Women That Win @ Blogspot

Are YOU jumping the BRAND-WAGON?

2011-07-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

How to TRULY brand yourself the PINK Cow in the Massive Herd of Cattle!
By: Kellie Kuecha

Times have changed and the way in which we interact and sell ourselves has also changed. Never before has it been so easy to peer into the lives of our “friends” and competitors like it is today. It used to be that you would speculate and wonder what you competition was up to and unless you were on someone’s email “list” you really had no way of knowing much about their business. Now with the popularity of social media rising and the newsfeed becoming loaded with pitching, tele-seminars, articles and events coming at you tenfold, people are getting an intimate look into the business practices and lives of scores of entrepreneurs like never before. Is this a good thing? In many ways yes because access to information has never been so plentiful, but for your brand, it could be detrimental. Why because many will feel the need to copy, re-purpose and regurgitate your message. When that happens, you no longer have a unique brand. So the question you must ask yourself is “Do I want BRAND DOMINANCE in my niche or do I want to follow and conform to the masses?” Because today’s unique material and message will become tomorrow’s mass media and so it’s time for radical rebranding. It’s time to set a new standard. Let me explain.

Yesterday’s unemployed have become today’s social media experts, branding gurus, life and business coaches and the pool where many of the TRUE experts swam has now become a muddy ocean. What is more alarming is that many of the people that call themselves social media experts, have just a handful of friends themselves and their walls are not interactive in the least! They are not a living example of their message. So you ask, what qualifies someone as a social media expert in the first place? Is it amount of hours spent socializing, is it number of friends one has, is it how proficient you are in using the ever changing platform? In my world it comes down to one thing, how well someone has been able to convert conversations into CASH. At the end of the day socializing to build brand equity is important but if you cannot convert those conversations into clients and ultimately increase you bottom line, you are wasting your time and you are looking to the wrong gurus for help. While there are many fabulous experts in all of the areas mentioned, they can no longer compete the way they used to and neither can you.

While today’s brands must be consistent, we must also be flexible in our evolution because the next two years WILL unfold differently than the last two, hence the re-creation of my own brand that I have been working hard to re-launch. Three years ago many of us weren’t even on Facebook and there were different business issues to concern ourselves with but the entire model has changed and unfortunately one of two things seems to be happening: Many have not adapted culturally to the change and spend the majority of time online pitching rather than creating social currency because they somehow believe that social networking is an invitation to create a pitch fest. Others jump on every new BRAND-WAGON that comes down the newsfeed! Hence the seemly overload of experts and branding coaches everywhere! When I first started speaking and teaching on branding six years ago, very few had ever heard of the term and so I carved myself a nice little niche in the marketplace. But in times where the farm has become overloaded with cattle and the moos and cattle calls all sound the same, it’s time to prepare yourself for brand evolution. Here are my suggestions for keeping you brand fresh and top of mind while sticking to your TRUE core competency:

1. Nickname Yourself – One of the first things I do with my clients (especially those using coach or expert terminology) is come up with a nickname that fits exactly what they do. For instance, I go by the nickname YOU Monetizer. It tells you exactly what I do, shows benefit but still leaves enough ambiguity to entice someone to ask for more. Over the years I have created some fabulous nicknames for my clients many of which have become better branded than the individual’s own personal name. We must think “bottom line” in our promotions – our prospects don’t want to hear long commercials on what we offer and they certainly don’t want to hear that we are just another me too business (coach, realtor, banker, MLMer etc.) They want us to get right to the point and they want to see that we are different! Living in a world where tweeting and texting has conditioned us to speak in 140 characters or less, ours ears and minds have adapted accordingly and we are forced to condense our messages like never before.

2. Have a better and louder MOO than the other cows – In my last article I talked about creating a compelling message and questioned that if shouted your message from the rooftops, would it be powerful enough to get people to stop and listen? Furthermore, would it be compelling enough to not only get folks to stop and listen but in turn get them to stop their friends to listen too? When working with clients I help them condense all of their expertise down into that one key message that they are passionately convicted about and that they feel strongly and qualified enough about to shout it from the rooftops. For instance, a few nights ago I was fortunate enough to work with some Juice Plus reps. Great product, great people. One of them was mixing the business opportunity and product benefits into the same message. Big mistake. The other was focusing on several features of the product in her message, not the benefits. Neither was concisely delivering a message that would cause any of the others in the room to stop and listen. How do I know – we asked the others in the room! So I helped them both focus on their ideal client by asking them “What is the conversation going on in the mind of your idea client RIGHT NOW and how will YOUR product solve that issue?” Then I had them pair that with the message that they felt compelled to shout from the rooftop and wala – a new commercial and key message was formed. Once the compelling moo is established, we are then ready to formulate a clearly defined set of strategies to move the business forward to create cash flow!

3. Use a Powerful Brand Promise in all of your messaging – Throughout my brand you will see the promise “Give me one hour and I will create a brand, business and product uniquely for you!” In my business (and most likely yours) there are many different directions I can go with a client. Although my focus is branding (which by the way I am searching for a new unique term), I look at many other areas of someone’s business. Passive revenue models, missed income streams, inside operations and so much more. So as you can imagine, it wasn’t easy for me to condense my brand promise into that short little sentence. I am sure you believe the same holds true for you and that is ok. That’s why it’s beneficial to have another set of eyes looking at your business. Good brands can’t be all things to all people and a good brand message doesn’t need to divulge you entire scope of expertise. I challenge you to spend some time after reading this article to condense your services down into a one hour promise. See what you come up with and write me with your ahas!

4. OWN your OWN unique terminology – This is one of my favorite areas of business and one of my specialties. It’s called concept marketing. I believe in setting new standards, trendsetting, reinventing rules and creating some abstractness around a brand! Years ago when I first started conducting masterminds I trademarked the term MastHERmind. My target market was women and I didn’t want to have my program lumped in with every other group conducting masterminds. This was something new, hot, curriculum based and unique to my area of expertise. As a result, there was nothing for people to compare it to. Over the years many have attempted to copy the name, create similar versions of the name and emulate the concept. That is to be expected when you endeavor to establish new trends! But this is one of many unique names within my brand and the exact same thing I do with each and every one of my clients. Think about it – if you set a new standard and create a new set of terminology to define that standard, you have carved yourself a unique niche. Better yet, you now have the ability to structure your pricing different from the masses and that my friend is the start of earning what you are truly worth in business!

I hope that you gained some new insight into the need to become a PINK COW and MOOOO differently from the rest of the world! I would love to hear your feedback over at www.thewomanclub.com as your brand begins to evolve and grow from employing these simple techniques!!

Kellie Kuecha is a Marketing and Branding Bombshell specializing in women’s success. She is the CEO and Founder of The W.O.M.A.N. Club, Women that Win, Flow and Grow RICH, KidsBiz Academy and Women’s Wellness Society. Her journey into entrepreneurship began at the ripe age of 12 and she has been building businesses ever since. She has defied all the odds both in life and in business and has mastered the ability to turn adversities into advantages. She travels the world sharing her message and inspiring women to win in all areas of life! She is the mother of two young girls, Kayla and Karina, and has two bonus children, Brandon and Jason, who are all under the age of 12. All four children have their own businesses and are learning great lessons about the value of money, hard work and persistence. Post you articles and blogs a www.thewomanclub.com You can find me a www.KellieKuecha.com, Twitter @kelliekuecha, www.facebook.com/kkuecha

If YOU Lead Will THEY Follow?

2011-06-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

Friends, Fans and Followers – The New Barometer for Business Success in the 21^st Century!

By: Kellie Kuecha

OK I vow to not be another talking head and certainly not another Social Media Expert on this topic but I think I bring some pretty valid points to the table when it comes to whose leading, whose following and one’s ability to strongly influence others! I was just challenged over on Facebook when I asked the very question, “If you lead will they follow?” The person wrote, “People don’t need to be led.” I strongly disagree and I will validate my point in just a bit. In the past few days (and often) when a big event, particularly women’s conferences or any sort of major gathering of people come to town, I often get a barrage of emails, text and chat messages asking if I am attending. Are people really inquiring about my attendance as a means to make their own decision about attending? Does my decision have an influence on their perceived value of the event? Maybe, maybe not, but I believe so. I learned a long time ago that leadership comes down to your ability to influence others. As a leader and influencer we must recognize that everywhere we go, everything we say and everything we do gets branded to our name and will most definitely have an influence on others seeking to make similar choices - so we must choose wisely.

When I first launched Women that Win (my conference business) years ago, there was a Boca Raton based, very prominent restaurant looking to change their demographic to a much younger, business oriented clientele. That restaurant used their marketing dollars to pay us to eat there, entertain our VIPs there and host our social gatherings there. Why you ask? Because they knew our decision to do so would influence their target market to do the same. While I cannot name the restaurant I am sure it’s one you have all come to know, love and respect in our local community. I have forged hundreds of deals like this that have worked in a similar fashion, but this type of exchange and marketing only works when you are prepared to deliver BIG value. That restaurant relied solely on my company to LEAD their ideal clientele down the path and through their doors. I was not and am not a PR agency, but in the eyes of the restaurant’s General Manager, I was perceived as someone with a strong influence and a loyal following. Now on the flipside, if I am not personally hosting or sponsoring an event, I am very careful about which events I do attend and promote as my name will get branded to the event and those in attendance. Choosing your appearances and putting your stamp on something is a strategy that must be carefully thought out. Are the attendees your target market? Do the movers and shakers in your industry come to such events? Do the people in attendance share the level of success and income that you aspire to have? What kind of perceived value would Demi Moore have if all the sudden she started appearing in C level movies? Have you thought about how your appearances affect your perceived value? OK back to my original point!

For many years I built up a very solid event business with high quality speakers, incredible production, lots of attendees and an unmatched take away value. That was how I branded myself in the early days of my career in helping women. I wanted to be known as the girl who put on the most incredible conferences with the highest take away value. The events were not about me in fact I stayed very much in the background. In addition, my goal not to compete on price or to be the cheapest game in town – a lesson that would go on to serve me well in business in later years. However, in order to succeed in my mission of putting forth the highest quality, highest value events, I had to first seek out what others were doing and find ways to add tremendously more value than they were.

At the time I got started there was only the Office Depot Success Strategies for Women and Balance Magazine’s Annual Women’s Conference. Two incredible events pulling similar audiences but neither filled a need that I had as a small business owner - a sense of belonging to something much greater than just the day itself. I also felt a void in value to the small business owner looking for tangible takeaway tools that could be implemented on Monday morning. Both events were fabulous but boasted large name celebrities whom I found difficult to relate to. Influence has a lot to do with someone’s ability to see themselves in you, it’s called relatability. Sadly, neither annual conference is still in existence today.

Since that time however, there have been scores of women’s conferences come onto the scene and as a result, I discontinued putting on conferences for a few years. Why – not because I believed the competition would deter my posse from continuing to flock to my events and not because I allowed some friendly competition to run me out of town but because I felt it was time to just marinate. I didn’t want to run with the herd. I believe sometimes you have to sit quietly and just let the juices flow. Soak it all in. Work on other endeavors and watch what is cooking around you. A good artist will do that. I am an artist. I am not a text book marketer nor am I a cookie cutter event planner. My body of work is different and my posse appreciates that about me. A good steak ages with time and an aged steak is oftentimes the juiciest! I knew for me to stay true to my own evolution, I needed to stop holding events that were focused on other people’s messages. I needed to evolve my own voice, my own message and sprinkle the other messages in between. The question is, would my posse be waiting in the wings for my comeback? You betcha! How do I know? Because they are my loyal friends and followers and they continue to beg for more!

I love when I get the inevitable seemingly weekly question where did your events go…..ahhhh….soon, very, very soon, is what I say. If you were a fan of the BeeGees or Shania Twain would you still be a fan if they came out of hiding and released their next album or launched their next tour? Most certainly you would. Many of us are loyal lifetime fans just waiting in the wings for the beloved people we follow to re-emerge, with a bigger, better and stronger message than the first time! Why? Because those artists have built incredible brands, permeated our hearts and turned us into loyal fans, friends and followers. Other new artists coming into town are not going to shake that!

The good news is – you don’t have to be a famous star to reap similar results in your world! Remember the song “You don’t have to be a star baby, to be in my show!” If you’re not ready to step out big and be the star then I will hold the space for you to grow! You can be the star in my show (subliminal hint here). The greatest gem about business today - is that we are all natural born stars given the exact same opportunity – and we get to choose our roles and the story that goes along with it! We no longer have to wait to be discovered by some big agent, the platforms are here thanks to social media! Which leads me back to my previous point! Only a small percentage of us will have the courage to step up and star in our own shows and the rest will sit back and watch - and that’s OK. Leading wouldn’t work if there was no one following. While it took me a lifetime to muster up the courage to star in my show- I love that I get to be the voice that sings loudly from my rooftop authentically and without inhibition. Free of fear and bold so that the watchers will become inspired to come up to the rooftop too! Gosh another tangent – let me get back to the main point!

“Good brands are bought, great brands are joined”. My most recent retweet by Scott Ginsberg. Boy I couldn’t agree more. Hasn’t leadership and influence really boiled down to three things - how many friends, fans and followers you have? For most of our careers that was an abstract, unquantifiable number. But the game has changed and today, we can see that number right in print! You ability to influence will reflect in the numbers! So now what? Sit tight as I finish my thought! Write this one down. Your ability to influence and increase your brand equity in the world of social media, depends solely on your ability to START the conversation, ENHANCE the existing conversation and then take them to a place to CONTINUE the conversation. It’s called LEADING and the “place” you lead them to can be online or offline! Get it? You get to be the star that leads them to that place! You see, I have spent the last two years doing just this. Starting, Enhancing and Leading my posse to places to continue the conversation where I sat back as a mini star among lots of other bright shining stars marinating my little heart away!

But the time has come and soon I will be putting out my big PINK flag and announcing the next evolution of MY signature events. A style of event that the world has never seen before. It’s taken several years to paint the canvas for my next phase and soon the time will come to unveil it however, I turn the question back to you. Could you disappear from the core function of your business (for me the event business) to marinate, still grow your income and most importantly create an even stronger brand along the way? You could if you previously established an indelible brand, you could if you had solid revenue streams that continue to make you money and the BIG one is - you could if your posse was pulling for you. I love Jessica Kizorek from Badass Businesswomen. She says “your level of success is largely dependent on the amount of people you have pulling for you!” That statement sums it all up! In the past few days I started using Twitter and paying more attention. I have been at the friend limit on Facebook almost since the start and it’s become quite a nuisance to get my message out in even bigger ways! As I peruse around Twitter, I have come to realize that influence is in fact, solely based on number of followers. You can’t acquire followers if you don’t have a ROCK SOLID core message. Do you know what yours is? And if you shouted it from the rooftops would it be interesting enough to stop people long enough to listen? Would it be strong enough for them to stop their friends and tell them to listen? That my friend, is how a movement begins.

