A Cool Business Decision (IMHO)

Sometimes when you're out there "doing what you do" you never know what great things are waiting in the wings to support your journey.  And when you MAKE A DECISION to make something happen, it sparks some action in the universe and sometimes the MAP to the treasure chest just appears at your feet.

If you've been following me for a while then you know I've been fine-tuning my business model and I determined that 2012 is my year. I'm unifying all the facets of my business activities under one brand -- Intensely Positive -- because it identifies my mind set and my life choice, really, and many awesome things have presented themselves to help me on my adventure.

One such awesome event was being chosen by Jacqueline Edwards of Business Pipeline for a promotional interview to be posted on her website and exposed to her contacts and colleagues, that could help increase my visibility. She'd been looking at my activities via Twitter and thought her services would be of value so she approached me. Initially, I thought she was just being nice to me because I was a nice guy, so when she mentioned that there was a fee... I balked -- had an attack of that small business / small mind thing.

These days, whenever something comes into my life I query it to see how it fits, and why the opportunity came to me, and the words of my good friend and advisor Sophie L'hoste rang in my ears.  Two years ago Sophie said to me, "Kelvin, I notice that whenever an opportunity comes to you, you like to bargain for it. You want to have money but you never want to spend money; you like the free stuff.  If you look around your life -- your business life -- you'll see that you are attracting people who feel the same way you do.  They don't want to pay for your services; they want to bargain and get it for free."  Those words have been with me every day since she said them... and they've changed the way I look at things.  In the words of Wayne Dyer, "When you change the way you look at things; the things you look at change."

So I said yes to Jacqueline, sent her the (very reasonable) fee she requested and we scheduled the interview! Note that the interview was for a 5 minute spot on her new website.  I asked Jacqueline for the interview questions ahead of time, and she gently declined with, "I want  your listeners to have authentic answers, not something you rehearsed to perfection."  (Hmmm. Integrity; how about that.) I didn't like it, but I agreed.  I am a Toastmaster, after all (hee hee), so impromptu questions aren't a problem for me.  So the morning of the interview, she called -- precisely on time.  We had some initial hello chat (we'd been twitter followers for two years but had never taken it off 140), conducted the interview, then had some more chat, then off she went.  In two weeks (busy season for her) she posted the interview on Twitter.

I was initially shocked. She under-promised and over-delivered.  I expected a 5 minute interview posted on her site, but the teaser YouTube video really got me excited.  Then she spent time promoting that video and interview to her lists. Just looking at the work she put in to putting that presentation together, my first thought was, "Wow... this is worth way more than she charged me."  Major Win!  And there were other nice surprises I didn't expect.

So am I glad I did it?  Absolutely!  Was it worth it? Absolutely, because not only is it on her web site and promoted to her clients and contacts, but I have the option of putting them on my website as I wish.  Small business owners -- really small business owners -- don't usually have access to quality presentations.  We tend to do a lot ourselves FOR ourselves, and most of us aren't really talented enough to create the presentations we really need to represent us.  I believe that Jacqueline and Business Pipeline can give us that little extra "umph", that little push of exposure, that little boost to our public image, whether she's sending new traffic our way or whether the traffic we already get starts looking at us in a new way.  What's one new client worth in your business?

So check them out at their website, follow her on Twitter (@helpbusinesses), check out my video and interview (the interview link is right under the video), and decide for yourself.

To your success!  Have an awesome day.

Kelvin

When the student is ready...

On October 5th, 2005, I attended a leadership seminar at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY, where I was an administrative assistant. The speaker was Bob Danzig, former CEO of the Hearst Newspaper empire -- quite an accomplishment for a kid that spent his early years bouncing from foster home to foster home.

Bob was soft-spoken and personable, and as people sauntered into the auditorium and took their seats, he walked around the room and met each one; shook their hand warmly, shared a smile and had a moment's conversation, until attendees were coming too quickly to continue. Later in his presentation he called several of those people by name.

