happy
Life | Work

Successful: Rich or Happy?

What defines success? Merriam-Webster describes it as a “favorable or desired outcome; the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.” Just as every word that conjures emotion, a dictionary definition doesn’t do it justice. So what does it mean to you? Is success having 2 cars, 2 kids, and a suburban home, or what about breaking […]

Continue Reading

negotiation
Life | Work

What’s Your Negotiation Style?

Good negotiating involves give and take. It applies to work and home, friends and family and is an important part of relationship starting and building. Being good at it takes practice and patience, both of which many people do not have. In the business world, negotiating is the key to getting what you want, if […]

Continue Reading

consulting
Life | Work

The Story of Promise Consulting Group

6 years ago in July 2010, Vistaprint (my employer at the time) offered a free website for life to employees. I loved testing the new products, so quickly signed on and claimed www.promiseconsultinggroup.com. Did I do any consulting at that time? No. Did I give any thought to what I may someday do with this […]

Continue Reading

online marketing
Work

Essentials of Online Marketing

With total advertising spend at a decline, online advertising is the only medium with projected growth in 2010 – to a whopping $60 billion in revenue. So what does this mean for you? Whether you’re a small business or work for a large corporation, you will likely need to know the basics of online marketing […]

Continue Reading

marketing
Work

Marketing with Meaning

“Marketing with meaning”, coined in The Next Evolution of Marketing, can be defined as bringing value to clients (potential and existing) through your marketing tactics. What does this mean for a business? Is offering a product or service enough of a value in itself? Merriam-Webster provides several definitions of the word value: “a fair return […]

Continue Reading

invest
Life

Invest in Yourself

The return on investment by investing in your business – and therefore yourself – offers higher rewards and lower risks than trying to beat the stock market or going all in on the latest pyramid scheme. That’s not to say that if you pile all your savings into a half-baked idea it will come out […]

Continue Reading

negotiate
Work

Negotiate Your Pay

This is one of my favorite work topics, as friends have come to me for years asking about this. I know everyone approaches this topic differently, and my viewpoint is not the only one. I am a firm advocate of NEVER telling how much you make in your current role. 1) it’s no one’s business […]

Continue Reading

purpose
Life

What’s Your Purpose?

There’s what you like to do and what you love to do and what you’re good at doing. I like marketing and I love animals and I seem to be pretty good at helping people answer life’s many questions. Things like how to budget, save, negotiate and so on. But in all of this, you […]

Continue Reading

consultant
Work

How to Become a Consultant

Before making the leap to be a consultant, it’s important to consider every stage of the process. My tips below don’t include the pre-work…the dreaming, the planning and the decision. Instead, these are things to keep in mind once you’ve decided to give it a go: Get everything in writing. Have an agreement and make […]

Continue Reading

american dream
Life

The American Dream

Maybe that’s the power of the American Dream. You can be anything you want to be. Those who know me know I’ve been on a kick about this lately. Society teaches you that the American Dream is to go to college, meet someone, get married, buy a house, have kids and have a successful career […]

Continue Reading