RadioGirl

Is it still the New Year even if it’s 5 days in?

I’ve been so busy gearing up for the New Year that it’s actual arrival was missed. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s my husband and I were, of all things, brushing our teeth. We didn’t realize until we returned to the bedroom that midnight had passed us by in a whisper and we’d missed our traditional midnight kiss.

Speaking of husbands…I’ll be doing a lot of speaking about husbands (and wives) over the coming months. One of my projects for the New Year will be the launch of a new podcast Relationship Talk Radio.  It’s in the pre-launch stages now and will debut the week of Valentine’s Day, I’ve just started taking surveys to see what people want to hear. If you have two minutes to fill in the survey, I’d love your input too!

Do you use surveys to help guide your business?  They can be very handy! They don’t have to be formal or complicated and can really help in getting to learn more about your target market.

I admit, I’m a bit survey crazy at the moment. It’s because one of the most exciting new marketing features of the new Listener Rewards program at the radio station I work at is the ability to survey listeners for ourselves and advertisers.  I can now sell integrated marketing campaigns that combine the power of radio with strategic internet marketing through the new features.  I’m excited that in 2008 I’ll be able to help local clients with both survey and listbuilding campaigns in addition to the traditional radio campaigns.

I think the thing I love most about 2008 so far is seeing how everything I do is coming together so it all is interconnected and interrelated. It’s so much easier to plan when all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. I already feel a lot less scattered and chaotic.  I just find it so much easier to accomplish more when one action can be used in more than one project.

So, needless to say, my new year is starting well. How is yours going so far?

mila

I want to wish you all a Happy New Year!  I feel very excited about the year ahead.  I’m making a few business changes and also starting several projects that have been on the back burner for far too long.

Last year was a big lesson for me in self believe and perseverance and boy did I learn a lot!  This year is all about having the mind set to go for everything I want without fear or hesitation…. I feel very ready to do that.   I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone and am looking forward to growing even more.

And I don’t just mean business wise — but on a personal level as well.  I’m sure there will be lots of updates and I will keep you posted!

What about you?  What dreams and goals do you have for the year ahead?

Annette Elton

I spent the past week snowboarding in the mountains of Colorado. The last day we hit Vail, noted to be the biggest ski resort in the US. Up until now I have spent my snowboarding days primarily at local resorts. Vail was a huge surprise. We were able to literally board down an entire run and not see a single person. It made me think about what would happen if I were to get hurt. Who would know?As the day progressed, the temperatures dropped and the winds picked up. At one point on a back bowl with no one around, the winds were blowing so hard I could literally not tell if I was moving and if so, in what direction. Pretty scary considering there are many runs which drop off into double diamond blacks - I’m a moderate snowboarder at best. I’ve never been so intimidated and well…honestly frightened in my life.

The day ended early because the temps refused to rise above 1 degree Fahrenheit and the wind chill plummeted way below zero.  Leaving early turned out to be a good thing. On our way home the road conditions were so bad that a parade of four wheel drive cars climbed up the mountain pass at about 3 mph. Visibility at times just didn’t exist and as we made our way over the pass, people behind us were being turned around. They closed the highway for the next 30 hours to protect folks from avalanche danger and of course sliding off of the road.

That night as I lay my head down on my pillow I have never said so many “thank yous” to the powers that be. It was a humbling and frightening experience that has changed my outlook on life. I’ve always been a grateful person but I think I’ve lived my life feeling very immortal. The last day of 2007 changed that for me.  Feeling my mortality created a much stronger sense of gratitude.  Seems like a good way to go into the new year.  Happy New Year!

Mel

I mentioned that we used to live in the Pacific NW. It’s been about 4 years since we moved and I still miss it terribly. This time of year is especially bad because I absolutely loved the winters. We lived in the mountains where the kids sometimes trick or treated in snow and at times it accumulated into several feet. There were times when the roads would be shut down for days and the kids would ride snowmobiles up and down the streets. We’d be without electricity so we played games and told stories by candle light. We’d cook on the wood stove and spend the day outside making snow forts and having snowball fights. I know for many it may sound nuts to miss that kind of weather but it really was great living there.

To see the flip side of things, winters here in the south consist of a few snow flurries, lots of ice and bitter cold wind. To me, living in this kind of weather is crazy. Once you get cold, you can’t get warm… even in the house! You can drive on snow pack but don’t dare go out on icy roads. Unless you get up at the crack of dawn, you might actually miss those few snow flurries. And worst of all, if we do get an inch of snow, the entire state shuts down!

