Fire and Focus Issue

M A K E S E N S E O F M A KI N G M O N EY O N L I N E

IN PRINT

ATTRACT MORE BLOG READERS WRITE PERSUASIVE SALES COPY 10 WAYS TO CALL IN YOUR ABUNDANCE TOP TECH TOOLS + MORE

FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE | SISTASENSE 1

SISTASENSE.COM | FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE

Letter from the Editor Fatigue and Frustration to Fire and Focus I entered this year ready to take on the world. As is the case with every year, God provided me with a very clear sense of purpose, “Inspire other women to feel Fierce, Focused, and Fired Up!” With that vision, I hosted my annual NC Weekend workshop in January and committed myself to leading one Fire Starter Circle Mastermind every quarter. It all seemed like it was going great, until February came and I fell into a rut. In between all the new business and buzz I felt drained. I struggled to get through my daily projects or even get out of bed; feeling overwhelmed by everything and too tired to do anything. I worked through it until I got through it and so can you.

time were about learning from these personal frustrations and encouraging others to power through what they were going through.

I admit, I struggle to stay on top of my diabetes.

Eventually I got tired of being tired and pushed myself to get back on track. At the same time I took my fair share of relax and reflection days to both disconnect from the web world and reconnect with those things that I genuinely enjoyed. As a result my web work started to pile up a bit, but I really needed that time to figure me out. I found myself writing again, which lead to the creation of the SistaSense StartHerUp Guide and inclusion in the anthology, “When Women Become Business Owners.” Outside of working on the web businesses of my clients, I took the time to really think about my own business - the things that I found frustrating vs those things that filled me with fire and focus.

I closed my web design services, launched my VIP Development program and found myself feeling like me again. Getting back into creation mode I discovered even smarter ways to make more doing fewer projects while creating awesome LPPs (low price point products). By end of summer, early fall I launched my new SistaSense CD Starter Kits, completed 3 masterminds, attended several speaking engagements and wrapped up my projects for my first VIP clients.

Sales are now better than ever and I honestly feel like things are just getting fired up.

By April I was ready to spring back into action. I started asking my SistaSense community questions like, “Are you tired of being tired? Do you feel drained; caught between all the things that you want to do, need to do and can’t seem to find the time to do?” Talking to myself out loud, my motivational videos and calls at that

When I really looked at the source of my fatigue and frustration, it was a combination of my health issues and honestly feeling like all that new web work was taking me away from what I wanted to do. I wanted to teach more, spend less time working strictly on web design projects and triple my revenue. These goals ultimately lead me to make some very bold business moves. By the summer I realized that I needed to shut down a few things to fire up others.

I am you. I get tired. I get frustrated. I have days when I question why I do what I do and if I want to keep going. Through it all I just keep telling myself the only way I can fail is if I quit. I don’t stop, I can’t stop. For me broke is not an option, but I do take breaks to recharge myself and redefine my vision. I encourage you to do the same. Life is challenging for all of us. Regardless of who you are, where you are and what's going on, continue to power through to your best you.

It’s all about that fire and focus for real!

FIRE AND FOCUS | SISTASENSE 2

Table of Contents 4 5 Steps to Get More People To Read Your Blog 6 10 Ways to Call in Your Abundance 8 First Steps to Writing Persuasive Sales Copy 14 Time Management Tips for Part-Time Entrepreneurs 15 These Two Lists Will Rock Your Web World

Editor / Founder LaShanda Henry Photographer Jean Paul Ottley

16 Top Tech Tools To Talk About 18 Mompreneur to Mom My Business Is A Family Business

Contributors Abiola Abrams Sharvette Mitchell

FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE | SISTASENSE 3

#BLOGGING

LESSONS LEARNED

5 Steps to Get More People to Read Your Blog

by LaShanda Henry

At some point every new blogger wants to know how to start driving more traffic and visitors to her blog. Here is a great question from one of my VIP clients on this very topic: “Once I start to post my blog content, is it just there and I wait for people to read it and sign up via the opt-in list? How do I make it something that is useful that people will actually read? -AS” I am a firm believer in helping people find you. Here is a short list of proven activities that I perform to increase my blog content visibility: Using HooteSuite.com and RSS I sync my blog to Twitter and Facebook, so that links and thumbnail images from my latest posts are automatically published across my social media profiles, pages and groups.

Using Youtube.com I often convert my best

blog content into videos to reach more viewers and attract new subscribers.

Using Google.com I search for topics that I want to write about and review the most popular results for keywords and title ideas to improve my content Search Engine Optimization better known as SEO. Using Feedburner.com and my Emails ‘RSS to Mail’ feature I make it easy for people to directly sign up to my newsletter and read my latest blog content via their email inbox.

