I would like to have you think for a moment about a situation. Pretend you are sitting inside of Burger King eating some food that you think is quite delicious. Lets say a burger and french fries. You are 1/2 way through your meal when a complete stranger walks up to you and tells you that you are eating the WORST burger out there. She then quotes statistics and tells you how much better tasting the food is over at Arbys. It is a better quality meat she says. Besides, the people over there wear snazzy red hats instead of the brown ones that they are wearing at BK.

What would be your thoughts? Would you be offended? Hurt? Or would you just thing they were ridiculous?

Most of us would never, ever consider doing that to another person. First because we assume that they are eating where they want to and that they are smart enough to KNOW that’s what they want. And second because if you were to say that to someone (especially a hungry someone) you would most likely be told to buzz off.

Here is a thought to top that one. You say to the person, “I can see that you are enjoying that meal, but over at Arby’s the food could compliment this meal so well, so lets head over there and you can eat BOTH.”

Again, why would you do something like that? I honestly can’t think of anyone who would.

(sorry this is in all CAPS, but it is kind of the important part…)

SO THEN WHY DO PEOPLE DO THIS IN THEIR BUSINESS???!!!!

If I am IN a direct sales business, I know how to start a direct sales business (like walking into the restaurant). We are all aware that there are other direct selling business out there and if we wanted to, we know we could ask any representative of that company if we could join them. The burger analogy also points out that people are in their particular restaurant, or rather company, for a REASON. They didn’t just wake up one morning and think, “Hey, I feel like joining a direct sales company. I wonder what is the worst one I could join would be.” There was/is a reason why they made the choice to join their particular company and you saying “You would be so good at doing what I do.” is not going to change those reasons.

Honor their decision to be a part of the company they have chosen. If they loose faith or if it turns out to not be a great fit, they know there are other options out there and that you could be one of them. Get to know them. Be their FRIEND. ASK if you can add them to your customer mailing list. (actually ask, don’t assume). And then leave them alone. The same goes for your non-direct selling friends. No one wants to be badgered into joining something. If they want to know more, they will know to ask you.

NEVER insult their choice of what company to be a part of. The message that this is sending is “You are not smart enough to choose a good company on your own” or even “You have bad judgement or business sense.” Either way- not a good message to be sending to someone you want to have as a part of your business.

And finally, please don’t EVER try to pull the line of “you can do both! I know plenty of people who do this and that and are successful at both.” Again, the message you are sending is “you don’t know what you want.” or “I want people on my team who are too busy to really produce great results.” I would much rather have 5 tremendously focused individuals than 30 people who are just trying to do everything (and therefore doing almost nothing).

The bottom line for me is the Golden Rule “Do unto others as you want them to do to you”. If you want other “leaders” trying to poach your people, the do the opposite of everything in this article. if not, please take my advise!

It is our job to raise the direct selling profession UP, not to pull it down. Common courtesy and respect is the way to do that. Keep in mind that others are whole and complete and not something that is broken and needs fixing. Yes, we can (and do) help others, but not by attacking their choices, decisions and intelligence.

www.Time4Felt.com

For those of you who haven’t heard about the Mind Aware tele-seminars, you really need to head over to The Mind Aware.com and check it out. It is a FREE series of leaders and trainers in the Direct Selling/Network Marketing profession who are sharing their expertise (for FREE!!!!).

Here are a few things I’d like to share:

“Say no to the good so you can say YES to the GREAT” – Jane Deuber

“Call your todo list your TADA list so that you can CELEBRATE everything you accomplish something” – Becky Speith

Sheri Hundspeth spoke to us about how to use facebook to market your business more effectively. She also spoke about a 5-1-1 party (have your host invite 5 people who will each bring 1 guest and the party will last ONLY 1 hour) and that REALLY resonated with me.

Another speaker that I absolutely LOVED was Steve Wiltshire. He shared an idea about a gift for recruiting prospects that I will definitely be using!

There have been SO many more. Belinda Elsworth is always fabulous and her trainings have really helped me get my back-end in gear so much!

Head on over to The Mind Aware and listen to some of the replays and get signed up for the rest of the series. You will learn SO so so SO much!

www.Time4Felt.com

Pinterest is a lot of fun, and if you have been over and taken a look, you can tell how addicting it can be! In case you have not been over to Pinterest, the basic concept is like having a bunch of virtual “pin boards” like cork boards. You can name them for things like recipes, crafts, clothes, shoes, gardening, etc. Then you look at what others are “pinning” and if you like it or want to save it for later you “pin” it on your board. It stays there always and forever so that you can refer back to it. I absolutely love it because it is ALWAYS there. We went to visit my family in Idaho a few months ago and had some extra girl time. We were able to go to one of my pins and then have a super fun craft to keep us busy where before it would have been 8 hours away still in my filing cabinet!

For a more detailed look at how to USE Pinterest, check out this video:

Now for the important part. There has been a lot of talk about people being sued for using Pinterest or there is even an article circulating about a lawyer/photographer who deleted her pin boards because she was concerned about the possibility of being sued. (Find that article here www.businessinsider.com/pinterest-copyright-issues-lawyer-2012-2?utm_source=twbutton&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sai )
It is kind of a tricky line to tread. Pinterest is widely popular and more users are flocking to it every day. Plus it is a lot of fun. But especially with things like photographs or pictures, the odds of someone using the photographer that the beautiful picture came from is extremely unlikely. For crafty or recipe blogs, Pinterest is incredibly helpful. If someone likes a craft or a recipe, traffic to their blog could explode overnight!

All things considered- I will continue to use Pinterest. I try to make sure that the things I pin link to an actual site, tutorial or store and not just a picture. Watch out for copyrighted pictures (usually they are watermarked) and unless you have permission to use that picture however you would like, don’t pin it. Also, if you are pinning quotes try to make sure the source is sited.

