How to do the Trim4Life Contest with JM Ocean Avenue's Franco Cavaleri

I love listening to Franco Cavaleri talk about how to get your best life with the JM Ocean Avenue Trim4Life program. Talking about women, and men, and how we differ and what we are looking for.  He started the Trim4Life program December 21st. And he's lost 9 pounds in 3 weeks!!

Creative Marketing is the key to your business success

I think that often the problem is finding the right marketing venue that works for your business. There are so many websites, magazines and newsletters out there that it can be overwhelming to someone new in business and it can be very frustrating even sometimes for those of us that have been in business for quite some time.

Many lower level executives think the advertising/marketing industry holds a poor grasp of the business issues confronting organizations such as theirs, according to the latest study from Forbes.com and Euro RSCG Worldwide. Most of the 9,000 senior executives polled agreed that advertising is an important driver of corporate success. In fact, 72 percent think advertising and marketing can have a substantial influence over the way the market perceives their company; while 62 percent feel their advertising and marketing programs have a substantial impact on sales. But when it comes to effectiveness, the respondents were split -- about 42 percent felt that "the advertising industry seems to have a poor grasp of the business issues confronting organizations like mine", while just under 40 percent think "external advertising and marketing services bring a valuable perspective to our advertising and marketing issues."

You have to remember that there are 2,405,518,376 human beings (up from 812,000,000 in s 2004) are now online worldwide (Internet World Stats) and so online marketing is something that can be really quite confusing.

Electronic advertising is one of the biggest gaining areas that large and small companies are using today. It's a very important feature for any company if it's used correctly. An effective Web Marketing Campaign that would bring the rate of return visitors up, and house sales at an increase. Emitations.com, was looking to efficiently market new products and promotions to her loyal, yet demanding customer base. To appeal to these demanding consumers, she needed a convenient and appropriate communication vehicle. Emitations.com now publishes a weekly newsletter to communicate with customers and prospects. 

The newsletters that I am talking about are a great improvement from the text-based emails that were individually prepared and emailed, as they are now using a great HTML software program to manage their campaigns. Sometimes creating these emails and managing the mailing lists are too time consuming and you don't get the professional look that you want as well. If you can't look as professional then why bother, right? I love how AWeber makes not only my newsletter, but my automated and feature email marketing a breeze.

But if you use your tools correctly - you can keep your customers coming back for specials, educational benefits and so much more. Also you don't have to just build your email list online. If you are talking to someone offline why not ask them if they'd like to get your email newsletters. Always put the contact into your smart phone, or address book. As long as you always provide them with an out, if they say yes you could turn them into a customer. Email marketing is one of the lowest cost advertising tools you can use today. 

How many other ways can I connect with my customer base? 

Another great tool is networking with others. Networking is on of the biggest keys to the puzzle of business. Network can be a noun or a verb. It can be a group of people that exchange information or the act of exchanging information, contacts and experiences with others for a professional or social purpose.

Our American society does not encourage individuality as a general rule, and there for it does not teach us how to network. If you were to ask ten different people what networking is - you may get as many as ten different answers. One person's definition of networking probably depends upon their use of this important personal and professional activity or lack of use as I've seen more often. Networking is about making new friends, finding a new job, developing your current career, exploring new career options, obtaining referrals or sales leads, or simply to broaden your professional horizons, as it is important to focus on networking as an exchange of information, contacts or experience. And you don't just have to network in your po-dunk town. With Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, Linked In and many more the networking opportunities are endless. 

In any industry or career level networking helps you make connections in a personal way and build relationships of support and respect to discover and create mutual benefits. It is a skill set no serious professional businessman or women of the 21st Century can be without. The keys to networking are to make sure you introduce yourself, have a purpose for networking, make it easy for others to find you/your business, and of course when appropriate exchange business information and be prepared. Many people jump right to exchanging business information. If you were looking for a top-notch dentist or surgeon where would you look? Would you trust the testimony of a good friend, or the size of a phone book ad? To be able to sell new clients, you must be able to benefit from current clients. To be able to get referrals you must be able to make the connections needed to get the referrals. If you do not engage your networking community – you’ll never be able to gain their support. If you don’t think you can network with others effectively – then you should rethink starting a business for yourself. Poor networking can ruin your reputation. 

