2015= Changes + Growth. What if you fail? What if you FLY?

Life in Williamsburg is exciting and business charges are exciting. I have a new partner (Sommer Chavez) and homelife is well… crazy and out-of-control (that is what you get with 2 tiny boys – both with the energy of the Tasmanian Devil!) Sometimes, I lay awake at night, panicking. Wondering if I am traveling down the wrong path. If I have made a wrong turn? If I am not asking (or listening)for God’s direction.

What if I fall? Oh, my darling, what if you FLY?

Change can be terrifying. Change can be a mistake. Or is any change really a mistake? Don’t we learn and regroup and learn and switch back, again, all the time? I do with my child rearing. I do with my rituals and habits. The same thing can happen for SMSimplifier. Or, it could be my best year yet!  Wish me luck – because I have always wanted to fly…..

Your 2015 Business Plan – Stop Dabbling, Delaying, & Dilly-Dallying!

You KNOW it is time to move your marketing plan forward for your business. Something is always holding you back. A slow season, a health issue, family problems, or a vacation coming up. The problem with this kind of limiting thinking is that your business may NEVER reach its potential. How do you move forward to make your business and 2015 the best year ever? Create a NEW Social Media habit!

Start your new habit the SAME way for the first 10 days.

We cannot sustain motivation through willpower, alone, as much as we WANT to or reward ourselves. So, if you want 2105 to be your biggest and best year, yet, you are not going to will it into existence. If you keep doing the SAME thing but really WANT something else, you are going to get the same result. So, if rewards and desire are not enough, what IS the secret to change? It is super simple, really, and it does take some willpower. It is called The New Habit!

1. Do the new thing or the new procedure, in the same way, for a minimum of 31 days. (some say 10 days, some say that 21 is the  magic number – I am going to round it up to make SURE it is a habit). Do this NEW procedure for a full 31 days – a full month!
2. You need to make the habit have the least resistance. (Example: get rid of all the junk food in the house and have ONLY fresh fruit and high quality snacks in the house).
3. Have a HUGE amount of energy when you first begin the new habit (the first 10 days of the habit). This is the time when the OLD habits are trying really hard to pull you back into the comfort zone of the way that it has always been. Be rested. Be excited. Reward yourself, often.
4. Start the SAME way every day. Don’t deviate from the start procedure. You end up getting into a groove that puts you on automatic pilot fairly quickly.
5. START NOW. Don’t delay, anymore. Because January has only just started, the more productive you become, NOW, the more empowered you are to manifest the best year of your life!

Real-Life Example: Let’s walk through your Social Media Habit, for 2015:

• Grab your bottle of cold water and put it on your desk.
• Turn on the same song.
• Sit down at your computer (don’t open your email or your personal profiles in Facebook).
• Look at your list that you have created (highest priority tasks, first), put a pen next to it.
• Log into Pinterest and Repin two Pins. Take a sip of water and check off task.
• Log into Constant Contact. View results of last campaign. Write and schedule next newsletter. Copy text of newsletter placing on clipboard. Take a sip of water and check off task.
• Log into blog. Paste text from clipboard. Add photos, tags, and appropriate categories. Check SEO. Spell check. Schedule. Reply to any comments of older blogs. Delete any spam. Take a sip of water and check off task.
• Share blog with Google +
• Share blog with LinkedIn
• Log into Facebook. Like any comments, posts to page, or reviews. Answer all of your business page’s messages, and schedule 2 posts (NOTE: Do not go into personal profile). Take a sip of water and check off task.
• Log into Twitter. Retweet 2 tweets. Thank any new Followers. Take a sip of water and check off task.
• Log into TripAdvisor. Answer reviews. Take a sip of water and check off task.
• Log into Yelp. Answer reviews. Take a sip of water and check off task.
• CONGRATULATE yourself – you are on your way to your BEST year ever!

If this list is too much for you to handle, start small and just do ONE Social Media channel. If you need help and want to outsource, we hope you’ll consider SMSimplifier!

Parenting Conference – Teleconference – FREE! December 14, 2014, 8:30pm EST

This post is a head’s up about a fabulous opportunity for Amanda Deverich’s first Calmer Easier Happier Parenting Teleconference. She is hosting a FREE LIVE parenting call, Sunday, December 14^th at 8:30pm ET.  Register now and ask your friends to join you on the call. And please feel free to share this blog post!  She has room on the call and this could the calm that is created could SAVE your holidays! Feel free to share this blog as I am sure you know SOMEONE that would also benefit from being a more calm and effective parent.

