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Momaraderie is Single Mom, Body-Builder Candice St. Pierre

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This Momaraderie feature was presented to me by Erica M. Allison, president of Allison Development Group, who writes the blog Spot On.

By Erica Allison

Meet Candice St. Pierre, a single mom of two and an ordinary mom with an extraordinary story to tell.  This single mom has managed to rewrite her own story in just five short years and is approaching a major milestone in her life on 11.11.11.  St. Pierre turns 40 and is choosing to celebrate this occasion in major style (think Arabian nights here).  Her party represents her enthusiasm for living, the cornerstone for her amazing transformation.

Candice’s story is one of inspiration, wellness and reinventing yourself in tough times. She wants to share her story of everything that she’s overcome and all that she has achieved today in the hopes that it can inspire other moms out there.

In 2006, this Midwestern girl from rural Illinois returned to the USA from Germany with two little ones in tow. She was going through a devastating divorce, near bankruptcy, no job prospects and trying to stretch child support with two kids, shelter and food.  In addition, she was unhealthy and overweight.  When she landed in Greenville, SC she had no idea how she would turn her world around; there was no opportunity for an Eat, Pray, Love trip here.  Instead, she focused on breadcrumbs and finding her way one important step at a time.

Five Years Later

Fast forward five years and Candice has wiped out $50,000 in credit card debt, over two-thirds (2/3) of her $100,000 in student loans; has a solid retirement plan and financial security; has a successful job and is currently planning a new, independent venture; and, is in the process of writing a book chronicling her story and her steps to financial and personal freedom.  Candice is also 40 pounds lighter, with a new body to show for it; she recently competed in the Carolina Supernatural (body building/ figure competition) placing fourth in the Figure, Tall category. It was her first contest and a true testament to how hard she’s worked and succeeded.

“Our mental, physical and emotional selves are interconnected,” said St. Pierre.  “Interestingly, I found a study that shows a correlation between weight loss and income.  As you lose weight, your income goes up.  I can attest to that!”  St. Pierre is pleased to say that her credit card debt is gone, the legal bills are gone and she has paid off more than half of her student loans.  “I am well on my way to being debt free,” said St. Pierre

Candice is the first to say she did not achieve her new optimal self on her own. As a single mom, she’s sought out help, and still does along the way. “It is not possible to do anything by yourself,” said St. Pierre.  “Somewhere along the way, you need the help of others.”  St. Pierre advocates hiring others to help reach goals, but only if one’s basic needs are met.  In order to pay for advisors and coaches along the way, Candice focused on the necessities, but also took tangible actions, such as cutting off cable and garbage service, in order to free up funds to pay for help.  “Sometimes, we have to make hard choices to move ourselves forward.  The stronger we become (emotionally, physically, and mentally) the easier it is to make the right choices for ourselves,” said St. Pierre.

Candice’s story demonstrates that it’s never too late to rewrite your story.  Connect with her on LinkedIn, she’d love to hear from you.

 

7 Tips To Keep Blog Content Fresh

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Credit: captsub.com

Blogging requires a cup full of creativity, two cups of inspiration, and a third of dedication to keep the content fresh and interesting.

It’s SO EASY to read your favorite blogger and take their inspiration as yours; heck, it’s even EASIER to swipe a few article ideas or, better yet, take their words and re-purpose them into your own blog (no one will notice, right?).

I’ve been seeing in the last several months a few cases of indiscretion — bloggers “currying favor” with power bloggers and repurposing their content. While that may be the nicest form of a compliment; uhm, it’s not — that really sucks.

Just last week I saw my friend Erica Allison’s post on upcycling content to make it fresh again and, lo, a leading A-Lister blogger had an extremely similar post the next day. Coincidence or not really?

I have no idea whether the words I write or the ideas I come up with are re-purposed by others. I do see the tweet words or blog comments I make re-purposed on occasion.  I don’t police for that, but then again, I’m not as prolific as Gini Dietrich, for example. We’re all guilty of the above in some way, shape or form. It could be subliminal because we take inspiration from others’ writings.

If you’re struggling with how to freshen your blog content or nudge your creativity for something new (because we do live in an echo chamber!), here are some ideas you may want to consider:

1. Read, read, read. When I started in public relations agencies at Manning, Selvage & Lee in Chicago, my bosses told me to read. I really never knew what that meant or why. It probably took me 10 years to understand why reading is so important. And, it probably took me 10 years to mature into a better practitioner to incorporate reading into my daily routine. When you read, you’re better versed to impart insight to your blog.

