Dream Catcher

As a business owner, I have had a presence on Facebook and other social networking sites for almost three years. Social media is a great way to market your business. But, it is also a great way to network with other business owners. In the past two years, I have been asked to speak to various Mompreneur Groups, College Student Groups, Chamber of Commerce events and Women Business Owner Groups. I have been also been the guest on various online radio shows discussing my ebooks and teaching my ecourses.

Speaking to various groups allows me the opportunity to share my message with others throughout the United States and in other countries. This is the power of compound friending. Remember, social networking and public speaking are free ways to grow your business. When I speak in front of a group whether in person or online it is exposing me and my business to potential clients. It is allowing me the opportunity to share tips and resources that will help others grow their business.

When you use my five tips you will grow your business:

1. Be Yourself: Type your status updates in your lingo and language. Do not try to type, speak or present yourself in a manner that is not you. People that meet me and hire me resonate with my personality. They do not want a stiff executive who speaks or writes using big words. They like my down to earth no nonsense approach to life and business with a dash of humor.

2. Engage in Real Conversation: I try to spend a few minutes each day establishing rapport with people who give “the thumbs up” or “like” my posts. I click on their names to see who they are then I start engaging them in conversation.

3. Keep it Real: You will notice that my personal pages have tidbits and posts that reflect who I am. I love dogs and cats. I love pit bulls and post regularly about Miss Savanna my blue pit and Mr. Skittles my old grouchy cat. These posts let people see that I am not perfect and my life is not perfect. I don’t fret over an occasional typo so they can see I am human. I even joke about the fact I can’t type a complete correct sentence until I have consumed an entire pot of coffee. Social media is about presenting yourself just as you are – warts and all.

4. Keep it Clean: I know I just said keep it real however, I will add keep your posts clean. If you do not want grandma to see something do not post it online. Do not post things that would present you or your business in a negative way. Do not post inappropriate photos or use foul language. Also, do not get into a fight with someone online. Never ever speak poorly about someone. Keep your words and photos nice and squeaky clean.

5. Share: In order to grow your business you will need to show off your expertise so that you are seen as the expert. You do this by sharing your knowledge with your followers or list. If you are using Twitter you only have 140 characters. So you can share one small industry specific tip with your peeps. People love using social media to learn new things. When you share your knowledge it opens up opportunities for you to get new clients or customers, joint venture opportunities and invitations to speak at events.

When you use my five tips people will see you as human. They will see you as the expert in your niche. This will lead to invitations to speak to various groups either in person or online. When you accept invitations to speak you will get to promote your business for free. When you promote your business you will attract new clients, grow your business and put more money in your bank account.

Social media is a great way to market your business. But, it is also a great way to network with other business owners. Remember, social networking and public speaking are free ways to grow your business. When you promote your business you will attract new clients, grow your business and put more money in your bank account.

Jaynine Howard is a retired United States Marine and former psychotherapist. She is the owner of Dream Catcher Business & Life Coaching. Founded in 2006, Dream Catcher Business & Life Coaching helps business owners, nonprofits, and individuals nationally and internationally turn their dreams into wealth and success. Coach Jaynine and her team of associate coaches will help you jump start your business and life through business, career, and life coaching. Jaynine is a member of the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce, the Carteret Chamber of Commerce, the American Psychological Association, 24/7 Coaching, and Coachville. You can learn more about Dream Catcher by visiting http://coachjaynine.com.

In this article I identify three more Snatchers and Grabbers that must be stopped.

1. Tire Kickers: The tire kicker wants to try your product or service before paying for it. NO, no, no. You do not give away a product or service without payment up front and having a contract signed. Many of you have spent hours shopping for fabric swatches, designing floor plans, and making a custom item only to be told that the person changed their mind. Coaches, consultants, and mentors have spent hours designing programs and provided ecourses, audio recordings, etc. only to be told the person changed their mind (now that they have hundreds of dollars in free products etc.).  I want you to think billable hours.  Again, this is a time to revisit your system or procedure. It is ok to request a deposit that is nonrefundable if they change their mind and cancel the contract. You do have a contract signed before you begin working, right? Do not spend hours driving around hunting for the right fabric swatches only to be told the person changed their mind.

