business – Page 4 – Coastal Carolina Soap Blog

What Was I Thinking?

Last week, I got this great idea to start doing squats. As I really, truly hate squats with a passion, and it was the week I’d determined to do taxes, which is also not my idea of fun, apparently I was truly a glutton for punishment. I thought about doing an abs challenge, and my abs could use more work, but crunches don’t faze me. I started with twenty squats, which is bad enough. Feeling all good and mighty, I googled “30 day squats challenge.” Oh crap! I was supposed to have started with FIFTY squats. FIFTY!!! 5-0. There’s that many Shades of Grey. (There was masochism there, too. Hmmm…) Well, I was determined to do this, and it’d be dumb to give up before I even started because it might be hard.

I gamely did my fifty squats, and I felt great! Great, that is, until I tried to walk down the stairs. The Big Bopper sang a song back in the 50s called “Chantilly Lace,” and one of the lyrics says, “A wiggling walk and a giggling talk make the world go round.” Pay attention around the :37 mark.

(I promise, I won’t tell if you start getting up and dancing around your office. It’ll be our little secret!)

So the 30-day challenge starts with 50 squats. No big. Except for the fact I had that “wiggling walk” going on and could barely make it down the stairs safely. Day two kicks it up a little to 55 squats. I was almost working up a sweat with these, and in trying to figure out what to do with my arms, I thought, Hmmm… I could add a curl to this and work my arms, too. Right after, the probably more rational part of me said, “That’s crazy talk!” I was good as long as I stretch my legs before walking, sitting down, standing up, or climbing stairs. You can imagine how challenging going to the bathroom painlessly was. That more rational side of my mind was beginning to convince me to give up. Just quit. Let my thighs quit hurting and get back to normal. Then the crazy, business woman side of my brain kicked in.

“Quit!? Are you kidding me!? No!!! We’re not going to quit just because things get a little hard. Remember, pain is weakness leaving the body. Now, quitchur bitchin’ and do today’s squats.” I didn’t have time to knock out my 60 before church, but I was on them afterwards. Before I went upstairs, I took a detour into the garage where I keep my work-out equipment and grabbed a hand weight. (I couldn’t find the other one, but I did find my younger daughter’s missing soccer ball, so for today, I was BEST MOM EVER!!!) I went up and changed out of my dress and heels and added arms to my squats. Know what? Today’s squats were easier. I’ve still got a little bit of that wigglin’ walk going on, but I’m getting around OK.

Sometimes, business is hard, too. That promising customer doesn’t reply back to my email. That batch of soap suffers a grand mal soap seizure so that the beautiful swirl I envisioned looks more like a particularly nasty crime scent. A wholesale stockist closes its doors. One of my girls or I get sick right in the middle of putting together a huge (talking multiple hundreds) item order.

Around every September, I think about quitting. Just selling off all my remaining inventory, getting rid of most of my ingredients and supplies, and enjoying life without curing racks and with plenty of space to work on some sewing projects I have queued up, and it’s usually because of one particular account. Then, ego kicks in, and I don’t have any desire to give up my customers and accounts to anyone else. They’re mine, darnit, and I worked very hard for them! So I muscle through, and you know what? As I’m plowing through the work once again, I discover that a whole bunch of my colleagues and friends also think about quitting once a year, so I’m not alone in this.

I will beat on. I’ll grit my teeth and gut through 26 more days of this 30-day squats challenge. I’ll keep pushing my business, knowing that huge growth often follows those thoughts of quitting. And I’ll be stronger and better for it.

Buddy Holly plane crash probe may be re-opened

How Indies Beat Stress

I am a member of a great organization called the Indie Business Network. There are oodles of benefits to being an Indie, but I would have to say that our Facebook group jumps up to the number one reason for me. It’s like having a support group at my fingertips 24/7 for anything – questions about business; rants about the increased cost of shipping; or support when home, school, and business all overwhelm me. It’s also a great place to celebrate that huge stack of wholesale orders and to laugh with other business people. I know from experience that, when one member is just totally sinking, the leader of the organization, Donna Maria, will reach out to that member by email and/or phone to lend personal, one-on-one support and guidance. Been there, done that, still enjoy putting that guidance into practice. (“Mom, can you wash my clothes after my sister’s?” “I’m not in charge of laundry. You’ll need to ask your dad.” Oh my gosh, that felt soooo good to say yesterday!!!)