Click here to register

 

 

Yelling, nagging, repeating, threatening, and punishing on-the-fly does not work.  Vision, skill, and action work.  On the call, Amanda will listen to parents’ visions, share techniques and skills that will give them confidence, and inspire them to action with results.   The call will be packed with proven, simple, and effective techniques parents can use immediately.

Event Details:

This coaching teleconference happens by phone. You’ll dial into the telephone bridge line (or click on the link to connect through the internet) that you’ll receive a couple days, before the call. And don’t worry, even if the kids interrupt you in the middle of the call, the entire call will be recorded and sent to you, via email, when she’s through.

Audio Sample:

A sample of the effective parenting strategies that Amanda teaches in her coaching sessions can be heard here.

Testimony:

“One of my favorite memories that keeps me dedicated to teaching these skills involves a mom who asked a few questions at a presentation several years ago.  She had two young boys at the time.  Every morning she found herself harried and being “ugly” with her children.  She hated herself and her boys were not too fond of her either. During the presentation we talked about what she wanted for her family and some skills she could use to maintain calm and motivate her children.

A few weeks later I ran into her in a store.  She approached me and touched my arm.  “Amanda, you have changed my life! I have been applying the strategies- being calm, using the skills and taking action. Things are going so smoothly!  My boys smile and look at me. You won’t believe what my son said to me the other morning.”

“I love you, mommy?” I guessed.

“No!” she said.  “He said, ‘I like you, Mommy.’”

This mother was able to apply the strategies to not only take control of the morning rush, but also to build a relationship with her son.”

Pre-Submitting a Question:

Maximize your time and get your parenting questions answered because Amanda will answer as many questions as she can, in the last ten minutes of the call.  Take advantage of the best chance of getting your question answered by submitting your question in advance here. Here is a question that has already been submitted: “What are some ways to work on my patience? I often find myself getting frustrated and fussing at my kids without giving them a chance.”

SHARE WITH A FRIEND:

Finally, if you have ever worked with Amanda Deverich, personally, or have been to one of her presentations, you know there are parenting strategies that work and she delivers! Join the seminar FREE (and from the comfort of your own home).

Sunday, December 14^th at 8:30pm ET by registering atwww.WilliamsburgCounseling.com/register.

About Amanda Deverich, LMFT, NCC Marriage & Family Therapist and Professional Counselor 757-903-2406

Amanda draws upon formal counseling theory and education, on the job training and personal life experience.  She is skilled in structural family therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and Christian counseling. After earning her graduate degree from The College of William & Mary, she sought out the London-based creator of the parenting program, Noël Janis-Norton, to be personally trained by her. She used the Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting methods in her own home for over 15 years – and parent after parent that she has worked with say the methods changed their lives. These methods WORK!

That Dreaded “ToDo” list – for Work From Home Moms

You have got the same ToDo list on your desk – the “fun” ToDo’s don’t even make it to the list, the easy ones get crossed off first, and the hard things continue to be on the list – making us feel overwhelmed, stressed out, and guilty. Everyone who intends to do hard things has at least one thing in common – to make the most of their time. We’d probably refer to this as “time management,” but in actuality, it is self-management. The best we can do is manage ourselves, our environment, our mood and our energy levels so as to make wiser decisions about how we invest the time we have.  The key? Invest.

Let’s say you have an hour of free time – you could make a phone call, wash some dishes, get on Facebook, or play a game. Every decision you make, every choice is taking you down a path, taking you somewhere. One foolish choice wastes our precious moments. You could use that moment wisely – you could reading a few more chapters in a great book, research something, make that important phone call you’ve been avoiding, or investing that hour in improving the quality of your relationship with someone important, you’re making a much wiser investment. Then, you are putting yourself on a path that leads to a future you will probably enjoy much more. It is a future that involves ever larger amounts of freedom, in the form of even more discretionary time. How?

Well, think of Project Managers or CEO’s that get PAID to brainstorm—as a living! This brainstorming leads to a greater team, a new project, and the future of their organization. They have proven themselves to be wise with “free time,” and are trusted with even more time.

Secondly, think of freelancers (or stay-at-home-working-moms): they can veg in front of the television, go to internet and browse YouTube videos, or they could use their time wiser and grow, by investing time in a new contact, researching a new prospect, or getting out a new art project for the kids. Think of retail employees or service employees: they can sit down and have a smoke break – or they can help someone else, learn a new task, or find an internal mentor. Think of married couples: doing their own thing or watching reality programming on the television. Their time is so much better served investing in their relationship – not separately, not in front of the television but sitting together, playing walking together, or talking together. Think of young people: they could play a video game, play apps on Facebook, or involve themselves in an service organization or join a study group – even in elementary and high school, our youth needs to learn to intentionally take on the harder things in life.

