StarrBurst - ThinkSOS

Toronto’s Rising Star

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Paula Wells

Well it appears I spoke too soon. On November 16th, I blogged that my daughter, Dakota Starr’s, first performance would be at her 16th birthday party at the Smiling Buddha this past Sunday. However, on her actual birthday, we learned of a competition called Toronto’s Rising Star and spent the night at The Rockpile where she entered the contest as a singer/songwriter in the youth category. What a fabulous (and busy) week we had!

The audition process included performing two original songs before the judges (last week’s panel included a producer and a talent agent) and the host, Valerie Shearman. Dakota started with Star Crossed Lovers and finished with Liar Liar and I am thrilled to tell you that she made it into the semi-finals.

The next step in the process is working on her songs and stage presence by appearing before the judges every Wednesday night at The Rockpile for the next month. Semi-finals start in the New Year where Dakota will go up against all the other kids in her category and aim for a spot in the finals starting February. Contestants are singing for a chance to win an artist development deal, studio recordings, live performance videos and artist development workshops at iStars.

Hear what the judges had to say about Dakota’s performance on the footage we’ve uploaded to our You Tube channel. We have professional video coming soon for the new song we’ve uploaded to her Myspace page- Liar Liar so for now; I’ll apologize for the shaky hands!

As for The Smiling Buddha, what a great night! We had approximately 80 guests and Dakota got on stage to share her songs with friends and family – some of them for the first time. Dawn Vally played a great set for the teens, had the old folks running for the door and made the young kids cry.

Needless to say this is a birthday Dakota will never forget! It was great to see her smiling all week and at the end of the night, I got the big thumbs up and official mom of the year award. The “I love yous” are still coming strong and as the mom of a teenager – I’m soaking up every minute of it.

Posted in Artist's Way Cafe | Tagged Dakota Starr | Leave a comment

How To Keep Your Blog Going Through The Holiday Bustle

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Guest Blog

So, you started and kept up with your business blog; people seem to enjoy it, you’re building traffic, comments and even getting more sign ups on your newsletter. It has taken a lot of work to make this successful. Now you have a problem. The holidays are upon us. If you sell consumer products you’re probably so busy now you have little time for long term marketing. But, you also know that you want to keep this great thing going. Besides, it’s the long term marketing that will help you over the slower periods of the year. What can you do?

Try pre-scheduling your posts. This is the single most effective method. It can also save you time throughout the rest of the year when you get busy or need a break. You can do this by using your blog’s scheduled post feature or you could blog by email and set your email client to only send the mail at a pre-set date and time. If you’re using Outlook, there are plugins you can purchase to help you send scheduled emails.

Something else you could do is invite some guest bloggers. You can hire someone. Many times people are more than happy to blog on sites for an affordable fee. You could also invite owners of related businesses to post. This is a great idea because you may not need to pay out any cash and you can return the favor when they get busy. Guest writers are a good way to get some time away from your blog, allow you to concentrate on holiday sales and a wonderful way to introduce a fresh perspective.

Here’s another idea. Have an assistant post some holiday articles related to your business for you. Articles about the holidays that people find useful such as shopping and budget tips, recipes and etiquette do very nicely. Everyone can use those ideas and tips to make their holidays less expensive and more enjoyable. If your assistant can add information to relate those articles with your product, the better. With that holiday feel in the air, you may be surprised to see how much traffic you end up getting. Possibly more than normal.

If you’re posting tips, don’t post them all at once. Publish a series of small and quick tips over a number of days or weeks. Tell people they are reading just one in a series every time you post. Not only does this keep the blog alive, it gives your readers reason to return.

Try audio. Speaking comes more naturally to us than writing and it also requires less effort and time to make a post. Record a short under 5 minute clip about what’s happening during the busy holiday period. Tell people about your sales, share how you helped a customer out of his holiday shopping dilemma. There are many tools you can use for a small cost such as AudioAcrobat and HipCast. You can record it and have it posted to your blog immediately.

Just because it is a busy period, doesn’t mean that you need to abandon your blog completely. By following the tips in this article, you can ensure your blog keeps building that valuable relationship with your prospects.

