 Goals - Love 'Em or Hate 'Em?
It's that time of the year when everyone is talking about or thinking about GOALS. It's a natural topic at a milestone like the start of a new year. But it doesn't need to be only at the start or end of a year. Any time is good! And sometimes they need updated along the way. Focused or Loose Goals? How detailed do you get?
Quitter's Day The 2nd Friday in January has become known as Quitter's Day! By this time, many have already fallen short of New Year's goals and just quit all resolutions. Perfectionism is a challenge for many and some decide "If I can't achieve all of them, then none of them are worth pursuing." No One Size Fits All You can find a lot of "Goal Gurus" out there with a variety of suggestions for how to develop goals.
What Kind of a Goal Setter Are You?
As we look to the new year, how are you setting yourself up for success? If you're looking for strategy or marketing assistance to create engagement for your business, Let's Chat! I provide a number of services for nonprofits, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and authors.
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 Networking - The Key to Your Next Job That is not an understatement. Various sources indicate 70% or more of jobs are attributed to the power of networking. The number is hard to pin down but multiple sources agree with its importance. I've written about the value of events, volunteering, and LinkedIn. What IS Networking? Networking is simply meeting and chatting with others. This can be done in person, at events, virtually, online - however you meet people. I'm at local recent events in the photos. PHOTO: Three smiling women sitting around a table reviewing resumes.  WHY Network? Many employers tend to hire someone they know personally, are at least familiar with, or someone in their organization is familiar with. It reduces the "get to know you" factor to identify a fit for a corporate culture. Many jobs aren't even officially posted on job boards but are shared among employees to share with contacts. Employers may even have an incentive or bonus program to encourage employee referrals! PHOTO: Group photo at a local restaurant. Who is in Your Network?
Basically everyone you know, including those you only vaguely know, like those you connect with online. Anyone and everyone can become part of your network - you just never know!
How Do You Network? Simply begin chatting with folks - anyone and everyone! Have a ready smile and be prepared to make small talk. Play a game with yourself to find commonalities with who you're speaking with! Indeed offers a number of ideas. Introverts: Baby steps. Start online or wherever you're comfortable. Start with comments on socials posts. Begin the conversation by writing something - nearly anything! - about a topic that's easy and comfortable for you: gardening, something you did over the weekend, a special hobby or talent of yours. Then respond to comments. Then try it again. Attend LinkedIn events - lives or audio rooms - and simply be seen, react, comment if that's an option. Have business cards at the ready to continue conversations on socials or by email when you meet someone in person. Follow-up after chatting with someone if you have a way to reach out! That's where a business card can help provide email addresses or social profiles. Offer a way to demonstrate your skills and personality! Consider volunteering to assist someone or create a small free gift that fits with your business. A gift can be
Offer your Time if that's better suited to your goals. Volunteer at an event related to your field of interest or job. Get Focused! It makes a difference! Occupational Outlook Quarterly offers a resource that remains timely.
Getting Warmer? I'm a far bigger fan of the power of "warm" leads over "cold."
Do you network? Love it? Hate it? If you're looking for brand marketing or communication assistance, I offer a number of services for nonprofits, small businesses, fellow entrepreneurs, and authors - Let's Chat!  Current Fave Podcasts
Do you listen to podcasts? They're a favorite free education tool of mine! Many can also be found on YouTube if you prefer video content. This is my one-hour guaranteed daily education time while walking the neighborhood. Marketing Focus There are a few on my current "Can't Miss" playlist that I catch as soon as they're released. As I developed this list, I realized there are a number of marketing shows I listen to fairly regularly. This does not include a few others I'm looking forward to testing, but I won't make recommendations if I haven't listened. I was originally going to also cover LinkedIn and A.I. podcasts, but the list for all became far too long. Future content! General Marketing Podcasts All of these podcasts are easily searchable but a link is provided to find them. You should be able to find nearly all on whatever your podcast player platform is. Names are linked predominantly to the host's LinkedIn profile for your following and connecting convenience - one prefers Facebook/Instagram over LinkedIn.
