Register Now for the Social Media for Entrepreneurs Workshop hosted by Marketing Melodie

Earlier this month I announced that my first speaking engagement of 2013 is taking place on Saturday February 2nd. I’m hosting the Social Media for Entrepreneurs Workshop. The event will be held at the National University Spectrum Business Park campus and is sponsored by National University’s School of Business and Management (SOBM) Center for Entrepreneurship. The Social Media for Entrepreneurs Workshop Series is an excellent opportunity to learn how to make more money through Social Media and network with other successful business leaders.

Here are all the details on the official event flyer:

REGISTER NOW! To reserve your spot for this event please call or email Sherille Sangalang:

Phone: 858-642-8585

Email: ssangalang@nu.edu

As I mentioned in the last post about this event, I know some of you reading this may be thinking “I have already seen Melodie speak on those topics”, why would I want to go again? Social media is CONSTANTLY evolving and changing just like my presentations. They are always updated with the latest information. If you saw me speak a year ago, 6 months ago or even a month ago, I can guarantee and promise you that you’ll still learn new things since  there are now new social media sites to keep track of, new rules on existing sites and an abundance of new information that didn’t exist the last time you saw me speak. I’ve been working on the presentation this week and I’ve already created many new slides that aren’t found in any of my old presentations. I’m very excited for the opportunity to host this workshop and look forward to seeing you all there.

If you are interested in hiring me to speak at your event or to your organization, please contact me and we’ll set up a time to discuss the opportunity. You can find our more information on my speaking experience and topics here.

Marketing Melodie in 2012: A Year in Review

I can’t believe that I’m actually writing my 2012 year in review because it seems unreal that this year is really coming to an end. Two years ago I began a tradition of writing a year in review at the end of  the year. I do this to express my sincere gratitude for everything the universe has brought my way. I still have a habit of discrediting my accomplishments. I often focus on what I haven’t yet achieved so this post is also an effort to combat my bad habit. I want to focus on  my successes, not what I haven’t done.

First I want to I reflect back on the past few years since I turned Marketing Melodie into my full time career. I noticed some patterns throughout the year. In 2010 I made my transition from being an “employee” to a full time “entrepreneur”. This was a major break through. 2010 was filled with travel, speaking gigs and an abundance of break through opportunities including getting hired to teach Marketing at Platt College and so many new connections. I will call 2010 my break through year.

2011 was a change of pace. I was traveling less and speaking less but spending more time organizing, creating systems and solidifying my services and offerings in order to have a strong foundation for monetizing my business. I hosted workshops, charity events and my first webinar. I now had a system for effective prospecting and client management. I also became a certified yoga instructor. Little did I know that my yoga certification would be another tool that would really hold as a strong foundation for my career. I will call 2011 my foundation building year.

With everything being so organized, I expected to hit the ground running with my marketing business in 2012. In some ways I did but I also realized that there was so much more that I wanted to learn before systematizing everything I do. After all, I left being a full time employee so I could embrace opportunities as they come my way. I’ve spent 2012 learning and exploring.  I will call 2012 my learning year. I have mastered the art of learning something new everyday so this year is just a reflection of my desire to constantly stay educated to serve as a true resource for those around me.

*JANUARY* 

January always comes as a surprise to me because I never expect it to come so soon. I started the year off with strategically branding my company as a strong force in the Social Media world. I did this in a fun way by jumping on the meme train. I saw a few “Shit Says” videos that I found humorous. I decided to create one for Social Media titled Shit Social Media Experts say. With the help of my social media friends @jennyjenjen, @iPodschun, @RobotFaith, @ChrisKirkman we made it happen. Although I didn’t get a million YouTube views, the video did allow me to connect with many new people who either work in the social space or are interested in using social media themselves to grow their business.

 

With my business growing, I decided that I would need some help to accelerate the growth. I took on a new Intern, Stephanie Trinh. I created a  more structured internship program to ensure my interns are learning through hands on projects. If anyone reading this is interested or knows someone who is interested in a marketing and social media internship, please reach out to me.

