Hey Everybody How’s It Going?

So much has happened. My business has taken off in a BIG way.

A recent success story: I had an attorney client whose social media marketing has been a HUGE SUCCESS. New potential clients calling everyday. New consultations every week. We were discussing it and she seemed actually annoyed by how successful it was. I asked her what was going on and she said she had only wanted more clients “in theory” and now she felt too busy!

What?!

I don’t even know how to respond by that except at the beginning of the year I had told her she had to commit 100% to her business and I still don’t think she has. Why is we all want more money but not more work? We even strategized what she could do for more money and less work but even then, there is still work.

So what did we do to grow her business?
I’ve written some Facebook live scripts, which has really helped grow her business locally. She was uploading them to YouTube (same script, same video, not live merely downloaded from Facebook) and after a few months of consistently doing this – her videos on YouTube have taken off. One has over 56K views…she is getting calls everyday from people who have seen her videos.

Here’s the thing – do you know who owns YouTube? Google. So…if you’re showing up on YouTube, your Google rank will go up too, for free.

All social media is inter-connected.

Reason 456 on why you need to be consistent. Consistently posting on as many platforms as you can will help. Blog. Facebook. YouTube. Those are what we did for her and she has had more income in the past 3 months then she has in 9 years of business.

Of course, once they call and/or come in you need to follow through to keep them. Or not…if you don’t want the work/money!

10.20.17 Fun Things to do Around Atlanta This Weekend

Sorry I was MIA last weekend. There were fun things to do and I hope you got out and about.

We had a few birthdays in the family this week. My son usually picks Olive Garden for his birthday dinner out (I make a special one at home, too) because he loves the endless breadsticks and I love the endless salad. But we went to Chuck a’ Rama. They were kind enough to give him a free dinner and drink since it was his birthday. If you sign up online they will do the same for you – we had not signed up prior to going and I didn’t know about this promo.

And, miracle of miracles, my son (10! now) who hates spices and sauces LOVED the smoked ribs. Please, oh, please let this be a new era of being less picky!

So, you in the Atlanta area may already know this but if you go to the library you can get a FREE pass to: state parks, the Atlanta Zoo, The Michael Carlos Museum, The Puppet Museum, and a few other places I think. They have some restrictions (like its only general membership so shows and such you need to pay for) and the Zoo, at least, is only once a year. Ask at your local library but I think its AWESOME!

What else is there to do this weekend?

Neither of these will be on our family agenda this weekend’s
(Horror – no thanks!) The Atlanta Horror Film Festival – started today – goes through Sunday. And Decatur has a year-round ghost tour.

Callaway Gardens is having a 2 day fly-fishing class – must be 12 and up and $350 but goals – right?

Finally, have you tried flotation therapy? Are you interested? I TOTALLY am! This is all the time but I want! Infinity Floating looks way cool! Cryto therapy kinda scares me but this just seems the ultimate in relaxation.

What about you, what fun things are you doing this weekend?

10.6.17 Fun things to do around Atlanta this weekend

Sad 😢- the Grilled Cheese Festival tickets have sold out! No link but they do have a waiting list – no kids – 21 and older only. $12 a ticket.

Happy 😁- P!nk is coming to Atlanta in 2018 – get your tickets asap.

Dogs 🐺 delight – Lanierworld is having a Dog Day $15 a car. Sounds like fun!

40 plays in 4 days 🎥 (this already started!) The Atlanta Black Theatre Festival looks amazing.

We did two of the activities I had last week – Duluth Fall Festival – awesome weather, great stage performances, terrible parking, and way too many “buy my stuff” booths – that was pretty much all it was and those “knitted stone necklaces” what the what – my mom has used that stuff to embellish birthday packages for years – now every one is acting like its a necklace?! Weird. No less than 5 of those booths! I sorta see a pan banjo 🎻 in our family’s future though -they were cool.