To all of us, the issue of free time will make us or break us. We all have responsibilities – and hours of free time, even if it doesn’t feel it. What we do with that time should be, at least partly, hard things. Train yourself to start doing the things that are more difficult, have more risk, and ultimately reap the highest reward.

Do the harder things, the things that mean something, that help the world, and that help someone – turn off reality television and Youtube. Be the change that you want in the world.

 

Double Take Women’s Consignment in Virginia Beach and Norfolk – what is the well-dressed woman wearing, this year?

Did Vogue give you the first taste and appreciation for designer labels? Unfortunately, if you are retired, you may have time but not the money to attend all the galas and black-tie events of 2013. If you are planning a wedding, costs have got to be kept down. The economy is forcing even the biggest shopaholics to put the brakes on spending, and clothing and fashion may be the first thing to take off the discretionary spending list. A Fashion Diet? Horrors! So how CAN you look your best, in the best years of your life? The answer: shop smart.

• Have A Plan. You cannot shop impulsively, anymore – shop with a plan and buy selectively. Before entering the shop, think: “This is what I need and this is what I would like.” Assess what you have in your closet and carefully plan what to add to it.
• Shop Selectively. Don’t buy things you don’t need – shop for high-end indispensable wardrobe items. Search for the perfect black skirt that fits you beautifully, at the size you are this-very-second.
• Assess Every Purchase. Consider how much use you will get out of each purchase, its versatility, and make sure that it is comfortable and of the finest of fabrics.
• Know When To Splurge And What To Splurge On. Now that you are shopping selectively, and assessing your purchases, invest in great accessories. Forking over $800 for a Louis Vuitton bag may seem highly extravagant, but if it suits you and is seasonless, it can last for years and scream quality and class.
• Skip the Trends. Stay loyal to classics and YOUR colors. Embrace your individuality be your own stylist – you know you, best.
• Shop High-End Consignment Stores. Have the smarts to save money in the economic slump and benefit the earth by recycling gently-used garments at consignment stores. Sell or donate your unwanted or unneeded items rather than add to the waste stream. The better stores are very selective with the items they accept to sell in the store; therefore, gently-used designer clothing are a fraction of the cost. The store prices the items, the consigner usually gets half, and the price drops with time. Items that are not sold after a specified time are either returned to the consignor or donated to charity stores.

Finer consignment stores offer women, who want to look and feel beautiful, an opportunity to enjoy the finest of today’s runway looks for a fraction of retail. High-end consignment boutiques specialize in designer and name-brand apparel, shoes, hand bags and accessories. Shelves are stocked with such coveted labels as Chanel, Dior, Jimmy Choo, Ferragamo, Burberry, Coach, and True Religion. Resale shopping has become a favorite pastime for many consumers. But high-end consignment shopping – now THAT is retail therapy at its best. http://doubletakeva.com/ has 2 high-end consignment women’s retail boutiques – they are very well organized, staffed with pleasant adults that care how you look & feel. Give these two shops a gander – you’ll be so glad you did. Double Take – 604 Hilltop West Shopping Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia & Double Take II – 517 West 21st Street, Norfolk, VA

Automate – even down to your Relaxation

Freelancing, from home, kind of “happened” for our family, due to the price of childcare and having small children, when my company downsized my position. I just decided to do what I love, as a business and stay home with those little bitty’s that I love so much, as part of the process. I don’t get much “Me-Time” as a result. In fact, I don’t relax much, at all. I play with the kids. I work. Relaxing? Not so much.

As I juggle responsibilities and fit all I have to do into a crowded and shrinking day, shifting and adapting to a constantly changing playground, I experience a lot of stress. I end up feeling extremely tired, my enthusiasm for the business sags, and my energy (and patience) for my lovely children fades.

Well, relaxing matters, because:

• If I always function INSIDE of stress, time resists and my energy is wasted
• I am always more creative when I am calm. I am not calm when I am stressed; therefore I am not creative.
• I cannot evaluate my progress or an account, properly, if I cannot just “watch” for a while
• If I don’t have time to celebrate my accomplishments, I don’t have the drive to achieve more

Things that help me get to a place where I can relax or play, follow:

I automate anything that I can. I use a great time clock for tracking time and billing my clients and that has helped me focus and bill, properly. It has also helped me create new proposals, fairly. I have created automatic replies for the Contact Us forms that come in from my website. This definitely took some planning and action. Automatic emails differ for every business and in order to do this for your business, you will have to analyze your present system, document the way you handle specific issues, and see if they lend themselves to automation, but it is my opinion that you need to quickly get back to a prospect (and that is the hardest thing to do, if you are busy and successful).

