Profile or Page - What Should Your Business Have

As Social Media morphs into it's next phase, Google + and Facebook have a couple of similarities the market is coming to expect.  Simply put, people have profiles, businesses have pages.

So what is the difference.  On Facebook, a profile is supposed to be a website for a single human.  You are limited in how many friends you can have, however you can have a lot of subscribers.  A subscriber is a follower you don't necessarily know.

A page on the other hand is designed for business.  On both Google + and Facebook a page has several business friendly features such as displaying hours, phone numbers and a map in a mobile friendly format.  Every business owner should have a page for their business.  After all they are free.

If you want to know more, check out the book "How To Market On Facebook For Free" or "How To Market On Google + For Free".  Both available as an e-book on Amazon.

Are You Missing Out On Free Facebook Marketing?

One of the questions I get more often from potential clients and new clients is related to Social Media Marketing.  Initially when they become an SEO client they want to know how they can save some money and do the Social Media Marketing on their own.  After all their kid is on Facebook for eight hours a day.

Just like running a successful SEO campaign, all Social Media Marketing has to start with a solid foundation.   Last year we introduced a Social Media Marketing Plan to our clients, and it has been a success.  In some cases it has been more cost effective than SEO efforts so we have moved more of their campaign effort to Social Media.

Clearly Facebook is the king of Social Media, so it is probably the best starting point to build a foundation for Social Media Marketing.  It depends on the kind of business you have where you’ll go next, but just like building a good house, the longevity aspect starts with a good foundation.

Learning how to market on Facebook, starts by learning how to build your Facebook foundation or presence correctly. Once that is done, you can market on Facebook for free if you have the time to dedicate.  Free marketing on Facebook is pretty straightforward but there are some big mistakes you can make early that can cost you.  While your kid might be on Facebook for eight hours a day, Facebook marketing isn’t a place to let anything go.

Once you have a foundation on Facebook properly built, then you can use your marketing strategy to build your plan for Social Media Marketing beginning with Facebook.  In order to make sure you get it right, I wrote a book with a step by step guide to get your foundation built correctly.  Included in How To Market On Facebook For Free is several strategies that you can tailor to your business, along with a few things not to do on Facebook or anywhere online.

If you want to grow your business using online marketing and don't want to break the bank, how about starting with free.  doesn't growing your business for free sound pretty good?  Why not invest a little time to get your foundation in social media and on Facebook started today.  

Currently you can get How To Market On Facebook For Free at Amazon only on the kindle.  The paperback should follow shortly.  If you get it before the five days are up you can check it out for free too.  After that, it will be under $5 for the kindle version and under $15 for the paperback.  It will be money well spent.  

A Contest To Lose Weight - It Works

Like many people in the US, I was recently told by my doctor I was overweight.  My knee had bee bothering me, I wasn't sleeping well and I noticed that my posture was getting, well lets say "lazy".  The first doctor looked me over, and sent me to a knee specialist.  The knee specialist wanted to do some surgery that would take me out of work for six to eight weeks.

While I was waiting for a surgery date, I had an "executive wellness physical". Sort of a whole like evaluation.  The doctor here was very different.  His approach was to find ways to keep you living longer, and in his opinion surgery wasn't it.  He simply said, "Scott, your knee is a problem, but surgery won't fix it if you have 25 pounds of extra fat it needs to carry around.  You have got to lose some weight, at least 20 pounds, and 25 would be better."

At first I was a little shocked.  I knew I was a little bigger since I did recently have to buy some new slacks, but 25 pounds.  That seemed quite excessive. He cancelled the surgery on my knee and sent me home to lose the weight and come back for a followup.

I have never really "dieted" so I didn't know where to start.  I tried more exercise, but the first run out of the chute almost killed me.  When I was 17 and at basic training for the Air Force at Lackland, we had to run 1.25 miles in 14 minutes and 20 seconds.  Fat guys did it, skinny guys did it, and girls did it so I figured I could do it at 45.  Nope.  Almost killed me.

I set the 1.25 miles in 14':20" as my goal, and 20 pounds to lose as my target.  I did all of the things I teach everyone to do when they set a goal.  I wrote it down and put it on my dresser, in my wallet and in my car so I was sure to be reminded of it every day.  In just three months I lost five pounds, and hit a wall.

