Category Archives: Life long Learning

Feedback


Posted by Amy Diederich

When starting your own big thing you will encounter times you need to give feedback. When you have the opportunity to give feedback you should keep in mind Gibb’s supportive behaviors:

Description:  Make sure you focus on describing very specific behavior so the person can repeat the behavior if it is positive feedback you are providing or isolate the behavior if it is negative feedback.

Problem Orientation: Focus on the task  not on the person! Most importantly focus on behavior they can change versus labeling them.

Can't you stand up straight!

Spontaneity: Give feedback in the moment when you see the behavior. Make it relevant!

Empathy: Make sure you show concern for others. Make sure you take the perspective of the person you are giving feedback!

Equality:  Beware of little status differences, say “we,” “us,” “our” versus owning your feedback and using I and coming from a place of equality.

Provisionalism: Finally be tentative/flexible: “We could . . . One way we might do that is . .  or I think this is what is happening…Remember things are not always what they seem!

“The floor is flat”

 Go out and Live your BIG life! Give positive feedback when you can and always give feedback it is a gift!


Tools to Help You with Your Website


Posted by Amy Diederich

Happy Fourth of July!

Many entrepreneurs ask me questions about SEO and websites. This weekend while celebrating the Fourth I gathered with some fellow entrepreneurs and we discussed our websites. While I am no expert I love to share what I know and the tools I have found helpful.

One tool I love is Hubspots’s website grader. http://websitegrader.com.  This free site gives you up to date advice in how to improve your site. It assigns a “grade” which being a type A personality I love to follow the suggestions it provides to improve my grade.

Another site I like is backlink watch http://www.backlinkwatch.com. This site is also free and provides you with details on what backlinks you have and the page ranks of these back links.

Also check out www.Alexa.com. Downloading the Alexa toolbar allows you to see your traffic rank. It is a free tool that not only lets you watch traffic ranks for your site but others as well.

For  Ipad users and owners you should check out all the great SEO apps! For less than five dollars each you can get some great stats on your site. I love SEO Ranking. It tells me my keywords and how my site is doing for those words. There is also an SEO course. It contains short videos to help educate you quickly on how to improve your position in search engines.

What tools do you like? Please share. As entrepreneurs we often have to wear many hats. I know for this entrepreneur I am loving my new role of understanding SEO.


Keywords and other curves in the road


Posted by Amy Diederich

I heard a story once about four new mountain bikers. These bikers were learning from fantastic guides. One guide was in the front of the group and another behind the group.  The line of bikers proceeded through a rigorous mountain course. Everything was fine until they approached a narrow path with a sharp turn. The first biker took the turn to fast and careened off the path. The second biker seeing what happened to the first slammed on the brakes falling head over the handlebars. The third biker swerved to avoid the second. The fourth and final biker listened to the guide behind him. This guide yelled look past the curve! Look past the curve! The fourth biker looked head on the path to the other side of the curve. Keeping his eyes fixed on the place he was headed he effortlessly piloted through his fallen comrades to the other side of the curve.

What do we need to learn from this? We must always keep our destination in focus! We must look past the curves we will undoubtedly encounter when starting our own Big thing!  As an experienced entrepreneur I still get some of those curves right now for me it is Keywords. I will post on what I have learned about Keywords in a future post. But for today I will share with you a more macro lesson. Look past the curve! See your destination so you can make it through the turns!


Jack and The Magic Beanstalk


Posted by Amy Diederich

The Beanstalk

Recently I was one of a “select group” to be invited to attend a webinar on starting your own business. I received a barrage of emails about the magic steps to success. I was intrigued and stayed tuned in until it came time to buy. The cost of the webinar? $1495.00.

Why did I not enroll? Not because of the price but because of the promises! The webinar stated if I followed the steps I would get rich quick! This was a giant red flag for me. I know from starting my own business that there is not one magic bean that will grow the giant beanstalk or one magic step to entrepreneurial success. It takes work!

You will notice I did not say hard work. The one thing I learned from my dad and had drilled into my head from early on is.. “What will make you successful is doing what you love with those who you love.”  I say almost the same thing to my three kids, but I say it a bit differently. I say, “Success is doing what you love with those that you love.” I work long hours but I love it! I am always thinking about my business because it is my passion.

I am blessed to be in a business that helps other people. Get Your BIG On helps connect those who have expertise to share with those seeking that expertise. I receive emails, Facebook messages, calls, and twitter messages almost daily from people who want or need help. Sometimes it is someone looking for information other times it is someone wanting to share information. What a great business to be in! What a great life to live!

Next week at www.getyourbigon.com we are featuring a class offered by Tara Alemany and Rick Swartz from Building your Biz called Getting a Rush from Your Follow-up. In this class they talk about the joy of building your business. They use an analogy to working out. In building your business you get up, work out and repeat day after day to see results. Those of us who love our workout routine know that the only way to do this is and keep it up is to do what you love.

So when you get those ads promising you the magic bean that will grow the magic beanstalk be wary! They may have information that helps but unless you find your true passion.. work will be hard work! My steps for success are do what you love and learn all you can to be the best you can!


My Formula for Entrepreneurial Success


Posted by Amy Diederich

Right Product + Market Opportunity + Committed Execution = Success

Many people ask me what is the key to my success as a business owner. I look to the formula that my dad passed down to me. He would say you need to have a product that people need. Elaborating that not only do you need a product people need but you need enough people to need it to make a profit. Mix in a passion for what you are doing and learning everything you can about selling, marketing, making and developing the product.

Harvard Business School professor Nitin Nohria along with William Joyce and Bruce Roberson studied 160 companies to look for common management practices that succeed and found a sound business plan is at the core of success. They found a strong grasp of business basics was the key to longevity and growth. My dad never went to college only trade school. He smiles when I share what the Harvard Business School says about success.  My dad is a smart man with a great deal of common sense.

As I explore what makes a person both a success as an inventor and entrepreneur, I think that I have found another key! You must be highly smart but also have common sense. I am not sure the two always go hand in hand.

I look to the great inventor/entrepreneur Colonel Deed. He not only invented things but was called by Quaker Oats to improve functioning of a factory. He is an example of a highly intelligent man with good business common sense.