So decide today - Who are you? What are you trying to say? Who are you trying to get to listen? What are you trying to get them to do? It’s a great place to begin! Remember, you aren’t in the business of schlepping products, vitamins, juices, coaching services, training sessions, insurance services and the like. You are in the business of marketing YOU and the unique value that you bring to the table that will ultimately change someone’s life! Your ability to carefully articulate that value in an inspiring message that you can shout from the rooftops will determine the amount of friends, fans, followers, income and influence that you get to enjoy.

While this article went in several different directions, I trust that you have learned some valuable lessons on leading and following. There are times when we must serve in both roles. Your heart will know best which role at which time is best for you! Now be sure to follow me on www.twitter.com/kelliekuecha and join my fanpage @ www.facebook.com/kkuecha. Ha :)

Kellie Kuecha is a marketing and branding expert specializing in women’s success. She is the CEO and Founder of The W.O.M.A.N. Club, Women that Win, Flow and Grow RICH, KidsBiz Academy and Women’s Wellness Society and a marketing and personal branding expert. Her journey into entrepreneurship began at the ripe age of 12 and she has been building businesses ever since. She has defied all the odds both in life and in business and has mastered the ability to turn adversities into advantages. She travels the world sharing her message and inspiring women to win in all areas of life! She is the mother of two young girls, Kayla and Karina, and has two bonus children, Brandon and Jason, who are all under the age of 12. All four children have their own businesses and are learning great lessons about the value of money, hard work and persistence. www.KellieKuecha.com

The Top Ten Ways I Have Kept My Kids OFF of Antibiotics and out of the Pediatrician for over 9 years!

2011-05-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

by Kellie Kuecha

While many of you know me as a marketer, I am also a mom of 4 (5 if you count Cliff) and a very well educated wellness and nutritional junkie. While I don’t have a formal degree, I have spent the last 20 years since I was diagnosed with Cancer and Endometriosis (and told I would never bear children) studying alternative and holistic treatments. My own health crisis was the inspiration behind my women’s group called Women’s Wellness Society and this insatiable quest for knowledge. Through that organization and my various other creative outlets, I have been able to help thousands of people throw away their nebulizers, get rid of their allergies, reduce their cholesterol and best of all INCREASE their immune system health. I am not a doctor and nor am I making medical claims but I know without a doubt that if you follow some of my advice, you and your family will be on the path to better health!

Dear Friend,

I come from the philosophy that it’s much easier to stay well then it is to get well once we get sick. I am sure you have heard the saying - An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Unfortunately many people wait until after they become ill or disease stricken to concern themselves with their health and by that point - are forced to react from pure panic. When it comes to optimal heath, I believe that the formula is quite simple – Decrease the load on the immune system by caring for what goes into your body and in turn Increase the immune system’s capacity to protect by also caring for what goes into the body. Hippocrates said it best “let thy food be thy medicine” which I believe in wholeheartedly. However, we can no longer just rely on food to do the trick. The days are gone where we can trust manufactures, farmers and government to look out for our well being. Being a proactive parent requires us to do our own research and become the primary caregivers of our children’s health. Think about it, if we are proactive and are focused on prevention rather than treating sickness then is there really a need for routine visits to a pediatrician? I don’t believe so! While this document may ruffle some feathers, it’s merely meant to open your eyes to the warped system that many of us fall victim to each and every day. If I can help one child get healthier because a concerned mom reads this, then I have done my job! I worked hard to conceive my children and I don’t take my role as their mom lightly and I know you don’t either!

Kellie Kuecha

1. Use Probiotics – 80% of all immune system health resides in the gut! A healthy gut equals a healthy body and a strong immune system. Unfortunately antibiotic use is a common practice, especially in pediatric medicine. Children with ear infections are often prescribed antibiotics, which seldom are necessary. A recent analysis of 135 published studies found that most kids who see a doctor for ear infection do not need an antibiotic. The review, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) determined that 80 percent of children with ear infections will get better on their own in about three days. 50% of all antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily. Over-prescription of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance and affects the ability of bacteria to survive antibiotic treatment. That’s very important because if antibiotics do not work for infections, there isn’t much else. Unfortunately each time an antibiotic is used to kill an infection it wreaks havoc on the healthy intestinal flora that keeps your immune system strong. This becomes a vicious cycle if Probiotics are not taken on a regular basis to combat the negative effects of antibiotic use. My kids take probiotics daily. Probiotics literally means “for life.” There are many ways in which probiotics function “for life,” for without them we would be seriously ill and succumb to many different diseases.

2. Rid your Home of Toxic Chemicals – chemicals enter our bodies in three ways - absorption, inhalation and ingestion. While the kids are little of course ingestion is a big problem if you are using mainstream cleaners. But the real risk after that is with absorption and inhalation. Our skin is our largest organ and will absorb whatever it comes in contact with so caring for what goes ON your body is crucial. Our cosmetics, shampoos, lotions and the like are all ridden with chemicals many of which have been proven to cause long term harmful effects. According to the EPA formaldehyde (which is used in many of our homecare and personal care products) is a known carcinogen. It is being used legally as a preservative but without a doubt is a huge contributing factor to the demise of our immune system health. I was shocked years ago to see it in Johnsons Baby Shampoo under the alias Quaternium 15. Good luck reading labels because manufactures are not required to list ingredients by their actual name. Asthma is responsible for 1 out of 3 of all emergency room visits which is truly alarming and an unnecessarily high statistic that oftentimes can be traced back to the inhalation of household cleaners. When I met my fiance Cliff, he had the worst case of asthma that I had ever seen. Today is he asthma free! Lymphoma is the #1 cause of death in children, poisoning in the home is #2. At the turn of the century 1 out of 8,000 people were at risk for getting cancer, today it’s 1 out of 3. The warning signs are there, we must all commit to being ambassadors for change by committing to learn better, safer options. Take a few moments and take the No Toxic Zone Pledge at www.thenotoxiczone.com and commit to learning simple, small and effective ways to create change.

3. Take Good Absorbable Vitamins and Minerals – Food is still the most important source for good health however for over 100 years now our soils have been over farmed and depleted leading to a huge mineral deficiency in our fruits and vegetables. According to JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) every adult regardless of age or health status needs to take a daily multi-vitamin. The problem is that not all vitamins and minerals are created equally. Furthermore, it’s not what you take but more importantly what you absorb! I would need an entire book to write about this conspiracy theory but here is the skinny. Vitamins are an unregulated industry which pretty much allows for the doors to be wide open for anyone to manufacture a supplement, slap a label on it and call it a vitamin. There are no watchdogs! Here is another place where you must be an educated consumer. With thousands of manufactures displaying products on your local store shelves, how is one to know what to choose? You must search for a vitamin backed by scientific research that can clinically prove maximum absorbability. I was finally able to naturally conceive my children as a result of nutrition therapy years ago. Grapeseed extract became the hero for me! Grapeseed has been documented to help with over 65 different degenerative diseases, is a food supplement and can even cross the blood brain barrier. It also acts as a natural anti-histamine for those of you that suffer from allergies! I personally use Vitality 6 vitamins and supplements which guarantee the highest absorption on the market today and are also refundable for up to 90 days. My older kids also take this line as well which is a combination of a multi-vitamin, omega-3 fish oil, grapeseed and resveratrol, probiotics, calcium and mineral supplement and a broad spectrum antioxidant. With this mixture I was able to get off of my thyroid medication and more recently my 9 year old has gotten relief from her sweaty palm syndrome that has no cure!

4. Stop Following the Herd and Start Surrounding Yourself with Like-Minded People – I remember years ago when I made the tough choice not to vaccinate my kids being out casted but the other moms in my mom’s club. I was so excited to share my newfound knowledge with the other moms when quickly I realized I had made a big mistake in being so open. I knew I had made the right choice but all of the sudden the other moms viewed my child as a risk to theirs when in fact their children were more of a risk to mine! I quickly realized that if I was going to be supported in my own beliefs I needed to surround myself with other moms who felt the same way so I started the Women’s Wellness Society. Since then I have become a member of many other groups of women that share similar interests and you will want to do the same! The last thing you want to do is start second guessing yourself once you made a well educated choice! You will gain lots of reassurance and many new friendships to being a part of such groups both offline and online!

5. Understand your options when the kids get sick – Running to the doctor every time the kids got sick was never my plan of action. After awhile I relied less and less on doctors and started learning my own simple remedies coupled with proactive health planning. I found a great holistic doctor in my area that gave me access to him after hours on his cell in the early years when I was adjusting to natural parenting. I used chiropractors as a means for proactive health and I did NOT reduce fevers every time my kids got one! Fever is the body’s natural way of fighting sickness and if the fever was under 104, I just let it work through its natural course. We NEVER use mainstream cough and cold remedies. If they do cough, we put the oil on their chest, on their pillow, in the diffuser and sometimes use Chestal which is a natural honey exlixer. I also relied heavily on my two bibles, Prescription for Nutritional Healing and Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child. Every day the kids got grapeseed in their bottles and went to bed at night with Melaleuca Oil in their vaporizers and diffusers. These little techniques added up to the amazing results I have had with my children’s health today. Pink eye was common in our home the first few years but since I was breast feeding I used the breast milk to cure the pink eye. I also used garlic and Melaleuca oil the few times that the kids got ear infections. We rarely deal with either anymore!

6. Eliminate the Sugar! – Believe it or not, sugar in the number one weakener of the immune system. The over consumption of sugar today has not only caused a terrible increase in obesity in our country but it’s making our kids chronically sick! I did not give my kids juices, sodas, Yohoos, sugar water, Gatorade and loads of candy growing up! If you don’t introduce your kids to them they will never ask for them. As a result, my kids ask for water at meals and my older daughter despises anything sweet. Eating or drinking 100 grams (8 tbsp.) of sugar, the equivalent of about two cans of soda, can reduce the ability of white blood cells to kill germs by forty percent. The immune-suppressing effect of sugar starts less than thirty minutes after ingestion and may last for five hours. In contrast, the ingestion of complex carbohydrates, or starches, has no effect on the immune system. Disease thrives on sugar! I also personally do not believe that children grow up fat because of genetics. They are taught habits by us as parents. Sugar is one area that if handled properly, will help you to avoid most of the common colds and other infections that come down the pike. Why vaccinate your kids against the flu when you can be proactive in preventing the flu in the first place. Don’t get me started on that topic!

7. Buy Organic – Although you may not be using prescription antibiotics with your children, unless you are feeding them only organic meats and dairy products, they are still getting regular doses of antibiotics in their food. I remember the first meat and dairy seminar I attended years ago, I was so alarmed that I became a vegetarian overnight. I then attempted to raise my first child vegetarian which seemed like a great idea at the time until all of her preschool friends enticed her with chicken nuggets every Tuesday. That was the end of that! Our non-organic fruits and veggies also contain large amounts of pesticides that are huge immune system disrupters.

8. Open Your Windows – Studies show that indoor air quality is much more toxic than outdoor air and the EPA has stated that women working from home are 55% more likely to develop some sort of cancer as a result. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) come from paints, solvents, pesticides, air fresheners, hobby supplies, dry-cleaned clothing, aerosol sprays, adhesives and fabric additives and wood treated with arsenic (CCA). Some of these VOCs can cause eye, nose and throat irritation; headaches; loss of coordination; nausea; or damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. Open your windows as often as you can, clean your air ducts and avoid air fresheners and toxic candles! Stay away from carpeting and only use NO VOC paints!

9. Bring Wellness into the Classroom – Now that you have done all this great work at home, you send your kids off to an 8 hour school day where their environments are full of toxins! My kids had not developed immunity to bleach and Lysol cleaners because they were never exposed to them and as soon as they started school, they both developed circles rashes on the backs of their knees. It’s as simple as requesting that their teachers use Non Toxic alternatives and provide them with the products to help them seamlessly make that change! We have now been successful at getting entire schools and daycare centers to take the No Toxic Zone Pledge and our taskforce can help them through the transition!

10. Opt OUT of the School Milk Program and Monitor School Meals – While many of us were raised that milk does that body good, it’s a bunch of BS. Milk does the body more harm than good in many ways! We are lead to believe that our kids need milk for vitamins and calcium but by the time milk is pasteurized and treated, very few nutrients are left. In addition, unless you are buying organic, you are getting an entire slew of other junk in the milk. Did you know that we are the only species on the planet that drinks another mammal’s milk! We don’t need it! I found a great website that you can do additional research on www.notmilk.com. You must opt out of the milk program at school to ensure your kids don’t get enticed into drinking the chocolate stuff while you aren’t looking! There are no watchdogs at school either so you have to frequently monitor this one also! I found my little one buying ice cream daily and no one was paying attention. I quickly put that to an end!

Although this information can seem a bit daunting, I can help you through some of the initial stages that matter the most! We have a team that can do free eco-audits over the phone and help get you and your family on your way to optimal health! Please refer to the disclaimer listed below. For further information you can reach my office by email at kellie@kelliekuecha.com or 561-416-1769.

Will a restaurant owner who publishes a cookbook kill her business?

2011-05-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

By: Kellie Kuecha

A Client has an amazing restaurant with home cooked food. I recommend a cookbook to her. She says no – “no one will come to my restaurant if I give away all my secret recipes” What mistake is she making?

Well there are several not to mention the mistake of short sightedness. Often in business we hold onto our treasured “secrets” out of fear of loss rather than looking at the all the potential gains from expanding our consciousness! There is nothing more liberating than growing as a result of having an open mind and an open heart. Here are some of the points to ponder in considering how to get your name branded outside of your brick and mortar business. It’s always great when we can learn from other’s mistakes! Enjoy!

1. So the first problem is that my client failed to see that she only had one income stream. Cooking food. Her income was solely based on trading hours for dollars which is a classic mistake many small business owners make. My recommendation is to create 3-4 additional streams of income with 1 or 2 giving her passive revenue. A cookbook will help her to make additional revenue in the restaurant and also on the web.

2. Although she has established an amazing following by having consistently great food, having a cookbook gives her an additional marketing tool that enables her loyal customers to continue the conversation about her food and restaurant long after they visit the establishment.

3. Out of towners may never be back again but the cookbook will help carry on the legacy. I visit a bed and breakfast once a year in Cape May New Jersey called Angel of the Sea and staying at this Inn is truly like Heaven on Earth! Years ago I purchased their cookbook however I only use it on very special occasions. I love recreating the warm feeling I get when staying in their Inn right in my very own home. Benefit to the Angel of the Sea – their brand continues to grow in my mind and in my heart!

4. Few people will actually use the cookbook enough for it to make a difference. In the information product world we know that statistically only a small percentage of folks will actually view materials purchased. In the case of a cookbook – for many it will serve as a keepsake. So the threat of someone not returning because they have access to her great recipes in almost irrelevant.

5. Her goal should be focused on creating an unforgettable experience inside the restaurant to ensure that her local loyals keep coming back. Good food is only one part of the equation.

6. Having a cookbook also lends instant credibility to the owner. Having products and books with YOUR name on them help to further establish your expertise in the eyes of the consumer. A book serves as an incredible calling card enabling doors to open that may not open otherwise!

7. Since this woman spends the bulk of her time behind the counter cooking, her perceived value is that of a chef. Having a cookbook instantly gives her name recognition and enables her to be perceived as a business person and not just a great chef. You might be surprised at the opportunities that could arise from this alone.

