Lessons on Finding Bravery In Unexpected Places: #Blog4biz Day 31:

Image Courtesy of Microsoft Clip Art

Today is the last day of the #Blog4Biz Business Blogging Challenge hosted by Fleur Management. It has been 31 days of blogging prompts about big things like business plans to small things like office supplies.

Today's challenge asks us to chose a business owner and (1.) write a pitch or proposal on how our businesses could collaborate and (2.) ask that business owner for a meeting to share those ideas.

This is a good challenge especially for small businesses. We can go farther if we begin thinking how can we work together to met a common goal. If you have been reading along, you know that I try to find some way to connect communication into every post. Today I am not going to that. In this last post, I am going to challenge you to open your eyes and find the lessons and chances to be BRAVE in everything you do.

How To Engage Your Blog Readers: #Blog4Biz Day 30:

This is the penultimate post in the #blog4biz challenge. Tomorrow's post will wrap up this great learning experience. But it isn't over until the end. So that means I have to write today's challenge.

Image Courtesy of Microsoft Clip Art

Today's challenge is about reader engagement. I need to come up with 5 ways to engage and involve you my readers. To answer this post and meet the 975 word count minimum, I'll tell you about my blogging experience.

1. Write honest content

I will be the first to admit I am new to real blogging. The whole reason I am relaunching the Living BRAVE Blog is because when I first started it over a year ago, I had no clue what I was doing. I muddled through for a while and life circumstances led me to eventually just leave it alone. I had maybe 3 people who regularly engaged with me on my blog back then. I emailed them all thanking for their support and let them know what was happening.

Approach Your Communication Strategy Like a Business Plan: #Blog4Biz Day 29

"Write the vision, make it plain" ~Habakkuk

"Clear language precedes clear thought" ~Immanuel Kant

"Begin with the end in mind" ~Steven Covey

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others" ~Jonathan Swift

"A business plan forces you to convert your idea into an actual blueprint..." James Carden

All of these quotes emphasize the importance of having a vision and writing it down. The business plan is the written vision and road map to success of any business. The executive summary of a business plan is the short answer to the "who", "what", "when", "where", "why" and "how" of any business or project. It is tailored to a specific audience.

Today's #blog4biz challenge asked us to write or rewrite the executive summary of our business plan. This is a challenging task for several reasons. Although it is the short answer, it is often the hardest to write. So much so, that some business plan coaches, templates, and advisors recommend writing the executive summary last.


Instead of copying and pasting my executive summary here. I am going to show you how to write your own business plan for your personal communication success. 

One of the services I offer my coaching clients at BRAVE Communication LLC is individual communication strategies ideation. Ideation is a new buzz word for "brainstorming" or "idea creation". I help you identify the  "who", "what", "when", "where", "why" and "how" of a communication issue to come up with the best strategies for executing your plan. 

Communication Lessons from the movie Vantage Point

Only  a few more days until you can enter to win a $50 gift card to Target. Click here for more information on the BRAVE-LY Back At It Giveaway!

Today's #Blog4Biz challenge is a super fun one...and super hard. I am suppose to think and write like another #Blog4biz participant. How would he or she solve one of my business problems?

What a creative concept. And it reminds me of the movie Vantage Point that was released in 2008. Here is the trailer to refresh your memory.

According to Wikipedia, Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States, as seen from the various vantage points of different characters.Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, William Hurt, and Sigourney Weaver star in principal roles. 

I remember watching this movie in the theater. I was looking to see how they would bridge all 8 perspectives and wrap up the story. I remember hearing the audience gasp each time the movie literally rewound to begin the story from another character's perspective. It was a novel concept that I enjoyed watching. Eventually, I just wanted to get to the end. But I realized, just like in real life communication, how you get there is just as important as arriving.

This isn't the first time Hollywood has cashed in on "perspective pieces". 2004's Crash  was a racially charged piece that showed how several character's lives connected in ways they didn't even realize. 

Thinking back on it now, both of those movies have a lot of communication lessons we could learn. I am going to stick with Vantage Point for today's challenge. 

Connect The Dots Of The Past For Insight Into The Future

Only 5 more days until you can enter to win a $50 gift card to Target. Click here for more information on the BRAVE-LY Back At It Giveaway!

