Infinity Business July 2016 issue

I

KITCHEN REMODELING for resale 11 signs it’s

TIME

SUMMER 2016

Business Magazine

Lynaae Forbes Owner/Broker

Forbes Realty Group

SHOW ME

THE

to fire a client

Papers

“How To Sell Your Home Like A Flip Without The Flipper”

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Letter from The Publisher

TONY F

E

R

R

I

E

R

A

Welcome to the Infinity Business Magazine Summer "Real Estate and Business" issue. Real Estate is exactly that; "A Business." Purchasing a home is one of the biggest investment you will ever make, so it should be treated like a business to you as well. It should also be the most exciting time in your life and should not be as stressful of a time as many of us have heard or read about.

Surrounding yourself around Real Estate professionals when purchasing a home is very important, rather it's your first home our your 10th investment property, having a team of professionals is a must. I believe being educated on your purchase of a home is a must, from location, schools, price history, mortgage, title and more is so important. Ask questions, lots of questions, being educated will help us all from going into another Real Estate crash.

In this issue we feature Lynaae Forbes, Broker/Owner with Forbes Realty Group. Lynaae brings 25 years of industry experience; from title/escrow assistant, processor for loan officers, and trainer of loan products. Her company has cultivated unique solutions to your real estate needs, including servicing buyers, sellers and investors. Lynaae is an avid communicator with an innate ability to understand her client's needs. Her extensive knowledge of the industry and network of contacts help build your peace of mind.

Please be sure to read some of the great articles from shorts sales, kitchen remodeling and how to flip your personal home like an investor.

The signs are there and Real Estate is coming back and it is a great sign for all of us, because we now know how it can drive the economy in a positive direction.

ARE YOU IN?

Š Neal Portney of Portnoy Galleries

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IN F I N I T Y BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Tony Ferriera

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All rights reserved Š 2016 Infinity Business Magazine. Content may not be copied, distributed in any manner without express written permission. Published by Infinity Business Media Group PO Box 370967, Las Vegas, NV 89137 | 702.557.0404

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Contents TABLE OF

summer real estate edition

8 Developing the business leader inside you Rodney Rich, Magnum Opportunities

12 Kitchen remodeling for resale Clara Napolitano, EZ Flooring

14 Show me the papers

Rena McDonald, McDonald Law Group and Scott Meservey, Realty Executives

PG 12

18 11 Signs it’s time to fire a client Susan Friensen, writer

25 The art of networking for real estate Jill Branson, The Hobnob Connection

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

PG 26

LYNAAE FORBES

Forbes Realty Group Showing sellers how to flip their personal home like a flipper.

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Contents TABLE OF

summer real estate edition

28 How to get a steady flow of positive online reviews for your business Brian Williams, Five Star Economy

31 Business etiquette for business dining Arthur Langton, writer

PG 31

32 The pitfalls of guerilla marketing Susan Friesen, writer

36 How to craft an intriguing elevator pitch Ling B Wong, writer

44 Business challenges and ways to overcome them Lorraine Mburu

PG 44

47 The real reason you’ve been “throwing it in” Ling B Wong, writer

PG 32

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If you're in business then you obviously have a goal to be a leader in whatever field you have chosen. This may seem like a challenging prospect, however, there is a leader working inside of everyone. The leader is there waiting to come forth and show the world its greatness. Unfortunately, most people do not take the time or opportunity to develop their leadership ability. Over many years, I have talked to thousands of business people and I can attest that those who developed their leadership ability were the ones that were the most successful. The growth of your business is greatly determined by your own personal growth and development.

I want to share with you what I feel are 7 vital characteristics needed to bring that leader forth from within you.

Desire to learn.

In order to become a great leader it is not that you must force yourself to learn, it is that you have a deep burning desire to learn.

The key point here is the desire. Desire will pull you toward the necessary information and environments that you need to be in.

Your desire is what determines your trajectory. If you do not desire to learn, chances are you won't put much effort into it, and it will be a forgotten characteristic before too long. Think of Page 8

desire like a campfire, if you do not continue to put wood on the fire eventually even the hottest embers and coals will turn cold.

You must fuel your desire and keep it burning as hot as you possibly can. Learning will be enjoyable over time and it will be a factor in how you view the rest of the world. You only have to do something until you want to do it, then you don't have to anymore.

Learn to embrace challenges.

Most people try to escape challenges. Leaders have learned the ability to embrace them. What this means is; when you find difficulty in front of you, you must view it as an opportunity for you to grow and to shine. If you do not take this viewpoint you will see the challenge as something that has come forth to defeat you and push you back. You will either overcome or be overcome, the choice is yours. The power does not rest in the challenge; it rests in your ability to respond to the challenge. I encourage you to embrace the challenge, it is the only thing that will test your abilities. Without challenges none of us would ever truly know what we are capable of. When we overcome the obstacle, by embracing, it we will find out in short order what we are truly made of.

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Developing the business leader inside of you.

By Rodney Rich

Believe that intelligence can be developed.

Most people believe that intelligence is something that you are born with. This is a very narrow-minded viewpoint. Intelligence is something that is cultivated overtime. Everything we have ever done in our life is by cultivating our intelligence and developing it.

The ability to become more intelligent lies in the belief that we can become more intelligent. Now understand that this is a process, you will not instantaneously be intelligent. Intelligence must be built like a block wall, layer upon layer. If you want to know more about certain aspects of business all you have to do is begin to immerse yourself in the information about that topic. You must begin to absorb information and intelligence from those who are further along the path than you. To become more intelligent you don't just receive the information, you need to study it. Studying is where most people fail in their growth.

What does studying actually mean? Studying is applying the principles that you learned into your life and business and receiving a result. The result is there only as a guidepost to tell you whether you have effectively understood the information. A poor result is not a reason to quit it is just a reason to make adjustments.

It is merely telling you where you are, not whether you are a success or failure.

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You must persist in the face of setbacks.

Persistence is an essential characteristic of any leader. It is an "I won't quit, I will succeed" attitude. To persist simply means that you keep moving forward. Many times when we are applying new information into our business we may not receive the result we are looking for. It does not necessarily mean that we are not moving in the right direction. Instead it may mean that we have not given it enough time or effort to see the result we want. It is about persisting in the face of obstacles. It's easy to persist if there are no obstacles, but that really wouldn't be persistence would it? As we move in our businesses and want to expand and grow, we will face new obstacles. When we face these new obstacles that is when we must persist. We must not let go of the result that we're looking for and be willing to persist until we achieve our goal.

See effort as the path to mastery.

Effort requires energy. Effort is doing what we need to do when we don't feel like it. It requires energy at a deeper level to continue to put forth the effort required to get the result. continue next page

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Developing the business leader inside of you (continued) And it is your effort that will lead to your mastery in any given area. The more effort you put into your development the higher level of mastery you will achieve. Just the word mastery denotes that it requires extreme effort to get to that level. If this were not the case you wouldn't really be a master you would still be an apprentice. The difference between the master and the apprentice is the amount of effort that has been invested.

Learn from criticism.

