Writing To Get Business

Doug Lawrence, former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, now works as a mentor. He describes the rewards of that work as “seeing somebody grow as a person, first and foremost, growing as a person having that belief in themselves and, sometimes, even being comfortable enough to want to share that experience with somebody else.”

He says that he wrote his two books, first, The Gift of Mentoring, and next You Are Not Alone, because people felt that many could benefit from his experiences. With both books, he has included a lot of his personal experience, and he reports that people have said that reading it feels like having a conversation with him. He feels that in order to reach an audience, they must be able to hear your unique voice.

In writing You Are Not Alone, he realized that he was still suffering the effects of traumatic events he had experienced. With the help of his wife and children, he worked his way through them. He emphasizes that it’s critical for a person experiencing any degree of PTSD to reach out for help and for friends and family to respond.

If you wonder how much of yourself to put into a book, Doug’s podcast offers a clear-headed and candid perspective.

·       How do self-esteem issues affect the quality of a résumé?

·       What is the difference between mentoring and coaching?

·       Why is it important to bring your voice into a book?

·       Why do you sometimes have to make yourself vulnerable in telling your personal story in a book?

·       How does a clear and urgent purpose facilitate writing a book?

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We all know people who are habitually negative and who use their life experiences to prove that life is unfair to them. The highly successful business and publishing history of Mj Callaway provides a powerful antidote to these “naysayers.”

MJ, motivational speaker, corporate trainer, and author of over 2,000 articles and 11 books, learned resilience as a child whose family moved six times before she entered eighth grade. Although she didn’t name the practice “bouncing up” then, she developed the habit of viewing each new day as an opportunity.

This doesn’t mean she had a tragedy-free life. Her alcoholic husband tried to run her over with his truck, and she left that marriage with only $500. In 2016, she turned a cancer diagnosis into a positive experience.

And while these life-changing experiences were occurring, she developed her professional and writing careers, focusing on the importance of mindset and always bouncing up into new opportunities. Many of her articles became part of her books. Her philosophy of life provided the groundwork for additional books, the latest of which is Bounce-Up. She also incorporates this philosophy into her motivational speaking. The book has led to the development of a digital course that teaches its principles.

We all need inspiration during difficult times, and MJ's story can give you the inspiration you need to bounce up into the opportunities of every day.

·       How do our personal attitudes impact our professional lives and provide rich material for writing?

·       Why is article writing and publishing a good pathway to book writing?

·       What’s the value of writing books that reflect your business values and practices?

·       Why is using stories so powerful in writing and presentations?

·       What is a Power Team?

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The U. S. job market has never experienced a greater degree of upheaval. Companies and retail businesses are desperate for employees, but workers are far from desperate to return to dead-end positions.

Steve Cadigan who has spent 35 years in the human resources field, including a four-year stint at LinkedIn, expresses in his new book, Workquake, a clear and detailed analysis of how the roots of the current turmoil have been growing for a long time. Companies worldwide have failed to innovate. Many have developed employment systems that encouraged longevity but not creative contributions from employees. Many corporate executives are resistant to change.

The pandemic has made countless people look at their pre-Covid lives and recognize that they were dissatisfied with their work. Many of them decided that the security promised them from a “steady” job was an illusion. They felt that they wanted to be working on their own and moved into the gig economy—where, Steve notes, they are off the radar in terms of employment statistics.

Steve is far from a doomsayer. He believes that the employment crisis triggered by the pandemic is forcing corporate leaders and smaller business owners to take hard looks at the way they run their businesses and treat their employees.

“This busy world that we're creating for ourselves, we're just not spending the time affirming and recognizing and valuing one another. And if we lose sight of that, we're missing something really important.“

Don’t miss this inspiring podcast.

·       Why are we all entrepreneurs?

·       How do some people get the entrepreneurial impulse drained out of them?

·       Who are some of the key innovators in transforming the structure of their companies or industries?

·       How has the pandemic influenced the nature of employment?

·       Why do many people think that making a change provides more security than staying put in a job?

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When you’re about to go on a trip, you key your destination into your GPS. Many people who start businesses, though, don’t think about their ultimate destination.