Using MagCloud.com I repurpose my blog posts via my own self-published brand magazine, which I then use to attract new readers by selling the digital issues online and the print publication at live events.

Find more SistaSense blogging tips and tutorials at GoBlog.SistaSense.com.

FIRE AND FOCUS | SISTASENSE 4

Sweet Retreats Relax, Recharge and Redefine Your Vision

Mastermind + Luxury Weekend Experience

FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE | SISTASENSE 5

#MOTIVATION EXCERPT, THE SACRED BOMBSHELL HANDBOOK OF SELF-LOVE

10 Ways to Call in Your Abundance

by Abiola Abrams EXPLOIT YOUR UNIQUENESS

LOOK AT THE PEOPLE YOU SOCIALIZE WITH

What is unique about you in your chosen field?

Are you the most caring accountant, the most fun tax attorney, the most bubbly sanitation specialist? Find your uniqueness and exploit it in the most positive sense of the word. If what you bring to the table is a dime a dozen, why should people come to you? How do you add value?

Your salary, body wellness, and lifestyle often reflect the five people you spend the most time with. Of course you shouldn’t dump all your friends, but open your circle up to people you can learn from.

My favorite laundry service is called Ladies Who Launder. They bring your clothes back smelling amazing, and folded in boxes with leopard tissue.

It’s like receiving a gift. They charge more because they can.

Some find their extra touches worth paying for.

Their uniqueness has value. Make it a pleasure to do business with you.

DRESS LIKE THE WOMAN YOU WANT TO BE How does the woman who earns the money you want and lives the lifestyle you seek dress and speak? What is her attitude toward and outlook on the world?

ACKNOWLEDGE THE WEALTH THAT IS ALREADY AROUND YOU Be vigilant about looking for the blessings, prosperity, and abundance in every facet of your life. If someone buys you dinner, that’s abundance.

Do you know that there are air mileage millionaires and coupon millionaires? Sure they may seem like fanatics at first glance, but these smart cookies are taking advantage of the everyday riches that surround us and using them to live the fabulous life!

CHANGE THE CONVERSATION YOU HAVE WITH YOURSELF

FIRE AND FOCUS | SISTASENSE 6

“I am valuable, worthy, and loveable” should be words you say each morning before your feet touch the ground. Instead of asking, “Why me?” ask with exultation, “Why was I chosen for so many riches and good things?” Yes! RELEASE YOUR ABUNDANCE BLOCKERS Negative people, old clothes, and broken things all equal stagnant, dull, and poor energy.

Remember from physics class that an object at rest tends to stay at rest? Be an object in motion.

Move forward. Shed anything that brings you down like a lizard sheds old skin.

EXAMINE YOUR B.S. OR BELIEF SYSTEM What were you taught about money? Probably the same things you were taught about playing big or small. Maybe people with money were greedy or selfish. “No one person should rise against the group.” “People with money are just lucky.” “One person’s success can cheat another person out of theirs.” “Successful people should step aside and give others a chance.”

This is all poverty consciousness because the underlying belief is that there is not enough goodness to go around.

VISUALIZE

BE HAPPY WHEN OTHERS SUCCEED

Use visualization as a tool to accept more prosperity into your life. It turns out that science is proving all of us woo-woo, hippie dippy folks to be accurate in this area.

Every time you find yourself expressing a feeling of contempt, envy, or anger about someone else’s riches, catch yourself and send love her way. Work on being happy for her richness. You have no idea what someone else’s life or personal struggles are. Money is not a fix-all panacea. Many wealthy people are miserable. Let your own abundance be filled with joy for your blessings - and the blessings of others.

One technique recommended by NYU Stern School of Business Professor Hal Hershfield is to visualize our future selves. Apparently part of the reason we don’t want to save or prepare our bodies for the future is that we see our future self as a stranger rather than a friend and loved one.

If you can, get one of those age-progression photos done. Write a detailed bio of yourself in 20 years. Who is “she”? What do you need to do now to get her there?

We have to go there in the mind before we go there in the body.

TRY PINK BUBBLE TECHNIQUE Play with visualization pioneer Shakti Gawain’s fun pink bubble technique. Along with green, pink is the color of heart chakra energy. Close your eyes, relax, and breathe deeply. See an unbreakable pink bubble that you fill with all of your desires, big and small. When the bubble is nice and full, see yourself throwing it into the air, where it floats away to help bring your dreams into fruition.