Let's be honest no one likes criticism. However, without some criticism we would not know what areas that we need to apply more effort. Honest, true criticism is a gift. Most people look at any form of criticism as painful and should be avoided as much as possible. Honest criticism should be sought out. The key to criticism is to view it without emotion. It is the emotion that causes us to feel dejected when we come up against criticism. However, if we throw criticism out the window because it is painful, how will we grow and get to the goal we so badly desire. Criticism is like

Page 10

mouthwash use what you need and spit the rest out. Once you have accepted the criticism as valid, then you must learn from it. What is this telling me and where do I go from here?

Find lessons and inspiration from others success.

You may find that you are either inspired or dejected by the success of others. If you feel dejected by the success of others it would be good for you to determine why. Others success has absolutely nothing to do with your success or failure it solely belongs to them. To develop the business leader inside

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Renovating your kitchen will add ease to your lifestyle and value to your home. For potential buyers, the kitchen is the room that can make or break the sale. For many families, the kitchen is the heart of the home and bring back memories of their childhood. Ideally, your kitchen renovation should earn a 70 percent return on investment when you sell your home. But this depends on the features you choose, how much you spend remodeling and whether your priority is to create a dream kitchen for yourself or a kitchen that will appeal to potential buyers.

Remodeling for resale means choosing materials that appeal to the masses. This means selecting stainless steel appliances that are high quality rather than professional-grade models. Spend on functional features like pantry drawers, soft close cabinet drawers and doors, waste-recycling cabinetry. But don't over-personalize the space. If you plan on selling your home, select neutral colors that can accommodate potential buyer's dĂŠcor.

Kitchen Remodeling for Resale By: Clara Napolitano

The biggest mistake homeowners make is spending more on the remodeling project than their home value can support. Don't expect to get optimum return on a $65,000 kitchen if the home is valued at $300,000.

Generally speaking, you can spend between 6 and 10 percent of the total home value and get fair returns. You also can be too thrifty and overlook items that buyers look for in your price range.

One major expense in a kitchen remodel is the cabinets.

An inexpensive option for outdated cabinets is changing out the hardware to refresh the look enough to give the kitchen an updated appearance.

Consider the following tips when remodeling your kitchen for resale.

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1

Talk to real estate professionals. Ask a local real estate agent about kitchen must-haves in your neighborhood.

Find out what attracts buyers, and what repels them. "Research what is being marketed by the real estate professionals in your area.

Keep the style and color scheme simple.

Think neutral for countertops, cabinets, floors, backsplashes and appliances. By neutral, we don't mean white. Go natural and subdued. Choose surfaces and fixtures that blend with many styles.

Select countertops and cabinets that are not busy or loud. "Simplicity is the key.

Also, update countertops. No matter the price range of your home, buyers want to see granite or quartz countertops. If you opt for solid surface such as pulverized quartz, choose a “pattern� that looks like granite. No one wants to clean grout lines on a tiled countertop.

Open up the space. If you have a larger budget for your kitchen renovation and your floor plan is one that doesn't allow the kitchen to "air out" to other spaces in the home, it could be worth your while to knock out some walls, Buyers really want that open floor plan.

Add some 'Wow!' features. Convenience items impress homebuyers. Go for extra drawers, a pull-out pantry, stone or stone composite countertops. Lighting, such as undercabinet fixtures, will add ambiance and show off materials in the kitchen

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SHOW ME THE PAPERS! Time Is Running Out For Those Who Used This Technique To Stall Their Foreclosure By: Rena McDonald and Scott Merservey

Since the economy has once again been on the incline, many homeowners have been able to pull themselves out from under the debt they were facing during the crash. During the crash and the beginning of the incline many homeowners modified their mortgages or made the decision to short sale their homes.

At one point many homeowners who were behind on their mortgage payments or were in default were very lucky, as lenders were so overwhelmed with all of the foreclosures and the buying and selling of accounts and the transferring of servicers that they simply overlooked many loans. Lenders were also having difficulty finding the original documents such as the Deeds of Trust and Notes for several thousand loans. The lenders would still attempt foreclosure on these loans without the original documents but were often halted in the process because the homeowners would hire attorneys or knowledgeable real estate agents who would prevent the foreclosure due to their inability to produce the original documents required to foreclose.

While this was a big help to many homeowners, it left many people with the misunderstanding that because these lenders overlooked their loan or were not able to produce the original documents that they weren't actually in possession of them and could never foreclose. As such, these homeowners have made no attempts to modify or short sale their mortgages and have not made any payments since. There are now many homeowners who have not made a mortgage payment in 5 plus years and who believe that they will be able to live in their homes for free, indefinitely.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. As we have started to see over the last year or so, now that many loans have been modified or short sold the lenders are less overwhelmed and are starting to take notice of the homeowners who have not made payments in several years, and more importantly are starting to find original documents.

These homeowners who were lucky enough to escape foreclosure due to the lenders inability to produce originals or their failure to notice their loan being in default failed to realize that their luck was only a temporary band aid and not a permanent solution. Now these homeowners are facing the reality as the phone calls, letters and default notices are starting to pile in and they are told that the lenders have their original documents.

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The first step these homeowners usually attempt to take is seeking modification of their loan so that they can remain in their home. However, due to the fact that these homeowners have not made a payment in several years they are being told by the lenders that it is impossible to modify their loans because they are so upside down that there is now no feasible modification that would benefit the beneficiary and give the homeowner an affordable monthly payment.

If you are one of these homeowners you still have options. We have found that the homeowners who have been told that keeping their home is no longer an option have had much success with short selling their home.

You may think that it is too late for you if you have received a Notice of Default or Breach and Election to Sell. This is often the first notice served when you are in default and it will most likely be taped to your door and/or sent to you certified mail. If this is the case please contact an attorney immediately as you may be eligible for the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program. If you are eligible, once you elect to be in the Program the foreclosure will immediately halt until you have had the ability to attend a mediation with a representative for the beneficiary. Moreover, recently the rules have been changed and now require the beneficiary to present you with an amount that it would be willing to accept to short sale your home.

Additionally, many lenders are still offering cash for keys options. Cash for keys is a program wherein the lender will pay you a lump sum for relocation expenses, in exchange for the successful short sale of your home. Our clients have been offered anywhere from $1,000.00 to $35,000.00 by the lenders to short sale their home. This number varies based on several factors, including the value of your home. We can never guarantee that you will receive relocation assistance; however, many of our clients have received this benefit.

Short Sales are still a process that requires several rounds of review by the lenders wherein you will most likely be required to turn over your financial documents and provide proof of your hardship; however, we have several years of experience performing short sales together as a real estate agent and attorney team and have found success for many of our clients with minimal distress on the part of the client.

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“Lenders were also having difficulty finding the original documents such as the Deeds of Trust and Notes for several thousand loans.“

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11

Signs It's Time to

A Client

By Susan Friesen

We have all had them. Especially when working in the service industry. There are some clients that you can't charge enough to make it worth the stress, headaches, and frustration they create.

I had heard someone say once, "sometimes the cost of a dollar is too high". Indeed. When you recognize that a client is more trouble than they are worth, it's time to let them go. When a client is more trouble than they are worth, it's time to let them go.Click To Tweet But how do you know when enough is enough?

