"Take it to another level. No passengers on my plane."

My husband and I engage with our son all hours of the day – play cards, color, go to the park, cook etc. – but there are times when even the best of us are ready to blow a gasket the next time our two-year-old asks us “why.” That’s why I love YouTube.

The other night just before bedtime was one of those nights. I gave in, pulled-up a chair and the next thing I know my son and I are watching a video of little Arianna dancing to Beyonce’s “Diva.” (Watch the video. It’s adorable, I assure you.)

While my toddler sat quietly (for once) and completely enthralled in the video, I started to think about the women I know who are powerful, successful yet always exhibit grace – a “diva” (for the sake of this blog) in their own right.

All my ladies get it up
I see you, I do the same
Take it to another level
No passengers on my plane
~ Lyrics from Beyonce’s “Diva”

I have a tremendous amount of respect for women professionals, especially women professionals who are also mothers. They’re driven, problem solvers, focused, adaptable, respectful to others and are the ultimate multi-taskers. They’ve got it all and manage to always have a positive outlook on life to match their high levels of energy. More importantly, they can be the most valuable business-friends to have. (When you’re busy like they are, which is busier than most professionals, there’s no time to mess around which means earning their nod of approval is in your best business interest.)

I have a handful of women professionals who top my personal “diva” list. Some I have closer relationships with than others. With their consent: Susan Chandler, Brooke Borg, Veronica Mabe, Rebecca Fay and Christina Primack.

They are all professionals who make things happen in our valley. They make decisions that impact you and me (and most people often don’t even know it). They are the gatekeepers to the information and contacts we need. They are true business and community collaborators. They are the one’s who always find and develop opportunities, both in business and at home, when none are plainly in sight. They are “divas” in my book. Women who, as Beyonce says, “take it to another level” and do it with style and grace.

Honor the “divas” you know in your life. Take the time to crack the hard outer shell that they have set up to ensure their success in their personal and business lives. Once you have earned their trust and respect, you will benefit greatly from their level of enthusiasm and loyalty as they help you take a professional step ahead.

Dumpster diving for inspiration

When I was a kid, anything was possible. I made art by melting crayon shavings with a magnifying glass. When I was seven years old, I planned on being an astronaut when I grew up. I discovered diamonds in rocks and built “mansions” out of sticks while camping with family.

Inspiration and creativity were possible at all times and came from everything around me - be it rocks, sticks or dumpster cans as pictured right. (That’s me pictured far left with my little sister, Laura, and two cousins, April and Christopher.)

I have no idea where this photo was taken, but whoever labeled the dumpster “inspiration” is brilliant. Why? Well, inspiration can come from anything (literally as you can see) and when we least expect it. However, for most us inspiration and creativity (which go hand-in-hand) come to us in irregular spurts, or at least that’s what we believe.

Not to fear, there is a solution.

The solution is to allow yourself to be inspired and give yourself the emotional freedom and time to be creative and explore new experiences – just like when you were a kid. What’s even better? Everyone can be creative.

This is great news for professionals working in a creative field, which most of us do whether we realize it or not, because being creative is good for business. It allows your mind to be flexible and adept in recognizing challenges and opportunities as well as how to make the most of those opportunities.

Creativity is crucial to success so long as you zero-in on how your creative ideas can be transitioned into savvy business maneuvers.

So, how should some of us more pragmatic thinkers approach inspiration and creativity?

1. First, understand that the process is not a mystical one. It’s simply the process of allowing yourself the opportunity to hone-in on what you already know, or don't know, and connect the dots.
2. Second, you’ve got to allow yourself the time to be inspired and creative. Think of it like regular physical exercise for your mind.
3. Third, surround yourself with other inspiration people. These types of personalities always find a way to make things happen – always. Keep them in your corner.

For us practical thinkers, me included, I recommend reading a blog a colleague wrote called “Creative brainstorming best when efficient.” It’s an excellent piece on how to overcome common hurdles in the inspiration and creative process. For those who are not convinced on how valuable creativity is in not only the success of business, but the critical need for it in America (period), I highly recommend reading “The Heart of Business” blog. This blog is written by a design professional named Craig Galati and he’s someone I enjoy keeping in my professional “creative corner.”

It's easy to be re-inspired and reclaim your creativity, and it can be done one day at a time. For you critical thinkers out there just remember this: a creative thinker sees achievable opportunities everywhere, it's just a matter of how they approach it.

If you still can't find your way back to the inspired version of you in your yester-years, try thinking back on your childhood and the exploratory process you took in learning about the world in exciting new ways - like making art from wax shavings and the sun versus a traditional paint and brush.

Mom always said: “Don’t half a** it.”

I’ve been hearing the phrase “better late than never” a lot lately.