Any Favorite Marketing Podcasts? Do you have any favorites to share that we missed? Love to hear what you find useful in your marketing education! If you're looking for strategy or marketing assistance to shine a spotlight on your business, Let's Chat! I provide a number of services for nonprofits, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and authors.  What is Co-Working?
Co-working is meeting with other individuals to share work time while increasing focus and productivity. According to Merriam-Webster: "being, relating to, or working in a building where multiple tenants (such as entrepreneurs, start-ups, or nonprofits) rent working space (such as desks or offices) and have the use of communal facilities." History of Co-working Co-working is said to have begun as early as 1995 in Berlin, Germany. The term is credited to Bernard DeKoven in 1999. The first "official" co-working space is considered to be in San Francisco in 2005. These references can be found in many articles. A solid history is available thanks to a LinkedIn article by Matthew F. February 2024. Another good history is brought to us by coworking resources in April 2021. Where Can You Co-Work? As of 2017, Focusmate has been offering this concept online. I discovered it June 2024. They offer some great science behind why co-working works, complete with footnotes. They also have a great pricing structure - free for up to 3 sessions/week, roughly $7/month for unlimited sessions, and they offer business plans. I've been participating in a weekly co-working session created by a few editing friends from a Facebook group. One person has created a recurring weekly zoom-style link and added weekly Events on Facebook as a reminder. There's a related discussion group to let each other know if the leader will be taking the week off and to communicate for someone else to manage the link or motivate each other. I've headed to a local Panera on my own or with a colleague or two for years to work on projects related to an organization, each doing our own thing or sharing ideas on a certain collaborative project. I didn't realize I was "co-working!" How Does This Work? The appeal is primarily to those who work from home who would like the accountability of committing to showing up at a particular time and place (productivity method + goal strategy) or who want a bit of social resemblance to a work site. Whether you meet at a physical location or online, the general concept is you arrange to meet at a certain time - someone is counting on you as an accountability partner. You show up with a brief introduction and your goal(s) for the session and you get to work. You reconnect for a few minutes at the end of the session as a check-in on goals and success of the work session. Lather, rinse, repeat. Focusmate tends to have 50 min session blocks that start at the top of each hour giving you a 10-minute stretch or bathroom break. You can schedule as many as close together on your calendar as you wish. You may be part of a group on Focusmate to find partners within that group, or you can partner with anyone who is a Focusmate user from around the world. There are desk sessions and active sessions (exercise or clean together). It's tricky to find particular people until you've had a session with that person or send someone an "invitation" to find your calendar to collaborate. Once you collaborate and it seems to work well, you can "favorite" someone to more easily search for sessions on the calendar. Focusmate has an active Facebook group where members can seek and respond to others with similar interests to partner in these sessions. Is It Useful? I've become a big fan of these co-working opportunities! As a solopreneur, my home is my office. Scheduling these sessions helps me focus on work activities with someone else who is working. It does improve my productivity and keeps me accountable - I promised to show up. It's also a fabulous networking tool as you meet others from around the world, in your affiliated field, potential clients, or completely unique individuals! It's useful to get out of your own space and interact with others. Have you had any co-working sessions using Focusmate or some other platform? Love to hear how it went for you - likes and dislikes. Looking for a co-working partner to make progress on your goals? Let's chat!  Amazing Business Networking
If you haven't tested out LinkedIn and you're a nonprofit, solopreneur, business leader, or simply looking for work, you are missing a bet. LinkedIn is the go-to resource for your business connections! Just Another Social? I suggest this platform is different than the others available.
How Often Should I Post? The short answer - as often as you have time for.
Ring the Bell LinkedIn recently changed how this little gem works. Whenever you Follow someone on LinkedIn, a bell appears at the top right corner of their profile. You now have options to decide level of notifications when someone updates their profile, similar to Facebook levels of interaction on groups or pages.
Company Pages - Followers I heard a magic number recently on a Gillian Whitney podcast with her guest Aoife Noone.
