pick and choose which tips to utilize, and which ones to omit. When it comes to social media, not every method works exactly the same for every brand. The fun part is experimenting with different practices and seeing what works for your brand and your customers!

I recommend trying new techniques in two to four week increments. If you don’t start to see the kind of customer engagement/feedback you’re hoping for in whichever amount of time you choose to allot, then change something. Keep changing, evolving, and growing with your community until you find what works for your unique audience. Don’t give up too quickly, though! These things take time to catch on and pick up traction, so make sure to give your experiments a fair trial.

With the nerdy notes that you take about the techniques you like, try them out for yourself. See if they can work for your company. To take it a step further, think about how you like what the brand is doing, but also how you could do it better. For the practices you don’t like, throw them out, and move on. If you see way too much self-promotion going on from a company’s page (which I cannot stand to see from a brand), make note of that, and remember not to put your customers through that same obnoxious torture.

What are some of your favorite brands to follow on Facebook? What makes you follow a brand, and what makes you unfollow one? 

RSS is cool and all, but you can also view the original post here: Facebook Timeline: How you can do it better