Connecting Vs. Collecting - Tips On How To Use Twitter Authentically & Meaningfully By: Kim DeYoung | - Social networking is a fantastic avenue to connect and form business relationships. The key to being successful is learning how to use it authentically and to create meaningful connections. The platform I've spent the most time on is Twitter so I want to share with you some of the ways I've found to really connect through Twitter.
I believe the first step is to go into social networking with the right mindset. There is a difference between connecting and collecting when you're netwo ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metro Mom, Kim DeYoung
Be Authentic To Get It Done And Grow Your Business By: Kim DeYoung | - Have you ever had a case of entrepreneur envy? That's where you keep looking at what everyone else is doing... Maybe they've got a great new teleseminar that's sold out. Or maybe they just landed a spot on TV. Or their blog has lots of comments and you can't get any! You start focusing your energy on everyone else and what they're doing.
I love to "follow" entrepreneurs that I admire and see what they're up to and what's working from them. There is incredible value to be found learn ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Successful Marketing Starts By Identifying Your Ideal Client By: Kim DeYoung | - I'm sure you can remember a time when you've had a less than ideal client. Spend a moment and get an image of that person in your head - that person who completely drains you; that person you have to "keep selling" to remain involved; that person you're literally dragging and pulling along; and that person who leaves you feeling bad after every interaction.
I've been there many times and I can tell you it's awful - there's nothing fun about it. My energy's drained. I start feeling b ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Huge Timesaver For Creative Entrepreneurs - Avoid Over-creating And Start Repurposing By: Kim DeYoung | - So often it's easy get distracted by what others are doing. You start feeling a little envious about your colleagues new website, info-product, etc. and you think I want that too! Now this isnt necessarily a bad thing unless you start spinning in too many different directions at once... and end up going nowhere.
Sometimes it's about taking a deep breath and saying what do I have right now at my disposal that I can work with, that'll be easy? What resources do I have already th ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
They Can't Buy If You Don't Sell - Overcoming Your Fear Of Selling By: Kim DeYoung | - As I was picking up pizza last week for my kids I had a very interesting conversation with the owner about his business. With some stores in the shopping plaza closing he shared that his business was slow. He said people werent even calling for deliveries. As a regular customer I had no idea he even offered delivery. Clearly he was not communicating this information.
Why not put it in a big sign in your window to capture the traffic from plaza? I asked.
Work From Home Tips-how To Be More Organized And Get More Done By: Kim DeYoung | - People ask me how I'm able to accomplish what I do - raising three energetic children (who go in three different directions) and managing a growing business. I've seen that the key factor for me to get the important things that really matter to me done is to be organized.
Did you know that we waste an incredible amount of time, energy, and money when we're disorganized? The National Organization of Professional Organizers says that it is around 180 hours a year in a business (that' ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Joint Ventures - How To Collaborate Effectively And Profitably By: Kim DeYoung | - As entrepreneurs, most of us are doing businesses on our own. Many of us however long for the support of a partner. Women especially need and want to collaborate with others (however men really benefit as well).
I believe there is so much more that can be done when we work and bring our strengths together. The question is - how do you create a partnership that works for both of you, as well as the communities you're serving?
Last year I interviewed Gina Bell, a friend of mine ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Get It Done Lessons For 2010 - Part 2 By: Kim DeYoung | - Over the past year many of you have joined me on my journey as I've shared the ups and downs and lessons learned. The last six months have been special because I've been doing a lot more coaching with visionary entrepreneurs with a special emphasis on getting things done. So I'd like to share with you in some of the lessons learned from their perspective and mine.
Get It Done Lessons For 2010 - Part 1 By: Kim DeYoung | - I love the change, fluidity and flexibility of entrepreneurship. There's nothing quite like starting your own business to help you learn who you are and what's important to you.
Share your story.
When you're an entrepreneur, it's not your expertise (like your business degree) that people care about as much as the story of how you got to where you are today. The truth is often our passion for wanting to help others is rooted in something very personal to us, so it's incr ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Between Business And The Kids - How To Find Time For Your Marriage By: Kim DeYoung | - As women and mom entrepreneurs there are so many things to juggle - work, kids, marriage, self, friendships, spirit and family. Keeping them all going is a challenge and one that requires consciousness and compassion.
The truth is over the past few months my focus has been more on my business and my kids than on my marriage, and we've all suffered. From conversations with many, I don't think that I'm alone in this. It's a BIG problem for busy couples, especially with the financial ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
How To Create An Affiliate Program "" A Complete Circle Of Giving And Receiving By: Kim DeYoung | - I like to describe affiliate programs as a complete circle of giving and receiving. Its a win-win situation, providing a way for the individual and the business owner to exchange connectionsand sales! Affiliates receive a commission for their promotion and business owners gain leads and/or sales that otherwise might not have.
