Starting 2021 On The Right Foot
By Cheval John
I knew that 2020 was going to be an interesting year because of synchronization.
I was thinking of the roaring 20s where things was booming in that era.
At that time, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and show my face more on Instagram.
I figured the best way to do this was to showcase my home workout routines put together by my coach, Monique Rondeau.
When I started working at the small hotel in 2018, I knew I had to started exercising again.
At that moment, I had to hire a coach to guide me.
And I saw a lot of fitness competitors on instagram and Monique stood out to me
So I had hired Monique because I had a hunch she would be the right person to guide me and started the workout routines she put together for me from May of 2018.
All of the workouts were from home because of the busy schedule at the small hotel which didn’t give me time to go to the gym.
I didn’t know this would be helpful because of the lockdowns due to the “pandemic”
It was not difficult for me to transition due to the home workout routines years prior.
The only thing that was difficult was doing my walking exercise around the hotel because we could not leave during the temporary lockdowns in Texas.
It was really inspiring to see how the majority of fitness competitors and non-competitors were able to convert a part of their home into a gym to keep up with their workout routines.
One in particular was Eden who did her fitness training in preparation for competition when it was allowed.
Once the competition occured, she ended up earning her pro card.
I honestly believe this year is the best time to start exercising because it will be beneficial for your health and indirectly for your career/business.
When people see you taking care of yourself, they will most likely want to do business with you because in their mind, they see you as responsible.
And if you need guidance, here is a list of personal trainers who can help you:
Janet Lynn West
www.janetlynnwest.com
Julia Marie
www.hammerfitness.com/coach/julia-marie
Stephanie Rutko
www.allanglestrainingco.com
Meagan Cormier
www.hybraletefitness.com
Nichelle Laus
www.nichellelaus.com
Magda Banas
www.blogtalkradio.com/vallanomedia (podcast)
Jean-Jaques Barrett
www.tulumstrengthclub.com
Michelle MacDonald
www.tulumstrengthclub.com
Tania Atkin
www.taniaatkin.com
Monique Rondeau (my coach)
Vicki O’Neill: Host of Connect The Dots Podcast
By Cheval John
Podcasting is still an important medium to get your message out to the world.
According to these statistics compiled by Convince and Convert:
75% of Americans are Now Familiar with Podcasting. …
55% of Americans Have Listened to a Podcast. …
Podcast Listeners Have Grown 37.5% in 3 Years. …
37% of Americans Listen to Podcasts Monthly. …
Monthly Podcast Listeners Have Grown 54% in 3 Years. …
Half of Americans Ages 12-34 Listen to Podcasts Monthly.
Podcasting is still the lowest medium out there because they are about 500 million blogs in the world.
The blogosphere is over saturated.
If have a blog, it can be very difficult to find the right audience because it seems like everyone is talking about the same topic.
Combine it with a podcast and you have a much better chance to grow your business.
Vicki O’Neill took advantage and started her own podcast, Connect The Dots, which interviews business leaders on marketing strategies.
I had the opportunity to interview her on What’s The Word? to find out what led her to start her own podcast and how entrepreneurship helped her to be a better business professional.
Suzanne Brown: Author And Founder Of Mompowerment
By Cheval John
Suzanne Brown returned to What’s The Word? to share about her vision for her business, Mompowerment.
This episode was recorded on Blue Jeans Network before the “pandemic” happened.
Suzanne shared about livestreaming and the resurgence of LinkedIn.
She has written two books and recently published an article in The Harvard Business Review called, “https://hbr.org/amp/2020/09/how-to-identify-a-family-friendly-employer?__twitter_impression=true.
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Below is a sample of what Suzanne shared on the show:
Whether you are on LinkedIn or having a conversation with somebody you have just met at an event, it’s about the relationship building.
You wouldn’t meet somebody and say, “Hey, do you want to buy my book?”
That would not be your approach if you meet somebody in person.
So why would that be your approach online?
I think a lot of times, people think, “Oh, it’s online, therefore, it’s a different set of rules.
Nobody wants to be sold to.
LinkedIn is a professional setting.
So it goes by the same rules that you would have in a professional setting.
If you were selling something to somebody, you would learn a little bit about them.
Maybe there is an article that you both responded to and you really liked what they had to say.
That is a great reason to connect with that person.
I think it’s also really important to use the functionality where it allows you to send a note.
Just change the generic note and personalized the message.
That first engagement is key because it makes them think, “Do I want to connect with this person or not.”
If your immediate thing is to spam, chances are you will start losing people.
On The Comeback Of LinkedIn
I think all of a sudden, people have discovered or rediscovered LinkedIn as a platform because for a really long time, it was an online resume.
Now people are realizing this a great way to build business relationships especially with those who are not in your typical network.