*FEBRUARY*

I continued on the meme train to brand my company and created 2 occupation memes. To this day, they are some of the most viewed pages on MarketingMelodie.com. I created What Social Media Experts Actually Do which fits my passion for marketing and I also created What Yogis Actually Do which fits my passion for yoga.

*MARCH*

My travel bug never completely goes away. When I get the opportunity to travel for business, I embrace it to the fullest. I was hired by AT&T to be one of their brand ambassadors at SXSW which meant an adventure in Austin, Texas. I had an incredible time meeting so many industry leaders, running an awesome social media promotion where I was giving out free phones, enjoying interactive events and even a Third Eye Blind Concert. In general, there was just so much winning for everyone in Austin. My cousin goes to UT and my mom lives in Dallas so I also got to see both of them while I was on my business trip.

When I left Austin, I took a little detour to my favorite city to visit, Chicago! I used the power of Social Media to explore the entire city of Chicago. My great friend Krissy moved back there so it was the perfect time to visit. I have another cousin who also goes to the Art Institute in Chicago so it was great getting to see her too. I brought the San Diego sunshine to Chicago. During my 4 day stay which happened to fall on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the weather was amazing. It was 70s and sunny the entire time and go figure, it was raining in San Diego! I did a lot of sight seeing, ate great Chicago food and enjoyed great company. I definitely want to go back to Chicago soon and I already have a list of must sees the next time I’m there.

*APRIL*

I connected with the lovely Jennifer Pastiloff on social media and I won her Facebook contest for a ticket to Tadasana Festival! I was able to make social media and yoga unite at Tadasana Festival. This was just the first of many opportunities to combine my two passions.

Earth day is also in April. I love to do whatever I can to create a more sustainable earth. This year I wrote a post where I shared 10 ways to go green at work. After publishing my post, I received some nice PR coverage by NBC San Diego as they featured my post on their TV news segment.

Foursquare Day also falls in April (4/16- 4 squared is 16!). For the 3rd year in a row I hosted a fun social media meetup around Foursquare. I first hosted Foursquare Day Hong Kong in 2010 when I traveled there on business. In 2011 I hosted Foursquare Day in San Diego at R Gang Eatery and this year I hosted Foursquare Day San Diego again at Osetra. Everyone had fun mingling, checking in to win prizes, unlocking badges and meeting new friends.

*MAY*

I’m always open to opportunities that allow me to enhance my skills. I have known for a few years that San Diego Continuing Education offers free classes on just about any subject you can imagine. I finally got around to signing up for a Photoshop class and am so happy I decided to do so. I wanted to learn Photoshop skills so I could easily crop, resize, edit images on a basic level and that’s exactly what I learned how to do. I even got a student ID that I was told I can use for student discounts. The discount is especially helpful if I want to buy software programs.

*JUNE*

After meeting  Jennifer Pastiloff in April at Tadasana Festival she invited me up to LA to be a part of her Karaoke Yoga class that was being filmed for ABC. I make a brief appearance singing while practicing yoga on TV! Of course I had to connect it back to marketing and shared with you how to optimize your PR efforts on social media all while doing Karaoke Yoga.

Toward the end of June, I received my favorite Klout Perk ever which was an invite to stay at Terranea Resort for a weekend getaway. I took the Amtrak (for the first time in years) to Irvine, then carpooled up to Terranea to meet the rest of the Klout crew. I explored the entire resort and found so much stuff to do at Terranea but my favorite part was really relaxing at the pool and spa.

*JULY*

After my Terranea getaway I hopped on plane to Seattle, Washington. I visited friends, family, ran around the city like a silly tourist, celebrated my Grandpa’s 87th birthday,  4th of July and even set up some business meetings. I hit all the birds  with one stone. I also took a little detour to my neighboring state Portland, Oregon. I visited many Portland must sees including the famous Powell’s Bookstore, which is definitely  an amazing place for bookworms. I tried the ever popular Voodoo Doughnuts and a nice view of the city at Portland City Grill. I also attended the Portland Blues festival. I have a theory that I bring the San Diego sunshine wherever I go because the weather was so nice in both Seattle and Portland during my stay.

