Monthly Archives: March 2012

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Requirements: I'm looking for someone who is:

Structured, self-disciplined, extremely productive, and efficient.

Detail-oriented and careful.

A strong communicator who will tell me if you need more help, guidance, information.

Personable, warm, friendly, *and* professional. Good with people. You don't have to be an extrovert, but you need to be able to work with & communicate well with people.

A fast learner.

Able to speak, read, & write almost-perfect English.

Proficient with Google tools (Docs, Drive, Gmail) and Search, Office. Experience with Photoshop, HTML, Zoho a plus, but not required. Also, if you can learn software quickly, that's a bonus, too.

What You'll Be Doing:

Managing my calendar- you’ll book client sessions, meetings, interviews, and other events.

Fielding incoming emails and requests for interviews, speaking engagements, etc.

Conducting research to find subject-specific blogs and podcasts.

Reaching out to database with pre-written emails and following up with responses with scheduling.

Sending out links to client session recordings and emails each week.

Uploading videos to secure site and placing them on my web site.

Reviewing Google alerts.

Handling submission of pre-created info packages.

Setting up new webinars in chosen site.

Prepare participant bios for speakers or key people who will be at an event that I'm attending or speaking at and create Twitter list for event and add to Hootsuite.

Accounting - includes sending out client invoices as needed and updating Zoho Invoice with payments received.

Set up new clients in Zoho CRM.

Plus, some occasional: - Booking flights, hotel reservations, conducting research on travel. - Using SendOut Cards to send greetings and thank yous. - Liaising with web developer. This is the list of tasks to start, but be prepared: my business is growing rapidly & your role will grow within the company. Your position likely will evolve so that you are managing a team of people who handle many of these tasks and more, but for now, you'll handle most of them yourself. Mostly, I want you to make my life easier by taking on the tasks listed above, so well that I don't have to check up on you or fix mistakes that you've made.
Time and Pay:
To start, you'll most likely work somewhere between 10-20 hours a week. After your first month of training, I'll probably move you into high gear and you might be working up to 30 hours a week. I'm offering $10-15/hour to start, depending on your experience and qualifications. Once you've been with the company for awhile and as your position grows, you'll work more hours and your pay will increase. Do an amazing job and work to help me grow my business, and you'll also see appropriate raises. But make no mistake about it: my standards are high and your job will be judged based on performance.
How to Apply:
Send an email with cover letter and resume to susan@businessinbluejeans.com.
About My Company:
I'm a business and marketing strategist who works with entrepreneurs, startups, authors, and corporations. I'm the author of Business in Blue Jeans: How to Have a Successful Business on Your Own Terms, in Your Own Style. And, I'm a busy entrepreneur who does a lot of different (and sometimes crazy) projects. In 2012, I broke a Guinness World Record. If you'd been working for me then, that's the kind of project you'd have worked on. Get ready, because if you're the kind of person I can trust with the tasks on the list, you'll find yourself staying pretty busy. I'm a hard worker and highly productive. I need an assistant who:

Can keep up with me,

Can work fast,

Won't make the same mistakes repeatedly,

Who's detail-oriented and careful,

and, whose biggest interest is in helping me to grow my business.

If you're interested, please apply immediately.">Gallery
A Message for the 1 Million Veterans Searching for Jobs

A Message for the 1 Million Veterans Searching for Jobs

According to The Work First Foundation, nearly one million veterans are searching for jobs. One million veterans. When I read that statistic, I stopped in my tracks.

I don’t think anyone could say that veterans aren’t hardworking. I don’t think anyone could say that veterans aren’t well-trained. I don’t think anyone could say that veterans don’t know how to play on a team.

What you can say about veterans is that they’re people who chose to sacrifice time with their loved ones, risk their lives, and take on some of the most challenging work that any human being can be asked to do. Ask yourself, would you have the courage to do the same?

I have to confess that I know very little about the military or military life. While it’s true that my grandfather and my father both served (and my dad, age 79, is retiring today from his job at a local base, where he’s been […]

