Special Teleseminar Wednesday!

Join Danette and I for a special teleseminar on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 10 am PT/1 pm ET. We will be discussing ways to help you grow your business.

-Pricing have you stumped?
-Unsure how to get attention for your business?
-Undecided what to put in a proposal?
-Wonder whether it is better to have IC's or employees?

We will be covering all of these questions and more!

You can listen online at Errand Guru Talk Radio or call in at (646) 478-4999 to listen in on the phone.

Don't worry if you can't be there live, you can listen in later to the archived segment on the website. If you have a question that you want answered, just email me at info@ecsuniversitytraining.com.

We will have an online chat available during the segment so you can ask your questions off air or you can ask your questions live on the air if you call in!

Newsletter overload!

I have enjoyed receiving different newsletters over the years from various business people regarding different topics. During the last six months, the number of newsletters has steadily increased, as in I receive over 10 a day, as people have sent me referral after referral for a new and exciting newsletter they think I should read.

While I have enjoyed some tremendously (I sit next to my computer waiting for them to come in. OK, not really sitting there waiting, but will open them immediately when they do come in), there are others that I have read through and tried to enjoy, but they just were doing nothing for me. Some cover topics I really want to know about and some of the others cover topics that just don't interest me now or anymore. Most of the time I have just been forwarding the newsletters I like and hoping that I can read them at some point in the future.

Today was my breaking point! Instead of just deleting the newsletters I don't want to read anymore as usual, I decided to take a stand. I started to unsubscribe myself from the newsletters. As of last count, I unsubscribed from six of them. The list will continue to dwindle as I continue to decide which ones are helpful and which ones are a waste of my time.

For the ones that I like, I have been taking the main points and compiling them into a document for future reading. For those newsletter where the article is a long one, but one that I enjoy, I am holding on to those. I have a Yahoo account and folders set up within the account where the newsletters go. This has helped me to cut down on the ones I save and the ones I hit the delete button on.

While it is always good to educate yourself and learn from others, there comes a time when too much information will put your brain into overload and then nothing makes sense. You need to figure out which newsletters work for you and focus on the material contained inside each one specifically when it comes in. If it is something you enjoyed and may come in handy at a future date, then you can save it.

From this point forward, I am going to be spending the next few weeks weeding through hundreds of newsletters that I have not had the chance to read yet. I will be opening all of the newsletters I want to read each time they come in and read them on the spot. I will either put the information in my document or forward it for future reference. I refuse to be a victim of newsletters anymore!

Grocery Shopping 101

Danette Moss, owner of LAD Concierge Group and Live Life Outsource The Rest, has a new e-book out for $19.95! It is called Grocery Shopping 101. Visit http://www.ladconciergegroup.com/ for more information.

Here is what her introduction has to say:

Everyone needs groceries in their house. Last year U.S. households spent $3,240, on average, for groceries according to the American Express Everyday Spending index. The study also found consumers' consumption of fast food increased by 43% over the past year, bringing the average amount spent up to $720 per household. Food expenses represent a substantial percentage of household budgets.

This book was created to show you a way to provide a solution to consumers by providing this wonderful niche service to them. Since everyone has to eat, grocery shopping has become one of the top 5 niche markets in the Errand and Concierge Industry.

Not only will you “give your customers back time” or “make their life easier”, but you will show them that the benefits go deeper than time and an easier life. You can help them keep food expenses from going through the roof, save them from impulse shopping, dragging children in the grocery store (which can sometimes be a nightmare), and shopping after a long day at work by incorporating new ways of smart shopping into their regular routine by putting them on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule that will change their life forever.

In this book Stocking Break Rooms and Kitchens, I will discuss everything you’ve always wanted to know about from how to set up your services to pricing. So take a leap into this wonderful Niche Mark et where you will not only provide wonderful services to your clients, but you will benefit monetarily (Chi-Ch’ing).

Errand Guru One Day Intensive Retreat

If you want to get started in the right direction or you have started your business and need some additional support, then join me for this one day intensive retreat. You will have my undivided attention from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning. You can ask any and all questions you have during this time. For someone who has been in the industry for 10 years, I will be providing a wealth of information for you during this time.

DATE: May 30-June 1, 2008
TIME: 9 AM - 5 PM Saturday, May 31, 2008 for seminar
LOCATION:
Pali Mountain
30778 Highway 18
Running Springs, CA 92382

The facilities feature a refreshing swimming pool, challenging hiking and jogging trails, numerous sporting fields and basketball courts, and a plethora of exciting adventures.

PRICE: $375.00

WHAT IS INCLUDED:
Five meals (Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast)
Accommodations for two nights (Check in is Friday at 4 PM)
One day of intensive training
Errand Guru Workbook

AGENDA:
The Basics
Day to Day Operations
Pricing
Customer Service
Marketing and Advertising
Proposals and Contracts
Websites and Software
Staffing Your Company
Niche Services

Minimum of 25 people and maximum of 40 people

Angel Wilder reserves the right to cancel the Errand Guru One Day Intensive Retreat if there are fewer than 25 participants registered as of May 16, 2008. Angel Wilder will accept responsibility only for the reimbursement of the Retreat registration fee and does not reimburse for purchased travel tickets or other expenses in the event of cancellation. If you will need to purchase travel tickets to attend the Retreat, it is recommended that you purchase travel insurance in case of cancellation. Your early registration is appreciated and helps to avoid cancellations. Refunds will not be made for cancellations received after May 16, 2008.

Contact me at angel@angelatyourservice.com for more information.

Insider Secrets of Using Web 2.0 and Social Networking

If you're not using social networking sites for your business, you could be missing out on a lot of valuable traffic. You can learn how to use Web 2.0 tools and social networking sites to do just that. And you know you need traffic in order to have the opportunity to ask visitors to subscribe to your newsletter, get your white paper or buy your products and services.

Hot on the heels of their successful teleseminar on how to use Facebook for Business, my colleagues, The Blog Squad, are hosting a brand new class on how to use Web 2.0 and social networking sites to drive more traffic to your business. It is the "Insider Secrets of Using Web 2.0 and Social Networking to Get Thousands of Warm, Hungry Visitors to Your Web Site".

The Blog Squad grills Michele PW, Your $Ka-Ching! Marketing Strategist, and Mary Pat Kavanagh, Queen of Connections, on Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

Registration: $20 includes live event and mp3 audio file
Register here >>> http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=2372929

During this teleseminar you'll learn:
* The psychological reasons why people are using Web 2.0 and social networking in the first place (understand this and you are LIGHT YEARS ahead of what most marketers are doing with it so you'll be FAR more successful)
* How you can use those psychological triggers to position yourself above your competition (and reap more traffic and sales in the process)
* What are the different social media and Web 2.0 sites and which ones are right for YOUR business
* The best way to position yourself so you will continue to get high quality traffic REGARDLESS of what's happening in the social media landscape
* Time-saving tips so you CAN get the most of your social networking without it sucking all your time.
* And much more!

Register today.

Find out what you'll learn about using social networking sites for your business and secure your spot now: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?Clk=2372929

To your continuing success online,
Angel Wilder

David Neagle's Just Believe event

I had so much fun at David's event yesterday. I met lots of new people and came away with some valuable information and a new prospective on things I have been doing in my life and business. It was an all day event and I was tired at the end, but it was well worth the push I gave myself to go. I wanted to share a few photos of myself and some people that I was excited to finally meet. If you recognize some of them, it is because I am either affiliated with them, mention them in my seminars and radio show, or use some of their guest articles in my newsletters.

Alexandria "The Ezine Queen" Brown

Lorrie "Red Hot Copy" Morgan-Ferrero

David Neagle

Have you taken advantage of my sale yet?

There are only 13 days left until my sale ends!

I currently have my best selling book, Starting Your Own Errand or Concierge Service, on sale for $25.95. That is a savings of $14! I probably won't have book on sale again for a long time. Purchase it now!

Spring 2008 Book Sale

I also am giving those that are interested in my Ultimate Package a chance to pay for it in 4 payments. The cost of the package is $1100, with four payments of $275 each. I am also offering FREE SHIPPING to those that take advantage of this special!

Ultimate Package Payment Plan

Visit http://www.angelatyourservice.com/ for more information.

The gas pumps are guzzling my money!