My two passions are marketing and yoga so I decided to combine them both into my career and teach yogis how to grow their business and make money through marketing and social media. I successfully hosted my first marketing workshop exclusively for yogis at La Jolla Yoga Center.

I also got my CPR certification! I learned another skill that will help me save lives. I also got the song “Staying Alive” stuck in my head.

*AUGUST*

It was time for me to lease a new car. In between my leases, I decided to do a “No Car in San Diego Challenge”. No car meaning I’m not driving a car of my own. I wanted to see if it was possible to get around in San Diego without my own vehicle. I survived almost 1 month without my own car and the first week I was fortunate enough to be driving the Chevy Volt electric car thanks to the GM PR team, I also drove Car2Go, took Uber and took the bus (which surprisingly was very nice a clean the two times I took it to La Jolla).  I learned that it is possible to get around San Diego without a car.  Not having a car was definitely challenging but there were so many positives that came out of it. I was more strategic about planning out my days, I was healthier and got a lot of exercise because I walked more and I was able to connect with old friends who were nice enough to offer me rides.

As I continued to integrate yoga into my career, I attracted more opportunities to do so. I began teaching regular yoga classes for the YMCA. My full yoga schedule can be found here.

To my absolute astonishment, I found myself on Mandatory.com’s “20 Hottest Geek Girls of the Internet” list among many super smart, sexy and successful women like Jenna Marbles, my friend Jenn Hoffman (she was on the Apprentice!) and one of my favorite YouTubers, Natalie Tran. I was extremely grateful for this feature and wrote a thank you post to demonstrate how to optimize PR features.

*SEPTEMBER* 

Professional speaking is something I love doing. I haven’t been speaking much this year, but in 2013 I plan to significantly grow my business through speaking. I really wanted to learn more skills to become a better speaker so I decided to take improv classes through National Comedy Theater. I completed Level 1 and Level 2. The classes were so much fun! I learned how to be quicker in responding to any situation and to have confidence in what I say. I just met so many awesome friends from all walks of life through taking classes here. I highly recommend that everyone take an improv class at some point. In fact, here are 10 reasons taking an improv class will make you happy.

*OCTOBER* 

After teaching yoga at the YMCA for a few months, more and more opportunities began to open up for me in the fitness world. I had the honor of teaching a yoga class to benefit breast health awareness for the YMCA La Jolla’s Workout in Pink event. The YMCA also sent me to a training for Bender Barre. I really enjoyed learning to teach a fitness class that’s different than yoga. I’m happy to say that I’m now certified to teach Bender Barre classes. Yep another tool to add on my belt.

*NOVEMBER*

I made some more headway with my mission to help Yogis and Fitness professionals grow their business. I hosted my second Digital Media Now for Yogis at the gorgeous Chula Vista Yoga Center. It was part of their Teacher Training and also open to the public. In 2013, my goal is to get my marketing curriculum to be standard for all Teacher Training programs.

*DECEMBER*

I launched my new yoga website and brand, Tao of Yoga. It’s a simple site, but it works. I’m happy to have a place where I can share my thoughts on all things yoga and fitness. I’m also grateful that I have a schedule that’s easy to update so I can invite everyone to my classes.

As you can see, a lot of my business focus shifted from marketing to yoga. I really wanted to create a foundation for my yoga business, which is what I was successfully able to do. I have a website that’s a resource, I teach  4 consistent yoga classes each week and I’m constantly continuing my own education to become a better instructor. Now that I have my yoga business up and running, I really want to focus on the marketing side of my business again. I will book more speaking engagements, host more digital media now workshops and webinars, and I created a nice referral program for anyone who sends me business for a marketing client. If you know anyone interested in growing their business through effective marketing and social media, please send them my way. You’ll receive a check from me as a thank you!