Groups on LinkedIn Groups here are very different from Facebook groups. There are less of them available, the interaction is often less, and vetting each is useful to filter out the more spammy or sales content groups, unless that's something you're after. Begin with some searches in areas or fields that interest you and expand your reach from there. It's hard to say what may pop up that interests you! Once you find a few interesting groups, see how the group interacts, then jump on in! It's easy to become a thought leader within a group as there is simply less commenting or activity here. The opportunity is rich for making more connections! Developing Your Feed The above suggestions are the best way to improve your feed or your Home page.
LinkedIn is one of my favorite platforms to connect with folks! We'll likely have more discussions on here about this powerful tool with ways you can leverage it for your own business. LinkedIn is seemingly always changing. Have you come across any great tips to share about LinkedIn? Love to hear them - Let's Chat!  What Comes to Mind
When you think of A.I., what image comes to mind? For me, it's definitely Doris, Bowler Hat Guy's hat, in the movie Meet the Robinsons. That's probably not ideal! The short premise of this 2007 movie is a time travel adventure in which a young adventurer saves the space-time continuum and the world as we know it from an A.I. robot (Doris) gone mad with power. SPOILER ALERT: Our young hero comes face-to-face with his invention and promises to never invent it. POOF! GONE, and the world is saved! I keep wondering if we may not have similar regrets as we seem to keep racing to keep up with the advances of A.I. Podcast Recommendation I've caught a few episodes of The Artificial Intelligence Show with Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput. Thanks to Ilise Benum for recommending it! I highly recommend this one! The guys are brilliant - genius level - and are incredibly knowledgeable about current A.I., the direction it appears to be heading, and how we can best prepare ourselves for this rapidly advancing technology. They offer a number of resources on their website. Episode 105 of their podcast particularly struck me, prompting this post. My anxiety was fortunately tempered by listening to episode 103 and their Intro to AI for Marketers program offered monthly with a limited time replay available. How Will We USE A.I.? I noted a few options that seem useful in business on a prior blog post. Such options include for research purposes, content idea generation, create a model client as a reference point, and assist creating a list of potential ideal clients. Paul and Mike are visionaries, and they read a lot of material to stay on top of the A.I. world. They advocate a lot of A.I. literacy needs to happen to be prepared for how rapidly A.I. tech is advancing. That seems accurate to me, so I'm at least dipping my toes into what A.I. is, how to try to master it, and spread the gospel of educating yourself. Current Challenges The trick at this time is A.I. remains a bit unwieldy. You need to become darned good with your prompting skills and be prepared to keep poking A.I. tools to dig deeper to come up with material that's semi-useful yet still relies on human insight to read decently. It's also useful to use the same prompt in a few different A.I. models to see how they respond as each will produce different results. There is a fair amount of friction or resistance on the part of the human public to actually use A.I. tools. The current percentage using A.I. remains extremely limited. It just doesn't make sense or fit in most of our worlds to be easily used - yet. "Apple Intelligence" Apple announced in June 2024 at its Worldwide Developers Conference that "Apple Intelligence" is coming Fall 2024/spring 2025. The features described on multiple Apple platforms aim to integrate many apps and accompanying info embedded within your device to better respond to your particular queries. This will likely bring us a step closer to making A.I. more "useful" with less friction for the average person. It will simply be in your everyday use. Google and Meta are embedding A.I. into their platforms as a feature that's simply built in and you can't remove it. There are other examples of A.I. at work that we're coming to simply expect will be there to assist us - Siri is one and Alexa is another. We also all see Office, Google Drive products, and our own phones "suggest" words and material as we type. That is A.I. at work. The less people need to do to A.I. to make it useful, the more quickly it will be adopted by the general public. Job Security After listening to podcast episode #105, and we can all see this coming, A.I. models are in the process of rapidly becoming less buggy in how they operate or even loop back on itself. Sure, there will be jobs created to oversee the output of A.I., but the number needed will be far less than the current number of employees on the job market. It was predicted on the podcast that current high-human roles such as physicians and lawyers will be targeted soon as something