2. Dr. Jekyll & Ms. Hyde: This Snatcher and Grabber states that “money is no object”. You do everything right. You get the contract signed and you provide a proposal which is an outline of the work and when to expect the stages completed. The next thing you know they decide to become DIY clients. They have your agenda and begin doing the project themselves. I have noticed this type of Snatcher and Grabber prevalent in the home interior, home staging, and window treatment industry.

3. Bridezilla:  Another type of Snatcher and Grabber is the client that purchases one of your smaller packages but demands services in your larger package. If you allow this person one extra product or service for free he or she will continue to demand more. The client becomes the next contest on Bridezilla. Do not let your clients intimidate, boss, or push you around. Establish firm boundaries. They purchased a package and they get what is in that package. Again, revisit your procedures and have your scripts ready so you can establish boundaries.

If you need help designing your systems and procedures so that you can stop the Snatchers and Grabbers your business coach can help. You will not be in business if you give away your products and services for free. You will be a very nice person who is broke. So, Stop the Snatchers and Grabbers!

Click to watch my Bubbletweet.

Does your email signature help you promote your expertise and tell potential clients who you are and why they should do business with you? Your email signature can act as a free tool to promote you and your business. It can begin the rapport building between you and the reader.

These are key items you will want to include in your email signature.

Name – yes, you want to have your name listed. Make sure it is spelled correctly. Don’t laugh…even I’ve typed by name wrong once or twice.

Credentials – list your highest degree conferred. If you have a license or certification that is key for your industry then list it. Let people see your expertise. Let them see you are qualified. This is often used by massage therapists. You will see their license number after their name and title.

Title – Are you a business owner, Chief Operating Officer, etc….

Phone Number – I have been told by several people that they do not keep a rolodex any longer. They use their emails as their rolodex. So you will want to ensure you have a phone number on your email so people can call you.

Website – drive traffic to your website so they can sign up for your free newsletter, ecourse or downloadable  PDF.

Social Networking Sites – let people know how to connect with you on a daily basis. When they follow you on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter you can begin developing a rapport and share your expertise with these people.

Email Tag Line – this is a quick way for people to know who you are and what you do and how to connect with you.

There are several free resources available to aid you in designing your email signature. Some will help you insert your signature in your own handwriting. They can add creative colors and fonts.

Another reason to list the above information on your email is that when your email is forwarded to others people love to scroll down and see who sent the email. Admit you do it too. Your email signature is a quick way to connect with these new email recipients.

I encourage you to take a few minutes and update your email signature. Don’t miss another phone call inviting you to an event because your phone number or contact information was not on your email.

Jaynine Howard is The Debt Free Business Coach. She teaches business owners the systems and strategies needed to grow their business while remaining debt free.

She invites you to join her Dynamic Business Owners Coaching Club during its spring membership drive.

I recently had a conversation with several business owners on the purpose of a networking event. We all know that networking events have several purposes. But we came to the conclusion that many people attend networking events with the intent to snatch and grab free information from the other attendees.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We all love to share our expertise. But most people are at networking events with the high hopes they will meet prospective clients, people who can refer clients, or meet joint venture partners. We even go hoping to make new friends. We don’t go to networking events to be accosted or raped of our intellectual property. If you are a snatch and grabber you are being rude; so stop it.

Let me describe the snatch and grabber. The snatch and grabber has no intention of ever hiring you. He or she is there to snatch and grab free information. They will approach you each time they see you at events and ask one or two very specific questions which you will answer.  They will never invite you to lunch or coffee. Most likely they will not even return your emails. I have even had one snatch and grabber pretend at each event she had never met me before. Yet, at each event she had snatched and grabbed; that is why I remembered her so very well.  Your typical networking attendee would not think of asking such specific questions unless they had requested an appointment to meet with you and expected to pay you for your intellectual property or service.

So how do you handle the snatch and grabber? This takes you having a back bone and not giving away your knowledge for free. If clients typically pay you for the information the snatch and grabber is asking do not feel bullied to give it away for free.  It also takes you realizing that the person is a snatch and grabber and not just innocently asking a question as a way to establish rapport. After brainstorming with several business owners I realized I needed a script to follow when approached by a snatch and grabber. I have learned to say “That is a great question. Please call my office so we can make an appointment to discuss it further.” This is also a time for me to request their business card and offer mine.  After getting their card you will want to change the topic by complimenting them on their clothing or turning to another person nearby and bringing them in to a new conversation. The snatch and grabber will attempt to brow beat you into giving away your intellectual property for free. Be strong and do not give it away for free. I recently encountered a snatch and grabber on a social networking site too. So be careful snatch and grabbers have graduated from traditional networking events to social networking sites.