Bio:
Blogger, entrepreneur Lynette Chandler enjoys helping small business owners with their blogs. She authored an e-course to help new bloggers start their blog right from the beginning. Grab yours at here.

Get your 2011 Blogging Calendar from Blog Energizer:

Stay organized through the holidays with List PlanIt:

Posted in Blogging, Guest Blogs | Tagged blogging | 1 Comment

Where Does the Time Go?

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Paula Wells

In 2003, in the process of completing market research for Starr Office Services, I conducted a survey asking solo-preneurs how they allocated their time. The survey was completed by 100 business owners working as coaches, consultants, trainers, speakers, accountants and financial advisors with 0-3 employees and working approximately 60 hours a week.

With all the changes to internet marketing and the influx of so many Social Networking sites, I thought it would be interesting to send the survey again to update the statistics to learn how solo-preneurs are spending their time today.

I would really appreciate it if you could spare a minute to answer the following 5 questions.

Follow this Direct Link to the survey

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BHAQHW82D/

Or Take it on my Website

http://www.thinksos.ca/blog/where-does-the-time-go/

Thanks!

Posted in Solo-Preneurs, Time Management | Tagged Survey, Time Management | 1 Comment

Prepare Yourself Financially for Travel

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Guest Blog

In our modern society, travel is no longer a luxury, but it is considered a necessary part of having a healthy and meaningful life. Anyone with a dream of seeing the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France or Machu Picchu in Peru can find a way to reach that destination if he or she plans well enough and long enough.

Before a ticket is purchased or a reservation is made, the first thing a person must do is to begin to save money. Travel, whether by plane, train, or automobile, is not cheap. Even if there are no immediate plans for travel, a Travel Fund can and should be started right away. Depending on the number of people in your family and the type of destination you think you are likely to choose, begin to put a set amount of money aside each paycheck. If you are paid twice a month, a good amount to start might be $50 to $100 each paycheck. Begin to deduct the determined amount from your checking account register. “Deposit” your travel savings each paycheck onto a separate page for your Travel Fund so you not only know how much you have saved, but so it will not get mixed up with the money that normally goes for regular bills and living expenses. After one year of saving for a vacation, you could possibly have $1200 to $2400 saved. This is a good start to your goal of a carefree vacation with your loved ones

The next thing you need to do after you have started a Travel Fund is to begin to formulate a travel plan so a budget can be created. Pre-travel expenses to include in your travel budget might be passports, maps, and pet care. If your family plans to drive to their vacation destination, then budgetary considerations should be made for tolls, gasoline, hotels and food along the way. If flying is the preferred or necessary mode of travel, then airline tickets, cabs, or rental cars should be included on the travel budget. Arrival at the final destination will bring more expenses to include in the budget such as hotels, food, entrance to attractions and museums, transportation costs and souvenirs.

By following these two important steps when preparing for a vacation, you will be able to truly relax knowing you have prepared yourself financially for the costly good times of taking a vacation with family and friends.

————
Hundreds of Lists to Help You Get & Stay Organized

Jennifer Tankersley is the creator of ListPlanIt where you can find over 400 lists and planning pages including your own Travel Fund and travel budgets, plus packing lists and itineraries, to put your world in order.

Posted in Guest Blogs, Moneywise Tips | 1 Comment

Unclutter One Step at a Time

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Paula Wells

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Do you feel tired, in a rut, unable to muster the zeal to accomplish your goals? You need energy to tackle your objectives and attract new opportunities. Tuesday’s blog was about increasing your energy by eliminating petty annoyances and today is all about uncluttering your life to make space for new and exciting ventures.

When you want to attract new things in your life such as a client/job or a new relationship, you have to make room for them. So, if you’re looking for new clients – clean out old files. It is astounding how much ‘stuff’ we can accumulate. I’m not talking about organizing or zoning – just decluttering –letting go of stuff. Continue reading →

More Galleries | Leave a comment

Increase your Energy

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Paula Wells

Winter is upon us and if you are like me, you are starting to feel the energy drain already. With the first taste of minus anything weather, I hibernate, finding ways to stay indoors. Because of my distaste for the blistering cold and not having the means to move to Hawaii for four months (yet), I’ve found other ways to increase my natural energy when I feel depleted.