Perhaps the idea of doing something after the fact works in some instances, but not in business. Sending a belated birthday card receives a partial nod of approval in my book. Contacting or sending a client or vendor information after a deadline or agreed upon date, on the other hand, doesn’t fly with me at all.

I have to say, professionals who can’t deliver and make excuses for themselves are one of my biggest pet peeves in business.

From time to time, I catch flack for being difficult to work with. My personal belief is that most professionals, men and women alike, are still (even today) adjusting to aggressive and opinionated business women in the workplace, but I digress. Often, it’s because I encourage and press the team of people I’m working with, which includes pushing myself, to make deadlines and get results because being “better late than never” equates to either not doing what you are supposed to be doing or over promising and under delivering on your efforts. And that’s not good for business – ever.

Why is having a self imposed “never say ‘better late than never’” policy important? Not doing what you promise to do means you’ll, ultimately, loose clients and credibility you and your brand have in your market. Trust and credibility is something that is built over time and can easily be shattered by a “better late than never” incident.

Maybe professionals who are like me are “difficult to work with” to people that continually underperform. But the professionals that, like my mom always said: “Don’t half a** it,” will always see long-term professional success and will more than likely pick up a few of the clients from the “better late than never” firm along the way.

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I'm curious to know your thoughts on this issue. Let's share stories.

Practical answers for start-up bloggers

It’s been nearly a year since our firm launched its blog site. We love it. (Of course we’d say that, right?)

What started as a creative outlet for our team has turned into one of our firm’s most recognizable and respected attributes. Our blog has allowed us to extend our brand, provide real marketing solutions to businesses in need of our support during this New Economy, and continues to keep our current clients engaged with our team, and more importantly, engaged and aware of all the services we provide to them.

Why? Perhaps it’s that our team provides practical solutions to common marketing challenges and showcases integrity and passion for our industry in every blog that is posted.

Speaking of practicality, people frequently ask me to provide them basic suggestions so they can start, host and maintain their own company blog site:

Plot - Identify your blog’s plot and write pieces relating to that matter. Will your blog focus on your specialized area of expertise? Will it provide practical information or serve as a motivational site to readers? More importantly, identify what you are passionate about because in order to successfully maintain your blog site, you’ll need to regularly write blogs relating to your identified plot (i.e. focus area).

Content – It’s absolutely critical to post information that’s relevant and of interest to your readers. Remember that your blog site is competing with the endless amount of information that the Internet already provides users. This means writing pieces that include references to current events or emerging markets and putting your own personal “flair” to them. Be relevant or your blog will surely die.

Blog Promotion – Managing a blog site alone will do nothing to help you. Promote your site as a resource or point of interest via other communication channels you have available to you. For instance, post your blog to 10-15 top social bookmarking sites and refer and link to it within your email signatures and e-newsletters. Notify your customers of your blog through a letter campaign, include paper inserts within your month-end invoices to customers. Include key industry phrases and words within your blog posts. This will allow search engines the ability to find your blog site as a result of the end-user’s keyword search entry. To capture different audiences, set-up a Facebook, Twitter and MySpace account that can automate your blog postings as well. Or, automate it all on social networking maintenance platforms such as Hootsuite.

Internal Blogging Policies (or perhaps better said as “etiquette”) – Have safeguards in place. Blogging is great to enhance your brand and position you as an expert, but there’s a reputation management side of it that’s often overlooked. (Not to mention the fact that you must always assume everyone will see your blog as it will be made public online.) In our case, our team understands the objective and structure of our blog and they have the freedom to contribute to it in their own personal way. But there are a few people who review all blogs for grammatical and spelling errors and appropriateness of content before posting online to ensure all blogs represent our organization the way we intend them to.

Reader Engagement – Allow readers to post comments to your blog…easily. While a blogger may think they’re simply taking precautions by formatting a site to not allow comments to be left, the reader will perceive you as defensive. A blog is a social discussion that exists online. Be social and allow others to participate. (This includes blogs that are imported to your social networking sites as well.) If you don’t, you’ll alienate readers, they won’t come back to the blog and they certainly won’t refer the blog or your site to others. You will need to regularly maintain your blog site and its feedback, but it’s worth it to you to make it easy for others to participate.

Converting Site Visitors into Leads/Sales – Provide a value-offering or include a call-to-action at the end of your blog. It can be simple, but worth the effort to the reader to pick-up a phone or send you an email. It can be something as simple as including a promotional code valid for a product discount, an invitation to attend an educational workshop, an encouraging note for readers to submit their email and name to you in order to receive a free packaged service item or product and so on.

To finish, blogging is an excellent way to drive traffic to your website (especially if it is hosted under your site domain), help position you as an expert, as well as educate and introduce your products and services to an audience of prospective buyers. However, they’re hardly an overnight success. It takes time, passion and diligence to build a regular, responsive reader base.

*Blog originally posted at: Imagine Marketing: Creative Solutions for the New Economy