OK, I was born and raised in Southern California. Why I choose to stay here is a mystery. I was at the gas station today and saw that the most expensive gas is now at $4 a gallon. It is now $4.25 per gallon for diesel. Pretty soon I am going to have to buy a bus pass or get a scooter to take care of errands for my clients. I think I might just stand at the side of the road with a sign that says "Will work for gas money!" As an industry that requires us to drive, drive, drive, there has got to be a way to not gouge our clients, but still make a profit. Here are a few tips to help you out:

1. I work in a square. I use my office as my starting point and work my way in a square. Because my service area is split into four quadrants, I can have four people take care of my entire service area at once. This way no one is going back and forth and wasting gas or time. You can also split your service area into several zones. Each zone would have a specific radius.

2. Schedule as many clients as possible in the same area for the same day. For example, I have one staff member who completes five dog walks in the same neighborhood on the same day. She drives out to the first house, parks, takes care of all of the dogs, walks back to her car, and then drives home. One drive to and from. This same method can include taking care of several employees at once at a particular office to provide a similar type of service. For example, I took three cars to a local car wash in one afternoon.

3. Charge a temporary fuel surcharge. I received a newsletter from my travel agency I am associated with and several cruise lines are increasing their fuel supplements. All of the courier companies, including FedEx and UPS have a fuel surcharge in effect. FedEx is charging a 20% increase for the month of April for their Express service and UPS is charging a 20% increase for their international services.

Whatever you choose to do to help you out in your business, make sure that it is right for your customers and your business. After all, we all go in to business to make a profit.

Concierge Service guides editorial

As the owner of an errand and concierge service, and as an expert in the industry, from time to time I will purchase other guides out there to see how well written or poorly written they are. I recently purchased four e-guides and would like to provide my opinions on them.

1. The FabJob Guide to Become a Personal Concierge Business Owner

I was truly impressed with this guide. To begin with, the layout of the guide was user friendly and helpful. There were instructions to direct you to each part of the guide. After giving it a read over I found that it was full of helpful information and I felt someone could learn useful things about the industry reading this guide. Well worth the money.

2. Style Career.com’s Breaking Into and Succeeding in Concierge Service

I was not impressed with this guide at all and requested a refund, which I promptly received. The information, in my opinion, seemed like it was gathered from various places on the web along with a few interviews and then put together. The information contained in it was very basic and did not have as much meat as I thought it would have for the price.

3. 125aday.com Publishing’s Start Your Own Concierge Service!

This guide is a total scam. It did not mention once how to start your own concierge service. It was basically a how to start a (you insert whatever industry you want) business guide because the information contained in it was about starting a business in general and not the how to’s in regards to any particular industry. I was appalled that they would try to sell this information as a step by step guide. Because they have strict return policies, I could not get my money back, as I downloaded it as an e-book, but I did write two scathing emails that were never answered. Stay far, far away from this guide. It is so not worth the money.

4. Concierge and Errand Service Business Startup Guide from www.doit-4-u.com

RIP OFF!!!!!!!!! I had to contact Paypal after my claim was denied and found a nice gentleman who heard my story and gave me a refund on this guide. I sent numerous emails to the owner of the website over a several day period and did not receive one response. He states that he has been in business for 15 years, but I don’t see any of it in this guide. His “forms” are taken from Microsoft Office. While he has gone in and cleaned up the look of the website, my dog could have written a better guide. Do not waste a penny on this guide.

These are just my opinions, but for someone who has been in business for a decade and continues to run a successful business, I think I have an idea of what makes for helpful information and what doesn’t. The final decision is up to you, but I wanted to give you a heads up on what is available for those in the industry.

What's blooming in your garden?

April is just around the corner. With that comes National Gardening Month. Have you ever just spent an afternoon taking out weeds in your garden and planting seeds or small plants in some fresh, rich soil? Watering every day to make sure that whatever it was bloomed, whether it was vegetables or a flower bush? Weren't you bursting with pride at your accomplishments?

What about your family or your clients? Do you take the time to care and nurture them the same way you would your garden? I have a teenage son who drives me nuts. I know his hormones are raging out of control and he acts up from time to time, kind of like weeds that start to grow in your garden, but when I nip the problems in the bud, I continue to cultivate a fine flower, or in this case, son. If I wasn't taking care of my son the way I would my garden, the garden would become overgrown with weeds and the flower would start to wither away. Not taking care of my son could cause his problems to escalate to the point where they become out of control, which can lead to other problems in the future.

The same thing is true with your clients. If you don't take the time to build that relationship with them and take care of their needs, they can shrivel up and die. Just as flowers and plants need different types of food, different amounts of water, and different amounts of sunlight, your clients need different amounts of attention. Some may need more handholding than others. Some may have certain quirks or peculiarities that you will need to deal with. Others may be very wishy washy and you may have to remove them from your garden of clients because they are not fitting in well. How you treat your clients will be reflected in how your garden looks to others. Take care of them well and you receive a blue ribbon. Take care of them not so well and your garden becomes an eyesore.

Look at your own gardens and find out how you can take care of them properly so that they can fully bloom all year long.

My apologies!

I realized this morning that I have been neglecting my words of wisdom. Not because I don't have any, but because life came along and took me on a wild ride for the last few weeks. For this I apologize.

While I understand that you can only truly connect with others if you interact on a regular basis, I hope that those of you who have been waiting with bated breaths will continue to look forward to my future words of wisdom as I learn everyday about what can happen in life in general.

My mom collects Mary Engelbreit items. She loves to purchase different Mary items and share them with others. She also loves handwriting notes of wisdom and love to those in the family, as well as share her $1 words with everyone else, even those she is writing a complaint letter to.

Our words share emotions with those we are communicating with, whether it is happiness, excitement, anger, or fear. While a person can be much more pronounced with their feelings when they are visually in front of you, the written word, whether it is a poem or book or newsletter article, can evoke people to stand up and petition for what is right or wrong or get them to look at a situation in a different light or even bring joy to their life.

Use your words wisely when speaking with someone. You never know when you may spew your own words of wisdom.

Valentine's Day....

As I sit here pondering Valentine's Day tomorrow it has me wondering why we have to have just one day a year to say how much we love each other. Do you take your love and bottle it up somewhere only to open it up one day a year? Guys stress out each year knowing that they have to raise the bar for gifts as the years go on and women get heartbroken if a guy forgets or does not perform to her expectations.

Let's face it, most guys are not into the mushy displays of affection in order to prove their love to you. Most women demand proof of a guy's love in a tangible form. Why don't the little displays of affection, such as breakfast in bed or a single rose just because, count? Why do people have to pour billions of dollars, over $15 billion to be exact, into one day of the year? I would rather have 365 days of little displays of affection than just one big one.

And why is it that guys are somehow obligated to spend more than women? Do women feel that when you were born that you have a price sheet that comes with you for gifts and that you are not allowed to go over that quota? I can't count the number of times that I was out on a date and paid for it or purchased gifts just because with no expectations for something in return because I don't want to keep track of what I have or have not done for the opposite sex.

When someone feels an obligation to do something, somehow it seems to me that it then cheapens the thought and feeling behind the gift. When someone offers a gift to someone else, it should be because they felt compelled to want to show the recipient how they really felt, whether it is excitement over a new baby or proud of someone's graduation or their love for someone.

What does Valentine's Day mean to you?

Are you reading the fine print?

Today I showed up at Office Depot about 10 minutes before it opened in order to purchase a new printer. There were several people there to purchase a laptop that was supposed to be on sale for $299. Once the store opened, there were about 20 people there for the laptop. Turns out that the price is over $400, you receive a $100 instant rebate and then a $75 mail in rebate. In addition, you cannot pick up the computer in the store, you have to order it and then wait about 10 days to receive it. In addition, you need to tack on an additional $100 to cover tax and shipping. Boy were people pissed to say the least. Office Depot is going to catch some heavy backlash on this one. I picked up the ad and started to read it while my husband was picking up a few items. Most of the information was in fine print.

The problem with fine print is that most people do not read it. Even when it comes to agreeing to terms and conditions on the web, people don't take the time to read them, they just click on the "I Agree" button. I admit that I have been guilty of this before. I just want to finish what I am installing or doing and hit that button without even glancing at the words. I guess for small purchases most people don't care, but when it comes to big purchases, I hope that you do read the fine print. Even when it comes to electronics or even cell phone plans, there are many loopholes that the companies create for themselves so that they can get out of any sort of binding contract if it doesn't suit them.

Do you do this with your clients? I don't have any fine print on my contracts or other places. I try and make everything noticeable and when I go on consultations, I will go over all of the paperwork so that everything is understood. This way a client can't come to me afterwards and say that they don't want to pay something because they didn't understand or they don't want to pay because they think I am nickel and diming them. If they have to follow my rules, I need to follow them as well. I don't try to create loopholes, but people always look for one.