By Susan| |Announcements, Mentors, Self Care, Startup|8 Comments

Permalink Going into business if you feel like this about your spouse? Is a bad idea. A very, very, very bad idea.[/caption]
1. Start With A Good Marriage.
If you have a rocky marriage to start with, then working together won't make things better. There's no room for arguing in business. So the first thing you should do is take a good, hard look at your marriage. Is it strong enough to stand up to the challenges of working together? Can you and your spouse handle the tension if you disagree? Remember, when you work with your spouse, you can't go home and bitch about your co-worker. You live with that co-worker. You should only work with your spouse if the two of you truly enjoy spending time together and are great friends.
2. Talk. And Listen. A Lot.
Leo and I don't always agree. But the trick to really making working with your spouse successful is talking things through and (more importantly) listening a lot. Over the years, we've worked hard at improving our communication as a couple and that serves us well when we're working together. Listening is a skill, like most things, and can be improved. If you find that listening is hard for you, try mirroring- repeating what the other person says when they're done talking. It makes conversation pretty slow and labor-intensive, but you'll learn how to listen really well and build better habits for the future. Lastly, do your best to avoid interrupting each other, especially if things get heated. That's when it's most likely that you will interrupt, so it's the most important time to work harder at avoiding it. [caption id="attachment_1288" align="alignleft" width="284"] Kissing. Sometimes when you work with your spouse, kissing a little in between meetings is what works for you. I'm just saying.[/caption]
3. Figure Out What Works For You.
When Leo and I decided to start a business together, we bought matching desks and re-arranged the office. We set up our desks so they were facing each other, we had matching pencil cups and trash cans...and a couple of weeks later, I realized that Leo had stopped coming to our office. When I asked him why, he told me that I talk a lot when I'm working- not just when I'm working with clients, either. Apparently, when I'm writing, I say, "Oh!" and "Hm!" a lot. And he was constantly distracted and wondering what I was talking about, but was too nice to say anything to me. Awww. Shortly after that conversation, we began construction on a studio for Leo in a different part of the house and moved his desk, pencil cup, and trash can into that space so that he could be more productive than he could be with my weird mumblings. These days, we visit each other's offices periodically throughout the day, and email and text each other as well. So working in the same office just doesn't work for us. It might be perfect for you. The point is to figure out what works best for you and go with it.
4. Know When to Make the Separation Between Work and Home.
Some experts tell you to schedule your day so that, at quitting time, you completely separate work from home. Leo and I don't work that way, mostly because my memory doesn't work according to a schedule. We might be in the bathroom brushing our teeth at night, and I'll remember to ask him, "Hey, did you call that guy?" So there's a big blend between work and home for us. That said, there are times when we're going out to dinner or doing something special and we agree to a "No Work Talk" rule that we both have to abide by. That's what works for us. But remember, figure out what works for you and your spouse- if you like setting an official quitting time and not allowing work talk outside of work hours, then that's what you should do. It's all about learning what works for you and what doesn't. [caption id="attachment_1287" align="alignright" width="300"] You don't actually have to have a pillow fight. In fact, that would be totally cheesy. Unless you're Leo and me, in which case you have a pillow fight with pillows shaped like owls. Which might be too much information.[/caption]
5. Don't Forget Playtime.
One of the most important keys to making working with your spouse more successful is to make sure that you never, ever lose the romantic partnership you started with. If you spend too much time in "business mode" and forget to set time aside for your marriage, then you stand the risk of losing it all. Successful marriage requires some play time, so make sure yours has a healthy dose of it. Don't get so immersed in your business that you forget that you fell in love with this person! Working with your spouse comes with some inherent risks and rewards. To be truly successful, sometimes you have to work even harder at it than you would have to work with a coworker you're not married to. But if you do find a way to do it so that it's comfortable and fun for you and for your spouse, it can be one of the best, most rewarding ways to work that you'll ever find.
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Have You Heard Business in Blue Jeans Radio Yet?

Have You Heard Business in Blue Jeans Radio Yet?

We’re already on Episode 2, and if you haven’t heard Business in Blue Jeans Radio yet, you’re missing out, big time! With segments like “The Coolest Thing of the Week,” the news, and interviews with the coolest entrepreneurs, experts, and authors out there, you won’t want to miss a single episode.

Here’s the rundown of the episodes to date:

Episode 1:
In the inaugural episode of Business in Blue Jeans Radio, Susan Baroncini-Moe covers why most small businesses aren’t actually factored into most statistics or reports on small business, Google+, Pinterest, and interviews Bob Burg, bestselling author of Endless Referrals and multiple best-selling co-author of The Go-Giver, Go-Givers Sell More, and It’s Not About You. Susan and Bob talk about public speaking how to’s, leadership, and value. Link to MP3 Link to YouTube

Episode 2:
This week on Business in Blue Jeans Radio, Susan Baroncini-Moe covers the current state of business, Twitter advertsing, Dropbox, the 2012 Small Business Book […]

By Susan| |Announcements|1 Comment

Stop Trying to Get Rich Quick

Have you ever heard the term “overnight success?” The term literally makes you think that one night, someone went to sleep a normal, ordinary person, and the next morning, woke up a star. As if they had almost nothing to do with their success at all. They got rich quick. It was fate, destiny, good fortune, luck.

But in fact, there is no “get rich quick.” Most “overnight successes” are 10-20 years in the making. Jim Carrey is known for saying, “It took me years to be an overnight success.” And that’s how it is for most people. Few of us are “discovered.” And of those who are, most (barring, say, the Justin Biebers of the world) have been plugging away at it for a long time.