There comes a time in every Indie’s life and business, though, when the stresses get to be too much. Money is tight, supplies are low, and when you go to look for your customers, you hear crickets instead of cash registers. On top of that, one of the kids is sick, the cat has to go to the vet, and the septic tank is backing up. What’s a business owner to do?

This came up for discussion this week in our group, and I offered to compile all the suggestions, including some of my own, into a blog post to share with everyone. We all have our own unique ways of handling stress, and you hopefully can find inspiration from our ideas. I promised anonymity, so there will be no names attached to these.

Drunk elephant riding

(1) “Get drunk and ride an elephant.” One member did this as part of her personal retreat to re-evaluate her business. It’s come to represent to me doing something so totally different from your personal norm that it shakes up how you view things. Closely related to this is…

(2) “If there’s no elephant available, get drunk and ride a hot guy.” Because, seriously, unless you’re in Asia, Africa or a zoo, elephants are hard to come by. Sex is great stress relief! (My husband suggested making the UPS guy verrrry happy. Hmmm… “What can Brown do for you?” just takes on a whole new meaning when you put it that way, doesn’t it?)

(3) Spend time taking care of you first. I love this message about taking care of yourself for 24 hours. Do things just for you. Call it being selfish, if you will, but that time can make you such a better parent or business owner.

(4) Cuss. A lot. Loudly. To hell with acting and sounding like a lady! If a man building a house were to hit his finger with a hammer, he’d be cussing up a storm. A woman building a business takes her hits, too. She should feel free to express her anger, hurt, and frustration in crude, primal ways.

(5) Be in the moment. Do what feels right for you in that moment. Cry. Laugh like a maniac. Whine. Gripe. Scream. Experience the catharsis.

(6) Enjoy some chocolate and wine. Dark, milk, or white. Liquor-filled or basic Doves. Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, or Sweet Muscadine. Indulge responsibly. I have found that a glass of dry white accompanied by some dark chocolate m&m’s can greatly improve my outlook on life.

(7) Get yourself into some hot water. Whether your prefer a milk soak, bubble bath, or bath salts, grab a book, maybe some wine or chocolate, possibly even the guy from point #2, and sit back in peacefulness. Leave your stress in the tub and watch it go down the drain.

(8) Escape. Take 15 minutes to yourself. Take half a day for a trip to a day spa. Take a night away in a B&B. Take two nights. Or three. Or a week! Unplug. The world will survive without you for a few days. Close the doors on the business for a while and come back refreshed and recharged. I try to take 15 minutes to myself each evening and an overnighter at least every other month. These times away from my business and family make me a happier mom and a more productive owner. As I said in our group, I love my girls, and I love them even more after some healthy separation.

(9) Exercise. Yoga, running, walking, lifting weights or whatever works for you. Just do it. Get those endorphins going and cleanse your mind as your sweat out the stress.

(10) Finally, reassess. After going through any or all of these de-stressing routines, determine what you are gaining from your business. Is it spending money? Is it extra income for your family? Is it the reward of being your own boss? Your business should be benefiting you in some way. If it’s not, then it’s time to assess whether this is the best choice for you. Stepping aside and looking at your business from a new angle can help put things in the right perspective.

I’m sure you have your own ways of beating back stress, frustration, and hopelessness. What works best for you? Share them so we can learn from each other.

Some Are Not What They Appear

Poorly cut grass and well cut grass — “Professional” grass mowing

Take a look at this picture. The grass in the foreground was cut by a so-called “professional” lawn mower company. The grass in the background (up to the driveway and just beyond it), my husband cut. The “professionally cut” lawn is scalped – cut way too short – and was cut wet. I took this picture 4 days after it was mowed, and it’d rained some in the interim. By contrast, Peter (aka “swirl god”) mowed our yard, cutting it wet (it just hadn’t had a chance to dry out between showers), but mowing it with a 20″ push mower and high. The “professional” service uses a heavy-duty, top-of-the-line riding mower, has the big trailer, nice truck, and so forth.

The point I’m making is, not everyone who presents themselves as a professional knows what they’re doing. My husband is a true professional lawn care expert, knowing both the chemical care needs of various types of grasses and the best way to maintain those lawns. The company who butchered our neighbor’s lawn has demonstrated repeated ignorance of lawn care.

