It was a rough week on Wall Street!  The markets have been more volatile than usual for the past 4 months.  Is your portfolio properly positioned for your personal goals and comfort zone?
 
Investing always entails some risks, but you may be taking on too much or too little risk without even realizing it. You may think you are sufficiently diversified because you own multiple mutual funds, but if you drill down to the individual holdings of each fund they all may be buying the same securities resulting in you taking much more risk than necessary.  You may be investing too much in low-risk, low-return investments missing the higher potential returns needed over a long time frame to keep up with inflation.
 
One of the most important tasks in developing an investment plan is to clearly establish what your tolerance for risk is and reconcile that with the type of returns your portfolio needs to reach your investment goals.
 
While the economy is solid, unemployment and inflation are low all of which are good for the markets; this heightened market volatility will likely continue well into 2008.  Make sure your seat belt fits properly and hold on to enjoy the ride!
 
 

Thanks to a true gold nugget in my "Golden Rolodex," I've had the opportunity to work with Chuck Lauer, my former publisher at Modern Healthcare, and Crain Communications throughout the USA developing a sales training "boot camp" for the sales representatives of all of the Crain publications.  What a privilege!  Not only do I get to sit at the feet of the master and watch Chuck present his always-inspiring motivational speech, but I've been working with Teri Louden, a true networking maven and sales trainer extraordinaire.  However, five cities in two-and-a-half weeks has made a road warrior out of me and I'll be more than happy to unpack my suitcase when I come back from New York this next week.
 
Here's what I've learned as a road warrior:

• Pack light.  No kidding--pack light.  I pared it down to one suit, jammies and workout clothes.  Sneakers weigh the most but they're worth schlepping.  Oh, yeah, and I always carry more books than I need but I'm a voracious reader and don't want to run out of good reading material.
• Don't lip off to the TSA guy.  My colleague did--he groused about the need to show his boarding pass and he subsequently received as close to a strip search as I've ever seen in full view of the public.  Some cities require boarding passes as you pass through the machine and some don't.  When in doubt, have it ready.
• Fly Southwest.  I know I'm going to from now on.  The amount of time wasted waiting for delayed (or cancelled!) planes seems proportionate to the snippiness and arrogance of the major airline personnel.  The only things American Airlines has going for it are the crisp uniforms of their flight attendants, who often sport a sour disposition.
• Always, always, always, always carry business cards.  You just never know who you'll be sitting next to.

And if growing my business means becoming a road warrior, bring it on.  I'm ready!
 
 

Recently I had the opportunity to facilitate a session on Self Promotion for a group of EWN Corporate Members. During the discussion the topic of  "Self Confidence" was explored in detail. Feeling prepared "enough" for a meeting with peers or a board of directors was one of the things that caused strife in the hearts of some of these amazing professionals.  It seemed that no matter how prepared they were it was never quite enough and they were always concerned that they wouldn't have the answers they needed.  There were three TIPS the group shared with each other.  1) Give yourself a PEP talk prior to the meeting, 2) Turn the fear into excitement about the meeting and it's outcome, 3) Assure yourself that you are more prepared than the person or team you are presenting to about the topic. What other tips do you have you that you have found helps in these types of situtations?  We'd love to hear from YOU!

http://animoto.com/play/0e2e65474dd409803fa9c7b53dea91ef
Do you have a couple of seconds to click on the above link?  I hope so because you will see a room full of professional women (EWN Members and our Guests at EWN's October Monthly Meeting) that understand how important both work and life are. Our speaker Helen Kasper (Vice President of Sales for The Hartford) shared openly her amazing journey and how the choices she made led her where she is today and how those choices currently impact her day to day life. One of the things she said: "We are all really great business women, aren't we? Getting the job done at the office no matter what it takes, well, are we doing those same things in our personal lives?". She continued, "If there was one thing you would like to stop doing and one thing you would like to start doing today what would they be".  I hope you have an opportunity to see the video clip and see the SMILES!  Smiles come from a really "good" place.  What choices have you made?  What tips can you share that have worked in your life?  We look forward to hearing from YOU!~

There is never a good time to review your insurance but there is also never a better time.  The severe rain storms in August were a good reminder that random events happen and it is important to make sure you have coverage to protect the things you have worked so hard for.  This includes things you have acquired - home & auto insurance, but also your earnings power - disability and life insurance. We do not sell insurance, but do complete a thorough review for every client.  It is not uncommon to see gaps in coverage where the client has auto & home policies but they are not coordinated.  We also sometimes find a lack of sufficient disability or life insurance coverage.  It is never fun to plan for catastrophic event, but it is critical to ensure you are protected.   If you were in a car accident today and another person was killed, do you have enough insurance to cover a mulitmillion dollar lawsuit?  If not, how would you live if there was a judment against your assets and earnings?  If you could never work again, do you have enough assets or disability insurance to pay the bills for the rest of your life. If you do not know the answer to these questions, contact your insurance agent or financial advisor for a detailed review.  While a tedious exercise, it will make you sleep better at night knowing you and your loved ones are well taken care of. 

