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Are you Villanova Piccolo Girl passionate about your business?

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last week or so, you’ve probably seen “Villanova Piccolo Girl,” a heartbroken Villanova basketball fan who persevered with her bandmates even though she was overcome with emotion.

We can all draw some lessons from this young lady.

  • Keep going in the face of disappointment. Keep your eyes on your mission. As a business owner, you will encounter lots of setbacks. If you can stay focused on your unique contribution, and “why” you’re doing it, you’ll always come out ahead, and you won’t let your bandmates down.
  • It’s ok to cry if you’re sad. Everyone is always trying hard to look cool. That’s one reason this clip has resonated; she is being completely authentic in that moment. I’m not recommending bursting into tears in the middle of a business meeting, but keep the fire in your belly. Showing a little bit of emotion is ok when it’s real.
  • It’s ok to laugh at yourself. The girl in the video, Roxanne Chalifoux, has taken her sudden fame in stride, and it only makes her more endearing. We all want to be 100% confident and unflappable, especially running a business, but showing your humanity when you slip up is important.
  • There’s always a silver lining. Roxanne’s moment of raw honesty has now led to opportunities, including an appearance on Jimmy Fallon, where she played with The Roots. Even in your darkest moments, there might be an opportunity lurking. Keep your eyes open in those moments!

When your face hits the JumboTron, how will you react?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

 

How to do 2015

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Happy New Year!

crystal clear beach day

This is not a roundup, best-of, lessons-learned post.

This is not about setting goals, making resolutions, or dieting.

This is just a simple reminder that there’s nothing magic about January 1.

So yes, come out of the gates today full of hope and energy, full of plans and fresh ideas.

And on March 13 or so, or when that starts to flag, remind yourself that any old day can be January 1. Get back up on the horse, go back and re-read your goals, dream board, marketing plan, business strategy, all the things you wrote on January 1.

Heck, it could even be next Wednesday.

The most successful people are the ones who can create their own January 1 whenever they need it.

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Avoiding Death by Cookie Cutter

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By Lisa D. Jenkins

Have you ever been doing one thing and found a correlation to another that sidetracks you? It happens to me all the time.

Cookie cutter man

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about doing what I love, it’s that sitting on my butt and working online for hours is all too easy. I’ve gone from running 5 to 7 miles a day to working 7 to 9 hours without ever getting out of my chair. It’s not good for me.

So two weeks ago, for the first time ever, I hired a personal trainer because I wanted some expertise and experience to help me avoid hurting myself while I got back in shape.

At our first meeting, I expected to be told how ‘the program’ worked and what I should be prepared for. Instead, we had an hour long conversation about what I wanted to achieve, any goals I was pursuing, how I ate and how much water I drank in a day. She was serious about food and water.

We talked about all the different nutritional plans out there – paleo, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, raw, etc. Then she said, “I don’t want you to change how you eat, I do want you to keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat each day. Make a note on the days you feel great, get enough sleep and have a good workout, and make a note on the days where things aren’t feeling right for you. When you find the eating pattern that works best for you – stick with that. It’ll be the best Lisa Jenkins diet I can recommend.”

That’s where the correlation happened.

Most of us with online businesses look to others for support and inspiration to build stronger, more successful businesses. We seek out blogs like the one you’re reading now and conferences like SOBCon and Genius Shared to help us learn from people who’ve gone before us.

But that doesn’t mean we should blindly pattern our success on a cookie cutter version of theirs. We have to know what advice fits our needs and we need to know how to measure the effect of that advice against our unique goals. Here are a few simple ways to get started:

  • Create landing pages for each online campaign and track conversions using Google Analytics.
  • Collect email addresses instead of Likes, Follows and Connections and use them to segment customer markets for targeted campaigns you can track.
  • Use A/B testing.

Adapt the tactics of others, don’t copy their steps.

There’s nothing wrong with looking to others who’ve successfully built online businesses for inspiration and guidance to build your own business. It’s a smart move. Just make sure it IS your business you’re building and not a shadow of someone else’s.

Keep YOUR goals in mind. Track what works FOR YOU and what doesn’t. When you find what works best – stick with it. That’s the best strategy I can recommend.

Author’s Bio: Lisa D. Jenkins is a Public Relations professional specializing in Social and Digital Communications for businesses. She has over a decade of experience and work most often with destination organizations or businesses in the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Connect with her on Google+