I celebrated another year with my birthday on December 13th. I like to give out gifts on my birthday. This year I gave everyone 13 happy birthday promotions to enjoy and had a San Diego themed get together with some friends.

There you have it, my 2012 year in review. If you have some favorite moments of 2012, please feel free to share them with me. Since 13 is my lucky number and we’re gearing up for the year 2013, I’m confident that it will be my lucky year! Thanks to every single person who has read my blog. Whether you read  one post or read my blog regularly, I sincerely appreciate it. Here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous new year everyone!

Combining my two passions for Marketing and Yoga into a career

It’s been a while since I’ve written a post but I assure you that it’s because I’ve been working hard on many positive, new changes in my business. One of the things I’ve been working on is my new seminar series, Digital Media Now for Yogis. I’ll be giving you guys all the details about it soon but I’d like to first spend some time sharing how yoga appeared in my life and how I’m incorporating it into my marketing business.

FIRST, A LITTLE BACKGROUND- All my life I have been attracted to doing things that inspire me. Things that inspire me also bring out my passion which creates my desire to really make a difference. Throughout my entire career I have always had a desire to help others become even more successful in their own career. When I was still attending college, I worked various promotional jobs where I helped brands gain more positive exposure and increase sales. When I graduated from college I worked in Marketing and Sales for a large media company where I had the opportunity to work with other business owners and national brands to create interactive marketing campaigns dedicated to growing their business. I transitioned into the Online Marketing world because I saw more opportunities to help businesses grow through digital technology and social media. After working for several Digital Agencies, I soon realized that to truly embrace my calling as Marketing professional, I would need to build my own marketing business that focused specifically on digital marketing and social media. Marketing Melodie, which began as a blog site in 2008 shifted into my business brand which is the company I’ve been running for almost 3 years.

AND THEN THERE WAS YOGA-  With my hectic life as a business professional, I really needed something that could ground me and bring me back down to earth when stresses of deadlines, business development and even personal challenges arises. I discovered yoga as a practice that not only helped me physically stay in shape but also allowed me to regroup and recenter myself a midst all the stresses of life. While yoga is an ancient practice that’s been around for longer than I can remember, it didn’t exist for me until mid 2007 (which I can’t believe is 5 years ago)! Yoga appeared in my life in several ways.  The company I was working at offered lunch time yoga classes and the complex I was living in offered free yoga classes to residents. I previously took one yoga class at a studio and strongly disliked it. It was a style of yoga I wasn’t fond of and I actually walked out on the class. I decided to give it another chance and after a few classes at my complex with an instructor who I still credit for inspiring me to grow my practice, I was hooked. Yoga has helped me so much through stressful times that I now want to share this amazing practice with others. After completing my 200 Hour Comprehensive Teacher Training in April 2011, I decided to start incorporating yoga into my marketing career.

INCORPORATING YOGA INTO MY CAREER- Since I declared the desire to incorporate yoga into my career, I’ve been attracting more opportunities to turn my desire into reality. Some of the first classes I taught were yoga workshops titled: Yoga for the Busy Body at Hera Hub. As a busy person I wanted to learn how to make time for yoga and since I’ve learned that it’s possible, my first instinct was to teach others how they can make it possible too. Yoga for the Busy Body classes are taught with an emphasis on poses that can easily be done in between work breaks and lunch hours. I also incorporate poses to work muscles that get tight from sitting in front of a computer all day . I began getting other requests to teach yoga classes. I taught my first outdoor class for Forward Motion and more recently I taught another outdoor class for Big Bay Boot Camp with an inspiring view of the San Diego Bay. Social Media gave me an opportunity to attend Tadasana Festival in April and I’ve been subbing at La Jolla Yoga Center several times a month teaching Hatha, Vinyasa and even High School Yoga. Teaching in general is great. I learn so much from teaching others whether it’s in an academic setting or a yoga studio, however I want to do more than just teach yoga and marketing individually.