8. In the end – nothing can replace the experience of dining out or visiting your favorite hot spot. Just because I can make a breakfast soufflé or perfect scones thanks to the Angel of the Sea Cookbook, doesn’t mean that I won’t return again each year!

Top 10 things you need to know BEFORE you create your next website!

2011-05-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

By Kellie Kuecha

Over the years I have had a variety of websites built for a myriad of purposes and I certainly have learned LOTS along the way! My purpose for creating this report is not to disparage anyone but instead to help save all who read it lots of time, money and heartache. By the time most of my clients get to me, they have already put a site up, spent a small fortune and have virtually no flexibility in their ability for their site to evolve with them as their brand transitions. Unfortunately I have seen far too many people engage in contracts with designers without the correct knowledge of what to ask for, and then sink loads of money down only to end up un-enthralled with their site. Oftentimes regardless of whether or not the site passes the acceptability point – the buyer still owes the remaining balance. This often results in both parties being extremely unhappy and sites getting shut down resulting in money spent essentially being thrown in the hopper. Please note that I specialize in Personal “Bankable” Branding and Small business and I help my clients position their companies under their personal name as the umbrella so my advice will lean more towards small business personal sites rather than large company sites although I have created several of each! I hope this document helps you in your endeavors.

1. Graphics – Who, What, Where, When, How? Unless you have hired a full fledged branding, marketing and advertising agency, your web designer is not usually the same person that will create your logo and brand essence that will ultimately position you and your company to truly stand out. Some will offer to do both but check out dozens of portfolios before making the decision to put both tasks into the same hands. Don’t hesitate to call a few of their clients. Website developers are only as good as the information and examples given to them. You will want a highly competent graphic designer to work on your logo prior to hiring your website developer. In addition you will want to have dozens of great pictures of yourself taken by a photographer who understands the brand messaging you are trying to relay. I personally use Sabrina Fajardo at The Laughing Zebra to create all the graphics for my business from my logos to my fliers to my headers etc, specifically because she’s exceptional and because we have worked together long enough for her to know the look and feel I am going for. I also use Carlos Aristizabal as my photographer as I have been with him for years and he knows very well my taste and image I prefer and he is brilliant at capturing it. Before sending my client off to the graphics designer and photographer I provide all parties with a comprehensive branding report so the artists know what direction to take the artwork. You will want to have a branding specialist help you construct your brand brick by brick so that your site emulates the essence of exactly who you are and clearly illustrates why your target market should work with you and only you! In addition to the custom graphics you will need, you may also need stock images on your site. Be sure to either open up an account with Istock and purchase your own graphics or have your developer give you a receipt for images that were purchased for your site. This is an area that both I and several of my clients have run into problems. There are many ways to search for images on the web but oftentimes those images belong to someone else. Images that are used on the web have properties that can be traced back to the person using them. If you have not paid for the images, you may find yourself getting legal letters stating that you have engaged in copyright infringement. Getty Images is notorious for this one so be careful!

2. Static or Alive? In today’s every expanding and evolving world of web and business it is critical to have a site that can be manipulated and grow with you! Three years ago many of us weren’t concerned with how well our sites interacted with Facebook and Twitter and today it’s essential! I often see people get confused on whether or not to use a site that has a Word Press platform or to just use a static platform. Well I can only speak from my own experience but my static personal website will no longer serve my needs or the needs of my community as it stands right now. I have fought it for a long time but I too am moving on over to a Word Press platform so I have the freedom and flexibility of adding content and video to my site whenever I feel the urge to. Please don’t get confused with Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org. They are two different animals. If you are looking for your site to both look like a site and also have blogging capabilities you will want the site built on Wordpress.org. If you just want a blog then Wordpress.com suffices. I am using The Internet Genius Ben Cope to help me seamlessly through this transition!

3. Landing Pages or Full Websites? These are two very different types of sites with two very different purposes. A landing or squeeze page serves simply one or two main purposes, to acquire leads and/or to sell a product. You will often see these sites scroll down with lots of text, testimonials and loads of other sales information. Some are very direct and require your name and email to get whatever free information is being offered. Many of these types of sites can be created using templates and can be done without the need to hire someone, however if in any way your landing page looks homemade – scrap it and hire a professional. That is pretty much a standard rule of thumb in business overall. I built several of my own landing pages using templates and you can see them at www.thewomanclub.net and www.profitfrombeingyou.com Full websites are necessary when you have a variety of menu items and require a full showcase of who you are and all that you offer. It’s important that you know the difference.

4. Front End Specialists and Back End Specialists – Are they the same person? Here is another area many people get confused in believing that web creation is a one-stop-shop proposition. A front end developer is typically someone that has a great artistic talent and can articulate your vision into web components that make up your site. However these are not usually the same specialists that will build out the code necessary for your site to give you analytics, data mining and so many other custom functions that you may require depending on your offerings. Be very clear in your needs in advance and make sure your contract spells out detail by detail what your needs are! You can hire coders that work for pennies on the dollar in other countries by contracting through www.elance.com or www.odesk.com. If your project is large and you want to hire a firm to be your project architect you will want to hire my friend Aaron Friedman at Bitmap Systems to layout the entire process for you and communicate directly with the coders on your behalf.

5. Good Aesthetics or Cash Cow? So by now you probably get that having a pretty site in no way determines your ability to convert your visitors into paying clients. One of the first things I do with my clients after setting up their Bankable Brand is to figure out exactly what offerings they have and how best to position those offerings throughout the site. The site visitor must be put on an immediate and enticing sales path that they feel good enough about to leave their information or make a purchase. This is a very tricky process and must be set up by someone like myself who specializes in the sales psychology of converting visitors into paying clients. This is one area you do not want to leave in the hands of your developer. Remember, they are only as good as the information you give them.

6. One Person Operation or Large Company? Now this is a tricky one as I see both advantages and disadvantages to both! My first ever website was built by an individual who was and is brilliant at both front end and back end processes. I loved the fact that I could call and talk to him anytime and he worked fairly quickly on my projects. When it came time for custom programming, he handed me off to a larger sub partner of his that I spend thousands with to build out my back end. Eventually he was no longer doing web work, the larger company got sold and I essentially was SOL! Today that custom software is antiquated and no longer serves the purpose it was originally intended for. Small guy – great for more personalized attention, large guys – you are often just a number and your points of contact could sometimes change. I have worked with a few larger companies (who have for the most part been great) but find that sometimes it takes weeks to get an issue resolved. Some of the larger companies have fallen victim to the economy and either get sold, downsize or go out of business altogether. Over the last year I have put a lot of my trust in this area with Jeff Ratushney and his company Internet Sales Results who continues to grow very rapidly but still has a very personalized approach. They are successful enough to ensure that their clients are satisfied or they don’t pay. In such a tricky endeavor, I find it crucial to have this type of guarantee and very few can offer it. I highly recommend Jeff and ISR!

7. Template or Custom? I have used several template companies over the years and some of them are great if you are on a tight budget but don’t be naïve in believing that ALL web work is custom work. Now again, there is nothing wrong with a template as long as you know in advance that this is specifically what you are getting in your contract. There are lots of folks out there calling themselves designers but have no real knowledge beyond putting up the initial site. Templates can tend to be very limited. Again, your choice between custom or template shall vary depending on your specific needs and desired outcome!

8. Content – is More or Less Better? If you are expecting to make money on your site – less content is better. If your copy is not telling a story that ultimately leads to a sale – leave it out. This is another are that I leave up to the experts. I put my clients through an extensive branding evaluation, story building process and a test I refer to as PLAVCO that are all designed to help my clients profit from being themselves, their passions and their expertise! Once I extract all of that great info – I highly recommend a well established copywriter to pull it all together. I personally recommend and use Jane Garee from Write Expressions to do this work for you. The About Us page on your site is the most heavily visited page of any site and it must be positioned the right way! You can use mine as a guideline!

9. Be Clear on the Essentials – Brand, Core Mess, Mission, Vision and Purpose, Story, Brand Promise, Target Market. (Depends if we are marketing YOU or Your Company!) It would take me about ten more pages of information to properly articulate this point so let me try and simplify it. A website without a definitive audience, core message and clear promise will never amount to true, well paying clients. Your Bankable Brand must come shining through on your site along with your Key Selling Propositions sprinkled throughout with all the benefits that the consumer will gain from working with you and your company. Your mission tells the prospect what you are setting out to accomplish, your vision gives a longer term prospectus on where you are going and your purpose should tell them why you exist. These are all very well thought out processes that sometimes take dozens of hours to nail. Don’t be in such a hurry to get your site up before carefully thinking these items through. I recommend developing these components through MastHERminding.

10. To be Seen or Not to be Seen – Google holds the keys...or do you? Everything I just taught you will work fine and dandy however if you take all the steps, spend all the money and no one can find you on the web you have wasted precious time and money. Worst yet your site will lay dormant and become just another pretty piece of dusty old artwork. This is a very tough lesson for many to learn so if I can help save someone from the web black hole then I will have successfully completed my mission. Your site MUST be built in advance for Search Engine Optimization; there is no other way to put it. It is far too costly to go back and repair after a site has already been constructed. I know with Internet Sales Results -they use 36 different protocols to properly set up a site so that it can dominate the search engines. This is a very highly skilled are of expertise that not all web developers posses and that’s ok – they don’t need to. You just need to be good at asking the right questions and again, knowing what your contract actually includes.

Kellie Kuecha is a marketing and branding expert specializing in women’s success. She is the CEO and Founder of The W.O.M.A.N. Club, Women that Win, Flow and Grow RICH, KidsBiz Academy and Women’s Wellness Society and a marketing and personal branding expert. Her journey into entrepreneurship began at the ripe age of 12 and she has been building businesses ever since. She has defied all the odds both in life and in business and has mastered the ability to turn adversities into advantages. She travels the world sharing her message and inspiring women to win in all areas of life! She is the mother of two young girls, Kayla and Karina, and has two bonus children, Brandon and Jason, who are all under the age of 12. All four children have their own businesses and are learning great lessons about the value of money, hard work and persistence. www.KellieKuecha.com

Building a Bankable Brand!

2011-05-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

By Kellie Kuecha, Marketing and Branding Expert

Coming from a long history in banking and being the bottom-line person that I am, I found my inspiration for this article from what I feel are the “abilities” one must have in order to build a brand that, by all counts, is a bankable one. Before I share my formula, let’s take a look at the wiki definition of “bankable.” A “bankable star” is an actor famous or charismatic enough to be “capable of guaranteeing box-office success simply by showing up in a movie.” Well the good news is you don’t have to be in a movie to make a big impact on the world, however you must be a star — the star of your own show! With today’s social media and technology outlets, each day we are given an unprecedented opportunity to influence our audiences like never before. How well we perform in our own YOU-nique role will determine the level of impact we have on our audience and ultimately our bottom line. Here are just a few of the ingredients in my Bankable Brand Formula:

Like-ability: Whether we like it or not, life is a series of popularity contests. The choices that others make about us will ultimately affect our health, happiness and of course our bottom line. We have all heard the saying, “People do business with those they know, like and trust.” The more likeable we are, the more likely we are to be on the receiving end of success and prosperity.
Relate-ability: One of the most essential abilities necessary to building a bankable brand is one’s ability to connect with her audience in a BIG way. This means exposing ourselves in ways that we may have never explored in the past. It means stepping outside of the nice, clean-cut corporate image you have created around your company and bearing it all. I take my students through a test called PLAVCO that helps uncover key areas of their story and those become the threads by which the brand is crafted. People must see a piece of themselves in us in order to create both relate-ability and likability.
Message Stick-ability: Attached to your personal brand has got to be what I refer to as a “sticky” message. This is your brand guarantee. For example, mine is, “Give me one hour and I will create a brand, business and product from scratch uniquely for you!” Your message has to be one that captures the minds and hearts of your potential clients and it must be one that they can remember. Domino’s Pizza built their entire brand message on the promise that you would receive your pizza in 30 minutes or less from the time of your order or your money back. That message has continued to stick with us today.
WOW-ability: If you have ever followed Richard Branson, Madonna, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez or Lady Gaga, then you know that these individuals have mastered the art of creating the WOW factor. Their ability to continuously keep us guessing (both personally and professionally) has enabled them all to grow very vast empires while continuing to remain popular. Neither Britney nor Jennifer has profound musical talents but their audiences enjoy watching their lives unfold before them. Don’t be afraid to let your edgy side come through in your brand.
Bank-ability: At the end of the day, our brand must not only increase our bottom line, it must add value to the bottom lines of our prospects and/or colleagues. For instance, in my event business, I very seldom hire a speaker that does not have a grouping of products that can be sold at the end of their talk. In the event business, a bankable speaker has a large following, is great at adding value for the audience and will ultimately impact the promoter’s bottom line.

While there are several more ingredients that make up the Bankable Brand Formula, I trust that you understand that it takes a solid, well-crafted personal brand to succeed in business in the 21^st Century. Futhermore, in order to build a bankable brand that has a global impact you must first lay the foundation in your own back yard. To get your FREE copy of my signature speech, “Building the Brand Called YOU,” please visit www.KellieKuecha.com/buildingthebrandcalledyou

What does your trash say about YOU!

2011-04-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am a big time GREENIE and Environmental Activist who puts lots of time and energy into educating consumers on the need to contribute in a positive way to our planet. Every Monday and Thursday here in my neighborhood is trash pickup day and on Mondays the city picks up the recyclables. At least two miles of my daily 5 mile trek is spent walking or running through the neighborhood and I get to explore hundreds of different trash loads throughout the journey! Needless to say, I have learned a lot about people’s trash over the last three months since I have been observing and most of it has not been pretty! For the sake of this article I have broken down our trash disposers into three different categories and being the “black and white” person that I am, there is no grey in my world when it comes to trash. You are either helping the planet by what you use and how you dispose of it – or you are hurting it!

1. We have the Tree Hugger Disposers – I would have to put myself in this category but I will use my sister in law as the example since she lives on my street and I walked past her load today. Krystine is one of the most health conscious people that I know and her trash reflects it. Most items in her recyclable bin come from Whole Foods or other Green Manufacturers. But what I like most about her load is that in a house of just two people, she uses four recycle bins each and every week and EVERYTHING she can recycle ends up in there! I have to believe that most have no clue as to what actually can and can’t be recycled so here is a summary for those that live in my area of Boca Raton. http://www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us/muni/pdf/sanit/SaniBroch10-11%203.pdf

2. Next we have the Tide Disposers – I use the term Tide to describe those that fall into the grey area of people who use Tide and the families of other products that don’t have bio-degradable containers and that are proven to be a detriment to our planet. No judgment here – just facts! Tree huggers have figured out that phosphates are destroying our oceans as are the many other chemicals we wash down the drains daily but Tide users have not yet been privy to that info therefore they don’t believe that their little disposing habits will contribute to the bigger cause. Also very important to know is that every time a plastic bottle is used, it never leaves the planet so it’s become even more important now to use concentrated whenever possible so that our oceans don’t continue to get polluted. At this current moment there are 5 places in the oceans that are the size of Texas ridden with recyclables that were not properly disposed. Check it out! http://www.theworld.org/2009/08/great-pacific-garbage-patch/ The Tide users are my inspiration behind starting the No Toxic Zone Movement! So – if you fall into this category, it’s ok because now you know better! There are much better, safer, less expensive ways to clean and dispose. Take the pledge and learn how!

