Look in the mirror please......

To be heard....that is all most people want.  I also think that being heard without being understood is the cause of so much frustration for many.  Especially in the arena of consulting.  Communicating effectively is a must and when it's avoided due to issues at hand it becomes a huge waste of my client's valuable time.  MPower Plus ONE's sole purpose is to inspire, motivate and educate.  One cannot happen without the other.  Our initial time for our clients is usually spent trying to establish working relationships with their current vendors making certain they know MPower Plus ONE only wants everyone involved in the growth of the business to succeed...including current services.  Most situations work wonderfully and every once in a while, the humaness of us all will show it's sinful face.  I try to handle these rare circumstances as diplomatically as possible, but when emotion is elimated and you look into a negative situation, the truth of it all is so apparent.  How to proceed with the goal of the business's needs?  It takes a very large mirror and opening everyone's eyes to the main objective.  Pointing out how it makes one look with the actions taken.  Focusing on the client and their needs is everything and if what you see in the mirror does not reflect that, then taking the high road needs to occur.   Please see this post about taking the high road:  http://mpowerplusone.blogspot.com/2010/02/taking-high-road.html

Educating my clients on how to best utilize all their current services to the full extent gives me the ability to look in the mirror every day knowing I am taking the high road and doing what's best for their growth!  It can sometimes be less than pleasant to deal with those that can't or won't look in the mirror.  If you provide services of any kind to a customer, I sincerely hope you strive to provide honest and great work.  It represents your image very much...check the mirror and step up! 

Good habits make for sweet dreams

They say that it takes 10 days for a new habit to stick.  The concept MPower Plus ONE is sharing with so many businesses has brought wonderful growth.  Everything is so fast paced these days and our concept has made it possible for businesses to reach the world wide web with much ease and affordability.  Business owners want a website and social media, but no one has the time to manage the effort each and every day.  A website and social media requires consistent care for it be the effective tool that can grow your business efficiently.  As the owner of this business it is so exciting to see great things happening with the vision of helping others achieve success for their dreams.  I take such personal interest in each and every client's goals and strive to expose their strengths and all that makes them truly unique to their prospects.  I preach the art of delegation to all of my clients and now must practice what I preach.  To find people that will personally take interest in our clients success can sometimes be a challenge.  Customer service and genuine concern for our clients vision are habits I expect from all resources I utilize for my clients.  Building a team of companies, vendors and employees that meet these high standards has taken much effort.  I am happy to report to all of you that there are many businesses out there that want to provide this excellence and I sleep well at night knowing my clients will receive only the best of care.  Sweet dreams!       

Getting the best bang for your buck!

Outsourcing is key when managing both media relations and PR.  MPower Plus ONE's goal for each client is to manage all marketing and PR efforts under one umbrella.  I really try to remind our clients to keep things simple because it can get very complicated if everything gets scattered.  Dental and orthodotic practices are approached by incredible sales reps from all sorts of companies.  Staff spend so much time trying to find the best product and/or services for the best price.  Media relations and PR relations bring in all sorts of sales reps for the best way to market.  These are the very resources that MPower Plus ONE can manage for the doctor.  Web design and hosting, yellow page ads, magazine and newspaper ads, charities and medical/dental directories and many more.  All these efforts require contracts which always renew with some type of increase year after year.  If you are paying for an ad in any media we make sure the designer works with your practice in mind and we make sure the rates you are paying are the best rates available....there are too many alternatives out there for this type of business to continue to raise your rates year after year.  What does your fee include?  We make sure we utilize every tool available to you and then some.  The market is way too competitive right now for you to have to settle.  Negotiation is one of our most powerful strategies to save you money with each and every effort made for your growth.  Being the middle man empowers our clients to get the best rates.  It's a great place to be!   