Make sure that whenever you are dealing with your prospective and current clients that all of the terms and conditions are laid out for all to see. Once they start dealing with you, they don't want to break out their magnifying glass to see what the real deal is and you don't want to deal with backlash like Office Depot is going to, even if on a small scale. People talk and I know because my husband went into Petco and saw a couple we had just seen at Office Depot who had been trying to purchase that laptop. Needless to say, they had nothing but negative things to say about Office Depot and stated that they will not be shopping there any time soon.

What will your customers say about your fine print?

Are you very social?

Social networking is the buzz word for 2008. Yes, we know all about the old fashioned networking events we have subjected ourselves to in the past. The ones where we show up with our pile of business cards and hope to find new leads. While those types of networking events are still good, if you know the right way to work a networking event, there are others ways to network with others outside of the small confines of a room.

Myspace and Facebook are two of the big ones, but there are so many other social networks out there. There are ones specific to gender or age, ones specific to hobbies, musical tastes, careers, and so on. I am a part of LinkedIn and Plaxo. Once you join these networks, take the time to add contacts, post thoughts on a subject, comment on someone else's posts, or even drop notes of encouragement or just to say "Hi".

With the internet allowing us to move our boundaries outside of our city limits, networking with others online allows us new opportunities to meet new clients or build relationships with vendors or even to visit new places and do new things.

Take the time to jump on the social networking bandwagon as you never know what opportunities may pass you by if you don't. If you don't at least give it a try, you will be like that little kid who always watches the other kids outside having fun from their bedroom window because they are afraid to join in.

Does pricing scare you?

No one likes to talk about money. Whether it is how much money you earn each year or what you charge per hour. For many people they are uncomfortable or fearful when asked information about their pricing. In turn, the people asking can sense your fear and uncomfortableness with the situation. Some will take advantage of you while there are others who won't, but they also may not give you a chance either.

So what are some of these fears that you may have? Do you feel you lack the experience to match your asking price? Do you think you are charging too much? Do you think that if you charge the price that you do that your prospective clients will move on to someone else who is cheaper? Are you unsure how to overcome objections?

I have people tell me all of the time how pricing is one issue that they have when it comes to running their business. They are unsure how much to charge or what to tell people who inquire about their prices. If they tell someone a price and that person objects to the price, they don't know how to tell them that they are worth it. When I started my business, I didn't want to price myself out of the market, yet at the same time I wanted clients. I was not very confident with my pricing and it showed in the type of clients I had at the beginning.

There are several things you can do to help you overcome your fear or uncomfortableness when it comes to discussing pricing.

1. Post your pricing. This is a topic for debate with many on one side saying that they post their prices on their website and in their materials, while others only reveal their pricing during their conversations with a prospective client. There are pros and cons to both sides. If you reveal your pricing you scare away those that can't afford you in the first place, but at the same time if you reveal your prices, you might miss out on an opportunity to share with a prospective client how you can take care of their particular needs. Also, once pricing is revealed, that is what a prospective client will focus on. Your other words will go in one ear and out the other.

2. Act confident. I have a take it or leave it stance when it comes to my pricing. When you make excuses for your pricing or discount your pricing immediately, your prospective client then can use this to their advantage to negotiate with you. I have had people state their price and then in the next breath lower it when they hear hesitation. I was guilty of it when I began my business. Be proud of your pricing structure. If you are on the phone or communication via email, be firm with your pricing in the tone of your voice. When talking face to face with someone, look the person in the eye when you state your price.

3. Get training. If you are unsure what pricing is like for the industry, get information from those in the industry who are considered experts or who have years of experience. They will know what it is like to have not been confident with their pricing at some point when they started and they can share with you some tips and hints about what you can do with your pricing.

Once you have decided on your pricing structure, practice over and over out loud talking about your pricing so that you can overcome your fears and have a new found confidence when speaking with prospective customers or even your current customers. Remember, if you don't have confidence in yourself, how do you expect others to?

Why are you in business?

There are many reasons that people give for going into business. They want to be their own boss, they want more time with the family, they want to earn some money to help with the family, they want to create their own schedule, and the list goes on and on.

These are all wonderful reasons, but I also find many are in business sort of as a hobby. They want to experiment with it like some people do marriages. They have the mindset, "If it doesn't work out, I will just walk away." They don't take it as seriously as others who want this to be their career or they want to put as little effort and money into it as possible, but still expect great results.

When the results they want don't happen, they get frustrated. I had a person ask me if they would be able to make what they did in their old job within the first year of their opening up their business. By the way they were earning $250,000 per year. I tried not to laugh out loud, but some of the misconceptions people out there have only hinders them.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it takes work, determination, patience, as well as money to turn your business from a hobby into a successful running company. You have probably heard this saying at least once in your life, "You get out if it what you put into it." This saying goes for a lot of things in life, personal or business.

If, for example, you want to be a tennis player, it will never work if you don't put out the money to buy the right equipment or put in the time to practice your serve or your swing. Going to the courts a couple of times a week isn't going to do it. You have to be willing to put in several hours a day, every day. There are parents who would rather drive around an older car then buy a new one just so they can purchase a top of the line racket or tennis lessons for their child. The passion and willingness to sacrifice has to be there.

I know someone in the concierge industry who had a great job making money, but left it to start her own business. She isn't rolling in the dough, but she is working hard to make her business a success. From some of the stories she has told me, I don't think some of her clients could function without her help.

I get emails and phone calls from new mothers on an almost daily basis who want a job where they can make money, yet be there for their new baby. Deep down, their main focus is that new baby and the business will not work if that is where their focus is. A baby takes a lot of your time. After all of the feedings and diaper changings and caring for their other needs, how much time is really left for a business?

If you are ready to jump into entrepreneurship, don't stand at the shoreline dipping your toes in the water. You'll never get far. You need to dive right in and see how far the tide takes you.

Where have all the names gone?

I have a HUGE pet peeve. Maybe I shouldn't care about these people, but I do. I am part of an industry association. I check in on a weekly basis to see who is still a member and who isn't. One trend I am noticing, is that many of the members do not put their name and/or their location in their profile. Some of them don't even list their phone number.

I try to look at their listing from the viewpoint of a potential client or media person. If I have to struggle through your profile to find out who you are, I will walk away and move on to someone else. If as a media person I am doing a story on several companies in the Dallas area, but I can't find anywhere on your profile or even your website where you are located, I won't contact you. There are so many missed opportunities because someone does not want to reveal who they are in some fashion. I can't understand why they would hide, unless they are in the witness protection program.

If I have a referral for Florida, for example, and I plug Florida in the search box and your name does not come up because you either left out your location or abbreviated your state name, then I will turn the referral over to someone who I can find during my search. If I do a search for California to pass on a referral, but I have no way of contacting you, outside of filling in some page where I have to hit the submit button, I will move on and hand that referral to someone else. I may even find someone who is not a member to pass that referral off to.

I have also noticed when I visit websites that many are vague on their About Us pages. I don't care to know how ABC Errand Service will use their experience to help me with my life. I want to know how Jane Doe or John Smith, who have a background as a hotel concierge or who used to manage 200 people, will be able to handle my needs. I want to know if you won an award or volunteer your time. I want to know why you have the ability you do to help me. This helps establish credibility. Whether the target is individual clients, corporate clients, or a combination of both, the About Us page does not have to be so sterile. Loosen up and share something about you.

Share who you are with the world, or at least your potential clients. You never know what opportunities may come your way.

What are your instincts telling you?

Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out.
— Michael Burke

Animals are great creatures. They can sense when things are going to happen and act on them. For us humans, we don't always get it right. I have had times that I have been around a client or talked with them on the phone or have communicated with them via email, and the red flags were flying high all around me. Something told me that the situation wasn't right or that something in the future may happen. I have had other times where the flags were showing, but I didn't pay attention to them. About eight times out of ten I am right about my instincts.

For example, Thanksgiving week I had a woman call me from out of state for a last minute errand that needed to be completed that day. When I asked for certain pieces of information, she had an excuse why she couldn't send the information to me. Her scanner was not working. When she asked that the information be faxed over, I told her I refused to send it unless I had her credit card authorization on file. It was amazing how fast she got her scanner working.

I had a gut feeling that she would file a chargeback or something in the future, as I had issues getting the money from her in the first place, so I created her own file and included all of the information she faxed me and her invoice, as well as all of the correspondence we had. Almost two weeks ago I received an inquiry regarding this transaction from the credit card company. She was stating that the charge was unauthorized. Fortunately for me, I was able to fax over almost 20 pages worth of information I had to support my decision not to refund her, which was because she owed me the money.

Regardless of what the situation is, when your instincts rear their head, it is usually a good time to listen to them because you never know how they will help you.

Happy New Year!

I hope all of you had a wonderful 2007 and that 2008 treats you right. I have enjoyed sharing my words of wisdom with you and look forward to sharing more with you this next year and many more after that. Even though today is the start of a new year and the slate has been wiped clean, I have not created my list of goals for the new year yet. Why? Because I am off to watch the Rose Parade and then watch the USC Trojans kick butt in the Rose Bowl. Look for more words of wisdom later this week.

Angel

How far are you willing to run?

There is not telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream. — Anonymous

We all dream about things we want, places we want to go, things we want to experience, people we want to meet. For me, my business became my dream. When I first decided to open my doors for business, it was to earn some extra spending money and feel like I was contributing, since I was a stay at home mom.

My husband basically laughed at me and told me that it wasn't going to work. Many times when I first opened my doors for business, he told me to go get a real job. While it got me down, I wanted to prove him wrong. I was going to show him that I could be a success no matter what it took. I put in plenty of long hours surfing the web for information, putting my paperwork together, pounding the pavement, and the list of things I did was endless.

Having three kids and trying to run a household and business kept me tired many nights of the week, but I was bound and determined. I got my first client, who only needed me for a couple of hours, but it was still my first client. Then I had another client come on and then another. Over the years my business has taken off and I am able to enjoy many things, including my dream of a successful business. My husband doesn't laugh at me anymore or tell me my business is stupid or that it sucks. I get to be there for my children, while many other moms are out there working.

The miles I have run chasing my dream have been long and exhausting, but well worth it to finally catch my dream and hold it in my hands.

Are you right or wrong?

It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong.
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I have seen it before in the work environment. People are in such a rush to produce more work and get their their list of things to do done, that they make mistakes and have to sit there and explain what happened and re-do their work. Of course we are not perfect and mistakes will be made, but if you take the time to go over your work carefully and follow the procedures set up, you will have more time to get things done and not spend the majority of it fixing your errors.

In life I have seen the explanations flow from my husband's mouth as well as my children's mouths. They are in such a hurry to get something done so that they have more time to do something else, that they have to go back and do it all over again after explaining to me why it was done wrong in the first place. I always tell them, "If you would just slow down and take the time to do it right, you would end up with more time in the end."

My mom's friend owns rental property. In the past she has hired the cheapest person to do the fastest job and in the end has had to go back and spend more money to get the job done right instead of just doing it right in the first place. Not only did she lose more money, but she lost more time. I always would tell my mom, "You get what you pay for." If she would have just put out the money in the first place, it would have been done the first time around. Doing it her way ended up costing her more in the end.

The next time you feel yourself rushing through something, take a moment to ask yourself if you are doing it right or will you have to do some explaining later.

Do you force time or yield to it?

Who forces time is pushed back by time; who yields to time finds time on his side.
— The Talmud

In the Little House on the Prairie days, families would do all of their chores without the help of technology and yet they were able to have gatherings, visit with family and friends, and enjoy life. Later on, fathers worked all day outside of the home and mothers worked all day inside the home and yet they were able to have gatherings, visit with family and friends, and enjoy life. Nowadays, we have so much technology that it is overwhelming and yet we don't have time to get together or visit with family and friends or enjoy life.

When we try to force more than 24 hours in a day, we are pushed into a corner with all of our obligations hovering around us. When we use our 24 hours a day wisely, by saying "No" and outsourcing or delegating and using technology for good, and understand that those are the boundaries, we will find more time. Even buying time, by using errand and concierge services, can help you yield to time's boundaries.

We all want to sit down and relax, but never seem to find that time. We push ourselves and push ourselves. I love the Rascal Flatts song "Mayberry" because the lyrics below are so true.

Sometimes it feels like this world is spinning faster
Than it did in the old days
So naturally, we have more natural disasters
From the strain of a fast pace
Sunday was a day of rest
Now, it’s one more day for progress
And we can’t slow down
‘cause more is best
It’s all an endless process

If you are looking for time, it may be best to yield to it and not force it.

What do you overlook?

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. — William James

When we wake up every morning, it is a new day of people we see, places we go, and things we do. Sometimes we are okay with it and sometimes we are not. It is up to us to decide what to look at and what to overlook.

My husband and I have had this discussion over and over when it comes to our teenage son. I have told him that sometimes he needs to overlook things our son does and pick his battles wisely. His dad was very strict and overbearing with him and he tends to have those same issues. I didn't have the same strictness when I was growing up. My mom is still a pushover to this day.

I did not have brothers growing up so I am learning firsthand what it is like to have a house full of boys. Some things I overlook and chalk up to boys being boys. There are other situations that I will step up and deal with because I have to in order to raise my son right. I can't stand my son having his pants hang down past his butt and neither can my husband. I choose to overlook it as a trend he is going through, as he has gone through many during his 15 years of life. I do get on him about it when we are in public, but I do it in a kind way. My husband chooses to be irritable about it and is always yelling at my son about picking up his pants.

My daughter and I were at the grocery store the other evening. As we were heading down the soda aisle, I noticed a woman in a store wheelchair/shopping cart struggling to put some boxes of soda in her cart. I tapped my daughter on the arm and asked her to help the lady out. We ended up putting several boxes in her cart and she was grateful. My husband on the other hand, although he probably would have helped, would have overlooked it because he is not as observant as me when it comes to little things like that.

Some people tend to go through life looking out for themselves and do not notice what is going on around them. I see it everyday when I am driving and people cut other drivers off or turn in front of others suddenly or grab a spot in the parking lot without looking to see if anyone else was there. I see it when I am out in the stores and people don't watch where they are going or just grab things off of the shelf or cut in line. They aren't paying attention to the world around them.

I tend to overlook most of these things as I don't want to have health problems at the expense of these other people's rudeness. Why stress out over something so insignificant? What you need to not overlook are the things that can harm you or your family. It takes a really wise person to decide which situations are the ones worth overlooking. Maybe that is why I have so much gray hair!

Do you set things straight?

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. — Phyllis Diller

How many times have you been in a foul mood and someone smiled at you and everything got better? I know that it has happened to me many times. I could be upset one moment and then feel much better the next, all because of a smile.

In October my daughter and I headed over to Disneyland. On the way there we had stopped at McDonald's for her to get something to eat. I was sitting in the drive thru lane and one of the employees walked by. He said, "Come on, smile. You're at the yummiest place on earth." My daughter and I started laughing and smiling. He was in a good mood and that transferred over to us.

I was at the grocery store the other day and noticed that every employee who passed by me smiled and asked if they could help me with anything. I must of had about six people pass by me and do this. I brought my oldest son with me and he was acting hyper. I sent him on a scavenger hunt to find items to keep him out of my hair. One of the clerks kept overhearing me tell him different items to find. He started getting in on the scavenger hunt. I think I was keeping both of them busy as it was late in the evening and there were not that many customers at the store.

Then I ran out of room in my cart and needed another cart. My son decided he didn't want to push his cart anymore so he sat on the end of my cart and had me pushing my cart with him on it and his cart around. We got to the meat section and there were different signs in the middle of the floor so we started doing figure eights around the sign. We were smiling and laughing and having fun. We took a boring task and made it fun.

We all know that it takes more muscles to make a frown than it does to make a smile. Use those muscles to make someone's day, as it may be the only smile they see all day, and you will feel the effects even more.

Is the moment right for you?

Generosity lies less in giving much than in giving at the right moment.
— Jean de La Bruyere

With Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner, many people dig into their pockets and give. With the fires in California, people have dug into their pockets to give to help those who lost their homes and possessions rebuild. There are still others who have given of their time and efforts to help in other ways. We can all think back to Hurricane Katrina and the tsunamis a few years ago. I still remember the Whittier earthquake back in 1987.

We have always had world events come up, whether they are natural disasters or not, and people give of themselves. It is not about the amount we give, but about giving at that moment. It doesn't have to even be when something is spotlighted in the news. To the person on the receiving end, it is just the fact that you made the effort to be generous to them that counts.

I will always remember the parable told to me about the people who had wealth that gave of their extra overflow in money and the widow who gave her last two coins. She didn't have much to give, but she gave at the right moment. No one would have noticed her and what she gave because to them the amount wasn't significant, but to one person it was.

I looked up some new versions of this parable on the web and Will Shetterly compared it this way: A woman gave a great fortune to charity. Everyone applauded. Then she went home to her mansion and her servants brought her a wonderful meal. Another woman gave five dollars to charity. No one noticed. Then she went home to her little apartment and made a meal of canned soup and crackers.

What you give does not necessarily have to be of monetary value. It is what you give of yourself that makes the moment right.