Firing a client - we have to drop youAs a business owner, it goes against all instincts to turn away business and making money, but what happens at an energetic level is not something to ignore.

focus more on them to help turn things around, and then lose sleep over it anyway.All of that expended energy results in complete frustration that nothing seems to work and you have lost other business because you couldn't focus on other clients as much as they needed or have time to get new business with your ideal client.

Energetically, when you focus on a negative situation, it keeps your business stuck in that negativity causing your business to have no opportunity for expansion.

When Should You Let a Client Go? Has your once dream client turned into your worst nightmare?

At first some clients might seem like "the bomb" but after working together on a closer basis you may notice some signs to make you think again about keeping them as a client.

When things go sour, often our entrepreneurial instincts kick into high gear and we work harder at making the client happy, Page 18

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Here's 11 possible client types you might be encountering that should make you question if they are worth holding onto in your business:

consider dropping them as a client. Ideal clients will respect the time needed and allow a deadline that let's you do your best work for them.

1. The Non-Pleasers. There are some super picky clients where no matter how hard you try to please them will never be happy.

6. The Non-Listeners. Nothing makes me more frustrated than when someone hires an expert, asks for what you think, pauses, and then says “I think we should do it this way instead.” Or they will get your opinion and then go ask their friends, assistants and others in related industries to see if your suggestion is what they should do or not.

Often it's because they don't know what they want; sometimes they keep changing their mind; or maybe they have a colleague or assistant giving them ill-fitted advice.

But for whatever the reason, you end up putting forth a lot of extra effort to make them happy. And often at no charge, adversely affecting your bottom line.

2. The Blamers. When you offer a service, you can't guarantee the success of the client. No matter what you've been asked to do, the role of the client is paramount to a successful outcome. You can't work miracles if they are not following your instructions, thwarting your efforts with them second-guessing you (and themselves) or not doing their part to make the project successful.

These people tend to jump from one resource to another, thinking their failures are always someone else's fault instead of looking at what they are doing (or not doing) to create these situations. You're in a no-win situation with this type of client.

3. The Slow-Payers. Everyone's favorite client is the one who pays an invoice immediately upon receipt. But when a client is continually late in paying their invoices or worst yet, gets behind in payments, it's hard to give them your best service.

It's much more satisfying to spend time working with clients who pay promptly. Keeping them on as a client is enabling their bad behaviors and telling them it's OK not to pay you on time.

4. The Cost-Complainers. You know the kind, when they constantly complain about how much this is costing them, asking for discounts and feeling they deserve price breaks.

'Frugal Fred's are a pain in the butt to work for. They keep trying to get you to do everything for nothing. More keeps getting added to your plate with the assumption it should all be included in the original cost. Sometimes they try to make you feel guilty by sharing their 'temporary' financial problems with you and promise they'll pay you once they get the big break that's 'just around the corner'. Don't fall for their story.

Greatness doesn't go on sale. When a client doesn't value the quality of service you provide, then you're not being valued.

Period. Your ideal client will gladly pay what you are worth without complaint.

5. The Panicked-Insisters. These types of clients want everything done quickly and at the last minute, causing you to set aside other, just as important work, so they can be made happy. Their lack of planning does not make an emergency on your part. If they insist on giving you projects with no notice, charge a hefty rush fee.

If these quick turnaround demands continue, you may Infinity Business Magazine | INBLV.COM

Everyone has an opinion and many times the other people asked are not at all qualified to provide expert advice. This second-guessing only wastes time and effort and is a sure-sign of the clients' self-uncertainty on being able to make clear decisions. And of course, when you do what they ask and they don't get results, they blame you (see #2 client type above.) If they want to hire an expert, they should be “coachable” and ready to implement your advice and strategies with confidence in your abilities. If that confidence is not there, they need to find someone else they can be confident with.

7. The Abusers. I had a client years ago who literally threatened me when his email wasn't working the way he thought it should. His misunderstanding of how email works resulted in him blaming me for his frustrations, treating me with disrespect and bullying me terribly. I was truly afraid.

Some clients are downright abusive. They talk down to you and push you around. When a client starts to be a bully, prepare to divorce them right away! No one deserves that kind of treatment.

8. The Stress-Causers. A prime indicator of this type of client is when you see they are calling on the phone and your heart sinks, anxiety kicks in and you don't want to answer.

We had a client once who was a husband/wife team. The husband was so personable, warm and pleasant. But when they wife called, she was demanding, abrupt, and even intimidating. It made it very difficult to answer the phone, knowing I was about to have a difficult conversation with her.

Working with clients that cause you undue stress and anxiety while trying your best to make them happy are simply not worth the effort. Spend that energy on finding your ideal client instead.

9. The Personality-Clashers. Sometimes personalities don't mesh. It happens. Respect yourself enough not to put up with clients that aren't a JOY to serve.

10. The Energy-Vampires. Some clients are literally energy black holes. They are demanding and need all your time. They suck up all your joy and energy and you are literally exhausted after working with them.

What's worse is they are taking up space for a perfect client you could be working with. Don't settle for clients that drain you. Choose clients that energize you.

11. The Unreasonable-Demanders. When clients want you to be an expert in something you're not and demand you do the work anyway is setting you up for failure.

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If you succumb to them, you'll wind up in a world of trouble spending hours trying to do something, making mistakes, and not getting the desired results. Just say 'no' to jobs that aren't in your area of expertise. Instead, refer them to someone else who is much better equipped for that particular request.

After many years in the business, we've had all kinds of crazy situations that clearly taught me what we don't want in a client.

The best advice I can give is to be very clear about who your ideal client is and how you want to be treated.

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Remind clients of boundaries as needed and be firm with maintaining them. Life is too short to just work for the dollar. As business owners we have a right to work with clients who bring us extreme joy and satisfaction. That way we can do our best work.

Here's to finding high-end ideal clients who are ready to work with you, have the money to hire you, understand the value of your work.

Have you ever experienced any of these 11 client types? If so, how did you handle them?

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LVIP Dining is a dining membership club whose mission is ending hunger for the children of Southern Nevada.

The founders, Evan and Layla Green, are a husband and wife team who relish dining out, appreciate the many incredible restaurants Las Vegas offers and were astonished to learn about the huge issue of childhood hunger throughout Southern Nevada.

With these realizations LVIP Dining was born!

LVIP Dining's goals are simple: 1. Provide its members dining deals at restaurants all over the Las Vegas Valley.

2. Bring new customers and more business to its partner restaurants.

3. Make Southern Nevada a hunger-free community for all children.

LVIP Dining is a social venture that employs a unique "Ending Hunger with Hunger" model. The model leverages the activity of dining out to help solve the social issue of childhood hunger.

Memberships are free, when you sign up for your free membership a child in need is fed for the day on your behalf, and when members eat at LVIP Dining's partner restaurants they are helping feed hungry Las Vegas area children at the same time they are enjoying a great meal and a great deal.

LVIP Dining has partnered with Three Square food bank and numerous local area restaurants to achieve its goals. Three Square is Las Vegas' only food bank and their mission is to provide wholesome food to hungry people while passionately pursuing a hunger-free community. "We just love the volunteers, staff and facilities at Three Square", Evan Green said. "My wife and I regularly volunteer at their food bank and were astounded at the amount of Kid CafĂŠ bags and box lunches that need to be packed for families and children."