I see this same behavior in my industry. There are hundreds of great soapmakers out there. There are dozens of fabulous cosmetic manufacturers I know. Then there are the rest. They’ll claim their lotions are “all natural” and “preservative free,” not realizing the safety value of preservatives in lotions. That always leads me to wonder, Are they ignorant of good manufacturing practices, or are they intentionally mislabeling? Some soapmakers will say they make their own soap and do so without lye. That’s pretty much impossible, because without lye, there’s no soap – not the real stuff, anyway.

I’ve seen other soapmakers claim their soaps as “all natural” and “fragranced with essential oils.” Yet, they leave me wondering, Just which part of the gingerbread cookie do you have to press or distill to get the essential oil out? So-called “professionals” from all fields – not just lawn care and cosmetic and soap manufacturing – drive their businesses on their own ignorance and that of their customers. The part that really bothers me, though, is that these business owners or employees can cause some significant harm and expense for the people they deceive and who are ignorant enough or gullible enough to believe them.

Having business cards doesn’t make one a professional at anything, any more than wearing a choir robe means one can sing. Professional people exhibit certain characteristics.

True professionals start at a place of knowledge. Those of us who have been in the business for a long time know that it takes a lot of time and hard work to become an overnight success. Before we start, though, we learn as much as possible about our business fields.
True professionals never stop learning. Whether it’s books, forums, peers, videos, seminars or conferences, professionals always look for what more they can learn.
True professionals accept feedback graciously and seek to learn from it. Being defensive helps no one, and certainly does not keep customers.
True professionals work with integrity. Whether it’s a mislabeled soap or shooting weed and grass clippings onto a neighbor’s yard, accepting responsibility for sub-standard work only makes one look better.
True professionals realize that appearances don’t matter as much as quality work. I see lawn care companies in old trucks and open trailers do exceptionally good jobs on lawns. I mean, every. Blade. Of grass. Is. The same. Height. I watched one guy, and was just waiting for him to get out the ruler and scissors. Yet, the guy who cut the lawn above has jazzy equipment but doesn’t know his stuff. A soap company can look charming and adorable on social media, but doesn’t know correct labeling or the difference between fragrance oils and essential oils. In absolutely every facet of life, the inside needs to match the outside.

What other characteristics do you see in companies or businesses that strike you as being truly professional-grade?

I Quit!

CHOC Walk 2009 (Photo credit: Denise Cross Photography) – Thought this was appropriate, as one of our movies was “Aladdin.”

Last week, I quit. I quit work for the most part. I quit the business for a week. In fact, I quit everything but motherhood. My older daughter was at camp, leaving me home alone with my younger daughter for a whole week. What a treat, as we haven’t gotten to do this in about a year!

We did all sorts of fun things! We went to the library and got books. We went to the beach with my mom. We got haircuts. We watched movies – lots of movies. We read books. And we cuddled. That was the best part, that cuddling.

I checked my business email once a day, and the Wee Princess and I went through boxes and boxes of soaps to parcel out which ones we’d be donating. Then she helped me organize those in my storage space. I made phone calls, did housework, and made products while she napped, A couple of days, I napped, too. So, I didn’t quit completely; it wasn’t a planned break, so I didn’t think it would be fair to my customers just to close up shop completely for the week.

The break was restorative and a great lead-in to beginning school this week. It taught me something valuable, too; it taught me that I can, in fact, give myself a break from running my business full-tilt, and the world won’t come to an end. It reminded me that my goal isn’t to build a lasting legacy through my business. My primary goal is to raise two kind, compassionate, giving, loving, brilliant daughters. Teaching them those character traits is the legacy that’s most important to me.

Email as a Productivity Suck

Think Different Wordle (Photo credit: Ian Aberle)

Email. Love it or hate it, most of us rely on it as a speedy, efficient way to communicate. I use it for everything from general shared things (links and pictures), to grocery lists, to business matters. It’s faster than old-fashioned “snail mail” but less invasive than a phone call. I’m in the habit of checking my primary two email accounts daily, and I used to check them both every morning while sipping my pre-breakfast water. But an article I read which one of my fellow Indies posted changed that. (That link is well worth the read.)

