366 Days

The most difficult thing one has to face when working for oneself, is the daily, sometimes, hourly, emotional roller coaster ride that is self-employment. One moment might be spent rejoicing in the freedom of not having a structured schedule, and the next spent going through the checkbook, realizing there is approximately $5 left for the week. And it is only Tuesday. Or doing a victory dance because a client is thrilled with the work that was just produced, only to receive a phone call a few minutes later that you lost an account for what appears to be no reason at all.

There have been times in my first full year of self-employment that I considered changing direction, even taking a job to help pay the bills because nothing was coming in. But my husband repeatedly has said he would not want me to go back to work for someone else. He's right. I don't think I could do it.

People told me it would take a year to just figure out what I am doing. I didn't believe them but they were right. They also said I wouldn't make any real money for five years. God, I hope they are wrong on that one.


This May, I celebrate one year of full-time self-employment. It is not for the faint of heart for sure. An incredible support system has kept me in the game. Many mistakes and bad decisions have been made. I have also done a few things right. Like ask for help when I needed it.

Thank you everyone who has been there in front, behind, or beside me this past year. I thank God every day for my family and friends, because when things are tough, it only takes one person to say, "I believe in you".

When you have marketing materials made for your business, such as business cards and brochures, I expect that they are branded in a similar way; the same logo, same color scheme, same photo of you.

So why wouldn’t you also brand your social media? The answer is: you should be branding it to match everything else. As social media become more mainstream venues of marketing, people expect everything to be branded the same. Your Facebook, Twitter, and Blog should quickly and easily represent your image in the same visual manner all your other marketing does. If it does not, customers may be confused, wondering if they are looking at your information or someone else’s information. When everything transitions from media to media smoothly, it gives a professional look to potential customers. Social media is not going away, so pull your head out of the sand and let’s get moving.

Secret to Success? It is for me.

Why would a sleep-deprived mom-apreneur get up at the crack of dawn, namely 5:00 am? I mean honestly, we all know the benefits of a good night's sleep; resistance to illness, decreased chances of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, better brain function and mental health, yadda, yadda, yadda. I get it. Sleeping in can feel good, especially when you are not rushed and have no plans. Believe it or not, I don't really get to enjoy that experience. Once in a while the stars align and the kids sleep until 7am and we have nowhere to go before 10am. My REM sleep goes beserk and I have terrible dreams about my kids being kidnapped or lost in a crowd. I know, right?

So sleeping in isn't all it is cracked up to be. At least for me. I will be old one day and can sleep all I want. For now, I get up most days at 5:00 am. On purpose. I used to exercise, but the treadmill wakes everyone up, defeating the purpose. Now, instead, I make coffee, turn on my laptop, and work. Am I crazy? No. I get about two hours of normal work done in about an hour. I am fresh, rested (as rested as I am going to be), and distraction-free. That is, of course, until a little man in Spiderman pajamas comes down the hall with his new ambulance he earned from going potty 12 times. Then it's time to cuddle in front of the wood stove. Love being up early.

Not sure if you had a chance to listen in to Friday's show but during Jim Olson's interview (http://nhwomeninbusiness.podbean.com) between 12-1pm, I committed to run a half marathon in the Fall. In case you don't really know me personally, there is much more to this statement than meets the eye.

I have always said I wanted to run a marathon. I think it goes back to when I was really young, my very unhealthy dad lost over 100 pounds by dieting and running. He became one of those people who ran in races throughout the race season. His commitment to running came from the fact that it probably saved his life. It also took his life. When my dad was 56, he had knee surgery and contracted a staph infection. Later that year, while in recovery from the surgery, he began running again, and he had a heart attack which lead to his death a few days later. I am pretty sure his body was not fully recovered from the infection and caused the attack. My dad was truly my hero and I miss him terribly, even almost 20 years later.

I have battled injuries and my weight for years. Read: I have battled myself. And now it is over. I have a true intention of running and finishing this half marathon. I will start healthy and finish healthy. And I am going to run this particular race in memory of my dad, who died on November 3, 1993. Love you, Dad.

Every race after that is dedicated to my kids, because they deserve the best mom they can get. The kind of mom who doesn't give up on herself. And I won't because now I have help. Thanks, Jim.

I Love Statistics!

This week the 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report was released by Social Media Examiner. Here are some important facts gleaned from the report. All statistics are based on replies from marketers, who by the way is you if you are a small business.


According to the survey, the number-one benefit of social media marketing is generating more business exposure, followed by increasing traffic.


The top five social media networks/tools used by marketers are Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, blogs and YouTube, in that order. All of the other social media tools paled in comparison to these top five.


A significant 59% of marketers are using social media for 6 hours or more hours a week, and 33% for 11 or more hours weekly. It's interesting to note that nearly 15% of marketers spend more than 20 hours each week on social media.


Social media outsourcing underutilized: Only 30% of businesses are outsourcing some portion of their social media marketing.


Leap Year Marketing works with small businesses to invest the time in Social Media necessary for their business and industry to get the exposure and increased traffic they would like to see. If you need help, consider outsourcing this part of your business. It is becoming as important as hiring a CPA or Attorney. Really.

Joanne Randall
Leap Year Marketing
Let this be YOUR year!

Don't Panic!

According to Manta Connect, Social Media is a great way to market your business for little or no money. But it's not something you can set up and walk away from. You have to invest time in order to see rewards. It's important to engage with your followers regularly and to be consistent with your interactions. The more you do this, the more likely you are to sell your products and services. Don't have the time? Don't panic! Spend the money to hire a manager for your page. It's not expensive and it's totally worth it.

Social Media is an inexpensive, easy way for businesses of any size to promote a sense of community around their product or service. A strong sense of community leads to loyalty. And loyalty leads to repeat business. And who couldn't use more of that?

Get help establishing your business page and managing it if you can't or don't want to. It's not a big deal, unless you don't do it. Then you can panic.

The NEW Facebook: Are You Ready?

On March 30th Facebook will automatically be changing all business Facebook pages to a newer format known as Timeline. You may be familiar with it from your personal page. There are many similarities but the changes are dramatic enough that people are already calling me about it asking for help. Facebook is allowing Page Administrators to preview the new look or to go ahead and change over their pages early.

I am holding two workshops in April, on the 5th and 12th, at 6:30pm at the Summit Health facility in Concord, called Introduction to Facebook for Business, Real Help in Real Time. During these workshops I will cover the basics, but also focus on the new format.

Please keep me in mind when you need help with your pages. Most questions are easy to answer and it is simply a matter of where to find something that has been moved to a new location on the page.