I got an app for my iPhone that counted calories and exercise, and still couldn't make any more progress.  Then my friend and business partner Dr. Goldberg proposed a bet.  We each needed to lose 15 pounds.  The first one to get there picks our next board meeting and vacation location and the "loser" (who doesn't lose the weight first) has to buy a nice dinner for us and our wives.

Being an MD, he was kind enough to share some great nutritional information about calorie quantity and quality as well as a few studies about the sodium in diet soda aiding in water retention in fat cells.  He also thought that might be why I don't sleep as well as I used to.

He sent some great information about Atkins type diets, Caveman type diets, and Gluten Free and we talked about the similarities among all three.  He chose a modified Atkins, I chose a modified Paleolithic or "Caveman" diet.  I still eat a little dairy on occasion, but only about 10% of what I used too.  I also cut out grain/gluten products, peanuts and cashews.

GAME ON!

At first neither of us saw any changes.  We agreed that we could each only pick one scale to use as the benchmark because all scales are slightly different.    After about a week we each lost one pound.  I had gone below 195 pounds for the first time since I had to close my home theater businesses in Texas.  I realized I was carrying a lot of stress weight.  That one pound felt better than the five I lost going from 200 to 195.

We stayed neck and neck for the first five pounds.  He hit 165, I hit 185.  I should say he is a little shorter than I am so our end goals are slightly different.

Here we both hit a wall.  We both felt better, and I hit my time on the 1.25 mile run of 14':20".  That really is a sad number when you realize that several people broke four minute miles in the Olympics this year, but it was something.  I met the minimum standard to be in the Air Force in 1984 just as I had done then.  I wouldn't mind going for a run with the recruits today, a 45 year old retired Major running the track and keeping up with a large percentage of them.  I would hope it would motivate them to stay in shape and not get as fat as I did.

For nearly two weeks we both hovered at five pounds above our target weights.  Every morning I was surfing, paddle boarding or jogging, and on some days I would get in two or all three activities.

Normally I would have given up, but last week Dr. Goldberg said, don't worry, this is the muscle rebuilding stage,  you are adding strength you lost years ago, so look in the mirror.  Your muscles are probably growing and the fat is still shrinking.  The scale can't show that.

And then he sent a text..

164.1

I ran up to the scale and looked down to see 184.9.  Not enough to text back, but then two days later, 183.8, I sent the text.

He replied

163.8

A Tie.

As of this morning we both have less than 3 pounds to go.  2.8 to be exact for me.  He hasn't said, so he is either letting me think I am ahead, or I am ahead.

Having a purpose in my weight loss plan, even if only to pick a vacation destination and get a free meal is so much better than just "losing weight" or "dieting".  Now when I stroll pass the Haagen Daz in the Dallas Airport and Honey (yes that is what his name tag says) yells out, He Mr. B, I have Dulce De Leche and Fresh Waffle Cones, I can keep walking and feel good about it.

In every goal we set, there must be a purpose or a reason to do it that motivates us.  Just knowing I needed to lose weight wasn't enough.  A little friendly wager with my friend was.  Giving up isn't an option when there is a dinner and vacation on the line.

Many times we say we want something, and might even make it a goal.  Without a reason or purpose to achieve it, you probably won't, and just end up blowing it off.  When you find a friend to hold you accountable, or find a purpose for what you do, you are much more likely to hit your goals.

As for my weight loss goal, if you know me, you know that Ice Cream and a soda were my normal desserts at every meal.  I was even known to put vanilla ice cream on corn flakes at breakfast a time or two.  Is there any wonder I walked into Dr. Shen's office at 200 pounds?

The bet still has a little ways to go and I am already thinking of a double or nothing for the next 5 pounds since Dr. Shen wanted me to be at 175.

Next time you set a goal, ask yourself, is it something your really want?  If so why?  No make that a big WHY?  Find a reason so big that you have to reach the goal, and then go find someone to hold you accountable.  Someone to share your successes with and someone who will coach you through your temporary setbacks.  Remember there are no failures.

Stay Tuned, I'll tell you who won the dinner at Trokay Cafe in Truckee California.  For the double or nothing I am going to add a cupcake and Ice Cream from Cake Tahoe.


September 19th

OK Here is the Update - Last week I sent a photo of my scale reading 180.0 - no response.