As I read this list, even in the midst of our absolutely insane last month, two things resonated with me the most: #2 – “Don’t check your email first thing in the morning,” and #6 – “Define your goals the night before.” Wow. With two events and three large orders, how easy it would be to implement at least those two goals in order to be more productive. So, the next morning, I denied myself the obsessive urge to check my business email. I skimmed my Facebook feed, tidied up my Gmail a bit (that’s my social email address), then ate breakfast and read for a few, completely oblivious to what might be in my business inbox. After breakfast, I showered, then focused on some of the items I needed to get done for my events and customers. In fact, it wasn’t until early afternoon before I ever got to my email, and nothing needed my attention. That night before going to bed, I wrote my to-do list out on the dry-erase board and slept soundly, knowing there wasn’t anything that I was forgetting.

The article points out that reading email first thing in the morning makes a person more reactive than proactive. The day before, my time was my own, focused on my goals and my agenda. There was nothing I had to deal with that had cropped up, leaving me free to work as I wished. The second day, I got cocky and checked email in the morning as was my habit. In amidst the usual notifications and alerts, there was an email from one of my wholesale stockists. Yes, I read it. While I didn’t respond to it then, it stayed in the back of my mind until I did deal with it, distracting me from giving my tasks 100% of my focus and attention. That alone was enough to encourage me to stick with waiting before checking my business email.

It’s been ridiculously easy to liberate myself from looking at my business email first thing in the morning, though I have had to become even more intentional about that since fixing the email app on my phone. It all comes down to boundaries. During the day, my time belongs to my girls, my business and myself. While my customers are certainly the lifeblood of my business, there are many times when my business itself needs to be my focus, when I’ve got to be OK with putting off emails and phone calls until that batch of soap has been put to bed, or while that batch of lip balm is setting up. There are other days, though, when my lovely customers come at the top of my day, and I can push other things to afterwards.

The to-do list has been a harder discipline, not because I don’t know what to put on one, but because I keep adding to it all day. During our academic year, I would identify 2-3 key goals for that day, and if I just met those goals for my business, then I could keep things going just fine. This time of year, that list expands to 6-7 items just for my business, nevermind the plethora of household tasks that demand my attention. However, my nights are more peaceful and my days more productive when I take 2-3 minutes to create a list before going to bed.

What tips do you have for improving your productivity each day? Feel free to share for everyone’s benefit!

The Value of Relaxation

I’m a busy woman. I’m not bragging about that at all. I don’t use my busyness to get out of things if I can help it. I don’t take pride in my busyness. If anything, I feel ashamed of it sometimes, because I think, “Maybe I can manage my time better.” But, the fact remains that, between running my business, teaching my girls, chauffeuring them from Point A to Point B, managing the household and coaching soccer, I am very busy. But not for long. Those running around days are coming to a close. The soccer season won’t last forever. And our Summer Break starts at the end of May. There will soon be time to breathe.

Given all this busyness, all these responsibilities, all the minutiae of things that need my attention, it is very hard for me to stop to chill. I have two children who demand that I stop to play with them every so often. Last week after their swimming lessons, they asked if we could do free swim some. I said, “Sure.” OK, in my mind, I was saying, “But I’ve got to type that blog post and take those pictures and get through our academic lessons…” The “Yes” won out, and we enjoyed an hour-and-a-half or so in the pool together, swimming and playing… and laughing. By the time we got home, I was feeling very mellow and relaxed, which set me up for a very productive afternoon.

Last Wednesday, I blew off a small group study on raising better kids to enjoy coffee and smoothies with an acquaintance-turned-friend. I was looking forward to it with a little trepidation. Would April and I have enough to discuss to fill the hour-long break we had from motherhood? Oh yes, plus some! When the time was coming to a close, neither of us was ready to get back to the demands of motherhood, having enjoyed getting to know one another better and discovering all we have in common.

Last weekend, I took time to liberate myself of all responsibilities. My best friend and I had planned for me to come for a visit after our soccer games were over. My heart blossomed as I spent time with his daughter, and he said a few times, “She opened up to you more than she had the whole time she was here!” We shopped; spent time with his mom, who’s one of my dear friends; went out to a great dinner; attended church (can I get an AMEN for rich spiritual nourishment!); then chilled with Netflix for a while. We talked and laughed and cut up, and I left feeling completely recharged. Not once did I check my business email or worry for a second about the batches of soap awaiting production.