A.I. can take over in a few years. How often do you joke you "got your degree from WebMD" as you searched the meaning of lab results or tried to compile symptoms into a disease or syndrome to "help" guide your doctor? Haven't we all longed to have the handheld device Geordi of Star Trek uses to quickly diagnose and initiate treatments? When sci-fi becomes real. Paul and Mike advocate discussions begin happening soon to offset the potential sudden dramatic shift in workforce needs as a worldwide. Wait - what? Who's in Charge Here? Aren't the humans in charge of the invention? Just because A.I. can do things, should it? Or does it need to? There's something of a sense that we are merely bystanders as A.I. becomes developed and it's up to us to keep up. Plenty of concern has been raised about the use of A.I. by major super-power countries in defense. Remember the 1983 movie War Games? There's even a concept called "P(doom)" - "the probability of catastrophic outcomes...as a result of A.I." (Wikipedia) Let's Step Back a Minute My general Life philosophy is "What can I control or impact in my little corner of the world?" I aim to trust humans will realize the benefit of humanity being involved with jobs rather than throwing everything at "digital employees." This sentiment is echoed by Paul and Mike at the Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute. Their message is actually more hopeful than doom-and-gloom. Their mission is focused on education - increase A.I. literacy and help businesses develop processes, teams, and risk reduction to enable employees to use A.I. optimally to maximize human effort. Message of Hope You know how none of us have enough Time or hours in the day to do the million things we'd like to do? The idea is to focus on the tasks you do that are repetitive or that you don't like to do. Train an A.I. model to do those so you can focus on the human aspect needed in the job, maximizing the time and effort you put into things. Paul has given examples of the dramatic difference A.I. has made in his team's work projects.
Paul sees A.I. as a way to "democratize" knowledge and skills - all of us having tools readily accessible to share our message with others. What Makes YOU Unique? As a hospital physical therapist, we have been challenged for years to identify how we differ from nursing, an aide, or a family member walking around a unit with a patient. What can YOU offer that only you can do? That is the crux of A.I. Consider it a tool - a helpmate - a partner. (that's far less scary than trying to take over the world, right?)
Now What? I can see future articles revolve around the topic of A.I. It IS big! Paul Roetzer notes "A.I." has actually been around for decades at this point, but it wasn't until ChatGPT was introduced to the world as a useful tool for all in November 2023 that it really rocked everyone to take notice. These A.I. models are now learning rapidly and exponentially. It's here and not going away. If we can think of it as a helper, a tool, a digital coworker, it will still require human input, massaging, and training to be most effective and to keep learning. We do need to also consider the dark downside potential and keep that in check. It's up to us to be human! While we learn more about A.I. as a helpmate, I would be happy to help you do what only you can do best. None of us have all the skills to do all the things. I would be thrilled to partner with you to bring your vision to life - Let's Chat!  What is "Stolen Time"
This thought evolved for me after a conversation on LinkedIn recently where a friend was wondering if she was a "bad mom" for sneaking away from the kids to do bits of work. My response? Heck no! You're a "good mom" for insuring your kids are happy, safe, and self-entertaining when they don't "need" you at this moment. Way to go! Why the Guilt? I'm not a fan of things (or people) that make me feel guilty. There should be no shame or guilt in maximizing your time and energy. This includes while you're on full parent duty or your attention is supposed to be fully in one place, yet you find your attention drifting or have a short window of time to insert something else to your advantage. Four Thousand Weeks I highly recommend this book Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. The general premise is, based on an average lifespan, we have roughly 4,000 weeks in this life. So how do we maximize that time? Is This Multitasking? I suggest no. Per Merriam-Webster, multitasking is "the performance of multiple tasks at one time." In 2006, the American Psychological Association cited multiple studies from as early as 1994 indicating multitasking actually isn't more efficient. "Stolen Time" Rather than multitasking, what I suggest is instead making the most of unexpected short points of time that become available.
Have Those Tasks Ready! I suggest having a list of activities in mind or (better yet!) written that you can refer to on just such occasions. These activities are likely to vary in type for your setting, space available, and time available. Suggestions below are more in the 15 min time frame.