Most of us could use a little extra cash right now especially during the holidays. By becoming an affiliate you can earn a passive income just by do ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Is Perfectionism Holding You Back? By: Kim DeYoung | - I'm a recovering perfectionist. By nature I really like everything to be very organized, every 't' crossed, 'i' dotted and everything to have my personal stamp on it. But I know in my past, my quest for perfection kept me from moving forward, so I've had to tame it. I also know it's not an easy beast to tame but if you're like me and can honestly acknowledge how much your desire for perfection is holding you back, it can often give you the motivation to just move forward and take action.
... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Committing 100% Benefits Your Business And Your Kids By: Kim DeYoung | - My husband and I have taken many of Harv Eker's personal development classes over the years. Just this summer, we went to a camp called Enlightened Warrior Training Camp. One of the key messages they taught is the importance of keeping a commitment to yourself. When you say you're going to do something, you do it.
One specific idea from this camp that really stuck with me is "either commit 100%, or commit 0%." That means if you know you can't commit fully to something, just say no, ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim Deyoung
Recognize Your Value - The Key To Being Prosperous By: Kim DeYoung | - What you do (and who you are) has huge value. To truly be prosperous in business and life, you must wholeheartedly believe this. Often, however, I see women, myself included, consistently underestimating their value. While they enthusiastically support the gifts and talents of their husbands, children and friends, when it comes to their own talents you hear them say...
"It's no big deal," "Anybody can do that," or "It's just a fluke it all worked out."
Improve Your Relationship With Money By: Kim DeYoung | - Many of the women I speak with are feeling a lot of stress financially right now. The key questions become: How do you remove this stress when you're thinking about money, so you can do the work you're meant to do, especially in a time like we're in right now? How can we all replace a "lack" mentality with an "abundance" mentality?
The fact is your attitude about money is incredibly important when you're an entrepreneur. As a woman in business for yourself, who you are - including y ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Delegate - Give Yourself More Time, Energy And Money By: Kim DeYoung | - In my last Ezine I spoke about the importance of having a clear vision and letting go of perfection if you really want to move your business forward. Another key element to getting things done is delegating effectively.
I am such a believer in the importance of delegating and having a team of people to support you. I come from the mindset of a mother of three children with so much to do. I know that many of the women within the Metromom community certainly relate to this - you've go ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Three Powerful Steps To "getting It Done By: Kim DeYoung | - When I think of getting it done, the truth is it's just a lot of small (baby) steps that are on the way to making something happen. To look at a big task all at once is so daunting. We would never get started. So many of us are stuck in the brilliance of our big ideas because we're overwhelmed...
Break Through the Overwhelm
I want to share part of a phone call I received from a woman who was interested in signing up for my new pilot coaching program.
She wanted to know how I co ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
What You Need To Move Your Business Forward By: Kim DeYoung | - As women entrepreneurs we often start and run our businesses very organically. Those women with flourishing businesses are remaining open to new opportunities, new connections and taking small steps along the way. They take one action, move forward, and then take another action.
But sometimes we run into roadblocks.
We have been conditioned to think that the traditional way of running a business is the only way, so we sometimes find ourselves paralyzed in moving forwar ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneurs, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Summer Sanity Tips For Work At Home Moms By: Kim DeYoung | - Here we are in the middle of summer and there are moments when I'm really enjoying myself and others when I'm really stressed. If you're like me I swing back and forth between the two. There are moments with my kids where I wish summer would never end and there are those times when school can't start soon enough!
Every mom can appreciate the extra stress of summer vacation but for work at home moms it can be even more challenging. Most of us can't afford to put our businesses on hol ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneurs, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Limiting Beliefs - Are They Holding You Back? By: Kim DeYoung | - You have the best idea, great marketing strategies, and effective systems in place, but you still feel stuck. You can't get any momentum. If this is the case, limiting beliefs may be holding you back...
My definition of a limiting belief is something that you believe to be true about yourself (that really is not true) and it prevents you from moving forward as you'd like.
These limiting beliefs have been internalized, often times from childhood. You believe them to ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneurs, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Mom's Weekend Dilemma - Time To Relax Or Time Get Ahead? By: Kim DeYoung | - We watch our children and our husbands do it, but for us as moms it's so hard to do "nothing". It's hard to let go of our to-do list and spend a weekend or even just a few hours really relaxing. You'd like to sit and read a novel, take a bubble bath or play an endless game of Monopoly with your 9-year old.
