Successful Blog

Tuesday, September 15: Social Media Road Trip to Lake Geneva

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Not the Same as College

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Offer a social media person a car for a few days and what happens? A social media road trip.

In the course of event sponsorship conversations, Hope Betram of Windy City Social was offered a chance to test drive GM LaCrosse, but she’s a city girl. So she invited Theresa Carter, Beth Rosen, and me on a road trip to Lake Geneva to put the car through its paces.

Hope has extensive experience as an event planner, so no simple day trip would satisfy her. She connected with the Grand Geneva Resort and arranged for us to stay there. We chose September15 -16 to accept the invitation to be guests at their beautiful facilities.

Hope and Theresa plan to check out the tourist city for the afternoon. Beth and I are planning a serious work retreat to finalize some details of SOBCon2010.

We’ll try to tweet you or make a video to let you know how things are going.

What I like about this offer to share their products is that the two savvy companies “get” that social media is about bringing people together, not pushing their products. I’m betting I’ll remember their products and services better because of friends and stories — not sales pitches — attached to them.

The whole trip has taken on a kind of “free taste of the ice cream at Baskin Robbins.” feeling. Maybe we’ll like this one, maybe not.

Will you be in or near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin while we’re there? Tweet me @lizstrauss

I make connections
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

3 Simple Ways Passionate Problem Solving Attracts Clients

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When Passion is Sound Business

Creativity at Work

People say “do what you love.” Passion — a deep-seated desire to be doing what we’re doing — is key to keeping our interest through the pain it takes to transform an idea into business. But is passion enough? Not really.

It’s no surprise that passion needs to be directed toward solving a real problem that people need solved. If our passion is simply self-serving … well, I’m nice, but who really cares what makes me tick? Everyone is doing their own ticking and no one has a rewindable clock.

3 Ways Passionate Problem Solving Can Attract More Clients

As passionate problem solvers, what and how we present to clients and customers changes.

  1. Be an Advisor. Do the thinking. Builders offer products and services. Problem solvers listen, assess, and offer sound-thinking solutions that meet customer needs and desires. Demonstrate how you can focus on one bit of the business so that the client or customer can work on the rest.

  2. Be a Value. Demonstrate with numbers how investing in you will make more time or more money.

  3. Be Easy. Choose a tiny shared goal that can test the relationship. Make it something small and something easy.

When we’re talking about our passion, we don’t worry about whether we’re selling. When we frame our offers as opportunities that are easy and worth investing in, we no longer get caught in the idea of self-promotion or worry about personal rejection. We’re fully engaged in the ideas. People see our strengths. Relationships happen by attraction.

Clients who want to grow with us see the logic in our reasoning.

Have you got enough passionate problem solving into your work?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Check out Models and Masterminds too

WordCamp Seattle Keynote and Master Classes on Attracting Clients

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WordCamp Seattle — September 26, 2009

WordCamp Seattle is only 13 days away … What an event it’s promising to be. I’m going out early and on the day before I’ve got a small offer for folks who want to fire up their business at the same time that they fire up their blog.

 

WordCamp Seattle Is Sold Out!

Great to hear that the Seattle community is coming together for what will be another great WordCamp event.

Friday Night will be a pre-WordCamp Meetup
Location announced soon … watch the WordCamp Seattle blog.

Then the event opens …
When?
September 26th, 2009 at 8:30 AM
Adobe
801 North 34th Street – Seattle, WA 98103

Look who’s going to be there and click to see what they’ll be speaking on.

AN IGNITE SESSION AND MORE!!

Thank you, Josh Harrison, Calvin Freitas, Bean fairbanks, and Dan Smith, the WordCamp Seattle committee, for having us!!
I hear it’s sold out! Will I see you there?

I’m Bringing a Master Class to KickStart 17 Businesses

I’ve been thinking about the conversations I had I with Seattle folks since I was there for Gnomedex last month. Many of the people I was speaking with were changing up their businesses or looking for new clients. Flights and accommodations made it such that I could be in Seattle a day early this trip. A day isn’t much time, but it’s enough to help a few folks get their business moving at full speed immeditately.

So, I’ve made arrangements to offer a Mastermind Session and a Group Class on attracting new clients immediately. With help of a Seattle friend who offered space, I’m able to do this at a fraction of my usual consulting fee.

Liz Strauss: Authentically Attract Clients Who Love Your Work

Let’s get together and get your calendar filled with client work.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Raise your influence and income. Be Seen! Be Heard Be Hired!

Beach Notes: Getting The Catch In

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by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

Last week we saw the fishermen watching and waiting for their next catch.
This week we saw the fishermen working together to bring in their catch. It was fascinating to see the way they moved together, with speed and precision, to empty the net and get the fish into the large, blue ice-filled containers on their truck.

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Like ballet on the beach.

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Is your team focused on getting the “catch in” ?

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

Thanks to Week 203 SOBs

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Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

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growing-happiness

They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

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Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

One, Alone, but not Lonely … in the real world

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I've been thinking . . .

about the number one, about being alone and being lonely.

I’ve been thinking about how separate we are for almost as long as I’ve known me.

One. I was born one.
One of my friends — a twin — said that he so didn’t like being lonely that he was even born with someone else. But you know, I don’t even think being born with someone else closes the gap … between selves.

No matter how close two people get, we are never each other.
We will always be one.

It’s why I like this picture.

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The minute we try to blend with another … be it a friend or a lover … hopefully we learn that alone is not the same as lonely.

One, alone, but not lonely is a proud and powerful word in the real world.

Have you felt the difference between alone and lonely?

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