Quote of the week

"What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers." - Martin Horner

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the week

"Motivation is like food for the brain. You cannot get enough in one sitting. It needs continual and regular top ups." - Peter Davies

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

If you've never failed, you've never lived!

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit
RWJ Consulting Group

Using Web 2.0 to promote your business

Technology has changed the way businesses interact with clients and prospects. We are now moving into a Web 2.0 era. As research shows, Web 2.0 allows users to participate in the web through applications like social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, and blogs. If you are not using Web 2.0 to enhance your presence, you may want to consider adding this to your business model.

Let’s take a look at some of the applications that are being used by various businesses.

Skype
An up and coming piece of software is Skype. Skype is a Voice over the Internet (VoIP) software application and service individuals can use to communicate via computer. Businesses are relying more on this software to conduct video calls with staff in various locations. Some businesses and entrepreneurs are also using Skype to provide music lessons, cooking lessons, and information sharing just to name a few ways.

YouTube
Another great piece of software businesses are using to leverage their visibility is YouTube. Playing for Change Foundation is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world. They visited countries like Bethlehem, Palestine, Barcelona, Spain, and Dublin, Ireland. Using multimedia technology, they pieced various video of musicians playing several songs (one being a famous Ben A. King classic “Stand By Me”). This organization has captured a new and captive audience using multimedia technology.

The company YouTube did something similar earlier this year. They conducted the first ever auditions through YouTube for individuals around the world to be a part of the YouTube Symphony in April 2009. There were 3,000 musicians who auditioned and 96 winning players were selected to perform at Carnegie Hall.

Research indicates:
- The average user spends about 30 minutes viewing videos.
- 20 – 30% of usage is within the U.S.

Facebook
Facebook is another forum businesses are using to establish a presence with clients and prospects around the world. Here are some prime examples of how businesses are using this social network to capture clients:

- Photographers share pictures from their portfolios.
- Nonprofit organizations promote various causes and events.
- Fashion designers share their designs.
- Graphic designers promote projects from their portfolios.

Many companies are starting to incorporate some of these Web 2.0 applications into their business model. As you can see, technology can enhance the visibility of your business.

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Regain Focus To Achieve Your Goals

Are you on track to accomplish the goals that you set at the beginning of the year? If so, you are doing great. If not, you still have time to regain focus and get back on track. As times change, there are factors (economic, social, political, etc.) that can cause someone to fall behind and sometimes not be able to reach their goals. Let’s look at a few things that you have control over that will assist putting you back on track.

First, where are you now within your plan of action? At the beginning of the year, you identified a set of key goals that you wanted to accomplish. Did you keep a written list of your goals and did you revisit this list on a periodic basis? Locate your list and if you lost it, recreate a new one. Make sure you put it in a spot where you can easily access it to keep you on track for accomplishing these set of goals. Whether they are business or personal goals, keep the list visible.

Now that you located or recreated your list of goals you wanted to accomplish, let’s focus on when you wanted to accomplish them by. Has the target date already past? Did you set out to accomplish this by a certain quarter within the year? Maybe you need to readjust the timing based on certain circumstances. Where possible, try to break a bigger goal into a more manageable goal based on time and size. Breaking a goal down can sometimes assist on when you achieve it.

Finally, do you still need the assistance of someone else to help you accomplish these goals? Whom do you need to partner with to put you back on track? Maybe it is a business colleague or mentor. You’re not in this alone. Having the support of others, helps you keep focused and motivated to accomplish your goals.

Getting back on track to accomplish some or all of your goals by the end of the year can still be accomplished. Remember to identify what it is you want to accomplish and keep your list visible. Check the timing to make sure you are hitting the key dates you need to accomplish the bigger goal. Enlist the help of others if needed as they want you to succeed and accomplish your goals.

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #29

Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk – and to act.

– Andre Malraux

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Communicating Effectively - You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

You’ve been selected as a guest on the Donnie Deutsch show to pitch “The Big Idea”. You have thirty seconds to describe your business and how it can benefit others.

What will you say? What do you want people to walk away with? How many people are watching the show and can benefit from your “Big Idea” or even provide funding?

