Monday Motivation: Are You Addicted to Likes & Follows?
Monday Motivation, Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners, Small Businesses
Back in 1979 I received two prestigious awards, “Most Likely to Be Everyone’s Friend” and “Ms. Happy-Go-Lucky.” I was in 9th grade and of course the awards were important to my 15-year-old esteem who hoped as she matured, the meaning of the awards stayed true.
These accolades where decades before Facebook was created with friends, likes, and follow features to make grown adults validate themselves based on the figures. No different from Jr. High School, it felt important, and still does in a way, to be liked on social media, as if our own self-vision doesn’t count.
As a woman entrepreneur, I was thrilled in 2004 that Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media marketing apps gave me a platform to find new and old friends, clients, and colleagues especially since I was in the realm of match-making female business owners with each other through New York State. Without these online tools, it wouldn’t be as easy to connect women in Rochester with females in Saratoga so they could open up their marketplace and connections to do business together. I remain grateful for the connectiveness these tools allow.
But there has come a point for many of us aging, female business owners who don’t want our value – whether personal or corporate – to depend on how many friends or connections we have to make our day or feel our news is still worth sharing. “Social Media Timeouts” are increasing in my newsfeeds as I electronically say good-bye to the intimacy that personal posts and shares provide regularly.
I miss seeing some of my friends who used to share photos of grandchildren, athletic achievements, health updates, business achievements, and more because they are more private again. Time will tell if the timeouts were worth it for them or if they resurface after missing the social action.
How do you feel about this topic? Are you addicted to visibly seeing clicks, likes and friends or are you content enough not to judge yourself based on your social media marketing results? In the end is our popularity worth knowing?
I would not have known I was everyone’s friend or considered happy-go-lucky if it wasn’t for other people tallying up votes and letting me know. It was a positive thing to find out which has stood with me all this time. Maybe seeing how many people like and follow us on social media is just another way to feel good as long as we remember we always have our self-worth to do that for us.
Exhilaration and Adventure = Sisterhood for Life
Thursday Thoughts, Thursday Vibes, Middle Aged Women, Women Entrepreneurs, Female Athletes
The lush greenery abounds in all directions as the historic clear waterway rippled to our right. The sometimes paved, and other times gravel-dirt, path lay under our feet for both smooth and bumpy enjoyment. June in Upstate New York is as close as you get to Christmas morning when pure joy erupts. Glorious, is the word I use for June after living in Central New York all my life. It’s as if heaven is reachable.
White fluffs from the Cottonwood trees peppered the air as 30 miles of the bike journey went by in a blink of an eye. To my left was a 72-year-old woman Amelia (Amy) Nigro, I only met once at a past event, who invited me to join her on her annual birthday ride on the Erie Canal. After surviving a brain tumor, her zest for living multiplied and this annual celebration of her life became a ritual.
After posting my intention to try every sport once in my life, she invited me to bike alongside her – a true honor. Routinely I bike 9-12 miles a day but 30 miles was a new feat, to which I immediately agreed to do. The secret about riding long distance in my mind, is the joy of doing it with someone else.
Many years ago, my cousin and his wife biked from Maine to Key West – a much longer trek than the Erie Canal – but they broke it up stopping once in awhile to visit relatives, hang their heads for a night, only to get up at dawn and do it again. I’m not sure my ride today would qualify me for that journey, but I can see where just one longer test of strength makes you believe you can do another one.
I can attest to the fact one of the best ways to make new friends, especially if you are a middle-aged woman, is to do something physical together because the endorphins, laughter, sharing, talking, and traversing has a unique bonding quality about it. I have been bringing women to white water rafting, ziplining, charity running events, and even swinging on the flying trapeze for ten years. Exhilaration and adventure equals sisterhood for life.
So today I hope you are inspired to invite another woman to join you on a physical adventure or invite me to go with you, and see the strong bonds you make. And if you’ve done a commendable job, you might just get a treat like a homemade chocolate chip muffin, like I did from Amelia, for coming along for the ride, as she continues to pedaling to Saratoga. What’s better than that, I say? Only Christmas morning.
Wednesday Wisdom: Resilience Key to Difficulty
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners, Female Athletes
A beautiful Indian female engineer appeared on my screen with bright red eyeglasses matching her outfit. Her gold necklace and earrings shone on screen. A white flipchart placed behind her had a triangle drawn with the words, “resilience” on the left, “confidence” on the right and “courage” at the base.
