Do you agree or disagree with this?
August 29th, 2008 by Lani Voivod“The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”
- Walter Bagehot
I agree.
What say you?
Posts from the 'Entrepreneur Diaries' Category
The lifestyle entrepreneur life…
August 25th, 2008 by Allen VoivodFor the past three years, we’ve taken off at the end of the summer to Kokatosi, on the shores of Crescent Lake in Raymond, ME. This year, we weren’t sure if we were going - family health issues for one, and for another, we’ve been a three-person family in a 10×10 tent - where do you fit a fourth, and all the gear that comes with him, in there?!
Well, we worked it out at the last minute, and I’m writing to you in the middle of our two-night stay. Lani’s parents even snagged a reservation at the last minute, so they’re here with us as well.
They have free Wi-Fi near the camp offices, so I’m sitting in the game room as I complete marketing updates for our clients, and put the finishing touches on a couple of press releases. It’s working fine for the most part…except for the fact that I can’t seem to upload photos onto the blog.
After we get back, I’ll post a photo of our campsite, and of me in my temporary “workspace.” Until then, it’s time to post, shut down, and go jump in the lake with my kids!
Love in the time of Twitter
August 13th, 2008 by Lani VoivodI’d love to write a great blog post here, but I’m already running behind. Allen and Kevin are hosting a webinar on “Top 10 Opportunities for Social Media Engagement” in 59 minutes, and I’m supposed to head down there 10 minutes ago.
However, I’m NEVER alone in our beautiful office these days. As Allen and I hoped and dreamed and planned could happen, I’ve got kid duty. This is a wonderful thing…except I miss work.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE being with our two amazing boys, and I’m involved in our business on a daily basis. Allen calls me from the office and we talk client stuff. When he calls, I’m either:
Stacking or unstacking the dishwasher; in the car; at the town beach; hosting a play date; going to or from the gym; grocery shopping; vacuuming (our yellow lab is shedding like CRAZY this summer, and we’ve got a crawling child!); fixing someone’s breakfast/lunch/dinner; elbow-deep in a bathtub; changing a diaper; or in the midst of and/or on the way to some other glamorous act or locale.
When I talk to Allen, I’m in awe of all the things he’s handling on a daily basis. On any given day, he’s smack in the middle of:
Helping to launch a pet loss care franchise; serving as marketing manager and content strategist for a multi-million dollar communications company; writing email campaigns for the world’s most popular 11-inch glam girl; blogging great tips and advice for job seekers and C-level executives; and meeting with any or all of the fine folks at Acorn Creative about one project or another.
As if that all isn’t enough, he’s also the guy handling the thrilling tasks of meeting with our accountant to manage our finances, showing up to countless meetings via phone and in person, blogging for us, and talking to me on the phone about all life issues — re: furnaces, SUV transmissions, disciplining our almost-six-year-old, scheduling doctors appointments for our little guy, coordinating child care and the “date night” that never actually happens…
So yeah. It’s a lot. For both of us. For all of us — you, the reader of this blog post, and us, the “Content Lovers” who manage to blog here and there, in the midst of it all.
And if we can’t find the time to blog, we Tweet. On Twitter.
I Tweet here, and Allen Tweets there.
Because really, that’s more conducive to this crazy, fully-loaded life, ain’t it? 140 characters to say something, anything, just to try to capture a moment of your day, before the moment is lost, and before the day never got recorded in any way whatsoever.
Is it worth it? Does it all add up someday? Does any of it matter?
I guess that’s what I’m going to find out in 21 minutes, during the aforementioned Social Media webinar, hosted by Kevin and Al.
But before I go down to the Acorn Creative offices, I’m going to do a quick Tweet about how much I love and appreciate my dear, sweet, hard working, multi-talented husband. Just in case I forget to tell him when we’re lost in the chaos of all that other stuff that too often gets in the way of the more important things of life.
I may not have hours and days and weeks to thank Allen for everything he does for me and our family and our business and our clients, but I definitely have enough time and focused energy for 140 measly characters.
Ahhhh, it’s a modern-day love story, through and through.
Getting on the “Fast Track to a 6 & 7 Figure Lifestyle Business”
June 5th, 2008 by Lani and Allen
We took a deep breath, and jumped.
That’s the best way I can describe our leap into signing up for Melanie Benson Strick’s coaching program, the Fast Track to a 6 & 7 Figure Lifestyle Business.
We’ve just had our first mastermind call this evening, and we’re thrilled that we’ve reached the point in our business where we feel confident that investing in her coaching program is the next step for taking Epiphanies, Inc. to a new level of success.
It’s not our first time in a coaching program. We were in Adam Urbanski’s “Platinum VIP” marketing mastermind group from June 06-June07, and we were so green in our business, working with Adam really helped us to get started in the world of educational marketing. Adam, we would never have made it this far without you. 
We’ve gotten to the point now in our business where mindset, belief, and delegating to a team are probably the most critical challenges we’re facing, and Melanie’s the perfect person to help us in this area.
This first module we’re going through is designed to set the baseline, so to speak, with an eye on the areas of our business we’ll be working to improve over the next 5-6 months. It’s almost daunting to see how low we scored in the initial assessment, but heck, that means there’s nowhere to go but up, right?