If you are in a kind of Direct Sales company, check with your corporate executives before posting pictures of the products you offer. Pinterest is so new that a lot of companies have not addressed it in their rules for online use and promotion. Better safe than sorry.

One more word of caution. Pinterest warns about self promoting. Be careful not to pin lots of things from your blog or websites. Your account could be suspended and you could be banned.

I hope this helps to put your mind at ease.  It will take some time before everything simmers down and legislation is set in place for things that are “acceptable” to pin and those that are not.   I don’t think that Pinterest is going anywhere but some of the pinning rules may change in the future to protect the users.

Happy Pinning!

*all views and opinions expresed in the above article will not guarantee that you won’t get sued, but in the humble opinion of this author, won’t hurt to try.

www.Time4Felt.com

Today I want to tell you about an amazing course that I’ve recently enrolled in called Take Action Social Media. It is an online course that you can do at your own pace presented by Karen Clark.   If you are looking to learn anything about facebook, twitter, linked in, facebook fanpages, or even a blog, this course is one you should definitely take!

I have tried several other courses and listened to other speakers in Social Media before and they were informative but I felt like I didn’t have any action steps or that I had to pay even more to get help with the step by step processes. With Karen and her  Take Action Social Media course she gets down to the steps you need to do to get yourself out there in social media. She has self evaluations where you will evaluate yourself and your progress so that you know where you need to start. She shows you how to find things like Insights for your fanpage so that you can actually SEE the difference that the course is making for you.

In addition to all the wonderful information that you will get through the course itself, Karen hosts a monthly webinar where you can come and ask any questions you have about social media. She walks you through the answers and helps you to understand the inner workings of Social Media.

The best part of the Take Action Social Media course is the cost. I have tried other courses that gave a lot less information and paid more to take them! The cost for the course is really, really low and you get SO much from it.

So take a look at the course and what it can offer you.  Harness the power of the internet to grow your business or get you more exposure.  You won’t be sorry that you did. Again, the link is www.TakeActionSocialMedia.com.

www.Time4Felt.com

Today, I would like to tell you about the BEST person out there to help you with your online presence. Her name is Karen Clark of MyBusinessPresence.com. She is an amazing business person who has a tremendous knowledge of the internet and how it all works. Before I met Karen, I knew how to get online and that was about it. She taught me the basics of pretty much everything online and walked me through everything I needed to create my own online presence. Over the years, I have come to rely on her down to earth opinions and well researched knowledge. There are still times when some of my online friends will start to spread rumors about this or that and I know that all I need to do is go to her blog or website and she has already addressed it!

One of the things that I love the most about the many trainings that I have experienced with Karen is that the things you need to do are so easy! If you are an experienced web-person or a newbie there is always something that you can take away from her trainings to improve your online presence and to set yourself apart from the others out there.

I’m sure you are wondering what the cost of her trainings are if I recommend her so highly.  She is so CHEAP!  For the value of the trainings and classes she gives her prices are really reasonable!  I have been to trainings by some other “experts” in Internet presence and I felt like I took nothing away and paid a lot more to go.  You will get far more for your money than you expect and in comparison to others, her services are a great deal.

Because of the trainings I have received from Karen, I have created an online presence for myself and my business.  I highly recommend Karen to everyone I meet because I know that every thing that she teaches has tremendous value and that best of all, she won’t steer you wrong.

So check out what she has to offer you, your company and your friends.  You will be SO glad you did.

www.Time4Felt.com

One of my favorite speaker/trainers recently came to the Salt Lake City, UT area and spoke to a group of us. Her name is Mary Christensen. She is a down to earth, caring woman who’s advise and things she teaches are so easy that even I can do them ) She teaches the things she has learned over years and years in Direct Sales and Party Plan.

Her website Mary Christensen.com has a newsletter you can subscribe to as well as her books and CD’s that you can order.

I wish I could tell you how much I love the things this lady teaches. She has helped my business SO much over the 3 years that I have been following what I have learned from her. Try it! You will be surprised how simple, yet effective everything she teaches is.

And, she is still on tour for 2011, so check and see if she is coming to your area soon!

www.Time4Felt.com

There has been much confusion on a group that I’m a part of online about how to use facebook for your business. The answer is simple. FAN PAGES. If you actually read the terms and conditions of facebook, they state that you are to have only 1 profile per person and that it should not be used for commercial gain.

That being said, I understand that each of us have a personal life and a business life. These don’t have to be combined when you set up a fanpage. So- Step 1- get a personal profile on Facebook. Step 2- start a fanpage for your business
Step 3- invite people to join your fanpage. As people “like” your fanpage then they will receive updates from that page and it will go into their newsfeed. If you have friends on your personal profile that are more a part of your business and you are looking to separate the two, send them a quick message saying that you are going to be moving your business over to your fanpage and invite them to join you over there. After a few days, you can remove them as a friend and they will still have the message explaining what you are doing.

So what happens if you create 2 profiles or if you use your personal profile to advertise your business? Well, WHEN facebook discovers it, you will be banned and your profile will be deleted.

At first I was a bit confused by all of this, but as I’ve complied, I have found that although this way sounds more complicated, it actually makes things a lot easier.

If you are looking for a little more guidance as far as fanpage are concerned, leave a message in the comments and I will give you some great resources for making your fanpage GREAT!!

www.Time4Felt.com

If there is 1 thing that you can do for your business, may I suggest getting involved in the DSWA (Direct Selling Women’s Alliance). They are an organization dedicated to the Direct Selling individuals to help uplift and educate us to be the best we can be. We just finished with the national Celebration for this year, but there are local chapters in most areas that meet often and they also are having regional meetings coming up, so check them out.

Some of the things that struck a cord