Growing the Smart Way

I'm in Houston visiting current clients and businesses that want to learn about the new and improved way to market their vision.  It is truly exciting to meet people of all positions that want to educate themselves on the latest technology and how to use it for smart growth.  What is smart growth?  Smart growth requires a little common sense and the ability to "lose control" in order to expose and grow their vision.  It is hard for most to "lose control" of their marketing efforts, but it is the only way to allow the art of delegation to maximize growth and unlock the potential of your services.  So many let the fear of change hinder the growth of their business.  My strength has always been to provide top customer service and find alternative ways to help everybody win with any given situation.  I have applied this strength to all past working experiences and now for all my clients.  Each client is unique and their needs can be very different, even in the same type businesses.  I do see common issues, but how they are resolved depends on so many variances.  Each MPower Plus ONE client is a new and exciting adventure that I can't wait to motivate, educate and inspire!  Helping people succeed is the backbone of my company and everybody truly wins with MPower Plus ONE...call today to find out how you can "lose control" and guarantee future growth! 

Monday Pshyc

Everyone always indicates that Mondays are so awful. I think it's the most important day of the week! It's a time to focus on all that needs to be done for the week and to get in the mindset necessary to accomplish great things! Hectic, yes...productive, yes...every Monday will determine your Tuesday, so get busy and let's think positive!

Day with MPower Plus ONE employees video!

Hey everyone, Kyle and Ricky are most proud of their video they made today.  They are true to their word when they said Ricky would get a pie in the face after the first 100 FANS on Facebook...in just three days!  Generation Y at work all you Generation X folks.  Enjoy!

Learning from Baby Chicks

Being an employee all my working career gave me very little insight on actually owning and managing my own company.  Marketing to the new generation these days can be fun and challenging at the same time.  Having to "unlearn" everything I have been taught and then heading down the cyber highway is quite an adventure!  I have intentionally hired this Generation "Y" for my "Buzz" team.  Their sole purpose is to find creative and innovative content for our clients Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and You Tube!  I actually thought they could learn much from me, but instead I am learning so much from them each and every day!  It's a huge advantage to be able to combine my marketing and customer service expertise with the latest cutting edge social media.  It's one thing to be able to setup Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.  Keeping your content exciting, interesting and current is another.  It really levels the world of business on the internet because it doesn't matter if you are a small business or huge corporation, it's all equal playing fields on the internet....just make sure your content is fresh!  I'm going to post one new thing I learn each day for all you fellow Generation X followers out there.  Today I learned that the new generation tells you like it is and they expect that in return.  No disrespect, but just plain and simple...no complications!  Neat!  I mean awesome!

Lessons Learned & Brownie Points earned

My event went well this evening....however, I only had two people show up.  What did I learn about this?  Well, I did not even think for one minute that Lent services were tonight...I think this caused some issues for attendance.  However, I spoke with just as much energy to my two attendees as I would have to a room full of people.  They were very interested and I sincerely hope they walked away feeling jazzed up about the World Wide Web!  I know my team got a lot out of the experience!  My team is so very incredible because they care about our clients and they care about this company and it's success.  One of the business owners that came to our event this evening is incredibly smart and has taught himself so much about SEO & has maintained two websites on his own for many years.  It was great to offer him some insight on things he could try and to introduce him to Content Management Systems.  A much simpler and easier way to maintain his site with better looking results.  I look forward to hearing from him and will keep you all posted on the progress of his site.  Pape Pecans in Seguin, Texas!  http://www.papepecan.com/ They have so many ways to put a World Wide Rave out there!  Stay tuned!

Work to Live or Live to Work?

I am having a seminar from 6pm-8pm on Wednesday, February 17th.  I am excited to share all I have learned these past few years.  I have also accomplished much for my clients today & even managed to work with a new client this evening.  I am so anxious to complete a couple of very special projects I am working on personally for my "special" clients.  The key is to keep things simple...this world tends to get complicated very quickly.  It can be challenging at times, but I just take a deep breath and remind myself how blessed I am to have such growth for my business...my vision of helping others achieve their goals and dreams! 