But... if you're like me there's always something you really SHOULD do. You're already mentally gearing up for next week and thinking of ways to get ahead-maybe it's catching up ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneurs, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Build Relationships And Save Time With Automated Email By: Kim DeYoung | - Email has forever changed the way we do business and it really opens the door to thousands of work-at-home opportunities for entrepreneurs. However in recent years, with the increased focus on social networking-such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook-is email really that important anymore?
Yes. Email remains one of the most powerful (and inexpensive) marketing tools at your disposal. It's a critical component in building relationships with your target audience. The problem is that em ... Tags:Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Easy, Fun And Inexpensive Ways To Interact With Your Audience By: Kim DeYoung | - Most people, myself included, do business online with people they "know, like and trust". Thats why an interactive approach is so important on your website. An interactive website encourages your website visitor to stick around so they get to know you. This gives you the opportunity to authentically communicate who you are and what you have to offer so you can attract the right customers.
Blogs A Mom Entrepreneurs Best Friend
Let me tell you a story about how my ... Tags:Online success, Interactive website, Interactive blog, Irresistible offer, List-building strategy
How To Make Your Website Work (and Sell) For You By: Kim DeYoung | - No matter what you business is, you need a website. These days it's not a luxury, it's a necessity. When you're in business people expect to be able to learn more about you on the internet. You may be thinking that in order to have an effective website you need to be ready to fork over thousands and thousands of dollars for the latest technology and high-end customized graphics. This is absolutely not true!
5 Tools Every Mom Entrepreneur Must Have To Market Her Business Online By: Kim DeYoung | - I've been hearing from so many women who want advice on developing and maximizing an online presence. I think the reason for this interest is that they recognize the benefits of marketing online. It's a way to expand your market from the East Coast to the West Coast, even overseas. It also makes you more accessible since your website is marketing you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The best thing about online marketing is that it allows you to create relationships with more peo ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim Deyoung
Empower Yourself As A Resourceful Entrepreneur By: Kim DeYoung | - Sometimes we hesitate to move forward with our business because we're afraid that we just don't have enough experience or skills to implement our ideas.
Have you ever found yourself thinking I don't have enough experience to...
Launch a website
Send out a press release
Set-up a joint-venture partnership
Speak at a networking meeting
Entrepreneurs - Create A Positive Shift In Your Energy By Being Of Service By: Kim DeYoung | - When you step out of your own personal focus and begin asking how you can be of service to others, everything in the universe shifts and you embark on a path to greater success. When you consider what's going on with the economy, it's very easy to focus on our own individual needs. You may be feeling the stress of hard times, perhaps you're not generating the income you need and you're in a place of fear. I've noticed that during various times in my life - when I was internally focused - others ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Mom Entrepreneurs Need Self-care Not Guilt By: Kim DeYoung | - Most mom entrepreneurs start their businesses to have a career that's flexible enough to have a meaningful family life. We give up the 9 to 5 grind but sometimes we end up feeling guilty. This can be a daily struggle. When you're working, you feel like you should be spending time with your kids. When you're with your kids, youre worried about work.
Letting go of the guilt is not an easy thing. When you go on an airplane, they say, Put the oxygen on yourself first. Then tak ... Tags:Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Recently a woman told me that she didn't want to be a part of my community because it wasn't large enough. While at first I felt very "small", I then thought, did she reach out to any of the women who are there? Did she establish contact? Is it really about quantity or more importantly about the quality of who we connect with?
I'm seeing a frenzy within Twitter and Facebook to "amass" friends. Yes, it's nice to have ... Tags:Networking, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Open Up To What's Possible In Business And In Life By: Kim DeYoung | - My mother-in-law shared this statement with me while we were together for Hannukah regarding non-profit work shes doing and it immediately touched me. I love the message in this statement. Ive learned a lot of crucial lessons this year as I launched my new businessone of the biggest has been the need to stay open. Open to change, open to feedback, open to trusting my intuition and open to new opportunities that perhaps I never considered before.
Creating Authentic Online Relationships By: Kim DeYoung | - Social networking is a fantastic avenue especially for Metromoms to connect and form business relationships. The key to being successful is learning how to use it authentically and create relationships that are mutually beneficial.
There are various reasons for using a social networking strategy. First, it allows you to connect or maybe re-connect with friends, colleagues and mentors. It can also help you create awareness about your product or services. Finally, an especially e ... Tags:Social Networking, Mom Entrepreneur, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
How To Be An Authentic Entrepreneur By: Kim DeYoung | - Being authentic, doing business on your own terms...is a subject that is very important to me. I am conscious about making sure that all the choices I make for my life and my business are grounded in who I am and what's important to me.