There was one particular episode of “The Big Idea” that stood out to me. There was a panel of expert entrepreneurs there to provide constructive feedback to the entrepreneur on their “Big Idea”. Donnie introduced the guest and asked them to describe their business in thirty seconds. The business owner started to describe their business and began to fumble while explaining their product. I started to become unclear on the purpose of the business and how it could benefit me. Were they nervous from all the lights and cameras in the studio? Was it the panel of experts?

Well, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. With more people out of work today, starting your own business is more of an appealing option to create income. In a survey conducted by a Fortune Small Business/Zogby International online survey of 755 small business owners, 40% of entrepreneurs said they feel more secure having their own business as they would if they worked for a large firm (27% just as secure, 22% less and 8% not sure). Entrepreneurs may have a great business, but when it comes to communicating the product and vision, the message sometimes seems to get lost in translation. Why is that? We are not all experts when it comes to presenting ideas, let alone speaking to a group of people. People fear public speaking, but let’s focus on an exercise that helps you confidently present your business to one or many future clients and investors.

Exercise 1. Keep these key questions in mind as they will come up during conversations about your business:

- Why was this business created?
- Who does it benefit and how?
- How can we purchase your products and services and what is the cost?

Exercise 2. To help you answer these questions, do a brain dump of everything you know about your business. If you have a business plan, pull some information from there as well. If you don’t have one, maybe it’s time to start creating one. I would even include the S.W.O.T. Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.) from the business plan.

Strengths: What does your business offer that your competitor’s may not offer?
- Better distribution channels
- Niche market

Weaknesses: What are some of the objections a customer may have to not select your business?
- New to the market place
- Limited product and service offering

Opportunities: What external factors will allow your business to prosper?
- Political
- Demographic
- Technology

Threats: What threats would impact your business?
- Pricing
- Substitutes in the market place

Exercise 3. Now that you have your thoughts on paper, start putting some structure around your responses to the questions above. You only have thirty seconds to make your pitch and you want it to count.

Write out your main points on what you want to say. Create variations, some may be short and some may be long. Have a business partner, mentor, family member or friend ask you questions about your business and practice giving responses to the questions so you feel comfortable when it’s time. Your network does not want to see you fail, so ask them for honest and constructive feedback. In fact, have several different people from your trusted network ask you different questions about your business, so you get used to the different styles. Have some in a formal and informal setting. If you have a camcorder, record yourself so you can see how you look when you’re giving your responses.

Some questions to ask yourself and the person working with you on your responses:

Do you seem confident and natural about what you’re discussing?
Does it look like you’re thinking about what you want to say?
Do you “um” and “uh” when responding?

Make sure your responses feel and sound natural like you are having a conversation with the other person. You want to look very knowledgeable when talking about your business. Repeat this exercise as much as possible until you become comfortable. It will be valuable for you as you begin to speak to more people about your business. Make it easy for people to understand what you do, so they can easily promote your business to their network.

You got the call from Donnie Deutsch to pitch your “Big Idea”. Who knows how many people may be watching the show that evening. With the exercise that you completed, you will now feel more comfortable and confident talking about your business, not just to Donnie, but future clients and investors as well.

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #28

"Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things."

- Frank A. Clark

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Networking: The quality of your network

I recently came across a blog post "It's about the QUALITY of your connections" by Jun Loayza (Co-Founder and CMO of Future Delivery). I really enjoyed the post, because it focused on building "QUALITY" relationships.

As a loyal user of LinkedIn.com, I too see many people focusing on quantity and not the quality of relationships. We all want people to like us and be our friend, but how many friends can we truly have at one time and really know them inside and out? It seems like social networking sites are turning more into a popularity contest and not being used as a true networking tool. If you saw a person from your network in public, would they recognize you or would you recognize them?

I challenge you to look at the contacts in your network and value those relationships you have established. If used correctly, your network can be a very powerful tool.

What is your purpose for networking? Is it to see how many people you can add to your network or is it to build healthy and valuable relationships?

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the week #27

"He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not remains a fool forever."

- Chinese Proverb

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #26

"The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity."

- Keith Ferrazzi

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Organizing your Contacts for Networking

Imagine you are nominated chair of a fundraising event for an organization you are passionate about. Your goal is to raise awareness about the organization as well as raise a set dollar amount. You are ready to share the news about this event with your contacts, but you realize one thing. Pulling all of the pertinent contact information and notifying them will take a little longer than expected.