Then came yesterday. So much to do, and only one car between hubby and me (his died last week, so he’s been using mine for work). Swimming lessons and hair appointments and necessary Easter shoe shopping for the girls and… A rain day. That meant he didn’t have to work, so I had the car to get things done. Unfortunately, the timing never worked out with the girls’ swim teacher, but Hubby worked with the girls on their techniques, our youngest, especially. I was going to sit and watch, using my phone to catch up on emails, blog posts, and so forth, but at the almost last minute, I grabbed my suit and towel and decided to swim myself. How wonderful it was taking this opportunity to exercise and play in the pool! We also managed to get everything else done.

I needed these breaks. I needed the mental breaks with my girls, new friend, and bestie to play and laugh. I needed soccer and yesterday’s swimming time to exercise. I needed to fall asleep on the sofa last night to refresh and rejuvenate my mind and body. I needed to stop for a while, because it was only in allowing myself to stop that I could once more go full speed ahead with fresh ideas, goals, motivation, and agendas.

What do you do to stop yourself in order to get a fresh start?

Just Can’t Do It

Business (Photo credits: www.roadtrafficsigns.com)

It seems like my computer is starring in a soap opera. First, my Wee Princess spilled water on my laptop, rendering half the keyboard inoperable. Then I purchased this great wireless keyboard, which had been working great – until last week. I took it back to Staples yesterday, where they put the “that was easy” in the exchange. I brought my new keyboard home, and it worked great – for about three minutes. Then it started doing the same thing.

No way, I figured, for two keyboards to be lemons when the tech said this was the first he’d ever heard of this happening. Then it dawned on me: Perhaps one of the “ctrl” keys on my laptop itself is the problem? You see, the problem is, certain keys are acting like keyboard shortcuts, so I type “n,” and a new window in Firefox opens up. “P” brings up my printer box. I popped both of the keys off, finding nothing that would be holding them down.

My computer geek friend, Ellen, said to go on ebay and buy a new keyboard, then go to YouTube to figure out how to swap it out. OK. Fine. Because, as much as I don’t want to spend any more money, the fact remains that I do most of my business work on my laptop, so not having it perform to meet my needs is frustrating, to say the least.

I found the keyboard that goes with my laptop for a cool $12.79 with free standard shipping out of (I think) New Jersey. Sweet! Eastern seaboard means it could arrive before the expected delivery date of Friday. Then I noticed that this seller has a “Bill me later,” and Paypal is extending a special offer – $10.00 off your first purchase (if you qualify). I could get this keyboard for under $3.00. Woohoo! Sign me up! *click*

But when I got to the page, I just couldn’t do it. Maybe it’s all the Dave Ramsey books and knowledge, but I just could not sign up for a line of credit. The money was there to pay it off quickly, but I just could not bring myself to do it. Mostly, I was afraid I’d get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and forget to pay it. So I backed out of that page and just paid for the keyboard directly from my Paypal account.

So what does that have to do with my business? Since I use Paypal’s services, they send me emails about their offerings, including Bill Me Later. I’ve thought seriously about adding that option to my web store, but something keeps stopping me. Now that I know exactly what all Bill Me Later entails, including the outrageously high interest rate (19.99%!!!), I can be very content with not offering this service. You see, my family is working very hard to get out of debt, and we know first-hand how easy it is to get into debt, and how hard it is to get out of it. As a business owner, I realize that people will use credit cards to buy products. However, as an ethical business owner, I just can’t bring myself to offer my customers a way to get into debt out of convenience. That’s all there is to it. My customers are valuable to me, and I’m going to look after y’all every way I can, not just with awesome soaps and body products.

I am curious, though. Would you be more willing to buy a product (any product) with a line of credit, or would you rather pay for it out-right?

It’s All About Customer Service

Today is my birthday, and the sweet treats of the day started this morning when one of my Divinity School professors guest preached at church, and my parents came down to join us for worship and to take us out to lunch. My parents love fried seafood, and since miserable winter weather had prevented their trip to the beach last month, they wanted to go to this great local seafood restaurant, which was fine with us. The restaurant serves delicious food, and we’ve always had enjoyable dining experiences there.

We arrived at the restaurant, and wow! Was it crowded! We put our name on the list, and the hostess told us it’d be a 20-minute wait. We could hold out that long. That twenty minutes ended up being much longer than imagined.

