The Educated Emotion

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN APRIL, 2012. REST IN PEACE... Three Lessons on Social Media From Dick Clark   Three Farmers and Two Geese Dick Clark spent over 60 years in numerous memorable roles from radio to music to television. One of the roles that he is less noted for is entrepreneur; some of Clark's biggest marks on the industry were actually ones he created. Dick Clark was always the 'cool kid'. He wanted to be a part of what was new. In fact, he said that he wished he had been a little younger when the Internet takeover began.  In an 1999 interview  with James Moll, Clark was asked "How do you describe the start to your professional career?" Clark responded with a story of his first job in the mailroom of a radio station. In the mornings he would sit with disc jockey, Danny Fusco and give the weather forecast for the rural radio network, assuming that no one was listening. But when Clark started performing as if someone was listening, t...

I wish you all a wonderful day, filled with gratitude, joy, and Thanksgiving. When I think about everything good and positive in my life, I can't help but to think of all the good  and positive people that I have come in contact with this year. I have been the beneficiary of many wise people, great clients, and advisers, and that is very humbling. There really is noone that does it alone. As we get ready for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday - here are 3 quick quotes and reminders from entrepreneurs, celebs and business owners that all businesses should remember to help us stay in the spirit of Thanksgiving: 1.  "Customers don't need us, we need them,"  Fred Meijer.  (via Facebook) 2. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to help people in need. You're all apart of it, and I'm so grateful. Happy Thanksgiving." ~— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) November 22, 2012  (via Twitter) 3.  "Thanksgiving is a mi...

Veterans' Day, unlike Memorial Day, is for all (this world and the next) those who sacrificed their freedom at any point to secure ours. Whether your office is closed in observance of Veterans Day or it is business as usual, it would be grievous not to take a moment out to show a little gratitude to those who patriots who exhibit their loyalty every day for our safety. Feel free to take a moment to post names and service, photographs, stories, or poems about your loved ones in the comments! Thanks, #lesgosocial

A picture of the beautiful Kettunen Center, home of the Peninsula Writers Winter Retreat, taken by Ms. Yma Johnson. 2013 I know it isn't officially winter yet, but as a Michigander I have to be prepared for whatever in November. If I have to think of winter, this picture (shown above) is where I would like my mind to wander. It was taken by a friend while we were on a writing retreat. Those three days jump started a creative writing process that had died and gone sour inside of me for months. Removing myself from my normal agenda was just enough to rev my pen into action. During February's State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said "no single event makes a trend." There is no better description to the dynamics of restoring an economy...or even personal credit. As a budding entrepreneur, I excel, I coast, then I get bap-slapped on a regular basis. I have shared how I had to scale back my business. This Spring and Summer, I slowly began adding back ...

This story of Sky Blue Pink was told by Mashable's Brian Anthony Hernandez I like to think of cyberspace as a clear blue sky - with the capability to be warm or cold. It only takes a few moments reading comments after a popular news article, to see how cold cyberspace can be. But to be fair, many have also been recipients of kind and meaningful gestures in cyberspace as well. One of the most recent warm moments in cyberspace was when more than 3500 people from over 100 countries participated in an online campaign , #skybluepink. The campaign was launched by Brandon Curtis with the simple goal of adorning the walls of his dying father. His father was able to enjoy the beautiful pink and blue skies before he passed away. As a small business owner, you may not have the next viral video on your hands. However, you can set the temperature for your social media with your online campaigns. If you frequently have Negative Nelly's taking over your comments, it might be time to ...

It's too scripted to be a movie: a comfy cozy Sweetest Day weekend where your loved ones whisk you away from the to-do list your crazy/creative, entrepreneur-self never seems to complete.  Drizzly Seattle-Movie-like rain softens your hair, skin, and heart until the sexy mysterious moon writers kill readers with every day comes into view. You lay down Sunday feeling comforted and, although you know your weekend of folly might bite you in the butt - you rest peacefully knowing that you will be ready for whatever.  Giving a total 100% all week is the plan. (insert scary music) Then, Monday arrives! You oversleep (because you slept in the last two days), your morning mile walk feels like a triathlon (because you skipped a couple few workouts to make time for chocolate) and the cute rain is now annoying with hard, cold smacks across the face, appointments are late (because they are in the same boat), breakfast prep takes longer than usual (because you went to sleep with dishes...

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...