Jeanette’s Note:
I’ve known Catherine Jewell for more than 15 years and always enjoy her presentations and writing. I thought this was a particularly appropriate article for the holidays. I’m sure you’ll find it helpful!

Holidays often put me in a funk. I am missing my Mom who passed some 15 years ago. As I prepare for family events, I wish I could just forget the turkey and side dishes, and go home to Mom to receive and enjoy the feast that she prepared.

If you are like me, you would rather forget the recipes and be served. Instead, the world contrives to serve up this recipe for Holiday Funk:

• Start with 6 cups Christmas gift-giving and concerns like “Is she 1X or extra-large?” “Does he really like blue?” and “Is that shirt too blue?”
• Add in 4 cups of Unemployment Benefits about to expire. Or, substitute Job Dissatisfaction.
• Stir in some 5 cups of financial pressure.
• Topping: A New Year that’s a blank page. Lots of potential, but no real plan.

Are you feeling the pain yet? If this recipe puts you in a funk, here are a few ideas to help:

Take up meditation, NOW. You know you’ve heard it from all your meditating friends: “It really makes a difference in peace of mind, calmness and even in day-to-day feelings of health.” All it takes is 10 minutes of quiet time each morning. Google meditation and buy a simple tape to get you started. You can even gift this to men, women and teenagers–there’s a gift-giving suggestion that’s truly one-size-fits-all!

Thank all the people who made this past year a success for you. Instead of just signing holiday cards, write what you appreciate about that person. The happiness you spread will come right back to you. You will be amazed how much it lifts your spirits to acknowledge people who have contributed to your life. In the process, you’ll also remember you are not alone. We are all connected.

Plan, plan, plan your gift-giving. Make a list. Start organizing and create a budget so that you don’t overspend because you are worried about “getting the perfect thing.” The perfect gift is an illusion. A nice gesture is easy to achieve.

Set your limits. Four hours of dinner-plus-gift-opening is almost too much stimulation for those grandkids–and their grandparents! I know my limit is about 3.5 hours. Have a great time, but know when to close the party down. If you can’t leave, say goodnight and go to bed. Your guests will know what to do.

Sleep as much as you can. There’s a lot of extra work with the holidays. Give your body a chance to recuperate from those extra hours of tree-trimming, house decorating, shopping, baking or wrapping. If you feel tired at 8:00 PM, go down for a “long winter’s nap.”

Spend extra time alone. Think about what you want for the New Year. Write a Vision for your life next year. Then pull out three to five main goals to focus on. I like to choose one for each of these areas: health, finances, relationships and business.

If you’d like a copy of my Vision for 2013, plus some sample goals, visit my website. Once you see the format, you’ll see it’s easy to plan your way out of the Holiday Funk.

Catherine Jewell Is The Career Passion® Coach

For more than 14 years Catherine has helped people identify and go after their dream job. Whether already employed, looking for their initial work, or needing to replace a job that disappeared, her work has helped many land that ideal placement – even if it’s working for themselves! Catherine offers a variety of tools and options on her website at CareerPassionCoach.com

I’ve been on the road for more than two weeks. Along the way I have picked up tons of ideas on running a business – some good, some not so good.

This one fits into the category of automation – a topic that has fascinated me for years. How do different businesses take what we accept as “standard practice” and automate it?

In this case I was staying at Embassy Suites in Las Vegas. I noticed the gift shop the first night I checked in, but didn’t see their operating hours on the door.

The next morning the gift shop was still not open. Even at break in our meeting (it was now after 10AM!) there was still no one on duty in the gift shop.

And that’s when I noticed the “other” sign – on how to use the gift shop.

You just use your room key to get into the shop. Then you choose the items you want, write up a quick ticket and they are charged to your room!

Now consider this. How often have you been in a hotel gift shop when you were the only one there? And you know that that gift shop attendant had hours when they were just sitting there, hoping someone would come in.

Many hotels have closed their gift shops, which is a major inconvenience to travelers. So this seems to be a great way to compromise on cost and convenience.

Ready to automate parts of YOUR business? The easiest way is to use Autoresponder Basics to guide you to automated email marketing.

When you have been making a full-time living online for more than a decade, many people are curious about how you did it. So I am often asked:

What three things have led to your long-term success online?

If you asked twenty different people this question – you would get 20 different answers. So let me put in a disclaimer that this may not be their answer – but it’s mine.

The three things that have served me well from Day One until present day are:

Live Events

My first day in business I flew to a conference in Phoenix. It was a “lab” for the National Speakers Association and had less than 100 attendees. But those who were there were the movers and shakers in the organization.

I went back for every lab for the next two years. Partly because I was learning to build my speaking business and partly because of the great contacts I made.

Not only did I have an opportunity to get to know them, but they got to know me. And when it was time to invite someone to speak or chair a committee – my name was in the hat! In fact, by the end of the second year, I was on the Faculty of the Tech Lab!

I repeated that Live Events model with Internet Marketing. I attended every conference I could find. And soon the speakers recognized me, mentioned me from the stage, and invited me to lunch and special get-togethers. Not too long after that I started speaking on the same stages.

While we talk about the ease of doing business online, the true relationships are forged in live events. If you want to accelerate your business – be there!

Just a note – Armand Live is coming up in Las Vegas Sep 21-23. It is a great networking event. If there is ANY way you can get there, be there! In fact, you can come as my guest.

Partnering With Strong Players

No single person knows everything and no single person can do everything. The sooner you recognize that, the faster you’ll make more money.

I know that one of my strengths is logistics (getting things done in an efficient way, often behind the scenes). There is always a need for these skills – particularly with busy, high-profile people.

Remember, I got to know many of those people in the live events. So it was a natural course for them to ask for help and for me to volunteer to help when I saw a need. I was okay with letting them take the limelight while I worked in the background. We both made money.

At other times I took the lead and partnered with someone who had marketing skills I didn’t have or technical skills I lacked. In that case I took the “front man” role and they did the background labor. We both made money.

Regardless of the role you take in any partnership, make sure that what you will do, how much you will spend, and how you will split the profits is clearly outlined. In fact, for one of the partner projects I had with Connie Ragen Green, we created a product on exactly how we structured one successful partnership after another in JVs Made Simple. If you plan to partner with someone – get this product first!

Teleseminars

I earned my stripes online with teleseminars. It was a natural way for me to use my teaching skills and there was a huge need for an organized, non-hype-y teacher in the Internet Marketing arena.

Teleseminars were the main way I built my list – offering free teleseminars on various topics. I even hosted First Tuesday free teleseminars where I opened the lines and anyone could ask anything.

I got a lot of product ideas from those teleseminars. And I created a lot of products using teleseminars.

Naturally as the technology evolved I started doing webinars. But had I not had such a strong start with teleseminars, it might have been more difficult.

Find one technology that you enjoy and are comfortable with, then learn it well. It may be teleseminars, webinars, or YouTube videos. The important thing is to do enough of them to create a critical mass that will ground-swell into your growing reputation.

Your Three Things

Your three keys to Online Success may be different than mine. I’d love to hear what three main activities you use to build YOUR business – just share them in the comments below: