What Inspires you out of a Work Slump?

Today I am working on a project for a new client. You get all of those “new client” jitters. You want to prove yourself, please them. But in order to do my best work, I have to hush those voices. I am at my best when I am relaxed and inspired.

How do you get inspired? I never begin writing anything, no matter how petty, until after I say a prayer. This is a ritual I never shared until now. I pray for God to use me and bless my work. Then I plug in my iPod, listen to tunes in line with the vibe I am trying to create and just float … I let the words and images come to me. And before I know it my fingertips are moving over my keyboard.

No matter what we do, it’s important for us all to be inspired from time to time. Whether it’s a beautiful tree outside your window, the laughter of your spouse or just the feel of a hot shower after a long day – we need that moment. A second of rejuvenation to gather our thoughts can work wonders. How do you get in the mood for work? Share, discuss and enlighten.

And a special shout out to Troy Reed and Lee Green of the Black Business Builders "Speak Up" Blog Radio Show. It was great to hear about all of the entrepreneurial endeavors around our country. And it was my pleasure to be featured on the show!

Be Kind when it comes to In-Kind

We all come to a point when a buddy, friend or associate would like a service for FREE. It is good business practice, in my opinion, to offer services for free once in a while that can really help a non-profit or when it involves helping the general public. Face it; there are also those instances when it is beneficial to YOU to be associated with a project.


However, learning when, and how, to say no can be a difficult thing. As an entrepreneur, our days are pretty packed with getting things done as it is. Sometimes putting off a project that will provide dividends to work on one that doesn’t isn’t a smart idea. I am a big fan of community service. I think every person in the world should have at least one service organization, project or non-profit that they support. But in order to keep your business afloat, you have to make money, plan and simple. You ARE your company. Showing that you believe in helping your fellow man gives your business a glint of integrity, humanity and belief in your local community.

Determine a number of in-kind projects you want to work on a year. Whether it’s once a month, twice a quarter or six times a year, setting a certain number of projects may also give you the opportunity to be more selective – to really get behind a project that has special meaning or importance to you. You may even be able to alert organizations in your area that you have a certain number of in-kind projects available and they can submit proposals, etc.

Of course we want to help as many people as we can, but let’s do it in a way that is beneficial to all. Instead of telling the person who wants a free service no, maybe not NOW would be a better term. And you should have the right to determine when that NOW will be.

Stress Before, Relief After

This weekend was incredibly hectic for me. I was preparing a Power Point Presentation to be played at an event for Gov. Deval Patrick at Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce and finishing an article for Western Mass Women’s Magazine. In order to get all of this done for an event that was TWO DAYS away, I buried my head into my laptop and typed until my fingertips were sore.

I wanted to make sure the presentation was excellent because this was the first event The Lioness Group had done on a larger scale. I was up, literally, past 5 a.m. on Saturday, the day before the event. I got about two hours sleep before I was up and back to the grind of finishing up the presentation, making corrections and working on the article. By mid-afternoon I was a crabby, irritable, ball of tension, which is VERY, VERY rare for my sunny self.

Nevertheless, I got it done and went into Sunday praying that everything would go OK. I was worried that the turnout would be small. What if the governor didn’t show after all? However, the event turned out to be better than I planned. Over 250 people in attendance, food, video and even WWLP and CBS 3 showed up. The Governor showed and talked to the people, answering their questions and promising to follow-up on certain issues.

I stood in the rear of the room flooded with relief - tension easing from my shoulders with each new face and dignitary that entered the room. Faith and hard work go such a long, long way. On those days when you don’t want to do ANOTHER thing, do it anyway. You’ll be grateful that you did.

Check out a news clip of the event here: http://www.cbs3springfield.com/news/local/91436184.html.

What to do With Your "To-Do" List

Over the last few days I have been making an attempt to knock items off my “To-Do” list one-by-one. When I think of all the things I have to do as a whole, I am overwhelmed. A meeting here, a lunch there, press releases, phone calls, emails, articles – my head could explode from all the thoughts. And, naturally, with each minute I am also realizing there are things I FORGOT to add to that running list.

However, when I breathe in and breathe out, and take a moment to de-stress, I realize I can get more done if I attack it in pieces. For instance, yesterday I vowed, after I plopped down in front of my computer, “I will not move on to the next thing until I complete one draft of this flyer.” Sitting there and focusing on that one single task made me accountable for getting it done. I’m not making phone calls, I am not checking email, and my one goal is to bang out a first draft.