LVIP Dining's partner restaurants include Aroma, Buca di Beppo, Chicago Joe's, Crave, DJT, Echo & Rig, Flame Kabob, Habib's Page 24

Persian Cuisine, Mark Rich's Pizza, Marrakech, Mingo, Oscar's, Panevino, Rendezvous and Strip View CafĂŠ.

LVIP Dining's two key programs are its Restaurant of the Month and its Ending Hunger Dining Card. The Restaurant of the Month program is designed to give its members an opportunity to explore one unique restaurant each month. That restaurant offers LVIP Dining members an exclusive dining deal for that month. For each meal an LVIP Dining member eats at the restaurant of the month, three (3) meals are provided to hungry kids.

The Ending Hunger Dining Card is an optional card that LVIP Dining members may purchase for $25.

Ending Hunger cardholders are entitled to ongoing discounts at the many Ending Hunger partner restaurants listed on the LVIP Dining website. For each Ending Hunger card purchased, 25 meals are provided to hungry children throughout Southern Nevada.

"Hunger is much more widespread in the Las Vegas area than most people realize", said Evan Green. "In fact, more than 64% of Clark County School District kids enroll in free or subsidized meals for proper nutrition. That's a staggering amount. If hunger were a disease we would be calling it an epidemic."

To learn more about what you can do to help end childhood h u n g e r , p l e a s e e m a i l o r c a l l LV I P D i n i n g a t info@LVIPdining.com, (702) 757-6600. If you would like to become a free LVIP Dining club member please visit www.LVIPdining.com.

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Art of Networking

THE By: Jill Branson

When I began researching for what I thought would be a great topic for business networking that not only pertained to everything Real Estate, but in general for any networker, it occurred to me that some businesses have a really difficult time finding a network home. The network groups that are category exclusive seem to have no openings for Realtors, Insurance Agents, Financial Advisors and more. These categories are snatched up before anyone even leaves the group since they have someone letting them know if their category opens. That is the old story of "it's who you know" and "who knows you".

Here are some helpful hints on how to find a group or event so that you are still in the networking world until a group you are interested in opens up for you.

When you are looking for events, try several different types such as; a traditional network group that is NOT category exclusive, trade shows, business after hours events, seminars, workshops, interest group meetings or clubs. (MeetUp.com) If you are a golfer, there are networking events for business women through the Executive Women's Golf Association (EWGA). Networking on the Greens here in Las Vegas meets once a month to play 9 holes at Wildhorse Golf Club.

Living here in Las Vegas we are so fortunate to have so many different avenues to network. As soon as we leave our home we can begin networking whether it's standing in line at the grocery store, our children's sports events and basically just about anywhere. As an example, there is a Realtor I know who was in the hospital for an extended period of time. They never stopped networking. After getting to know the Nurses, the Doctors, the X-ray Tech and, just about anyone that came in the room on a regular basis, a business card was handed to them with the statement "If you or anyone you know is thinking of buying or selling a home please think of me". Even from the hospital bed they gained 3 clients! Never give up an opportunity to network.

Now mind you, it isn't a good idea to say hello my name is ____and hand them your business card. Listen to the people you meet, ask them questions and hear the clues they are giving you about what they may be looking for and if they are new to the area. That is your opportunity to refer one of your networking contacts as well. In the meantime, they will remember that you were actually interested in what they had to say and think of YOU when someone says they or someone they know are looking for what happens to be your product or service. You can

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FOR REAL ESTATE

ask "What can I do to help you? This allows them to open up and share with you that they may be looking for work, are looking to buy a home, or they are wondering where the good restaurants are in the community. All of this will help them feel more comfortable getting to know you.

When you first moved here to Las Vegas, and I say this because most of us are not from here, when someone actually wanted to know about you and made you feel welcome didn't you want to get to know them better?

Another suggestion is to find a network group that has more than one chapter. There are those that have anywhere from two to ten chapters in the valley. Ask a member if you can be a guest for the opportunity to see what they are about then you can make a decision as to whether you want to even pursue a membership.

You can go on line to see the network group's mission statement or check out their membership fees. It all depends on the type of group you want to join. Structured, more relaxed, educational, women only etc. Every group is different.

It's the people you resonate with that can help you make a decision as to which group to join. When it comes to a networking group, you want to take your time and a couple of visits before you make a commitment. Find someone to go with you if it would help you feel more comfortable in meeting a large group. If you have contact information for the Leader of the group, send them a message so they can look for you and help you feel welcome. We've all been there and we want to help you find a networking home!

H C

THE

Jill Branson

obnob Connector

Owner

408-836-0125 cell The Hobnob Connector putting YOU on the Fast Track to Success! Ÿ

Those new in business networking that are seeking the fast track of networking etiquette.

Ÿ

New Networkers who want to go into an event looking like a pro.

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Seasoned Networkers who need a refresher course on protocol for all types of networking.

TheHobnobConnector@gmail.com | fB The Hobnob Connector Jill Branson

Page 25

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

"Because everyone deserves a home and Forbes Realty Group can help make this a reality.�

Meet Lynaae Zoe Forbes, Broker/Owner of Forbes Realty Group.

As a former owner of several successful small businesses, Lynaae specializes in the sales of new and existing homes in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson. As part of her industry experience she has had the opportunity to work in many facets of the real estate industry.

Lynaae was first licensed as a real estate agent in the State of Washington from 1991 to 1999. While there she worked for a new builder's, commercial real estate office, and listed & sold residential real estate. From there, she and her husband Greg, moved to Florida where she was licensed for two years. While residing in Florida Lynaae had the opportunity to work for a new construction company who built hotels throughout the United States. In early 2000, her husband Greg was transferred to California where she became a licensed real estate agent/loan officer and started a mobile notary service.

Lynaae, however, believes she has gained the most experience here in Nevada. Arriving in Southern Nevada in late 2001, she again opened her mobile notary business and contracted with several local title companies. Lynaae was certainly busy juggling many projects as an escrow assistant packaging loan documents, processing settlement statements, opening & closing escrows, assisting in resale closings, signing new home closings, and refinance loan documents. With her varied experience and knowledge, Lynaae opened a loan processing company and processed several hundred loans for local loan officers. In 2010, she decided to enter the real estate market again and soon found herself doing residential sales & listings, short sales, and working with banks selling REO properties.

things they might not want to hear. But as a professional I know it is necessary in order for them to be able to make sound financial decisions."

Lynaae is known for her hardworking, caring and extremely valuable, up to date, knowledge of the real estate industry. As part of Lynaae's unique approach to Real Estate transactions, she has created a seller benefits program called "Taking the FLIP out of Real Estate."

When we asked Lynaae what the program BEFORE consists of and she excitedly exclaimed," I am so glad you asked, I am so proud of this program. This program helps sellers who usually need to sell. Most times the sellers are short on cash to do the necessary repairs to sell their home at market value. Instead, they are getting insulting offers from flippers who want to take advantage of the potential equity in their home by doing a few small repairs and flip it. So, instead of putting the property on the market at a discounted value based on its current condition, we help the seller by organizing and paying for the necessary repairs

Why open Forbes Realty Group?