Are your shirt sleeves rolled up?

The person who is waiting for something to turn up might start with their shirt sleeves.
— Garth Henrichs

I have been frustrated lately with the amount of people I have come across who want everything done for them. It doesn't matter what it is. Many people want to put as little effort into getting things done as possible, but have high expectations on what their return should be.

My oldest son, who is a high school sophomore, decided this first semester to not put in as much effort into his homework and tests as he should have. His school progress report came in and it sucked. I don’t want to reward him for his efforts, or lack thereof. He has three months of not going anywhere to roll his shirt sleeves up and get in and do the work I know he can to raise his grades. He has already started with making the effort to get a weekly progress report from his teacher and he actually started on his community service hours that he needs to complete to graduate from high school.

He had the football coach come up to him at lunch, after he had seen my son play some football at lunch, and ask why he wasn’t on the football team this year. My son had stated to him that because we had just moved here a couple of months ago and he hadn’t trained with the team he was told he couldn’t be on it. The teacher wants him on the team next year badly. I told him that no matter how talented the coach thinks he is, that he won’t be able to play if he does not maintain a certain GPA. I hope that this is the motivation he needs to get going, but the work is up to him. He can’t skate by in life.

When we moved into our house in August, the grass was dead. The tenants before us had not watered the grass for several months. My husband wanted the grass to grow back again. After a lot of elbow grease each week raking out the dead grass after each watering and pulling out of weeds and getting a gardener to come in once the grass started to grow back in, the results are nice. We have a bright green front lawn. Because he had rolled up his shirt sleeves and made the effort, the results have paid off. He could have become frustrated because of the waiting process, but he knew that his work would eventually pay off.

Sometimes the effort we put into a project seems like it is too much for us or like it would just be easier to get someone else to do it all for you, but if we just persevere and accomplish our goal, the reward tastes so much sweeter.

Where's your favorite veggie hiding?

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie.
— Jim Davis

I love vegetables, even if they are not part of a cake, bread, or pie. I am lucky enough to have kids who like vegetables, and I don't even have to find creative ways to cover them up or hide them in their meals. I do have to admit though that I enjoy a good cake, bread, and pie. I was never one of those who was watching my carb intake during the big "Cut Out The Carbs" craze. I love my carbs too much to give them up.

If everyone could incorporate their favorite vegetable into their favorite dessert, I am sure this world would be a much better place. We would all get our suggested amount of daily servings and and enjoy them while we are eating them. There would be peace and harmony....Well, maybe not. I was just imaging people running around trying to get some pumpkin pie saying, "This is a veggie jacking. Just hand over the pie and no one gets hurt."

As they say, "It's the thought that counts." I'm off to enjoy some delicious cornbread and no one better lay a hand on it.

I'm laughing. Are you?

Every survival kit should include a sense of humor. — Author Unknown

Have you ever set back and had a good laugh for no good reason other than something was just really funny? My youngest son makes me laugh everyday. He doesn't always do it intentionally, but the things that come out of his mouth can set me off. They say it takes more muscles to frown that it does to smile. They also say that those that laugh live longer than those who don't.

Now I don't go out of my way to be funny, but I try when I can. Other times, I am just speaking my mind, but it comes across as hilarious. When I was at the ICEA conference recently, two people came to mind immediately who made me laugh a lot. Indra Books and Jackie Farley. Their wit and sense of humor will take them far. I enjoy and try to surround myself with people who make me laugh.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that everyone I hang around with has a great sense of humor, but you have to admit that when you are around friends, colleagues, family, or whomever, you do have a better time when you are laughing. Whether it is a joke being told, a funny story being shared, or just your observations of life, why not enjoy yourself?

If I was stuck on an island today, I would want to find a sense of humor in my survival kit. Have you packed yours yet?

What were you today?

You become what you think about all day long. – Earl Nightingale

This is so true. If you have a bad attitude, then you notice that bad things come to you. When you think positively, you have good things come to you. I have had days where one thing has gone wrong, I dwelled on it, and it seemed that anything else that could go wrong did. On the other hand, I have had other times where something has not gone how I liked, but I didn’t think about the negative part of it. I put on my positive attitude and everything else seemed to go OK.

People can hear it in your voice and see it in your body language. If I am having a rough day, I stop and take a deep breath before answering my phone so that no one can hear it in my voice. I also think about the other person if I am out in public or on the phone. I shouldn’t take out my feelings on innocent parties and I try my darndest not to let them become a part of my bad day.
Sure we all get frustrated from time to time, but you just can’t dwell on it. Many people have been known to get ulcers or have other health issues because they allow themselves to be so overcome with their feelings of anger or frustration that their body can’t handle it.

They say “You are what you eat” and that can be a scary thought sometimes, considering some of the things I take in during the day. Why would I want to become what I have thought about all day long?

Have you been counting the years?

It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
— Abraham Lincoln

When I was attending the ICEA Conference a couple of weeks ago, someone said in their session, "We shouldn't live to work, we should work to live." In the end, you can't take your house or your car or your other worldly possessions with you. All you can take with you are your memories. Why would you want to look back on your life and think about all of the hours you put in at work to just pay for a house that you never had time to enjoy or think about all of the "What if's" that you never got to fulfill because you had your nose to the grindstone?

Sure a person can live to be 100, but what good is it if you never enjoyed those 100 years? I would rather live to be 40 and have enjoyed my life than live to be 80 with nothing to look back on. I enjoy the Tim McGraw song "Live like you were dying". The words in it are so true. For most of us, if you were to ask the question "What would you do if you only had a week to live?" the list of things would be long. People would talk about the trips they would take, the food they would try, the things they would buy, the people they would see, and so on.

Why would it take someone knowing they only had a short amount of time to live for them to put aside the everyday things and finally live like they want to? Another great song I like is Garth Brooks' "If tomorrow never comes". He says in the song "So I made a promise to myself to say each day how much she means to me and avoid that circumstance where there’s no second chance to tell her how I feel." How many people do you know are given second chances? I bet that list is very, very short.

You still have time to live like you were dying. What are you waiting for?

Are you in love yet?

A love affair with knowledge will never end in heartbreak.
— Michael Garrett Marino

I love to read. I don't care if it is a newspaper, cereal box, or book. I thirst for knowledge and enjoy playing Jeopardy every evening. One thing I am trying to get across to my children is that knowledge doesn't hurt you, but helps you out. My youngest son, who loves to watch The Discovery Channel as well as many other channels, gives off all kinds of facts and trivia about all kinds of subjects. (Even though he has been complaining lately that he wants to become an elementary school dropout.) I always brag to everyone because of his knowledge and love for new things he has learned. On the other hand, my oldest son hates to read with a passion. I have tried to get him to read Agatha Christie novels, with some success, but he does not want to sit around taking in knowledge. He wants to be hands on with his learning.

I started thinking about the people who have and who have not attended my ECSU™ seminars and although I know some of the main reasons why they don't attend, such as money and traveling, those that have attended are so appreciative of the knowledge that they have taken in while at my seminars. I love learning and I also love to share and am surprised that so many more people do not want to invest in themselves, whether it is a book, joining a chat, coming to a seminar, or watching informative television shows.

Knowledge is all around us and I'll be the first one to admit that I am having a love affair with it. When are you going to start your affair?

Who's cutting into your leisure time?

The real problem of leisure time is how to keep others from using yours.
— Arthur Lacey

I was in a session at the ICEA conference where the topic was work/life balance. I realized as I was there that I give away too much of my leisure time for others. Some knowingly take it and others just happen to cut into it. I wrote down ideas of things I want to implement so I can get back more of my leisure time. The amount of "me" time left after all of the obligations is very little. Why would you want to give it up?

Many people today are overworked or put too much pressure on themselves to get everything done, which leads to very little leisure time. It seems that everyone gets a piece of the pie called "Leisure Time" except for the person who owns that pie. Take that pie and decide what slices you want to keep and which slices you want to give away to others. I know some weeks I look at my pie and all that's left is crumbs and other times I get to taste some of the whipped cream and filling.

Take a few moments of your time to jot down what you want from your leisure time and ways that you can cut others from dipping into it. I know I have a few new systems that I plan on implementing in the next few weeks to get back more of my leisure time. After all, don't you want your pie and to eat it too?

What do you believe?

I always prefer to believe the best of everybody, it saves so much trouble.
— Rudyard Kipling

I have to admit that I can be very naive at times. When first meeting someone, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt until I get to know them and can make a judgement call then. People in general are good, but sometimes the choices we make lead us down the wrong path. OK, there are some real psychos out there who do not have a good bone in their body, but I don't try and mingle with them. First impressions are usually right, but sometimes circumstances cause the first impression you receive from someone to not always be the right impression.