2. Scan headlines. If you don’t want to read, then scan headlines (and include the first graph in that exercise, too). When you scan a headline, think about its relevance to your daily work. If you represent clients in healthcare, scan the headlines in the AMA Journal to see what’s current. This exercise helps spark ideas both for your employer, client or blog.

3. Select a topic and focus in-depth. Facebook is all the rage these weeks and so is Google+. Everyone is talking about timelines, business profiles, fan pages and the like. If you’re adapting your work to accommodate the new features, then write a story about it with a “how-to” piece or share a case study about how you implemented something for a client or your company. EVERYONE wants someone to teach them, and if you have a step-by-step process showing how to do something, you can watch your analytics rise exponentially.

4. Get Clicky. I was absolutely kicking and screaming on implementing a back-end decoding device (that’s not what this is, really). When you install Clicky on your blog, you can see why people come to visit. The key words they’re honing will appear in your dashboard, and you’ll find the information valuable to develop new posts. I was a non-believer until I saw the data on day one; it’s fascinating. So, thanks Gini, Brankica and Erica for pushing me over the brink.

5. Comment Love. When you engage on others’ blogs in comments, invariably, you will generate a rich trove of new ideas and blog fodder. If you happen to disagree with the blogger and others in the community also are debating your views, this becomes automatic fodder. And, wow, look at that opportunity — instead of debating in another bloggers’ comment system, bring that discussion to your house and state your perspective in an original post. Invite those same commenters from elsewhere to join you at your house, and voila! A new thread of interest comes alive.

6. Don’t force it. I’ve not blogged in awhile, and that’s because it’s been a tad rough with the client side. When you are not feeling your blog, DO NOT WRITE. There’s no hard or fast rule that says you must share your sorrows on your blog just because it’s been dormant. Respect your own boundaries and know that people want to read uplifting and inspirational content; they’d prefer not to engage in down-spirited bloggers. If you are inclined to write when you’re down, you are forcing your hand, and it shows.

7. Pick tried-and-true topics. This is a real-live personal tip from today — because I’ve not blogged in awhile, I selected an easier topic I knew I could write about comfortably to get back into routine. I have many ideas and blog posts started; but, because they’re under-developed and would take too long to complete, I selected something quick written this morning.

 

What might you add from your experiences?

Facebook School, Guy Kawasaki and Selfishness

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This is a story about the icon who was Steve Jobs, but it really isn’t. Rather, it’s an observation about two very different reactions by people I don’t know which prompted two very different reactions in me.

I am enrolled in Facebook school via Social Media Examiner Facebook Success Summit 2011 which launched October 5 via live webinar broadcast world-wide to some 1800 attendees. Ten minutes before the kickoff presentation to be given by Guy Kawasaki, Apple announced Steve Jobs had died. Guy is the former chief evangelist at Apple, the founder of Alltop, and an esteemed author and respected business and social media pro.

Michael Stelzner, president of Social Media Examiner, announced via email that Guy would alter his presentation and instead share a personal tribute about a very personal friend who had graced the world with such amazing talent and influence.

I listened to Guy at the top of his presentation not knowing what to expect. The email confused me as I’m not privy about peoples’ professional backgrounds, relationships, or true measure of influence unless I tune in consistently to them.

Guy was breathless and absolutely distraught. His mobile device was ringing off the hook (on vibrate); people wanted to reach out and express sympathy. Finally, he had to turn it off to concentrate on his live delivery and his in-the-moment-significant-real-time story about his close friend, Steve Jobs.

The significance of this moment wasn’t lost on me, but it didn’t carry that much weight until two days later when I read a question posed by a woman in the Facebook Summit LinkedIn group who asked, “Was anyone else upset that the first session was changed without notice?”

REALLY?!

The passing of Steve Jobs is akin to the passing of Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, or JFK Junior. This woman had the audacity to ignore the impact of this historical moment by sharing it with someone experiencing true and real-time feelings ad lib. Because of this woman’s shortsightedness and posting of a selfish question, the significance of what I witnessed in Guy’s on-the-spot tribute became more critical to me.

I have not gone to follow the thread on LinkedIn; nor do I want to. Perhaps this woman is not an Apple consumer; perhaps she lives in a country other than the U.S. No matter; if Michael Stelzner thought the passing of Steve Jobs that important to segue his kick-off presentation then the students attending should’ve relished that experience, too.

This is kind of a strange post to share, but I just had to get this off my chest; it still dumbfounds me.