We asked Lynaae what makes Forbes Realty Group different.

Lynaae states "Because everyone deserves a home and Forbes Realty Group can help make this a reality. After growing up in 15 foster homes, I knew what it was like to not have a stable home. I felt this was the best way to help people to achieve their dream of owning a home. By opening my own brokerage firm, it empowers me to be able to help others and make home ownership more than just a dream!�

Broker, Lynaae Forbes, has been able to leverage her vast real estate industry experience as a successful business owner by offering excellent client service, having un-restricted availability, using high tech marketing techniques, and working tirelessly as an expert advocate/negotiator for her client's best interest. When asked why she goes the extra mile for her clients, Forbes exclaimed, "I believe strongly that it is not only my duty to represent clients to the best of my ability, but also to educate buyers and sellers throughout the process."

Lynaae further explained, "I like to arm my clients with an understanding of the market to help them make sound decisions. The most satisfied client is the client who feels included in the home purchasing or selling process which in turns leads to a successful closing. This what I call a cooperative partnership with my client. Buying or selling real estate can be a very emotional decision. Therefore, I am very open and honest with my clients, many times telling them Infinity Business Magazine | INBLV.COM

AFTER upfront. This has been an equity saving benefit to our seller My motto is; Sell like a flip home without the flipper! With this program the seller is able to profit by maximizing the amount of money they can gain from the sale of a "move in ready home.�

Lynaae's other program she supports and is very proud of is called, WATER FOR THE WORLD NLA. Forbes Realty Group wants to give back to the world and are doing this is by supporting a non-profit WATER FOR T H E W O R L D N L A www.nextleader.org/water. Lynaae states, "There are many things we can live without - but clean water is not one of them."

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HOW

To Get A Steady Flow of Positive Online Reviews For Your Business

By Brian Williams

The economy has changed and mostly for the better. There is a nice "buzz" around town among business communities across the nation, and both business owners and consumers have a bit more skip in their step these days.

So, what does this have to do with online business reviews?

If you are a business owner, attorney, dentist, real estate agent, or any other professional responsible for new customer acquisition or business growth, you already know how important it is to build and protect your online reputation. The challenge is how?

With dozens of review sites that show up high in online search results, sometimes at the very top like on most mobile devices, your marketing message is being controlled more by what other's say about your business and not what you publish on your website, social media and in your advertising. Did you know that today, more than 90% of all consumers first read online reviews before contacting any business?

FIVE ST R

ECONOMY.com

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Here are three ways, you can begin to obtain a steady flow on fresh, positive online reviews: 1.

Invite ALL of your customers to leave feedback on a private website or webpage on your existing website.

Rather than try to determine which of your customers are going to leave positive online reviews and who will not, invite everyone to leave feedback on a simple private form, complete with selecting 1 to 5 stars, on a website you control? When customers leave positive feedback, invite them to copy and paste that feedback as an online review

onto their favorite site (i.e. Yelp, Google, Facebook, AVVO, Health Grades, BBB, etc...).

When someone leaves you negative feedback (i.e. a 1 to 3 star review), apologize and ask for more specifics like what went wrong and how can we make it right? This gives you an opportunity to correct mistakes and calm down emotions before a venomous review appears online.

2. Ask for reviews at the height of your clients satisfaction.

It's probably no surprise that the best time to ask for an online review is right after you deliver your product or service. The challenge, as you know, is that when you ask

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and your customer agrees, it's rare when they actually follow through--right? Try this, send them a text message 30 minutes after your product or service has been delivered asking how you did today? Then, follow the same process as written above by sending your customer to your private feedback web page. This works great for high volume retail locations like restaurants, home improvement services and medical services.

3. Send out a feedback request email campaign to your existing and past customers.

One of the best ways to kick start your online review growth is to simply ask your customers for feedback through a simple series of emails. You'd be surprised at how many of your customers are willing to leave you feedback when you humbly ask them by using words like, "It would mean so much to me personally if you would take a few minutes to leave us some feedback." Sometimes it takes a few email requests to get a response, but it's worth it, and as long as you keep your request short and sweet, you'll get a nice response. Plus, those customers who take the time to leave you feedback are likely your best repeat customers and referral sources.

Page 29

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Business Etiquette for business dining

By Arthur Langton

Invitation The host should not only call with the initial invitation, but he or his secretary should be sure to confirm the meeting a day or two before. What do hosts do? Hosts select the restaurant and make the appropriate reservations, arrange for payment of the meal (whoever profits from the meeting should pay for the meal), and don't draw attention to your own or someone else's etiquette mistake.

Table Settings For the most part, start your meal with the flatware on the outside first and work your way in. The dessert utensils are supposed to be above the plate. Your cups and glasses are on your upper right while your bread plate is on your upper left and salad plate on your lower left.

Napkin Use The napkin goes in your lap immediately after sitting down. A luncheon napkin gets completely unfolded while a dinner napkin gets unfolded only half way. And please, ladies, don't wipe your lipstick on a clean napkin. If you're eating something especially messy, such as spaghetti or lobster, you can hold your napkin up to your chest, but don't ever tuck it into your collar.

Dirty napkins get put on your chair when leaving in the middle of a meal, but on the table at the end of a meal.

Important Things to Do Spoon your soup toward the rear of the bowl, not the front. Cut and eat one bite at a time. Break off and Infinity Business Magazine | INBLV.COM

butter one bite of bread at a time. Remove your utensils when passing your plate for seconds. Only lipstick may be applied at the table, but it must be done discreetly.

Empty sugar and butter wrappers get put on the bread and butter plate or under the edge of your dinner plate.

Important Things to Not Do Never begin eating until the guest of honour takes his first bite. Don't look across the rim of your glass or cup while drinking. Don't lean over your food, but instead bring the food up to your mouth. Don't put your briefcase, pocketbook, files, or anything else onto the table when they are not in use, but instead put them on the floor out of the server's way. Don't sprinkle salt or pepper on the food before tasting it. Don't turn your coffee cup upside down if you don't want any, just politely refuse.

Ordering At a business meal, order what you know you like. Try to avoid dishes with bones, sloppy pasta portions like spaghetti, and something with too strong of a scent, like French Onion soup. Guest order first, but if the host recommends something and you don't like it, order something around the same price instead.

Conversation Feel free to have small talk over drinks or appetizers. If the host orders soup or salad, make sure you order one or the other too. Don't put off discussing business until the end. You just might end up losing the business.

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The Pitfalls of Guerrilla Marketing and Automatically Adding Friends to Facebook Groups

By Susan Friesen

What you need to be aware of when you add friends to your Facebook group without their permission and how it can harm your business reputation.

Page 32

Infinity Business Magazine | INBLV.COM

As an entrepreneur, sometimes it's hard to know who to listen to and trust with marketing advice.

On one hand, you've got the Guerrilla Marketers who have the "push" marketing mentality and then on the other hand, the Content Marketers who have the "pull" marketing mentality.

Each have their own specific strategies they use to build a business and many times, these strategies are completely opposite from each other. No wonder the online marketing world is so confusing!