What is the commonality between the first three words – resilience, confidence, and courage? The common theme is difficulty – and that word was center in the middle of the triangle. She explained to her audience of listeners, it takes overcoming something in life or business to improve your resilience, confidence and courage. When you face resistance consider it an opportunity to become more resilient, confident and courageous because we need stress to become stronger.
We might not think of difficult situations as teachers – especially in the height and depth of the problem – but they are and in hindsight you realize you have what it takes to get through anything. Losing a major proposal to a competitor, taking a personal leave of absence from your company, losing trusted staff and vendors, or even breaking up with a corporate or personal partner can be the stress that one-by-one makes you tougher. I also liken the scenario to exercise and repeatedly riding up steeper hills during training to strengthen legs for the next longer jaunt.
Feeling stuck in the middle or end of a difficulty, means we need help to move on. Mental health is a topic in today’s world for athletes, stars, and corporate leaders sharing their stories openly to inspire others to do the same. Have you ever thought less of someone for talking about their problems or seen them as strong for discussing problems and how they overcame them?
This Wednesday Wisdom is to reflect on the question, “Have you become more confident, courageous or resilient after a recent difficulty?” If the answer is yes, how can you tell you are? If the answer is no, why can’t you see any type of improvement? Have you given yourself enough time or focus to look at yourself prior to, during, and after a crisis to realize the lessons learned?
As I head off this morning on a first-time 20-mile bike ride with a woman who invited me to join her on her annual 75-mile birthday bike ride at the age of 72, I know I’ll draw on the strength of running the Boston Marathon, biking up hard hills, and surviving two decades as a woman entrepreneur to keep me moving when the biking hurts. Isn’t that the way all of us should be experiencing life – believing we are resilient to our core?
How Do You Handle Goodbyes in Business?
Thursday Thoughts, Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs, Small Businesses, Female Business Owners
As I prepare to drive back to my hometown to attend my uncle’s funeral mass today after speaking with my vibrant aunt yesterday, I remain deeply grateful for the role older relatives have played in my life. We often don’t think about the value of aunts and uncles as much as parents and grandparents, but we should. They can be vital maternal or paternal guides in our lives – and in my case business too.
My Uncle Joel whose funeral, I attended yesterday, followed in his father’s footsteps of being a family doctor. His sons followed in their grandfather and father’s footsteps. My aunt was instrumental in investing extra family income from the medical incomes into flipping houses and buying restaurants and selling them for profits increasing wealth in the family. She was naturally skilled in accounting while only earning a high school diploma.
Yesterday as I sat with her prior to my uncle’s funeral, we talked about her love for still doing bookwork at the age of 84. Her passion for accounting and “deal making” has lasted since she was 18 years old, trained by someone back in the 1950s to work in a business office. Together my aunt and uncle supported my parent’s ski shop in the late 60’s and early 70’s giving me an opportunity to grow up in a cool enterprise. Although my parents sold their shop, the small business spirit stuck in me, and I naturally followed in my family’s tradition of entrepreneurship.
Although “endings” aren’t something most people or business women want to speak of, whether its loss of life or loss of income, my aunt and I talked about it as I look to semi-retire my company in 2023 after 3 decades of entrepreneurship. “Tracy, you have to know when to let things go. All things come to an end sometime. Smart people know that, have a plan, and close down shop when it is time without remorse.”
In life, saying goodbye to a loved one feels similar to the feelings of letting a great passion of particular work end too. But whether it is a dying passion, waning interest in products or services, marketplace changes that are unstoppable, or aging out, it is okay to set a business plan to move on from an entrepreneurial entity after years of success.
It might feel sad, but as one of my clients said to me after losing their 9-year contract because they added staff to take my place, “Tracy, don’t cry. There is no crying in business.” To which I responded, “But I’ll miss you.” Not too different than saying goodbye to a loved one today.
Wednesday Wisdom: Charting Our Financial Course
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Money Matters for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners
One dollar more. A week later 50 cents more, and so on, and so forth. If you have eyes, it is hard to miss gas prices rising every day. As I drove around Syracuse to other suburbs, I noticed varying pricing on this essential cost with my suburb having some of the highest gas rates. As my tank showed almost empty yesterday, I drove 7 miles to another part of town to get cheaper gas at Cosco which saved me $10 overall.
Newspaper headlines talking about inflation and rising prices everywhere are starting to take their toll on consumers. An article in my newspaper said, “Inflation is playing out differently within businesses that cater to shoppers with varying income levels,” and “The current environment is making it difficult for retailers to pass on higher costs.” So, what is a woman entrepreneur to do to survive yet another potential economic setback after a two-year Covid 19 pandemic?