INTRODUCING DIGITAL MEDIA NOW FOR YOGIS- This is why I am thrilled to announce my newest seminar series, Digital Media Now for Yogis! I’m combining my two passions for Marketing and Yoga to empower you with knowledge on how to live your passion as Yoga and Wellness Professional. I will use my expertise to teach you how to make money from your business through optimizing your brand and online presence while maintaining your true integrity as a Yogi. The first seminar will be held on Saturday July 28th 1-4pm at La Jolla Yoga Center. My goal is to grow this workshop so I can host it at other studios and ultimately have it be a part of Yoga Teacher Training curriculums since learning the business of yoga is imperative for being a successful professional in the industry. The seminar is customized for professionals in the Yoga and Wellness industries but open to everyone. Online registration is now open and you can register here.  I’ll be writing a more detailed blog post about the seminar very soon so please stay tuned!

And if you have read this entire post or even part of this post, I want to thank you and also encourage you to find your true passion, then figure out a way to incorporate it into your career! I am still in the process of doing this but can tell you that passion makes working much more exciting! 

~NAMASTE~

Should I stay or should I go (To LA) now?

I’m working up in LA this week and have some major things in the works for Marketing Melodie! I’ve worked hard at running and growing my business for the last few years and throughout all this time I’ve made some amazing contacts and come across many incredible opportunities to work with large national brands such as Microsoft and most recently AT&T! After my meeting today, it’s official! I’ve been made an offer that’s virtually impossible to refuse. I’m being brought on board as a full time consultant for an incredibly successful and well known, national brand. What does this mean for my company, Marketing Melodie? Since I’m not working as an employee, this company is basically going to be my largest client and my business is still going to be in full swing! I’ll still be available for speaking engagements and consulting as I was before. I’ll also have more funds available and will be looking to hire several full time staff to manage things as I devote time to this new opportunity. Before I continue, here’s to the Clash writing a song for my situation.

 

I say this offer is “virtually impossible” to refuse but not simply “impossible” because with accepting this new gig, it means I need to move up to LA. I never, ever thought I’d be contemplating moving to LA. I grew up in San Diego, it’s my home, it’s where all my friends are. I love San Diego more than any place in the entire world! Anyone who knows me can vouch for how much I love my city. I have until Monday April 2nd to decide if I’m going to accept this offer and move to LA! After accepting (if I accept), I move almost a week later! (Barely enough time to plan a going away party) . My moving costs are being covered, in addition I’m being provided a stipend for rent that is separate from my consulting fee.  I basically need to make a decision by the end of this week! I AM TORN!

Should I stay or should I go now? I’ve definitely visited LA my fair share of times and have had some fun adventures in the city of angels. But to actually call this place my home seems a bit scary when San Diego is what I know and love. I can never, ever see myself being a Dodgers fan and I can’t even imagine how I’ll deal with the dreaded LA Traffic! Aside from that though, this move would mean significant growth and opportunity for my business and I do have some great friends who in LA. And San Diego is not too far away as I know I’ll be coming back to visit a lot! Anyway, if anyone has any advice for me on living in LA please let me know! Has anyone lived in both LA and San Diego? How do they compare? What are other positive things about LA I should know about? And on the other side of things, are there reasons I should stay in San Diego and put this on opportunity on  hold? It’s not easy to leave everything I know and move to a new city. I am so indecisive about this decision that any insight, advice or support would be sincerely appreciated! Whatever I decide, I’ll be sure to keep you all posted!

Marketing Melodie in 2011: A Year in Review

Happy 2012 everyone! I can’t believe another year has gone by. The start of a new year is always a great time for me to reflect on the previous year and set goals for the upcoming year but also appreciate the present moment and everything that’s led me to where I am today.