When that first draft was completed, I moved on to my next task. I would only overlook the errors on the flyer if I tried to edit it now. I knew I could come back with a fresh set of eyes to the flyer later. Before I began my next task, checking emails, I am made sure to time myself. It is easy to get lost answering a bunch of emails. You begin to remember other things you wanted to respond to; you realize the info you need is in an email you received two weeks ago, and you spend minutes hunting down the previous emails and flow of responses.

To avoid getting lost in this shuffle, I give myself an hour to respond to emails – including inquiries I am sending to new clients, check ins I am making with existing clients, or business and ordering matters I need to clear.

I work in this manner dividing tasks and times until I reach the period I have marked as the end of my work day. This gives me time to refocus my energy on my son – pick him up from school, talk about his day, have dinner and unwind. When he’s sleeping, I can revisit an article that needed proofing or take a stab at the press release. However, yesterday, I chose to plop down on the couch, pour myself a glass of rum on ice and read Essence magazine until it was lights out.

Priorities people … we must set them. I’d rather drift off into a calm sleep, than stay up to two o’clock in the morning worrying about projects. This way, I am relaxed in the morning and can approach day two of my busy schedule with a clear head.

How do you get through your busy agenda? Please share your stories and tried and true resolutions.

The Importance of Credibility and Respect

Today I received this great email from Young and Successful Media, LLC. They provide great tips and learning opportunities for young professionals. These were so great, I had to post and share them. Feel free to leave a comment with your feedback.

How do you build the credibility and respect you’re looking for?


1. Start with where you are. We all start somewhere, and you can begin

this excursion from anywhere, at any point in your life. The earlier the

better of course. There are a myriad of ways to start changing the way

people perceive you, your experience, expertise and your potential for

the better. Commit yourself to making an effort to build a more solid

foundation and credibility and respect are sure to follow.

2. Assess your objectives. Think about what credibility and respect mean

to you. After all, it’s hard to expect others to treat you with respect if

you don’t first have respect for yourself and who you are. It should go

without saying, but be someone you can be proud of first and foremost.

Then define how you’d like to experience it in your life and career. What

would it look like, feel like, sound like? How would it manifest? Start to

build a plan around what you might need to do to achieve it.

3. Consider your audience. Who are the people you’re most concerned

with impressing or gaining the confidence and trust of? What constitutes

credibility and respect in their eyes? Expectations of us come from many

directions. Knowing what’s expected of you by different people and in

different situations helps us live up to the standards we accept as

worthwhile to pursue. Parents are the first people we try to impress.

They want us to be happy, responsible, accomplished, a source of pride.

Teachers want us to be smart, respectful, disciplined, accomplished.

Friends judge us by a whole different set of criteria, typically a lot more

related to our social standing and interactions, how trustworthy we are,

our advice, support and the way they feel around us. Employers and

clients demand reliability, loyalty, performance, results, and far more

depending on the nature of the relationships. The more specific your

objectives in gaining credibility and respect from others, the more

focused you can be on isolating what matters most to your primary

audience. In a lot of cases you can even just ask about other’s

expectations, hopes or dreams for you, and you’ll get many of your

answers from those simple conversations alone. You might even earn

more respect from the very act of showing you care enough to ask in the

first place.

4. Study the “experts”. Consider those who you admire and aspire to

emulate. Analyze how they achieved their own credibility. Do give some

consideration to what constitutes an expert in the first place. In fact,

everyone seems to be calling themselves an expert these days! Be very

careful in making these assessments since it’s getting harder and harder

to evaluate who really has the substance and integrity to deserve our

reverence and attention - especially when we’re paying or relying on

guidance to make important decisions. Experts are most often people

who:

• Own companies

• Start or run non-profits

• Align themselves with reputable organizations

• Hold high level positions and interesting job titles

• Are recognized by others

• Are the recipients of awards and accolades

• Sit on boards

• Write books, articles and blogs

• Maintain a following

• Establish ties to notable schools

• Stay very connected

• Conduct research, predict trends

• Do unusual things

• Get paid for that they know or can offer

• And make an impact on many others.

Research the people who inspire you, lead your company or industry, and

have achieved things you have only dreamed of. Get to know them up

close and personally whenever you can. Follow their careers and learn all

that you can about their path so that you might discover useful tips you

can leverage along yours.

5. Build your platform. Once you are clear on your objectives, build your

own identity by emulating the experts. Put significant energy behind

establishing your own expertise (through several of the activities bulleted

above) to build your own substance and credibility. Methodically craft

your own plan to start hitting bigger and bigger milestones of your own,

all driving towards the direction you’d most like to head or the ultimate

goals you’d most like to reach. Create a name for yourself. Be the best

at something. Learn what others only hope to know or understand.

