Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Have you missed me?

I haven't been around hear much, sorry about that. I actually have clients who pay me and being the responsible type I am, I complete the event management task I said I would in exchange for their payment.

In between meetings work, I have have a few writing commitments as well. I'm pleased to announce my newest is over at SmallBusinessAnswers.com. They are the folks behind the awesome conference (yes, I can say that honestly, I didn't plan it ;) Small Business Unleashed.

My first piece for them is called Teach 'em Why They can't Live Without You and it is about making events less intimidating for small business. Go take a look and tell me what you think.

I'm also looking for topics to write about. Got a question that needs an answer but don't have time to do the research? Send it my way and I'll see what I can do.


Thursday, October 2, 2008

Procrsatination

Ever have a opportunity to do something you’ve wanted to do for a long time and then be completely paralyzed by the thought of actually DOING it?

Yeah, that’s been me over the last six weeks.

I love to write and I’m told I’m pretty good at it. Writing as a professional endeavor is certainly something I’d like to do more of. At the end of August, I was handed the keys to the kingdom so to speak. I was asked to be a contributor to a web site focused on providing small businesses with the resources they need to succeed. I’ve just been sitting here staring a the keys (the ones on my keyboard). I have a million things I’d like to write about and couldn’t pluck one of them out of my head. When I wasn’t having a brain cramp, I was easily distracted completing other tasks that “needed” to be done first. In all fairness to myself, I do have other responsibilities, but still I even upgraded my computer’s operating system before forcing myself to sit down and just WRITE!!

Today, I did it. I drafted my first submission. I haven’t posted it yet, but I’ve proofed it and set it aside for one last reading tomorrow morning. As soon as it posts, I’ll link to it here.

Yay me!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Twitter, the New Customer Service Frontier

So I've been Twittering. It's fun. It is a release especially for an opinionated woman who works from home (alone most days). I always have things to say, now I have a place to say them.

That's nice you say. Still sounds like a time waster to me. Hold on there, not yet.

Late last month, I received a special email offer from Network Solutions for a buy one get on domains. I've just launched a new personal blog (on Blogger for now) and I wanted to get the domain for that blog. BOGO? Great, I'm there.

I placed the order and noticed that I was charged for both domains. I emailed, but never heard back, so Tuesday, I picked up the phone and called. Net Sol immediately scored points because Cyndi, the woman I spoke was obviously a native speaker of the English language. She asked that I forward the email and then put me on hold (only for like a minute and a half, more points) when she came back she kindly (and I mean that sincerely) pointed out the teeny tiny gray on gray print at the very bottom of the page. She said that many people like to purchase multiple iterations of a domain (i.e. mydomain.com, mydomain.net). Hmm, something I didn't think of with this purchase. Cyndi apologized for the confusion.

They had me, but I wasn't happy about it. So, what's a girl to do? Well Twitter of course!

Fearless oooh, I got snookered by Network Solutions!!!! Grr. So far I'm 0 for 2 on domain name registrars. Go Daddy burned me too. Lesson learned, always, READ teeny tiny gray on gray print closely!netsolcares netsolcares @Fearless I'm Gerry at Network Solutions. I'm sorry, I'd like to help you. Can you contact me at --email deleted--

I laughed. Ok, I'll bite. What the heck, I'll see what he can do. What the heck indeed. Gerry and I exchanged a few emails, wherein I explained what happened and my frustration about the teeny tine gray on gray print, and he offered to refund me the cost of the second domain. WHOA! Really?

Really. I spoke to him by phone yesterday. He told me he'd forwarded my complaint about the teeny tine gray on gray print to The Customer Voice, (a place for NetSol to collect customer input). I was so pleased at the outreach, and the genuine effort put in to making me feel better about the transaction, I suggested that instead of refunding the cost of the domain I purchased, that he just add the .nets to both of the .coms I purchased.

I may be opionoinated, but I can be reasonable, especially if I think my complaints have been heard. So three cheers to Gerry and hears to never seeing teeny tine gray on gray print in a Network Solutions ad again!

So I'll keep Twitterin'. Who knows where it might lead. Do you Twitter? Follow me @Fearless.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Shaking off and settlling into a routine

Summer is over.
School has started.
It is time to get back into the swing of things.

My summer didn’t go exactly as I planned, and as always, I had more on my list of things to do than I could ever have reasonably accomplished even without all the chaos that made up this summer.

There’s always next year right?

I’m actually looking forward to the fall. I’ve started some new projects and so far, the workload seems reasonable. I’ll have more to share shortly.

In the mean time, It is time to pack up the beach toys and get back to business!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I'm Twittering, are you?

I signed up for a Twitter account a year ago. For the life of me couldn't figure out how it could be anything more than a time sucker, especially for someone like me who is REALLY nosy and likes to know what others are up to. So, my Twitter account lay dormant.

However, recently, Twitter keeps popping into my life. Two weeks ago, I read Is Twitter for the Birds in the High Rankings Adviser and that got me thinking. Then I was catching up one of my favorite bloggers Mrs. Fussypants and she Twitters. The proverbial straw came this morning while talking with a colleague who works for the WC3. She relayed a conversation she had at lunch the other day about using Twitter to generate blog traffic.

So, I'm going to give Twitter a try. Do you tweet? If so, follow me twitter.com/fearless

Tweet, tweet!

Monday, August 4, 2008

I'm still here

Hello World!

Yeah, it has been a while. Sorry about that. The spring was CRAZY busy. The 10th annual Granite State Human Resources Conference was held May
6th in Manchester New Hapmshire. It was a successful event, but 500+ attendeees makes for a lot of work. Work I enjoy immensely, and that can be handled when I'm healthy, but 2 weeks before the event I was diagnosed with an infection of the lower intestine. OUCH!! I had to stop (something I'm not particularly good at BTW), and then my well choreographed schedule was blown to bits.

I had a back up plan (a must when you work solo), but fortunately, I didn't need it. There were things I would do differently for the event, but it went well all in all.

May was spent recovering and wrapping up the details. June was the end of the school year and all the details that go with that. July started what should have been two back to back trips, but due to a death in the family two became three.

So, here we are in August. Unbelievable. Planning for the 2009 Granite State Conference is under way, and it is time to start thinking about back to school and getting into fall routines again.

Come September I hope to be here more often. I am working during the month of August, but the load is less than other times of the year, so I'll also be spending some time with my family and helping out some friends.

Until then!
Leee

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Bag Ladies REJOICE - Bag Borrow Or Steal

Who says Internet advertising doesn't work?

I was out snooping through The Pioneer Woman's new digs when an ad on the left column caught my eye. So being the obedient consumer I am, I clicked and was briskly whisked off to Bag Borrow or Steal. THE website for fashionistas and IMHO a very unique concept.

Bag, Borrow or Steal is like a candy shop for the bag lady in all of us. They stock the latest in designer bags and some vintage ones too. You select the bag you like, enter a credit card and wait for the nice delivery man to bring you your prize. You can keep it for as long as you want with borrowing fees assessed by the a week or month. When you tire of the bag you drop in in a box and send it back. If you decide you truly can't part with a particular bag you can even "steal it" (a.k.a. buying it out right).

Those who know me know that hip, chic and trendy are probably the LAST words anyone would use to describe me. So, I won't be adding my name to the waiting list for the latest Jimmy Choo bag, but BBOS gets my nod for a truly unique concept.

Have you tried it? I'd love to know what you thought.