Quietly but passionately, he spoke of leadership, of being a foster child, and how he rose to the pinnacle he had achieved, and he left us with a message: "You are full of promise !"

Somehow I won a CD set that day called "You Are Full of Promise - Life Lessons from Leaders" which I took home and put away to listen to later. "Later" turned out to be nearly 4 years later on August 23, 2009, just 5 days before I was to retire from my day job at SUNY. I was driving to Rochester for my 2 year old niece's birthday party (she's not really my niece, but my good friends Hai and Karen Tran let me be uncle Kelvin) I wanted some different music than was in my car so I looked through my collection and the CD set I received 4 years prior kind of fell into my hands. I decided it was a good time to listen to it, on my 2+ hour round trip to Rochester.

An incredible message -- the perfect message I needed to hear just 5 days before I struck out on my on. I remembered why I was moved when I first heard him, and his words managed to touch me deeply as I listened to that CD all the way there, and all the way back. So touched was I, that I emailed him when I returned home... late on a Sunday night, to tell him what effect his words had on me that day. To my great surprise... he wrote me back. I could hear his voice in his typed words as clearly as if he was sitting beside me, and somehow I was absolutely certain that he remembered me from that auditorium 4 years ago, and had been waiting for me to write.

I tell you this story, because I have come to believe -- or perhaps, to realize-- that there are no coincidences in life. Part of my note to him read, "Maybe it wasn't until today that I truly needed to hear the message you had to share..." and truly had I listened to that CD when I got it, it would not have had the same meaning, and would not have had the same effect. There's even more to the story, but that is for another place and time.

Right now, however, I'd really like to recommend this CD to you. If you are a leader, or you aspire to be a leader, I believe this CD is something you NEED to hear, and I defy you to listen to it and not be moved. You Are FULL of Promise -- near the bottom of the page. $15.95 including shipping.

Here's something you need to know:

• this is NOT an affiliate program, and I receive zero benefit -- other than feeling good -- if you buy the CD or any other product on his site
  
• all proceeds from the sale of any of his products go to support one of two charity causes -- click this link if you'd like to know what they are.

I try not to recommend a lot of things, but in my opinion, this CD is a must-have if you seek to lead. This CD set does not motivate. This CD set INSPIRES. It inspired me, and if you are -- or aspire to be -- a leader, it will inspire you; because you, too, are full of promise.

Have an excellent day.

Kelvin

I'm Kelvin. I Solve Problems

I hold a position at a medical facility as an administrative assistant. The job has meant different things in different years, but one thing has remained constant over that period. Excluding patient care stuff, many times when there's been a problem that needed handling, the answer to the question of "how can we handle this?" has often been, "Ask Kelvin." I used to call myself the "shell answer man" of admin assistants, but a while back a practitioner I worked with asked me if I'd ever seen the movie "Pulp Fiction?" As luck would have it... the answer was "no, why?" She said, "You're like that guy in Pulp Fiction. 'I'm Winston Wolfe. I solve problems.' She said, "your name is Kelvin; you solve problems."

I liked that, although based on what little I know of the movie, I don't solve "that" kind of problem. But, all in all and in a growing number of circles, when something needs to be done, someone often says, "Ask Kelvin."

Why is that? Well, it's not that I'm so smart, but I do know how to find answers. And most answers come directly after I've asked a question. And anyone can ask a question, right?

Of course, sometimes it helps to know who to ask, and if you don't know who to ask, that becomes the first question: "Who do I know who might be able to answer this question, or point me to someone who can? "

Never underestimate the power of a simple question. It's how Einstein came up with the Theory of Relativity, and the first step in being able to say, "I solve problems."

If you'd like more positive, upbeat, motivating and uplifting food for thought, visit our full edition of Ramblings at www.ringold.net/ramblings.html.

Have an awesome day.

Kelvin