For corporate cogs and cubicle dwellers - both of which Allen and I have been, and we value those experiences very much - there are Big Days shared among friends and colleagues who live in the same dimension.

These Big Days are akin to internal holidays when they’re good (like Quarterly Bonus Day, for instance), or D-Days when they’re bad (like End-of-Quarter wrap-ups, when everyone’s scurrying around submitting documents and reports and reviews like rabid jackals on crack).

But small biz owners and solo-preneurs often don’t have a posse with whom to share our Big Days. The world turns on its axis and the sun rises and sets just like every other day, and no one but our team or business partner (if you’re lucky to have either) is even aware of the Big Days of our lives.

Getting profiled in the media for the first time. That’s a Big Day. So is depositing your first $1,000 in your new business account, hiring your first VA, having your first five-figure month, speaking at your first industry event, having your first six-figure year, etc. 

It’s these *tiny* milestones that become the drivers - the little “Yippees!” in your head and heart - that remind you why you started on this challenging path in the first place.

Today, Allen and I are having one of these Big Days.

I know this because of the butterflies in my stomach, the cocktail of anxiety and excitement in my spleen, and the “What if’s?” flying around in my cranium.

January 31st, 2007, is the day we’re finally (FINALLY!) releasing our first FOUR information products out into the world.

We’ve been serious about creating info products for ourselves (instead of for our clients) since last February, when we cut the chord of dependency with a few “safety” clients we knew weren’t working for us anymore.

We put our heads down, invested in training, got support, geared up for success, then…

…Had dozens of false starts, procrastinated, let fear get in our way, postponed, took several steps backwards, fought, cried, lamented, watched goals come and go, let other priorities take the front seat of our lives and business, and then wondered aloud for the millionth time why we couldn’t just complete what we set out to do, which was create quality information products for people like us, so they wouldn’t have to suffer the same learning curve we’ve had to.  

Lucky for us, we happened to connect with another business owner (who is now our dear friend Kevin Skarritt), and Kevin had wanted to create info products, too…but he had been too busy running his company to make room for another intense project.

Late last month, we took the plunge together and did the only thing that guarantees forward motion and accountability - we put the offer out to the public and pre-sold the information products that have been stuck in our brains, throughout our notebooks, and inside folders on our computers for way, WAY too long.

And after weeks of scrambling, cursing, praying, planning, working long, LONG hours, giving up favorite TV shows, pastimes, weekends, and sleep, we’re less than four hours away from having them DONE (at long last!) and OUT to those beautiful, smart, supportive, savvy, trusting, wonderful professionals who’ve pre-ordered the “Business Breakout 2007″ package we’ve created.

Even now, Allen’s with Kevin dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. There are last-minute details you can’t know or anticipate until you go through this deliverable process at least once…and even then I’m sure new incidentals always pop up. I’m minutes away from putting my darlin’ angel son to bed, but I just had to get a blog post out to mark this auspicious occasion.

The truth is, I don’t know how Allen and Kevin have been pulling the hours they have. I’m in awe of what we’ve accomplished. I can’t believe how much we’ve done in such a short time. I’m proud of the finished product (at least, the “finished” draft I saw earlier, that Allen and Kev were STILL adding to!), and I’m so so so grateful to finally be crossing over the line, from “Boy, I’d like to create our own info products some day” to “Us? Oh yeah -we’ve got several info products…and they’re really really GOOD!”

I started having this giddy feeling of accomplishment a few nights ago, when we were finishing up the outline and script for our fourth and final product. It was some time after one in the morning. I was punchy and desperate to finish up so we could finally go to bed. Allen was in a no-nonsense/conserve energy mode - the likes of which I’d never seen him in before. 

The scene was so amusing to me I snapped a picture with my camera phone. (I think it’s the requisite Ben ‘n Jerry’s container that sets me over the edge. What a solo-preneurial cliche!) I guess I could sense I’d want to sanctify the Big Day a’comin’.

And now, I’m doing just that - with said picture of my bleary-eyed husband and a big ol’ blog post.

We all have our own pictures of success. For me, I think this one’s going to do just fine.

 For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business (and prepare you for YOUR Big Day, whenever that may be), sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

Posted in Entrepreneur Diaries | 2 Comments »

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 at 9:57 pm and is filed under Entrepreneur Diaries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

So the other day, Margot Thompson - our fab friend and former VA - emailed us about a gentleman named Dale Buss. Turns out Dale’s been quite busy, writing for such fine publications as The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur magazine, and BrandChannel.com, to name a few.

Now Dale’s looking for “practical advice for spouses who are considering becoming co-entrepreneurs or who already have.” What’s more, he’s looking for this advice on behalf of Forbes.com.