Dedicate yourself to accomplishing something big and bold, then work

towards making it happen. Get involved in your community or industry

and achieve great things on their behalf. Find out where the action is and

get yourself into the middle of it. Make waves. Make a statement. Add

value. As others learn of you and your work, your reputation will grow

and take on a life of its own. Eventually you may even become a peer of

those who you’ve admired most.

6. Brand yourself. Branding is something we all need to be concerned

about today, especially with how fast the world of technology,

communications and even the media is changing. Stay on top of the

trends in these areas and leverage the latest and most dominant

platforms to communicate to the world who you are. Whether you’re an

entrepreneur, artist, teacher, doctor, politician, electrician or athlete, take

a look around you, at your competition and see how you measure up.

People - clients, prospects, executives, even neighbors - all need to know

about you to want to interact and do business with you. Regardless of

how good you may be, how well you package and promote yourself

matters, and it can make a world of difference to your success.
7. Refine your pitches. We’re all in sales, whether we realize it or not.

Everyday we sell ourselves and our credibility in one form or another.

When we introduce ourselves, talk about what we do, ask for help, solicit

support, socialize, network, engage with groups, work on teams, perform

for a boss or client or prospect, we’re pitching ourselves. As you look for

opportunities for work and to build your career, tools like your quick

verbal pitch (who you are and your story), your resume, bio, and even

online profiles all act as your front line in communicating who you are

and why people should care. Assess the collection of tools you have at

your fingertips and consider their messaging and positioning of you. Are

they as strong and focused as they can be? Are they compelling? Ask

trusted friends or colleagues for feedback. Get to work on refining them

all, and make keeping them all current a priority. Remember, these

communicate who you are…even when you’re not there.

8. Expose yourself. As you start to gain momentum in your career,

amassing experience, expertise and substance, and as you get more

sophisticated with your branding, positioning, and pitching, it’s time to

take your show on the road. Get out more. Meet new people. Engage in

new organizations, events, conferences and clubs. Your best publicist

should be you. Start talking about what you do everywhere you go…

tactfully. Just be careful not to cross the fuzzy line between confidence

and arrogance. Don’t be obnoxious or obtrusive, however desperately

you want to be accepted and regardless of how accomplished you may

become. Build relationships that are win-win, where everyone feels

valued and respected. Strive to earn credibility and respect by your

actions rather than straight out trying to convince others why you’re a big

deal. That can backfire fast and furiously. Instead, talk about what’s

important to you, your work, and the future of your business. Use your

spotlight to include and help others when you can.

9. Attract the right mentors and advisors. Collect role models, both

people you know and those you only can dream of meeting. When you

meet spectacular people learn all you can from them. Ask them for

advice. Build relationships based on mutual value. Often times older,

more successful people will spend time with you, or more formally

mentor you for the mere opportunity to be exposed to the exciting things

you’re doing, the people you surround yourself with, the feats you

accomplish, or the pace your life moves at. Some may even joke about

living vicariously through you so they can once again experience the rush

of ambition and action, without having to expend the energy or time

themselves. And most people simply like to add value and have their

own opinions and experience valued by others. Repay your mentors and

advisors with your respect and recognition. When they introduce you to

important people in their lives, be referable – worthy of their referral.

Make them proud to share their relationships and resources with you.

10.Sculpt a more perfect environment. In some cases and with some

people, nothing you do will be good enough. Learn to identify these

negative influences and start to weed them out of your life, or at very

least, minimize your exposure. Take an active role in managing the

environment you chose to live and work, even socialize in. Respect and

credibility should be earned, but not at the expense of your own self

respect or worse, compromising your personal values or what’s most

important to you. Be true to yourself. Surround yourself with people who

appreciate, support you, and encourage you in your pursuit of greater

and greater successes. As we like to say at YSN.com, “ambition is the

price of admission”, just make certain you’re putting your energy behind

the right efforts, at the right time, and for the right people.

What’s the best way to sell ourselves and our potential? Build the credibility and

earn the respect you’ve always wanted, starting today.

One final note: Because, as you can see, my definitions of success have a lot to

do with holding yourself to higher standards and being an all around good

person, I have to close with this. Show respect to everyone you meet,

regardless of who they are or where they come from. Strive to become not only

a respected, but a respectful person yourself. As for credibility, along the road

to increasing yours, take every opportunity to help others achieve their own

successes. By all means, raise the standards you hold for yourself and others,

but remember that we all struggle and hurt because of how hard, and often

unfair, others can be to us. Constructive feedback offered with a healthy dose

of respect can be life changing. Harsh criticism and attacks (even well founded)

on others and their credibility, can be cruel and destructive, particularly to

ambitious souls who, if nurtured, could be magnificent. Chose to be one of the

special ones in this world. You’re sure to get so much more than you give.
© 2010 Young & Successful Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Come, on. Be Picky

When a new business owner is in the strife chasing down profit, he/she wants to jump at every opportunity and gig that comes there way. However, it is better to exercise some judgment. Is this a project or client that you would be proud to have your name attached to?