The simplest way to increase energy is to eliminate things that are draining you and replace them with positive things. I said simple, not easy. When you examine the things you do that are not good for you, that are making you sick or tired like eating fast food, overspending, staying up late – it’s simple. Eliminating those things and replacing them with healthy habits on a continual basis is not easy. It can be especially challenging if you don’t have the right support systems.

Get rid of Petty Annoyances first

Before you start working on bad habits and personal flaws, make a list of all the things you are putting up with. In 2001 I created a Petty Annoyances list – all the things in my life that were bothering me. There were big items like unhappy at work and minor things like replacing the shower curtain. I included bad habits such as smoking but they weren’t my first priority – I was on the baby steps program.

After a few minutes, there were 20 items on the list. By the end of the day – over 100 things I was putting up with in my life. Talk about draining energy!

Use the Buddy System and set a Deadline

I told a friend about it and she made a similar list. We booked time Saturday mornings for the next month to work on eliminating the petty annoyances in our lives. We called before starting and wished each other luck. We checked in every hour to stay on track and not get distracted by neighbours bringing coffee or ringing phones.

She worked on cleaning her kitchen cupboards, getting rid of chipped plates and donating leftover pieces to charity. I worked on my front and hall closets – donating coats and organizing the storage systems. The clean-up dates were a huge success! Each week we got our projects completed with a sense of accomplishment.

Treat Yourself with a Special Reward

At the end of the month we rewarded ourselves with dinner and a trip to the movies for a job well done. The best part of the process however was how good it felt every time we walked into a newly organized area.

It wasn’t until 2003 that I finally gave up smoking and left the corporate world to start ThinkSOS, so don’t worry about the big stuff – the answers will come. If you want to increase your energy levels start by creating a list of all the things in your life that you are tolerating and make a plan to eliminate them one by one.

Posted in Health and Wellness | Tagged increase energy | 2 Comments

Start-Up Resources

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Paula Wells

Last month I talked about the importance of updating your business plan or roadmap to success on a regular basis. In the past few weeks, I have met several people with the entrepreneurial spirit that are at the starting point of business planning, either with a brand new venture or an existing business that needs to be reinvented.

With the start-up venture in mind, I have put together this list of websites that gives you the tools you need to write your first business plan. Remember to regularly visit the SOS Tools Page or read StarrBurst the blog for custom forms, marketing calendars and worksheets too.

The most important aspects of the planning process are to know yourself, invest the time to thoroughly research the market and understand the financial risks. Also, avoid the common mistake of not targeting a specific market and build your ideal client profile.

Planning and Market Research

(GOC) Business Start Up Assistant: http://bsa.cbsc.org/

(GOC) Business & Consumer Site: www.strategis.gc.ca

(GOC) Business Service Centre: www.cobsc.org/onario

(GOC) Services for Entrepreneurs: www.businessgateway.ca

Ministry of Economic Dev’l & Trade: www.ontariocanada.com

Canada Revenue Agency: www.cra-arc.gc.ca

Statistics Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/start-debut-eng.html

Small Business Information Source: www.canadaone.com

Samples and How To’s:

Free Sample Business Plans: www.bplans.com

Business Plan Writing: http://sbinformation.about.com/od/businessplans/

Training Programs and Other Resources

Microskills: http://www.microskills.ca/

Toronto Business Development Centre: http://www.tbdc.com/

Biz Launch: http://www.bizlaunch.ca/

Enterprise Toronto: www.enterprisetoronto.com

If your plans are ambitious but your bank account is empty, there is funding available for those who persevere through government funding, angel investors and crowdfunding.

Financial Assistance

Toronto Venture Group Non-profit venture capital organization http://www.tvg.org/

CrowdFunding

Profounders Venture capital fund for entrepreneurs powered by entrepreneurs http://www.profounderscapital.com/

If you’re starting your first business, I suggest enrolling in one of the courses offered by a local college or through government assisted programs. Hiring a coach, online business manager or strategic partner like Starr Office Services to help you stay motivated, on track, accountable and focused through the planning process is also a smart idea!

