Do You Know How To Change Your Bad Mood?

Happy day everyone!

Some of you woke up grateful and excited to get the day the started, while the rest of us woke up thinking damn, here we go again.....

I tell you, some days I have to slide out of bed because I don't want to adult. I try to find positive things to look forward to change my attitude. In fact, it's been scientifically proven that looking forward to something or someone and turn your day around.

Who knew right?

If you're anything like me, you like to look up every question you have about life and chances are you find some pretty cool videos and podcasts.  Any time I get writer's block, feel useless, or just plain stuck, I have my go to list of videos and audio. Below is my top 7 mood changing list. Just promise you'll share your list with me too!

Motivation:

We all need motivation from time to time and I like Les Brown, Tony Robbins, etc. Here's one that strikes a nerve every time I hear it. It gets me fired up and ready to work.

Dr. Eric Thomas, You owe you

Ted Talk: Change Your Mind Change Your Mindset

Music favs:

Music can be very healing and it's great when you need to change your attitude.  I listen to the songs below to change my mood, especially before a big meeting or event.  When I need to strut my stuff and light up the room, I listen to this:

Kendrick Lemar I

Floacist The Stand

The Jackson 5 Can You Feel It

Continuous Learning

I most Americans, I'm a fan of personal development.  Although it's easy to overdose on all the books, articles, and podcasts available, I found an interesting anti personal development article that's worth reading.  For those who are on "positive thinking" overload, read this article to find balance.

5 Brutal Truths I learned after positive thinking screwed up my life

If you're an entrepreneur who gets that dreaded blank star every time you say your elevator pitch, this one's for you!

Sam Horn: How to Create Interest and Connect with Anyone

What are your favorite motivational talks, videos, and podcasts?

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Best Tips For Traveling With Your Pet

Hey pet lovers. I completely understand your devotion to your beloved four-legged kids. They’re comforting, always happy to see you, and entertaining. This dedication has spread to travel as more pet parents are including their pets on getaways. As more tourist destinations like Disney World are becoming pet friendly, below are a few blogs and articles worth checking out.

5 must have items when traveling with your dog: by Esther Muwombi, Contributor Huffington Post

The 5 tips listed seems like a no brainer, but trust me when I say, you’ll be glad you read this article especially if it’ll be your first time traveling with your pooch.

Top 10 Fall Pet Travel Tips: blog post by Epetsure

Yes, more tips for pet travel. This time it’s for any pet. Just in case you need more helpful hints to ensure smooth travel with your pet check out this blog post.

Pet travel tips: when you should leave your dog at home: blog by Travel Moments in Time

Some pdog lovers want travel everywhere with their furry beloved even when it’s not safe. It’s important to know when you should leave your pooch at home. Read this to help evaluate if your favorite k-9 should stay home.

How To Travel With Your Cat: Flying With Your Cat: by Maggie Clancy of Cattime.com

Sometimes it’s necessary to bring along your feline friend and if you’ve never traveled with your cat, read this article first!

Traveling with Pets by Car, Plane, Train or Ship: blog by The Senior List

This blog is complete with a checklist of all items and issues to consider depending on the mode of travel.

 

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Appreciation Marketing: What Is It & Is It Right For You?

Separating yourself from the competition can be challenging. Gone are the days of scarce competition and easily gaining customers.

Trial and error, social media presence, and a range of tactics are a must to get noticed in today's market place. Not to mention lowering prices and offering incentives to compete can decrease profit margins. This results in a vicious cycle of spending more money to acquire customers just to keep your doors open.

So what’s a simple solution to the rat race?

Appreciation marketing can be the answer

This may sound too woowoo for some people, but showing love to key stake holders can generate massive growth. Business owners like Tommy Wyatt and Lewsey believe it's the secret to "the holy grail" of customer loyalty.

"What makes you loyal is what will make your customers loyal," Stated Wyatt & Lewsey in their book Appreciation Marketing: How to achieve greatness through gratitude.

Of course, this technique may not work for all businesses.  I'm not loyal to every  brand or company I do business with.  I'm not loyal to the local grocer, nail shop, or clothing brand. On the contrary, I'm loyal to my massage therapist, chiropractor, and faithful to my mechanic.

I'm sure, you have a list of who you're loyal to as well.

It's the relationship in addition to the great work that keeps me loyal. I have personal conversations with staff, we know each other. I know they value my business because they show their appreciation in various ways.  The businesses I've received personal cards, small gifts, useful information, and encouragement from earned my business and referrals multiple times over.

Appreciation marketing may sound like fluff, but it’s simple, effective and works on a small budget. Moreover, it's the most underutilized strategy in business.