The next day I sent a text "179.7, double or nothing to go 5 more?"

Response - "Congrats on the win, I am 170, only going to 160"

My reply "OK, I'll change to 175, you still only go to 160, and we up the ante to add Dinner at the Lone Eagle on Lake Tahoe"

Response "Game on"

After peaking right at 200 pounds, I feel really good at 180 and finally am very used to a diet I would call nearly gluten free and low carb.  Grilled chicken and vegetables at El Pollo Loco, are my basic lunch.  Grilled vegetables or wok seared at home with some fish is the home meal, and either muscle milk light or greek yogurt for breakfast.

Stay Tuned for round 2.

Why The Stock Market Isn't Perfect.

The stock market is supposed to account for all of the things going on in the world.  I am amazed at how many times a deal pops up and people say "Oh the market already accounted for that."  The truth is the market is crowd psychology at it's finest.   If you have ever watched a Sheepdog Herding Trial competition, this will make a lot of sense.  If you haven’t, take this with you and watch one.

The gist of it is, a shepherd and his dog are timed for how quickly they can get a small flock of sheep into a pen 

This is how I view the stock market.  The “guru analysts” are like the shepherd.  They make the calls and the dog reacts.  The dogs just want to please the shepherd so they blindly follow the commands.

 The dogs run around and “steer” the sheep into the pen.  These are like all of those newsletters and subscription services that advise about stocks.

The sheep are the readers of those newsletters that buy the “pick of the week”.  Read any of those newsletters and they always miss a few, many miss a lot.  Some just miss it, and yet the sheep keep following the dogs.  Very rarely do the sheep ignore the dogs and do their own thing.

 I can hear you asking “Ok then how come some people get rich in the stock and commodities markets, and others don’t?”

Occasionally some sheep don't go in the pen.  If you look at Facebook, you can see a lot of sheep getting slaughtered.  Look at Netflix, one day it is over $320 a share, the next morning it is under $80.  How can the market be perfect and make leaps like this? 

Some shepherds get rich because they buy the stock, make the call and bail out when it goes up.  Not all of them though. In fact over time how many great stock pickers can you name?  If you follow the markets I bet you have less than a handful who have been successful for more than 10 years running.  

There was a story many years ago someone thought they could beat the system by stealing a financial magazine off the presses before the sheep jumped in.  The funny part was, the guy lost money doing it.

 Some dogs get rich for the same reason.

But the truly rich are the observers in the stands.  They don’t care what stock is in the pen, they watch to see what phone the shepherds use, what food the sheep dogs eat, what kind of fence the pen is built with.  The shepherd, dogs and sheep are simply entertainment.

Some of the super famous long term successful people like Warren Buffet are the guys that moved from the stands to the observation booth so they could see more than one competition at once.  In Mr. Buffet’s case he goes as far as buying the entire feed company (Dairy Queen), Big Chunks of the beverage company (Coca-Cola), The transportation company (Net Jets) and more while sitting up in the comfort of the big booth being entertained by the sheep, the dogs and the shepherd.

Who is managing your stock portfolio?

How to Fix A Midlife Crisis

What is a midlife crisis anyway?  

Elliott Jaques defined a midlife crisis as a time where adults come to realize their own mortality. A midlife crisis is experienced by many people during the midlife transition when they realize that life may be more than halfway over. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as children leaving for college, the death of parents of the loss of a job. During this time,  people may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, large expenditures, or physical appearance.

The sentence which is really the key to unlocking the real problem is “People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams.” 

Beginning with our first experiences at school, we are taught to “go with the flow”, yet the human psyche doesn't go with the flow.  We have an inherent need to change the world around us, and when we go with the flow nothing is changed.   All of us know this to be true, and a midlife crisis is the realization of that truth.  At some point,  what I like to call the "busyness" of life takes our attention away from what we really want.  It is the point when the busyness takes a break that the midlife crisis kicks in.

Another way to think of a midlife crisis is as a "mature realization" that we followed someone else’s dreams.  We conformed our lives to someone else's wants, or conformed for convenience.  Personally my life shifted the day my dad past away.  From the time I got the call to the time I was sitting at a funeral home was a couple of hours.  Right there I was sitting in a mental state many would call a midlife crisis that lasted for nearly 5 years.  I didn't see it at the time, it is only with some careful reflection that I could see my realization or midlife crisis and where it began.  