Have a new venture in mind? Tell us all about it!

Posted in Start Ups | Tagged business plans, Small Business, start-ups | Leave a comment

Know Your Ideal Client

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Paula Wells

Did you leave the bump and grind of the corporate world to end up working with an endless stream of PITA clients (pain in the a**)? Being a solo-preneur, time is your most valuable resource so treat it as such. That means qualifying potential opportunities to know if they are right for you.

Making appropriate choices about what clients to take on is crucial to your success. If you’re just started out, you might be apprehensive to assert a niche or target a specific market concerned that you are shutting out prospects. As the saying goes, when you try to be everything to everybody, you’ll be nothing to no one.

Online Marketing and SEO Gurus talk about driving traffic to your website but if the traffic won’t lead to sales, why bother? Attracting a small funnel of the ‘right’ traffic to your site is better than a plethora of the ‘wrong’ traffic.

Understanding your target market is a start however; successful solo-preneurs will tell you that it’s more important to have a clear image of the client you want more of. Working with the people that want and are able to pay for your services will not only improve your income but also your overall happiness.

Start by creating an Ideal Client Profile to give you a clear image of who that person is. You need to invest your time in this process and be very detailed so you know your perfect client when you see them.

My Ideal Client: (not a complete profile – just an idea to get you started):

Female, 45+ years, solo-preneur, in business 3+ years, over $200K in annual revenues. She is a coach, consultant, speaker, accountant or offers other professional services. She has a monthly workload for me and trusts me with the day to day care of her business and clients.

I’m not suggesting that you decline new ventures that present themselves because they don’t fit your complete Ideal Client Profile. But this is an excellent exercise to help you understand and measure prospective clients and projects.

Use your profile to guide you when mapping out your marketing plans. Monitor your analytics regularly; who is buying from you? Who is visiting your website, reading your blog? And remember, both you and your business will evolve over time and so should your ideal client profile. Add this spreadsheet to your business plan and revisit it habitually.

Posted in Marketing, Target Market | Tagged Ideal Client, Marketing, Target Market | 1 Comment

Recordkeeping

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Paula Wells

This gallery contains 1 photo.

One of the most important yet overlooked functions in small businesses is financial recordkeeping. Current, accurate records are crucial for business owners to know where they stand financially at any given point in time. Continue reading →

More Galleries | Leave a comment

Simple Social Media Strategies

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Paula Wells

Simple Social Media Strategies

Social Media is a catch all phrase that defines a variety of activities that combine technology and human interaction using words and multi-media.

There are many forms available but basically social media is a set of tools:

□ Blogs □Widgets □Micro Blogs □Social Networks □Social Bookmarks □Podcasts □Online Chat □Wikis □ Information Networks □Message Boards □Video/Photo Sharing Sites …to name a few.

Why bother with social media? Why would you, a busy entrepreneur, allocate your cherished time to using Facebook? You want to reach the people who want and are able to pay for your products and services. The most effective online marketing techniques for any business owner are the ones that get you to your target market. And, one of the most powerful aspects of Facebook advertising is reach.

Sites like Linked In, Twitter and Facebook are now part of the norm or mainstream for more people daily. If your customers weren’t involved in social networking a few years ago, they probably are now-even if they aren’t tech savvy. In Canada there are almost 17 million Facebook users; over 2 million between the ages 45-54. The fastest growing demographic worldwide is among people 35 years and older. No matter who your customers are, you can find them on Facebook.

Not sure where to start? Start with “who”, not “what”.

Once you’re up and running, tap into your community and find out what your customers are really looking for. Listen to what they are saying about you, your competitors and the industry.

And remember when connecting with your followers, be clear and honest, share information and most importantly show your personality. If you’re still not ready to join the conversation, use tools like Google Alerts as a resource for listening and have an action plan for dealing with social media chat about your brand.

How has social media changed the way you market your business and manage your time?

Posted in Social Media | Tagged Social Media Strategies | Leave a comment