3. Lastly we have the Lost Souls – The picture below describes it all. The lost souls never took the time to get their recycle bins from the city and therefore could care less what happens to their garbage once it leaves their home! To me this is a complete disgrace and an utter lack of respect to both our community and our planet. I find it next to impossible to convince these folks that they should consider new ideals because the idea of a better, safer planet doesn’t make for good conversation in the minds of this group!

Did you know that if every household in North America used concentrated natural products instead of mainstream grocery store brands, in 10 years we would save almost 7 billion pounds of plastic? If that plastic were turned into laundry baskets, it would circle the earth 71 times. So in closing, I hope my article impacted you a little today because I believe that the many that fall into category 2 would be willing to make a change if they knew it wouldn’t make a big disruption in their life. I am here to help and happy to answer any questions so feel free to respond with your thoughts!

What people say to the world when they "quit"

2011-01-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

I have often said in my various speeches and trainings throughout the years that when you begin (put your name to) something the world is watching. It is no different when you quit or don’t follow through with something. I bring this back around to YOUR business right now because I also ascribe to the idea that how you do anything is how you do everything! That is a quote that I have lived by for many years and it was reinforced to me a few weeks ago at the Millionaire Mind Intensive Training.

Interestingly enough, I also came across something last week that said something like this…when the Universe provides us with opportunities and we don’t give it our all we’ve got to manifest its success, we are sending a message back to the Universe that we are NOT ready to accept success and therefore success will not be granted. Regardless of what you believe, all too often in life I see people take themselves out of the game before the game even begins. Unfortunately that is the society we live in today where it’s much easier to bow out than it is to push hard for what really matters most in life. Believe me, like you, I have heard the gamut of excuses over the past 15 years, things like – I have too much on my plate right now, I have decided it's not for me and so on. Some will even blame others for their lack of success. I have been taught in the many self development trainings I have done over the years that the “story” itself is really irrelevant…the bottom line is how you do anything is how you do everything. Most often if you trace someone’s life all the way through you will find similar patterns all the way around. Lack of follow through, little success and so on.

I say all this to say to you tonight that people WILL come and go in your life and your business. You must learn resilience in this area. It has nothing to do with you personally. It has everything to do with someone’s ability to see their decision through, long after the excitement of making that decision is gone. We can try to reduce the odds by creating good follow up systems etc. but in the end, everything boils down to the 80/20 rule no matter how we slice it.

I believe as long as we understand the rules going into the game of people and business, it makes playing the game much easier. So I say this to you tonight to tell you that I honor and respect people’s wishes for why they choose not to stay in the game until the bitter end but I still have a hard to understanding why people quit on their dreams so easily. Are we not defining our goals clearly enough? Are we not creating enough leverage to keep us accountable to our goals?

I also want you (the person reading this) to remember this note when you start to have self doubt. God gave us ALL the same seeds of greatness, I have chosen to plant and continue to plant those seeds. I don’t always reap the benefits right away but in the end, I have never been let down. This is my message for you this coming year. You are destined for greatness!. We can all succeed and the best part is we can do it together! Don’t take yourself out of the game before the game begins and more importantly, know that when someone quits or says no to you, it has nothing to do with you personally!

I pray that my letter touches your heart in a positive way because I write it with love but if for some reason you find resistance to it, I ask you to just examine why you feel the resistance and get clear on that.

Love and Blessings
Kellie

Have your organized your accomplishments?

2010-10-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

Oprah Update - 7 Lessons Learned from Leading and Losing

2010-06-28T14:12:00.001-07:00

So here it is…the official Oprah OWN Show Update. I must say I am resisting doing this update as I have put this experience well behind me however - I owe it to all of my fans and supporters who have followed me from the start of this, a well deserved explanation.

There are many lessons learned from this journey and I have had ample time now to sift through them all and now feel well prepared to share. It is always my goal to make the best out of everything and put my experiences out there in hopes that others can glean small tidbits of wisdom from them – so here it goes!

First of all, making the almost 10 hour trek in one day on Friday the 25th to Atlanta was a small feat unto itself. Who knew it was possible to drive that far and long surviving on very little food and only stopping for 4 minutes to refill on gas. I guess you could say Cliff and I were on a mission and we were not going to stop until we accomplished task number one – getting there! We arrived in Atlanta around 4pm that night and headed straight to Kohl’s to see what type of “inside” scoop we could get. Lucky for us, Emily filled us in on all the details and told us that security would be letting people into the parking lot at 4am. Needless to say, I quickly made it my goal to arrive at 3am. No sooner did I grab that tidbit of info, did my long lost friend Tara Meyer-Robson walk into Kohl’s also on a mission to gather her own set of clues. I hadn’t seen Tara in over ten years and although we were both bruised and battered from the long ride to Atlanta from Florida, we were ecstatic to see one another. Out in the parking lot, an eavesdropper overheard us talking and came over to ask us if WE had any scoop. Me being the game player that I am hesitated on sharing my newly coveted inside secrets where Tara blurted them right out! How cute is she! I figured the moment I arrived in Atlanta the games began and therefore so did my initial strategy – play dumb! During that conversation it came up that the 16 pages of questions that all of us completed online, needed to also be brought with us to the live audition! Sh**! It took me an entire painstaking day to formulate my answers and of course – I never printed them out! Now what was to be a relaxing night prepping mentally for the next day (that was to begin at 2am), quilckly transitioned into going back to my room and sitting on the bedrock couch to do my paperwork all over again! I was not a happy camper! On top of it all, I was hoping to catch Dateline and 20/20 and watch the coverage of the Michael Jackson anniversary and now that went out the window too! As I sifted through the countless questions again, I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from one of my special friends Lisa who gave me one more pep talk before bed. That was just the calming reassurance I needed in that moment and so at 12:30am I completed my paperwork, fell asleep at 1am and set the alarm for 2am.

2am – June 26th – The alarm goes off and I jump out of bed, into the shower and into my long pink flowing (gorgeous) dress. Determined to make myself stand out, I dressed as though I was heading down the red carpet for the Grammy awards! I was out the door in a jiffy and arrived at an already packed parking lot of campers who had spent the night. There were lots of tailgaters, characters dressed in costumes and a whole host of other interesting humans that Cliff fondly referred to as a combination of Professor Clumps, Rasbushas and Madeas! Thank goodness I had my bodyguard in tow because the moment I stepped out of my car the looks and comments came a flying! Security informed us that within the hour they would be walking us across the street to get in line for auditions and so I found one tiny little piece of concrete next to the edge of the street where I could plant my chair ready to make the mad dash at 4am. Well that was all it took for the characters who spent the (entire night there) to come out of their cars and circle around me. In that very moment I had a flashback to 7th grade when the girls used to circle around me wanting to beat me up because I had a new pair of sneakers on. I didn’t drive 10 hours, spend loads of money and time on this mission for nothing. I had come this far, all I needed to do now was avoid getting my behind beat and get across the street! I firmly held my portfolio of pictures and accomplishments along with my application and DVD set under my arm and at 3:55am the signal was given and the herd of cattle began to run. Chairs, shoes, keys, purses and MY DVD set all went flying into the air. I look down and see my DVDs rolling around the street and getting trampled over and in that moment I had to make the quick decision to stop and collect (at the risk of getting killed) or to keep running. I kept running. Now I went from being #1 in line to #87 but that was ok, I was still in the first line. At the time of the cattle call, there were about 500 people waiting and by the time 5:00am arrived there were about 2,500 in line. Boy was I glad to find out that the first line would be seen right at 6am. However it was the next announcement that made me question everything I had done to prepare until that point.

One of the producers announced that rather than just see the first 500 people that were given wristbands (as was advertised) they would see everyone and that we would be seen in groups of 16. Ugh – 16 at a time, I thought? After my moment of veclemptness I thought, OK I can handle this, I know I can outshine my competition. And then he announced that we would have 45 seconds each to pitch ourselves, our show concept and why we would make a good host! What? All of this preparation for it all to boil down to 45 seconds? OK – Branding Expert, put your business hat on now and think how you would teach your clients to stand out from the herd. I immediately began rethinking my approach, what I would say and most importantly – HOW I would say it. There were people in line with me dressed in full drag queen attire, there were Dennis Rodman look a-likes, there was a woman with two Rottweilers and then there was me, in my little pink darling dress. Although it became very evident that there were about 2% of the people that had the actual skills to move forward in a competition such as this, it also became clearer that this was more of a casting call for “unique” people not unique talent. As I moved ahead further in line I began to see that all of the producers interviewing were in their young twenties. I also noticed that the focus was not so much on the content of the pitch but more or less getting the Kohl’s coupons in the hands of the cattle and making sure each of us signed all 10 waivers in our packet of paperwork. In the seconds before I got called I saw this entire ordeal along with parts of my life passing through my eyes as I had decided that I would NOT compromise my authentic self. That putting forth my show idea and who I was would be good enough and if they producer didn’t like it or I didn’t stand out enough – then this was not the right opportunity for me.

6:00am – My group is next up. We sit down, get a few minor instructions and the cows begin to moo. And then it’s my turn. I hand in my beautifully crafted portfolio, my crumpled DVD set with one missing (that Cliff went and fetched out of the street) and my application and I gave it my best! I knew I nailed it! But now, the questions began to emerge in my mind – were expertise, skill and show concept really what these producers were looking for? Or was this a ploy to bring patrons and traffic to Kohl’s or was Mark Burnett (producer for Survivor, Apprentice, and this competition) truly looking for skilled talent or folks that made for a good TV show. You see, most people didn’t know that the 20,000 people competing in the video and live casting calls are competing for a reality show that Mark Burnett is producing where 10 people will play a game out on TV where they will fight their way to earn their own show. One thing I know for sure - I am not about compromising myself at the expense of others to prove I am worthy.

6:15am – I gather my belongings and head back to the car and it almost felt like I had been hit by a car. I couldn’t help but look back and wonder, what the heck just happened! All of this preparation boiled down to 45 seconds and now it’s over? I felt robbed in strange soft of way. I knew with every fiber in my body that I deserved a callback but I must honestly say, after talking it through with Cliff (who was watching everything unfold from a spectators view) and Tara, we all came to the same conclusion. This was no a true and honest talent search for the best of the best. There is no possible way to weed through 2,500 people in a few hours and find true talent. So I got back to my hotel, put my pajamas on and slept the nightmare away.

After waking up at lunchtime I called Tara and the three of us headed out for the afternoon the catch up and recap the day’s events. We laughed for hours. What a wonderful time we had and later that evening, we caught up with a mutual Facebook friend Gina, who didn’t live too far from where we were staying. Several more hours of laughing and waiting for the phone to ring with a call back. At about 11pm, we turned in and slept the night away only to wake up in the morning to a phone that had never rang. Now what? I worked so hard to get to this point and now what. I quickly gathered my belongings, grabbed a bagel and hit the road at 8am. Still processing it all, somewhat bummed, I looked down and saw that Tara had called so I called her back and in her sweet, calming and nurturing way, she made it all better. We assured one another that we were clearly not cut out for a search such as this and we decided to hold each other accountable in moving forward with our visions. We are both holding out hope that our videos (which are a completely separate casting search, will be seen by the right people at the right time and we will move forward.) Many lessons learned from this trip and here are a few I have to share with you:

1. Set a goal and know that the world IS watching. Your parents, your kids, your friends and your clients are watching. It is one thing to quit on yourself but don’t quit on others. I held this dream alive because it was my dream but I got others to buy into my dream so I could create leverage for myself to keep me in the game when times got tough.

2. Begin with the end in mind. I live by this principle. I had my eye on the prize from day one and nothing nor was anyone going to keep me from that goal. I could have easily just submitted a video and hoped for the best but I went the extra mile and to win this competition by showing up to the live casting call. When reaching for a goal, exhaust every possible opportunity to make it a reality.

3. I realized that I have truly become the resilient woman I have claimed to be for the past several years. Each challenge met reaffirms this major hurdle that I have overcome. This was a true test of my ability to see something I wanted but went it didn’t happen, I had the fortitude to move forward quickly and find the gifts without getting eaten up by the guilt and what ifs.

4. I got a chance to see that when you have a message that touches people’s hearts as my Cancer message did, people will come out of the woodwork to rally in your honor. This was amazing. Your message is just as important as the person delivering it.

5. I also got to see which people in my life were truly in my corner. The phone calls, emails and messages throughout the past several weeks will never be forgotten. Thank you to Nancy Olliver, Elinor Robin, Lisa Guarini and Sharon Mayers for your unwavering support and your last minutes texts and phone call picker uppers. Lynda Perry and Camille Re, two friends on Facebook that I didn’t even know prior to this that supported my voting daily, thank you. Aaron Friedman (whom I haven’t known that long) for putting your social media expertise to work to ensure the viral visibility of my video. Tara Meyer-Robson, thank you for being the epitome of support and friendship and for having that amazing intuitive ability to know how to lift someone up with all the right words and advice. My entire Green Team for supporting this mission as if it was your own! All of my kids for voting endlessly when you could have been outside playing and lastly, Cliff. Without you, nothing wonderful that gets accomplished in my life would be possible. You are the glue that holds it all together for me and I love you for that! To my friends Evie Hernandez and Kristin Hoke who lost their battles with cancer, your stories and families helped keep me going and continue to be my inspiration. And to all of the rest of you that supported my cause with your facebook posts, voting and encouraging words. I will NEVER forget that parts you all played in making this happen and for that I am forever grateful!

Before bed on Saturday night I get yet one more wonderful message from my friend Cathy Mussman which read this:

Girl!!

You are AMAZING!! You don't just talk the talk - you walk the walk!! So, so proud of you!! You truly inspire others!! Thank you!! The LOVE and LIGHT you radiate through not only your words but your actions warm my heart. I KNOW you can and will achieve any goal and or dream you set forth.

Cheers to the small town girl making it BIG!!

Love ya!
xoxoxoxoxoxo

That letter made everything I worked so hard for, all worth the effort and heartache! Thank you Cathy! I Love you like a sister and this letter will be in my heart forever.

6. Sometimes in life you will only get your 45 minutes of fame, how will you spend it? How will you make a lasting impression?

7. I learned many valuable business lessons as well. From the way in which the sole sponsor Kohl’s was positioned throughout the entire competition to the 20,000 new show ideas that Oprah now owns and to the ways that Oprah created a viral movement with one little contest. Even looking at the top videos and analyzing them with my students and the elements of each caused them to go viral. I continue to look for all of the valuable lessons that this experience will continue to bring to my business and make me a better coach for a very long time to come.

Overall, I am completely at peace with this journey and I believe strongly that the lessons learned here will go on to inspire others and myself for a very long time. YOU have everything you need inside of you to be the great person God set out for you to be. Don’t let the mean girls take that away from you, don’t let the dumb little voice in your head tell you that you can’t have it and most of all, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER QUIT!!! The world is watching.