Michelle Seiler Tucker, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) specialist, and author of Sell Your Business for More Than It's Worth and Exit Rich explains in this podcast why, even as you fully commit to the growth of your business, you must keep in mind that at some point, you will likely want to sell it. Those who use this destination to guide their business decisions join the 80% of business owners who end up with unsellable businesses.

The process of preparing a business for sale is far more complex than you might imagine. A skilled M&A person needs to know what considerations govern an owner’s view of who they want as a buyer. Owners must have visions of a life after business.

Many businesses fail to sell because they are based on an individual and are glorified jobs rather than companies. During the pandemic, we are seeing established businesses fail. Michelle points out that the most alarming statistic during this period is the failure of small businesses, the heart of the economy.

Regardless of your business’s size, you will find great value in this information-packed podcast. It could make millions of dollars of difference in your financial life.

·       What aspect of building and running a business do owners rarely consider?

·       How do you sell a business for more than it’s worth?

·       What’s the difference between a business broker and a mergers and acquisitions advisor?

·       Why must the seller be able to envision a post-business life?

·       What factors make a business unsellable?

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Although the Internet has been around for a while now, those in charge of advertising and marketing continue to face challenges in terms of adapting their approaches to a new medium.

Some of these challenges come from the huge difference between, for example, print and digital media. Other challenges have emerged from what can best be described as the fickle nature of online platforms.

 

Chris Cheetham-West, a digital marketing expert and author of Digital Marketing for Results: How to Focus on What Matters, describes some of the pitfalls of digital marketing. He emphasizes the importance of distributing your marketing efforts among a number of platforms. Too many people have lost their businesses because Facebook changes its rules. You may not know that YouTube may piggyback a competitor’s ad onto your video.

His choice to self-publish his book was also based both on being in charge of the process and the ability to get it published quickly. Those of you who wonder how someone finds the discipline to start and finish a book will find guidance in his description of his approach to writing.

• What primary challenge do marketers face?

• What role do influencers play in marketing?

• How many followers does an influencer need in order to have an impact?

• How can having videos on YouTube actually defeat your promotion goals?

• Why is it important to use a range of platforms for your promotion and advertising?

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All of us, at some points in our lives, feel that life is unfair, and we can find plenty of evidence to back up those feelings. We can feel so victimized that we can’t move beyond them. It takes resilience to climb out of the rubble and begin anew.

Pat Iyer’s life demonstrates this kind of resilience. When she was a young married woman who had just gotten her master’s degree in nursing, she and her husband took out a high-interest million-dollar loan so that he could start his own business. The business failed, and Pat, six months pregnant, faced the possible loss of their home and everything they owned.

She briefly imagined being homeless, caring for her child in a cardboard box. But Pat had an immigrant Irish mother who taught her not to expect life to be fair but to take responsibility for making the life she wanted.

Armed with this deeply-instilled lesson, she and her husband avoided bankruptcy. She went on to build a million-dollar legal nurse consulting business. While running the business, she also wrote 49 books, mostly on subjects related to nursing and legal nursing consulting.

She sold that business and continues to consult on legal cases, and she also focuses primarily on helping others realize their dreams of becoming authors.

Listen to Pat’s story to learn how, even if life isn’t fair, the right attitude can make it good. Join us for this edition of Legal Nurse Podcast.

• How does thinking life isn’t fair make it worse?

• Why is self-reliance a necessary personal quality?

• Why is it especially for a woman to rely on her own abilities?

• What is the value of writing a book to promote your business?

• What elements should be in a book about your business?

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With this podcast, I step out of my traditional role as objective interviewer and become fully immersed in the author’s passion for emotional healing. I can think of no greater tribute to Regina Bergman, a woman, who has transcended her work description of profit acceleration and exit strategy specialist.

Regina’s writing career took her along a very different path. When she heard about a woman whose husband, without warning, said they were getting a divorce, she felt a powerful urge to write a book that could help save marriage, especially those in the “empty nest” stage. She interviewed many couples all over the world and from their answers, developed strategies based on the essential nature of communication for couples.

Her second book developed after she became widowed after 44 years of marriage. Struggling to work through what she calls the “widow’s fog,” she again turned to interviewing, this time to those who were going through grief. Realizing that she wanted to offer more than a book, she has partnered with grief experts to create an online membership platform to guide people through the grief process.