Go Ahead - Steal Time from that Clock! You have my permission to maximize your time and energy! The kids will not always be small. Stealing time becomes a bit easier as they get older. There are other tasks you can consider in very short windows of time that move you forward in self-care or time with your family. We'll review a few of those next time. Are you a "Time Thief?" Do you "steal time" to work on other things? What very small tasks have you found that slip into such found moments? If you're looking for someone to cover some of these tasks or help you maximize your special talents, Let's Chat! I have many skills that may fill in the gaps you're looking for.  LinkedIn Resources Available
LinkedIn offers a number of resources for nonprofits that can be found here. This is the most inclusive page to begin your quest for information. There's a LinkedIn for Nonprofits group available as a resource. LinkedIn held its first Impact Summit May 2024 that remains available for viewing. I'm looking forward to checking that out! LinkedIn has a pdf available, LinkedIn Pages Action Plan for Nonprofits. You can access the resource here by entering a few of your details. Claim Your Nonprofit Page Before you create a page, check to see if one exists already. LinkedIn "helpfully" created a company page for many 501c3's years ago. You may have one sitting around waiting for you! Search for your nonprofit's name and, if one exists, "claim" it when prompted. You can edit and build the page from there. Create a Company Page for Your Nonprofit Anyone with a personal profile on LinkedIn can also create a company page. Company pages can have multiple Admins. It's always advisable to have more than one to counter the "hit by a bus" potential. Once your nonprofit has decided who will initiate the project, create the page with your nonprofit's name, logo, and background header at a minimum. Be sure to add some way to contact the nonprofit in the page details, be it your nonprofit's email or website. Admins of a company page can toggle between the company page and their personal profile using the arrow under your name. Pay attention to how you wish to comment on posts - as your personal profile or the nonprofit page. Again, look for a toggle option by your profile image. Create Content! Now comes the fun part! Share your amazing nonprofit with the world! Posts can be simply copy/pasted across all of your social platforms for consistency and ease, or there are apps that will post the same information across your platforms. Ideas include sharing news of you upcoming events, shout-outs about stellar volunteers or staff, or sharing any news about your nonprofit, just as you would on any other social media platform. Video resonates highly on LinkedIn as with many of the socials currently. "Carousels" or "documents" (multi-image slides) perform well for engagement. Volunteers and employees can share or repost news of the nonprofit page and vice-versa, just as with other socials. Invite Connections to Follow Page Admins are eligible to invite personal connections to follow the nonprofit page if you feel it may be a good fit. Each Admin has 250 invitations available monthly, but you're granted a "replacement" invitation for every one that's accepted. It's highly advantageous to stick with the connections you think may actually be interested in your nonprofit. A timing sequence I heard recently is to use half of your invitations at the start of the month. Check on the status of those invitations at least by mid-month if you haven't looked sooner. You may have earned back some of those invitation credits from folks who accepted your offer. Share more invitations to use them all before the end of the month. Don't forget - these invitation credits renew monthly! LinkedIn Premium Discounts LinkedIn offers a drastically reduced price on two of its premium packages. Nonprofits providing confirming information may qualify for 75% off of Sales Navigator or Recruiter Lite. The advantage of both is definitely the higher messaging option available to expand your community. Learn more about these options here. Have you created a company page for your nonprofit? What's worked well for you? What are your challenges or frustrations? I'd be thrilled to help build or maintain your company profile. Let's Chat!  How to "Create a PDF" in Canva
We have a few things to consider for this question. * How do you plan to use the end product? * Where do you plan to share the end product? * Which template will serve your purpose? How Will You Use the Design? Are you aiming for a simple 1-2 page document? Consider searching Canva's "document" or "newsletter" templates. Hover over the design you're considering to see
Are you designing it to be a post on social media?