Business owners listen up. You must stand up to the snatch and grabber. A Realtor is not going to give you a free house so why are you giving away your information for free? A car salesman is not going to give you a free car and you won’t receive free stocks from the stock broker so stop the snatchers and grabbers in their tracks by having a script ready so you do not give away your brain for free.

Remember, networking events are NOT for snatching and grabbing. They are great ways to meet prospective clients, gather referrals and leads, make referrals and provide leads, meet joint venture partners and make great friends.

Jaynine Howard is The Debt Free Business Coach. She teaches business owners the systems and strategies needed to grow their business while remaining debt free.

She is a retired Unites States Marine, doctoral candidate, psychologist and business owner. Jaynine resides in Jacksonville, North Carlina with her husband and blue pit Miss Savanna.

You can learn more about Coach Jaynine by joining her each Monday for The Coach is in or by downloading her free ecourse http://networkingdetox.com/

Are you ready to turn your dreams into reality?

How many trade magazines do you read each week? Have you ever stopped to wonder what makes the authors of the articles any different from you? Do they still work in your industry? Do they know the needs of your particular niche? Do you see the authors as the experts in your field or business arena?

People are buying differently right now. They are only buying what they need or what truly inspires them. This buying trend will probably continue for quite some time. Article writing is a free tool that will help you build a relationship with your readers so that they will buy from you when they are ready to make a purchase.

Article writing or article marketing has six key benefits for the business owner.

1.  Develop your expertise. When you sit down to write an article you want it to be factual. No sales pitch. Article writing is a great way to show your readers what you know and what makes you the expert in your niche. As you develop loyal readers they will see you as the expert and you will be the expert in your industry that they call when they need your services.

2. Establish your credibility. As you write your articles and share your knowledge you will develop your credibility. Your readers will resonate with you because you are factual and you are sharing with them. You are not selling them anything. You are sharing and building trust. Just as your readers see you as the expert they will see the information you share as credible. They will see you as someone they trust and believe in.

3.  Increase your visibility. Article writing allows you to speak directing to your niche. If you were to put an advertisement in a newspaper you would not be able to guarantee that the readers are in your niche. When you get your articles published in magazines or journals that are industry specific you have an audience that wants to read what you are writing. As you increase your visibility and credibility in the community you will become known as the expert. This will increase traffic to your blog, website and business.

4.  Focused on your niche. Your niche is very important to keep in mind when writing. Your niche will resonate with what you write. Think about what they want to know. Do they want to know the latest trends, how to save money, or why to do something? I cannot stress enough that you must know your niche. When you know your intended reading audience you will also know where to submit your articles for publication.

5.  It is FREE. Article writing is free. It does take a few minutes of your time but because you are writing about topics that are near and dear to your heart it will only take about 20 minutes to write an article. This is less time than it takes to design an advertisement.

6. Grow your business. When you implement steps one thru five above your business will grow while remaining debt free.

Article writing/article marketing has been the number one resource I have used to grow my business while remaining debt free. It is free. But the greatest benefit to article writing is that it truly aids in establishing you as the expert in your community. It provides you a means to establish your credibility while increasing your visibility. When you are visible and seen as credible you will be the expert in your niche. Article writing is a great free resource to use to drive traffic to your blog, website, or store.

Business owners now is the time to add article writing to your list of skills so that you can increase your visibility and credibility be seen as the expert and grow your business while remaining debt free.

Jaynine Howard is the Debt Free Business Coach. She teaches business owners the strategies needed to grow their business while remaining debt free.

Jaynine is a retired United States Marine, psychologist and business owner residing in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She is the host of the Dynamic Business Owners Coaching Club and the upcoming Writers Bootcamp.

You can receive her free ecourse Networking Detox by visiting http://networkingdetox.com/

Have you noticed you are getting less emails today than you were a year ago? This is because business owners have begun using social networking to promote their business. However, they are forgetting that Social networking is about being social or they were never taught the correct way to use social networking for growing and promoting their business.

As the Debt Free Business Coach one of the many tools I teach business owners to use correctly to promote their business for free is social networking. Facebook allows you to have a personal page, group and a fan page. Many business owners use the personal page for personal use and the fan page to promote their business by SPAMMING their fans. This is a very big NO NO. Facebook will shut you down for spamming as will other social networking sites.