I have met many people over the years and I am pretty good at picking out who has a good heart and who does not always have good intentions. I recently got to spend time with someone whose first impression I had of them was totally different than how they came across this time. I am so glad that I took the time to get to know them better as I really enjoyed my time with them and I definitely appreciate who they are as a person now.

I remember in school getting to know all sorts of groups and cliques. I wanted to know what the person was really like, not what their public persona was. If I like a person, I will hang out with them, and if I don't like a person, I will have as little contact with them as possible. I made lots of great friends who may not have always fit in, but they were the best friends to have. You got to see the real them.

Don't be so quick to judge someone because you may be letting someone good get away.

What do you regret?

As you grow older, you'll find the only things you regret are the things you didn't do. — Zachary Scott

As we go through the road of life there are always bound to be detours due to circumstances that may or may not be out of our control. If we never re-visit those areas, there are bound to be regrets of views we never saw or places we didn't stop at. Sometimes it is fear that keeps us from returning.

I had gone to college right out of high school, didn't like what I was studying, and then ended up getting married and having children and not returning. I had always had in the back of my heart that regret of not being able to be like many of my friends and get a college degree. Guess what? I graduated from college recently with a degree in Entrepreneurship. It took a lot of hard work and time, but I was able to go back and accomplish something I thought had been a closed road for a long time.

I love to cross stitch, but after having kids, things just got hectic and I never found the time to go back to it. I have now found time again to go back to it because a friend just recently had a baby and I wanted to give them a gift that came straight from my heart and hands. Cross stitching also allows me to relax when I am stressed out as I have to concentrate on what I am doing and the repetitive motion lets me calm down.

I don't want to be one of those persons sitting in their rocking chair when they get older reminiscing about all of the things I would have loved to have done. Instead, I want to be the one reflecting back on all of the things I did get to do during my life. With the kids getting older, I still have a life to live. I want to be able to go to Hawaii and take a cruise around the world. I want to see my kids graduate from college and start their own families.

I am going to do what I can to make sure that I don't have too many regrets in life. What about you?

How much personal space do you have?

I was at Target the other day and I was at a counter that was set up as a register. There wasn't much room. As I was conducting my transaction and getting ready to pay, I noticed that the people behind me were basically breathing down my neck. I leaned over to cover the machine where you slide your card and pay, as a hint to them to back up, and they kept right on talking. Then I leaned over again to punch in a few numbers. They were still up in my space. I said something to my daughter, who has no shame in embarrassing people in public or calling it like it is, and she started saying how people needed to back up and give space. They never did so we walked out of the store bashing them.

Have you ever been in a public place where people invade your personal space? I know that what is acceptable in one country may not be acceptable in another, but come on. Learn the rules. There is no need for you to be practically on my back while it is my turn at the cash register. I would never get up in anyone's space. My sister is very defensive when people invade her space. She likes to give the evil eye. I'll admit that I walked backwards into someone before and never said sorry. When they started to say something, I told them, "If you weren't all up in my business then we wouldn't have this problem, now would we?" She backed up real quick.

I know I may sound harsh, but I get testy when people are hovering on you like flies on you know what. I know that people are building houses on top of each other because there is not much space left, but we are not at a point where we need to be standing on someone else's shoulders for more space. If you see someone is in the middle of a business transaction or looking at a jar of food in the aisle, you don't need to be their right hand man.

Right now everyone is sleeping, so I have all the space I need to write this post. Oh wait, I have to go elbow the dog, she is in my personal space.

What are your limits?

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them — Brendan Francis

OK, I admit that I can't fix a car. Never took auto shop in school and did not care to. So what do I do if my car breaks? I take it to a auto repair person. I accept the fact that I am limited in my knowledge and I moved on.

Many people don't know or accept what their limits are and then they can't move beyond them. When it comes to you, your personal life, your business, your hobbies, your family, or anything else in life, you need to learn what your limits are, accept them for what they are, and move yourself beyond them.

I have been on a treadmill before and was told by a trainer what my limits where supposed to be. I accepted the limits he gave me, but was not happy with them. I was at the gym several times a week and pushing myself each time so that I could go beyond those limits. I was so proud of myself when I got off the treadmill that I was walking around like a peacock strutting my stuff.

That is the kind of attitude you need in life. There are some things that you will never get past your limits, but there are many other things where you can move beyond those limits placed on you. I figured I was pretty much washed up in the college arena. I was older, had a lot more on my plate, and wasn't sure that I would get good enough grades. I would have be OK, not happy but OK, with getting C's in my classes. Once I knew those limits and accepted them, I realized that I had to push beyond those limits. I wanted straight A's. That was my goal. I didn't meet my goal, I got mostly A's with a handful of B's thrown into the mix, but I was happy with that. I pushed myself, even though I was doggone tired many nights, and I was able to move past those limits.

Have you figured out your limits yet? If you know what they are, figure out the steps you need to take to move past them.

Is that bacon I smell?

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. — Doug Larson

My children eat LOTS of vegetables. My husband will order a salad in a restaurant before he would ever order dessert. My mother raised me to eat vegetables, including one green one that HAD to be included on my plate. I have to admit that I like to eat bacon too, but you will find me near the veggies at a party.

Imagine my surprise and horror when my high school age son told me that he knows people who don't even know what a vegetable is or what one looks like. I asked my other kids if they knew people like that and they said "Yes". I can't believe that a parent would not introduce veggies to their child. Not only are they good for you, but they are yummy. Well, except for Brussel sprouts. I have never eaten them and don't think I would ever try. They look gross.

I watched the Shaq TV series about him helping a group of kids lose weight. I was floored by what goes on in our schools when it comes to their lunches and lack of exercise. Poor Tyler Florence was doing his best to get the kids in the school to eat broccoli and they just kept throwing it away.

I think someone should invent a bacon smelling spray. The lunch ladies and parents can then spray veggies to smell like bacon and then kids, and parents alike, would eat more veggies and we wouldn't have a generation that is going to die faster and earlier than the generation before it.

Hmmm....I think it's salad night tonight in my house. I am going to have bacon bits as a topping choice. Eat up!

FRIENDS

With our hectic lives, we sometimes take our friends for granted. They are that shoulder to lean on in bad times and they are someone who makes you laugh during the good times. Friends mean a lot of things, but I think they can best be summed up below.

F - forgiving, fun, faithful, flexible, friendly, funny
R - reliable, relaxed, real, respectful, rational, responsible, reasonable
I - interesting, inquisitive, impulsive, imaginative, impartial, integrity
E - everlasting, energetic, enthusiastic, encouraging, exceptional, easygoing, extraordinary
N - nurturing, nice, nutty, neat
D - dedicated, dependable, devoted, discreet, dynamic, diligent, determination
S - supportive, special, sympathetic, sincere, sharing, spontaneous, silly

Take a moment to think about your friends and which of the adjectives above fit each of them, or think of your own adjectives. Since it is Friendship Month, take a few moments to write them a heartfelt letter telling them why you enjoy their friendship. I'm getting out my pen and paper right now.

What is your perfect summer day?

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. — James Dent

Where we recently moved to, there is a huge lake. This weekend, as I was pulling into my driveway, I could see down the hill to the lake where all of the boats were out on the water. It made me want to run to the lake and jump in. Although I didn't, I spent my weekend just relaxing. OK, I admit that I didn't want to sit out in 106 degree weather, but I was just chilling out and enjoying the last days of summer. I am going camping on Labor Day weekend, which should be tons of fun, but that will be my last big hurrah for the summer.

I remember as a little kid that when my mom started to take me back to school shopping that my summer days were numbered. Fall was around the corner and once again I would be hitting the books and having pages of homework. My lazy days of wading in the pool, sleeping in, and reading my favorite Nancy Drew book all day while dangling my legs over the side of the bed were abruptly coming to a close until the following summer. Although it was only less than a year away, it felt like summer would never come again.

We all get wrapped up in our lives and sometimes we don't make enough effort to just enjoy what life has to offer. Before you know it, the kids are grown, decades have gone by, and you wonder what happened to all of the free time you thought you would have for yourself. If the weather is not too unbearable, make a glass of iced tea or lemonade and sit out under the shade to take in the things around you.

Even if your lawn mower really does work, let it be broken for the day.

Are you open minded or close minded?

Minds, like parachutes, only work when open.
— Anonymous

Sure we may be set in our ways of doing things, especially the older we get, but sometimes it is good to open your mind to new things. How can you experience life to the fullest if you remain inside your box?

