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Archive for April, 2008
April 19th, 2008 by Lani Voivod
We’re one week into our three-week experiment, staying in a 2bd/2ba townhome in Malibu, CA.
The experiment? We wanted to see if we could:
1) Transport our family to a dreamy location for a longer stint than we’d normally think to do (not the easiest thing to do with a child in the public school system)
2) Handle client work remotely AND successfully
3) Visit with family, friends, former colleagues, clients, mentors, thought leaders, and whoever else happened to cross our path
4) Treat ourselves to a change in scenery, routine, and mindset after a long, record-breaking snow-falling New England winter
5) Prove to ourselves we were bold enough to stay in a location that seems luxurious and extravagant (even though we did enough homework to score our glorious digs at more than 60% off its going rate!)
I am thrilled to say it’s working out more magnificently than I ever dared hope it would.
To begin with, I’ve had dolphin sighting every single day, several times a day. I wake up every morning, look out our master bedroom slider doors, and see the fins emerging and disappearing, oblivious to their land-dwelling busybodies.
This fact on its own is enough to get me in touch with my inner child and yelp “Yippee!” until my pigtails spin off my head. I love these beautiful creatures of the sea, and I think their appearance so close to the shore, so accessible, is nothing short of miraculous. Just below the surface of what’s visible is this huge playground where intelligent beings swim and swoon, gather and glide among the waves and tides. It’s just breathtaking. Effortless motion. Sublime.
With wireless connectivity and a telephone, managing client projects from afar has been a cinch. What’s more, our new surroundings inspire fresh ideas, better perspectives, and a better chance to focus on our clients Bigger Pictures, which increases both efficiency and effectiveness.
But the real bonus for us is this: Being here shows us how much we value our time and freedom, and how much owning our own business is essential to owning the best version and vision of our own lives.
Last night we had Rick Sanchez and Tara Zucker, the talented spousal-preneurial team behind Post Haste Media, over for a lovely, animated dinner.
Right now, Allen is at an all-day wealth accelerator workshop with Law of Attraction guru David Neagle, where he’ll be kindly treated to lunch by our favorite million-dollar lifestyle coach, Melanie Benson Strick. And I’m sitting here while my kids are playing with toys, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the amazing and incomparable Lisa Steadman, author, relationship expert, and one of my dearest friends and creative allies.
If this isn’t the life, I don’t know what is.
And the best thing? We’ve got two more weeks of it. “Yippee!!!”
Posted in Entrepreneur Diaries | No Comments »
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April 16th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
 We received this sales email (subject line: “How to commit business suicide”) last year from Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero of Red Hot Copy, whom I’ll hopefully get to meet at an event I’m going to on Saturday. I’ve removed the final portion of it, which relates to the pitch for her in-person workshop that happened in October 2007.
In it, she does something a little beyond what I normally see in sales emails. It has the typical elements - for example, a strong opening, problems, and other solutions pitched as ones to avoid for the purposes of the email.
What’s different is every time I re-read it, I truly feel like she does take it personally. It’s a great example of the “form, not formula” idea I’ve heard from Robert McKee. She hits all the notes of the sales email format, but it’s not like she’s following a paint-by-numbers template.
Instead, she’s poured her own personality and passion into her content, in a conversational, informative way.
Let this be an example of how great content spans every part of your business - and it can’t possibly be great content without your own unique voice, tone, and style layered throughout.
The worst thing you can do in your business is to trick yourself into thinking you can get by with limp, lifeless copy. I see entrepreneurs do it all the time, and it gets me hopping mad.
Here’s the deal - NONE of your marketing works without strong copy. PERIOD. No sales letters sell for you round the clock. No emails get read. Money drains out of your business like water through a sieve. And you may not even realize you have a leak.
It’s a real problem.
Of course there are definitely ways around this problem - once you recognize it exists. You can break out your credit card and hire one of the better copywriters. Just be prepared to have enough room to accommodate our fees. (Right now I get between $15,000 and $25,000 a project - and I’m on the CHEAP SIDE of what my colleagues charge.)
If that’s in your budget, it’s a worthwhile investment, I promise. But if you’re like most entrepreneurs it’s not.
That doesn’t change the fact that you need good, strong copy for EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR BUSINESS. That includes copy for:
=> Websites
=> Email blasts
=> Video and podcast scripts
=> Newsletters
=> Press releases
=> Articles
=> Brochures
=> Flyers
=> Postcards
Are you starting to get the picture? And the competition is fierce.
The average person today is exposed to over 3,500 marketing messages a day! That’s 24,000 messages A WEEK! 1.7 million a year and climbing!! Barnes and Noble bookstores have over 130,000 titles to choose from. Most grocery stores have over 30,000 choices vying for your attention. (Walgreens has a measly 15,000 choices and they’re doing okay.) Then of course there are a slew of other marketers trying to do business with your customers! Everyone is competing for ATTENTION. But check this out. . .