During that time I made a lot of poor choices in business and financial management.  Towards the end when I realized what was happening, it didn't take long to fix it and get out of the "funk".  I wish someone had given me a swift kick in the butt four and a half years sooner.  The faster you see through your own midlife crisis or mature realization, the quicker you get to move on with life.  Ironically my dad would have done that.

All through our lives, What is a midlife crisis anyway?  Wikipedia defines it this way:

Midlife crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques stating a time where adults come to realize their own mortality and how much time is left in their life. A midlife crisis is experienced by many people during the midlife transition when they realize that life may be more than halfway over. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as andropause or menopause, the death of parents or other causes of grief, unemployment or underemployment, realizing that a job or career is hated but not knowing how else to earn an equivalent living, or children leaving home. People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, large expenditures, or physical appearance.

The last couple of sentences are really the key to unlocking the real problem.  “People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams.” is a very telling statement and most likely the core of the problem.

Our society trains us starting at a school age to “go with the flow”, yet the human cause is counter to the flow.  We have an inherent need to change the world around us, and when we go with the flow nothing is changed.  What I like to call the busyness of life takes our attention away from what we really want.  It is the point when the busyness takes a break that the midlife crisis kicks in.

I prefer to think about a midlife crisis more as a mature realization that we followed someone else’s dreams or worse, accepted their fears.  Many of the transitions mentioned in the Wikipedia definition all hover around the same thing, a major change in your life.

Personally my life shifted the day my dad died, within hours I was sitting in a mental state many would call a midlife crisis that lasted for nearly 5 years.  During that time I made a lot of poor choices in business and financial management.  The faster you see through your own midlife crisis or mature realization, the quicker you get to move on with life.

Every time you decide a job stinks and we find a new one, you have matured a little and decided to move on.  We have mini realizations all the time.  some like the midlife crisis are just bigger and more mature realizations that something isn't right.  It might be that you realized that you made a bad choice taking the job, or that someone else misled you about the job.  Either way, you woke up and made a change.  

The big realization we call a midlife crisis happens when there is a much bigger change in your life.  Something so big it can disrupt the busyness of everyday life.  The real problem with the midlife crisis is that you don't know what to do.  That is the "crisis" part.

Buying a Porsche, divorce, getting remarried to a younger new wife, finding a new job, are the male midlife stereotype.  The stereotype clearly reflects the symptoms but doesn’t address the issues.  All of us have different issues, and the good news is working through them is basically the same.  Even if you don't know what to do, there are ways to work through it.  I wrote a book about this process.

When I wrote So, Now What?, I was focused on military troops leaving the service and helping them find a better job and create a better life in the civilian world.  I didn’t want the troops that worked with me to come home and just get a "safe government job".  I have always felt that we do people a disservice by letting them take "safe" jobs until they retire.  While this is a great socialist view, the human spirit isn't challenged and doesn't grow.  Just look at the local motor vehicle counters, is anyone really happy or smiling.  Then go to a thriving business, and look at how happy people are to work and contribute.  

i wanted them to use this opportunity to teach them grasp the realization, and move forward with their dreams.  I have always believed that everyone should do two years of government service, even if it is just working the motor vehicle counter.  If you go to a state funded college, maybe you do four years.  All of the people that worked for me or me in the military have done their service, so I wanted to help them grow their own energy and life. 

Writing So, Now What? to help more of them also helped me.  First it talked me through my own realization, saving my family life and moving me to a place where I wanted to live.  It also helped people I knew reflect on their lives and make a major change, helping me to learn what people needed to know to get through their own mature realization or midlife crisis.  Some acknowledged the book was the catalyst right away.  Others made major changes without really saying why.  Either way it has been a fun ride, and I learned that all realizations can be corrected with the same process.  Your age and maturity level don't matter.  You can have a mature realization at 20 or 80.  That is why I don't like the term midlife crisis.

Last week I was out surfing, and something happened which inspired me to write to you.  Surfing of course, is part of my “dream life” that wasn’t happening at my McMansion in Texas.  While surfing, I met a guy I'l call "Bob".  We talked for a while and my answers were starting to sound rehearsed, I realized that So, Now What? not only changed my direction, it changed how I interact with people.