For example, I took a cooking class in college. On our first night there we were asked to try a bite of each sample she put out to see if we could guess what it was. Some of the food did not look like I would like it, but I was open to the idea of trying new things. This girl who sat at my table had to make a negative remark with each sample she tried. I knew she wasn't going to come back to class because she wasn't ready to open her mind to new food experiences. Guess what? She never came back after that class. I, on the other hand, was able to try new foods that we cooked in class and found some things that I now like to eat. If I had been close minded to the experience I would have lost out on new knowledge I learned during the course as well as some new foods that I have added to my pantry.

As someone who has been in the errand and concierge industry for close to a decade, I don't shut my mind to new ideas because of my length of experience. I actually encourage people to share their ideas and experiences with me. I have found many new ideas, tools, and technology that I have implemented over the years because I opened my mind to new ideas on how things are getting done or how to do things differently. This has continued to help my business grow and expand to new avenues for me.

What is the worst thing that can happen if you open your mind? Nothing. You can try a new idea or food or technology and find out that it doesn't work for you, but at least you can say that you tried. That's all that counts. Close your mind to the negative thoughts that want to get in, but keep it open for all of the new and positive things you should let in.

Pack rat coming through

You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
— Steven Wright

I was at a meeting yesterday and was talking with a fellow industry member and learned that she does a lot of organizing. We were discussing some of the clients she has and learned about one client she has who has things everywhere. She mentioned that when it is time to clear the clutter, the client is hesitant to throw things away.

I subscribe to a couple of newsletters related to organizing to help me with my business and to learn new information. I have picked up several tips over the years to help me with decluttering my own home. I just wish I could implement them at my mother's house. She has things she holds onto with the idea that she might need it in the future, whenever that is.

My husband and I were cleaning out our garage and I took a good look at some things we had and decided that if I hadn't been asking for it for a while that we would get rid of it. We ended up dumping a lot of things and I felt no shame or regrets in doing so. I actually felt lighter because I didn't have this heap of things hanging over my shoulder.

I have seen news reports over the years where the police have had a hard time rescuing people from their homes or retrieving them once they were found dead because there was so much stuff in the house that they couldn't get to them so easily. I guess they were creative in the ways they came up with to find space for all of the items that they brought into their homes, but I couldn't live in a home where I couldn't see out the windows or move around so easily because things were everywhere or I couldn't invite people over because there was no room for them.

When you die, you can't take everything with you, so why build up your treasures now to the point of overflowing?

Have you had your nap today?

No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap — Carrie Snow

I have dealt with many bad things that have happened along the way in both my personal and business life. Some of those days you just want to throttle someone or you feel as if any and every thing that can go wrong that day will. How do you deal with it? For me, I don't want to have a mental breakdown or find myself in jail because I took my anger out on the person who deserved it. My next best thing is to take a nap. I have this cool eye mask that I bought myself. When I need a good nap to clear my mind, I turn off the TV, all of the lights, put on my mask, and go to sleep. Once I have tossed and turned for a while, because I am still thinking about what happened that day, I go into my zone and rest comfortably. When my nap is over, I feel refreshed and ready to start anew. It doesn't mean that the incident never occurred earlier in the day or that the problem went away, it just means that I can deal with it better in a right frame of mind.

Naps can not be all that bad. My dog takes them all of the time and my youngest son loves to take them. He even stole my eye mask and I have the pictures to prove it.

Fact or fiction?

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything. — Mark Twain

My kids have broken things over the years and then tried to blame it on someone else. I question them and they give me their story. I do a little bit of investigating to see if their story would match the circumstance involved. Sometimes they don’t, so I go back to the kid and ask for their story again. This time it changes a little bit because they can’t quite remember what they told me the first time. Once I ask them questions about things that don't match, they then concoct a different version of what happened. At this point I call them out on the fact that they are lying and after I give them those evil “You better tell me the truth or else” eyes, I get the truth.

Why lie in the first place? You’re going to get caught eventually unless you can remember all of the lies you told. I’ve seen it time and time again. Either in the news where someone murders someone and by the time they go down the story has changed a dozen times or when a guy gets caught cheating because he couldn’t remember what he told all of the girls.

If you run a shady business, your lies will catch up to you and you could lose everything. I just dealt with someone whose lies caught up with her yesterday. My ECSU™ business partners and I had hired a woman to create some marketing materials for us. She had asked for the full amount up front, which I felt funny about doing, but because she was friends with one of my partners and I had seen her work before, we went ahead and paid her all of the money that would have been owed.

First, we had asked for three proofs and never received them. Then she gave us one thing to look at and it was not our vision. We kept going back to her for adjustments and corrections. We had given her a deadline to have the items completed by. That deadline came and went with no products ready. We finally gave up and decided to ask for our money back. We filed a claim and waited to hear word on the outcome of the situation. After almost 30 days, I had heard on Saturday that we had lost because the review team had believed that the items were intangible because the lady had stated that the items were a service.

To say I was flabbergasted was an understatement. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I had called my partners to give them the news and had one of them get on the phone with me so that we could ask these people how this could happen. The items were clearly stated in the invoice sent to us as being tangible items. After talking with a supervisor, the situation was finally taken care of in our favor. He had to dig deep to find out that she herself had stated that the items were supposed to be printed in one of her first emails to them.

He had told us that after that email she had tried to get out of it by stating that the items were a service when they asked for a tracking number. She had tried to find some type of loophole or way to work around the system so that the case was found in her favor. In the end her lies caught up to her and she lost, not only the money she had received, which was refunded back to us, but her friendship with my partner and any new business that we would have passed her way if she had done a good job in the first place.

If you are truthful in your actions you don’t have to try and remember what your lies are.

I've had enough!!!!!!!

OK, I can't take it anymore. I understand that our youth have their styles, but I am about to lose it. I swear, if I see one more young man's underwear because he sagged his pants below his butt, I am going to pull his pants down to his ankles. And if I see one more young girl with a muffin top, the ones who try to shove their fat behinds into tiny pants and their fat has nowhere to go but up and over the top of their pants, I am going to drag them into the nearest store to buy them a pair of pants that fit.

Instead of spending your entire day pulling your pants up and your tops down to cover what's in between, you just need to find clothes that fit properly. Obviously they have to keep tugging away because they see people staring at them. You would think the snickering they hear, especially my comments that are made loud enough for them to hear, would deter them, but to no avail.

I have no shame in calling you out on it if you have no shame in wearing those ridiculous clothes. I call my son out on it in public and I do the same with his friends. I have asked my son in a public place if he had to go to the bathroom. When he asked why I replied, "Because it looks like you took a crap in your pants and it is weighing them down to your knees." Needless to say, the pants went up faster than he could walk out of the store.

My sister and I have our own fashion police thing going on between us and I guess now would be as good a time as any to make a website about these fashion blunders we see on a daily basis. Of course we would put the black bars across their eyes to protect the innocent....from having to admit that they know these people.

The only underwear I want to see from now on are mine as I am putting them on and the only muffin tops I want to see should be on the muffin I am eating. Suspenders anyone?

Aahhh...winter, spring, summer, fall

Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons.
— Anonymous

Have you ever just sat in a park and watched the kids at play? Or what about people watching at Disneyland or somewhere similar? I have and I find it fascinating. Watching the looks of wonder and puzzlement when a small child comes across something new or the smile on their face when they are enjoying something they are doing is great to watch.

Whether you don't have kids or you do, and you can get beyond the crying, screaming, and acting out, childhood is beautiful. I remember when I was younger and how I could turn anything into fun. Whether it was taking a piece of paper and turning it into a fancy folded letter to one of my friends or rolling down a hill of grass and laughing the whole way down, it was a time when I could be whatever I wanted and be free of all responsibilities. OK, I still had to make my bed, but it was nothing compared to the responsibilities adults face today.

There are people out there today who try to take childhood and turn it into something ugly and dirty. Don't let them. For those of you who have children, sit where they can't see you and just watch them for a few minutes. It takes you back to your yesteryear and lets you be a part of your childhood again.

I am going to go down and buy a snow cone machine this weekend and make snow cones again with my son. The price of a snow cone may have gone up from when I sold them as a child, but the memories will always be priceless.

Who throws a wrench in your plans?

My husband did earlier this week. I led a chaotic life as it with three children and a husband. Wait...make that four children. When one of them throws me off, it can throw my whole day off. I was out taking my son to school and thought that I would plan my day smartly and take care of a few of my own errands for once.