Everyone expects to be thanked when they’ve made a purchase, but true appreciation lies in the unexpected thank you. It’s the surprise personal note in the mail or the small gift for a referral that keeps you top of mind.

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou

For each interaction your client feels uplifted, you stay top of mind and when the client is ready to buy, he/she will make every effort to buy from you.

How to Use Appreciation Marketing in your marketing strategy

Like all new systems, including appreciation tactics in business development takes time initially. Yet when once a system is created, it'll only take minutes to do. Activities like writing personal notes, sending small gifts, and providing information, won't take much time to complete.

Of course, there are a few steps in creating an effective appreciation marketing plan. Identifying goals and targeting key stake holders is just the beginning. To get started check out the books below



Need help with getting started? Contact us. We'll be happy to help.

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Are Caribbean Islands Open For Travel?

Recent hurricanes Irma, Jose, and Maria halted travel for many vacationers and with holiday day travel plans in full swing, most tourists are crossing the Caribbean off their destination list.
But not so fast!
There several islands open for business. Below are excerpts taken from Travel & Leisure, Cruise Critic, and The Washington Post explaining which islands are tourist ready.

Hurricane Aftermath: What to Know If You've Booked a Caribbean Cruise (Travel & Leisure)

Travelers may be surprised at the number of Caribbean cruise ports that were entirely unaffected by the storms. In fact, both Irma and Maria avoided altogether the port cities of the Western Caribbean (which includes Mexican ports of call and Belize) and the Southern Caribbean (the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao).

Additionally, the Bahamas are virtually unscathed and open for business. And the St. Kitts port Basseterre opened almost immediately after Hurricane Irma.

Many other ports, including Gustavia on St. Bart’s, are open, but only for relief efforts — one of the reasons it's important to confirm itinerary details for your individual sailing.

Hurricane Season 2017: Which Caribbean Cruise Ports Are Open? (Cruise Critic)

More than 30 Caribbean cruise ports have been affected by either Irma or Maria. More than a dozen ports have re-opened to cruise passengers since Irma, some faster than expected -- Key West had originally expected to be closed to cruise ships through October 20, but reopened to Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas on September 24.

Hurricane Maria also passed by the French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. Seven ports are officially closed due to damage from Hurricane Irma; others -- like Dominica -- have been equally devastated by Maria. Other ports are still are pending further assessment.

Which hurricane-affected areas in the Caribbean and U.S. are open for business? (Washington Post)

U.S. Virgin Islands
Governor Kenneth E. Mapp announced that St. Thomas’s Cyril E. King Airport has reopened to commercial flights, with American and Delta airlines offering flights from the U.S. mainland.
The governor said cruise ships could probably return to St. Thomas and St. Croix as soon as Oct. 15 but that late October is more “realistic.”

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Business Networking: How To Become A Premier Vendor

Have you ever attended a networking event that was full of card pushers? You know the ones who pitch to you right away, stuff their business card in your hand, and quickly move on to their next target? They have no interest in connecting because all about them.

If you ever been to a networking event, chances are, you encountered someone like this or you might be the over zealous networker (yes, I was one).

Many professionals have written off networking groups and believe it’s a waste of time because of lack of new business. Yet, there’s great value in meeting likeminded professionals. With the right mindset and strategy, you can network your way to premier vendor status with my top 3 suggestions below.

Why do you network?

Most professionals attend networking events to attract new clients and rub elbows with influencers. We all want to grow our business and lead generation is a simple solution. In addition, networking groups can provide more than leads when you find the right group. It can provide support, a safe place to experiment, and a mastermind.

Yes, a one stop shop!

I found a network group I enjoy. It’s a divers group of entrepreneurs from all walks of life, plenty of seasoned experts, and everyone’s friendly. I always gain valuable information and connections when I attend.

As a result of attending this group, my business is growing, I've gained life long friendships, I'm collaborating with other entrepreneurs on a few projects, and I've strengthened a number of skillsets.

It's well worth the investment to find the right network.

What can you do for the network?

The quickest way to become known, liked, and trusted in a networking group is to serve. If you focus on helping others solve their problems without asking for anything in return, you will become top of mind. Volunteering, donating refreshments, or taking attendance can  work to your favor.

Networking to build relationships

Networking isn’t the best way to feed your business overnight because relationships take time to build. Ask around and look for a network group you can consistently attend. 

If you're looking for a quality network group, use the Meetup app to start your search. I highly recommend attending Wisconsin Business Owners meeting held every fourth Friday of the month.

What networking groups do you recommend? Are paid networking meetings better than free ones? We want to hear from you!

 

                                                                         THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG!
If you're a semi-expert traveler, why not get paid for it? Click here for details.
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