1) Facebook is fast and efficient. Let’s face it, we don’t have a lot of time. I try to carve out 15 minutes a day over a morning cup of coffee to browse social media outlets and engage with my clients. You can simply ask a question, share an article or video or offer up a quote for the day. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to work and create content, but you can schedule time to sit down and concentrate on your message, without sacrificing consistent connection.

2) Facebook is based on sharing. As women, sharing comes natural and creates conversations that turn into sales. Kelly Lester founded Easy Lunch Boxes and did something very simple. She encouraged other mom’s to take photos of lunches they have packed in her boxes and post them. It is an immediate visual of her product in action. How can you connect with your clients?

3) Facebook is the ultimate collaboration tool. There is no more immediate way to get product feedback than asking your fans. You can do online surveys, create contests for best ideas and then market the new and improved product or service.

4) Facebook leverages people. Piggies & Paws, a specialty company that has 200 artists duplicating art with children’s hand and footprints, uses Facebook to network. The artists contribute and encourage clients who have had home parties to post photos of the child and artist together.

So, go forth and Facebook!

(Joan Durand is the owner of By Design Inc. and provides Rent-a-Business-Manager support for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Increase profit, efficiency and growth in your business – Your Business, By Design.)

If you have multiple WordPress sites to manage there is now a way to do so from one single dashboard. Manage WP is a new service that allows you to access all sites, plugins and even backups from one place.  Here is a great review from Daniels Mekšs.

Luckily, there are plenty of online resources to help you.  This year I am attending a month long webinar for marketers that will help keep me updated and learning new ways to help small businesses.  It is fascinating so far.  Professionals from all over the world are attending – Australia, Canada, Russia, South America, etc.  It is interesting to see their questions and perspectives on the Social Media Success Summit community sites – which makes this a uniquely interactive educational experience.

But what if you don’t have the time or resources to spend a month learning about Social Media?  I suggest you start reading the experts blogs…  Here are a couple of websites that can get you started.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/

http://www.bluepenguindevelopment.com/

http://www.marismith.com/mari-smith-blog/

1) It allows you to track time and expenses against a project estimate.

2) It thinks the way you do, no reinventing the wheel.

3) It can be accessed anywhere, anytime.

4) You can attach project files, like Word and Excel documents.

5) Great customer service and clear training guides/videos.

6) The reporting is customizable and flexible.

7) It gets used by everyone, without fail!

Watch for reviews of some of the systems available.

Third day home from Costa Rica and I am realizing several things. This trip, instead of being in awe of people like Colleen and Bennie who are purposely creating their life and truly believe they can chose it, I am thrilled that I am one of them.  It seems what launched within me on that first Women’s Quest trip (horseback riding in Colorado)  took hold deep within.  Here are some of the things I learned…

• It is essential to get away from your life every once in a while. But it needs to be the “right” kind of way for you. Mine was a mixture of adventure, strong inspiring women, physical challenges and complete downtime.  I came backed renewed in my purpose to help small businesses and entrepreneurs thrive and completely in love with my personal life.
• I learned that physically, I can do things I never thought possible and really do have stamina. I will use that knowledge daily now that I am home. But more important to me, I learned that I don’t have to do everything and I don’t have to do it well. It is okay to dabble sometimes, to just have fun… and sometimes it is even more fun to sit on the beach and cheer others on.
• I have new challenges. This trip highlighted how much I live in my head and not my heart. Systems, procedures and hard work are all terrific for what I do professionally. And those come naturally. But sometimes, you need to forget the system and the practice. I need to take most things less seriously.
• In surfing, you just need to stand up and point to the beach… A good lesson for all of us driven women. Stop preparing and instead, move forward with your gut in the direction you want to go.

So, thanks again Colleen.  Once again, your vision and the people you gather to help create it have catapulted me forward!

As I was sitting on the front porch this morning drinking my coffee and sharing my Cliff bar with the resident kitty here in Costa Rica, I was filled with gratitude.  It is so beautiful.  I had done so much already, met wonderful women and still had so much more to do…  Today alone would be filled with yoga, surfing and horseback riding thru the jungle.  Life is wondrous and adventurous.  It is good to have downtime from my business and recharge the battery of passion

And then it happened.  A hummingbird appeared in front of me, upset I was too close to his flowers.  He hovered and chitted at me, obviously irritated by the intrusion. And I was awestruck.

I think the lesson is, sometimes you are the awestruck, sometimes you are the irritated.  You get to choose.

I wish you awestruck-ness!

(Go check out Women’s Quest! Colleen Cannon and her staff (including Benny Lopez) create adventures for women that nuture the body, mind and spirit!)

Mabel and Ed are the mourning dove parents that chose our backyard. When they first started building their nest I thought, “Wow, bad choice!”. After all, they chose a yard with three squirrel obsessed dogs and a dog door. Next choice was to build on a fan under the deck. And in my book, the worst was building on a fan that wobbles with every breeze – positioned over a hot tub. I felt a baby bird baptism gone wrong coming on…

They were determined. And they moved forward.

Dove

And like most choices there are perspectives. Perhaps they see the shelter of the covering over the hot tub? Or trust that the hot tub will stay covered an escapee it will have a safer place to land? Who knows… I like to think Mabel told Ed, “here, it just feels right”.

Bottom line, it all worked. Mabel and Ed’s babies are currently flying around our yard.

The moral of the story? Go with your intuition. Of course, do your research and put in the hard work, but then make a move. Someone will always think it a bad idea and you know best – for your business and your life.