Lessons Learned In 2013 - Get Off The Couch

I’m a couch potato and I’m not afraid to say I am, however my sister informed me that I needed to get off the couch more. At first I was a little insulted, but when I stepped back and looked at what I did once I’m home from work, I realized the couch and I had become best friends.

I use TV as a form of stress release, but I also was using it as a crutch to procrastinate and not live my life to the fullest.

I didn’t want to miss my shows, but I wasn’t writing like I wanted, I wasn’t socializing like I wanted and I wasn’t doing more things with my family like I wanted.

It was a big wake up call.

This year I’m using my calendar more often and scheduling ME days, family days, writing days, girlfriend days. It’s time to get off the couch and back into a fun life.

Are you glued to your couch?

Did you miss the other lessons - CLICK HERE TO READ

Lessons Learned In 2013 - Mentors/Coaches Are Important

Having someone who encourages you and only wants the best for you can make your life a lot easier. I have three women who helped me through 2013. From them I learned so much and that having a mentor or coach is very important to moving forward in your life.

My writing mentor, Dr. Linda Beed always starts my week off with a morning call, saying how are you my sister in success. We talk about writing, but what I love about our talks is that we inspire each other. She gives me ideas for my writing or for SORMAG and I do the same for her.

Writing is a lonely business, so you need someone who has your back and won’t let you slip into your pity party. You need someone who understands writing and how to encourage you to continue on your publishing journey when you think all hope has failed.

Thank you Ms. Linda for helping me become a better writer.

In 2013 I stepped out of my comfort zone and joined a challenge about Fear. This challenge opened my eyes to a lot of things, one important one was I was ready to work with a life coach. The good thing I about LaTara V. Bussey is that I felt comfortable with her, which helped me say yes to more coaching. I liked that she got me, she understood my fears, and she didn’t let me wallow in them, she designed a course to help me maneuver around it.

Thank you LaTara for helping me better me, which in turn will help me, be a better writer and business owner.

Also want to give shout outs to two ladies who are not my official coaches, however the wisdom they shared helped me grow as a business owner. LaShanda Henry and Cheryl Pullins. If you want to learn about how to stay a successful online business or how to build a brand, these are the ladies to follow. Hopefully one day I will be able to call them my coaches. Thank you LaShanda and Cheryl.

I’m thankful for learning the importance of a mentor and coach because growing is what we want to do in life. Sometimes that means stepping out your comfort zone and asking for help.

Do you have a mentor or coach?

Did you miss the other lessons - CLICK HERE TO READ

Online Promotion Challenge

CLICK TO JOIN TODAY

Lessons Learned In 2013 - Admit You Made A Mistake

This is the third lesson I learned.

Admit You Made A Mistake

In the previous lesson, I explained how I made the mistake of using slang in my email. When I received the email from my client who was truly upset with me. I could have blown the email off and said it wasn’t that serious.

However I had to consider my clients feelings and how the email mad her feel. I prayed over what to write and sat down and wrote my email. I admitted my mistake and apologized. I didn’t know if she would accept my apology. Thankfully she did accept my apology and we are back on building a better relationship.

Another example of admitting your mistake is when I purchased some Christmas gifts from someone online. One of the gifts didn’t come in. For four days, I tried to get in touch with the company using the telephone number they had listed on their site. I finally sent a email telling them of the problem. A few days later someone called me on the phone. They apologized for the problem with the phone which was hanging up on the customers when it put you on hold.

A few days later I received a 20 dollar credit.

The company admitted their mistake and apologized. Sometimes that’s all the customer needs is to hear you say there was a mistake and you apologize.

I’ve learned that I’m not perfect, so I will make mistakes. However I’ve also learned to admit when I’m wrong and to apologize and hopefully move forward with the relationship.



Have you ever had to admit you made a mistake?

Did you miss the other lessons - CLICK HERE TO READ

Lessons Learned In 2013 - Be Professional Always

This is the second lesson I learned.

Be Professional Always

I always keep my emails professional when it comes to communicating with my clients. The one time I slip up and use slang, nearly cost me a friendship and a loyal customer.

I normally don’t use slang when I write emails, but My Bad has become popular, that I sometimes use it without thinking. This was one of those times, I wrote it without hitting the return button after it and it came across not how I intended.

I offended a customer and it took a few emails to clear up the misunderstanding.

It taught me to always remain professional, even when I’m talking to a friend. If we are doing business, treat the email as a business email.

Never, ever assume everyone understands slang. My bad, turned to very bad.

I was able to salvage the relationship and I also learned from my mistake.

Hopefully it will help you to remember to stay professional.



Have you ever had an unprofessional moment?

Did you miss the other lessons - CLICK HERE TO READ

Beyonce Is Doing It Right

Beyonce surprised the world with dropping her CD on Friday 13th. She told her fans and her fans told their friends. She sold over 800,000 CD in one day.

That’s the kind of word of mouth you want for your writing or your business.

I’m on Beyonce mailing list, so I received her email about the CD, but I never got a chance to read it because her fans jumped on the social media and they went wild with talking about how great the CD and accompanying videos were.

Where you one of those who downloaded the CD without hearing one song?

I can say that I didn’t download the music, only because it’s on itune and I don’t do itune.

However I did hear the music this week and I will be getting a copy of the CD once it comes to where I buy my music.

Here’s what you can learn from Beyonce:

1.  Have a fan base. A fan base are who buy your books. This is your gold. You want to know who is buying your books and you want to know how to get in touch with them.

If you don’t have a fan base, start yours today.

2.  Word of mouth is still KING. Beyonce couldn’t have paid for all the free advertisement she received from her fans and their friends.

Talk about your book, have your friends and fans talk about your book.

3.  Social media can help with promotion. Beyonce fans were on social medias. All of them. Talking about her CD, taking pictures, writing FB status, sending tweets. They were everywhere, talking about her CD.

Are you on social media? Don’t miss out on this free promotion place. Find the places your readers are and sign up and engage with your readers.

4. Don’t miss a sale. My only complaint about Beyonce tactics is she sold the CD only on itunes for the day. She moved to other places later. However she lost a lot of sales because everyone is not on itunes.

Don’t miss out on sales because you don’t sell your book in all the right places that the readers are. Choosing one place to focus your sales, means you are losing sales from readers who buy from other places.

What do you learn from Beyonce?

SERIES - Lessons Learned In 2013

Lessons Learned In 2013 - Stay Current
http://lashaunda.blogspot.com/2013/12/lessons-learned-in-2013.html

Lessons Learned In 2013 - Be Professional Always
http://lashaunda.blogspot.com/2014/01/lessons-learned-in-2013-be-professional.html

Lessons Learned In 2013 - Admit You Made A Mistake
http://lashaunda.blogspot.com/2014/01/lessons-learned-in-2013-admit-you-made.html

Lessons Learned In 2013 - Mentors/Coaches Are Important
http://lashaunda.blogspot.com/2014/01/lessons-learned-in-2013-mentorscoaches.html

Lessons Learned In 2013 - Get Off The Couch http://lashaunda.blogspot.com/2014/01/lessons-learned-in-2013-get-off-couch.html

Lessons Learned In 2013 - Stop Procrastinating

http://lashaunda.blogspot.com/2014/02/lessons-learned-in-2013-stop.html