Across The Desk With Elizabeth Plouffe

As a health professional, getting online can be a challenge. After all - your job is to see patients and make them better. Not pin, post, tweet and tumble. So what happens when you want to get online but don't have time? Sometimes you ask staff to write for you. Big mistake. But only if they aren't qualified to discuss what they are writing about. If that's the case - DON'T DO IT! You are going online to build your reputation and if you let someone who is unqualified and uneducated in the topic you are taking a HUGE risk. It's not worth it. Take a listen for some tips on how to get your content online and keep risk to a minimum.

Now a days most of us are so wrapped up in our own drama that we don't always pay attention to what is actually being said to us. The remembering part? Well, that can be a challenge too. Luckily, I've been able to recall some wise words from folks in my life whose opinions actually matter to me. Why is this important? Because those wise words can change your life if you pay attention and put them to good use. Now put the damn phone down and listen!

Still not on board with putting yourself out there? Get. Over. It. If you are in business then you are in the business of networking. Why? Because people are NOT going to magically find you and be drawn to your magnetic personality and think you are just the most awesomest person EVER! They need to meet you and then all those things happen. I'm back out in the networking world and over the past two weeks so many opportunities have come up because of it that's it's ridiculous. In this episode of Entrails, I'll give you some tips and tricks for putting your big kid pants on and getting your business out there! Or at least attending events for free... That's also awesome :)

Are you a reader? Or at least a learner? Or at least curious? Something? I'm a massive reader and while most WWW's are devoted to books, this week is devoted to why you should read books for your business. A friend told me she felt like she wasn't working on her business if she was reading about business. And I understand that - I do. BUT, you are missing a whole world of expertise and opportunities if you don't continue to learn about business! Andrew Carnegie himself (he was a huge bigwig) was a proponent of Master Mind groups. The value they provided. The skill gaps they filled. So here's an idea: think of reading, podcasts, videos and the like as your very own Master Mind group. Learn from people who've already succeeded much like you are trying to do now. Take advantage! This week - learn about how books can enrich your business relationships, improve your conversation and help you deliver the best possible service to your clients. After all - isn't that why you're in business in the first place?

So you might have heard a bit about me sprinkled throughout Across the Desk or Entrepreneurial Entrails but what I haven't shared is my love of being involved in health care. For 13 years, health care was my career. As a medical office administrator and then as an instructor for the MOA program. How lucky was I? I get to teach AND teach medical curriculum? Sigh. I miss being a teacher ... But I digress. Take a listen and learn more about my life in health and my personal share on one of the highlights of my medical career that made it really clear the impact it's possible to have on someone's life.

Christie Ellinger and I sit down to discuss the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur and a pilates instructor. Pun intended ;) Christie has to be one one of the most passionate instructors I've EVER met. She is committed to health, wellness, learning and feet. We didn't get to feet today but she'll come back to Across the Apothecary and discuss the amazing tool of shaking hands with your feet. Today though we focused on the entrepreneurial journey and the stages you go through in your career that can lead you to right where you need to be to start your own business. We also touch on the best parts of impacting someone's health in a positive way and the passion that drives health pro's to keep giving the best of themselves to their clients. Sometimes, you just have to leave it all on the mat.

Is it different being a female entrepreneur than a male? Well, never having been a male, I'm not sure of the answer. But having been a female for a very long time (as in always), I know what the experience is like for me. That's not to say that men don't share some of the same concerns and foibles of the entrepreneur life but I'm pretty certain that the roles at home are quite different. Yup, I went there. This week, The Ballsy Gang got together and talked about sharing. Feelings? No. Recipes? No. Clothes? Hell no. We talked about the load. The almighty load of stuff that women as entrepreneurs have added to their load because they've always carried that load so why drop the load now that you've taken on a bigger load. Did you get that? Take a load off and listen and you'll see what a I mean ;)

So what have I done with my life? Some would say too much. Some would say not enough. I haven't saved the world so far but that's not to say it won't end up on my to do list at some point. Right now though I'm busy trying to use all the education, skills and experiences I've gathered in my varied and storied career to build a business. I've been: 1. An event security guard. 2. A pub security guard. 3. A medical office administrator. 4. An instructor. 5. A cashier. 6. A waitress. 7. A bartender. 8. A ticket agent at Toronto Pearson Airport. 9. A food demo lady. 10. A unit administrator. 11. A nanny. 12. An entrepreneur of a gardening business, a cake decorating business, a business centre and a communications business. I'm not sure if I'm done yet but it's sure going to be fun finding out :)

Have you ever wondered what's really going through a prospects' mind while you're pitching away about your business? Did fear ever come to mind? Me either. Most people don't think of themselves or their service / product as scary but that's how those hearing the message can feel. While listening to you they are evaluating you as a threat! So put the spear down and pick up the book Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff. It's changed the way I talk about my business, the way I source prospects and opportunities and the way my business is going to grow. From crocodile brain to hanging the right frame in the room, Oren Klaff takes you through the steps you need to incorporate in to your business pitch from your backstory to your closing sentence.