Ultimately, our goal is threefold:
- To continue to help our million-dollar-revenue clients implement the latest content development and marketing success strategies, to boost their reputation, visibility, and bottom lines.
- To share what we learn, so we can help NH’s lifestyle micro-preneurs and adventurous small business owners to build their businesses powerfully, confidently, and strategically, through workshops, teleclasses, and other educational programs.
- To own the “A-Ha!” (bold insight PLUS joy-filled action) once and for all.
This opportunity to shift and grow with other 6 & 7 figure business owners around the country is invaluable. We’ve re-jiggered our lives to make the time to work on our business, not just in it, overcome our fears, stop second-guessing ourselves, and turn concepts like the 80/20 Rule and the Law of Attraction into allies.
Are you interested in us sharing this journey with you on our blog? Please leave us a comment and let us know.
5 quick quotes to keep spirits ‘n sights lifted while Moving Forward
May 13th, 2008 by Lani VoivodThe Voivod household has been a little tweaked out lately. Aside from our maddeningly imperfect sleeping patterns (thanks to our rapacious 7-month old vampire baby), Allen and I are gearing up for another edition of *gulp*: Moving Forward.
In theory, Moving Forward is always the goal, and always a delight. But if you’re a solo professional or small business owner, you know the truth: IT’S SCARY.
Moving Forward requires long-tabled decisions to finally be made. It often involves a financial investment, putting the kibosh on all the distractions we’ve allowed to steal our time and attention, and getting out of our comfort zones for the gazillionth time.
Moving Forward means making commitments to new habits and admitting it’s time to kick the old ones to the curb. For us, it’s pushing ourselves to go after what we want instead of taking what’s handed to us, even though many of those things have been pleasant and lucrative in their own right, and we’re incredibly grateful for the gifts and opportunities they’ve given us.
Maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal, but last time we decided to play the Moving Forward game, we didn’t handle it all that well. We got overwhelmed, stressed out, and let our fears and insecurities dominate. As spousal-preneurs, this is NOT a good thing. We can’t leave our work at the office. When mindset goes sour, it infects our dinner table banter, our family car rides, our pillow talk…everything.
However, hindsight has shown us that the act of Moving Forward was decidedly worth it:
- We’re now a six-figure business and growing consistently, even in this “non-recession” environment
- We’re working less and having way more fun (you should see our “Fun!” calendar for 2008! It’s insane!)
- I’m staying home with our big, beautiful chub of a baby boy while Allen handles virtually all of our client work
- We’re able to go on field trips and t-ball games, gymnastics, and swim lessons for our 5 1/2 year-old son
- Best of all, we’re happier and stronger as a married couple, which makes us happier and stronger individually
I guess this is why I’m posting the following quotes right now, at 3am during an unfortunate bout of insomnia on one of the only nights that healthy-lunged kid of ours is actually sleeping for longer than two hours at a time. I need the reminder of why it’s all worth it; that wise people before me have muttered words that have been so clung to they now sound like chinsy cliches.
I know Allen and I are different people than we were two years ago. We’ve learned a bunch, we’ve grown together, and most importantly, we love our life. Our goal, then, is to make this year’s upcoming leaps of faith and insanity as joyful and thrilling as possible, and to trust the magnificent unfolding to the benevolent Powers That Be.
So…here’s the Moving Forward!
“Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is endlessly bountiful. Just put forth a clear enough request, and everything your heart desires must come to you.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams; live the life you’ve imagined.”
- Henry David Thoreau
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
- Yoda
“Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.”
- Napoleon Hill
My best to you and the forward progress of your own business and vision, whatever they may be.
Dolphins every day
April 19th, 2008 by Lani VoivodWe’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!!!”
Answer: C - “All of the above”
April 14th, 2008 by Allen VoivodWhen 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.
Another “Secret” page-a-day reminder
April 10th, 2008 by Lani VoivodThis 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. 
Funny, the things that change the course of our days…
March 29th, 2008 by Allen Voivod
Thursday and Friday, the 27th and 28th, were the days of the Stonyfield Farm Entrepreneurial Institute at Southern New Hampshire University. We both went last year and loved it, and this year, with the new baby and all, it just wasn’t going to work that way.
So this was going to be another part of Lani’s big “coming out” month - after needing to stay within a few yards of the baby for feeding purposes, this month she led Content Creation workshops at the all-day, 2008 MicroCredit-NH Entrepreneurial Exchange, and we planned for her to go to this as well, and stay overnight at her parents house. Without the kids. And get a full, unbroken night’s sleep.
Until….
Well, you’ll have to listen to the Entrepreneur Diaries entry below to find out how one little device (or lack thereof) changed the course of a couple of days.
(Not to mention yet another six inches of snow!)
Reminding ourselves why we, as spousal-preneurs, are in business together
March 19th, 2008 by Allen VoivodGot 1 minute and 53 seconds? Then click the play button below, and you’ll get to hear:
- Baby laughter
- Lani making funny noises
- And, as this post’s title claims, a reminder of why we’re in business together - and why it’s pretty darn cool for spousal-preneurs with kids to be taking charge of their lives and incomes