This impacts every business decision I make as a mom and as an entrepreneur. Before I decide on a logo, an email campaign or a training call I stop and consider whether it authentically reflects my values, my beliefs and my goals.
Rise Of Women Entrepreneurs"' What Inspires Women To Start Their Own Business? By: Kim DeYoung | - You dont have to look far to notice the rise of women entrepreneurs. What inspires and drives these women? There are many reasons from a great idea, to a lack of fulfillment in their current job, to the excitement of taking a risk to the need to create a work/life balance.
What about you? Are you an entrepreneur or maybe considering it? Take a look at what might be motivating you:
Economic necessity. Some women are working full-time and still cant make ends ... Tags:Rise of Women entrepreneurs, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Famous Women Entrepreneurs Three Things They Know About Success By: Kim DeYoung | - I find it very inspirational to learn from famous women entrepreneurs who had an idea and made it happen. What's interesting about some of these women is that they didn't necessarily have the ideal background or circumstances for success but that didn't hold them back. They overcame their obstacles and became successful in a business world dominated by men.
Mom Entrepreneurs - How To Lead By Example And Model What You Learn By: Kim DeYoung | - As women we get to know ourselves and grow in our relationship to others. That's why women tend to lead -- not by words alone -- but through our example and by modeling what we learn. This is the kind of leadership that's most impactful because it's accomplished day in and day out.
At some point in our lives we are all leaders especially in the minds of our children. The traits we exhibit in business should align and be the same ones we want our children to value. When they have ... Tags:Beginner Work at Home Mom, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Women Entrepreneurs Doing Business In A Feminine Way By: Kim DeYoung | - Supporting entrepreneurial women is my passion. With that in mind I wrote this article for female/women entrepreneurs only, so I could focus and celebrate the feminine way of doing business. I'm eager to share with you communities that support doing business in a feminine way.
This is an important subject since women are starting businesses at nearly 3 times the rate of men. Currently there are 11million women owned businesses in the US. What's motivating women to start ... Tags:advice for women entrepreneurs, Metromom, Kim DeYoung
Mom Entrepreneurs "" Personal-growth Means Business-growth By: Kim DeYoung | - The beauty of direct sales, or any entrepreneurial business, is that there is a direct connection between your personal-growth and your business-growth. Watch your business grow exponentially as you personally develop and grow.
Work At Home Moms "" Fall Is The Perfect Time To Refocus And Prioritize By: Kim DeYoung | - I've always found fall to be the best season for a fresh start. The kids are back to school, summer vacations are over and everyone seems to have renewed focus. This is the perfect time to start prioritizing your business and get back into a groove.
I'm not saying it's easy. Between helping the kids with homework assignments, shuttling them to after school activities and volunteering at their school - as you manage the household and your business - it's challenging!
How To Present Yourself And Your Business With A Clear, Authentic Voice By: Kim DeYoung | - This is it! You feel mounting pressure since you know this is your chance to present yourself and your business. Youve met someone who you believe will be an ideal customer and/or partner. Youve made the initial connection and found a convenient time to share with them what you do. Now the day of the appointment is hereare you looking forward to it or secretly dreading it?
Three Steps To Help You Find Direct Sales Partners By: Kim DeYoung | - Imagine a business where you have really great partners and customers - that you absolutely love. Where you're all focused, as a team, on taking your business to the next level.
There are a lot of things that make your partnership great like ...
Top 5 Reasons Entrepreneurial Moms Love A Home-based Direct Sales Business By: Kim DeYoung | - Women account for over 75% of the direct sales force in the US. Most of us didnt start out with direct sales as our career goal. We didnt graduate with that end in mind. But somehow or another we did discover direct sales and we love it!
I enjoyed coming up with this list of top reasons metromoms love direct sales. It helped remind me of whats motivating me as an entrepreneur/mother of three. Take a look at these reasons and see where you fit in.
Entrepreneur Moms - Tired Of Multi-tasking? By: Kim DeYoung | - As a metromom, with many projects on my plate and on my mind, it's sometimes difficult to be fully "present" in the different activities that I do, be it work or family related. It's all too easy to be worried about work when I'm with the kids or worried about the kids when I'm supposed to be working.
I'm sure you can remember a time when you've had a less than ideal business partner or customer.
Spend a moment and get an image of that person in your head-that person who completely drains you; that person you have to "keep selling" to remain involved; that person you're literally dragging and pulling along; and that person who leaves you feeling bad after every interaction.