At the end of 2010 I decided to write Marketing Melodie in 2010: A Year in Review. I have a habit of discrediting many of my accomplishments because I feel like I can always do more. Writing this really allows me to appreciate and be grateful for everything that I have done rather than focus on what I haven’t. Just like I did for 2010 here’s a year in review of 2011 highlighting noteworthy events, clients, blog posts, friends, accomplishments, adventures and amazing opportunities.

*JANUARY*

While marketing is my expertise and passion, I have another passion; YOGA! I’m very grateful for one of my clients this year, La Jolla Yoga Center. Creating marketing campaigns and strategies for a yoga studio I love definitely makes me happy.  I trained their team on using social media to grow their business and helped them get set up on Facebook and Twitter. They’re definitely doing a great job connecting with yogis on social media!

I’ve been practicing yoga for a few years and really wanted to strengthen my practice and take it to the next level. I contemplated getting my yoga teaching certification for a while. It’s a huge time commitment and I was really on the fence. Well I made the decision to go ahead with yoga teacher training and can now say, if you are ever on the fence, DO IT! I am so happy I completed my Yoga Teacher Training and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I began my training in January and completed my 200 RYT Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training at the inspirational La Jolla Yoga Center, located right on the beach! I met so many amazing new friends, learned so much about myself and really took my yoga practice to the next level.

*FEBRUARY*

I hosted the 2^nd event in my Digital Media Dinners series. The topic: Social Media Branding. This was a great milestone because it officially turned Digital Media Dinners into a series rather than a one off event.  I taught strategies on how to strengthen people’s brand across various social networks including review sites such as Yelp, group buying sites such as Groupon and location based sites such as Foursquare. I incorporated a variety of sites because marketing and social media is growing beyond just Facebook and Twitter.

*MARCH*

Since I learn and receive so much from my online and social media community, I really want to give back. I did this by hosting Twestival San Diego. This event is hosted all over the nation using social media for social good by connecting communities offline on a single day to highlight a great cause and have a fun event. It’s entirely promoted via social media. Twestival San Diego was hosted at the Keating Hotel and all proceeds benefited the San Diego After School All Stars.

Me and a few other lovely Yogis were featured on KUSI demonstrating Bootcamp for Yogis run by my fellow yoga teacher trainee, Body By Mags. Check out the video below where I get my 5 minutes of fame while I’m smiling through holding a yoga tough pose and demonstrating yoga boot camp moves (Warrior has got nothing on me!).

VIDEO: Yoga Boot Camp Video

*APRIL*

I successfully pulled my second April Fool’s Joke on Social Media! Everyone decided to wish me a Happy Birthday on April Fool’s this year!

The first annual Foursquare Day celebration took place in 2010 and I hosted Foursquare Day Hong Kong. This year I was in my home town, San Diego and had the opportunity to host Foursquare Day San Diego for my community at R Gang Eatery. Check in specials, complimentary wine, cocktails, delicious comfort food with an upscale twist, friends, badges and a good time was had! Foursquare Day on 4/16 (Yep that’s 4 squared which equals 16) is officially, my favorite geek Holiday!

Oh not to mention, I met my first Celebrity Chef, Rich Sweeney @ChefRicSweeney from Season 5 of Top Chef who is also the head of R Gang Eatery. You can read all about my addiction to food porn and cooking shows here.

*MAY*

I was interviewed by the San Diego Reader on using LinkedIn for Job Seekers. I shared my insight, advice and was gratefulto have my article published both in their paper and online! You can read the full article here.

Another Geek Holiday takes place in May! Star Wars day on May 4^th! May the Fourth be with you! I celebrated with some fun posts on Social Media!

 

*JUNE*

I really want to help others with yoga passion so I hosted my first yoga event: Yoga For the Busy Body at Hera Hub! I really want to provide an opportunity for other busy professionals and entrepreneurs to have a chance to experience the benefits of yoga while teaching them poses they can do on their own despite their busy lives. That’s exactly what I accomplished at this event.

*JULY*

I was cast in a Microsoft Commercial!  It was such an amazing experience to work a full day on set as talent! You can read all about how I was casted in the Microsoft Commercial and then watch my commercial when it finally aired below!