=> People don’t buy because of clever slogans or graphics;
=> They don’t buy because you say you’re the best;
=> They don’t even buy because you have a truly great product;
They buy because you have the answer to making them richer, happier, or better looking - because YOU are the SOLUTION to a problem they want fixed!
If you appear salesy, people resist. That doesn’t work (especially in today’s skeptical society). In your copy, you have to COMMAND their attention, solve their problem at no risk to them, answer every one of their objections, show how to get the fastest results possible and gain their TRUST. If you can do all that, they MIGHT be open to giving your product a shot.
I didn’t mean to go off on a rant, but I am passionate about this subject.
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April 15th, 2008 by Lani Voivod
My Dad is a Chronic Forwarder.
You know the type - he gets emails from thrice-removed acquaintances, then shoots these vague, sometimes amusing, more often trite or senseless emails to 20 or more people in his contacts list. I’m among those 20+ people.
A while back he sent me this fun little jaunt about taxes. What better way to celebrate April 15th than to share a depressing, cynical, and utterly painful poem about how the government taxes us into helpless submission - in life and death?
Tax his land,
Tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule.
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirts,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his booze,
Tax his beers,
If he cries,
Tax his tears.
Tax his bills,
Tax his gas,
Tax his notes,
Tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.
If he hollers,
Tax him more,
Tax him until he’s good and sore.
Tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb,
‘Taxes drove me to my doom!’
And when he’s gone,
We won’t relax,
We’ll still be after the inheritance TAX!!
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Perm it Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax),
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax),
Liquor Tax,
Luxury Tax,
Marriage License Tax,
Medicare Tax,
Property Tax,
Real Estate Tax,
Service charge taxes,
Social Security Tax,
Road Usage Tax (Truckers),
Sales Taxes,
Recreational Vehicle Tax,
School Tax,
State Income Tax,
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA),
Telephone Federal Excise Tax,
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fe e Tax,
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge
Tax,
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax,
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges
Tax,
Telephone State and Local Tax,
Telephone Usage Charge Tax,
Utility Tax,
Vehicle License Registration Tax,
Vehicle Sales Tax,
Watercraft Registration Tax,
Well Permit Tax,
Workers Compensation Tax.
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago,
and our nation was the most prosperous in the
world.
We had absolutely no national debt, had the
Largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
What happened?? Can you spell ‘politicians!’
And I still have to ‘press 1′ for English.
Thanks, Pappy! In the ultimate act of cooperative cynicism, I’ve posted this jolly rant in our “Mood Boosters” category. Happy Tax Day!
Posted in Mood Boosters | No Comments »
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on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 5:50 am and is filed under Mood Boosters.
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April 14th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
When you take a trip someplace, people often ask you, “Business or pleasure?”
When you love the work that pays for the life you live, business IS a pleasure. You don’t have to choose between the two, and you get to say, “All of the above,” regardless of the purpose of your trip.
That’s one way of answering the question. I’m in that glorious space of being excited about the clients we have, the projects in the pipeline, and even about what we have on tap for our own business. So it’s a blessing to be able to enjoy the things for which we get paid. Business hasn’t always been like that for us.
 The other way to answer it? That’s what our family has going on right now. I’m writing this from the townhouse we’re renting for the next three weeks (that’s the view from the balcony). The Pacific Coast Highway is just on the other side of the houses you see in the center of the pic, and the beach is just across the highway.
Lani, Joey, and Declan are out on the beach at this moment, and I’m writing this as the kick-off to document our first attempt at taking our family and business anywhere on Earth, to play and experience the wider world while still being able to take care of business and our kids’ educations.
To give you a sampling, while we’re here I’m going to be:
- Working with Lani on the plan for hiring a new virtual assistant
- Putting together the elements of a targeted marketing campaign for Iperia
- Blogging for Career-Resumes.com
- Pursuing an article marketing strategy for ResumeMachine.com
- Pulling together a reference binder for veterinarians on behalf of Pet Angel
- Creating email campaigns for BarbieCollector.com
And on top of that, I’ll also be going with the family to:
- Sea World
- San Diego Zoo
- Legoland
- The Getty Museum and Villa
- Venice Beach
- Santa Monica Pier
- Dodger Stadium
And last but not least, seeing our friends and family here as well.
The goal? To get to a life where we can mix business with pleasure in as many unique and thrilling ways as possible.
That’s what being a lifestyle entrepreneur is all about. And if we can help you get closer to that goal for yourself - and lead by example to show you that it truly IS possible - then this trip will have paid for itself.