You can connect with people all over the world.
You can connect with people from different business industries.
I think it’s a really great platform.
I think that influencers have really great wins on LinkedIn
Now they are saying, “This is the platform to use.”
All of a sudden, these newbies are coming to LinkedIn and they don’t necessary understand the platform.
So they are using what is essentially bad habits.
So being able to start coaching people and say, “I am glad we connected. I am not interested in this message, do you like to continue this conversation?”
You can find nicer ways to doing that.
Or simply unfriend and overtime, people will figure out, “Oh, maybe I shouldn’t done that (spamming)”
So it all depends on if you want to mentor somebody or if you want to just give them the boot.
Websites Are The Home Base For Business
By Cheval John
A person has just started a new business and they are looking to attract new customers.
They understand they don’t have the funding to buy ad space on billboards.
They understand one of the ways to market their business is by being featured on media outlets.
The first thing they might do is hire a public relations firm to pitch to major media outlets.
The only problem is major media outlets are not interested in them because they are not big enough.
It might seem like a good idea because major media outlets like CBS, ABC, etc., have major national reach.
It would be better if they would focus on getting featured on niche media because:
1. They Have Targeted Audience.
People who follow a niche media are passionate about the subject.
They invest their valuable time to follow what the reporter or blogger from the niche media are talking about.
2. They Are The Original Test Tasters.
If you have a product or service, they are willing to see what you are about.
They are willing to put their own reputation on the line because they believe that you are the real deal.
3. You Don’t Have To Go Through Gatekeepers.
If you want to reach out to major media, you have to pitch yourself to someone and convince them you have a story that will generate interest.
If it gets approved by that person, they have to pitch your story to their editor for the final approval before they could air it.
The biggest advantage with going with a blogger, all you have to do is pitch your story to them and if it is good, they will immediately write about it.
4. You Will Featured On Major Media
You might thing this is counter to what I am saying earlier.
It is not because shows from major media outlets are looking for content everyday because they have to fill in their time slots.
Most of the time they look at websites from bloggers/niche media outlets to find their story.
If it interests them, it will be featured on their shows and voila, you will be featured on a major media outlet.
For example, this person who is living in South Korea was featured in Black Enterprise website recently.
What was interesting: the story was first featured on a blog called,”Black Girls Learning Languages”
So if you are convinced about avoiding the major media when first starting out your business, here are some tips to stand out:
1. Have An Active Social Media Presence
Whether it is Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn, you have to be on there because most of your audience are on there.
2. Share Valuable Content
Do not blast out promotional posts only because that will give the impression you do not care about them, but only about making a sale.
3. Share Your Competition’s Content
If you find that their content resonates with you, share it with your audience.
What that does is let them know you care about them.
Even if they end up buying a product or service from your competition, they will remember you because you were willing to be a giver.
In the long run, you will end up receiving business due to your generosity.
4. Create A Website
Your website should be the main hub for your business because it is your real estate.
If you focus your business only through social media, it could end up costing you.
Social media is rented land and what we have seen over the years is algorithms being changed because the owners of these social media sites want the audience to stay on their platform as long as they can.
If you are a marketer and all you are doing is spamming the audience on the social media platform, they will run away.
And that is not what the owners of the platform wants.
If you have a large audience on the social media platforms and you base your business from that, when the algorithm hits, you lose a large share of that audience and your base revenue.
Yoga: The Most Underrated Exercise
By Cheval John
I had done yoga and pilates with my weight training while I was in college for two years.
Unfortunately, I didn’t keep up with my exercises in the final years of my undergraduate education.
When I started weight training again in 2018, I didn’t even think about doing yoga until watching the episode of Wagle Ki Duniya-Nayi Peedhi Naye Kisse (Wagle’s World: New Generation New Stories) focusing on yoga during the “international day of yoga”
In searching for yoga videos on YouTube, I found a channel called Yoga With Adrienne.
She had videos from beginners to advanced yoga.
Since I had a busy schedule of working full time while running this company, I decided to do the mini-sessions which lasted for 23 minutes.
Afterward, I incorporated yoga into weight training.
Later, I found another channel called Sara Beth Yoga which had 10 minute yoga sessions and 14 minute yoga sessions for beginners.
This fit better for me.
Then I decided to challenge myself to do yoga consecutively for 30 days after my birthday after watching a video on those who did yoga consecutively for 30 days and 365 days, respectively
I ended up doing yoga for 67 consecutive days.
What I can share after doing yoga consecutively for 67 days is:
Yoga calms the mind and block out the noise
Yoga relaxes the body.
What it also did was allow me to do my exercise routine the right way.
Now you might think you don’t have time to incorporate yoga into your exercises.
With the internet and social media, anyone can find the time to do yoga at the comfort of your home.
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