See you at the top!

Kellie Kuecha

Karina - What can one little person do

2010-05-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

10 Facts - You Need To Know About Your Home

2010-05-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

FACT #1
Toxic chemicals found in homes are, on average three times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor airborne pollutants. EPA Study

FACT #2
According to a Consumer Product Safety Commission study, 150 chemicals commonly found in our homes are directly connected to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological disorders.

FACT #3
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health analyzed 2,983 chemicals used in personal care products and found 884 of them to be toxic. Some even caused mutigenic changes.

FACT #4
50% of all illness is due to poor indoor air quality (State of Massachusetts Study)

FACT #5
The United States of America Federal Code of Regulations exempts manufacturers from full labeling of products if used for personal, family or household care. (Source USA FCR: Section 1910.1200C, Title 29, Section 1500.82 2Q1A)

FACT # 6
In 1901, cancer was rare: 1 out of 8,000. Since the Industrial Revolution, the cancer rate today has
risen to 1 in 3 and soon, it will be 1 in 2. (Source: The American Cancer Society)

FACT #7
Women who work in the home have a 54% higher death rate from cancer than women who work outside of the home. (Source: 17- year EPA study)

FACT #8
Cancer is now the #2 killer of children - second only to accidental poisonings. Since 1977 the rate of cancer among American children has been steadily rising at a rate of nearly 1% each year. (Source:National Cancer Institute)

FACT #9
In one decade, there has been a 42% increase in asthma (29% for men, 82% for women). The higher rate for women is believed to be due to women’s longer exposure times to household chemicals. (Source: Center for Disease Control)

FACT #10
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) in adults and children is also rising - in 1993, 4.5 million children took the drug Ritalin so they could sit still long enough to learn. By 1998, 11.4 million children were being drugged with this powerful Class-2 narcotic. (Source: Your Children and Ritalin, The Detroit News (March 8. 1998)

Calling all Women - It's Time to Profit from Being GREEN

2010-05-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Known by women worldwide through her organizations, speaking and social media presence, Kellie Kuecha is at it again. The esteemed marketing and branding expert and leader of women likes to refer to herself as a “trailblazer” “You cannot lead where you will not go” claims the author and business coach who is well known for her MastHERmind Course, Profit from Being YOU series and Women’s Conferences. She is once again paving the way as she aims to educate over one million women this year on the importance of making conscious buying choices that begin in the home and ultimately impact our planet.

Kellie’s newest endeavor but longtime passion is teaching women how to Profit from Being Green. “Profit doesn’t necessarily have to mean monetarily (although that doesn’t hurt either)” says Kellie “profiting in the sense of optimal health, energy and vitality and most importantly – prevention.” Kellie believes with her diverse background and health history that it is her duty to carry the Green Torch! After being diagnosed with endometriosis and cancer at the age of 19 and then the prognosis that she may never have children, Kellie went on a mission. Her goal - to equip women with the vital educational resources needed for them to make informed choices. Her vision was to surround like minds in a fun environment where women could learn and connect and hence Women’s Wellness Society was born where Kellie has spent nearly two decades facilitating thought provoking health and prevention discussions with women globally.

“Going Green should be a fun process” says Kellie, “but most consumers have no idea where to begin.” Kellie’s training helps women understand the impact of using “off the store shelf” household and personal care products while providing easy, simple and cost saving solutions that enable families to go green, save green and even make some green too by helping to spread the word! “There are 150 chemicals found in the home are connected to allergies, birth defects, cancer and psychological disorders and we wonder why sickness and disease have become the new normal,” says Kellie. “The days are gone where we can trust manufactures to concern themselves with our health and safety. Most disease is preventable and women make the majority of the buying decisions in the home so therefore it is our job to lead this evolution!”

As the mother of two you girls (6 and 8), Kellie is teaching her children to spread the word also. “They both have their own businesses and use them as a platform to teach others about the importance of protecting our planet” says Kellie. “Volunteering your children to do community cleanups is another great way to instill good ecological values in our kids.” A little green will go a long way so it’s time we join hands as women and support this vital movement!

Kellie Kuecha is a marketing and branding expert specializing in women’s health and wealth. She is the CEO and Founder of Women that Win and Women's Wellness Society and the creator of the enormously successful MastHERmind Course and YOU Mastery Trainings. To learn more about her and get a ticket to one of her Gals Goin Green Dinners, visit www.KellieKuecha.com

A Shout Out to all the Ladies!

2009-07-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

As I peel away the surface and go deeply into the core of my own life and the many lives of the students who I am fortunate to work with , I come to you today with a message I feel is very much needed right now. SHOUT OUT to all the women out there - this is not a time for us to shrink into weakness and obscurity, of course that is the easy thing to do if we submit to the negativity surrounding us, however, this is a time where true grace and resilience will resound. Your absence has very much been noticed. I speak this to myself and to all of you. There has been a cloud of darkness surrounding so many this season, where most find it difficult enough to rise from bed each morning let alone work on their businesses.

I wanted to share that I know where you are – I have had days like that too. It’s time we collectively move past the fear of authenticity and work harder than every to cross the bridge together. We are women who innately need each other and part of stepping up is stepping out into the unknown. Entrepreneurship and the pathways of womanhood are often lonely roads but that doesn’t mean we have to go at it alone. If we are struggling personally, we will most certainly struggle professionally (and visa versa), so let’s get it all out on the table.

I am and will always be committed to helping women personally and professionally and therefore continue to put a lot of thought into the best ways that I can serve you now and in the future. By serving you, I refresh and renew my own soul. My request is that you come as you are. Soon you will learn more about the “Come as YOU are Campaign” officially launching through the Women’s Wellness Society, but in the meantime, I have two requests: First – is that you stay plugged into a weekly gathering of women. If one does not exist in your area, start one. I will help. Two – email me with your most pressing business challenge. I will stay up late at night until I have answered all of your emails and if I don’t have the answer, I will find it. By joining hands and taking small steps, we can move mountains.

I have come to realize that our lives are measured by how much we give rather than how much we get and I hope you have come to know the same. Although this letter may not apply to you, I trust that you know someone it does and therefore, I will be the first to lead the way. From my heart to yours, cheers sister!

With much love and gratitude,

Founder
Women that Win
Women’s Wellness Society
kellie@womenthatwin.com

Tips for Creating the Perfect Business Pitch

2009-07-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

By Kellie Kuecha

The numbers vary but I am sure you have heard at some point in your career that you only get a few seconds to make a good first impression. Because our society reacts so instantly and without much forgiveness, getting the attention of our potential clients needs to be quick and effective. Here are some of my thoughts on creating a perfect pitch.

1. Always remember that your pitch is so not about YOU and all about THEM. I am sure you have given pitches in the past where the prospect’s eyes glaze over and you get the standard reply “ohhh, nice…(with a half cocked smile), can I have your business card?” I am sure you have done it and I am sure it’s been done to20you. Bottom line; the first sentence must immediately engage their thoughts around something that is familiar to them. Here is an example of what not to do, “Hi, my name is Kellie Kuecha, I own a few companies for women, one is called Women’s Wellness Society and the other is called Women that Win.” By giving this kind of pitch I am saying first that it’s all about me and the second problem is, I have not engaged them. Here is a better way of saying the same thing, “Hi Lisa, I love your pin, what kind of work do you do?” That type of questions always comes back to you where you then have the chance to leave your indelible mark forever in your potential clients mind, so when Lisa gets around to asking what I do, here is my response, “Do you ever feel like you are so talented but not sure how to execute that talent in the most profitable way, or better yet, do you ever feel like you love what you do but you have just lost that spark and would really love to get it back?” pause, “well that’s where I come in, within 30 minutes of looking over your business model, I can help identify several key profit centers for you that can immediately infuse new revenue streams into your business. The process begins with a quick analysis and from there you have a multitude of options available to you, and the best part is, my programs offer quick and effective cash generating solutions that work with almost any business model. Does that sound like something that might interest you?” It takes me less than 30 seconds to deliver that pitch/commercial and the entire time I am keeping the other party engaged. In the end, I am getting permission to move to the next step which is the beginning of the sales process. This is quite a different approach than those of us who simply deliver the standard, “I am a personal trainer, Realtor or financial planner.” Which leads me to the next point…

2. When people ask what you do, they are not asking what your company does, instead they are interested in what YOU do within your company. Oftentimes the above conversation leads to the question, 8 0what exactly do you do?” Never begin the response with,” I own a…”, or “I work at…”, or “my company does…” but rather “I am responsible for…”, “I offer solutions…” Here is what I frequently say, “I help my clients center their companies around themselves and their story and by doing that, they become more relatable and profitable. I do this through my Profit from Being YOU system which helps my clients build their unique brand essence and ultimately launch their first product on the web.” I would love to have your card so I can send you my 10 tips on How to Profit from Being YOU.

3. Always close with a call to action. You can do this a number of ways, the first is by putting the call to action on the back of your business cards. This option is great20for the shy networker. The next way is to end your pitch with a call to action as I did in the example above however, you will want to be sure to have this memorized so that it flows smoothly off your tongue. Lastly, your website needs to reflect the same call to action. The days are gone where your potential clients will opt in to your list for a newsletter. Your call to action on your site should always include a free gift that can be downloaded on the spot.

I hope this article sheds some light on the correct way to pitch your commercial. Remember, people don’t like to be sold but they love to buy so staging your product or service the correct way will make a monumental difference in the outcome. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for the unveiling of my own brand makeover and personal website that is guaranteed to offer everything that a growing entrepreneur needs to stand out at any level! For a sample of my work please visit www.profitfrombeingyou.com

Love and Success,

Kellie Kuecha - Founder
www.womenthatwin.com
www.womenswellnesssociety.com

3 Quick Ways to Leverage Sponsors to Grow Your Business

2009-07-23T06:53:00.001-07:00

The sky is the limit when it comes to ways that you can leverage your business. I love the idea of leverage and with most everything I do, I find a way to leverage one thing for another. While I am clear that most don’t fully understand leverage, I am quite certain that you will after reading this.

Think of the term If…then… In other words, the full sentence might look like this, "If I can help you bring a high quality group of business leaders from our community into your establishment, would you be willing to sponsor some events for me?" Now take a very high end Boca Raton restaurant, who after doing a little research, I find out would like a younger, business clientele. I know based on my demographics, my clients are their ideal demographic also. Basically I am making a bold statement that I can fill a marketing need that they have simply by trading exposure or access to my clientele for their sponsorship of my event. Keep in mind that very seldom is money is changing hands. Certainly that restaurant can spend their marketing budget on print ads however that would not be an effective use of their dollars as it is next to impossible to track the return on investment with a print ad.

That is where I (and you) come in. In today’s market, it is more important than ever to find ways to fund your business without using your own money. The same goes for your clients and your potential partners or sponsors. By getting clear about the demographic you serve and the needs of the market - you can structure win-win joint ventures with other businesses that are looking to gain access to your demographic and everyone wins! There are hundreds of ways to accomplish this but here are a few to start:

1. Survey your list to find out some more specific details about your customer demographics and buying trends. You can use www.surveymonkey.com to begin the process. Ask for info like, age, years in business and annual revenue. In my case using the example above, I may ask how often my clients do their business meetings in a restaurant, how much do they typically spend on food and drinks for a business meeting and do they typically do lunches or after hours, etc.

2. Get clear on the deliverables that you can offer on your end to create a win-win. In other words, what value does your company bring to the table in terms of services or exposure? Do you have a large list that you can give them access to through advertising, do you have monthly gatherings that you can move to their place or perhaps can you offer your services in exchange for theirs? Often times, sponsorship is as simple as putting someone’s logo somewhere on your material or website and often times can result in new revenue for you. But remember, money does not have to change hands for this to work.

3. Use proposals in helping to secure your potential deal. On the top of your proposal you will state something like – Women that Win will provide the following: Then you will list one by one the deliverables you are offering and their value. Next you will list what you are looking for in return. Such as, Women that Win would like the following: Here you will list all of the things you are looking for in return (you may or may not choose to list values.) Once both parties agree, have your contract ready for them to sign.

In every business conversation you have, you should carefully plan in advance how you might create a win-win deal without money changing hands. I have spent most of my business career doing this and have never had to go into de.bt, use credit cards and best of all, not go out of pocket for most of the resources I have needed to grow my companies. There are hundreds of ways to create these kind of deals but you first have to start with the mindset of how you can serve that person or business in a way that will help them to grow.

If you like what you read today, you will want to consider taking my How to Acquire Sponsors and Leverage Your Business C.ash and D.ebt FRE.E class coming up next month where I will give you loads of ideas and how you can apply this to your own business as well as all of the scripts, proposals and contracts you will need to create your own fabulous deals! Stay tuned for dates and times.

You may use this article in your e-zine, blog or newsletter providing you copy and paste the author's information in full located at the bottom of this e-zine. http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/view_newsletter.php?newsletter_id=1409957411

3 Simple Steps on How to Profit from Being YOU

2009-05-25T08:02:00.001-07:00

3 Simple Steps on How to Profit from Being YOU

By Kellie Kuecha

For many years I taught my students and clients not to use their name as part of their business name because the main reason we are in business (according to Michael Gerber author of the E-myth) is to sell our business. It was always believed that if you used your name, your business would not be saleable. Many of the experts taught this as well, however with the changing times and current marketing and branding trends, we now know that people want to do business with YOU, not your company. THERE IS NO COMPETITION WHEN YOU ARE THE COMPANY. Why – because you are one of a kind! Below are some simple things to remember in positioning and packaging your brand. You will need to attend or get the recorded version of my How to Profit from Being YOU event on May 30th to learn how to carefully assemble and monetize your brand.

1. You Have 30 Seconds – That’s right. When out at a networking event, party, charity drive etc, we are often asked the question “What do you do?” What people are really asking is not what your company does or what kind of company you own, but what function do YOU hold within the company. So not, “I own a company called Women that Win”, but “I am expert marketer and brander who can help you position your company in a way that makes you stand out, profit more and worry less.” Most will ask, “What do you mean worry less?” I will then say, “My techniques will enable you to get hundreds more clients to your website and engage them right away so that you can sell them your product or service without ever seeing them.” My question back to them is, “Does your website currently make you money?” Most will say no.

2. Learn to Use Your Mouth – So often I find that my students and clients are using fancy brochures, booklets and other marketing collateral that almost never gets looked at. I have the fancy brochure also but I do NOT use it to hand out at events to tell the story of what I do. I am much further along in the marketing process with a prospect before I ever consider pulling out a brochure and most times it is to make a close. Start putting some time into making your mouth the brochure. Get rid of the collateral and script out your approaches and possible objections in advance. Know your 30 second commercial inside and out. I highly recommend getting some training from a speaking coach on how to make the most of the 30 seconds you have to make your big impression.