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April 10th, 2008 by Lani Voivod
This is a victorious year for me in many, many ways.
- I’m staying home with my beautiful little baby boy (now six-months old!) while my incredible husband handles virtually all of our client work, invoicing, bill-paying, blogging, outreach, and so on
- We’re just 52 hours away from getting on a plane for a three-week revival experiment at an ocean-view townhome in Malibu, CA - where we’ll visit with Grandma Rose (Allen’s mom), handle VIP client work remotely, hang out with dear friends, meet with our pals at Mattel, and PLAY, PLAY, PLAY…filling our creative and Vitamin-D-deprived wells at Sea World, Venice Beach, Lego Land, the San Diego Zoo, and at lots of playgrounds in and around Santa Monica, Encino, and West LA (for our energetic kindergartner)
- I’m actually keeping up with my Page-A-Day calendar!
I think this is a first for me, actually. Year after year, I’ve seen the date freeze sometime during the first week of February. Whether it’s been comics by Gary Larson, Scott Adams, or Darby Conley, excerpts by and from ”Women Who Do Too Much,” “Wild Women,” “Witty Women” or even quips and quotes from my beloved Erma Bombeck and SARK, I’ve never been able to stay with it. I don’t know. I get bored or forgetful or something.
This year, though, I’ve been devouring the little medidations from The Secret, as regularly as I’ve ever managed to do anything. Little bite-sized chunks of inspiration - some of it corny or floofy according to my Inner Critic, but I’m doing my best to get over that part of myself - that come just at the right time, and say what I need to hear.
Every now and then I give myself permission to throw one down here on the blog, just in case it’s destined to connect with YOU, the person who’s decided to read today’s post. So, here’s the one I tore off from April 4th:
When you are in the flow with the Universal intelligence, you have unlimited access to all wisdom and all power to bring your dream into reality. When you are in tune with the infinite, you can feel the power of the energy rush through you, urging you on. Your heart is on fire with passion, you feel alive, and you know you are going to achieve what you conceived. You can taste it, feel it, and see it as though it is in your hands now. When you are in tune with this power, inspired action flows. It is like being on a river and being carried by the force of the current. Everything is effortless and you can feel the power of the Universe propelling you toward your desire.
Allen and I are co-owners of a company named “Epiphanies, Inc.” At the heart of our business is a belief that BOLD INSIGHT PLUS JOY-FILLED ACTION (aka “The A-Ha!“) is the key to happiness, success, and prosperity.
For today’s businesses - whether they’re solo-owned or multi-million-dollar joints - the high-payoff actions involve finding the right channels or platforms to blast out their messages, missions, or visions in powerful ways that connect with their Ideal Audience.
Right now, the channel and platform I have on hand is our blog. I’ve got a napping baby and very little time, but I’m getting THIS post (an imperfect mix of context, inspiration, ideas, message reinforcement, and reminders) to you.
Did it work? Was it worth it?
If you’re reading this post, PLEASE, drop a line in the comment field and let me know you were here. Let me know you took time out of your busy day to scan these words, and if you happened upon anything useful, entertaining, interesting, inspirational, or remotely impactful, please let me know what it was.
If anything, I just want you to see that, if you’re reading this - however you got here, and for whatever reason - even imperfect, quick blasts into whatever channel, platform, or “Content Catapult” you have at the ready is good enough.
Because, while I wish I had time to create all the YouTube videos, online tutorials, e-books, service packages, and information empires that are swirling around in my head, the only thing I have the time and tools to do today is to write this meandering post…
Which was inspired by my desire to share the April 4th “Secret” with you. 
Posted in Entrepreneur Diaries, Mood Boosters | 1 Comment »
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on Thursday, April 10th, 2008 at 11:14 am and is filed under Entrepreneur Diaries, Mood Boosters.
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April 9th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
Can I be totally honest for a second?
Sometimes, I just don’t get it. Social media, that is.
I mean, intellectually, I understand that social media is the Next Big Thing, that over the next few years it’ll become as indispensable as the Internet and email eventually became, and it’s going to be the next tech bubble and burst on Wall Street.
But sometimes, I don’t see the point of it. I have profiles set up in LinkedIn, Facebook, Ryze, Twitter, Squidoo, and so forth. But I’m not always confident about the value setting up and spending time on these sites actually contributes to my business. As an attendee said, at a recent workshop where we were presenting, “Sometimes I think you people are just fooling around all day,” referring to those in the assembled group who said they were blogging for their business.
 Then I happen to read an issue of Melanie Benson Strick’s Success Connections ezine, where she says:
I have a new obsession that is really paying off.