At some point quality versus quantity has to come into play. The people you work with are like walking billboards for your company/organization. Make sure that “spokesperson” is a close reflection of the future clients you want to attract.

What is the Number one Thing you Dread?

All right all of you entrepreneurs, I want to know what you dread about working for yourself, and what you do to overcome it. So often, I think, we try to beat back the things we hate about being an entrepreneur. Of course it is good to stay positive. But focusing on the unpleasant stuff, IN STAGES, allows us to get better in the areas we don't shine as bright in.

For me, public speaking is still an up hill battle. However, I am forcing myself to deal with it by signing myself up for small speaking engagements - even when every fiber of my being is telling me to haul a** and get away from the committment. But the only way I will get better about speaking in front of a large audience is by staring at the problem head-on. I've thought about passing the buck to someone else, but, in the end, I would only be treading water on the issue. So, I want to hear from you entreprenuers. What is the number one thing you dread, and what are you doing to work on it?

Keeping Your Eyes Focused on the Prize

Yesterday I attended three workshops at WNEC that reminded me to keep my focus on the future. Sometimes we can become distracted from our long-term picture when we think of immediate goals. Having that jolt of reinforcement that we are indeed on the right path is very beneficial.
Here are some highlights of the end of the day, “Marketing on a Tight Budget” workshop: The Internet can be a HUGE advantage to your company/organization. Find FREE, savvy ways to utilize your time on it. Your primary web site is important. However, other avenues such as social networking can be big hits if used in the appropriate way.

The entrepreneur needs to decide the mission of their organization/company waaay before they choose an outlet. Not every outlet is a good fit. For instance, having a Wordpress blog may not be a good outlet for a local gas store owner. However, maybe he may want to have a Twitter account to update his consumers on gas deals and price dips.

Before opening an account, do your research. See what is out there. Brainstorm. And make sure whatever you decide is in line with your long-term goals.

Finding a Work/Life Balance

Finding a work/life balance is not an easy feat. Technology has virtually made working from a cave in Istanbul possible. While this is a blessing, it is also a curse. The line that was once drawn in the sand - working 9-5 and clocking out and coming home – is now blurred by home offices and laptops.


Trust me; I am as guilty as the next person. Especially once I started The Lioness Group. As an entrepreneur starting out, there are not enough hours in the day to do what I REALLY want to get done. However, when my son started middle school this year I realized there are some moments in life I cannot miss. I won’t have the opportunity to re-do basketball games and baseball practices … but my work will STILL be there tomorrow. Today put off doing something for one hour so you can do something of quality with someone you care about. You’ll be thankful you did.

How The Lioness Group Began

People would always ask me when I was doing stories if I did freelance work on the side. I always said, 'No, I don't.' But eventually my brother asked why not. I realized there was nothing wrong with taking extra gigs on, and I could use the cash. A local artist said he could use a publicist, and so I began helping out with his press releases. The Lioness Group was born ... http://www.thelionessgroup.com/

Carving Out a New Path

I came back from this experience energized and reinvigorated. I felt as if my future was wide-open and it was then that I began to re-evaluate just what I wanted out of life. And soon it became apparent that news was no longer it.

"At the end, you think about the beginning

By Natasha Clark
Former Assistant Managing Editor

Six years ago, I walked into the Chicopee Herald office owned by Reminder Publications looking for an internship. Managing Editor G. Michael Dobbs went through my college newspaper clips, asked me about my aspirations and gave me an unpaid position writing articles. I was green. So green I could have doubled as the Incredible Hulk's stunt double.

On my first interview with Womanshelter/Companeras, of which one of their missions is to help women and their families escape abusive environments, I had the audacity to ask for their address to include in my article. You can imagine the silence on the other end of the line, before the woman reminded me that she would not provide that information because these were supposed to be safe havens. I felt like an idiot. It wouldn't be the last time. (There is a reason my siblings refer to me as "the special one.")

But Mike took a chance and later offered me a paid freelance gig reporting on the Longmeadow School Committee and the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District. Six years later, I am leaving my beloved position as assistant managing editor.