A very dear friend of mine passed away last week & his lovely bride will be burying him tomorrow.  It's these moments when I realize what is truly important in life is each day with our loved ones.  To actually go and experience life to it's fullest & make a great difference in the lives of those around you.  God designed all of us to physically work, but there can be a balance between living your life to the fullest and working hard.  Sometimes, balancing may require a helping hand.  Let people in your life that are willing to help you do just that.  I choose "Work to Live", how about you?

Taking Action

There are so many opportunities for our clients right now, especially because more vendors/companies are realizing the significance of getting their brand on their customers websites!  To have customers display your product on their website is exciting, but they would like for it to be done with some type of expertise.  No matter how wonderful the product is or how well known, it can be displayed poorly on websites.  This would be doing more harm than good to both the vendor and the customer's brand.  We have established so many great working relationships with vendors and manage to tap into great resources that are beneficial for both our clients and the vendor.  There is no sense in re-inventing the wheel!  Most companies you purchase products from already have the perfect images, videos and media kits that are designed specifically for you to use on your website.  It's just a matter of finding the right person with the company, usually your sales rep will be more than happy to have their product displayed on your site, and offer assistance with it.  It's just a matter of taking action!  Let's get busy!

Rainy Days

The rain has blocked me from getting out today.  Both exits have been flooded.  It doesn't last long, but if it keeps raining, will have to find an alternative way to get things done.  This reminds me of a situation I found myself in the last couple of days with a client.  Finding the right fit for my clients and their web designer is crucial for a successful project & this is the first time the fit wasn't right.  Projects tend to grow and change as they are being developed, especially the more complex ones.  The key is to stay flexible and grow with your project.  Growth is exciting in the design world, that means your work is making a difference in the client's world.  What if it's not working?  What if the client is not happy with the result?  MPower Plus ONE takes the high road in these rare circumstances of course!  We try to find an alternative way to get things done...which usually means putting someone else on the project because utlimately MPower Plus ONE's goal is to educate the client on how efficient & productive their business could be with marketing tools in place, especially their website.  I find that lots of communication and good old fashioned common sense creates a great team for all our clients, but life is not perfect & how we handle situations determines the outcome, which for MPower Plus ONE will always be an inspired, educated and motivated client, guaranteed!  

Finding Balance

How to balance what's best for the client & still be able to make a living!  When I first started MPower Plus ONE I was determined to help all businesses see the value of having a website & marketing their vision!  In the 15+ years I have been in marketing, I have learned what works and what doesn't.  I also learned that marketing is an ever changing & fickle thing.  What worked 10 years ago would not work at all now.  A website is not the only necessity for your business, but a blog, Facebook, Twitter and of course a fabulous marketing strategy to drive all potential clients to these services...creating that BUZZ!  I find myself taking personal ownership of my clients success...and since time is all I have to bill for....I end up spending far more time than I get paid for....to guarantee their success.  You would think MPower Plus ONE could never survive this, however, it has worked quite opposite!  Giving my clients the very thing that started my venture into the business world, the "Plus ONE" theory.  Meaning, my very best plus one more!  Mediocrity is the one thing that will destroy the growth of any business...that never changes.  Balance is everything when working the "Plus ONE" theory....it can be done....growing your business and being able to afford it!  Just call me to find out how!

Taking the high road

Today was another incredible day for growth.  Being the "middle man" in this line of work can sometimes be quite challenging.  My number one priority is to make sure my clients are happy and satisfied at all times with the services we provide.  Content management is critical for both the client and my web designers.  To communicate effectively between the two takes a great deal of experience and understanding of the skill involved.  One might say blue...and get a completely different type of blue than what was in their vision.  This is what sets MPower Plus ONE apart from the many other companies out there.  We get a complete understanding of the client's vision and then provide a visual for the client to see.  My number one goal is to make sure the entire team working for our clients are on the same page!  Everyone's happy....LOVE it!

Growth

Today was an incredible day for my vision! There are so many businesses that could benefit from my help! How blessed I am to be able to help others grow their dreams.