Recently I was introduced to two social networking sites that have made a HUGE impact on my leads and have introduced some wonderful new clients into my programs. As a quick example, one person who read my blog posts from MySpace ended up purchasing my Get Out of Overwhelm and Create your Lifestyle Business CD set. Then he immediately called me and joined the Fast-Track to a Lifestyle Business Mastermind. He then went on to join my Platinum Elite coaching program. You can do the math but let’s just say it was worth over $15k to my bottom line (plus I have a wonderful new client to work with).
Yes, you read that right. One client, worth $15,000 (and probably more, considering his lifetime value to her). I’d assume this is the “results not typical” example, but Lani and I know Melanie, and based on what she’s saying in the rest of her note, there’s more where that came from.
Notice, too, one other thing she says in there, which I put in helpful bold font for you. Melanie’s having the blog posts from her website piped in to her MySpace page through the magic of RSS feeds.
That means Melanie didn’t have to create additional, brand new, constantly refreshed content exclusively for her account on MySpace. She multi-purposed her content. And you can do the same thing with Facebook, Squidoo, and many others.
As lifestyle entrepreneurs and million-dollar business owners, we all want to give our clients and customers the best service and value we have to offer. But we also have to make money at it. So if you (like me) ever doubted the value of being on social media sites, here’s one hard-dollar bit of proof for you.
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April 8th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
Our buddy Kevin Skarritt flagged this post about “Managing urgencies” by Seth Godin for his staff and strategic allies recently, and wanted to hear everyone’s insights on it.
Godin’s solution for making sure you keep your focus on your goal, rather than the fires you have to put out in your business, is this:
I guess the trick is to make the long term items even more urgent than today’s emergencies. Break them into steps and give them deadlines. Measure your people on what they did today in support of where you need to be next month.
Ah…but how do you make your long-term items more urgent?
In the corporate world, managers can make the long-term goals more important for their employees by tying those goals to performance reviews, bonuses, salary boosts, and so on.
But what about the lifestyle entrepreneur? The solo professional? The micro-enterprise or small business owner?
Variations on the “How do you make your long-term items more urgent?” question have launched a thousand careers. From business coaches to motivational experts, helping people achieve their goals is a multi-billion-dollar business, and the success stories - no knock against any of them, it’s just life - requires a “results not typical” disclaimer.
In the face of so many people, with so much more experience, I’m not going to presume that I have the revolutionary answer to this question, the one that would make Epiphanies, Inc. become the be-all, end-all of personal motivation.
What I can tell you is that I made one small change, and it’s made a world of difference for me.
We have a number of clients, and I have a weekly to-do list for them. I draw my daily to-do items from that, and work in any “urgent” stuff as need be.
Previously, I used to put the to-do items for our own business at the bottom of lists. In 2008, I started putting them at the top.
Three months later:
- I’ve blogged much more for our business this year than I did over the same period last year.
- I’ve produced more articles.
- I’ve gotten our information products onto our website and available for sale (after a year of having them created).
- I’ve had more sales and lead-generation conversations than I did all last year.
In other words, I’ve become more of a business owner working on our business, rather than just being a technician working in our business.
Ultimately, trying different things until one stuck has helped in making the right things urgent. It’s not perfect - there are still things on which I need/wish/want to prioritize for our business - but I’m headed in the right direction, finally.
Posted in Dances With Gurus, Insight + Action, Lessons Learned | No Comments »
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April 2nd, 2008 by Allen Voivod
Specifically, I was looking out the window this morning, and said to Lani something like, “This is the part of Spring I hate.”
The snow, which used to be a pristine white, is now glaringly dirty. The roads up and down our little mountain hideaway are covered in sand and salt and downed tree branches. I think we adequately handled our basement leak issue from last year, but the record snowfall has me concerned about our drainage situation.
“Find the beauty in it,” Lani says in reply.
If I had a nickel for every time Lani’s offered to tweak my brain and outlook like this, I’d beat Warren Buffett on the billionaire list.
I used to resist these tactics mercilessly and ridiculously - to the detriment of our business, and even our marriage. I’d like to think that 2008 has seen me turn a corner. if I’m not spontaneously changing the color of my glasses from puce to rose, at least I’m letting Lani swap them out for me with little to no protest these days.
So I looked back outside, and saw that the movement from winter to spring is messy. Just like life. Just like the entrepreneurial lifestyle we’ve embraced. Perfectly natural. Not to be hated, but I don’t have to love it, either. Just accept, expect, and embrace.
And once the melting is over, riotous growth will be the order of the day.
What can you look at differently in your business and life today? For those of you who claim to hate marketing, how can you find the joy in talking to people about what you do, and why you love doing it?
Posted in Mood Boosters | 2 Comments »
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on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 6:05 pm and is filed under Mood Boosters.
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