Communicating with individuals in your network today, may not always be as easy as it seems. If you’re like most people, you have contacts stored in your cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), several email accounts (work and personal), traditional phone book or rolodex. If you use one or all, it can be a challenge when you want to contact or even share news with your network.

Information that is typically valuable:

- Contact name
- Title
- Phone number
- Place of employment
- Primary address
- Email address
- Fax number
- Notes section to write brief comments about your contact

There is more than one way to manage your contact’s information without it being an extensive process. Let’s get started organizing your contacts and formalizing your network!

Step 1: Identify all your sources of business contacts. To create a solid contact network, identify all the sources where your contacts can be located. This will not be an effortless process, but be sure to verify all of your online email accounts, social networking sites, black book, rolodex, business cards, etc.

Step 2: Start categorizing your contacts. Now that you have identified all of your contacts, put them in some type of category. The main categories are business, professional and personal, but create something so you can easily search and find them when you need them. In your process, make sure there is a notes section and capture information from prior conversations.

Step 3: Pull it all together. Which system works best for you? Here are some possible solutions:

Solution (1) - Microsoft Excel, Access or Outlook

Pros: The ability to sort data.
Cons: User must manually input data.

Solution (2) - Social network (LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook)

Pros:
- Contacts are responsible for updating their own information which saves you time.
- You can access this information with an internet connection.
- You act as a connector for your contacts to be introduced to others on that networking site.

Cons:
- Not all contacts can be found on the site you are using.
- Contacts do not update their contact information or access the site as often.

Solution (3) - PDA (Palm Treo, BlackBerry, iPhone)

Pros:
- The ability to place contacts in categories and sort.
- Can quickly contact individuals if device has an internet connection.

Cons:
- Must have a computer to extract contact data from application.

Solution (4) - Yahoo, AOL, Google

Pros: You can access this information with an internet connection.
Cons: Can only email a maximum number of contacts at one time.

Solution (5) - Business card scanner

Pros: Program captures all of the information from the business cards you scan.

Cons:
- Cost associated with the purchase of the program and the need for a computer.
- If your contact does not have a business card, you have to manually input the information.

Solution (6) - Traditional rolodex

Pros:
- No internet connection needed.
- All information is in one location

Cons:
- User must manually maintain and information needs to be inputted into an email or letter each time.

*Note: There are several other solutions available that were not listed.

Choose 2-3 solutions. Create an easy process for you to maintain contact information, so that when you need to contact your network you can do so.

Step 4: Actively use your contact list. Now that you pulled it all together, make sure you actively utilize your newly consolidated networking list. Make time to review your contact list either, once a quarter, once a year or a time that might be best for you to review especially if you have a long list.

Managing contacts in your network does not have to be a long and drawn out process. Don’t wait until you need to use your network to determine if their contact information is current. If you follow the steps provided above, you will find that maintaining your network will be much easier going forward.

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

10 warning signs that you may be addicted to Facebook

Tara Stiles on Help! I'm Addicted to FaceBook!

10 warning signs that you may be addicted to Facebook

1. Facebook is your home page.
2. You update your status more than twice a day.
3. You have over 500 "friends" half of whom you've never actually met.
4. As soon as you step away from your computer you're on FB on your phone.
5. You are a FB stalker. You qualify as a FB stalker if you
a) click on someone's profile more than once a day even if they haven't messaged or tagged you in a photo.
b) have dragged and dropped more than 3 FB photos (not from your own profile)
c) actually go to a place mentioned on someone's page in hopes of seeing them in real life...creepy!
6. You change your profile picture more than a 12-year=old girl.
7. You have checked your FB page while reading this article.
8. You clean up your "wall" so it looks like you spend less time on FB.
9. You are a member of more than 10 groups and respond to every event invitation "attending" even if you have no intention of going.
10. You change your relationship status just to mess with people.

Read full article

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800or visit
RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #25

"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit."

– Conrad Hilton

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #24

"To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping."

– Chinese Proverb

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #23

"It's easier to go down a hill than up it, but the view is much better at the top."