Well, we figure we fit the bill as well as anybody. And maybe we have a thing or two to say on the subject of being in business with your spouse. So here’s what we sent to Dale this morning:

We’ve been married since 2000, parents since 2002, and officially incorporated as a business since 2004.
We’ve “evolved” from freelance writers to content specialists to content strategists to “business owners who market our talents and services to our ideal audience.” (That last evolution is thanks to a series of boot camps and mastermind group adventures we undertook last year with an online marketing guru named Adam Urbanski.)
We share a home office, divvy up work, tag team assignments, split our time among local business groups and networking events, and are booked for workshops, both together and separately, this year.
Coming at you from the eye of the proverbial hurricane – of life, parenting, and business – we often don’t know which end is up. We’re shooting for a place in the Lifestyle Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, even if we have to invent the prestigious recognition vehicle ourselves.
We even created a special “Married – With Business” category in our business blog (the “A-Ha!” blog), which you can find here: http://www.epiphaniesinc.com/blog/category/married-with-business/.
Below are five bits of non-platitudinal advice we hope serve your purposes. If you’d like to connect further, please don’t hesitate to call or email us. We’d be thrilled to help you out any way we can.

1. Schedule – and KEEP! – Weekly Business Meetings…During Normal Business Hours. Project Creep is a toxic reality for spouses in business. We found ourselves jotting down deadlines on car trips, using our precious pillow talk time to discuss client issues, and writing to-do tasks for work right under our grocery lists. It wasn’t pretty, and definitely didn’t work for our business or our marriage.

2. Divide and Conquer. There was a time we treated each other more like 50% of a whole, rather than two fully-functioning business owners. Once we started splitting work according to our strengths, and holding each other accountable for specific duties, things looked more promising, and less impossible. Plus, we got more done in less time, thus upgrading our profitability.

3. Outsource the Finances. Allen has his MBA with a Finance concentration. He’s managed the books for non-profits and small businesses. He also worked in the banking industry for several years. Heck, even Lani worked as a bookkeeper for a multi-million-dollar company for a year. One would think we could handle our own books. One would be woefully mistaken. Stress around finances is a killer for any married couple, so the danger is doubled, if not octupled, for spousal-preneurs. Ever since we hired a third party to keep us on track and honest about budgets, cash flow, performance targets, and small matters like payroll and taxes, we’ve crossed divorce off our list of things to do and have enjoyed focusing on our growth as a team and company.

4. Embrace Standardized Tests. We each recently took a DiSC assessment for a client. It’s designed to evaluate and analyze communication preferences, work skills, behavioral styles, professional motivations, etc. We were shocked by how different our natural and adaptive styles are. In fact, we’re polar opposites in most – if not all – areas and abilities. Comparing the reports side by side helped us identify some of our biggest communication challenges, and see why they exist in the first place. It’s changing our expectations, exposing gaps, and inviting empathy into our business at long last. We plan to take the Myers-Briggs test as soon as possible.

5. Don’t Be All Up in Each Other’s Grills. Space, people. Space. When you’re working, living, breathing, sleeping, parenting, eating, doing laundry, washing dishes, and Tivo-ing favorite TV shows together, all in the same square footage, you have to give each other time to remember you actually like and value your business partner. And your spouse. Solo excursions. Girls and Guys Nights Out. Even mini-vacations and/or business trips without the better half tagging along. Absence doesn’t only make the heart grow fonder – it often reminds you to schedule that long overdue, closed door and candlelit “lunch meeting.” Which in turn reminds you of the perks of being in business with your spouse.

Hope the above tips help you or anyone you love who’d like to remain married while pursuing the American dream under one Tax ID number. 

For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business (with or without your spouse), sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

Posted in Lessons Learned, Married - With Business | No Comments »

This entry was posted on Monday, January 29th, 2007 at 2:27 pm and is filed under Lessons Learned, Married - With Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

I’ve been thinking about milestones today - the markers, the stakes in the ground, the signposts that show you’re on the right track (or, at least, on the track you plotted out for yourself).

On January 24, Nedra Weinreich marked the first anniversary of her “Spare Change” blog. (Congrats, Nedra!) Now, I wouldn’t have come across Nedra if it weren’t for the stake that Lani and I put into the ground - breaking into the Mack Collier’s Top 25 Marketing Blogs list.

Here’s the wacky thing about markers and milestones - if you set them up well, they start to line up with each other. And that’s exactly what’s happening here.