I look for inspiration wherever I can. A bit of an inspigroupie if you will. This morning I hit one of my usual haunts, the TED talk circuit. I have learned the weirdest and best stuff by taking chances on speakers that show up as recommendations. Why? Because I like to think I don't discriminate on where inspiration comes from but this morning, I realized I do. Why is it we can be more open to accepting wisdom about over coming challenges from someone who has a visible disability? The same wise words out of the mouth of someone who appears to be able bodied in most general sense of the term, might not move us quite so much. But is that fair? Does it matter what the challenge is or that it was overcome?

Have you ever had a little voice give you a nudge? And have you ever listened to the nudge and had something awesome happen? That was me on Friday. And all because I went to events and put on events. Those events set this event in motion which has now lead to more events! You can't get any more eventful than that ...

Have you ever noticed that if during a conversation you share something personal with someone, such as where you were born, that it can spark an entirely new level of conversation? You've kicked it up a notch. You've opened up. You've made it possible to make a connection. How cool is that? Such a simple thing to do but so effective. If you have a hard time sharing with others, well, your sandbox is going to stay pretty small. It doesn't have to be life altering. Doesn't have to be your fear of underpants. But it does have to be true. And what can be safer to share, or more true, than the place you were born or the places you've lived? I've been everywhere man ...

Sometimes a book is just not in the cards as part of your learning style and that's just fine. Good thing there is Success Magazine. This resource is part self-help, part business building and part thought provoking. I've been a devotee for the past three years and have no plans to give it up any time soon. Check out their website: http://www.success.com/ and see for yourself :) Have a successful day!

I love being an entrepreneur but sometimes it sucks. Hard. Such as when you see people who have chosen the conventional path paying off their houses, going on vacations and just generally kicking up their heels. Meanwhile, you're wondering how to pay the bills and will this crazy ride ever calm down enough for you to also enjoy Tahiti? Or even Florida?

I firmly believe that part of business success is sharing part of your real self. That includes on social media. I cannot stand following people only to discover that they entire content consists of top 5's, webinar links and marketing messaging. Drives me clinical. So in that spirit - meet me and my penchant for superheroes, movie theaters and my magical moment with Christopher Plummer.

Fear can make you its b#%ch. When you let that little voice get too loud, it can incapacitate you and leave you paralyzed from taking the next step for your business. I thought I had fear whipped. If you knew me, the last word you'd use to describe me would be fearful. I'm not a badass by any stretch but there aren't too many things or people I won't take on. It's just how I'm hard wired. But then I became an entrepreneur with no back up. And fear? Well she's laughing her ass off now ...

This weeks Wise Word Wednesday is brought to you by the letter U. As in You, Inc. by Harry and Christine Beckwith. It's one of the few business books I've read that not only has inspired some fantastic creative moments but has actually provided me with insight in to behavior, motivation and opportunity. 5/5 stars for this one!

If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner you know what I mean by grind. Every minute your brain is working on ways to make your business better, your idea better, serving your customers better and just being better than the next business. And even when you are dead tired, you still keep moving at the grind. But does passion for your business always motivate your grind? What about the guilt when your business isn't quite performing the way you hoped? This week I'm on the grind train. I hope you'll hop on board ;)

Ballsy in Review - this week was just the two of us (great song) but wow did we cover a lot of business topics. Not only did we manage to cover growth goals but also process creation for on-boarding and HR practices and targeted audience messaging. We explored how looking at your own experiences and education can help you create the job posting that will get you the employee you need and figured out a few new places to start looking. Get a couple of women entrepreneurs together and the solutions are endless it seems :)

Are you a creative business owner? Is your scale a bit tipsy towards the creative vs the business end? Meet Monica Graves who combines both sides of the brain to make her custom jeweler business extremely successful.