VIDEO: Marketing Melodie’s Microsoft Commercial

 I hosted my third Digital Media Dinners in my series. This time I educated attendees on How to Build Your Social Media Community. I had generous sponsors, expert speakers, delicious food and of course a captive audience who made the event a success. Check out the event recap in the video below.

VIDEO: Digital Media Dinners- How To Build your Social Media Community 

*AUGUST*

I attended BlogHer for the first time as it was hosted right here in America’s Finest City. I connected with inspirational bloggers from all across the nation. It was great talking to so many people about their passions and seeing  them creatively share it with others through their writing. I had a good time at the conference itself, attending workshops, checking out the booths, the networking events, parties and left with more swag than I knew what to do with!

Oh and I met another Celebrity Chef, Brian Markaley in the Season Final of Top Chef Season 3. He was hosting a BlogHer party!

 *SEPTEMBER* 

Marketing Melodie is growing quickly! I sent out a call for interns and bring Allison Schummer @AllisonSchummer on board to help me!

Allison recently graduated from SDSU and I give her my highest recommendation to anyone who’s hiring as she’s currently on the market for a new job!

San Diegans experience a MAJOR BLACKOUT! But we united and got through it while making new friends! We proved that even during a black out social media still shines!

*OCTOBER*

Fall is in the air (even though it’s always sunny in San Diego) which means time for a new fall wardrobe! I attended one of my favorite tweetups ever, an Epic event at the Nordstrom Rack Plaza Bonita Grand Opening. I’m a very lucky person, I always win things and that night I won a pair of Designer Hudson Jeans.

In 2009 I said to the universe that I want  to meet my favorite author, Keith Ferrazzi. I finally met him 2 years later in San Diego at the Entrepreneur Challenge Fall Kickoff Event at UCSD. He autographed both my books and I learned some awesome networking tips from meeting Keith Ferrazzi.

The Nerds United! I tweeted and connected with amazing new friends  from the Talk Nerdy To Me Lover community by hosting @JenFriel and the #nerdsunite crew in San Diego. We had a fun night at the Tilted Kilt San Diego and a nerdy sleepover!

You can read all about the things that make me a nerd here.

*NOVEMBER*

After completing a successful Digital Media Dinners series, I hosted my first Digital Media Now Seminar- Personal Branding on Social Media at Pangea Bakery Cafe. Attendees learned how to make their personal brand cohesive with their business brand.

I was honored with an opportunity to speak to NATAS- National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at their Social Media Workshop. Teaching television professionals how to use Social Media in their industry.

Thanks to the luxury car company, Infiniti and Social Media I enjoyed an amazing afternoon at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival. I also met my 3rd celebrity chef this year, Sam The Cooking Guy!

*DECEMBER* 

I hosted my first Digital Media Now Webinar on How To Integrat Social Media Into Your Marketing. It gave me a chance to share my knowledge with people who can’t always be available and in San Diego to attend an in person seminar. While there were challenges to work out with my first webinar, I received great feedback and plan to host additional Digital Media Now Webinars in 2012!

I celebrated my Birthday on my lucky day, December 13^th (It’s clearly not on April 1^st). In the photo below I’m dressed as a Monster, holding a class with an M and Minty Wonderland and Mozart cupcakes. Yep M THEME PARTY!

I began my new venture at National University. I was hired as a Course Developer and Adjunt Professor at National University. My first class starts in January where I’m teaching a marketing class on Interactive Strategies.

Wow a lot has happened in 2012! If you read this entire post or even part of it, THANK YOU!  As I reflect on 2011 I just can’t help but smile and be grateful for everyone and everything in my life right now. I am truly blessed and so excited to ring in 2012!