How, you say? Well, just last week, Lani and I were asked to head up the online marketing session at New Hampshire’s Annual Governor’s Conference on Volunteerism. And now that we’ve discovered Nedra through Mack, we’ve got a great new resource at hand for learning more about non-profit marketing needs in time for the event. Perfect!

Funny how things work out. Anything lining up like this for YOU recently? Drop us a comment and let us know!

Interested in learning new ways to deliver YOUR ideas, insights, and content to the masses? Sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

Posted in Insight + Action | 1 Comment »

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 27th, 2007 at 9:50 pm and is filed under Insight + Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

It’s funny how the little things in life can hijack your brain.

We started off by being mildly intrigued by Mack Collier’s weekly “Top 25 Marketing Blogs” list a few months ago.

The intrigue morphed into energetic spectating: “Who’s up? Who’s down? Who’s new? Who fell off the wagon?” And now, today, we’ve finally admitted that this list is no longer a spectator sport. We want to PLAY on it!

We want to be with the popular kids! We want in the secret circle! We want validation! Proof! Pizza! (Okay, we’re both just hungry right now, but you know what we mean.)

Just this morning, we have told Mack we will use getting on his exclusive list as the motivational marker to FINALLY take our long-overdue trip to Montreal to see what the French Canadians are up to. (We’ve wanted to go Canuck ever since we moved to NH three years ago, we just keep putting it off.)

So thanks, Mack. You’ve become integral in our personal and professional goal setting strategies. Funny how we solo-preneurs can choose to advance our business in the most unconventional and seemingly arbitrary ways. It’s a perk, we tell ya!

Interested in learning new ways to deliver YOUR ideas, insights, and content to the masses? Sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

Posted in Fun With Marketing, Tools to "A-Ha Yourself!" | 1 Comment »

This entry was posted on Friday, January 26th, 2007 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Fun With Marketing, Tools to "A-Ha Yourself!". You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Okay, this is slightly incestuous, but I had to give a “blod” (that’s a “blog nod”) to my friend and biz associate, Kevin Skarritt.

As I type - and my feverish 4-year-old son is leaning against me in his oozy delirium - Kevin and Allen are creating #2 of FOUR amazing information products that comprise our “Business Breakout 2007” package, available to the public on January 31st! (If you want to find out more - and even get a special deal! - on this exceptional collection of information, go to www.GoNutsin2007.com, sign up for the free special report, and take a look at the “hidden” page on the other side. You don’t want to miss it!)

Despite the fact that he and Allen were burning the midnight oil last night, Kevin took a moment to blog about his post-recording buzz…and say really nice things about us in the process, such as…

This is what Allen and his business partner (and lovely wife) teach to all of their clients. How to create “bold insight and joy-filled action” in your business! They call it “A-Ha-ing” yourself.

If this is how a business owner can feel after a 17 hour day, then COUNT ME IN EVERY DAY. Well, not for the 17 hour part. You know what I mean! Have you A-Ha’d yourself lately??

Since “A-Ha-ing Yourself” is more of an experience than an easy-to-explain concept, this blog entry is a kind and wonderful gift to us. It shows us - and Kevin’s blog readers - we deliver value, we’ve got something special to offer ultra-talented entrepreneurs and business professionals, and perhaps most importantly, that the “A-Ha-ing Yourself” process is understood, appreciated, and adored by those who have experienced it.

Thanks, Kev. You da BOMB, baby!

(And not to be a nag, but do you think I could have my husband home before tomorrow this time?)

Want to increase the number of “A-Has” you have in YOUR life and business? Sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

Posted in A-Has in the Ether, Agents of Karma, Tools to "A-Ha Yourself!" | 1 Comment »

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 24th, 2007 at 6:07 pm and is filed under A-Has in the Ether, Agents of Karma, Tools to "A-Ha Yourself!". You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Thank you, Michael Port (the brains and brawn behind the “Book Yourself Solid” and “Think Big” revolutions), for calling this amazing feat in contemporary storytelling to my attention. 

It’s the entire human experience hitching a ride on the graphics and communications stylings of the boardroom culture. Trippy, profound, creative, heartwrenching, exquisite. All in under four minutes.

Clemens Kogler is the artist behind this portfolio piece, which “manages to produce some magical nuance and shades between the great topics death, cable tv, emotions and hamsters.” Clemens, you’ve got a bright future ahead of you!
Interested in learning new ways to deliver YOUR ideas, insights, and content to the masses? Sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

Posted in All About Content, Storytelling | No Comments »

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 24th, 2007 at 5:26 pm and is filed under All About Content, Storytelling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

First, I apologize.