3. Give a Gift - Put a free gift on the back of your card that requires your prospect to take the next step with you. I have an online recorded copy of my Building the Brand Called YOU speech and depending on the prospect, I may use that particular gift to begin the sales process. See, I always assume that whomever I am speaking with will ultimately buy from me so why not begin the sales process the moment you first meet someone. Of course there is a systematized way of doing this but this is how it begins. Don’t waste that important real estate on the back of your card - engage your new client immediately. Ask them to email you to let you know how they liked the gift. This will surely help them remember YOU much better than your company and better yet, it begins to help you build trust by showcasing your expertise. I will then have their card put into my Building the Brand Called YOU auto-responder list that will automatically follow up with them in a week asking them how they liked the recording. They are now engaged with me and my system will automatically move them through the process of learning about my other products and services.

Again, there is a systemized way of engaging, selling, closing and standing out. Get your ticket now for my How to Profit from Being YOU event on May 30th – see you there!

You may use this article in your e-zine, blog or newsletter providing you copy and paste the author's information in full located at the bottom of this e-zine.

How to Profit from Being YOU Live Event on May 30th!

2009-04-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

How to Profit From Being YOU!

Have you ever wished you could LEVERAGE yourself, your knowledge and your name to generate more PASSIVE income? Well you can. For the first time ever, online marketing and branding expert Kellie Kuecha will share her proven methods that are guaranteed to position your personal brand globally, boost your profits and explode your list NOW!

In this four hour exclusive workshop you will learn:

• The correct and most effective way to position YOURSELF on the web
• How to turn your website it to a CASH MACHINE
• How to set up automatic email marketing campaigns that convert your clients into customers
• Ways to use FREE and paid TELESEMINARS to get thousands of subscribers now
• How to get hundreds and thousands of your ideal clients to your site using simple and free techniques
• And loads of joint venture strategies that will increase your bottom line now

Stop marketing one-to-one, and START marketing to hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of people who are your ideal clients and customers all while branding your own name!

How to make money being YOU

2009-04-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

Deciding that you are ready to make money using your own personal name can be a very bold yet profitable move for many. Let’s face it, if Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Oprah, Jack Canfield, Anthony Robbins and Kellie Kuecha can make money being themselves, why can’t you? Having a strong conviction and commitment that your product or service is the best and therefore needed by all requires a strong inner belief that you are good enough. I say that because most entrepreneurs will never reach the point of profitability using their name simply because they lack the confidence that they are “good enough.” But assuming your have already examined those limiting beliefs and are ready to make money - serious money, here are some preliminary steps to consider as your foundation in learning How to Make Money Being YOU!

1. Purchase yourname.com. Hopefully you name is unique enough that it hasn’t already been taken but in the event it is, use the name you have branded for yourself. Some examples of associates of mine that have done this are Smart Broad, Chicken Lady and Promo Girl. While I think it is great to use a branded nickname, you will gain your best results when selling info related products in the future if you use own your personal name. Be sure to get the .com, .net and .org.

2. Link yourname.com to a blog. This is a very basic step for those just starting to brand their personal name. A blog enables you to express your opinions, personality and most of all, showcase your expertise. You will want to link yourname.com to your blog at either www.blogspot.com or www.wordpress.com.

3. Write, write and write! As a publisher of my own newsletters for over 10 years, I spent most of my career showcasing other successful women’s articles and talent because I believed that I wasn’t a good writer. I have since learned to embrace it and discard that belief and now I write often. Pick one day of the week for the remainder of the year specifically dedicated to writing for at least two hours. You can then use this content for your newsletter, your tele-classes and of course your blog. Down the road you can parlay your library of articles into an e-book, submit them to other websites, blogs and newsletters and of course use the content for a seminar or info product that will keep paying you passively without your continuous effort.

4. Sign with Authority! Now that you are writing, it is time to start signing with authority. This is a short blub about who you are and what your area of expertise is. Again – a bold move for most to claim themselves an expert but an important strategy in your long term success. If you don’t first believe it, you will never be it. First answer the question “what do I specialize in,” included should be your million dollar value (what unique value your are bringing to the world). This should be at the end of every article, newsletter blog or posting wherever your info is being used. You will also want to include it in your email signature line and better yet, video yourself pitching YOU and post it on YouTube and to your blog.

5. Showcase your Face! I know I shouldn’t have to spend time on this one but I do. All too often I see women who have got the determination to succeed and yet they are using a self generated portrait to introduce themselves to the world. Shame – shame! Most people will remember your face before they will remember your name and therefore your picture has to be a professional one illustrating your personality. This picture should be on the About Us page of your website, your blog, your Facebook and Twitter pages, your newsletter, and anywhere else material about you is displayed.

6. Logo YOU! OK this is probably the boldest move of all, especially for those just getting comfortable with the idea of showcasing themselves as a brand. I remember when I purchased my Kellie Kuecha logo several years back before I ever began writing, and at the time, I really wasn’t speaking much either. I took my logo to the printer and then printed business cards and a name badge. Talk about the power of attraction, soon thereafter, I began speaking more, picking up consulting clients, my MastHERmind program started taking off and I began laying the foundation for my book. Why? Because I spoke my success as an author, speaker and consultant right into my logo and therefore had an obligation to make it happen! It is amazing how the Universe will support us if we are just bold enough to step into our power. You can purchase your logo at www.logomagic.com

7. Become a Social-light! That’s right – Your face and personality showcased for the world to see in the Social Media Spotlight . You have heard me preach about it over and over but some still don’t get it because like me, you think that you don’t have the time to engage in Facebook and Twitter. You simply can not afford to waste another day NOT utilizing these vital tools for your business. Obama waged a massive social media campaign using these very tools and ultimately won the election. Personally, I have seen my company go from a small Florida business into an International brand in a short few months all from introducing myself to the online world and being clear about my expertise and unique million dollar value. If you are new to the social media world, you can find info on my Beginners class below to learn how to get started on Facebook. If you have less than 1,000 friends, you are a Beginner. If you are a seasoned user, you will want to take my Facebook Advanced class to learn how I have grown my list to close to 3,000 new friends and potential clients in less than 4 months and better yet, have made over $10,000 doing it!

These are just a few of the preliminary steps in helping you to get ready to earn the big bucks that you deserve. Stay tuned for our upcoming jam packed workshop on How to Make Money Being YOU!

About Kellie Kuecha

Kellie Kuecha is a marketing and branding expert specializing in women’s success. She is the CEO and Founder of Women that Win and Women's Wellness Society and the creator of the enormously successful MastHERmind Course. Her journey into entrepreneurship began at the ripe age of 12 and she has been building businesses ever since. She has defied all the odds both in life and in business and has mastered the ability to turn adversities into advantages. She travels the world sharing her message and inspiring women to win in all areas of life! She is the mother of two young girls Kayla and Karina and has two bonus children, Brandon and Jason who are all under the age of 10. All four children have their own businesses and are learning great lessons about the value of money, hard work and persistence.

For updates on Kellie's classes and events for women, visit the events calendar on www.womenthatwin.com or to find her on Facebook search Kellie Kuecha and while you are there be sure to join the Women that Win Group.

3+ Marketing Musts for Business in the 21st Century

2009-03-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

1. Get on Facebook and work it – Social networking is an essential component to establishing an unforgettable personal brand and if you are not on it, time to peel off the cocoon and get with the times. After you get done adding all of your family and high school friends, build the remainder of your friends list with quality people who fit into your demographic and target market. I have only been on Facebook since December and launched my first $10.00 tele-class to my Facebook friends this past month and had over 200 men and women from around the world on the call. Wait – men aren’t in my target market?! Exactly, part of reinventing myself was finding ways to value to men and women through Facebook, while still keeping true to my brand. You do the math, how would you like to add an extra 2-3 thousand to your bottom line right now?

2. Create a series of Fr.ee and lower priced products that get people in the door – We called the fr.ee products “funnel products’. A funnel product is a fr.ee tele-class, e-zine, down-loadable MP3 or report on something that showcases your expertise. Once people see value in your in knowledge, they will come back to learn more. Here is the best way to invent new services and my MastHERmind students have gotten great results with this exercise. Make a list of five new products that you could teach online, speak live or write about. Here are some ideas of how I implemented this into my business:

1. Fr.ee Downloadable Report – 5 Income Generating Tools that You can Implement Today
2. $10.00 Tele-class – How to use Facebook to Explode Your Business, Building the Brand Called YOU, and many more.
3. $20.00 Monthy Live and Tele-class Meetup – I do a monthly event for entrepreneurs in different parts of Florida in which we have no less than 70-90 people each month. I am now broadcasting these events via tele-class and recording them which has instantly created new income streams.
4. $50.00 Half Day Seminars and Bootcamps – Rather than the normal full day events I have done for many years, I am cutting these events in half as I can offer a better price and in addition, by survey, women don’t want to leave their desk for a full day for fear the might miss potential business.
5. $99.00 Half Hour Consultations – I typically charge $200.00 per hour and am now making my services available for less time and less money.

3. Learn to Leverage Your Business Without Spending C.ash! – Join venturing and affiliate marketing or extremely powerful ways to build your business in the 21st Century. What is holding you back from partnering with other successful business owners? Not only will join venturing create new c.ash streams, it will increase your exposure tenfold!

Just like many of you, my courses are a tremendous value but require trust and referrals to keep them going. I set the bar high in my pricing to be sure to attract the right students however, I continuously find new ways to gain trust and add value before asking them to make the larger purchase. Re-invent yourself this month but implementing these tips and always remember to add value. Your clients want what you are offering and it is your job to show them in an easy non-threatening way why THEY should do business with YOU! Check out the list of our upcoming classes by visiting our calendar at www.womenthatwin.com!

Women that Win Launches Women's Business Institute

2009-02-04T04:03:00.000-08:00

Women that Win Launches Innovative Women’s Program Unlike Any Other

2009-02-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

Women that Win Launches Innovative Women’s Program Unlike Any Other

BOCA RATON, FL (February 2, 2009) – Over 130 women attended the Boca Raton based Women that Win conference on Friday, January 30th. Attendees walked away with tools and information that will support their efforts in growing their business during these challenging economic times.

“I was so impressed by the enthusiasm and energy that the women brought to the event and how ready and open they were for change,” says founder Kellie Kuecha, who opened the conference with her nationally recognized presentation “The Freedom Formula”.

During the lunch portion, the highly anticipated announcement was made about the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce (GBRCC) partnership with the Women’s Business Institute (WBI), Women that Win’s new innovate women’s program exclusively for chamber of commerce all over the country.

“We are thrilled to offer our members an opportunity to get the education they need to meet their business goals,” says Kate Volman, VP of Business Development at the GBRCC.

WBI offers a series of business courses for entrepreneur and executive women utilizing the “MastHERmind” curriculum originally launched through Women that Win in October of 2007. WBI will be making its debut through the GBRCC, but plans to implement the program into over 100 chambers nationally over the next five years.

“This program will absolutely put women on track for success in our new economy. We all have to reinvent ourselves and what better way to do it than with a team that supports you?” asks Kellie Kuecha.

About the GBRCC: A 501(c)6 non-profit organization and the largest Chamber in Palm Beach County, with a membership presently composed of more than 1,700 companies representing over 35,000 employees in eastern, central, and western Boca Raton and beyond. Since 1952, the GBRCC has been enabling the community’s business people to thrive by providing opportunities for leadership, networking, innovative business programs, education, and giving back to the community.

Women that Win Janaury 30th Conference Annoucement

2009-01-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Women that Win is so excited about our January 30th Conference and we hope you are planning to spend the day with us. Unlike any other conference we have done in the past, this conference is broken into three different workshop segments and you have the choice to attend one or all of the segments. You will only pay for the part that you attend. In addition to the great information, we will also be making our largest announcement EVER! After this event, there will be no excuse for your business not to explode this year! If you choose to attend the full day, the total price would be $125.00. We are offering full day tickets for $99.00 but only until January 16th! Take a look at the schedule below hurry and reserve your seat, this event will sell out!

Morning Session $50.00 Business Processes 9-11:30 ~ $50.00

Have you ever thought of franchising your company? If you are like most, you haven't but expert Entrepreneur Coach and author of the world famous E-Myth Michael Gerber says that all business owners need to have their company set up so that at any given time they can duplicate, delegate or sell. In this interactive training you will learn how to effectively spend time working on your business rather all of your time working in your business. Business processes enable us to go from a "job" to a true business entity. We will also discuss the necessary components that give your company its value. Ask yourself these questions:

· Would I be prepared right now if someone was ready to offer me six figures for my company?

· Could I produce sales projections, profit and loss statements a cash flow statement and a business plan at the spur of the moment?

· Could I walk away from my company right now, give someone my systems manual and relax knowing that it will all be under control?

· Do I have processes and job descriptions set up for each department in my business even if I am the only person in the company?

Without processes in place, your business will never grow beyond a one person operation. Allow our team of experts to get your business set up internally so you have the freedom to work on the expansion of your company. You will walk away from this session ready to implement on Monday morning. Register Now!

Lunch Session - $25.00 Interactive MasteHERmind Session and Public Relations Discussion. Also Our Big Announcement - Gourmet lunch included

Do you ever feel stuck? You know you have amazing ideas, but the very thought of how to capitalize on them becomes so overwhelming that they slowly start to become clouded or forever pushed out of your mind all together. Have you ever wondered how some people seem to achieve all of their goals, but you find it challenging to get everything done? Let 2009 be the year that you are going to make your dreams come true! Most successful people formulate a mastermind team. This “meeting of the minds” is essentially a group of people who meet on a regular basis, discuss their ideas and hold each other accountable for doing what it takes to reach their goals. If you are committed to making your dreams a reality, you MUST attend this workshop to find out more about joining a MastHERmind team! During this interactive session we will have Public Relations and Marketing Expert Kim Weiss who will walk you through a mock masterminding session that will enlighten you on the many ways to leverage your business in the media. Kim is the PR director for Health Communications Inc (HCI) best known for the mega bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has coached scores of authors and she blogs and plays music on her private time. Kim has shepherded numerous authors to bestseller status. Register Now!

We will also be making our BIG ANNOUNCEMENT during the lunch session be part of the Women that Win and Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce's unveiling of the new Women's Business Institute.

Afternoon Session - $50.00 Marketing Makeover ~ 2:30-5:00

In this session you will learn low cost and f*ree ways to get your message out in the most effective ways from Internet Marketing genius and owner of 10 Golden Rules, Jay Berkowitz. Affiliate marketing, internet marketing and social networking are just a few of the topics of discussion. Learn how to leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, Meetup and Craigslist to grow your business. In addition, you will be taught by leading expert Amonda Rose how to nail your 60 second commercial. Take a look...

7 Top Ways to Create a Personal Intro That Gets Results - aka "Elevator Speech"

In this 45 minute Workshop titled "7 Top Ways to Create a Personal Intro That Gets Results" you can unlock your ability to clearly communicate with clarity, creativity and heart. You will be shown how to create, improve, and implement proven strategies to give you the competitive edge every time you attend a networking event or someone asks you “What do you do?”

Are you READY to...