In my opinion here are a few suggestions:
* Review all of your expenses, knocking out repetitive useless ones that cost money and aren’t absolutely necessary for sales.
* Survey your customers, asking key questions to help you keep their needs in mind when it comes to pricing, offerings, hours, programs, etc.
* Maintain your prices if you can, but if you must raise prices due to supply chain increases, inform your customers so they know increased rates or pricing are out of your hands to some degree.
* Talk to a banker on ways to use credit lines better, obtain better financing deals, or new programs to help you ride another economic wave.
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is not to worry you, but to rather motivate you to remain prepared for a continued unstable marketplace. We have the power to chart our own course financially if we are aware and prepared. Talking to trusted business advisors, valued clients, loyal vendors, and updating our business plans are ways to be ready for any change.
Not all companies are suffering right now but the predictions of the future economy seem iffy at best so do what you can now to prepare for uncertainties by keeping your customers plus your own needs top of mind.
Decision Making – More Head or Heart?
Monday Motivation, Decision Making, Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners, Female Athletes
Midway through a long bike ride, I got a ding on my smart watch telling me my new Highlander had unlocked doors. With my purse inside the car and only the keys and phone on me, I pondered the dilemma. Should I give up my 14-mile training ride for a 20-mile ride next week, or turn around at the 9-mile mark and go back to my car? Hmm, a tough decision on a beautiful, muggy, 70-degree June day with lots of energy brewing in my system.
In most instances as a decent problem solver in business and without a pad and pen in my hand to etch out choices, I examined my choices gliding by newly opened peonies, cottonwood fluffs and soaring birds above my head. One, the area where my car was parked was “safe” so I doubted anyone would open my car and steal my purse. Two, in today’s rising prices maybe someone desperate enough would open an unlocked car and steal a purse. Three, how about a solution to more exercise but going back towards the car instead of away from it?
Typically riding at a relaxed, yet steady pace, I challenged myself to kick my gear to the highest, hardest rotation, turn my bike around, and promise myself I was in a race, not necessarily to stop a purse snatcher, but because I never pound the pavement hard on my bike rides. The extra effort would make up for the extra miles going forward to get me back to the car sooner than later, yet get in more challenging workout than normal.
Off I sped with sweat running down my bald alopecia head, never stopping to switch gears on inclines or slowing down around bends. With the car in sight, I looked down to see I shaved 4 minutes off my typical bike pace. Kudos. Car door opened, viola my purse was safe inside and my heart pounding from the extra physicality of the ride. Mission accomplished on both ends – and of course, no one probably even thought of looking in my car to steal my purse.
Today’s Monday Motivation is to remind you that there are more ways to solve a problem than you first think. Panic never helps. Stopping what you are doing isn’t always the answer. Contemplating options for a solution and listening to your gut answer is always the best way to decide. Logic helps sometimes. Over emotionality never does. Gut and head working together often leads to the best personal or business decisions.
As I type, I can tell I got in a harder than normal workout from my throbbing thighs and continued steady heart rate, both accompanied by a calm spirit for trusting myself, the place, and the people in my community, and making the best decision in the moment.
Putting Intentions Out in the Universe Works!
Thursday Thoughts, Inspiration, Wisdom for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners, Women
Do you believe in putting out intentions into the Universe and seeing them develop? I did years ago when I was meditating regularly after listening to the Oprah Show one day. I never intended to appear on the Oprah show but somehow that intention must have slipped into my wishes for more customers, public speaking gigs, and business revenue because I appeared on her show via video about six months after starting daily meditation.
When I verbally declared my new life goal of trying every sport once, I’ve had really cool conversations and invitations by women interested in a multitude of new sports. Meditation wasn’t drawing these conversations to me but my own verbal acts of intent seem to be.
High above Onondaga Lake on my morning 9-mile bike ride, a 77-year woman stopped me to ask if I had ever biked around the entire lake. Currently there isn’t a way to go the entire distance on the paved pathway, but she figured out a way to accomplish it going on the path and roads, yet she was reluctant due to her age. So I heard myself say to her, “I’ll go with you one day if you want to go, I’m doing new athletic things with women of all ages so why not try to help you in your goal to bike around this lake.” She looked bewildered but amused so we exchanged phone numbers.
Off she biked one way and off I biked the opposite way to check out this idea of hers. Her number sits in my inbox ready for calling as soon as I truly drive parts of the lake where we have to go into traffic and then back into the park. Figuring out the best timeframe for less traffic on the roads will ease her mind and put us on the right trek to accomplish this cool new adventure.
