The Educated Emotion

This month, my business turned one year old.  When I look back at my original business plan, I am awed at the goals I had. Several months in, I found myself frustrated working 10 to 12 hours, 7 days a week with little to no profits. I went to a business advisor and she said "why don't you employ the same philosophy you have for small business in your own operations." That piece of advice was a huge turning point for me. I scaled back my operations and am slowly re-integrating one thing at a time. By scaling back on my own goals and operations, I am able to spend more time with each client, learning throughout the process with smaller, smarter goals. Today, Deb Nystrom and I are hosting a free free webinar on Google + from 1 to 2 p.m. as part of the Social Media Week festivities. Please join us by signing up with the eventbrite link by 12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time or via email at Leslie [at] LesGo4It.com. Event registration for Scale Back to Scale Up Your Sma...

By Filipinayzd (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Hiring a third party for services for a small to mid-size business can be tricky and time-consuming. Payroll services are a good example of this. Even with an office manager or human resources point of contact on staff, there are a lot of intricacies surrounding with holdings, filings, and government regulations like the Defense of Marriage Act, Immigration and Health Care Reform that should probably be left to the professionals. The first step in hiring third party services is knowing what you will remain responsible for in the eyes of the law when you outsource. Next, it is time to shop around. Here are a couple things to consider when shopping around: What Do the Basic Fees Cover...Exactly? Many providers offer a "free" trial for a few months. Unfortunately, these often end up costing a lot ...

For the past few weeks, the topic is sharks and quite possibly the most popular "B-Movie" buzz on social media to date is Sharknado. The SyFy channel movie, which aired for the first time in July, has been a social media mega-success, making it more successful online than the ratings. Sharknado Proves People Want to Be a Part of the Conversation Studies have shown repeatedly that people like to be a part of a community. However, Sharknado proves it. People don't have even have to watch the movie to know what it's about. A tornado casts mean and hungry sharks out into the land. A trailer shot shows a hero defending himself against an air-borne shark with a chain-saw. It's so predictable that you almost know what the movie will look like ahead of time. What content marketers didn't see coming was the social tornado that Sharknado would create online. On Facebook, 85% of the modest 13,000 fans were "talking about" Sharknado on July 24. Toda...

For small business owners and technology users, integrating new technology can seem daunting. Some people resist the idea of learning something new, and it's not uncommon to hear employees say, "We already have a system that works." Of course you already have a system — it's a question of whether that system works well, or whether it can be improved. Employee Buy-In Even more than fear of new technology, the biggest challenge for many large corporations is employee attitudes about change. Fourty-four percent of CEOs cite employee resistance to change as their top obstacle in adapting new technology . Drop the Decision to Adopt New Technology on Employees in an Email. Many large corporations deliver major changes to employees with an email to their supervisors, followed by a condensed version to their subordinates. This does nothing to address employees' feelings of being undervalued or their anxiety about performing well with the new technology. ...

All Blog Activity will continue the second week in July, as we are preparing for a new chapter for The Educated Emotion Blog. Until then, please keep up with small business articles and social media ! Diego Delso [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commonscaption

Ann Arbor Workshop to Help Writers Get Found by the Right People by Chris Wechner Twitter: @ CWechner Summary : Southeast Michigan professional writer and marketer Leslie McGraw and publisher Heather Buchanan-Gueringer will present on August 9 in Ann Arbor to help writers learn how to create opportunities and improve their chances of getting discovered. Ann Arbor, MI – Many writers in Southeast Michigan and all over have a passion either writing or the topic they cover; however, there are bills to pay, and writing does not really seem to be paying those.   Most writers are not sure how to make enough money to pursue their passion, even though they are truly good writers.   People who read what they write enjoy it, but not many people are in position to read it, because they do not even know these writers exist, much less know to read what they have written, but a couple of local professionals are offering help. There will be an upcoming event to ...

There is no getting around it! Monday, with its 700 emails and malfunctioning alarm clock, comes every week. According to a recent study, the average worker is only productive about 3 1/2 hours each Monday. That means at least 5 hours each week employees are paid for complaining about Monday, traffic jams, running kids to school after they missed the bus, locked car keys, eating out after leaving lunch on the counter, stressing out about starting the week, anxiety, head and stomach distress. There is even a 20% increased risk of having a heart attack on a Monday! Even as an entrepreneur with a home office, I still fall prey to the dozens of unplanned distractions each week that all seem to occur on Monday. To help you get through this Monday, and the 32 Mondays left in the year, I have a couple ways to help you be more productive on Mondays. Preparation - I was sick this past weekend. Consequently, my mom and a friend brought me lunch and dinner, respectively, yesterday....