Is it too much to ask for us to get a decent snow? I mean enough to make a real snowman and actually have him sit in the yard more than 2 hours without melting? The best we’ve been able to do so far is two small balls of snow, so every year we name him gutless frank or something like that since he’s missing his middle ball.

Ok, so that’s my whine for the month.

Does anyone else get homesick? Is there a particular time of year or an event that triggers it?

Mel

It’s amazing how a single item can really change your entire household. Coming from the Pacific NW where Douglas Fir trees were abundant, we have always had a real Christmas tree. Each year the tradition was to go the day after Thanksgiving and cut down our tree, come home and decorate it. The next week was spent decorating the house both inside and out.

Since moving to the south, we don’t have the luxury of having those wonderful trees at our disposal and we have to rely on someone to sell pre-cut trees. This has really dampened our spirits but even more so this year when nobody in town was selling them! We searched high and low but didn’t find a single seller in our small town. We decided the next day hubby had off we would drive to a larger town to find one but his days off were in the middle of the week while the kids were in school so we kept postponing it.

Everyone’s been such a grump the last few weeks. When asked what they wanted for Christmas, the kids said “nothing.” They’ve been bicker with one another more than normal, hubby and I have been crabby and even the animals have been in a rather foul mood lately.

Friday, hubby surprised us all and came home with a tree. Granted it’s three weeks late but by the time we were done decorating it, everyone was in a much better mood. We have even shared a few meals now without a single cross word! Today is more of the same, everyone laughing and sharing jokes and the kids asked earlier to decorate the rest of the house.

I guess I didn’t realize just how much that little tree meant to all of us until we didn’t have one.

Linda

I often see consumer complaint sites recommended to people who are considering business opportunities. While I’m a big fan of customer reviews, I wonder how informative “complaint” sites really are.

Ratings and review sites encourage both positive and negative comments. Complaint sites seem to be a great place to vent, but I doubt that happy users seek them out to add their praise.

And we all know an unsatisfied customer is much more vocal than a satisfied one.

If a search of the complaint sites comes up empty for a company, I suppose that’s a good deal of information. But how useful are complaints posted on a site that only asks for the negative?

mila

My poor 4 year old is sick.  He’s been home from school for the past two days with fever, tummy upset, cough and just generally unwell.

 I took him to pick up my older two at school and we went into the school hall for this art exhibition where the children display their paintings and parents can view/buy them.

 Anyways, it was extremely crowded, hot and stuffy and just as I was about to say come on we’ll come back tomorrow lets get out of here my 4 year old threw up right in the middle of it all. 

Ah, spectacular timing… of course they can’t help these things, but the timing and place was pretty bad!  He did feel much better afterwards so there’s one positive thing.

 Plus tomorrow he has his Christmas nativity play and I doubt he’ll be able to take part.  Looks like the teachers will have to find another angel Gabriel!

So how’s your week going so far?  Is anyone else thinking that there are just way too many demands put on us at this time of year?  I’m one for minimizing all demands but some things you can’t escape!

RadioGirl

I was sad, though not altogether surprised, to come across an article about Sesame Street and how the old version is not appropriate for today’s preschool audience.

Is there no sense of humor left in our modern politically correct climate? It seems to me that children are being shortchanged by the shortsightedness of s0-called experts that there is little room left for imagination. I am stunned that anyone could think that children will grow up to be monsters just because they saw cookie monster gobbling his way through a plate of cookies.

Do they know what happens when a child pretends to be cookie monster? Cookie crumbs end up all over the place and none land in the tummy and it’s given up. You learn pretty darn quick that cookie monsters’s style doesn’t translate into real life.

Maybe that’s why I can’t stand most of children’s television today. There is no room left for inappropriate behaviour or for the bad guy. If you remove every vestige of the inappropriate and leave only the saccharine sweet and the so-called appropriate, there is nothing left for  children to compare and contrast to.

How does that do a child any good at all? When there is no one left to relate to? Because we are not as children or adults, perfect. We have bad feelings and bad thoughts and bad behaviour - and having models that do no wrong does not and will not change that! So why not have someone representing the darker side of personality so that it’s acknowledged as normal to have inappropriate feelings and reactions sometimes. Why can’t we learn from our favourite fuzzy friends that it’s normal to not to be perfect, but still in the end be good people (or puppets as the case may be).

Destroying shows like Sesame Street just so that children are not exposed to inappropriate behaviours is not going to remove bad behaviour in society - they’re just stealing away the best parts of childhood.

Not that I think sitting in front of the television is the best use of a preschooler’s time, but let’s face it - hundreds of thousands of children are going to watch TV.  I’d personally rather it has some characters that are just a little bit bad. You can learn a whole lot of good from that little bit of bad.