One strategy I've been seeing some Guerrilla Marketers teach (and entrepreneurs implement) is to create Facebook groups and then automatically add all of their friends into them. These friends did not ask to join the group, instead, they are automatically added into the group whether they have given permission or not. Indeed, there are scripts that people use to do this in bulk. continued next page

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The reason for this strategy is two-fold: You can create a group and if you have a large friend list, the group can be full of members right off the bat. This makes the group appear to be very popular due to the high number of members.

When doing Facebook ads, you can target the members of that group to promote your product or service. To an "inbound" or "pull" marketer like me, this strategy doesn't make any sense.

The reason being is that you're working with a game of numbers - get thousands of people into a group they didn't purposefully join and hope that some will stick and participate in the discussions and ultimately buy from you.

But the "pull" marketing strategy is completely opposite to this. It's strategy is to offer valuable content to your ideal target market and the right people who are more apt to purchase from you will naturally be drawn to you and your services. During this process, you're developing a "know, like and trust" factor with them. The more someone knows, likes and trust you, the more likely they are to doing business with you or tell their friends about you.

So when you are being torn in different directions on which

Page 34

strategy to implement to help build your business, think about how you want to approach your marketing efforts. Do you want to push your wares on people through aggressive promotional tactics or do you want to pull people into your business by sharing your expertise?

If you choose the Guerrilla route and implement, as an example, a strategy to create Facebook groups and automatically add your friends to that group without them being aware, then just know that you face a high probability of angering these friends.

I myself have been automatically added to groups many times and it annoys the heck out of me! And I know I'm not the only one.

Do a Google search and see how many times the question is posted, "How do I prevent people from automatically adding me to their Facebook group" and ask yourself if this the best way to promote your business? Is this how you want your business to be perceived as? Yes, these tactics might just work but to what detriment? They may work short term but if you are in business for the long haul, consider the ramifications of doing such things and how they can harm your business reputation.

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LYNAAE Forbes Broker/Owner/Realtor

702-743-7797 ASK ABOUT OUR “TAKE THE FLIP OUT OF REAL ESTATE” PROGRAM http://lasvegasexpertagent.com Page Page34 34

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How to Craft an Intriguing Elevator Pitch

By Ling B Wong

The typical elevator pitch goes like this:

I help the blah blah blah do the blah blah blah... YAWN! Does that sound like yours?

- The process helps you distill your marketing message to something succinct that can easily be grasped by others

Are you excited about sharing your elevator speech, or do you drag your feet in those networking events hoping you'd never have to whip it out?

- The process forces you to be intentional about your word choices, and nail down how to present your work so it appeals to your ideal clients (you can then rinse and repeat it in your content and copy)

After spending 6 weeks agonizing over an elevator pitch, how many times have you actually used it?

Is whatever script you landed on so freakin' boring and formulaic that you'd rather dress like captain underpants than recite your elevator pitch that makes you sound like everybody else?

If you aren't excited about what you're saying, how can you expect others to be convinced?

Even if you don't go to networking events, writing an elevator pitch is still a great exercise in honing in on your marketing communication with a very useful final product...

- The process makes you get crystal clear on you "why, who and how" so you can focus on doing what matters

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- Repeating the process periodically can give you the gutcheck opportunity to see if your marketing communication is still in alignment with your soul-level message. You're NOT married to your elevator pitch - with each iteration you evolve closer to articulating your WHY. - The paragraph you come up with can be used to pitch media opportunities, or adapted as byline in guest posts or introduction in podcasts (the first TWO words in mine has scored me quite a few podcast interviews - read on to find out what they are) - The elevator pitch you write can be adapted for your social media profiles so you can be consistent across the board (140 characters! It's a disciplined process to be succinct and impactful at the same time.)

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The process gives you the opportunity to understand what's important for YOU, tease out what your ideal clients need to know about you to want to learn more, and chew on every word to make sure there's no fluff in your communication.

First thing first, we're going to break the templates - they are BORING, make you sound "blah blah blah" and get your audience to tune out.

What's wrong with the typical elevator pitch formula?

They talk about what you do, who you help and what results you deliver.

Which is fine. BUT, It doesn't really answer "why YOU?" Who are YOU, really?

audience - essentially communicating that you work with people they aspire to become - to increase their desire to work with you.

How can you evoke an identity in your audience so they get inspired to work with you?

3. Point-of-View and Value Having a point-of-view is essential in anchoring your message and cultivating credibility. Having a shared value is magnetic to your ideal clients.

How do you communicate your point-of-view and values in a short paragraph? A lot lie in the words you use and how you phrase your sentences. Can you make a bold statement about your work that also reflect your beliefs and values?

There are many people who do what you do, selling to the same market, delivering similar results.

4. Intrigue

It's probably not your audience's first rodeo. They've heard it all. How can you make a first impression that connects and resonates with them?

People have an Internet attention span shorter than that of a goldfish (6 - 8 seconds) - you need to capture their attention and make them curious enough to find out more.

Elevator pitch, if done wrong, turns you into a COMMODITY.

It doesn't mean you've to pull some stunt if it's not your personality. The key is to find the words or a phase that appeal to your ideal clients while piquing curiosity.

If you say "I'm a health coach helping women lose weight" you're pitching yourself against ten thousand other health coaches and a million other "weight loss" solutions. Ouch.

How can you communicate why you're different beyond a conventional "title?"

Not a battle you want to fight.

5. Power of Word Choice

Good news is...

A good elevator pitch is lean and mean. Cut the fluff - make every word count. A mouthful is never sexy. It gives you more chances to babble, instead of sounding certain and confident.

I've got 5 secret ingredients for an elevator pitch that will make your audience perk up and pay attention...

1. Personality

What bugs me a whole lot is how everyone seems to start with "I help... "

Communicating your personality makes you look/sound like a HUMAN BEING and increases the trust factor, which lends well to building a relationship conducive to conversion.

It may make sense (especially for those in the "helping" profession,) but it always feels "weak" to me. It doesn't say a whole lot about YOU - everybody can go about having an intention of helping people. When you put together your elevator pitch, chew on every single word to make sure it packs a punch. Every word needs to add something new and relevant to the pot.

Your elevator pitch doesn't have to "pop and sizzle" - in fact, it can backfire if it doesn't reflect who you are.

What makes you tick? What would evoke excitement in your ideal clients?

What are the words that ring true for you, so you feel confident and comfortable when you say them out loud?

Does it make you feel confident when you say it out loud?

Does it give enough information to your audience for them to want to learn more? Does it point to your values, POV and personality, enough to distinguish you from your competition so your audience would want to find out more?

Letting your personality shine through will help you stand out from a sea of sameness that are your competitors who work with the same people promising the same results.

2. Identity Your elevator pitch needs to evoke an identity in your

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Business Challenges

AND

Ways to Overcome Them For many businesses today, there are many challenges that come along inhibiting success. It is, therefore, important to know the pitfalls that one can run into and the possible solutions.

