As some of you might already know, I’m an entrepreneur, marketing specialist and consultant. I’ve been helping other entrepreneurs and small business owners with their marketing initiatives for over ten years. As part of an effort to make a difference in our community, during this Holiday Season I would like to offer my skills to help a non-profit organization with their marketing initiatives Free of Charge.

Yes! I’m inviting all non-profits, preferably those within the arts or related field to take advantage of this this opportunity. The main reason I’m doing this is to give back to our community and to show my support and appreciation to those organizations who are making a difference in our lives. To apply you must send me the following information in a word document to art@yimy.com and put “The Spirit of Giving” followed by the name of your organization in the subject line:

• Name of non-profit
• Address
• Contact name and title
• Contact email address and telephone number
• A short description of your organization
• Why should your organization be selected and how will my services benefit you?

Selection Process

I will choose the organization based on your answers as well as on other behind-the-scene evaluations. I will not share any of the information I receive with any third party company or individual.

Deadline to submit application is December 23rd, 2010 and I will announce the selected organization by December 30th, 2010. I look forward to receiving the applications and helping the selected organization make a bigger difference. Happy Holidays.

The Launch Pad was the #1 US Global Entrepreneurship Week partner (out of 1,174 participants) in 2008 and repeated as the top campus partner in 2009.

Are you an entrepreneur? Want to learn more about building a successful business and turning your passion into a profit? 2010 Global Entrepreneurship Week at UM will feature women in entrepreneurship, technology entrepreneurs, health and wellness entrepreneurs, media entrepreneurs, culinary entrepreneurs and restaurateurs, international entrepreneurs and fashion entrepreneurs. All events are FREE and open to the community, but please note pre-registration is required for some events.

For more information and for the 2010 Global Entrepreneurship Week agenda, please visit http://www.thelaunchpad.org/gew

The New Rules of Marketing and PR

Many business owners and marketers focus on selling something directly instead of creating a content-rich website or blog. Most people use the Internet to do research before they commit to something; therefore, creating a content-rich site will attract visitors to your site. David believes that content brands an organization as a thought leader in their market and tells the world that you are smart, that you understand the market well, and that you might be a valuable person to do business with.

Let me give you an example of how we were able to help one of our clients sell more products by using content to attract buyers to their e-commerce website. TamarasBoutiques.com is a website that sells perfumes, gift sets, accessories and more. As marketing experts we understand the importance of content, therefore, we built a blog using WordPress that enables them to easily add relevant content to their site. The only problem was that our client started writing content that focused only on their products, which is a turn-off to most visitors. We immediately had to let them know that in order to have better results they needed to create content that would be informative and helpful for their visitors. We explained that if they write content that could solve their customer’s problems or educate them in some way, their company would be branded as an expert in the field, which would then build credibility and as a result entice their visitors to make a purchase.

Tamara’s Boutique’s blog now has content-rich posts that focus more on providing useful information for their visitors. This doesn’t mean that they don’t promote their products on their blog; it simply means that they are focusing more on writing for their visitors, not for themselves. Once you attract visitors to your website you can guide them to any other part of your site. Don’t be afraid to give away content. Try it and you’ll realize how content turns your browsers into buyers.

Even comments on other people’s blogs are considered content. Don’t be afraid to share your content ☺

This is when I had to pause the movie for a second and just sit there in silence while I thought about what that meant to me. Dre knew that if he didn’t confront his fears, he would continue to be scared. Dre was scared, and so was I. That’s when Dre told Mr. Han, “You said that when life knocks you down, you can choose whether or not to get back up! Well, I’m trying to get back up!” Wow, I was inspired and I also wanted to go back out there and kick little Cheng’s behind! I will not spoil the movie for you, ☺ but I will share with you 5 lessons that I learned that will help you overcome your fears:

• Find a Mentor – Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Having a wise and trusted guide and advisor can help you in many ways.
• Prepare yourself – Train, exercise, practice! Get up and do what you need to do to perfect your craft. It’ll give you confidence!
• Set Goals – Knowing what you want to achieve is a great start. Write them down.
• Stay focused – There will always be interruptions and distractions. Don’t let them stop you or hold you back. Don’t lose focus of your vision.
• Confront your fears!

Fear is one of the biggest illusions that prevent many of us from reaching greatness. We can either let fear take control of our lives, or we can fight back to get what we want. I choose to fight! You?