Annette Elton

I recently read a review of a new release by Janet Evanovich about her new book on writing. The book is getting fairly good reviews one of which really struck a note with me. She said she finds “a couple of glasses of cheap champagne and a bucketful of M&Ms to be helpful in writing romantic scenes.”

Being an aspiring fiction writer, with an agent but no print publishing credits just yet, I haven’t tried that one yet but you can bet I ran out to the store and bough a bottle of semi-cheap champagne and a bag of peanut M&Ms. I have a story I’m finishing up and getting ready to submit to publishers. Maybe this trick will help me find the inspiration I need for the missing scenes. Regardless, it is bound to be an entertaining experiment:-)

It also reminded me of the other little tricks I use to find inspiration:

–Red Hot Chili Peppers: You know those days when you get up and the kids are screaming, you have 55 new emails in your inbox and none of them are SPAM and the dishwasher is on the fritz and the dog seems to have left a present on the cat’s bed? Those are the days I pull out my iPod and blast the Red Hot Chili Peppers until I’m in a good mood and the entire family has escaped the room because mom is in one of her moods.

–Fresh air and sunshine: I also head outside for a breath of fresh air to clear my head and find focus.

–Bubble baths: There’s nothing better than a bubble bath and a good book at the end of long days to relax for sleep and enjoy the small luxuries life has to offer.

–Phone calls to my sister: When I simply need to talk to be heard.

So what inspires you to work, to relax, to de-stress?

RadioGirl

I went to the Pokemon PlayDate with all my boys yesterday. I don’t know what else to call it. Every week the local trading card and novelty store hosts an open morning at the Scouts Hall where kids bring their Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon cards. They used to host it in-store, but quickly outgrew the facilities with so many kids showing up to play. Some days they have tournaments and others the kids just battle.

Until yesterday I just dropped the older two off to play and picked them up later, but yesterday I decided to stay with them so that youngest could get in on the action. Of course, he needs help with the reading and math and to monitor his behaviour. He’s a great kid, but he’s only four (until tomorrow) and I don’t think it would be right to drop him off and expect the owners or his big brother to give him the hands-on attention he needs.

My eldest son won a battle and prize pack. My youngest won two collectible hockey cards from a drawing and a booster pack from a trivia draw. That was my doing. When Tim (the owner) asked the first math question for the prize, my mouth engaged without thinking and I answered. I did manage to keep my mouth shut through the rest of the math problems though so I didn’t win them all. I found it funny that all these years out of school that it takes effort to not answer a times table question immediately and without thinking.

My youngest got tired after the first round table battle. That’s where everyone battles around one table until there is only one winner rather than tournament style where everyone plays one to one and the winners move on until there is only one winner left. One battle was enough for his attention span. So we left and had intended to go home, but I was sidetracked by the thrift store.

Being volunteer run, it’s only open two days a week and Saturday is one of them. I couldn’t resist peeking inside since I had $12 in my pocket and a list a mile-long of things I want for the house. I didn’t find a thing for the house, but I did walk away with 27 books and a Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia game for $7.75, which is much less than my library overdue fines at the moment.

The books are an eclectic mix of old university textbooks (marketing and business math), romance novels, business how-to books, a couple of true life biographies and a fascinating book on the lives of teenage girls that chronicles life only a couple of years in advance of when I was a teenager in one of the same cities that the writer interviewed in.

The book “No Kidding: Inside the World of Teenage Girls” is the first one I started on. It’s eerie to read about teen girls in the time I was a teen, some going to the same schools I went to and the same malls.  They’d all be in their late 30’s and early 40’s now.

I briefly glanced through the Marketing Book, it’s just one of those standard basic marketing textbooks that I love having around to back up my inspiration and ideas for my own business and when I’m advising clients on their businesses. I picked up the Business Math textbook for the same reason, just to be sure I’m making the right calculations when messing around with numbers. I’ve been self-taught in that area and wanted the assurance and backup.

A brief skim through the first couple of chapters in the book “Homemade Business:  A Woman’s Step By Step Guide to Earning Money at Home” tells me that it’s going provide an interesting perspective. Written in 1992, before the Internet turned into the powerhouse of opportunity that it is today, the basics of building an at-home business remain the same.

I love picking up old books for that reason. The basics of business don’t change and haven’t changed. We, as business owners, simply update the delivery and speed with technology - but the need to plan, target our market, organize and manage our time, simply do not change.

Reading an older book on nearly any subject can be an experience. Whether it provides a trip down memory lane like I’m experiencing with “No Kidding” or helps to focus on business basics like “Home Business” and “Basic Marketing” - there is a lot of value in picking up something that’s not fresh off the presses.

Or maybe it’s just me?