Page 44

Infinity Business Magazine | INBLV.COM

By Lorraine Mburu

Some of these challenges are: Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

Lack of Integrity Resource management; borrowing cash Increased competition and selection Customer loyalty and marketing Uncertainty Regulations Risk management and problem-solving Finding competent staff

These are the main challenges that every business faces or will face. It will only be wise to have a prior understanding of what they are and hence find a proper way of solving them. No one starts a business to fail but at the same time, challenges are not meant for failing but to sharpen, strengthen and inspire growth.

This article goes deeper into each of these setbacks and offers practical solutions for the same.

employee you hire. Having a professional bookkeeper will ensure your business succeeds where others are failing.

Borrowing money from lending institutions only adds injury to the cash flow situation since these institutions have the power to dictate the lending terms and policies.

3. Increased Competition and Selection It has never been an easy task to start a business, however, gone are the years when it took long procedures to start a business.

Today you can purchase a host domain name online and register a business with just a few clicks. Nevertheless, staying in business is a much more convoluted subject. While business expertise was once a time consuming and expensive endeavor, nowadays you can find experts online who you can consult and get assistance from on any difficulties encountered. There are user-friendly interfaces and even support teams to help you set up an online store, get marketing materials and business cards, all at a very pocket-friendly price.

Challenges and solutions 1. Lack of Integrity Lack of integrity can put a business on its knees. With the cost of living going through the roof, workers are trying to meet their monthly bills plus maybe get that little overtime bonus, with that said; the temptation to cut corners is great.

Information is omitted or given in terms of doing what it takes to get ahead. There is head to head competition among employees, and soon the entire staff is infected. This behavior goes up the ladder whereby the managers and directors are also involved.

For integrity to improve, there is a need for work policies to change. There should be no room for any minor or major misconduct. Staff should be trained on how they are expected to conduct themselves. Different systems can be used to deal with problematic employees namely, counseling, warning, and termination. The greater the misconduct, the greater the action taken. Those who show high levels of integrity should be rewarded so that other employees can be won over to good virtues.

2. Resource management; borrowing cash Money is everything, and that is a statement that will be heard for a very long time to come. Many businesses are making a profit but what draws them back are heavy expenditures and borrowing. It is quite common to see many businesses, especially small ones, fail to manage cash flow.

The main solution here is to ensure that there is enough capital or cash saved up to meet business obligations as they rise.

Cash management becomes vital during the fluctuation period, as cash is flowing in more slowly into the business and moneylenders are less than willing to extend the loan repayment period. For the growing small business, tackling taxes the proprietor may handle accounting themselves but dealing with a tax professionals is even better. Business books get more complex with every client that walks in and every

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The simplicity of starting a business creates a much wider level of competition. You are likely to find different businesses competing to come up with the best product while others concentrate more on their selling point instead of product manufacturing. This contributes to increased selection, which makes it more challenging for businesses of all sizes to maintain customers who with a click of a mouse can change suppliers. It is a battle of marketing, focus and perception. Business owners who master these changes and provide a good customer experience will more likely be on the winning team.

4. Customer Loyalty and Marketing Along the same road of increased competition and selection to a potential customer, emails, social media, texting and other communication modes are making it easy for individuals and businesses to get their messages out to customers and hence sell more.

The conservative fluctuation period is also causing a decrease in client base. Customers are forced to be conservative with their pockets and as a result, the normal business growth of new clients is not taking place as quickly as it should. Executives and business owners are forced to spend more time figuring how to go the extra mile in order to keep the existing clientele base.

While at the same time, trying to figure out how to reach new customers in a cost-effective way without necessarily competing on price, this always leads to a race that ends at the bottom.

Figuring out the best channel for marketing is the key for individuals to be successful in the current business world. How do you reach your clients with the right message and where can you find them? Once you get a new customer, how do you keep them and when do competitors of all sizes and types, trying to convince them that they can provide it cheaper or better, constantly barrage them? Identifying what your clients want and giving them a satisfactory experience will make a huge difference in your business' future.

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5. Uncertainty Everyone including business leaders are usually uneasy with uncertainty. Because of economic struggles and global debts, uncertainty is more common today than in the past years. The sorrowful news is that uncertainty leads businesses and individuals to a short-term focus. Because of uncertainty, businesses tend to shy off from long-term planning for short-term benefits.

While this might seem like a better choice, failure to plan five to twenty years ahead can end up destroying the value of the business in the end. Businesses must learn the art of balancing short term goals and long term goals. Usually, short term goals should be small steps leading towards the bigger goal. The ever changing market speculations by business analysts in the news usually leave a bitter taste in the mouth of business owners. The end result is executives and business owners raising prices, and thus, clients stop spending on the business. You need to get back to work with what you have and not media speculation.

6. Regulations A change in the regulations is always a major concern in certain marketplaces, but unexpected energy, financial and environmental policy is wreaking mayhem for nearly every business today. Whether a demand from stakeholders or clients to become environmental friendly or an imposed policy to increase costs due to the new carbon taxes, environmental consideration is among the biggest problems that businesses face. And we don't have to give too much pressure to the issue of financial regulation and reform though we do have some suggestions about how to prepare to face that problem if you are a brokerage house or bank.

The challenge to be solved is to comprehend the meaning of regulation in your marketplace, its effect on your business, and how to develop the skills which are required to deal with the challenge. Two main areas of regulatory problems and difficulties are health care and taxes. Lawmakers are still arguing over what is called the fiscal cliff, the combination of millions of dollars in budget cuts and tax increase. Even if the congressmen reach a conclusion, it is most likely that it won't be understandable enough to the point of being required the following year.

Health care has also been another problem for businesses. For instance, the new Affordable Health Care Act (ObamaCare) is so complicated that local and state governments won't understand what to do, and businesses will have to sacrifice resources and time to understand the law hence hiring professionals to break it down for them to implement it effectively.

Many businesses do not know whether they will have to continue with the national system, or the state systems that have created exchanges. Additionally, they do not know what that will mean for their costs. For some business enterprises, that information will aid them to conclude whether it is cheaper not to provide insurance and just pay the government fine of two thousand USD per employee or whether they will provide insurance to their employees and avoid the penalty. Companies that have nearly close to fifty workers may opt not to recruit more employees in order to remain outside the law's radar.

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7. Risk management and problem-solving A major problem faced by nearly all companies is assessing, identifying and mitigating risks, including the financial and human capital. The need for a more sophisticated challenge solving competency among current business controllers is limiting the possibilities of their ability to effectively deal with risks facing their businesses. This is the main reason business managers tend to land from the frying pan into the fire, depending on who among their executives they are trying to put away and in most cases the ever changing business environment is what starts these fires.

So what is the challenge to be solved? We believe, to achieve more in the future, organizations must conclude that problem solving is the main path to business success then develop a strong problemsolving ability at all levels. As organizations continue to identify the challenges, they will have the right problem-solving techniques to know how to best maneuver them.

8. Finding competent staff Without exception, every business owner has faced the major business challenge, which is, finding the right staff, ensuring they buy into the business' vision and retaining them. I firmly admit that I have no magic formula for this challenge. In fact, if business executives can come up with the right formula to engage and recruit the right staff members, they would have made millions.

