These Are a Few of My Favorite Things by Quotes & Quips

I actually ran the bulk of this post last April, so while some of ya may be experiencing dejavu with it, know that (a) I only included the products I’m still in love with and (b) I updated it to include the things I’ve falled in love with since then! Oh, and some of the links are affiliate ones, but for serious, I wouldn’t put the hooplah around it unless I’ve used it for myself and wanna marry it. Don’t tell my husband.

For CRM (Customer Relations Management): Batchblue

I’ve used SalesForce in my Corporate America life, and hated the unprettiness/ clutteredness/ textbasedness of it all (although it looks like they’ve updated it since). Thankfully, I found BatchBlue early in the game and used their basic plan ($9.95/month) for over a year before adding my Virtual Assistant to my mix and throwing ‘em an extra $10/month, happily. The most amazeballs thing about Batchblue is their super-sophisticated social media integrations. If you have a name and an email address, you can click the Search Social Network button and have Batchblue find their Twitter account, Facebook profile, Flickr username and LinkedIn profile, which you can then add to that contact’s Social Media tag. You can also add RSS feeds for, well, anything (I set ones up for blogs, Etsy and Pinterest) – so that person’s latest tweets and posts and pins and pics are all within their entry. It’s also really easy to attach files, create To Dos and Events (that sync with your calendar), run reports for whatever you find important (i.e. I have one that tells me how many consultation calls end up signing on as clients), create web forms that then sync with the contact’s info, and keep track of Deals. And seriously, the company is generally awesome. They not only send me goodies all the time, but the donated to my boob cancer walk!

For newsletters: Mailchimp Read the rest of this entry »

Oh, kids. I’m all verklempt. Today marks 2 years since I’ve become a Woman of the World (aka full-time entrepreneur), and it’s tough to wrap my head around. On one hand, it seems like such a long time. I’ve only been doing this for two years? It seems like 5 (maybe that’s because I’ve been The When I Grow Up Coach since 2008…yeah, that’s probably why)! On the other hand, it seems like time has flown, and I’m having trouble comprehending that When I Grow Up isn’t a “baby” anymore…Aw, they grow up so fast!

I honestly wasn’t sure what to write about today. A new I Quit My Day Job video? An update from my “dark” video that I posted last week (I’m feeling way better and love all the love you guys gave me – promise to post an update soon!)? A letter to my 2010 self (ooh, that’s a good one, actually…maybe later this week!)? A listing of my accomplishments since then? Thankfully, I got inspiration from my recent session with Stacy of Ethical Launch (who’s an uber-genius, BTW), when she pat me on the back for being honest about my disappointing Clubhouse launch.

“Ya know, everyone always thinks that we have to go this alone. We want to be entrepreneurs, we don’t have any capital, and we feel like we have to do everything ourselves. But we don’t! And people don’t!”, she said. “I don’t like the entrepreneurs who we all know are super-successful, and they don’t share that they have a team behind them. It’s a false reality to present to people.” (OK, I’m paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it.)

Yes, we might be (wannabe) solopreneurs, but no – I have never been alone in this journey at any point. Since I started working as The When I Grow Up Coach in 2008 (before I escaped the Golden Handcuffs), I’ve hired: Read the rest of this entry »

LET’S CELEBRATE by Studio Mela

Monday, March 19th marks 2 years since I escaped corporate America and became a full-time Woman of the World (my term for full-time entrepreneur), and a milestone like this can’t go ignored.

Help me celebrate by joining me live from 1-2p Eastern on Vokle, where you can not only chat with other participants, but you can ask me questions via text or your webcam! It’s so the future.

In that hour, I’m gonna answer every question ya got for me. Read the rest of this entry »

Oh March. Even though I have 2 schmemo sessions during your month, I’m still happy to see you.

I’m thrilled to introduce my new Spectacular Sponsors for March!:

Everything Little Miss is a Boston-area design studio that produces whimsical + eco-friendly paper goods. We have a full collection of greeting cards, and we also work closely with clients on custom design projects. We’ve designed business collateral, personal stationery, and wedding invitations. In fact, we love working with couples so much, that we just introduced wedding suites to the Everything Little Miss collection. If you’re looking for darling note cards or have an idea for a fun custom project, get in touch! Just for you: When I Grow Up readers get a 10% discount in the Etsy shop by entering WIGU12 at checkout.

I love olives, sangria, David Bowie & sheep.  So, those four things may be mentioned on my blog.  Other things?  My “list” of things I want to do in my lifetime (and posts about marking things off of that list.  And adding more.  All.  The.  Time.), photos of my sweet dog Squirt, food of delicious meals I’ve eaten or made, lots of tea talk, knitting & crocheting projects I’ve done (or am working on finishing.  One of the items on that “list”), and just everyday life things.  Hope you enjoy!

Vibrant home decor and women’s bags made in collaboration with international artisans!  ThreadWritten Textiles is currently fundraising to travel to Hungary to produce its first line.  Support the merging of traditional embroidery and modern design with a silkscreened tea towel or bag, or by donating to the cause.  Crowdfunding campaign begins March 12!