We waited more than 20 minutes, and still no table. My husband checked THREE times to see how much longer, and he was told, “You’re the next big party on the list. It shouldn’t be much longer now.” FINALLY, OVER an HOUR later, we hear the hostess call our name (barely) from inside the restaurant (She had been poking her head out to call customers who were waiting outside). We go inside, and she’s seating a party of 6 who had just come in. I pointed out how long we’d been waiting, and she simply said, “Sorry.” I informed her that we had two very hungry children in our party, and she said lamely, “Oh, I didn’t know you had children with you.” What should that matter? She didn’t even offer to make arrangements for us to sit down until after I asked to speak to the manager.

She sat us at a very cramped table for five and said she’d get a chair for our youngest (age 4). Ten minutes later, and still no chair. Another five minutes pass before the manager comes over. I explained how the actions of the hostess were far from the standards of even halfway good customer care, and he apologized, told me he’d inform the owner (cynical me doubts that will happen), and assured me it’ll never happen again. I was unpleasantly surprised that he didn’t offer to comp us anything for the extraordinarily long wait or the hostess’s lackadaisical attitude. I would have expected him to offer to comp us drinks or an appetizer at the minimum.

Our server, Ashley, did redeem the bad service experience with her own warm, energetic, courteous, attentive service. The hostess and the manager both had opportunities to practice what I call Super-Amazing Customer Care, and here’s where I think their learning opportunities lie:

(1) When you have made a mistake, admit it. The hostess first gave a flippant “sorry,” followed by a bit of sarcasm, topped off with an I-don’t-care shrug. In reality, however it happened, she skipped our names. No one likes being wrong, and being caught messing up at work is pretty embarrassing. Been there, done that. This happened to me in December. I had missed a whole product subcategory when I was updating my inventory numbers on my website; as a result, a customer ordered soaps I didn’t have in stock. I contacted her about the problem and offered her a solution to make it right.

(2) A little sacrifice now will prevent a bigger loss later. To be honest, I would have liked for the hostess to unseat the group she pushed in front of us and explained her mistake. That doesn’t seem just to me. At the absolute very least, the manager should have offered to comp us something – drinks (tea, Coke, chocolate milk, water) or an appetizer. The actions of the hostess and the manager make me rethink returning to that restaurant, and I posted a less-than-favorable review which could possibly cost this restaurant business. In the mistake I referenced from a sale in December, I shipped her the one soap I did have in stock, two other nice ones, a small lotion, and I promised to ship at no cost the soaps she ordered that I didn’t have as soon as they became available. Sure I will lose a little money off this, but at the same time, it’s worth it to me to make a customer happy.

(3) One person can turn around a bad customer service experience. In our case, our server redeemed our lunch time, providing warm, prompt, enthusiastic, energetic customer service. We did almost, however, leave the restaurant, not wanting to expose ourselves to more poor service and giving another restaurant the opportunity to give us the service we deserved as paying customers. That reality is there, regardless of the business you’re in. Whether you’re a mechanic, restaurant owner, doctor or soapmaker, if you don’t take care of your customers, someone else will.

What are some customer service lessons you would add, either as a business owner or as a consumer?

Learning and Geekgasms

I’m currently reading The Cost of Discipleship by DIetrich Bonhoeffer, and as soon as I’m done reading this book, I’ll be studying it with a good friend of mine. As I read the book, I kept thinking, I really need to learn biblical Greek. That’ll be fun. I’ve been told I have a very strange idea of “fun.” This will be learning Greek for the sake of learning it; other than increasing my knowledge, this won’t benefit me significantly.

Yeah, I really love learning new things, be they academic, theological, soapy or technological. Part of the learning is also a way for me to keep my brain active. I firmly believe in the old axiom, “Use it or lose it.” By learning new things, especially at my age, I’m forcing my brain to work in different ways. Today has been a day of learning, and it has been so exciting to me! The fact you’re reading this blog HERE at my website shows you one of the things I learned today. After over a year of wanting to move my business blog from Blogger to WordPress, all while harboring a secret desire to be like “the big kids” and have my blog directly on my website, it finally happened today, pretty much all in one swell move. One colleague suggested one thing, everything clicked into place, and then it was purely a matter of putting it together. I called it a Geekgasm! It was awesome!!!

I’m also learning my way around Google+. I participated in a phone conference about leveraging G+ for my business, and that was so incredibly informative! I learned things about G+ that convince me it’s far better for my needs than Facebook, and the things I can do with Hangouts…! Oh. My. Gosh! Those are going to be a whole ‘nother blog post. I’m so excited about the possibilities for my business, and being able to share these with you!

What great and wondrous things have you learned lately?

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