A small organization is like a family and in most cases, they can cause dysfunction or work well together. In large organizations, the main challenge in human resource is how to fit in the workplace and office politics, but when it comes to small organizations, it is skills and personality. When you work in a small firm, each individual's personality can have a huge impact on the productivity and harmony of the business.

The main goal is to learn how to deal with each staff member's personality, find out what drives each staff member and shape your management accordingly. In spite of unemployment, many businesses try to find the ideal staff members with the precise skill for the business. Many upcoming manufacturing jobs require individuals with hi-tech skills. They include vacancies at the production sites where computers and machinery are used to build products like machines and airplane parts. Some skills require several years of perfection and training. Because of technological advancement, business executives are struggling to find the right high-skilled individuals to fill positions in their firm; that is individuals who have the right IT skills, deductive reasoning skills, and problem-solving skills.

Final thoughts Without the right skills to identify and solve problems that arise in business, many businesses end up failing in fulfilling their core mission and vision. It is then the obligation of business owners and executives to make sure that all these challenges are looked into and come up with the right formula to solve them. Moreover, it is not only the obligation of the business executives but also all other members involved in the business to make sure that some, if not all the challenges, are dealt with in an appropriate and ethical manner.

Infinity Business Magazine | INBLV.COM

The REAL Reason You've Been

"Throwing It In" Without Getting Paid For It

Have you been performing certain tasks for clients (often just "throwing it in") and delivering phenomenal results, yet haven't made it "official" that you're offering it as a standalone service so you can be compensated for it fairly and squarely?

Infinity Business Magazine | INBLV.COM

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You probably have a dozen reasons why you aren't doing it (yet.) At least half of which seem VERY convincing.

I'm going to go out on a limb and bet there's a 95% chance that those "reasons" are just excuses so you don't have to OWN IT. Because when you do, you really have to STEP UP and do it like you mean it.

No wriggle room. No more "oh it's OK... I'm just throwing it in so if there's a slight error the client won't complain" kind of BS you can feed yourself.

You have to bust through doubts and fears that make all your excuses seem very real.You have to face the real reason that you're sabotaging yourself.

You may find evidence proving that your fear of not being good enough is "real," especially if you're prone to the comparison trap. You may have to shift things around in your business and that change makes you uncomfortable.

"If it ain't broken... ," that frightened little voice says.

message and hone in on my offering so I can turn my inklings into a product or service that's RELEVANT to my peeps (aka, sell more stuff, get more clients.)

When I decide to create a new product or service, I typically write the sales page early in the process to help me see the offering from the clients' perspective, and articulate it in a way that's relevant to them.

The copywriting process helps me connect with and validate my offering.

If you aren't excited when you communicate your offering, how can you expect your potential clients to get on board?

Except this time, I've been offering website strategy, copywriting and editing to my coaching clients for a quite few years now (not counting the 10 years when I worked at online marketing agencies during which I often pitched in to write copy) - and they always walk away happy and excited when they can finally have their message articulated in a way that matters.

And now that you've put up the shingle to say, "the doc is in," you risk putting a target on your back and being judged or criticized. Sometimes you need room to cultivate the awareness and work through the fears and hug your inner child and all.

And most importantly, I LOVE how much my clients get out of the process when I combine my knack for getting to the heart of their message with my communication skills to create website content that truly connects and resonates.

But many of us have done enough of that. Often rehashing these things in your head is just going to keep you running in circles.

To my own surprise, I haven't made copywriting an "official" offering by putting a framework around it and articulating the service in a "sales page."

One of my favorite way to bust out of the hamster wheel in your mind and get down to business is to take all those ideas out of you head and ARTICULATE exactly what you're offering, what results it delivers and how it's relevant to your niche.

It took me a couple more months before I made that happen.

When you put your ideas into words, your left brain can process it intellectually and get on board, instead of dismissing it as some unsubstantiated "gut feeling."

Which is unusual considering that I write sales pages for kicks and I can whip one out in a couple of afternoons (with kids screaming and all.)

That points to the need to dig deeper, because the writing bit is not the problem:

I don't care how "intuitive," "right brain" or woo-woo you are, your left brain - your entire self - needs to be in it to win it.

In the span of those two months, I've been writing on my own blog every single week, banged out 8 pieces of paid long-form content for an SaaS company and kept up with my guest posting schedule.

When you can give voice to your inkling, you can experience it as something "real." You can finally sink your teeth into it to determine if the execution is truly in alignment with your message and superpowers.

I haven't been sitting on my bum and eating banana bread (I bake a mean banana bread. It's heavenly with ice cream and whipped cream.) I could easily fit in a sales page if I wanted to.

Then you can fully commit to it or get over it and move on.

One way or the other, you've freed up a whole lot of energy to do what matters, instead of having a bunch of vague ideas swirling in your head and taking up space.

This is one of the reasons I'm hooked on copywriting, it's not just having some words to put on the website; it's not just checking something off a list.

Editing copy and crafting content direction as part of my coaching offering felt different from selling it as a standalone service.

During the process, I (or my clients) gain clarity, refine my

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The real reason I've been stalling is that I was afraid to step up, own it and call it what it is.

The deliverables have to be tight. Even if I've been doing it buttoned up like I'd have in my ad agency days, it's

Infinity Business Magazine | INBLV.COM

It's somewhat intimidating because officially, English is my second language.

way to work through it quickly - instead of having it swirl in my head - is to create a copywriting offering that turns my intuition, marketing knowledge, coaching experience and love for communication into an alchemical experience.

Even though it's more native to me than my mother tongue after spending more than half of my life in the States...

You can talk (or journal) till you turn blue, or you can just DO IT to show your monkey mind that you CAN do it.

somewhat scary to finally "label" it.

Ÿ

getting top scores on TOEFL and SAT;

I chose the latter.

Ÿ

getting A's for almost all the papers I wrote during my 8 years in Ivy League schools;

Own it, claim it, by DOING IT.

Ÿ

being responsible for scope documents, client communications and occasionally filling in for copywriting for 10 years;

Ÿ

scoring writing gigs that look for "native speakers only."

I even helped a friend with his admission essays that got him into MIT business school.

Yet, somehow, ESL is still tugging at me.

I wrote the sales page, choose to tell you this experience, and share the lesson learned...

Self-doubt that stems from an old label or a past identity could be holding you back from STEPPING UP and putting your superpowers out there in their proper spotlight.

What's the THING that you REALLY want to offer, yet haven't done so? Have you been "throwing it in" so you can hide it behind something else?

Isn't it time to ARTICULATE it, so you can get ALL of YOU on board, step up and CLAIM the hell out of it?

When I realized how it's holding me back, I knew the only

DOUG FORSTER

The Financial Conductor

“Bringing Harmony To All Of Your Financial Instruments”

Is your retirement going to get you where you need to go? What if you are hurt or out of work?

Can you still pay into your retirement if these things happen?

Think of retirement as being on a road trip. You have a quarter tank of gas but still have a long way to go. Do you drive slow and hope you make it? Or do you drive fast and hope you coast the rest of the way.

702.445.3454

Because I specialize in Tax Free Retirement and Lifetime Income, I can show you how to never have that worry again.

With my knowledge you can go anywhere you want without running out of “gas”.

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Email me at: doug@thefinancialconductor.com

Page 20

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