- Cut Through the Clutter of Unnecessary Words?
- Get Your Marketing Message Heard in 60 seconds or less?
- Stand Out From The Rest?
- Get the Financial Results You Desire Now

This day is jammed packed! As always, it is our goal to create tremendous value for you. We will see you on the 30th! Register now

Women that Win New Year Announcements

2009-01-03T07:54:00.000-08:00

On January 30th we will be holding an all day event different from anything we have ever done. You will have the chance to choose which parts of the day that best suit you and only pay for and attend that part. Wait until you see what we have in store! During the lunch portion of the event we will be unveiling an entirely new program and partnership with the Boca Raton Chamberthat will help all of us step up our game and prepare us for massive growth in the New Year. This is a day not to be missed. Don't worry if you don't live in Boca, we are coming to an area near you real soon. Stay tuned for more details.

MastHERmind announced a new program for women looking to launch a new business or creative idea called the MastHERmind Incubator 4 Week Course. We are very excited to add this important course to our program. Please email Lisa Medland at lisa@nms-hr.com for more information.

We have started three new Entrepreneur Meetups this month and we are excited to announce that we will start doing events in Coral Springs, North Palm Beach and Broward county in addition to the very popular Boca Raton Entrepreneur Club. Click on any of the locations for more details and be sure to join us as a member, there is no cost to join. If you live outside South Florida and are interested in having this type of venue in your area, please contact our office. All four groups will feature Jay Berkowitz from the 10 Golden Rules on January 7th and Jay will be teaching us the Top 10 Ways to Market Yourself and Your Business on the Web. We are just about sold out so click here to get your seat today!

Starting on January 14th I will be teaching a 5 week Entrepreneur's class at Palm Beach Community College. We will be discussing vision statements, marketing and business forcasting all in the MastHERmind format. The class is $49.00. Click here for more info.

Many New Year Blessings to You

2009-01-03T07:48:00.000-08:00

Another year has passed and as I close my year, I have a few rituals that I perform to prepare me for the many blessings that the new year is to bring. I believe you cannot look forward until you give thanks for what you have overcome and learned from the past. In this world full of uncertainty, I believe we have to create our own certainty in our lives and what I mean by that is simple and something anyone can do. Here is how it works - grab your journal, a hot cup of your favorite tea, slip into your robe and slippers and put on some of your favorite classical music. If you have a fireplace, grab the remote and click that on too! Now you are ready. Close your eyes for a minute and take a deep breath. When you open them, look at the time and title the top of your paper with What I Know for Sure and begin writing. You will continue writing and not lifting your pen to stop for at least five minutes. When you are done, read through your list, close your eyes, and thank God for the certainty you have in your life. Without certainty, we have no direction. Certainty is our security blanket when life presents obstacles. Once you finish your list, begin writing your vision for the new year. Write it starting with I am...as if your dreams have already come true. I promise you that you will thoroughly enjoy this exercise.

Speaking of exercise, I am sure by now you have read my email about all of the weight many women (including myself) have gained this past year. Many of us are taking part in the 27 Fit Total Body Challenge starting on January 5th. Will you be joining us? Women that Win and Women's Wellness Society members will get a special rate of $127 for an entire month of support and personal training. Click here to learn more.

In other news, this is a very exciting time for Women that Win and me personally. I have so enjoyed the small Holiday break and have spent far too much time getting more addicted to Facebook daily. I have reconnected with hundreds of old friends and I am very excited about the many ways this website will change the face of all of our businesses. If you are on Facebook, LinkedIn or MySpace, please look me up. If you are not, time to get connected, this is the wave of the future. Also on the break, my kids started their own businesses. The younger ones started a snack company and the older ones are doing cleaning and outdoor work. I have enjoyed teaching them business skills and watching them learn the value of money. It has been an amazing year and I can truly say that because I am blessed for all the little things I have learned and all the amazing people I have met this year. I wish many blessings to you in the New Year. May all your dreams come true!

The Mentor with the Millionaire

2008-09-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

Why are you doing it all yourself?

2008-08-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

by Alexandria Brown

One problem I often see with solo entrepreneurs is that their businesses aren't growing because they're simply not making enough time to do it!

It's not that they don't understand the value of those efforts, or they don't WANT to make the time. It's that they're simply trying to do too much by themselves. They're so busy running their business that they're not working ON their business.

Are You Spending All Your Time on the Little Stuff?

Owning your own business requires wearing a lot of hats. But it seems that when many people leave their jobs to "go solo," they think they must work completely solo as well. They insist on doing everything themselves -- even tasks they know darn well they're not good at.

They try in vain to design their own Web sites and brochures, write their own sales copy, process their own orders, manage their own mailing list, personally respond to every customer call and e-mail, ship their own products, and more. Pretty soon they're running around like that proverbial headless chicken.

What eventually happens is their love for their work -- the reason they started their own business in the first place -- drowns in a flood of administrative trivia. Suddenly one morning they wake up feeling burnt out and without that positive, creative energy they used to have.

When this happened to me a few years ago, I was lucky to learn about virtual assistants (VAs). VAs are freelancers who take care of all that "busy work" for entrepreneurs like us. Because VAs are independent themselves, they work on an as-needed basis from their own homes or offices, saving you the cost and hassle of hiring a regular office assistant.

I now have six VAs -- Liz, who lives in Boston, Julie, who lives in Iowa, and a few others scattered all over the country. And I can't live without them!

What Could YOU Delegate to a VA?

During next week, keep a log of all your activities. Then sit down and review it. Decide which activities are truly ones that only you can do and which you can delegate.

For example, here are some of the tasks I delegate to my VAs:
* Responding to customer e-mails and phone calls
* Scheduling business and personal appointments and interviews
* Bookkeeping: invoicing clients, receiving and paying bills, reconciling bank statements, tracking expenses and tax records, working with my accountant (This was my favorite to delegate!)
* Internet research and fact checking
* Planning my travel for speaking engagements and seminars
* Maintaining my e-zine and customer mailing lists
* Managing my e-zine ad sales
* Handling registrations for my teleclasses/workshops
* Maintaining my Web site (copy edits, additions)
* Creating sales reports
* Shipping customer orders and shipping products to anywhere I'm speaking.
* Submitting my articles to other publishers and article sites
* Placing ads in publications and at Web sites.
* Formatting e-books, creating PDF files, and sending out for printing.
* Designing PowerPoint presentations

And I don't stop there. My VAs have also been happy to help me with personal stuff like researching vacations, shopping around for car insurance, and reminding me of birthdays and other important dates. Thanks to these amazing gals, I save my time and energy only for my "genius work."

Worried You Don't Have the Budget?

The good news is you're not hiring your VA full time. A VA only charges you for the hours she actually works. Although VA rates may be more than you'd pay an administrative employee (usually $30-50 per hour), you don't have the added expenses of employee benefits, office space, and equipment. You're also getting someone who has years of experience, who loves what she does, who already has her own desk, chair, computer, software, fax, phone, stapler, and pens, and who's ready to leap in and start work as soon as you are.

Keep in mind that having a VA will IMMENSELY free up your time to focus on the stuff that matters: marketing and growing your business, developing bold new product ideas and income streams, and servicing your larger clients. You'll think much bigger and will have much more creative energy. I guarantee it!

Look for a VA That Matches Your Needs

If you're looking for a long-term partner who is committed to helping you succeed (and I was), look for someone who's graduated from a VA training program such as AssistU. Another resource is the International Virtual Assistants Association.

Don't wait until it's too late! Most people put off hiring a VA until they "hit the wall." Things like overdue bills, a messy office, late projects, and unreturned phone calls add up until their business almost collapses.

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown publishes the award-winning 'Highlights on Marketing & Success' weekly ezine with 30,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.AlexandriaBrown.com

Franchise or License?

2008-06-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Because I am a huge fan of business models than enable you to mutiply and duplicate your efforts, I decided to do some research on franchising vs. licensing. I found some great info on coollawyer.com. Here it is.

Franchise or License?
By Judith Silver, Esq.,Coollawyer.com

Q:What is the fundamental difference between franchising vs. licensing someone to operate my business in another state? I am trying avoid becoming a franchise, but I have people interested in using my business and my business model in other states.

Answer:The line between franchising and licensing is not always a clear one. However, as you evidently know, offering a franchise subjects the offering party to FTC and state regulations, which require disclosure statements to accompany such an offering.

Most state franchise regulations allow that if a franchisor, the party offering the franchise, has complied with the FTC regulations, then the party has also complied with the state regulations. Otherwise, the regulations for franchise offerings vary by state.

If you currently have a license agreement where you license your trademark and give or exert control over the licensee's business model and get paid, generally speaking, you are probably operating a franchise and are subject to franchise regulations. These regulations do allow an exemption for a single license within certain parameters. If you state to your buyers that you are a "franchise," however, you definitely fall under the regulations.

Franchise RegulationsThe purpose of the franchise regulations is to be sure that full disclosure of all information is disclosed to someone purchasing a franchise. FTC Franchise Regulations require disclosure of a great deal of information regarding the advertising, offering, licensing, contracting, sale or other promotion of a franchise. These disclosures include:

The name of the franchisor Any fictitious names of the franchisor The trademarks of the franchisor The last five years of business experience of the franchisor's directors and officers Whether the franchisor's directors or officers have been convicted of or plead nolo contendere to any felony involving fraud during the past seven years Whether the franchisor's directors or officers have been a party to, settled or convicted of a civil action involving fraud during the past seven years Whether the franchisor's directors or officers have during the past seven years filed for bankruptcy, been adjudged bankrupt, been reorganized due to being insolvent and so on All terms of the franchise agreement, including how to terminate, modify and sell it Information on site selection, training programs, financial statements, other franchisees and so on

The disclosure statements for a franchise and their legal agreements are lengthy. You always want to have an experienced franchise attorney help when you write the franchise disclosure statements and your franchise agreement. These documents are analogous to SEC disclosure statements in complexity and magnitude. The analogy makes sense, since the franchisee is, in a sense, investing in the franchise.

"Avoiding" Becoming a FranchiseThere is no clear direction about how to avoid becoming what is defined as a "franchise." Above, we've mentioned some of the regulations involved. The best approach would be to work out your business goals, what you can live with and without, your financial goals and so on and compare that to the definition of a franchise. Then discuss your business goals with your franchise attorney, making sure to consider the best way to accomplish what you have in mind while still being in compliance with the law.

Alternatively, consider expanding your own business instead of selling your model to others. If your company owns and runs all the retail stores with its employees and offices nationwide, it's probably not a franchise--it's just one company doing business in many states. By rearranging your goals and seeking investors instead of franchisees, you might find another approach that makes sense.

All answers are general in nature, not legal advice and not warranted or guaranteed. Readers are cautioned not to rely on this information. Because laws change over time and in different jurisdictions, it is imperative that you consult an attorney in your area regarding legal matters and an accountant regarding tax matters.

Building Your Personal Brand

2008-06-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

Below is an article I recently wrote for the South Florida Business Journal. Check out the article here.

1. Be the poster child for your community. I achieve this by volunteering for lots of charity driven events. You may choose to pick just one that you are passionate about. I wear my name badge inclusive of my logo and I am sure to always have a camera in hand. I look for the most influential people in town to network with and I make sure to get a picture with them. The society sections of the newspaper are always looking for event photos and why not your face be the one that is seen week after week in the news. It establishes creditability and keeps your name and face amongst the readers and leaders of your community.

2. Brand yourself as the "Expert" in your field. To do this, you must know your core competency well and you must excel at what you do. Testimonials from clients verifying your expertise are critical. Establish relationships with the media and be known as the "go to" person when stories or information are needed relative to your scope of expertise. Guest blogging and submitting articles are a few ways to brand your name and face while sharing your knowledge on a topic. You will want to invest in a professional editorial or press release written about you and your successes. Find a local newspaper or popular website that will bring you in as a columnist or guest columnist. Ask a few local radio show hosts if you can be a guest speaker on their show. Post any and all of your work on your website and on YouTube, again, always including the title expert wherever your name appears. When someone googles your name, you want lots showing up about you and your company.

3. Start a meetup on www.meetup.com. Meetup is an amazing website that offers anyone the ability to start special interests groups enabling you to grow your database while keeping your name in front of the public. Membership is typically free and it doesn't take long to go from a few members to a few hundred. Hosting a meetup enables you to bring in guest speakers that you are interested in meeting but it also allows you to take the spotlight and showcase your talents. My meetup is called Boca Raton Entrepreneurs http://entrepreneur.meetup.com/1655/ and although I am in the business of women, my meetup is open to all and enables me to connect with great men too! Anytime you can take on a leadership role in your community, it is sure to pay big dividends.

4. Join me on www.linkedin.com to have access to the 650,000+ people that I am connected to. Social networking is an essential component to growing globally today. Set up your profile if you are not already on Linkedin and invite me using the email address kellie@womenswellnesssociety.com You can search for anyone that you are looking to be connected to on Linkedin, it is quite profound. By inviting well connected people to join you on Linkedin, you can have access to their client base and everyone elses through simple introductions. You will quickly see how six degrees of seperation unfolds.

Do....

Keep your brand consistent throughout all of your marketing collateral and your website
Spend most of your time marketing!
Have a mentor
Belong to a mastermind
Have a media link on your website that profiles all of your articles and society pictures
Grow a very large database of connections - database is king!
Send a monthly newsletter, but make the subject line interesting enough that your subscribers are dying to open it.
Get to know the people who make things happen in your town and keep your name in front of them by sending cards and small tokens letting them know you appreciate them
Assume everyone wants to do business with you
Be a connector of people
Give back as often as you can

Don't....

Ever let customers walk away unhappy
Lose focus of your core competency
Try to be the best at everything, recognize your strengths and delegate the rest!
Ever stop growing your knowledge in your field
Be afraid of failure and......

Don't ever stop networking!!!!!

Free Tools You Can Use to Prepare For A Recession And Maximize Your Website Traffic Through Tough Times

2008-06-14T12:24:00.000-07:00

Get ideas for marketing your website on the internet using internet marketing promotion and advertising strategies.

By Jay Berkowitz, http://www.tengoldenrules.com

As many businesses are finding out the hard way, discussions about whether we are in a recession or not doesn’t impact the hard fact that we are clearly in economic down times. Many business owners, particularly small business owners, have begun reaching out for free tools and ideas for marketing on the Internet. That’s why the team at TGR has created a list of “Ten Free or Low Cost Ways to Use the Internet to Help Your Business in Down Times.” These Internet marketing ideas, tools and technologies are immediately available online to maximize your website traffic and help businesses weather the current tough economic climate.

1. Companies can maximize web site traffic by using Free Search Engine Optimization techniques. Generating additional search engine traffic results from two things, using the right words on your website and creating links TO the site. Step 1; adding words to your website. Search engines read words that are on your site, and when someone searches those words, you must have them on your site. The easiest way to accomplish this is to write many articles about your industry. Free tip – you can find the word phrases that people search most frequently through a free trial at Wordtracker.com. Step 2; Build links to your site. When another site links to your site, that is giving your site more importance and credibility which can move your site closer to Google’s first page. Ask to get links from industry associations and your local Chamber of Commerce.

2. Create a FREE Offer on your site to get leads. A free brochure, a free eNewsletter, a free white paper, or a free industry rate calculator will attract people to sign up and when they do you can ask them for permission to send a free eNewsletter or more special offers in the future.