ABOUT ABIOLA: As the "Self-Worth Midwife" and author of the upcoming guide, "Spiritpreneur Success Mantras," Abiola Abrams helps "Big Vision Women" get unstuck to answer their callings with soulcare, skills, and strategy. Find Abiola's self-worth blog at SacredBombshell.com.

She's on social media @AbiolaTV. Get Abiola's free e-book, "The Spiritpreneur Success Blueprint" at OwnYourBombshell.com.

FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE | SISTASENSE 7

#SALES

First Steps to Writing Persuasive Sales Copy

by LaShanda Henry As a web designer and mentor to online entrepreneurs, clients often ask me to either write copy for them or teach them the copywriting techniques that I use. Here is a great question from one of the ladies within my mastermind: “Would you consider putting together a course/class/program/product teaching us your process of how you write the sale copy for each of your programs or products? It seem like almost everything you launch speaks directly to me and has me searching for my wallet (smile). –TC” I’m an introvert at heart, so when I started selling online I secretly hoped the products would just sell themselves. It didn’t take long for me to realize the key to sales is becoming a better seller, so here are a few of my copywriting lessons learned: Good copy motivates people to buy your stuff. It’s also worth noting that confused buyers don't buy. Your copy should be clear,

concise, compelling and focused around one offer. If I quickly skimmed your sales page (as most people do), would it all make sense? In other words, anyone who lands on your landing page should be able to easily understand what you are selling, who it's for and why they should buy.

Copy can be difficult to write when you try to find words that will appeal to every possible customer. Avoid creating general offers in the hopes of reaching a broader audience.

Your copy will resonate better when you focus your writing around one specific offer for one target person.

Think about the problem(s) your offer solves and start from there. Compelling copy always starts with a strong title that speaks to one desire, need or struggle for your target person. Think about these two titles: “Write a Blog Great Blog Post in under 10 Minutes” or “Make $1K a Day”. The first one will peak the interest of someone who is interested in FIRE AND FOCUS | SISTASENSE 8

writing blog posts quickly, while the latter is geared towards people who are interested in generating a thousand dollars in sales daily.

Work on writing attention grabbing titles that highlight one of the key selling points of your offer. Copyblogger.com is a great resource website to help you build these skills.

Once you have their attention, create a conversation. The best copy reads more like a face to face chat than a sales pitch or proposition. Start by bringing up the problem and ask questions that help the reader make a connection between these issues and their issues. Introduce yourself and your solution; breakdown its benefits, highlight your relevant credentials and (if possible) share feedback from happy customers.

Hopefully the recommendations above can help to point you in the right direction, but for a more detailed breakdown of my recommendations along with a list of other resources I used when learning how to write persuasive copy, download my Copy Writing Pro Audio training available at shop.sistasense.com.

Sit down in a quiet space and for about 5-10 minutes brain dump all the things you would like to accomplish. Don’t over think this activity or censor yourself, simply write down the goals you want to achieve.

Take a good look at your list and pull out the questions that you may have: How Do I… What do I.. Where do I… When do I… Who do I… etc.

The next step is to Get Your Ask in Gear: Starting with virtual resources like Google and YouTube to physical Books and experienced professionals; reach out to the world and start asking questions.

If you find yourself feeling stuck and needing focus, the first step is to write it all out, so you can talk it out and get clear. No question is a stupid question. No person is off limits.

Have the confidence and the courage to seek out the answers that you need.

GET FOCUSED: GET YOUR ASK IN GEAR! Whether you are in the startup, jumpstart or restart phase of your business, at some point you are going to want to know how to make your business better. When you are trying to get focused and figure out your next best step, I recommend the following:

Ask SistaSense A Question: email LaShanda Henry at lhenry@sistasense.com

FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE | SISTASENSE 9

Web Entrepreneur Fav #9

Alternative to Saving Files on Your Computer Have you ever lost important files unexpectedly? No one ever really anticipates losing their files, but it happens all too often. I have had my share of computers over the years, so I know firsthand how frustrating it can be when your computer dies and all your important files are suddenly gone. As a matter of fact, a few months back I came back from a business trip and saw the “black screen of death” on my favorite laptop. No matter how many times I turned it on, it just kept telling me the hard drive could not be found. Normally this would be one of those moments I would panic and pull out a loc, but I was pretty calm and I’ll tell you why.

About 10 years ago a tech friend of mine told me all about external hard drives and my life changed in a most wonderful way. Since then every two years I purchase a new Western Digital Passport to store all my files and keep backups of previous years past. Back to my story about good ol’ Betsy; fortunately for me I didn’t lose my most important files when my faithful HP took its last breath. I quietly put it aside pending a full tech inspection, plugged the external drive into one of my other computers and went back to work without skipping a beat.

