First Word

My associate Laura Sevigny, our new director of operations, marketing and sales, said this: "The biggest lessons I've learned were from when I failed not succeeded." I thought about that statement, and I agree. Then I considered my own biggest lessons from failure, and I wanted to share with my audience here on First Word . I must be the "master of my domain" (a funny line from Seinfeld which has nothing to do with business) . But it's true. As the CEO I should not be doing every job, but I should know how to do every job. After another "expensive education" (another Laura-ism), I decided it was time to pull back the curtain and figure it ALL out. Even though it's taken temporarily from my core work, I decided to devote a month or better to perform every task in my business down to shipping. In doing these tasks, I will now be able to answer every question firmly and without reservation. I can also gauge and understand what amount of time ...

Promo Sheet/Flyer --your promo sheet should be loaded with great quotes from reviews about your book. If you don't yet have professional reviews, use testimonials. Put an image of your book on the sheet. Use it to hand out to prospective readers. Stand near your sales area and direct those readers to your sales table for actual purchase. Bookmarks --nice bookmarks with brief information about your book. Bookmarks take the place of business cards and should have your URL and general contact information along with where to purchase the book. Large poster board of book cover image --an enlarged poster-size image of your book cover created on a cardboard of foam-core backing to protect it. Do not date anything on the image so it can be easily reused from event to event. Bring a sturdy stand to put it on.

The pressure I put on myself can't be any harder than the pressure I ... put on myself. Stand up and confess, "I, Michelle am a workaholic." Truth is I started my business not to have to work myself into the ground to meet other people's demands. Over time, I made the great discovery, I still have to meet other people's demands (clients). The saying "work smarter not harder" is the applicable tool to keep life in balance. Problem is economics + delegation are conflicting at the moment. So sharp manager that I am I need to "noodle" some solutions to the scale tipped the wrong way. Ever find yourself stuck in this quagmire? I bet if you're a business owner reading this blog you know what I'm talking about. Here are some things to think about: Guilt is not an excuse to give 10 times more than you get in payments . If you're being paid to do a job do the job to the best of your abilities. But you are not obligated just because you h...

These days the idea of achieving the corporate dream of getting the corner office with the view has been replaced with contentment in my home office working in my blue robe vs. blue suit. A recent bicker with an associate of mine made me think about this ... the idea of how we work these days. A suggestion of "professionalism" came up, and my so-called home office. I started thinking about how once not that long ago I had the executive suite and the HUGE office with the conference room table in the middle of it. All the employees on that floor reported to me. I had definitely achieved the executive dream. In the middle of my "deluded" concept of success, I worked long hours and came home late. I didn't get to spend enough time with my kids. I was exhausted. I always loved working from home, too, in my downsized and comfy office that was really an atrium-turned office with glass windows on all sides and a gorgeous view of our backyard. Well, in 2006 I took the ...

I recently found myself in a situation where an individual went off on me about her "perceived" role of what I should or should not be doing at an event. It was very interesting. First, I am the CEO of 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com), and this was a professional event. What this person got her knickers twisted over was interesting and inappropriate, but none the less she went off anyway. One of her major complaints involved why I was not processing payments and lifting books in boxes. I got to thinking about this complaint and realized there was a greater misunderstand and even a cultural issue about expectations about women. I will start with this basic question to address the complaint: Have you ever seen a CEO at an event lifting boxes and processing orders? The CEO is the company figure head. I was there to meet and greet and represent the product. I hire people to lift boxes (because frankly I have a disability and cannot do it anyway), but the expectation that th...