And my returning Spectacular Sponsors!: Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Women’s Money Week (yes, this is a thing) & I’m pleased as punch to let ya know how to help yo’self, give back to others (who have boob cancer and not), & get 95% off some of the bestest products created by women (including moi!).

22 courses, audios and ebooks – worth $1,813! – that allow ya to live your passionate career and earn more money (I find those go hand-in-hand!) are yours for just $97 ‘til tomorrow at midnight. That includes my illustrated, rhyming (!!!) career change workbook, Operation: Creative Career Cheer, along with:

• Partnership Playbook by Pamela Slim and Desiree Adaway ($199)
• The Art of Earning ($25) and Email Marketing Kickstart ($97) by Tara Gentile
• Attract Clients Fast: Ten Easy Steps to Fill Your Professional Practice by Jan Marie Dore ($97)
• How to Build a Part-Time Social Media Business by Alexis Grant ($24)
• Write Your Mess by Allison Nazarian ($97)
• Reclaim Your Life by Anastasiya Goers ($37.95)
• Disobedient Directory and Site Snapshot by Jackie Purnell ($175)
• Make Sh*t Happen by Jenny Blake  ($47)
• To Whom it May Concern: Or, How to Stop Sucking At Your Job Search by Jenny Foss ($39)
• Sticky Ebook Formula by Kelly Kingman ($27)
• Location Independent Lifestyle Guide ($37) and The Naming eKit and Workbook by Lea Woodward
• Business Goddess Starter Kit by Goddess Leonie Dawson ($49.95)
• Power to Your Message by Michelle Barry Franco ($33)
• Build Your Online Business by Natalie Sisson ($37)
• 52 Weeks to Awesome by Pace and Kyeli Smith ($52)
• Building Online Relationships that Work: A Bottle of Wuffa Dust by Sarah Robinson ($89)
• Quit Your Job and Travel the World Bundle by Christine Gilbert ($19.99)
• Discover Your Money Map Number ($497) + 1 Month of Eyes Wide Open Coaching ($97) by Alexis Neely

The 2^nd bestest part? Women’s Money Week is donating 25% of the profits to Women for Women International and Global Fund for Women, & I’ll be donating 10% of my profits from the sale to the Young Survivors Coalition, which has been instrumental in helping a young thing like me navigate my way to fight boob cancer. (You can probably guess, then, that clicking the links here throws some affiliate coin my way, but – as always – I’d never send ya to something I don’t stand behind fully. And I stand behind this so fully that I’m buying one for myself. I mean, have you seen that Goddess Leonie, Tara Gentile, Pam Slim, Pace & Kylei, and Jenny Blake are all here? Not to mention that The Naming eKit is calling my name, natch). Read the rest of this entry »

This is a post from Jenn Lee, a right-brain hero of mine and author of The Right-Brain Business Plan, which is my most-used, most-recommended business building tool for us creatives, hand-down. She wrote this sweet post to tell ya all about her 2nd Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit, which is totally free and which’ll be totally amazeballs, just like last year. But I don’t need to tell ya – see/read it for yo’self!

If you are a right-brain entrepreneur, you might feel totally connected to your creative gifts but still struggle with the nuts and bolts of business. The traditional way of doing business doesn’t work for us creative folk but we still need to do what we can to take our business seriously. The good news is you have permission to approach building your business using your right-brain gifts. You can take your business seriously while still having loads of fun!

Speaking of fun…. last year I had the absolute pleasure of featuring the wonderful Michelle Ward at my inaugural Right-Brainers in Business Video Summit. I just love this woman and think she’s so freakin’ inspiring (I’m sure you do, too!!).

I thought it’d be a blast to share with you an encore of her delightful Right-Brain Business Plan® Show and Tell Spotlight from our 2011 event. It’s amazing to see all that she’s accomplished since doing her RBBP and since last year’s summit! Read the rest of this entry »

Wanna quit yer job, but don’t wanna wind up living in your parent’s basement eating Ramen noodles? Well, that doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive!

In this 90 minute virtual workshop (that means you can join us from wherever you be as long as you have a computer and a phone line!), you’ll find out how I created a big, fat, sturdy safety net so that I could leave my corporate job in Mar 2010 and make “the leap” to full-time coach – and what I’d do differently if I had to do it again!  You’ll also leave with the framework of your big, fat, sturdy safety net (not yo’ Mama’s or yo’ partner’s!); potential Plan Bs that won’t leave you beaten down without a soul; and your Breathe Easy number that’ll give you enough of a financial cushion to make you, um, breathe easy but not have to wait until 2020 to break free of those golden handcuffs.

Only 50 45 40 39 spots left! I’m not planning on offering this again, so head on over and join us for An Effective Escape: Leaving Your Day Job Without Living In Your Parents Basement!

A few months ago, I got interviewed for Yes and Yes’ True Story series. While the title’s a wee melodramatic, it’s absolutely the truth. And while you might’ve heard My Story before, Sarah asked me some Barbara Walters-like questions, like how I dealt with other (less talented!) people being cast in parts I auditioned for, if there was something specific that made me throw in the towel, and if I was ever close to “making it.” You can read it all here.

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