My advice to you is to stop tearing your hair out every time your computer fails you. I can’t tell you how often I get emails from distressed clients hoping I’ve saved content from their old projects because they lost everything to a virus or old computer meltdown. Preventative medicine is truly your best medicine so go get yourself to WD Passports stat; one for new content and another to back up all the old files, photos and memories you’ve stored on your computer over the years. Backups will definitely take a few hours to complete, but they are definitely well worth it. Last thing to note, because I am loyal to the brands that I love I would say Western Digital is the way to go. Their external hard drives have never failed me and I hope they prove to be as resilient for you as well.

What’s 12 Days of Favs? It’s LaShanda’s list of web business tools plus marketing and sales tips for online entrepreneurs. Visit 12favs.sistasense.com to browse the full list with her latest recommendations.

FIRE AND FOCUS | SISTASENSE 10

FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE | SISTASENSE 11

Boost Your Business SistaSense Style Browse the latest SistaSense CD Starter Kits & Online Courses Traffic and Sales Back to Basics Mastermind Content to Cashflow 4 Day Intensive Get Paid to Teach Starter Kit Blogging for Beginners Creating Awesome Mastermind Build a Membership Website Browsers to Buyers BootCamp BrandMag BootCamp Visit Shop.SistaSense.com FIRE AND FOCUS | SISTASENSE 12

SistaSense Inner Circle Mentorship and Web Development Solutions designed to help you strategize, monetize and actualize your web vision over the course of 6 months or one whole year.

Inner Circle.SistaSense.com

FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE | SISTASENSE 13

#PRODUCTIVITY

5 Time Management Tips for the Part-Time Entrepreneur

by Sharvette Mitchell When you are employed full-time and work parttime on your own business things may get a little hectic, and of course, time may never be enough.

In fact, one of the biggest problems for the parttime entrepreneur is time management. Hence, in order to make things work for your day job and for your business, you need pretty good time management skills.

Fix a schedule: You work full time and most of your daily schedule is already set. However, you need to make your part-time entrepreneur schedule fit in and have great results in both areas of your life. Create a fixed schedule for your part-time business. Commit to a regular weekend time slot along with 2-3 specific nights per week where you focus 100% on your business.

and makes things easier.

You can also accomplish this by outsourcing tasks and or hiring a virtual assistant.

Make The Most of Your Lunch Breaks: Most employees have a 1 hour lunch break every day.

Use it to make calls, work on a few tasks for your business or make any effective moves that can help maximize your time. But don’t skip lunch!

Be Realistic: Setting realistic goals for your business is another great thing to do when you want good time management in your life.

Otherwise you’ll end up exhausting yourself by working way over your capacity or discouraging yourself because you are missing goals that YOU set. Give yourself GRACE because you still have a family and a life to live.

Prioritize Your Tasks: Make the best use of your time by prioritizing tasks every day and tackle them one at a time. This is way more efficient than multi-tasking and it also gives you a sense of accomplishment when you check off each task from your list of to do’s. Prioritize “revenue generating” activities at the top of the list!

Get Help: A partner, co-founder or a member of the family who is willing to dedicate some of their time to the business is one great way to manage your schedule. Two partners working part-time is better than one, it’s less exhausting

Follow Sharvette Mitchell @Sharvette and via her website ww.Mitchell-Productions.com.

FIRE AND FOCUS | SISTASENSE 14

Web Entrepreneur Fav #12

These Two Lists Will Rock Your World Trust me when I say, these two lists have the potential to rock your web business world. The first one is what I like to call a ‘Knock Out List’. Have you ever looked at your to do list and thought, “How am I ever going to get all this done?” My solution to this common problem is to create a short list of tasks that will take under 15-20 minutes to do and then carve out a day to knock them out. Think about it, you might have 10 quick tasks and two really long ones to do. I personally think it’s gratifying when you can get some of those smaller projects off your plate leaving you guilt free and ready to tackle the big ones.

When it comes to developing content for my blog, one of my favorite types of posts are what I like to call my ‘Love It Lists’. The most popular blogs tend to provide us with entertaining or informative, easy to digest content. Prove to your readers that your blog is a useful resource by creating lists they will both love and share. Think about your favorite resources, people, recommendations, products, purchases, activities… the sky’s the limit. Get into the habit of creating helpful lists that are relevant to your business, blog and readers.

12 Days of Favs is a great example of my own personal ‘Love it Lists’. Twelve fun fill days of my favorite tips and tools. Come up with a great list that you can share on your site. Visit 12favs.sistasense.com to browse the latest recommendations.

FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE | SISTASENSE 15

#WEB TOOLS SISTASENSE SHARES

TOP TECH TOOLS TO TALK ABOUT

by LaShanda Henry SistaSense is all about helping you learn how to do two things; make sense of making money online and keep more of the money you make. I am a big fan of low cost and no cost web marketing solutions. Here are my hands down favorite new tools for this year: Selz: From PayPal and PayLoadz to WooCommerce and eJunkie, I’ve used various ecommerce platforms to run my online business over the years. This year I have to say, using the ecommerce tool Selz has helped me take my online store to the next level. Selz is a beautifully designed, user friendly store that allows you to sell your physical products, digital products and services with ease. I’ve helped quite a few of my clients start selling their items using Selz. I encourage you to take a look and see if it’s right for you too.

Periscope: I’m not one for jumping on the latest social media trend just at it hits the scene, but I have to say that the Periscope platform is by far one of the best live streaming, socially engaging platforms around today. Using Periscope over the past few months has allowed me to reconnect with old clients, engage my existing community and attract hundreds of new followers. Best of all, hosting scopes has helped me to increase revenue by an extra $100-$300 daily. Periscope is dope (period).

Google Calendar: Between being a mom and a boss, it's really easy to forget a few things.

Truth be told, my days would be completely chaotic without the Google Calendar Tool. I have my appointment system perfectly synced with the Google Calendar, so that every morning I receive an email detailing all client calls and other important activities for that day. Google Calendar is my own personal Free VA system. I love it. I love it. I don't leave home without it.

FIRE AND FOCUS | SISTASENSE 16

28 Days of Fire and Focus Take the SistaSense Challenge Discover clear and easy ACTion steps that you can use to grow your online business.

28Days.SistaSense.com

FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE | SISTASENSE 17

Mompreneur to Mom

MY BUSINESS IS A FAMILY BUSINESS One of the best parts of being a work at home mom is that my business is a family business. Over the years, my boys (hubby and son) are always with me providing support, extra hands and lots of love.

Beyond the freedom and mobility that entrepreneurship brings, I value the life lessons that I am able to pass on to my son. I always tell him, “Your initials are literally CEO, but before you can be the boss of a business you have to be the boss of yourself. Take responsibility for you; motivate yourself to work hard and never wait for others to hold your hand.” As an entrepreneur I know firsthand the pitfalls that surround waiting too long vs the power of persistence and selfmotivation. In true mommy fashion, I’m hoping if I repeat these words often enough he’ll hear me even when I’m not around.

This year alone my son has traveled with me to Atlanta, Orlando, and Washington DC. I even got his passport ready for my Sweet Retreat in Montego Bay, Jamaica next year. Growing up in Brooklyn I've met too many young people whose minds and lives never leave the confines of the block they were born on. Beyond those things that I can teach him, I want him to be a student of the world. One of my soon to be realized goals is to help Chris become a student of the world, by taking him on at least one 30-90 day international excursion each year.

Having spent the last 16 years of my life as an entrepreneur, I've been able to experience

firsthand the wealth of experiences you can provide to your children while they watch you build a business. He has already informed me of his own plans to open up a graphics and costume business and this momma couldn’t be more proud!

As a community we need to encourage our children to not only be workers, but business owners. I hope this is something I am able to instill in him. At the same time, I want him to see and understand healthy relationships, positive black parents and what it means to have an amazing supportive black male figure his father in his life, so that he can grow up and be all these things and more when he’s an adult and father to his own children.

I love what I do and serving an amazing community of entrepreneurs online. I feel blessed knowing I can enjoy this crazy ride called entrepreneurship with my boys. What I've got is truly a family business and I wouldn't want it any other way.

FIRE AND FOCUS | SISTASENSE 18

“

Giving Thanks

Thank you. Thank you for following me and for finding value in what I do online. Thank you for choosing my web services and supporting my online business. Thank you for sending me kind words of encouragement throughout the year. Thank you for the hundreds of blessings you’ve sent me for me and my family. I wish you prosperity, positivity, and all that you desire as God has planned for you. More to come. –LaShanda Henry

FIRE AND FOCUS ISSUE | SISTASENSE 19

MENTORSHIP AND ONLINE TRAINING SERIES M E M BE R S HI P BE NE FI T S I N CL U DE Live Jumpstart Your Business Calls 100+ Online Training Videos, Audios, and How-To Tutorials Money.Marketing.Mindset Monthly Newsletter Online eCourses and Digital Downloads +Community +Networking +Motivation Full details at join.SistaSense.com FIRE AND FOCUS | SISTASENSE 20