The truth is, it takes time to build success. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book, The Tipping Point, says that research shows it takes 10 […]

By Susan| |Success|1 Comment

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The Limbaugh Lesson: A Branding Misstep? (and my dirty little secret)

The Limbaugh Lesson: A Branding Misstep? (and my dirty little secret)

If you’ve been following the news, you know that last week, Rush Limbaugh spent the better part of his show for three days straight attacking Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student who was barred from testifying at a controversial Republican hearing on contraception recently. The insults Mr. Limbaugh leveled against Ms. Fluke were so intense that they caused an uproar among women from both sides of the aisle and have ultimately resulted in over thirty-five advertisers (and counting) pulling their advertisements from the Limbaugh show and at least two radio stations dumping Limbaugh programming altogether.
As you know, I find politics (and the media sideshow on both sides of the aisle) endlessly fascinating. This week, as I’ve followed the coverage of the widespread outrage over Rush Limbaugh’s comments, I’ve found myself thinking about Mr. Limbaugh and his brand.
You see, I have a dirty little secret, one I’ve kept mostly hidden […]

By Susan| |Business, Personal Growth, Publicity and PR|2 Comments

Permalink Is this really a brick wall? I don't think so.[/caption] In an interview last week, someone asked me to tell them about one of the business obstacles I'd faced. I'm not often stumped when I do interviews, but this question stopped me in my tracks. I literally had no answer. I thought and thought, but...I couldn't think of a single obstacle I've faced. How could that be right? Surely I've faced obstacles and challenges, just like everybody else, right? I don't lead a charmed life...or do I? If you look at my life, you might think that I do lead a charmed life. I travel the world. I married a rock star. I broke a world record. My book's coming out soon. And I'm happy. Really, really happy. Well, first of all, let me say this: my life is the way that it is because I decided a long time ago that this is what I wanted my life to be, and then took decisive, clear, focused action to make it happen, and because I had my secret formula, which I'll tell you about in a minute. But remember, every bed of roses has its thorns. Nobody's life is perfect, despite how it seems from the outside. As I write this post, for example, I'm still fighting a cold that I've had off and on for a month and a half. Sometimes, I experience anxiety for no particular reason. And as in love as we are, the hubster and I occasionally get on each others' nerves (gasp!). But even having said that, in the aggregate, my life is pretty great and I think I've accomplished some pretty neat things. So how can you create a life that makes you as happy as my life makes me?
The Sneakiest Way to Conquer Obstacles
Back to that interview...how did I answer that question about obstacles? Well, I thought about it for a minute, and then I said this:
"I don't think in terms of obstacles."
I told that interviewer that I was having a hard time thinking of obstacles that I had faced, because I don't think in terms of obstacles. In fact, thinking about obstacles as obstacles wastes time (and plenty of it!). If you're thinking about how something is an obstacle, you're wasting valuable time in terms of figuring out how to get what you want. Instead, I think in terms of the goal: what's the goal and how am I going to get there? I start by assuming I'm going to achieve my goal. I start by assuming I can already get there. Thinking this way turns what others would see as obstacles into questions. And questions have answers; I just need to find out what they are. Instead of conquering obstacles, I simply start in a different place, with a completely different definition of the situation. Obstacles aren't obstacles—that's what makes this the sneakiest way to conquer obstacles. You simply transform obstacles into something else.
So How Can You Think This Way?
It's not as hard as you think. All you have to do is start with a specific goal and assume that it's possible.
Once you know that the goal is possible, all you have are questions that need answers. When I decided to break a Guinness World Records® title and discovered that putting on a live event both online and in person was going to cost over $20,000, I assumed it was going to happen. The question was, how was I going to pay for everything? When you frame the question like that, answers start to emerge. For example, I knew I wasn't going to pay for everything. So who was? (See? More questions. And they all have answers!) The answer was: sponsors. Other questions followed: How do I get sponsors? How do I get them to say yes? The more questions you ask, the more you open yourself (and your brain) to the possibility of finding answers. You're no longer thinking, "Darn, this costs a ton of money. Well, that's an obstacle." Where do you go from there? No answers come from that. But when you ask the questions, things start to change. So what are your sneaky strategies for conquering obstacles? Share them in the comments below!">Gallery
The Definitive Guide to Using Pinterest for Small Business Marketing, Part Three

The Definitive Guide to Using Pinterest for Small Business Marketing, Part Three

In my first post about Pinterest, I provided a basic overview of what Pinterest is and how to use it. In my second post in this series about Pinterest, I gave you some fundamental rules and a few general ideas of how you can use Pinterest to market your business. And last week, in a “hey, this is an interesting topic post,” I talked about ways to protect your content in Pinterest (and all social media, for that matter).
Today, as I complete this series on Pinterest, I want to start out by sharing something interesting that happened as a result of having posted this article series about Pinterest on Pinterest. One of my Pinterest pals asked me, “I have a sign shop and was thinking about doing some type of advertising on Pinterest but I definitely don’t want to turn people off. I’m going to read your pin but I’m just […]