Business Lessons Learned in 2011

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Dec 20, 2011 in Business Tips | 11 comments

2011 is swiftly coming to a close and when I saw this MSN Business on Main article “Lessons Learned in 2011“, I was inspired to post a blog to ask YOU to contribute your lessons learned in business in 2011.  So, go ahead, post them in the comments!  On January 1, 2012, I will choose two winners to win a $50 Amazon gift card each!  Your business lesson can be long or short, good or bad and the only rule is that it has to be something that you personally learned in 2011.

This was a huge year for me and I experienced some of my highest highs and my lowest lows but through it all, I’ve learned one really, really big lesson that I will take with me into 2012.  That lesson is: “Say yes to what you love and no to what you don’t.”  It’s a short and sweet lesson and one that we’ve heard often but I really could have used this motto during 2011.  There were many things I said yes to that I should have said no to and sometimes, when I said yes, had to say no to things that in hindsight should have been my yeses.  So, I’m going to try and be more critical in 2012 of the reasons behind my yes and no responses and make sure they sit well in my gut.

There are some really awesome responses over at the Business on Main article that you should check out too!

Remember, leave a comment and tell me YOUR biggest learning lesson in 2011.

Oh Business, You Silly Thing You

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Dec 5, 2011 in blog, Business Tips | 4 comments

This isn’t one of those posts I write with advice embedded into it and this isn’t even going to be a post with much of a beginning, middle and an end.

Nope, this is a post that I am writing on my iPhone while I soak in a glorious, peaceful bubble bath.

I was talking to a client and very dear friend of mine today about business and life and how the two end up affecting each other so much. In my case, my daughter is cutting her first year molars and it’s killing me… Figuratively speaking of course but the late nights, endless suffering she is experiencing and my insane work schedule has created this space where I feel slightly trapped.

You see, business is not an easy journey to choose. Over the past seven years, I have not gone a day (literally not a day – probably not even an hour) where someone has not needed me for something. If you are in business too, you might be able to relate. Regardless of how many hours you put in, regardless of how much support you have around you, someone ALWAYS needs you.

I am fairly certain that this is why I started my business in the first place. I loved feeling needed and like I was making a difference and more importantly, I loved when my clients relied on me to make their life easier. I had a place in the universe – a purpose. However, sometimes I wish that I had a day, or an hour, where I could disappear and not be needed.

You see, with being needed comes a lot of guilt. Guilt when you can’t produce the way you want to, perform the way you want to and be the kind of person you want to be for everyone you know. The guilt then turns into resentment and that isn’t healthy for anyone.

So, I’ve been learning. I’ve been learning that it’s okay to be imperfect, it’s okay to say no to things, it’s okay to choose what or who I give my time to.

I was talking to Steve tonight about our daughter and I was telling him that I want to make her growing up experience memorable and exciting. I don’t want to focus on material things or keeping a perfect house or having her in the best schools (not that I don’t think education is important but I do believe it should be chosen based on the individual needs of the child and not because of the school’s status in the community). I kind of feel that way about my business too. It’s more important to me to get my offerings / talent / skills / whatever out to the world than it is to worry that everything has to be perfect.

I’m also learning that when you balance life and a business so delicately on your shoulders, something somewhere has to give a little and that is okay too.

What are your big learning lessons about business as you make your way through?

Brand & Message Essentials for Creatives on Social Media

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Nov 23, 2011 in Facebook, How-To, Internet Marketing, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter | 0 comments

I had the honor of speaking yesterday at Ottawa’s Make Art Work! conference put on by OCRI and I spoke on the topic of, “Brand and Message Essentials for Creatives on Social Media.”

The presentation was designed to highlight the ways that creatives and artists could use social media and maintain an authentic expression of selves.

Here is the slide deck from that session:

Launch Strategy for a New Blog

Posted by Erin Blaskie on Nov 10, 2011 in Business Tips, How-To, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Web & Technology | 4 comments

Launch Strategy for a New Blog

Announcing a new blog is an exciting thing for most web-based business owners because you now have this interactive platform for your audience to engage with you from.  If you didn’t have a blog before (and if you were also lacking a social media presence), you may not have any idea who is out there enjoying your work.  Launching a blog opens the doors to get to know your online audience in a more intimate way.

Since you have two groups of people — those who know you now and those who don’t yet know you — the blog strategy needs to incorporate both of these groups.  It is important to personally invite the people who know, like and trust you into the environment but it is equally as important to set up some things that will attract in new prospects as that is the goal of your blog.