I even see people SPAMMING offering to teach social media or do it for your business.

So, let’s review the basics so that you can begin to grow your business by using your Facebook Fan Page correctly.

What is SPAM?

SPAM is the repeated unwanted message that promotes a product or an event. If all you are doing with your fan page is sending promotional announcements that is SPAM. If all you is posting status updates with links to your website that is SPAM.

What is Social Networking?

Social networking is about being social. You must take time to engage in real conversation with your followers.  Social networking sites are also not the place to post negative comments or engage in rude behavior.  Think of it as one big expo or cocktail party where you do not know many of the people. You want to be on your best behavior. As Coach Jaynine always says “If you can’t type something nice don’t type anything at all”.

How to use your fan page to promote your business without SPAMMING your fans:

1.  Engage in real conversation.

2.  Share tips related to your industry or business that will provide value to your fans.

3.  Post photos of business events or activities.

4.  Share web links that will provide value to your fans.

5.  Answer frequently asked questions.

6.  Conduct a poll or survey.

7.  Ask questions to find out what your customers are thinking or what they want from your business.

8.  Conduct a contest. But be sure you are following the new rules for conducting a contest on Facebook.

9.   Share YouTube videos related to your industry or YouTube testimonials from your customers or clients.

10. Use it to promote your upcoming events only after completing at least three non promotional posts.

Remember, social networking is about being social. You will increase your fan page followers by compound friending.  Just as word of mouth referrals can help your business or hurt your business in the online world compound friending can help your business grow. SPAM will hurt your business.  You run the risk of not only losing fans but losing the opportunity to grow your business and promote your business using the free of the internet.

Jaynine Howard, is the owner of Dream Catcher Business & Life Coaching. She is a retired United States Marine, psychologist, and business owner.

She has been using social networking for over two years to grow her business without SPAMMING. As the Debt Free Business Coach she is a firm believer that you can grow a profitable business when you have  employing the necessary systems and strategies in place so that you are scene as the expert.

She invites to sign up for her free ecourse Networking Detox at http://networkingdetox.com/

Do you run your business from home or a store front? Do you receive your mail at a post office box or at your place of business? Do your customers or clients know how to contact you by mail? My desk is littered with envelopes that were returned to me because business owners did not have their correct mailing address on their website or business card. I fully intended to contact the business owners to find out their correct mailing address but just ran out of time. Therefore, they did not get the invitation to a big event, a thank you note or holiday card.

One of the steps we employ after we meet new people is to follow up. People cannot follow up with you if you do not have your mailing address on your website or marketing materials such as your business card or brochure. Follow up is part of the rapport building system. I recently looked at a brand new website that someone was bragging about and noticed they had listed the words post office box but they did not put a number. Therefore, others cannot mail them a congratulatory note for opening their business or hosting a new website.

People want to know where you are located. I often hear the controversy that you need a physical address because a post office box makes your business look like it is shady or a scam. However, other business owners think safety and do not want someone showing up at their home unannounced. Only you can answer the question on where you want to receive mail for your business. However, once you make the decision you need to let your customers and clients know where to send mail. You cannot receive a testimonial from a client if they do not know how to mail it to you. Not everyone uses email and sometimes people want to send a “real” thank you note or gift through the old-fashioned mail system. The note I had sent a storefront business owner was returned with a yellow label saying the business did not receive mail at that address. The business owner missed learning how much I loved the candle I had bought and how much I looked forward to coming in again and purchasing more. I was not trying to sell her something I just wanted to brighten her day and let her know everyone who entered my home loved the candle I had bought from her store.

 I encourage you to review your website and see if you have your correct mailing address on your website. You can list both a physical address and a post office box on your website. List the street address first with the post office box below the street address followed by city, state, and zip code.

When you list your business on various online business listing sites you will also want to ensure that you have your mailing address displayed. Additionally, take a minute to look at your business card. Do you have your mailing address on your business card? What about your brochure? Can customers or fellow business owners find you? Can they contact you?

A mailing address on your website and marketing documents adds to your credibility. When a fellow business owner or prospective client gets a piece of mail returned, they will often not take time to follow up. They will dismiss the returned piece of mail as well as you and your business. Do not miss making new friends, business contacts, or gaining new customers or clients by not having your business mailing address listed on your website or marketing materials.