I wanted to go in a circle and end up back at my home, like I teach others to do when running their own errand or concierge service. I went up the street and stopped at the dry cleaners. Moved through the parking lot and made a mad dash into the grocery store to pick up items to make two separate dinners. I then ran through the Post Office and went on my way home. Proud at how fast I had accomplished my errands.

I got home and called my husband to come out and grab some of the stuff from the car. He gets to the car and tells me, "Oh, I thought you had stopped by McDonald's to get some breakfast." I wanted to throw the bottle of spaghetti sauce at his head, but thought about the mess I would have to clean up afterwards and how it would throw me off schedule even more, and chose not to. I told him I would go grab some food and then he would have to come back out and empty out the rest of the car.

Although it didn't take long to complete the task of getting breakfast, the fact that it wasn't in my schedule distracted me from what I had planned. Lately, I have tried to stick to a stricter schedule because I have a lot of activities coming up this month, but it just isn't working out like I had planned. Oh heck, until I can get the kids out of the house and whack my husband over the head with my cane each time he pulls a task out of his hat, I guess I will pick up that wrench and put it in my back pocket.

Where are you looking?

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up.
— Jesse Jackson

OK, I admit I think I was pretty geeky in high school. I read a lot and got good grades. I also was known by everyone in school as well. Why? Because I never looked down on anyone. I hung out with the band, the punkers, the jocks, the popular people, the nerds. You name the clique, I knew at least two people from it. When I hung out with someone it was because of who they were on the inside, not on the outside.

Even when I went on to work I would hang out with a variety of people, except the group of girls I knew who never washed their hands after using the restroom. Variety is the spice of life. You never know the story behind a person's life, unless they tell you, that makes them who they are today. So why would you look down on them?

I know people in social settings tend to flock together with their own "groups", but it is always great to get out of your comfort zone and talk to someone who you would never regularly talk you. You never know what you can learn. I LOVE watching Beauty and the Geek. You will usually see the girls talking bad about the guys up front because why would they want to hang out with a geek? By the end of the show they realize that the guys aren't as bad as they thought.

Next time you come across someone you normally look down on, why not look up and see what you are missing.

Are you young or old?

The more one worries, the older one gets; the more one laughs, the younger one feels.
— Chinese proverb

Maybe the reason everyone thinks that I am younger than I am is because I laugh a lot. Just the other day my sister and I were cooking dinner for a family dinner and my mom, two sisters, and myself were standing around in the kitchen listening to the radio. We heard "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" come on and we all started singing and dancing to it. We were laughing and really enjoying ourselves.

I don't mind making a fool of myself from time to time. Now my kids will get embarrassed from time to time, but I don't care. If you can't laugh out loud, then how are you supposed to get through life? I can even sneak a dance in from time to time with my oldest son while he has the radio going in his room. Of course no one is looking because then that would not be cool, but we still enjoy ourselves.

The guys in my family all think that they are comedians, so they like to try their jokes on me. Sometimes I am laughing so hard that my eyes start to water. There are other times when something they say will set me off. Other people may not find it as funny as me, but I am the type of people who visualizes what is going on while people are explaining things to me so if I am getting this picture in my mind when they are talking to me, I can find some things pretty darn funny.

I don't mind telling people my age, which is 35, but I feel like I am 21 and holding because I enjoy life so much and what it has to offer. So if you ever find yourself in the same location as me as hear some goofball in the background, that is probably me laughing my head off at something funny someone told me. (As a hint for those attending the ICEA conference in October 2007, Jackie Farley will be a guest speaker. She is so hilarious, that you will be hearing me laughing hysterically when she gives her presentation.)

My advice to you is to stay young for as long as possible. Laugh more.

Are you lost?

Last night my mom was driving over to my house with my dad. Now earlier in the day I had given my mom directions, again, to drive over on the streets versus the freeway. I had repeated the instructions to her more than once. My dad fell asleep and during that time my mom proceeded to get lost. She spent two hours driving around in circles. Instead of pulling over and calling me when she first got lost so that I could guide her, she just kept driving around and around. Finally she called me and explained that she was lost. I told her to immediately pull over and tell me where she was. I told her to stay put and that I would go to where she was and she could then follow me back to my house. Of course we made it to my house with no problems, because I knew where I was going.

This got me thinking about some of the people I have come across who tell me that they are lost in their business. They are unsure where they are going and continue to go around in circles without really accomplishing much except using up their time and money and getting nowhere. My first response to them is to stop. If you don't know where you are going the first thing you need to do is get directions. You shouldn't ask just any person for directions, but you should ask someone who knows their way around. Once you have those directions, follow them closely. If you don't, you will end up lost again. Once you follow the directions, you should be headed on the right track to end up at your destination, which should be a successful business.

My husband hates to ask for directions, which is his prerogative, but we always end up taking longer to get to our destinations because he is so hard headed. Now on the other hand, I don't mind asking for help if I am lost. Why? I would rather put out the time or money at the beginning to get to where I am going correctly then waste my resources trying to figure it out on my own. It doesn't make me less of a person for asking, it just makes me a smarter person because I had the forethought to extend my hand out for help. People are willing to help you out, but you have to ask for it and you have to really want that help.

The next time you are headed somewhere, whether it is in your personal or business life, make sure you have directions and that you follow them or you might end up lost. Oh, and one more thing, enjoy the journey to your destination. That's always the fun part.

A positive outlook on things

Yesterday my husband and I were out in our garage doing a little spring cleaning. During that time, a few people took it upon themselves to break into our house and steal all of my oldest son's electronic toys, some of his clothes, and my husband's brand new 80 GB iPod that I had purchased for him last month. To say I was pissed off is an understatement. Did I want to string up whomever did it by their toes and make them suffer? You bet.

My son, being almost 15, tries to act hard and as if nothing bothers him. It broke my heart to see him crying and upset over the fact that some jerks decided to act in this manner. I went out and replaced his Xbox 360 and iPod, as well as my husband's iPod. Today we are going out to replenish his wardrobe. Unfortunately we thought that this could never happen to us and did not have insurance. Last night we purchased insurance for the next what if's.

As my husband and I were out yesterday to buy window locks and wood to block the sliding glass door, we went next door to Sam's Club to purchase the replacement items. As we were leaving, there was a gentleman outside the exit door selling See's Candy bars. My husband told the gentleman, "We were robbed today. Why not bring some goodness to our day." So we purchased a few bars of candy.

The gentleman started telling us that we can't always help the bad things that happen to us, but that God will never give us more than we can handle and there is a purpose for things happening the ways they do sometimes. I thanked him for the candy and his time and went on my way.

Although I couldn't change the fact that someone had come into my home and violated my peace of mind and the security of my home, I could change how I looked at the situation. I could have chosen to dwell on it and build up hate, anger, and all kinds of other feelings that would make my stomach churn and make me feel ill. I chose to set aside the events of the day and move on with life. My husband took my oldest son to the movies and the rest of us had pizza delivered and watched TV. OK, my daughter was on the phone with her boyfriend, but at least she was back to herself.

By looking at the positive side of things, such as no one was hurt, we can take these life lessons and build on them.

Do you bargin shop?

A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist.
— Franklin P. Jones

OK, I have to admit, I have used coupons in the past. Sunday mornings I would be up at the crack of dawn with my newspaper on my lap as I watched food cooking shows from my bed and clipped coupons. Then, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I would spend my time going through the grocery ads to compare my coupons to their sales. I do have to brag a little though. I once had $300 worth of groceries in my cart and only paid $75 for them after all of my coupons and store card was used. Not bad, not bad. The thing though was that it took a lot of my time to compile my list for the week and sometimes I would buy things I may not have really needed just because they were a bargain.

How about some of you who visit garage sales and yard sales looking for the perfect bargain? My in-laws like checking them out. Although they didn't always buy something, there were times where they bought something and then didn't want it only to talk my husband into taking it. If it was a bargain they didn't use, what makes you think I wanted their bargain?

Many people get caught in the different specials that are offered at stores, restaurants, and many other places. If I think I am going into bargain frenzy, I stop and look at the item and wonder whether it really is something that I need or will use. I could walk out with free or highly discounted items all of the time, but I don't want to become a pack rat hoarding my bargains.

I keep a folder for coupons I think that I may use, such as a fast food coupon or a coupon from a retail store for something I was planning on buying. At the end of the week, if I haven't used it yet, it gets tossed. After all, if I didn't use it in that one week time frame, then I really didn't plan on using it in the first place. I do keep a small set, about 4-5, of coupons in my purse for stores that I may frequent. This way, if I decide last minute that I want to go there, the coupon is ready for me to use.

My advice to you is to do two things when out shopping. 1. Make a list and stick to it. Otherwise... 2. Resist.