 

China Gets Expensive; Can U.S. Manufacturing Benefit?

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I predicted here in a musings post that manufacturing would return to U.S. shores from China. I anticipated that wages would increase there, and the cost of manufacturing would steadily increase along with it. American companies seeking economies of scale in China would begin to ponder Made In America again albeit our manufacturing base has long eroded.

While I’m no economist or global manufacturing expert, and my prediction was merely my own based on observation, it seems it may be coming true a bit quicker than expected.

Today’s Wall Street Journal story, “Buck Up, America. China Is Getting Too Expensive,” tells about a U.S. furniture manufacturer who got the raw end of a stick when he manufactured in China only to be pushed aside by businessmen in China who decided to sell direct to the U.S. instead. The story also speaks about Bruce Cochrane a Lincolnton, NC furniture maker who is ramping up manufacturing back on home soil.

Many factors contribute to this and it would be great to hear from anyone expert in global arbitrage, currency, manufacturing, and trading. What are known factors today relate to the Chinese manipulating their currency to be more favorable to them in addition to soaring wages in China as the workers there get a taste of Western capitalism.

There are many implications for business owners who thought China the Holy Grail. What goes around comes around, right? We see that in fashion every 20 years or so; perhaps we’re going to begin to see it with consumer goods and industrial products, too.

Is America ready?

Customer Service, Auto Collision Repair and Social Media

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When there was hail damage to my beloved orange Mini Cooper convertible, I was devastated, yet counted our lucky stars kidlet and I survived driving in the tornado. The experience following to get my vehicle repaired was eye-opening and resulted in my blog post and Facebook posting on the “offender’s” fan page.

This is a piece about vehicle collision repair shops or auto body shops or whatever you’d like to call them. The teams in these businesses, often mom-and-pop establishments or franchises or dealerships, have to work daily with customers who have angst, stress, injury, insurance issues, and are expecting to spend dollars to repair their vehicles.

I’ve spoken with many experts of late about the situation that exists in body shops — they are behind the times in how they service customers, how they engage with customers, and how they perfect their own customer service to ensure a new customer returns for future work.

Here’s what I recommend right now for any body shop, collision repair facility, or dealership:

>> Bring in a public relations/marketing practitioner with expertise in social media to meet with your team, observe and analyze how services are rendered.

>> Allow that expert (Hi?!) to conduct a social media analysis to determine your collision repair facility’s brand and influence on social channels. That includes Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, Foursquare/Gowalla, daily deals/Groupon, and others.

>> Select one point of contact from the customer service team in the body shop to get trained in social media. That person can work with the public relations practitioner to learn why social media is critical, how to listen to customers, how to document what they say and follow-up, how to ask for a review on Yelp, and how to keep them coming back for more services (beyond auto body repair).

>> The contact internally becomes basically tied at the hip with the public relations consultant so that content can be delivered across channels within the regional boundaries of that business.

Social Media Campaign

The social media campaign could look like this:

>> Analyze the website and freshen it to be customer centric; write for the customer to entice and convince them that your brand, reputation and service are solid.

>> Establish a Facebook fan page and add the buttons to your facility’s website.

>> Launch a profile on Yelp and ask for reviews from customers you know had a good experience. Put up a coupon on Yelp good for an oil change and tire rotation.

>> Explore a daily deal with the area newspaper or buy a Groupon campaign to bring in new prospects. When they come in for the first time for services other than auto body repair, take them on a tour of your facility and show them the capability you have for detailing and collision repair. (The most fascinating thing about collision repair services or a personal injury law firm, for example, is that you don’t know where your next customer is coming from until there is an accident.)

>>Record the name and email of the prospect in a database you launch and add this to Constant Contact. You’ll launch a newsletter perhaps four to five times annually about collision repair, auto health checklist, and more.

>>On the business website (which should be updated), add a form that says “Register for our Newsletter here.” When you capture names, they get added to the database and they get the email newsletter.

Conclusions

The point I’m making is this:

Customer service begins on the frontlines, but it doesn’t end there.

>>Customer service begins prior to that person ever entering your business.

>>Customer service has to happen during the entire face-to-face experience.

>>Customer service requires “the ask” to invite a post-visit review (either a Yelp rating, or Facebook posting, or register for our newsletter).

>>Customer service is a follow-up phone call or survey to ensure satisfaction, and it is also a real and genuine person concerned that a customer had a good experience while in a place of business.

For years, we’ve all said, “customer service is dead.” Isn’t it high time those charged with customer service in small businesses get a little more creative to earn and keep a customer?