Don’t be afraid to share leave your comments

• Books – I love to learn and the best way to learn is through books. Books such as, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason, KaChing by Joel Comm, Live It, Love It, Earn It by Marianna Olszewski, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, and Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom to name a few, have all motivated me in one way or another.
• Magazines – Like books, there are many great magazines where I get great ideas from. Success, Fortune, Entrepreneur, HOW, and The Artist’s Magazine are just some of the ones I subscribe to.
• Movies – There’s a long list of movies that motivate me every time I watch them. Here are a few that I can think of: Goodwill Hunting, Great Expectations, Fireproof, Facing the Giants, Remember the Titans, Braveheart, The Last Samurai, Vitus, Finding Forrester, The Pursuit of Happyness, Gladiator, Forrest Gump, Casablanca, The Notebook (yes, The Notebook), Life is Beautiful, and Rudy.
• Blogs – With new media becoming more popular and the web being so accessible, there are many websites and blogs that are full of great resources and valuable information. Here are some of the blogs that I like to read periodically: Freelanceswitch.com, Joel Comm’s Blog, Seth’s Blog, and Entrepreneur.com
• Positive People – There are many people who inspire and motivate me: my daughter, my parents, Robert Kiyosaki, Russell Simmons, Edward Bok, Oprah, Lionel Messi, Joel Comm, Junot Diaz, Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, Collis Ta’eed from Envato, and Anthony Robbins.
• Negative People – Yes, just as I get that push from positive people, I also get it from negative ones. Whether as a challenge or because they envy you, there will always be those who don’t believe in you or that don’t want you to succeed. I will not give any names because the truth is that these people are not important in my life. They’re just a motivational wind for me.
• Material Things – Let’s not lie to each other! Wouldn’t it be nice to be driving a brand new Range Rover Sport? Don’t you want the financial freedom to buy your dream home or studio? Money and material things are not the most important things, but lets face it, who wants to be broke? Money is not the root of all evil; it’s what you do with the money that might cause evil! So don’t give me that crap that material things are not important to you and do not motivate you!
• Love – Have you ever fallen in love with someone who wants nothing to do with you? Even if you’re a Brad Pitt or a Jennifer Lopez, I’m pretty sure that you’ve been in love with someone who just doesn’t love you the same way. Some of the best love songs, poems, paintings, and creative ideas have been inspired by such love or lack of. Being in love could be a double-edge sword, but it’s up to you to make that decision. Will love motivate you to do your best or will you perish in pain and misery? I think I rather paint a masterpiece than rot in a dark room. Who knows, I might impress that person I love
• The Weather – Have you ever woken up on a Saturday morning to the smell of Fall, where the wind hits your face and the sun is perfect to take a walk while the falling leaves pave the way? That works for me! Nonetheless, some people love the rain, others the snow, and a couple of coo-coo puffs get a kick when there’s a hurricane! Whatever it is that motivates you, take advantage of those days and get cranking!
• God – People who believe in God will always tell you that in life you must always put God first. Well, this list is in no way in order of importance, but the main reason I put God last is because to ME, it is important. Every time I write something I make sure that I have a strong introduction to grab your attention, and a strong conclusion to make you think or take action Because I believe in God and I am grateful for all His blessings, He’s the only ONE I depend on for everything, including motivation. The rest of the list is simply a decision.

Tell me, what motivates you? What gets you going? Leave your comments.

I’ve been guilty of this for a long time and I’m fed up with it! I’m done with just thinking about the important things that I need to do and not being proactive enough. So instead of wasting more of my time doing things that will not make me money or help my business grow, I will stick to writing my goals down, setting deadlines and becoming more proactive. I’m a big believer that we must write everything on paper before putting into action. I’ve been practicing this for a while now and it has contributed to the accomplishments of many of my goals. This means that if it works for me, it could work for you. You can write things on paper, a notepad, or use a computer program like Microsoft Word to create a to-do list. Here are two examples of what my lists look like.

I use both. Whenever I don’t have a computer with me, I just write things down on my notepad and then I might transfer it to my computer. I also use my iPhone to organize my list and then I just email it to myself. If you’re a person like me, then you will use a combination of tools to write things down. Now that I’m fed up with wasting my time with unproductive things, I’ve made a list of the important things that I need to do. I also try not to overwhelm myself by putting too many things on the list. What I do is write down one of my most important goals and then break it down into smaller tasks. Writing down too many big goals might put too much pressure on some of you and that’s when you go back to doing unimportant things like checking your Facebook and Twitter accounts for hours.

Facebook and Twitter are great resources for networking and building relationships, but they’re very easy to get hooked on and spend a lot of time just chatting with your friends. You have to ask yourself, is what I’m doing really benefiting me and my business? Social media can be of great benefit, but like everything else you must have a plan, preferably on paper, before you take action. Being proactive is one of the most important characteristics that sets a successful person apart from a dreamer or a nagger. Don’t let unproductive things set you back and paralyze you from conquering your dreams.

Here are a couple of things to remember:

• Write everything down
• Learn to be Self-Analytical (What are you not doing)
• Don’t write too many things on your to-do list. Focus on one major goal at a time.
• Don’t spend too much time reading/answering emails, reading news, Facebook & Twitter
• Be proactive!

Now that you know some of the things that were stopping me from getting things done, what are some of the things that stop you from being proactive? Leave me your comments.