I grew up at The Reminder. When I came here I was 23 years old with enough water behind my ears to fill two separate buckets. My son was five, Hampden-Wilbraham Superintendent M. Martin O'Shea was assistant principal at Longmeadow High School and Michael Albano was mayor of Springfield. The words "thank you" don't even describe the appreciation I have for our readers. Each week you all called and gave me the privilege of reporting on your communities. I've reported on everything from property rates to budgets to youth in the community making a difference. I learned the importance of accuracy, of building relationships and, most importantly, being the voice of residents.

My leaving is bittersweet. Some of the people I have interviewed have gone on to new places, retired, graduated, even died. I will never forget Kara Gobron. A woman brave in the face of cancer, someone who let me into her battle, her home, and subsequently, what turned out to be the final weeks of her life. I will always remember the local Marines I met miles away in the Mojave Desert who were shipped off to fight in Operation: Iraqi Freedom. Nor will I forget my life-changing five weeks in Thailand. I've interviewed people I could only dream about Dick Gregory, Bill Cosby and Grant Hill. And yet, some of the most memorable interviews I have had have been with town residents doing impossible things because goodness is possible.

I've seen Reminder interns come in and really make a mark for themselves such as Jennifer Sawyer and Rick Sobey. I was there when Bluebird Estates burned to the ground and then was rebuilt from the ground up. I witnessed Merle Safford turn her vision of the Norcross Center into a reality.
I guess, as always, in the end, you think about the beginning. I think of coming into the East Longmeadow headquarters as a nervous young adult yearning to be a writer, and exiting as a woman on the eve of her 30th birthday with more than 300 bylines.

Publishers Chris and Dan Buendo have always given the news department the freedom to continually challenge what a weekly newspaper can do. Because of this freedom, Reminder Publications has carved out a unique niche for itself when it comes to community news.

It is so rare to work for a company where each and every employee not only gives their all, but comes in each day with a smile, a good word and laughter on their lips. I am proud to say I worked with Dr. Paul Gagliarducci, John Claffey, the late Rosalind Clark and E. Jahn Hart in what, I consider, their prime.
I want you all to know, in all sincerity, when I was discovering just who Natasha Clark really was, each conversation, each interview, each laugh and e-mail exchange was shaping me into the woman I am today. I am too afraid to calculate what all of my coffees, bagels and tuna sandwiches at Romito & Sons have actually cost me.
I am better for having met you all, for taking pieces of your lives and transcribing them into stories.
I am proud to say that when I came into my own, I did it at Reminder Publications.
So it is only fitting to end this column with the way my first column ended when I first came on as a staff writer in April 2004 ... 'Dance as if no one were watching, sing as if no one were listening, and live each day as if it were your last.'"

So Far, So Good

As you can see, I was open to this GSE opportunity. In fact, I captured my experience in the series, "GSE With ME: An Exchange of Ideas and Culture." Read all about it here: http://www.thereminder.com/special/gsewithmeanexchang/.

Back to Basics

Before I can tell you about where I am, I have to tell you about where I've been ... let's rewind to early 2009.

"Rotary District 7890, comprising of Rotary Clubs in Northern Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, has selected four non-Rotarians and a Rotary Team Leader to travel to Thailand as the 2009 Group Study Exchange. The team will depart on Sunday, February 15, from Bradley International Airport.

The Group Study Exchange (GSE) of The Rotary Foundation is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for businesspeople and professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who are in the early stages of their careers. The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits in paired areas of different countries. For four weeks, team members experience the host country’s culture and institutions, observe how their vocations are practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.

This year’s team includes three individuals from the Springfield, MA, area and one from Manchester, CT. Brett Gearing is the director of the structured credit group of Babson Capital and is sponsored by the Springfield Rotary Club; Natasha Clark is a reporter for The Reminder publications and is sponsored by the East Longmeadow Rotary Club; Magdalena Jaroszewicz is a product marketing manager at Lenox Tools and is sponsored by the West Springfield Rotary Club; and Jacelyn Lopez is an aircraft engineer with Pratt & Whitney and is sponsored by the Manchester Rotary Club. The team leader is Rotarian Aileen Witkowski of the Putnam (CT) Rotary Club.

The team will participate in a rewarding, once-in-a lifetime experience and will return home with a broadened cultural perspective and new understanding of a nation’s history, language, commerce and government. A GSE offers a unique opportunity to develop leadership skills, work on team building, and increase self-confidence. The program is designed to have an invaluable impact on the career of these young professionals in an increasingly global workplace by creating networking opportunities and lifelong friendships.

While in Thailand, the US team will stay with host families from the local Rotary District and will move to a new location every few days. The Thailand team will arrive at Bradley International on March 28 and will stay with host families from the Springfield, Franklin County, Simsbury and Windsor Rotary Clubs over a four-week period."