3. Measure the cost to acquire a lead and a sale. You now have the ability to measure your Internet marketing promotion and advertising efforts using a FREE product from Google called Google Analytics. This tool enables you to see details about your visitor and learn more about them and where to spend your advertising dollar.

4. Intelligence Tools such as Spyfu.com and Compete.com. These websites offer free products that can show you where your competitors are advertising on the internet and how much they are spending.

5. Take advantage of FREE Internet products like Google Optimizer to improve conversion on your web site. Optimizer allows you to test different offers, different prices and different designs on a web page to determine which is the most effective and could maximize your website traffic.

6. Generate greater awareness for your business or product by using Free or low cost Internet Press Releases. Another Internet marketing idea is to use free press release options include PR.com and Click Press.com. Tip - we recommend PRWeb.com, for just $80 your press release will have an excellent chance to get picked up in search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN.

7. Develop an eNewsletter. eNewsletters are a staple of effective online communications. A FREE eNewsletter is a great reason for people to sign up with you and become a lead on your website and then you have permission to send them great articles about your industry, profile your expertise, and provide case studies and client testimonials. It allows you to stay top of mind with current customers and prospects and gives them a ‘send-to-a-friend’ feature to forward your information. Tip – make sure you add the articles to your website so the words in the articles get picked up by the search engines!

8. Create a virtual internet sales force using Affiliate Marketing. Affiliates are marketers who will send traffic to your website in exchange for fee for leads or percentage of the value of a sale. Some Affiliate networks we work with are Commission Junction, Linkshare, Share-A-Sale. Tip - Determine how much it costs you to get a sale and offer the affiliates slightly less. Affiliate marketing is very direct - you only pay for a lead or a sale.

9. Build your company’s position on high traffic Social Media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Another way to maximize your website traffic is to link from social media sites to your company’s website. Both sites just started allowing company pages and it is a good way to build presence and links for a website.

10. Cut out the middle man by selling direct at eBay, Amazon and Yahoo stores. Many businesses are developing a whole new branch of their business by selling direct to the consumer through online stores. Many companies have started to refocus their internet marketing promotions and advertising efforts and began utilizing trusted name website to sell products. While you do pay a fee to the website, they have built in traffic and they offer easy to use tools to build virtual stores with eCommerce functionality.

Jay Berkowitz has managed marketing departments for Fortune 500 brands: Sprint, Coca-Cola and McDonald's and successful dot-com eDiets.com. Mr. Berkowitz is the Founder and CEO of http://www.tengoldenrules.com, an internet marketing consulting business based in Boca Raton, Florida. Ten Golden Rules helps companies get more traffic to their websites and convert that traffic to sales with a focus on improving internet profit.

A Gift of Discovery and Renewal

2007-10-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

by Kandee G

I was recently asked, "What is the most important thing that you ever learned about life and creating real success?" I think one of most valuable lessons that I ever learned, is how important our thought process really is. What we think about ourselves, what we think about others, how we feel about our parents, our children, our peers, our partners and our passions all affect how we create our lives. It is more than having a positive attitude; it is actually creating a picture image in our mind with our thoughts. Creative thoughts have the ability to help us physically shape our world. Your thoughts are things. They are things that layout, construct, and dictate our lives. You can learn how to re engineer your thoughts to redesign your life, consciously and deliberately.
I am living proof our habitual thoughts and our attitudes literally make our lives take form. Once I truly understood what creative thought was, what it meant, and how, by changing my thought process, I could change everything, I did. That's right—I propelled myself from an existence of meager subsistence to a life of bounty and joy. My story has been told, "from Peanut Butter to Private Jets." I was single mother who had lost everything including my home. I utilized sound principles of the universe and created real abundance, joy and happiness. I discovered universal, timeless, principles that underlie our achievements. As significant as these principles are, they are not often brought to our attention. And yet reality is bound by these laws, just as surely as by the principles of math, chemistry and physics that you learned in school. Learning these elementary, but powerful Laws of Life gave me a sturdy handle on success. The interesting thing is that these laws are in play whether you realize them or not. It is important to consciously understand them and to deliberately use them to design your life. The key is action steps. When you are in action, you can unlock the tools within yourself for your own fulfillment. Applied action creates desired results. Here is a formula for you to remember; success, great success is a function of conscious decision, conscious thought, and disciplined action. All of my prosperity, my career, my plenitude, originated in two decisions: first, to see myself as the victor, not the victim; and second, to discover my dreams and my purpose. Yes, it is possible to discover your purpose. It is possible to live your dreams. We all have them if we are willing to take a look. You have a powerful creative genius in side of you. Powers that you can tap into to achieve spectacular results—results even beyond your current dreams. It is up to you to build powerful self-beliefs to supply you with the energy and the courage to continue to always move forward in the direction of your dreams…no matter what!Your life is your responsibility. You are accountable for your life, your actions, your reactions and those things that you bring into creation. Remember, what you think is what you get, thoughts are things, so honor your own thought process, pay attention, and change those thoughts that do not serve you. Utilize this time of year to release your past. As we enter this time of year. know that you can reinvent yourself and recreate your own reality. See this time as a gift to yourself, a gift of discovery and renewal. Join me on this adventure of possibility! Are you ready? I dare you to make this life remarkable….. because I know you can.

Your Business Is Under Control…But, Are You?

2007-08-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

by: Debi Davis

Haven’t had much time to think about your weight, but know it’s really time for you to lose a few pounds? Stress can kill your metabolism and cause weight gain just as quickly as over-eating. Cutting calories or eliminating luncheon cocktails is not the answer either.

Weight Control is the number one health focus in America and affects more than 70% of our population. It is hard to be productive in your business or in any aspect of life when you don’t feel well. Serious diseases and medical complications are usually a result of poor eating habits, hormonal or nutritional imbalances, an overweight condition or a combination of all of these. When you are aware of how easy it is to get back on the road to good health, a few simple adjustments could make a profound difference in your future.

If you don’t know where to start, we can help. Trying to lose weight is frustrating under the best of circumstances. Trying to lose when your body is blocking your efforts makes weight loss nearly IMPOSSIBLE! Your body is a machine that is affected by your chemical make up, environment, lifestyle and food preferences. All are factors that make weight loss and improved health an individual and customized endeavor. “One size does NOT fit all” when it comes to diet & exercise programs.

If you are taking prescription medications, most will leach important nutrients from your body that can create imbalances that affect metabolism and immune system protection. In most cases, these imbalances will block your body’s ability to burn fat or lose weight.

Women That Win has partnered with FIT AMERICA MD to help you fix that!

Use the Women That Win special coupon code of WTW07 and you can get the $39.95 Fit America MD Personal Health Diagnostic absolutely FREE!

Simply go on the FitAmericaMD.com website and click the Personal Health Diagnostic button. Enter the WTW07 code and complete the Profile. From that, you will receive a report that will help you better understand your body and all that may be required to improve your body’s chemical balance, hormone levels and efficiency. It will even provide the nutrient depletions most likely present due to your medication usage and tell you what you can do to replenish them.

Weight control does not need to be complicated or difficult. Five easy to follow steps will get you well on your way to a healthier and thinner YOU.

STEP 1. DON’T DENY YOURSELF. Allow yourself to eat whatever you crave, just do it in moderation.

STEP 2. FOOD ROTATION. Don’t eat the same things every day.

STEP 3. DRINK WATER. Water is the only liquid that will flush fats from your body so drink 6-8 eight-ounce glasses of water daily.

STEP 4. FOOD TRADING. Many food alternatives that are high in protein or low in fat can be substituted for foods containing less desirable characteristics.

STEP 5. EAT HIGH PROTEIN/LOW CARBOHYDRATE MEALS. Most active working Americans do not have time for regular exercise. If this applies to you, your meals should focus on protein (chicken, seafood, lean red meat), along with fresh fruits and vegetables and de-emphasize carbohydrates which can be found in bread, rice, pasta, corn and potato.

Be smart and think thin. Find foods you enjoy and let FAMD help you create an eating program that you can maintain forever. You’ll find that you feel better, are more productive, happier and will never have a weight problem again!

Have a great week!

What’s in a Name? Choosing and Protecting a Strong Mark

2007-07-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

written by: Polly Heseman
www.floridasmallbusinesslaw.com

Selecting a name for a new product or service is an important endeavor. A trademark or service mark is a term used to identify and indicate the source of a product or service. You want the mark to be something your targeted consumers will remember so that the product or service becomes associated with your business. A properly selected and used trademark or service mark will become a valuable corporate asset in which you will acquire the right to exclude other from competing with you by using the same or similar mark.
There are several ways you can acquire trademark and service mark rights. Trademark common law rights are acquired by marking products with the mark and selling them. Service mark rights are acquired by using a mark in association with a service and selling that service. The first to use a particular mark has superior rights to the mark and no one else can adopt the mark in the protected geographical area without infringing the trademark or service mark rights. Common law rights extend to the geographical area where the mark is used and therefore vary. State registrations extend protection to the entire state where the registration is filed whether or not the mark is used throughout the state. Federal registrations extend protection to the entire United States. However, the marked product or service must be used in more than one state to get a Federal registration.
Selecting a strong, protectable trademark or service mark can be counter-intuitive. Many businesses tend to select names that readily describe their product or service so that the consumers know immediately what they are getting. However, these are the weakest and least protectable trademarks or service marks. A mark must be distinctive in order to be protected by either common law rights or state or Federal registration. Under trademark law, terms used as trademarks and service marks are divided into five categories increasing in distinctiveness; a) generic; b) descriptive; c) suggestive; d) arbitrary; and e) fanciful. In general, only suggestive, arbitrary and fanciful marks can be registered with the state or on the Principal Register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Descriptive marks can be placed on the Supplemental Register in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but rarely acquire distinctiveness because there is no exclusive use of the mark. Generic marks are never protectable.
A generic mark is the actual name of the product or service. In other words, “it is what it is.” If you have a used car lot and hang a sign that says “Used Cars,” it is not protectable and you would have no trademark rights in the name even if you were the only used car lot in the United States. A descriptive mark, on the other hand, "immediately conveys" the ingredients, qualities, or characteristics of the goods or services with which it is used. For example, “The Best Donut Shop in Boca” describes a good donut shop in Boca Raton. You would not be able to stop someone from opening a donut shop next door with the same name. So, while it is tempting to choose such a name, it is not necessarily wise.
The next three categories are protectable at common law and can be registered with a state or the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A suggestive term requires some imagination, thought, or perception to determine the nature of the goods or services from the term. The mark “Silver Spoon” for a restaurant suggests that the restaurant is refined and sophisticated. Arbitrary marks are commonly used words which have no connection to the product or service. For example, “Apple” for computers and “Camel” for cigarettes are arbitrary marks. The strongest marks, however, are fanciful. Fanciful marks are made up terms for the specific purpose of using them as trademarks or service marks. For example, “Google” for an Internet search engine and “Kleenex” for facial tissues are fanciful mark. Once there is wide spread use of a fanciful mark, it creates a stronger connection between the source of the product or service and the mark.
Once you have selected a strong, protectable, mark, it is important to determine if the mark is available prior to investing time and financial resources in using the mark. This requires an in depth search and should be conducted by an attorney experienced in trademark law. It is important to understand the extent and enforceability of your rights ahead of time. Then, you need to determine the best protection for how, and the extent to which, you will be using the mark. Again, an experienced trademark attorney can counsel you on what protection is available to you. So, now that you have the trademark basics, get creative and get on your mark!

2007-07-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

Diversifying your Income
by Kellie Kuecha

One income households are almost a thing of the past. Women are starting home based or side businesses at an all time record rate and women working in Corporate America are also jumping on the band wagon. The idea of income diversification is not new, but with today’s economy, housing prices and corporate layoffs, many women and men are finding a means of additional income and in some cases, they end up leaving their careers to pursue their passion full time.

Women call our office on a regular basis seeking advice because they are looking to start a part-time business and they are not sure what to do or where to start. We first ask them to describe the things they are most passionate about. Most times we find that a network marketing business is best suited for the woman who wants to start something on the side 10-12 hours per week. Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, and Cash Flow Quadrant, calls networking marketing “The Perfect Business”. Donald Trump has been quoted saying, “If I could do it all over again, I would choose network marketing.” Unlike most other part time businesses, network marketing offers the appeal of “residual income”. Residual income, is also referred to as, passive income or re-ocurring income. Opting for an additional income stream, is a way for anyone to eliminate the glass ceilings of working a job or business that requires you to trade hours for dollars. With the right network marketing company, one could work diligently for a few years, and ultimately create an income that continues to come in, regardless of whether they continue to keep working.

There are many network marketing companies out there that vary in product lines and compensation plans but there are some important things to look for in the “right” company. Most major universities are teaching networking marking now as a viable way to earn a living. Women that Win has a vast array of knowledge in this industry and is here to help if you are one of the people who is looking for advice and direction.

Another very important side benefit to operating a home based business is the tax advantages that come along with having a “home office”. Many people are unaware that once you start operating a business from home, a percentage of your mortgage or rent, electric, office furniture, home computer and many other items become tax deductible giving you a much better tax return at the end of the year. Most of us despise the idea of dealing with any addition tax work at year end, but we came across a great product that can help you not only maximize your tax benefits, but show you how to do it easily, morally and ethically. Sanford Botkin of Tax Reduction Institute former IRS auditing agent and tax guru, offers a unique program that will save you thousands on your taxes. Sandy even shows you how to go back three years and amend your tax returns and most times, people will find they missed deductions that could have been taken. We highly recommend this for every business woman whether you are working for someone else or for yourself. Remember, the minute you start a home based business, you begin to qualify for taxes benefits that those without a home office cannot take.

Masterminding to take your career to the next level

2007-06-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt alone in your business? Have you ever wanted to find answers to certain questions, but were not quite sure who to turn to or even want to ask in fear of looking unintelligent? Chances are that if you have questions about something, others have dealt with the same challenge. Wouldn’t it be nice to learn how other’s worked through them? This, my friends, is called masterminding. While the term mastermind is only about one hundred years old, people have been masterminding long before that.

Most business leaders understand the power of masterminding and participate in some form of it regularly. Napoleon Hill, best-selling author of Think and Grow Rich, defines masterminding as “An alliance of two or more minds blended in a spirit of perfect harmony and cooperating for the attainment of a definite purpose.” We are all looking for ways to improve our businesses and our lives and working together to accomplish this goal will allow us to achieve what sometimes seems impossible.

Bringing like-minded and goal-oriented people together to help one another reach their goals is an extremely powerful tool and one in which over 80% of entrepreneurs understand the importance of. Think about some of the biggest challenges you face in your business. I guarantee that your peers have dealt with these issues in the past and quite possibly come up with creative ways to persevere. Wouldn’t you like to know their “secrets”? I am sure you have your own “tricks of the trade” that others would benefit from as well.

Women that Win is proud to offer our very own MastHERmind Teams! By joining a MastHERmind team you are declaring your commitment to achieving your goals and creating the life in which you dream of living.

What do you think about masterminding?