The Art of Learning Something New Everyday

Being an Entrepreneur and Marketer in today’s day and age can definitely be challenging but also extremely rewarding. I create my own opportunities and LOVE what I do but I can’t dismiss that there are so many things to manage including new technologies that pop up by the minute (meaning I must learn and be well versed on them before everyone else so I can educate others about them), challenges of running a business itself: finances, marketing, business development, etc and then of course balancing everything with my personal life that I cherish!

Something that really inspires and motivates me daily is the knowing that I literally LEARN SOMETHING NEW EACH AND EVERY DAY! This to me is priceless and it usually happens when I’m teaching others, giving advice or recommendations. I come to the realization that “HEY! I needed to learn that too!” Or “Wow I really need to take my own advice!” I truly believe the world is a mirror and what I encounter is a reflection of myself and where I’m at in life. I’ve recently learned so much while teaching and interacting with others for my job so here are a few things I’ve learned in the past couple weeks I feel are worth sharing .

1. Networking Tip:  No selling at mixers and have a 2 sentence opener that sparks interest! I often avoid going to business mixers because I’m just not a fan of the whole “What do you do?” question being asked to me a hundred times. I realize it’s important for me to get out there and meet people face to face so I got myself to go out and I attended a 6 Degrees San Diego networking event last week.  I met a guy who works in insurance. He immediately started to try and sell me policies. This also immediately made me lose interest. But it made me re-evaluate the way I connect with people at business mixers. It’s important to be authentic while being able to describe what you do in 1-2 sentences to peak people’s interest so you don’t get flustered (because it’s easy to get nervous when you’re on the spot!). If you start by bombarding someone by selling, you’ll lose the connection and thus I came up with my opener to spark interest when I get asked the Question “What do you do?”  “I’m a Marketing professional; I specialize in Digital Marketing and Social Media. I teach businesses how to utilize digital tools to grow their business.”  Then I stop. THAT’S IT! I couldn’t believe that before this week I really didn’t have an efficient way to describe to people what I do without selling! Thank you to the guy who sold to me at an event and encouraged me to rethink my approach when I introduce myself at business mixers.

2. Social Media Tip: Update your LinkedIn profile! I have gotten more business from people finding me on Linkedin than any other social network. If you’re not already on LinkedIn, sign up! I recently hosted a Digital Media Now seminar teaching people how to optimize their Social Media profiles, including LinkedIn. I discussed using keywords in your profile so you have a higher probability of coming up in searches. Of course you would think since I’m teaching this, my profile would be completely optimized with all the proper terms. Well I realized I have never, ever added anything to the “Skills” section! I had zero skills listed, which means zero key words. Moral of the story is that I need to be mindful of keeping my own marketing tools up to date especially if I’m teaching everyone else to do the same. After I updated this on my profile, I IMMEDIATELY had someone hire me for a project based on being impressed with my profile and she mentioned my “Skills” listed! Anyway, even if you only spend 10 minutes doing this, go update your LinkedIn profile as soon as possible!

3. Peace of Mind Tip: It’s ok to do nothing because doing nothing is actually accomplishing something! 
This last tip comes from my Yogi side! I practice yoga several times a week and try to meditate daily (daily is more like once a week). I recently found myself recommending yoga classes to someone who really felt stressed out and had no time to do anything. While I was saying this the thought popped into my head. “How is it possible that I’m a yoga instructor but have the hardest time practicing yoga, meditating and staying present myself?!” Do as they say, not as they do right? Working in an industry that’s constantly changing while at the same time being an entrepreneur means my mind is always racing! It’s difficult for me to take a break and often when I do take a break, I feel like I’m not getting anything done or I’m wasting time. My tip to all of you and to myself is that when you take a break to meditate, read, wind down, whatever it is you do to relax, try your very best to know that it’s OK to be taking that break and be doing nothing. This “doing nothing” is actually doing wonders for your body in terms or helping you recharge, rejuvenate, relax, all sorts of positive things your body needs especially if you’re a busy body!

I leave you with a quote I find very inspirational that’s aligned with my belief that I really do learn something new every day!

“No day in which you learn something is a complete loss” ~David Eddings

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