Did I expect for a female stranger to stop and ask me that question one day? No, but was I ready, with my new goal in mind, to jump right in there and start putting another woman’s athletic goal into action? Well, yes, because I believe stating your goals in meditation, in public, or even in writing trigger the right people and circumstances into your life.
I promise to document this new woman Claudia, and my full bike ride around the lake for you if she still wants to go. So today, be inspired to ask someone you know to join you on a new journey too or at least state what you want to do out loud so it can develop into a true opportunity one day.
Wednesday Wisdom: Market Position
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Business Strategies for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners, Small Businesses
Hot Cherry Peppers over here, Roma Tomatoes over there, and bright hot pink Fuchsias everywhere, tis the annual or perennial gardening season. What’s a gardener to do when choosing where to purchase these seasonal products? Could a woman-owned garden center, her prices, the quality of her products, or location be the deciding factor?
Whether you are a gardener or not, sometimes as consumers we choose what we buy based on quality, bargains, loyalty or randomly. Surprised that Home Depot sells a ton of varieties of tomatoes, didn’t stop me from purchasing ours from the woman-owned business up the street and at the farmer’s market where individuals are trying to make money during a limited season.
Almost all of the woman business owners in our organization don’t own floral or vegetable products for sale at the height of this popular business season, but as entrepreneurs we know our corporate sales are based on the same dynamics – price, quality, location, and loyalty. We don’t have to sell a brilliant array of buds to understand we are one of many establishments consumers can choose from to purchase valuable products or services. So, what do we, as leaders of our businesses, hope the marketplace will remember us for the next time they are spending money?
Could it be our customer service friendliness, our bargain basement pricing, the originality of our brand products, or perhaps the fact we are located in a popular setting? The start of the summer season is a great time to revisit our position in the marketplace and then create a marketing strategy to communicate it out so buyers know.
This Wednesday Wisdom is specifically meant to inspire you to revisit your corner of the market locally or online to see what sets you apart from others, how you draw buyers to your concrete or online marketplace, and your unique proposition in a flooded marketplace. What do you want buyers to remember about your business the next time they are dropping a dime or looking for bright colored florals?
Give yourself an advantage by choosing a marketplace benefit that naturally draws new buyers to you and keeps loyal customers even closer and then push that message into the public eye.
Wednesday Wisdom: Time to Train?
Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners, Small Companies
When I think back to being trained to serve others, my mind drifts back to being taught how to roll the perfect ice cream scoop into a sugar cone at Friendly’s when I was 16 years old or being taught how to serve food on the service line at Lakeside Dining Center at SUNY Oswego a couple years later. As a woman entrepreneur, I took business training courses in accounting, marketing, and planning, but never in food or customer service for someone else.
But the past four weeks have taught me the importance of training volunteers (in my case) or staff in the rules, mores, and literal duties in an organization. When I think of the highlights of my training in a non-profit organization who serves the hungry one day a week, it involves listening, understanding, questioning, and a willingness to represent the outfit you are “working” for in their ways, not your own. I’ve never sweated so much in a work environment as I have the past month since my own company doesn’t require me to train myself for work.
I suppose I have specific ways I conduct business, like writing every Wednesday Wisdom like clockwork on Tuesday for launch to 2,000 women at 7 a.m. every single Wednesday morning for the past 18 years, or buying fresh flowers for my live events gifting them to the presenters, sponsors or special guests. I even recently took up videotaping a daily Tik Tok video as part of my playbook in consistency, outreach, and branding. I have methods; but I don’t think of my daily or weekly tasks that way. I just do them. I’m a solo entrepreneur.
So, if you have been in business, like I have for almost 3 decades, could you easily pick out important training tasks, situations, products, services, or communication styles to train your next staff member or intern? If someone wanted to buy your business today, could you easily construct those methods and share mores for the next owner? How important is it to you to be consistent and on brand with what you developed all these years?
If it has been a while since you were trained in anything new for your company or trained to do something, like volunteering, for another organization, do you think it would be easy or difficult? Could someone teach an old dog like you a new trick, or would you be sweating so no one noticed you miscounted something or forgot a computer command after being instructed how to do it (hypothetical questions of course).
Sometimes we are so proficient in running our own companies, we don’t take the time to write down our own procedures, checking them over, improving them, or documenting them for not only ourselves, but the next person who walks in our shoes. Summer is the perfect time to partake in this exercise so you are ready when a new person needs orientation or even to renew your own sense of organization. Good luck!
SeaTurtles, Sharks and SUP
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-9ucbc-1232325
Come on a 7-minute journey to St. John’s Island and explore some new sports to try once in your lifetime – especially if you are a middle-aged woman.
Women TIES 