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!