Regina’s passion is contagious. I wasn’t prepared to have an old grief reawakened, so this podcast comes with a warning: Get out your tissues.

• How can identifying a problem you want to solve create a book?

• In what ways can an author who uses an interview format protect the privacy of interviewees?

• How can an author interviewing people about an issue that’s personal and painful for her maintain the needed distance for the interviews?

• In what ways can an author maximize a book’s potential outreach by creating an online platform that offers practical ways for readers to work with the book’s principles?

• Why can it be valuable to partner with experts in the field about which an author writes?

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When you envision a C-level executive coach, you probably don’t imagine one who is also a metaphysical minister, teacher, spiritual healer, and the CEO of a metaphysical academy. This, however, is Anneli Driessen’s job description.

Her fascination with metaphysics began when she was the only child in a religion class who engaged in discussion with the teacher. Later in life, she was skeptical of those who called themselves spiritual mediums and warned people against getting involved with them.

Ironically, she then met a woman who, far from being an exalted spiritual leader, was a cook in a German restaurant. Anneli realized that this woman was an authentic medium, and she decided to make her life purpose the distribution of material she considered invaluable.

To fulfill this purpose, she has translated the material from German to English and simplified it so that it can reach the largest possible audience. She has broken it down into distinct modules with a logical progression for students to advance in their learning. She also amplifies the knowledge with findings from scientists like Rupert Sheldrake that confirm many of the material’s premises.

Anneli has found a life purpose that brings much joy and comfort to her. She is deeply committed to sharing this with others. Whether or not you agree with the information she teaches, you are sure to find the concepts in this podcast fascinating and provocative.

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Are you an author bewildered by the array of publishing opportunities? Should you submit to a big or medium-sized publisher? Self-publish? Or consider a hybrid publisher?

Linda Stirling, founder and publisher at the Publishing Circle, as well as an author, answers these questions, and, more importantly, the ones you don’t know to ask: How often will you get paid, will your work get edited, what are your legal rights to your manuscript?

She describes seven important questions you must ask a potential publisher. She also warns strongly against vanity publishers, whose biggest talent is taking your money, and describes what you need to do to get your manuscript accepted by the publisher you want.

You’ve probably heard that hiring an editor is important. Linda goes into detail about this, explaining why the quality of your manuscript can make or break a deal.

As an author, you’ll need to do a lot of marketing, and she describes how you can bring your entrepreneurial skills to that work.

The world of publishing has changed dramatically over the last few decades. You need to understand the nature of these changes. This podcast will give you a rare opportunity to get an inside view of the world of publishing from the viewpoint of a publisher.

Join me for this episode for Writing to Get Business.

• How much marketing do publishers do for authors?

• What size following do you need?

• Are libraries important in terms of book sales?

• Why must you have an editor for your book?

• What is the difference between a hybrid and a vanity publisher?

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Are you thinking about writing your first book? Do you want to switch your teaching and writing focus? Do you wonder how you can turn your passion into profit? This podcast is for you.

From compilation books to cookbooks, with titles ranging from Kill the Elevator Speech to Daily Business Meeting with God, Felicia Slattery’s writing experience is widely diversified. As an educator and public speaker, she has a gift for sharing what she’s learned. This podcast is a virtual mini-course in how to write that first book and how to turn life experiences, hobbies, and even chance remarks into books.

If one phrase characterizes Felicia’s approach, it’s her ability to seize opportunities. When a publisher asked her to act as an advance reader for a new book, she agreed and asked the publisher if he’d be interested in hearing about an idea she had for a book. He responded positively, and before long; she had a book contract.

Initially, the pandemic flattened Felicia’s business, which was largely based on public speaking and teaching and coaching others to do the same. She switched gears and began teaching online. Seeing that the platform from which she was teaching also featured cooking classes, she used her love of cooking to break out into a new area of teaching, writing, and publishing. To promote her new passion, she also launched a successful YouTube channel.

If you have a question, Felicia has an answer. You’ll want to experience this Writing to get Business podcast more than once.

• How can you turn a teaching program into a book?

• What is the easiest way to write a first book?

• What do publishers look for in a book?

• Why should authors with a strong platform NOT have to pay a publisher to get their book published?

• What is the benefit for a first-time author of doing a compilation book?

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