Koi Festival 🐠 – we got there as they were closing on Sunday and it was basically big (like bigger than kiddie pool sized) blue buckets with koi – neat to see. Would love to get some at some point.

Are you doing anything fun? Have you gone to any of the activities and what did you think?

9.29.17 Fun things to do in and around Atlanta

Friday is National Coffee day – here’s a list of places to take advantage of that.

What’s your favorite brand or place for coffee? Since I’ve started using Thrive I don’t *need* it but sometimes I want a taste. Green Mountain is what I prefer at home. Out I like Dunkin Donuts, 7-11, or McDonalds or a Wawa if available.

And while we’re on the subject of coffee, let’s add in cupcakes! Grand Opening of Smallcakes – Saturday from noon to 4pm.

And since both coffee and cupcakes make me want to sit down with a good book [actually any circumstance makes me want to sit down with a good book) Books by the Pound is moving and is having a sale – $5 for 10 books.

Duluth’s Annual Fall Festival is this weekend.

My son will love this Koi show and I love that it’s free.

And, finally (only here there’s lots more going on in the area) Callanwolde is having this very cool sounding Beathe walk. $35 for a 50 minute walk.

What are your plans this weekend?

9.22.17 What to do this weekend in and around Atlanta.

I love finding activities to do (my son being an extrovert has encouraged me) – especially free ones or those that help me see more of where I’m living. Once a week I’ll post a few for you.

Free entrance fee – East Atlanta Strut – http://eastatlantastrut.com.

Atlanta Zoo Sipping Safari – please get an Uber or Lyft if you’re drinking alcohol. $60 non-member, $100 VIP.  https://zooatlanta.org/visit/events/sippin/

Imagine Music Festival – $143.00 for a single day pass.  http://www.imaginefestival.com

 

Totally different but I found this cool list of things for homeschoolers to do in the area. http://www.atlanta.net/Blog/22-Best-Atlanta-Homeschool-Days-and-Programs/

Another day Thrifting 9.20.17

Yesterday, my child started back at school after re-locating after the hurricane. As a side note, wow the documentation needed is a little much to get a kid in school – you’d think they don’t really want them there!

So, with some time on my hands, and him needing some school clothes, I headed over to Goodwill. Today, since I had a few minutes – I decided to look coughcoughpawcough through the jewelry.

The thing about jewelry – you have to know what you’re looking at/for and you have to keep an eye out for anything broken on it. I got this:

Prior to me seeing this another customer was digging through the bracelet rack and said “I wish I could find a Pandora bracelet but they’ll never have those” and then walked away. So this is a “Pandora inspired” bracelet. But can you spot the Pandora charm? There’s one and I didn’t see it before I got home. I actually needed a new bracelet like this. I figured for $4.99 the bracelet alone would be worth it. When I got home I saw 1 charm had ‘925’ on the bottom (meaning its silver).. See it yet?

The teapot. Upper right, 2nd from end. Selling for about 29.99 on eBay.

 

9.16.17 Thrifting – which one is real?

The Chanel bag is super soft, luxurious, leather. The Coach bag is the standard coach fabric and leather accents.

By feel – I’d say the Chanel bag. But by authentication most likely the Coach bag (though I haven’t 100% verified this yet). It has a sewn in certificate (the Chanel has nothing inside). The Chanel bag has a very fake looking tassel – the Coach has good hardware.

Do I care?

Um, no, my purse is now the super soft and bright, fake-Chanel. Because we should use what makes us happy. Would I like the Chanel more of it was real? Honestly, maybe.

..maybe we all have some “I have a real x” desire in us. But it makes me happy just the way it is. Free from my sister’s closet – what could be better?

9.15.17 Thrifting dishes continued

So – here are a few tips I picked up from the pro of Thrifting.

