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I know I’m late to the party, but I’ve arrived. In one of my webinar modules I quoted David Pogue talking about his conversion to twitter three years ago. After hearing all the fuss, he still didn’t ‘get’ what was so great. Until he was on a selection committee for the MacArthur grant and one of the proposed projects had a vaguely familiar ring to it. Committee members looked at each other blankly. Had this been done before? Then one committed tweeter in their group posted the question to his followers and had a response and a link within 30 seconds. The proposed project had been done, and Pogue saw the brilliance of the medium in real time.
That happened for me via Facebook this weekend. I was flattened by the stomach bug. All I could do was lie in bed and suck ice chips. With all that down time, it occurred to me to reach out via Facebook as a possible source of sympathy and help. I entered my status and asked for advice on how others got through the virus and what I might do to entertain myself in the interim.
Very quickly I had all the help I needed. Good help too. I got food recommendations as well as a link to an inspiring documentary (tomorrow’s post) on Charles and Ray Eames.
Facebook didn’t make my sickness go away, but I believe that following my friends’ advice and feeling so heartened by their love and concern made me better.
Professionals!
Please, someone, anyone, remind me that I’m a smart person. Because I’m surely not feeling it lately. There’s something about tax time that raises my self-doubt to the tipping point. (Or maybe it was the addition of a rough stomach virus that had me considering retirement yesterday…)
I just called Lauren at my payroll company because I received something from the Department of Labor declaring 1.90% as the minimum contribution rate for 2012 followed by the number 73. Huh? I brought this sheet to my accountant yesterday who referred me to the payroll people. I have no idea what this means. But when I called my payroll processor, she said, “Oh, no problem. Fax it over and we’ll make that change.”
There’s a high level of trust here, because I’m truly in the dark and don’t even want to ask the first question. Do you EVER feel like that?
My meeting with my accountant went well. Until I got tripped up on the part where he said that the charitable contributions I’d made aren’t business expenses, but are deductible in another way. What’s the difference?
If you’re reading this and thinking, “But, Jane, everyone knows this stuff,” please give me a call and really dumb it down for me.
What I’m really curious to hear about from you is: what puts you over the edge? We’re all operating at such a high level in so many areas of our lives. When I’m tripped up by my lack of knowledge, I don’t want to minimize my brilliance, as I am wont to do. I’ve got good recovery skills, but would love to prevent the deep dive.
What I’m truly grateful for is that there are professionals out there who can guide me through…and not judge me. I don’t have to understand it all, so long as I have good people in place who do.
Geri Stengel
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting Geri Stengel, founder and owner of Ventureneer. Marc Halpert served as our connector. I love how these things happen.
I saw Marc at the New York Times Crossword Puzzle Contest at the Westport Library on February 3. I actually knew that he’d be there because of his LinkedIn tongue-in-cheek bragging about how well he was going to do at the event. I teased him about that, which started a conversation, which led to his bringing up Geri.
The next day he sent both Geri, a colleague of his he thought I should meet, and me a detailed email about each others strengths and what we had in common. From there, Geri and I communicated back and forth and set a date for coffee and a brainstorming session.
We clicked immediately and found common ground in presenting webinars and contributing critical information to small business owners. Sparks were flying in the back of the cafe where we sat over capuccino and tea.
It’s so much easier to connect and find a pathway when someone else plays matchmaker to your talents. I’m grateful to Marc for paving the way for what I believe will be a valuable joint venture relationship with Geri. That’s how networking thrives–when an interested third party identifies your skill sets and goes through his/her mental Rolodex to make the match. It’s basic networking which, when done well, benefits all involved. I’m now extra grateful to Marc for being so forthcoming with his contacts. I’d like to return the favor. And so it grows…
I recently bumped into a friend I hadn’t seen in a few years. We had a lot in common when we first met–young kids, young businesses. We were close friends during those early decades, but life, moves and different industries took us in different directions.
It’s always interesting to hear what comes up when you see someone from the past. What I wasn’t expecting was to hear about her financial woes during our less than 5 minute conversation. And a request to spend time with me, ostensibly for my advice. I left feeling icky. Would she even listen to my advice, or would she just continue to vent her upset? Do I turn down a friend? I have a hunch she won’t call.
I remember meeting a young woman at a networking event who had her infant on her shoulder–an unusual enough sight at a business meeting. But our brief conversation had me backing away quickly from her negativity. “What a beautiful baby,” I said admiringly. “Thank you,” she replied, “but she should be with her deadbeat father who left me high and dry tonight.” Speaking of too much information.
My big takeaway, and my nugget to pass onto you, is to notice what’s bubbling up in your conversations and be sure that it’s what you want to be talking about. If your personal pain is spilling out uncontrollably, it’s time to go for help. But a random meeting in a parking lot is not the place to begin.
I just read Suzen Petit’s excellent, information packed blog post on increasing your blog rankings viw alexa.com. It was an explanation I could understand. This was the second or third time I had heard that site referred to.
I checked it out and got mildly depressed…for a minute. By inputting a variety of blog listings, I was able to find my own ranking and those of my friends and competitors. The lower your score, the more the readers you have. The more readers you have, the more likely anything you’re marketing will reach the people you want to reach.
For instance Seth Godin, who is one of the most famous bloggers I read, has an alexa score of 5,766. Mine is 5,205,336. This sounds horrifying (to me) until I search for the stats on another blogger I know and find his ranking is 15,755,386. I don’t feel so bad anymore.
Like anything else based on numbers–like weight or income–it’s good to know where you are so that, moving forward, you can see whether you’re increasing readership or losing it. It’s only a number. And I have work to do.