Today the #blog4biz challenge has me thinking about my past jobs. What were the good parts of all the jobs I have ever had that I would like to incorporate into my business?

This is going to be a nice trip down memory lane...for me at least. I hope you like it too. You'll get to see all the things I did through out my life and follow the twisty road to where I am today.

Job 1: I got my first job when I was 17. My mom wouldn't let me work while I went to high school but the summer before I left for college was open season. I got a job with United Vision Sales as a kiosk salesperson for Magic Pens. I would stand at my kiosk and demonstrate the pens. They were really markers. They would write one color and when you went over that writing with the white pen, it would "magically" change colors. Something happened and the person who hired me, left and I was "promoted" to manage of that kiosk. As manager, I had to attend the manager training in New York City.

Fail To Plan, Plan To Fail: #Blog4biz Day 26

Today's challenge asks business owners to pull out, dust off, and crack open their business plan to check for neglected parts.

The business plan is the scaffolding on which a business is built...at least in theory anyway. Many people question whether or not you need a business plan. For example, if you aren't planning on asking banks or investors for money, do you need a business plan? If you plan on your business every growing past a solo operator, do you need a business plan? If you are independently wealthy and doing this new venture for fun. do you need a business plan?

The answer is yes!

When I first started BRAVE I went to the library to find what I could about writing a business plan. After combing through tons of books, I came across a resource that spoke to my sanity. It promised you could write your business plan in one day. Of course, I was a skeptic and knew a plan couldn't be written start to finish in one day. But the book gave me hope that it could be done quickly. I chose that book because it was the only resource that didn't have me spending years writing my plan. I wanted to think about my plan, write my plan, and get to work.

What She REALLY Wants From You When She Is Overwhelmed

If you have ever heard your

wife...
girlfriend...
mom...
sister.... 
aunt.... 
grandmother...
female friend....
female cousin...

say she was overwhelmed, stressed, or tired, this is post is to help you understand what she really wants from you. Trust me, if you implement these tips you help relieve her burden and gain major brownie points in the process.

Disclaimer: My tips assume that your relationship with said female is a relatively close one. Your success at using these tips greatly diminish if you don't spend significant time interacting with said woman.

The Lesson Instagram Revealed About Growth: #Blog4Biz Day 25

I am absolutely amazed at the lessons I am learning as I do this #blog4biz daily blogging challenge. I want to write about those lessons but I am restraining myself.  Just in case the Day 31 prompt is write in a 1,000 words the lessons you have learned doing this challenge, I want to make sure I have enough material to meet the word count.

Today's challenge forced me to sign up for an Instagram account. I have never used Instagram before. I am not completely sure I will continue using it. My task today was to take a picture of my favorite office things and share that photo on Instagram and my blog.

What You Need to Know About The Bravely Back At It Giveway!

August 1, 2013 is only 1 week away!

That's

.....7 days

.....168 hours

.....10,080 Minutes

......604,800 seconds



until you can enter the "BRAVE-ly Back At It Giveaway!"

Here is what you need to know:

My Work Day Could Use Some Work!: #Blog4Biz Day 24:

The Living BRAVE blog re-launches on Aug 1, 2013. To celebrate, I am giving away a $50 gift card to Target. I call it the "BRAVE-ly Back at it" Giveaway. It starts August 1 and runs through August 8, 2013. Click here for the official rules.


Today's #Blog4Biz challenge asks what does my business day look like. I don't have a typical business day. Since I work from home, I am always trying to juggle all my demands. So I'll tell you about my day today.

7:30a. The alarm goes off. I quickly turn it off and pretend that I can get more sleep through osmosis. I turn over to grab my tablet and open the Bible app. I need to prepare mentally and spiritually for my day.

8:00a. I hear the pitter patter of 4 feet descending the stairs. They are up. Despite all my efforts on lessons on manners and privacy, my kids charge through the door asking "Mommy, is it time to get up yet?" They ask because if it before 8a I say no and send them back upstairs.

8:10a. Breakfast. At breakfast I'll check email, facebook, and other notifications. After breakfast, I spend time making decisions and graphics for the "Bravely Back At it Giveaway" that starts August 1. You could win a $50 gift card to Target. Be sure to visit my blog on August 1 to enter!