As much as I’d like to attempt to summarize this amazing article from Sharon Begley of the Wall Street Journal - How Thinking Can Change the Brain - it’s just not going to happen. I will tell you it includes, but is in no way limited to:

• The Dalai Lama
• Neuroplasticity
• Buddhist ‘adepts”
• Neuroscientists
• University studies on the power of mediation
• Monks
• and last but not least…Gamma Waves

And I will say this: If you ever doubted the power of your own mind, this is an article you may want to check out. Your doubts will disappear. (Especially if you meditate on it!)

The reason I’m sharing the article on this particular blog is because there’s a lovely little paragraph explaining - at least partially - the science behind the “Aha” moment, lest you liken this sudden flash of insight to the unicorn…or to straight men who know what a duvet cover is. Here goes:

As the volunteers began meditating, one kind of brain wave grew exceptionally strong: gamma waves. These, scientists believe, are a signature of neuronal activity that knits together far-flung circuits — consciousness, in a sense. Gamma waves appear when the brain brings together different features of an object, such as look, feel, sound and other attributes that lead the brain to its aha moment of, yup, that’s an armadillo.

 (The “armadillo” thing comes out of nowhere, but the rest, I think you’ll agree, is pretty fascinating.)

Now, in addition to crunches, I’m going to have to work gamma wave strengthening exercises into my workout routine.

Got any ideas? 

Want to give YOUR gamma waves a workout that’ll add some zing to YOUR life and business? Sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

Posted in A-Has in the Ether | No Comments »

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 3:31 pm and is filed under A-Has in the Ether. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in A-Has in the Ether | 3 Comments »

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 12:38 pm and is filed under A-Has in the Ether. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The gorgeous and super-savvy Erin Blaskie! For her ingenious use of three of the hottest topics of the New Year to prove a useful point. The winning blog post headline is…

“What Do American Idol, Oprah and iPhone Have in Common?”

And as a bonus - for us, anyway - this headline was inspired by a giant “A-Ha!” (And I’m willing to bet it works out to Erin’s advantage.)

To find out the one-word answer of what these three unlikely amigos have in common, you’ll have to go to Erin’s blog yourself. I’m not going to spill the beans. But I will say the tip she offers in the post is well worth the click.

For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business, sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

Posted in A-Has in the Ether, Insight + Action | 2 Comments »

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 20th, 2007 at 10:20 pm and is filed under A-Has in the Ether, Insight + Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

When you’re on the right path, the perfect people come into your life at exactly the right time.

Such is the case with Team Epiphanies (that’s Allen and me) and a dynamo named Claudia Needham.

Claudia is a regional manager for MicroCredit-NH, an extraordinary non-profit dedicated to supporting NH’s microentrepreneurs and its microbusinesses.

Now, if you’ve never heard any of these “micro” terms, you’re going to be shocked when I tell you what Claudia told me:

87% of NH businesses are micros, and 85% of ALL businesses in the U.S. are, too. (!!!) 

According to MicroCreditNH.org:

A Microenterprise Is a Business that:

Employs between 1-5 people, including the owner

Has gross sales from $1 to $500,000

Requires under $35,000 for start-up

Claudia recently asked me if I’d like to do a “brainstorming for business” session for an all-day workshop sponsored by MicroCredit in March. (Would I? HECK YEAH!)

We met this week to discuss the workshop. After three hours of talking about businesses, practicums (Claudia’s getting her Masters degree in Organization and Management, with a focus on how to truly live a balanced, non-segmented life and business. She uses the phrase “Lifestyle Entrepreneur,” and I love it. She’s a BRILLIANT woman), goals, marketing, best practices, local talent, regional resources, and pretty much everything under the sun EXCEPT the details of the workshop, we had to part ways.

Yesterday she sent me an awesome email - the kind I LIVE to get - and she said I could share it with you here: 

Lani,

Thank you so much for yesterday!  I had another “epiphany” this morning of astounding proportions!  I’m still processing!  You gave me a huge gift yesterday - believing in me in ways I don’t think about myself.  Still processing all of that too.

Can’t wait until we talk about the workshop!  Have a great day!

I can tell we’re all going to learn so much together over the coming years, and become integral to our business success, intellectual growth, and general well being.

Thank YOU, Claudia!

The MicroCreditNH site has some fantastic resources for anyone running or thinking of starting a new business. And if you’re in NH, I recommend you join one of their business groups and get in on the MicroCredit action ASAP!

Oh, and don’t miss the March workshop, featuring me, Claudia, and “Chief Nut” Kevin Skarritt: BRAINSTORM + BRAND = BOOM!

For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business, sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!

Posted in Agents of Karma, Microenterprises R Us | No Comments »

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 20th, 2007 at 9:58 am and is filed under Agents of Karma, Microenterprises R Us. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.