First Word

I've been in business now seven years, and I'm the CEO of 3L Publishing ! Wow! Seven whole years! I've had some great years where the dump truck loaded with money pulled up and dumped away. I've had some lean years. And I've had some "so-what" years. The lessons I've learned have been tremendous. Want to know what they are? Sure you do! You're an avid reader of my blog, so naturally you're sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting with baited eagerness. Never ever focus on the NOT . What does that mean? It's really simple. If you spend all of your energy and thoughts focused on what you DON'T have, you'll have more of that. A great example is money. If you don't have enough money, don't spend all your time saying how you don't have enough money. Instead put ALL of your attention on earning enough money -- and this means marketing and selling. The old saying, "We are what we think most about" is so true. Live ...

It's Friday morning ... coffee time. I decided this morning to pour my Joe into a "love" cup made by my nine-year-old daughter. A little morning jumpstart with some love ... works for me. So business here at 3L Publishing is booming. Now I am super, super happy and over the moon about the business. Now I have to deliver. You can't sell without delivering what you sell, right? With so much work coming in so fast, we're in a rapid growth curve. Now I could 1. panic 2. fret or 3. get organized. I choose #3. How do you manage a lot of work at once? I have some great tips to share with all you busy managers and executives. Here is why people ask me, "How do you get so much done?" Step 1 : Get real ! Yes, get real about what you CAN actually manage. Don't look at the moon, realize it's really thousands of stars, and then panic. Get real with your responsibilities and work load. Don't shirk those things that MUST be done to grow your company (i...

Last night I went for drinks with one of my dear, old friends. We've known each other for years. It was so great to see her. She has attended some writing workshops, and she attended my writer's group Writers Who Mean Business . We've discussed her book project on and off. I don't do pressure sales. I went out with her as a friend to enjoy some girl time. By the end of the conversation, she brought up her book project and an upcoming event she would like it published in time to release. The conversation shifted -- and within five minutes we decided to publish her book for the event. Relationship building is the key to all success in the modern economy. Networking and relationship building go hand-in-hand. You network to meet people -- and then you build critical relationships with them. You figure out how you can help them. You share and build a true, trusted business "friendship" and go from there. An opportunity to do business with them may or may not aris...

Do you think I should write something serious today? It's Saturday ... I don't think Saturday should be serious. It's supposed to be my day off. I have to confess something: I usually take time off during the week and work on Saturdays. Why? Because Saturday is quiet and I can get the most focused work done. I will be proofing the book Fortune is in the Follow-Up by Heidi BK Sloss all day today. The phone doesn't ring on Saturdays. I don't have a million emails coming in. I don't have text messages to answer. The downtime to concentrate is marvelous. My only meandering thought is when to get dressed and run a few errands. Do you have a brain that goes a million miles per hour? I do! So, the peaceful energy of Saturday lets me slow down. Now you're reading this and thinking, who cares? Yep, who cares LOL.

Michelle Gamble-Risley, CEO at 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com). As business owners, we spend a lot of time out networking and meeting people. What I see as a colossal waste of time is when you network and fail to follow-up on leads. You get back to the office and the non-stop phone or email or texts distract you -- and pretty soon you haven't had two seconds to make sure all those hot prospects turn into actual business. I ask you, what is the point if you don't follow-up? You ate rubber chicken, drank sour coffee, and maybe consumed a semi-tasty cookie (what is it with cookies for dessert these days anyway?). Your waistline expanded maybe, but your bank account didn't increase. You spent the money, ate the bad food, and you didn't follow-up. I say why don't you just take that cash, add it up, flush it down the toilet, and add some Drano just to ensure it goes down smoothly. The whole point of networking is to build relationships to grow your business. So ...