1. Yes, you can make money for selling china.
2. It’s a bit more intensive than other items because A. It’s china and you have to pack (so buy bubble wrap) and ship carefully. B. You can sell it in a lot but that usually earns less. C. Since it’s china you’ll most often find less than a set at a thrift store. Even then – if people are looking to complete a set it’s often a great ROI (return on investment).

Checking prices on eBay – when you go to eBay scroll all the way to the bottom. Click on “classic site.” Enter in what you’re looking for – in my case – Wedgewood Tuscany (there is also a # on each piece that signifies the pattern – it is the same on the type so all cereal bowls are #48, all plates #11 – you can add this but it didn’t change the search). And then over to the left, toward the bottom you can filter your results. Filter by: sold listings. This shows you what people have paid – which is a good way to see what you might make.

Again, unless someone buys your stuff – you haven’t earned you any money. So if you check out what people have paid – it will give you an idea of

a. If it’s popular and

b. What you can probably charge.

I found another beautiful brand set but it wasn’t being sold for more than $4 a plate. You decide if that is worth it to you. Since I’m in a small living arrangement currently I’m not willing to add things that *might* sell.

Any questions? Any searching tips of your own?

9.14.17 Thrift shopping

I forgot how amazing the thrift stores are outside Atlanta.

My sister is a QUEEN 👑 at finding things because she knows names, brands, authenticity…I am merely a baby 🚼 learning.

Today I found some Wedgewood plates and bowls. On Replacementsdotcom the bowls are going for: 124.99. 1 bowl. I bought 6. The plates are going for 79.99 – I bought 7. So I emailed replacementsdotcom to see how much I could get from them. They will give me 16.00 a bowl and I didn’t see a figure for the plates. I paid 10.91 for them – total. Now, I get that until someone buys them, I haven’t made any money but BUT the possibilities are endless.

A few finds my sister has made – a $10,000 men’s wool coat (forget the brand) for $15. She sold it for $500. A $1,500 gold watch for $15. A stone figurine for $124. She contacted the artist – it was his first piece. As is, it’s worth about about $2,500. If she sends it to him, he’ll fix it for $500 (it has semi-precious stones in it) and he will give her a Certificate of Insurance for $10,000.

I thought it might be fun as I find pieces – I’ll take pictures and then when we sell them, I’ll post that. Sound good?

Oh, I also got a new looking Pouchie (go look they care vegan leather purse inserts that start at $35) for $5. I have a niece who is vegan. Yay! Christmas present!

 

Update: 9.15.17 – My sister helped me find how much I should charge on eBay. Bowls are harder to find so I’m going to charge $40 each plus shipping (eBay takes a fee for both) and the plates $25 each. *IF* I sell them, it’ll be a great return on investment – I’ll keep you updated.

Random thoughts 9.12.17

I struggle with updating this because as a freelance writer, I want my posts to be perfect. Pictures, and captions, and citations, and content that inspire and impress. But my personal writing has always been a hodgepodge – kinda like a pensieve from Harry Potter – get it out of my brain and down on “paper.”

So here goes:

1. Evacuating for the hurricane sucked. What is normally a 10 hour trip turned into 25 hours of driving misery.  MISERY! The only bright spot was how kind the majority of people were everywhere. Never want to do that again. Thank God I drive an automatic car and not a stick shift.
2. My life feels like its flip-flopping around. I’m going to re-settle in Georgia for awhile. Re-setting my mind. Not at the beach. I’m sad but it was a daily struggle. My son hated it. My cat developed open sores on his body. My dog was happy because he is where I am but even he struggled to walk on hot asphalt daily. Sigh. Maybe Savannah in a few months?
3. Abundance mindset – working on it.
4. It is nice not to walk outside and sweat. More than nice. Lovely. But it’s not beach and I love beach. But when every person and animal in your life hates it, can you really force it on them?

Molly Sapp and Danielle LaPorte are in my reading/listening now. What is the difference between emotion and feeling for you?

 

Trying to figure out what my ultimate feeling is to see my path to it. Have you explored either?