Starting January 1st all sellers need to provide a pamphlet to buyers entitled “Radon Testing Guidelines”.  What this means for you is the awareness for Radon will increase and you will see more testing on the purchases of homes. Radon testing is much more common today but it is surprising to learn just how many people are still unaware of the risks.  Out of the last 5 buyer's homes I have worked with 4 of them tested positive for Radon.   What is Radon?  Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas that seeps up from the earth (as the result of the natural decay of uranium in the earth). Radon may leak into some homes and build up to unhealthy levels. Radon is a leading cause of lung cancer, second only to smoking in the US.  So if you haven’t had your home tested it is a great time to think about doing it for your own safety.   If you want more information on radon testing or mitigation, please let me know

We are always hearing that one of the most important things in business is the ability to Network!  Building relationships and connecting with people is what it's about! Is this realy true?  YES.  So why is it so hard for so many to "connect" and to build valuable relationships that have an impact on business and/or life.  What I have found over the years is that we are too busy talking about ourselves!   Let's think about this another way ~ if I'm talking about myself ....it leaves little time to get to know the person in front of me and whether or not they may be a valuable connection.  I'm still amazed after attending 100's of networking events that I am VERY RARELY asked a question?  Here's a tip - ASK A QUESTION and you'll see how easy building your network can be. Here are a few to get you started:  1. Tell me, what brought you here today?  2. What type of business are you in?  3. Do you live in the area?  What questions work for you?

Tip of the day from the Veteran Podcasters panel from last weekend's Podcast and New Media Expo: "Never put the word daily or weekly in your podcast title."Michael Dean, Matt Selznick, Steve Eley and Evo Terra are all talking podcasting. Other notes:

• There is a difference between podfading and opting not to continue your show or just taking a few months off because your content isn't that great. Seriously, if your content isn't that great, do your audience a favor and fade.
• Don't podcast if you enjoy sleep.
• Sound like you're having fun, and your audience will have fun.
• Do audio you can be proud of, whether it's a $20 setup or a $4,000 setup.
• A great recorder for under $200: the Zoom H2. (Sadly, the iRiver iFP is no longer in production)
• Be a part of the world at large, not just the podcasting community. Get out of the studio and into your community, whatever your topic might be.

Less good advice:

• "Server space is cheaper than a therapist." Please make sure your content is beneficial to your audience, not just to you.
• The words "synergy" and "takeaway." And "monetize" and "friendshipize." Silly boyz!

Hello! I am the founder of IMPACT Marketing and Public Relations, which creates and tailors integrated marketing and publicity strategies to fit business goals.Come along with me as we share insights on everything from women topics, trends, current events, successes and challenges of business and life, and how we overcome obstacles to be empowered women. You are the driving force as we embark on this new media venture. I welcome you to provide me with your subject input and comments with every post. My multi-faceted career began in the non-profit sector, where I re-designed volunteer training and management programs, expanded and directed volunteer recruitment, and devised publicity strategies. For nearly eight years I wrote a bi-weekly column and feature articles for the award-winning Daily Herald, Illinois’ third largest newspaper.Now, I pride myself in working with businesses and not-for-profit organizations to raise their visibility and impact.I active with the (EWN) Empowering Women Network, the national organization Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and Public Relations Society of America-Suburban Chicagoland Chapter (PRSA-SC). Until next time, have a great day!

At last night's EWN meeting, Debra Knupp of Akina, Inc. spoke on building effective relationships. The full seminar is available for free download as a podcast through EWN radio--you should listen! Debra is a phenomenal speaker, and I think that my biggest challenge was to pay attention to her content instead of taking notes on her speaking style and presentation format!Debra began by saying that her goal was to have us walk away with one thing that we could implement right away--a very plausible and reasonable goal for any presentation. That alone made me sit up a bit straighter. Tired as I was and worried as I always am about the tech (I record and podcast our meetings, and there is always the podcaster's fear of "the mic is on, right? it didn't pull out of the recorder, right? is that lapel brush going to be audible on the recording?"), her message was very clear and came through in a very real way.So, Debra, here is the one thing I walked away with:You don't have to have a one-size-fits-all approach to building relationships. You can choose the tool that works best for you. I liked that one of her messages was this: do what you like. The reason we don't always follow up with phone calls is because some of us don't like to make phone calls. So what do you like to do? What feels natural to you?

• Clip an article and send it?
• Email a link for a funny or informative web site?
• Call and ask for advice with a problem?
• Invite out to coffee?
• Go see a ball game?
• Send a fun gift?

Which one or two of these is within your comfort zone? For me, when she said that for some of us, follow-up calls don't feel natural and that is why we don't make them, a light bulb went off. Doing things within our comfort zones and that reflect our own personalities makes so much more sense. And choosing tasks that we find value in and enjoy has the huge benefit of assuring that we'll actually DO them. She points out that she doesn't like to email links--that's just not her style. But she loves to call and ask people for advice. So that is what she does to keep in touch with many of her contacts: when she hits a challenge, she calls up a few of them and says, "I'd like to run something by you. Could you give me a call back?"For me, the one thing I took away was to be true to yourself and do what's in your comfort zone. If you were there, what did you take away?