• Challenges,  Coaching,  Entrepreneurs,  Implementation,  Motivation,  Outcome,  Overcoming Obstacles,  Questions

    This is Not for the Faint of Heart

    Two weeks into 2022, it’s already proving to be somewhat of an adventure and not for the faint of heart. Interestingly, “Adventure” is my word for the year, and it didn’t disappoint. I like picking a word for the year that I use as my decision touchstone.  There was an excellent article in the NY Times if you want to discover more. I think I mentioned in an earlier email that we’re buying a house. It’s about 10 minutes from our current one. Or if I didn’t, well here you go … 🙂  Now that we’re nearly done with the whole buying process (We’re closing today.), it has been a…

  • Attitude,  Challenges,  Coaching,  Entrepreneurs,  Marketing,  Productivity

    What makes a perfect 10?

    Have you ever watched the Olympics Gymnasts and thought about what exactly makes up a perfect 10 score?  The reason I’m asking this question is that while my spouse and I were on an early morning walk, we got to talking about this.  I was sharing with her how I was making a ton of progress finishing the new guide I’m writing – Soulful Marketing Manifesto.She was curious about it, mainly because a manifesto is a document that declares and shares a new vision, approach of a new marketing movement. It sounds kind of serious, right? 🙂 As I explained my manifesto to her, it reminded her of a talk…

  • Attitude,  Balance,  Challenges,  Clients & Customers,  Entrepreneurs,  Overcoming Obstacles

    Traveling & Some Disney Adventures

    I debated whether to share this with you or not. And then I said to myself – “Well, I promised to be real and transparent.”  So here goes… Needless to say, traveling from the west coast to the east coast can be exhausting. You know what I’m talking about, when you have to get up at the crazy hour of 4am or earlier.  (Or we sometimes call it “O’Dark 30”). The hilarious thing is the folks at the airport and airlines are making a big assumption that we’re awake and functioning at capacity – ummm yeah… The good news is it was a little delay, yet all was well traveling…

  • Attitude,  Challenges,  Coaching,  Motivation,  Overcoming Obstacles,  Risk

    It’s Time to Make Peace With This…

    Being on this planet for 50+ years, I feel like I’ve done a lot, seen a lot, and experienced a lot. Yet other times, I feel like such a newbie. Do you ever have that feeling? When it comes to Thanksgiving, several things come to mind. I mean, I have seen my fair share of this holiday. Yet, why must I do the same thing every year? Hmmmm it got me thinking… In fact, on my walk today, I was reminiscing about my favorite Thanksgiving – the one right after my 12-year relationship ended and Debbie Phillips (Founder WomenOnFire.com) and Rob Berkley invited me to spend the holiday in Martha’s…

  • Challenges,  Clients & Customers,  Coaching,  Entrepreneurs,  Marketing,  Procrastination,  Productivity,  To Do List

    Time keeps on Ticking, Ticking, Ticking Into the Future…

    If you’re anywhere near my age group, you’re gonna recognize the lyrics I ripped my headline off from – and just to refresh your memory – the real lyrics are “Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future… the song was “Fly Like An Eagle” by The Steve Miller Band. Why in the world am I starting off with some crazy lyrics from the 1970s? (By the way, I was only a mere middle school child then.) The reason is, (gasp) we have less than seven weeks before this year is done, complete, finished – over. That’s why I want to ask – what can you (or if you…

  • Challenges,  Clients & Customers,  Communication,  Entrepreneurs,  Overcoming Obstacles,  Questions

    Dealing with “Can you do this cheaper?”

    Have you ever been in negotiations with a new client or customer, and they ask the inevitable question: “Can you do this cheaper?”  Or maybe they try to ask it more politically – “How can we work together to get this proposal to only $8k instead of $20k?”  What’s the best way to answer a question like this? When I get this question – all I want to do is send them this meme:  Seriously though, let me take a couple of minutes to give you some insights on this question that seems to come up more often than not. I mean, we’re all looking for a better deal. Retail…

  • Attitude,  Challenges,  Communication,  Motivation,  Outcome,  Overcoming Obstacles

    Are you a positive energizer?

    Have you ever heard of a positive energizer? Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and researching about positivity for a client. When I came across this term – “Positive Energizer.” It was really interesting stuff and I wanted to share because… In the early part of my life, I spent it being incredibly negative because that’s all I knew how to be. I had no idea there was another way to live and that my mindset mattered. It wasn’t until I hired an executive coach that I discovered there was another way of being. That I had a choice to stay in a negative thinking mind or do…

  • Attitude,  Balance,  Challenges,  Clients & Customers,  Communication,  Motivation,  Overcoming Obstacles,  Procrastination

    Who’s running the show today?