Your reputation is your business credit. Your networking partners are your business equity. When you have great equity in your home and you need home improvements it is always much easier to get a loan. When you need business – and you have great business equity in your networking community – it is easy to fill the time slots, to sale the orders, to raise the level of your business success. 
Good networking partners will provide you with referral clients because of the equity you've built with them through time. These supports will be a strong foundation to increase the value of your business. But never forget to send your gratitude to anyone and everyone that you network effectively with, in writing. Personal Communication is the single biggest strategy in building your business. One thank-you is worth a mint. When you get a referral, when a client allows you to use them for a testimonial, remember that in order to continue to grow your business equity you will need to communicate to them the gratitude. 

Learn to improvise and improve. When capital is low, it’s the smart business owner that uses a variety of plans to hold down marketing costs. Share newsletter space with great partner companies. Trade links with other websites that offer services or products that work well with your overall structure, not just to trade links. A good online friend may not be a great marketing partner. Offer great “freebies” on your website to keep your visitor’s coming back. Always offer an opt-in email for news and updates and use this as an effective low-cost advertising tool. Offer incentives to current and prior customers to keep them coming back. Learn to focus on your target market, and only advertise where you’ll hit the bull’s-eye. When in doubt, follow your gut instinct.

How many of you are looking for marketing or want new customers? How many of you do both online and offline sales? Do you consider yourself to be active in networking and referring business to others you meet? Do you feel you use your advertising dollars for the best placed ads? These are some important questions you need to ask yourself today.

Gluten-free Sunday Family Lasagna

Sometimes I have to cave for the family, and make them some comfort food. There is so much that they've given up to be healthier. I remember the second day that my daughter had been taken off of dairy, she asked if she could have a yogurt squeezer. We always had the organic yogurt tubes in the fridge. I looked at her and said, "Baby, you can't have cow milk anymore and those are made from cows." She looked at me with those big blue eyes and sobbed. It was the one and only time that she reacted that way to changes in her diet, and it nearly broke me. Yet I stood strong because I knew where we were going, Thanks to eliminating dairy she is off of inhaled steroids, and she was on 6 puffs a day before I took her off dairy. I've never regretted that decision.

So now we're gluten-free, mom? Is there a Gluten-Free Sunday dinner? 

Now you have to remember that for over two years I've been off dairy, meat, and even longer off soy and corn. But the wheat had stuck around, even though I knew I felt better when I was off dairy. I did one ten day stink without any of it once, and lost 10 pounds, but still went back to it and gained it all back. There are some okay gluten-free pastas, the 100% qunioa for instance. But my daughter has been talking about how much she missed lasagna. Then the other day I saw the Manini's gluten-free lasagna sheets. So worth it if you want to eat lasagna.

Sunday Gluten-Free Paleo Vegeo Lasagna

Ingredients:
Himilayan salt
Good extra virgin olive oil
3/4 pound dried gluten-free lasagna noodles
4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
12 tablespoons vegan butter, divided
1/2 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds portobello mushrooms
Sliced (long) zucchini (one - two)
1 cup shredded daiya cheese
1 cup of crushed organic tomatoes

Could also add some baby spinach in to it like I do.

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt and a splash of oil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
3. For the white sauce, bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Set aside. Melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once. Add 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring first with the wooden spoon and then with a whisk, for 3 to 5 minutes, until thick. Set aside off the heat.
4. Separate the mushroom stems from the caps and discard the stems. Slice the caps 1/4-inch thick. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan. When the butter melts, add half the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and they release some of their juices. If they become too dry, add a little more oil. Toss occasionally to make sure the mushrooms cook evenly. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and set all the mushrooms aside. I layer in the zucchini, mushrooms and baby spinach.
5. To assemble the lasagna, spread some of the white sauce in the bottom of an 8 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then red sauce, then 1/3 of the mushrooms and other vegetables, and 1/4 cup grated daiya cheese, then white sauce. Repeat 2 more times, layering noodles, sauce (alternating sauces), mushrooms, and daiya. Top with a final layer of noodles and sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
6. Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned the sauce is bubbly and hot. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and serve hot.

I don't make this often, but when it's been a grey long month, like the last 12 days here in the Seattle area {12 days no rain, just fog and smog} then it's a treat for my family that will get inhaled.