Old Ongapotchket Site
After many months and many meetings and many decisions, the new janepollak.com is alive and well and hopefully worth your valuable time and attention. It feels as though my last website went up only weeks ago, but it’s been six years. It was time for something new, fresh and more adaptable to today’s social media opportunities.
My mother used a lot of Yiddish words when we were growing up. The one that popped into my mind every time I pulled up my old site was ongepotchket (uhng-guh-potch-kit), which can mean too fancy or ornate, fussy, overdressed, overdone. What I had it mean in my head was “too much going on.” After four years of plain and simple, I had my assistant add the logos from the media outlets that had once featured me. Then, when the revised edition of Soul Proprietor came out in May 2010, we threw the new cover up there with links to amazon.com.
The site got cluttered and messy looking–ongepotchket–so every time I clicked on my home page I had to squint so as not to notice the clutter.
And then, you just know, it’s time to re-group and re-launch. I hired a wonderful marketing/branding company to work with me, and I’m thrilled with my new look. It’s congruent with the cover of my book. There’s no more ‘egg’ symbolism. And we’ve added a lot of video and social media connections to stay abreast of the times.
I hope you’ll spend some time checking it out, send your friends, sign up for a free webinar and/or hang out with my remarkable clients sharing their experiences on the youtube clips.
Welcome to my new site!
You don’t have to be a college student or grad to benefit from the advice in this revised edition of Lindsey’s book. Lindsey, for those of you who don’t know, is my daughter.
She used to come to me for career advice, but the tables have turned. She’s my go-to person for all things electronic and social media related when it comes to business. When I was considering linking sites with a particular organization recently, and I sought her wisdom, I told her I wasn’t sure I understood exactly what was required of me or what the benefits would be. But it sounded kind of good from the pitch I received. “Mom, if you don’t understand it and aren’t highly motivated to participate, say no.” I followed that advice with no regrets.
Please, buy a copy of her book for yourself or someone you love who’s looking for work. She’s a trustworthy guide and will be truly grateful for your purchase.
I’m truly thrilled to announce that I’ve been invited to speak at the TEDx event in Stamford on Saturday, April 28. There are only 100 tickets available for this worthy program. Here’s a link for tickets which will go on sale this coming Monday. If you’ve ever watched a TED video, you know what an honor it is to be asked to deliver a talk through this organization.
I filled out a survey today asking me why I attended the ICF-CT meeting last Friday. Good question. The speaker sounded knowledgeable. This particular meeting was in Norwalk vs. Cromwell, CT (a good hour plus ride for me). I wanted to see some acquaintances I hadn’t seen in awhile. And, having been tethered to my computer for the last several weeks organizing and finalizing my webinar modules, going out and networking was the biggest draw. I wasn’t disappointed.
Margaret Ruff has been enrolled in my webinar since November. She also attended the ICF-CT meeting on Friday. If “Bumping into Margaret Ruff” had been one of the multiple choice answers on the survey, I would have selected it. She excitedly expounded to me everything she had experienced in our few months of intensive classes. It gave me goosebumps to hear her enthusiasm and clarity.
Margaret, and her colleague Janis Bowersox, are offering a workshop next week called Immunity to Change. I have actually registered for the 3-day course in Cambridge to be given by the founders of that program this spring. But both Janis and Margaret have encouraged me to attend their 4-hour version to get my feet wet. They, too, learned it from the authors, and both agreed that attending their offering would enhance my experience in April.
There are two spaces still available on the morning of Friday, February 10 (9:30am – 1:30pm) if you’d like to be in our small group experience. The cost is $30. Please let me know if you’re interested, and I’ll pass on your information to Janis and Margaret.
Margaret, a Certified Immunity to Change™ Coach, envisions bringing this program to leaders worldwide. In her words my “webinar offered the structure, details, know how, and activities so that I could come away with the tools I needed for my business development plans.”
I’m thrilled that as a result of my classes, she’s bringing her enormous talent and expertise public. If you can’t make it next week, check out Margaret’s future offers.
Debbie Crichton's Aha Moment at Remarkable Women's Network - Photo by Suzanne Sheridan
One of the enticements I offered attendees of the Remarkable Women’s Network event I hosted last week was publicity. I said that I would blog about one participant’s new idea for her business in 2012.
Debbie Crichton's Art Bags Designs
It wasn’t an easy choice, but Debbie Crichton, founder of Art Bags, had an ‘aha’ experience that took the prize. She plans to incorporate video how-to’s in her business model this year.
Ridgefield Guild of Artists Summer Camp Participant
In addition to creating marvelous, collectible pocketbooks, Debbie has been active in her community as well by offering Project Runway-style activities for girls attending the Ridgefield (CT) Guild of Artists summer camp . She has taught them how to paint shoes, stencil t-shirts and craft other stylish accessories. Not only is Debbie having a blast learning and teaching these skills, but she also sees it as a means for building girls’ self-esteem in the process.
Debbie has the confidence to tackle any craft and make it fun and accessible, but wasn’t clear how to make that side of her talent marketable. During one of the mini-mastermind sessions, Pat McGrath–another attendee– made a suggestion that hit Debbie like a lightning bolt, in a good way. “Why don’t you make videos?”
That started the wheels turning for Debbie who sees infinite possibilities using that medium to reach a wider market for her talent. She envisions putting together kits based on the craft projects she teaches via youtube or other online video channels.
I love watching the exchange of information at these events. I watch the women meeting each other at the beginning of the night with smiles and handshakes. By the time the evening is over, bonds have been forged, no one wants to leave, and warm hugs are exchanged along with business cards and promises to get together again.
I love what I do!