- Henry Ward Beecher

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the week

“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”- Muhammad Ali

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #22

There are three types of people in this world; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. We all have a choice. You can decide which type of person you want to be. I have always chosen to be in the first group.

- Mary Kay Ash

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the week

"Life is too short to spend your precious time trying to convince a person who wants to live in gloom and doom otherwise. Give lifting that person your best shot, but don't hang around long enough for his or her bad attitude to pull you down. Instead, surround yourself with optimistic people." - Zig Ziglar

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Keith Ferrazzi on "How do I start networking?"

Keith Ferrazzi, author of "Never Eat Alone" shares quick and easy tips on "How do I start networking?"

There was one paragraph in the book that stood out to me about networking and the impact building relationships has on your growth:

"This realization came to some empowering implications.  To achieve your goals in life, I realized, it matters less how smart you are, how much innate talent you're born with, or even, most eye-opening to me, where you came from and how much you started out with.  Sure all these are important, but they mean little if you don't understand one thing: You can't get there alone.  In fact, you can't get very far at all."

What steps worked for you when you started networking?

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #21

We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.

- Marian Wright Edelman

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Getting Organized in the New Year

Happy New Year! Things have changed throughout the economy and in the workplace. With more employees doing more for the same salary or reduced salary, it is important to get yourself organized so you become more efficient, reduce your level of stress and spend more time doing things outside of work.

Here are some common problems and solutions that can help in getting organized in the New Year:

Calendar
Problem: Having meetings scheduled back to back with not enough time for you to prepare in between. Not blocking appropriate time to manage the business and your staff accordingly. Spending more time at meetings than you do at your desk.

Solution: Make your calendar work for you and not against you. Most company systems have an electronic calendar and if you are in a role that doesn’t have one, a paper calendar will do. Be sure to block off time for you to go to lunch and get away from your desk. Create a to do list of items and prioritize what you need to complete for the current day and what needs to be carried to the next day(s).

Email
Problem: If you don’t have a blackberry or pda, email is the first thing you read once you get in the office. Have you also noticed that when you check email first to see what is taking place, you start putting out fires before you even had your first cup of coffee?

Solution: Take a few minutes to get yourself settled in and have your first cup of coffee or the beverage of your choice. Then, set aside about 20 minutes to go through your email to see which emails need immediate action and the emails you can delete. Set a schedule to check email throughout the day (either on the hour or half past the hour). If something is really urgent, the person will most likely call you.

Meetings
Problem: There are way to many meetings to attend in one day. At times, people often wonder why they are even there. Does this sound like your situation? Why not get back some of your time that you can devote to other aspects of your day.

Solution: There is nothing wrong with asking the person running the meeting for the objectives and what role you would play in the meeting. Delegate to another staff member or peer if the meeting allows and follow-up with that individual if appropriate.

Career Development
Problem: So much time is spent in meetings and focusing on the needs of the clients which are to be expected. Employees subsequently spend little time in the work day to focus on professional and personal goals.

Solution: In order for people to become better organized, provide better service and grow professionally, be sure to focus on your career development as well. Focus on some short-term and long-term goals. Create a plan with your boss that focuses on helping you build your foundation and meet your needs. This can be done through external training classes, seminars and workshops, conferences and even going back to school for a certification.

File Management
Problem: No categories or consistent file management system is in place. Having a filing system that not even you can understand. Files that you currently have are located in multiple locations (electronic, hard copy, offsite, etc).

Solution: Create a system that allows you to incorporate electronic and hard copy files. This will help you be more prepared for meetings. Create categories (projects, career development, etc.) for your file management system. Store your files in a file cabinet or storage system so they are easily accessible when you need them. You can also scan your documents if this is an option at your company.

Getting organized for the New Year can help you become more efficient, reduce stress and allow you to spend more time doing the things you love with the ones you love.

Happy Organizing and Happy New Year!

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group

Quote of the Week #20

If it turns out that my best wasn't good enough, at least I won't look back and say that I was afraid to try; failure makes me work even harder.

- Michael Jordan

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Reggie Waller is the president of RWJ Consulting Group a provider of business and personal coaching, consulting and training services to individuals and businesses. For additional information call 267-254-6800 or visit RWJ Consulting Group