Where Do You Plan to Share the End Product? If this will be a "cookie" or free give-away on your website to encourage folks to sign up for your newsletter or next project, the more simple "newsletter," "document," or even "flyer" can serve your purpose. You'll really only want a 1-2 page style. You'll want to consider how saturated or colorful the design is if your target audience may print the item. You don't want folks "bleeding ink" with dark or highly colored backgrounds for your words. Test how your product will download into a PDF. Just because you can pack a lot of material onto what appears to be a one-page item, you may realize when you download as a PDF that it's actually 3 or more pages! If you'll be sharing this as a social media post, "carousel" works especially well on LinkedIn. The more colorful and saturated the background is the better, as long as the text shows well in contrast to be readable. This format is able to be downloaded on LinkedIn for your audience to retrieve. Do make sure to include your business logo, name, and a way to contact you someone on your project! Which Template Will Serve Your Purpose? The response to this is embedded in the earlier discussion. Each have their plusses with few negatives. Canva designs are highly adaptable, from adding and deleting pages, to adding and deleting features within a page design to customize it. You can change font size, style, and even colors. You can insert your own images. In all of your marketing, consider your business's brand style. This includes your color and font choices. You may be able to simply duplicate a template you're using elsewhere in your business to create your new items. If you have a Pro Canva account, you have the option to simply change the size or template style of an item you already created to maintain your brand look. Look to the top left corner for "Resize & Magic Switch." Canva does offer free 30-day trials of their Premium account! Keep an eye on the calendar if cost is a concern and focus your upcoming projects within that 30-day window. For as many free templates as Canva has, it's crazy how your eye is drawn to the premium template designs as "better!" Don't forget if you're a nonprofit, with just a little electronic submission, an EIN, and the right kind of nonprofit (political nonprofits don't qualify), you may qualify for a free Premium Canva account! Be sure to check on the option. Have these been your go-to template styles to "Create a PDF" in Canva? Do you have other template styles that work well? If you're looking for assistance to maximize your use of Canva or you're looking for someone to create some designs for you, Let's Chat!  What is Generative Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)?
The most basic definition is the ability to turn input into new content. "Rather than merely analyzing data, generative AI produces new data in all forms of media – text, code, images, audio, video and more." (Fivetran - simply a definition source, not promoting the product) So What Do I Do with It? I've struggled to find a use for generative A.I. in my world. I've been keeping eyes and ears open for potential uses, and I think I've finally found some. Create A Customer Avatar I've heard this suggestion often. Feed your favorite A.I. program with cues about your customer to effectively build a model of your customer, then run blog ideas or queries through that avatar's reference point to try to find insights. This can be useful to consider your marketing plan and product options to interest your customer. This may be useful, but I haven't tried it yet. It still feels like too much work to invest the time to create. I find it's more efficient (and more human!) to comment and chat with potential clients to identify needs and pain points. Create A List or Pool of Potential Clients Now we're talking! This idea got my attention. Ilise Benum has been studying and perfecting prompts to help business owners tap into finding clients to begin reaching out with brief "letters of introduction" as Jennifer Goforth Gregory calls them. I'm looking forward to Ilise cutting the learning curve for me in a class over the summer. Improve Writing Productivity Jennifer Goforth Gregory offers a self-study program to learn ways to use A.I. in your research efforts and writing posts, headlines, even social media posts. She includes a module on ethical use of A.I. in your work. I haven't put in the time to learn how to create cues to use A.I. this way yet. I also see mixed news about whether use of A.I. is really allowed in some situations or how we need to qualify the end product if A.I. is used. This feels a bit murky and evolving to me to invest time in just yet. Day-to-Day Usage - Ease of the Mundane I heard a brilliant suggestion recently - call on A.I. to calculate how to halve a recipe for you. Amazing! That's a use I can get behind to save me some math gymnastics! Another suggestion was to present your A.I. program with a list of tasks and ask for assistance to prioritize the items to plan your day. This can be especially useful if prioritizing is hard. (h/t to a podcast interview on The Deliberate Freelancer with Rachel Meltzer) Which Program to Use? I'm afraid this is an evolving response that's too hard to pin down. On a general search, I found as many as 15 options listed, and it doesn't include an option I aim to test out as recommended by Ilise Benum. The best bet here is use a search engine and track ratings by others for ease of use and effectiveness. How have you been using generative A.I. in your work or personal life? What's your favorite program? Read. Write. Engage. is an all-human platform with only general search engines used for research. Let's Chat if you're looking for a friendly, spontaneous human to collaborate with! |
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