I ask myself this every day. Today, my answer is “I was able to help 2 clients.” I love helping others. It’s not just about making money…

In recent years, blogging has become a staple when building your brand. Blogs provide a platform to connect with others through a direct line of communication. Not only is blogging a great way to expand your reach, but blogs also help keep your audience engaged in your business. In a world where humans are busier than ever before, and have the attention span of a goldfish, it’s important to stay prevalent in the forefront of their minds.

• Businesses that maintain a blog acquire more customers! This should be enough to get working on that blog!
• Your blog is communication directly from you. Clients love this personal connection. They also like having accessibility to you.
• Your blog is a forum to share all your social media outlets. The more followers you get, the more your business will grow. Tip: Be sure your social media URL’s are tagged in each post so readers are able to share the content easily
• When you plug in key words to your blog posts to make them SEO friendly, search engines then share this valuable content to those who are searching using these key words. This means more traffic for you!
• Blogging gives your company a voice. It creates a forum where you can discuss products, expertise, services, market trends and company initiatives. It’s a great place to build a stellar reputation and trust for your brand.
• Blogging opens up communication with your audience. Always try to promote two-way communication. When people take the time to comment on your page, be sure to reply. This proves there is someone on the other end who is truly listening.
• Blogging creates free PR. Once your posts start to get noticed, people come to you as the expert and often times start promoting you and your business. It’s a win-win!
• Blogging builds relationships and sales. Customers start to look at you as a reliable resource for information. This trust leads to sales and referrals, which, you guessed it, leads to more sales.
• Blogging allows you to tell the story of your brand. It’s a great place to offer insight into the company, showcase your employees and share your ideas. Emotional connections foster loyalty from customers.
• Blogging is an inexpensive way to build brand awareness, promote your products and services, and gain loyal customers.

Blogging can be very time-consuming, but is absolutely worth it, especially if you’re a small business or a service related business. Positioning yourself in the marketplace is key to growing your brand. Set a stage for your brand to be seen and the followers will come. By Holly Rust

When I work hard at something and fail, I have a choice.

Be in despair, cry, and give up.

Change the word “failure” to “experiment”. Study the experiment from every angle. Learn from it.

Learning equals improvement.

1% improvement a day means you improve 38 times in a year.

1% more despair a day means in a year you become 1/30 of the person you once were.

That’s your choice.

Thanks for Your Wisdom James Altucher

I get asked this often! Lots of reasons really but the most important one is I’ve always LOVED my ‘WORK’. First I  was a Mom then I started a Job Referral Service (People Power). Next a Montessori Teacher, then a Web Designer and Trainer: Sara Ohara.com and now ALSO a Bike Tour Guide: Scenic Cycle Tours.com. There were times in between but mostly if I wasn’t happy I just moved on. Try it, you’ll love it! And Steve Jobs agrees with me!

This man changed my life, not only my Business but my Attitude.

What if instead of saying ‘I HAVE to’ we said ‘I CHOOSE to’ – would what we do be different? I dare you to you ask this about your business as well as your personal life.

A New Year often reminds us that we are doing waaaay too much. The most important thing to do when you have hit the burnout wall is to focus on self-care. If you’ve been working on chasing and building your dreams, you probably have had tunnel vision for quite some time and left your self-care far behind you. My top 2 Remedies are:

1. PLAY – I just returned from 4 days laughing 24/7 with 4 GrandKids ages 5 – 18!
2. AEROBIC Exercise – for me it’s running on the beach and seaside hilly trails. It really doesn’t matter what type of aerobic exercise you do – just keep trying until you find the one you ENJOY!