I have created routines. For instance I review my calendar the evening before, I make a list of the things that I need to do and put a star next to the one that will actually make me MONEY. When I sit at my desk I do the first thing on my list, period. I don’t get sucked into other things until I have completed my first thing on my list. Then I have a routine for handling my other tasks.

Many things have fallen off my great big ToDo list, from a year ago. I don’t do even a third of the busy work I used to do. I let go of a lot of things in order to do what makes me money and gives me more time with my family. Being proactive about identifying areas for optimization and then putting that system into place leaves me and my stress out of the picture.

Relaxing breaks in my house look like a game of chase or tickle or climbing the playground’s jungle gym. What does relaxing look like in your home business?

Automate Relaxation

Freelancing, from home, kind of “happened” for our family, due to the price of childcare and having small children, when my company downsized my position. I just decided to do what I love, as a business and stay home with those little bitty’s that I love so much, as part of the process. I don’t get much “Me-Time” as a result. In fact, I don’t relax much, at all. I play with the kids. I work. Relaxing? Not so much.

As I juggle responsibilities and fit all I have to do into a crowded and shrinking day, shifting and adapting to a constantly changing playground, I experience a lot of stress. I end up feeling extremely tired, my enthusiasm for the business sags, and my energy (and patience) for my lovely children fades.

Well, relaxing matters, because:

• If I always function INSIDE of stress, time resists and my energy is wasted
• I am always more creative when I am calm. I am not calm when I am stressed; therefore I am not creative.
• I cannot evaluate my progress or an account, properly, if I cannot just “watch” for a while
• If I don’t have time to celebrate my accomplishments, I don’t have the drive to achieve more

Things that help me get to a place where I can relax or play, follow:

I automate anything that I can. I use a great time clock for tracking time and billing my clients and that has helped me focus and bill, properly. It has also helped me create new proposals, fairly. I have created automatic replies for the Contact Us forms that come in from my website. This definitely took some planning and action. Automatic emails differ for every business and in order to do this for your business, you will have to analyze your present system, document the way you handle specific issues, and see if they lend themselves to automation, but it is my opinion that you need to quickly get back to a prospect (and that is the hardest thing to do, if you are busy and successful).

I have created routines. For instance I review my calendar the evening before, I make a list of the things that I need to do and put a star next to the one that will actually make me MONEY. When I sit at my desk I do the first thing on my list, period. I don’t get sucked into other things until I have completed my first thing on my list. Then I have a routine for handling my other tasks.

Many things have fallen off my great big ToDo list, from a year ago. I don’t do even a third of the busy work I used to do. I let go of a lot of things in order to do what makes me money and gives me more time with my family. Being proactive about identifying areas for optimization and then putting that system into place leaves me and my stress out of the picture.

Relaxing breaks in my house look like a game of chase or tickle or climbing the playground’s jungle gym. What does relaxing look like in your home business?

Life Coach, Business Coach, Parenting Coach – should I be paying THEM?

Let me just start by saying that I love my job. I love my life. I didn’t choose my career, in my life before Social Media Simplifier. I choose my husband, my dog, my children… but I never chose my career – until my career “let me go.” Downsizing. Da Da Da DUH. I had been with 2 employers for my whole life. I scrambled to figure out how to work with two toddlers, how my skill set fit into today’s competitive job market. It was horrible. But…here I am, two years later — LOVING life.

But, back to my rant:

• One client of mine is a Parent Coach – using positive parenting techniques – Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting practitioner, Amanda Deverich is a virtual goldmine of tips, tricks, and techniques that I use, every day – EVERY DAY
• Another client is a life coach, specifically a Healing Guide. Teresa Bruni gently walks with people in pain or confusion until they aren’t. She is gentle, educated, and works with clients on a very individual basis. Each situation is different and you can sense her listening ears in every conversation.
• My third client is a business coach – very specifically for Virtual Assistants. Lisa Wellsteaches, trains, and gives tips to people in the occupation of virtual help for busy executives (had never even heard of this job until a couple of years ago!). Her tips are invaluable for my own business.

But, the reason that having these clients is SOOOOO FLIPPING COOL, is that I research for them. I become them… that is what I do. I become other businesses for a living. I research all day long. I look up their competition. I study what words they would use or what they would find important or what news item their prospective client would find interesting. I immerse myself in their vision, their culture, and their strengths and weaknesses. I learn so very much from every client that I take on. But…. I have learned so much with these three. Should I pay them? Naaa. Just kidding. But, it has been a Win:Win situation, for sure! Lucky Me!