Instead of giving advice to Robbie, I just asked questions and let him come to his own conclusions.  Last week I received an email from a reader saying he liked my book because of the worksheets.  I wasn’t telling him what to do, I was helping him find out what is right for him.  At the end of our conversation, I could see a light in his eyes that wasn't there when we started talking.

All of us have our own dreams and demons.  Getting advice from friends and family just keeps you going with the flow or following their dreams.  People don’t like change unless they are comfortable with their life to the point of boredom.  The only person who will know what the right exit strategy is for your midlife crisis or mature realization is you.  Asking how other people see you will help, asking them what you should do probably won’t.

From the emails and feed back I get, the hardest part of reading So, Now What?, is doing the worksheets after every chapter.  It is also the most important thing to do according to the people who send the "thank you" letters.  

So many people just want the quick and easy answer.  All that will lead to is another mature realization at another point in your life.  That is why I don’t like the term midlife crisis.  You don’t have to be midlife, and you don’t have to let it become a crisis.

It will take some time to invest in yourself and find your dream life.  If you don’t take the time, you might end up right back in another crisis.  Are you worth the time?  I think so.

A New Challenge

There aren't too many new books I would suggest you read. People that know me have seen me go through one or two a week. Many of them vey long like "The Laws of Success in 16 Lessons". A Napolean Hill classic which at 1694 pages turns most people away no matter how much they succeed. One of my friends and business parters is an MD. We have both been discussing weight loss, and while reading "The Charge" by Brendon Burchard, we got an idea. We set a weight challenge in line with one of the suggestions for energizing life that Brendon covers in the book. Already I am excited, We set a winners prize or losers prize depending on how you look at it, and set the parameters of the challenge. As an MD, Eric suggested the Paleolithic diet as the healthiest way to accomplish our challenge of 15 lbs each. I have never been excited to think about losing weight. In fact my mentality is always to win, I have never wanted to "lose" anything before. What mountain is standing in front of you, that you are looking around instead of looking up? What can you do to make the rise to the top of that mountain a challenge you look forward too instead of a boring task that needs to be accomplished?

Making Big Shifts To Move Forward

Every once in a while we hit a ceiling that we impose upon ourselves and don't even realize it.  Even after coaching people and training for years, someone pointed out I was doing it to myself.

I had been trimming down my business and fine tuning my focus over the past couple of years and still didn't seem to be making a lot of ground.  My book stalled out and I really lost a little motivation to re-do the cover and retile it because it was already selling a little bit.  I do need to get to that.

One of the first things I did to punch through my personal ceiling was to give up coaching business owners so I could focus solely on the marketing aspects of the business.  My coach pointed out that I was still way to broad and that I should focus on just one area.  This goes against all of my thoughts and efforts for my client in online marketing, or so I thought.

Right about the same time my wife started working in Real Estate and of course my business took over her online marketing campaign.  As one guy interestingly noted, "No one has figured out how to get listings online." and he is right.  Listings are the name of the game in Real Estate.  The science of selling a house of known quality is much better than helping people find their next home.  Buyers can look at 50 or 100 homes before buying if they even buy at all.  This was challenging to say the least.

Even ghost writing for my wife got a little sketchy since I didn't have a real estate license.  In order to correct this, I decided last fall to go back to school so I could take the test in California.  After I took the test and passed, I joined her as an agent at Keller-Williams.  The intent was to be part time and just help her out but it didn't take long for my coach and I to see that this was the niche I needed to focus on.

I have been buying and selling homes to live in and as investments for nearly 20 years, making money all along the way.  A couple of times only by sheer luck I might add.  It only made sense for me to combine my coaching, leadership, marketing, sales and real estate knowledge and tie it all up on one package.  As a Realtor, I use all of these skills and still get the freedom of self employment I enjoy.  If I need more money, I go work more.  The big difference is the checks take a lot longer in the real estate business.

On paper this might seem like a really big shift, and it hasn't been.  What it has been is the clear path to move through the ceiling I was creating for myself by staying to broad in my efforts, and not following my own advice on focus.

By focusing on a single area, I can already see a difference in my ability to get things done which should eventually lead to more income, and less work.  Isn't that what we all want?