    Tools of the trade If you’re looking for more links and some pure left-brain marketing tips, this might fill the bill.   And you simply need to hang in with me for a few more paragraphs until we get there. 🙂 Come on, keep reading, aren’t you curious? Just a little about what I’m gonna share? 😉 Last week I helped out my friend and mentor – Debbie Phillips, by hosting her weekly check-in last week on Thursday morning. (She was out of town and I was happy to pitch in for her as I’ve done before.) Let me share with you a little about Debbie Phillips. She’s a VIP (Very…

  • Attitude,  Challenges,  Overcoming Obstacles,  Taking risks

    Cool Tools of the Trade

    Going off script today I’m constantly asked about what tools I use to keep my business humming along. I’ve written before about some core tools that keep me productive. You can check that article out here. So today, I wanted to share some core tools that will work for you when it comes to websites, email systems, shopping carts, project management, and so much more! Let’s rewind back to around 2006. This was the year I was laid off again from the corporate world. It was also when I decided that would be the last time it was gonna happen. I put a stake in the ground. Registered my business…

  • Attitude,  Balance,  Challenges,  Coaching,  Entrepreneurs,  Implementation,  Overcoming Obstacles,  Procrastination,  Productivity

    When you find your head spinning…

    I remember when I first started my own business fifteen years ago, and I was torn in SO MANY directions. It was a bit nutty. And I was a bit of a mess. The stress level was pretty much through the roof, and I was pretty exhausted. There’s so much to do when you start a business. Questions like – Do I register with the Federal government and get a federal ID# (This is what you need to do in the states) or just be a solopreneur. How do I get new clients? Or how do I sell my stuff and make money fast? It’s quite endless. Then there was…

  • Challenges,  Communication

    Coming Out at 37: A Short Story

    I stared down at my coffee, swirled it a bit to mix the cream in with the coffee, and sank into my chair at the hip coffee house. It took me a whole minute before I could look up at my new friend and answer the question he just lobbed across the table to me. To anyone paying attention to our conversation, it might have looked like an innocent exchange. Yet, to me, it rocked me at my core. I kept thinking about his question over and over again in my head – “Shannon, you sound like you’re deeply in love with her. Have you told her how you feel?”…

  • Attitude,  Challenges,  Coaching,  Goals

    Dear Future Self – What a Year 2020 was – yikes!

    Another holiday season almost under the belt – yay! This feels like it’s been the longest year ever. I still can’t believe I’ve been home in my office for nine months.  That’s not ever happened before. Usually, I’m off traveling to meet clients, attend a mastermind, an event, or visit my mom. I’m sure you can relate. So, I was home long enough to put together a gingerbread type house for the holidays. Instead of gingerbread, it was made with Oreo cookies and fluffy white icing.  I’ve not ever tried to do one of these before. And when you check out my picture, you will know why! I’m not sure…

  • Attitude,  Balance,  Challenges,  Coaching,  Motivation,  Overcoming Obstacles

    Lessons In Being Grateful

    One of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life was to walk away from corporate America. To be honest, it was corporate America that walked away from me first.  So what happened? The company I had put my life into for over ten years decided to make my Director of Corporate Communications position redundant. So I was floundering around for almost a year trying to get another job in a company because that’s what I was SUPPOSED to do.  Working for myself was out of the question. I needed to have that big paycheck and health insurance. It was 2005. I was in a relationship. We had a child…

  • Attitude,  Balance,  Blogging,  Challenges,  Clients & Customers,  Coaching,  Communication,  Entrepreneurs,  Goals,  Implementation,  Marketing,  Motivation,  Overcoming Obstacles,  Procrastination,  Productivity,  Taking risks,  To Do List

    The Productivity Secret That Will Change Your Life

    One of the things I’m constantly struggling with: my plate is incredibly full. I just have way TOO many things on that proverbial plate and it’s constantly weighing me down. I’m a Strategic Marketer & Product Launch Manager, I help people get things done, and here I am, revealing to you my own challenges with getting things done.  Well, I’ve actually invested good money with experts to help me “organize” my office, my computer, and my life, as well as I got a new desk, bookshelves, and on an on. The interesting thing is after that expert gave me this “system” it wasn’t mine. So I had great difficulty in…