Carmen Sognonvi

Transcript

Hi, I’m Carmen Sognonvi.

The great thing about the internet is that it’s given business owners like us such an abundance of resources to further our self-education.

You probably already know that blogs are a great place to learn, as are videos like the one you’re watching now.

But there’s a whole other realm of content you may not have considered before. I’ll tell you what it is in this video.

Have you ever listened to any audio podcasts?

Podcasts are kind of like online radio shows, and they’re a great way to learn how to be a better entrepreneur.

There are so many great podcasts out there, but to make it easy for you I’ve picked out the top 3 podcasts that I think every local business owner should be listening to.

1. For Immediate Release

For Immediate Release is a podcast about the intersection of communication and technology.

It’s a weekly podcast, about an hour long, and it’s co-hosted by Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz, both of whom are veterans in the communications industry.

“Communications” in this case encompasses everything from public relations to media relations, from investor relations to employee relations.

And often the discussions will spill over into advertising and marketing too.

What I love about this show is that Shel and Neville do such a great job of explaining the business impact of emerging technologies.

They’re not just talking about technology for technology’s sake – they show you how it can be used to achieve business goals, and discuss which companies are doing it right and which ones are getting it wrong.

I’ve actually been listening to FIR since 2006, and I’ve always considered it to be my secret weapon in keeping on top of technology trends.

2. Marketing Over Coffee

Marketing Over Coffee is a weekly podcast about marketing, about a half hour long, and it’s co-hosted by John Wall and Christopher Penn, both of whom are well-known in the marketing and new media space.

This show is a great way to keep up with marketing-related news items.

But what I really love is that John and Christopher will often share specific marketing techniques or technology tools that make your life easier as a marketer.

And if you’re a local business owner, you’re a marketer – whether you like to think of yourself that way or not!

3. Media Bullseye Radio

Media Bullseye Radio is a weekly podcast that in their words, “explores the changing communications landscape for media, marketing and public relations professionals.”

It usually runs about a half hour and it’s produced by a company called CustomScoop, which is a media monitoring service.

Jen Zingsheim, one of Custom Scoop’s VPs, hosts the show with a rotating cast of co-hosts.

Jen does a great job of summing up recent news stories.

So just by spending 30 minutes each week listening to this show – you’ll be caught up on all the big marketing and PR news of the week.

But what I really like about the show is that the hosts don’t always drink the social media Kool-Aid.

For example, it’s quite fashionable among social media types to publicly shame big companies who make mistakes in their social media efforts.

But Jen is not the type to jump on the shaming bandwagon.

She’ll often offer a different point of view that’s rooted in an understanding of a company’s business goals – and as a business owner I find that really refreshing.

Subscribe to These Shows Now!

And there you have it – the top 3 podcasts every local business owner should listen to.

Please go check them out!

I’ll include links to all three of these podcasts below.

If you found this video useful, sign up to get email updates from me!

You’ll get more great tips on how to run a successful local business, along with occasional special offers from me.

If you’re already on my blog, just fill out the form below.

Or if you’re watching this video elsewhere, go to www.carmensognonvi.com/newsletter and sign up there.

Thanks for watching.

What’s your favorite podcast?

I’d love to hear your picks, so leave a comment below!

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Transcript

Hi, I’m Carmen Sognonvi.

It’s the start of a new year, which means it’s a great time to set new goals for yourself.

But how can you create goals that actually excite you, and how can you make sure you that follow through with them?

That’s what this video is all about.

Even though I’m a classic Type A personality who’s good at getting things done, goal-setting itself has never been a strength of mine.

In other words, I’m not going to pretend that I’m an expert in this area.

What I am going to do though, is share with you a new approach that my husband Serge and I are trying out this year, in case you’d like to give it a shot too.

By the way, for more useful tips on running a local business, check out my blog.

1. Write a 3-Year Vision

The last time I made new year’s resolutions, I wasn’t very excited because they seemed like small, timid goals.

So this year Serge and I decided to try something I heard about from Fabienne Frederickson at ClientAttraction.com.

She recommends writing out a 3-year vision.

The idea is that you imagine what your ideal life would be like three years from now.

You date the document January three years from now, and you write it out in the present tense.

You describe in detail all the things you’ve accomplished in your business, in your relationships, in your health, in your spirituality.

All the major areas of your life that are most important to you.

When we did this exercise, we found ourselves really stretching, really thinking big.

Especially because we know from experience that a lot can happen in a 3-year span.

In February 2008 Serge and I were hustling hard with no real end in sight.

We both worked dead-end office jobs and spent our nights and weekends working part-time jobs in the restaurant industry to make extra money.

But three years later in February 2011 our lives were completely different.

We were married, had a 2-year-old daughter, and owned a thriving martial arts school that allowed us to live comfortably while working much fewer hours!

The transformation was pretty remarkable.

So having lived through that, I can’t wait to see the way our lives will be transformed again three years from now!

2. Plan Your 1-Year Goals

Once you have your 3-year vision written out, figure out where you should be a third of the way through that journey.

In other words, what will you need to have accomplished by the end of next year in order to make your 3-year vision come true?

For example, if part of your 3-year vision is to do a lot more traveling, you’ll need to be able to spend time away from your business.

So figure out what you need to do over the next three years to make that happen.

Which responsibilities can you eliminate, streamline, or delegate to others?

What kind of additional training do your staff members need?

Do you need to hire more people?

Out of all the things you’ll need to do, figure out what will have to get done within the next 12 months to move you towards your vision.

3. Schedule Your Planning Days

This is the part I’m most excited to share with you.

After we wrote out our 3-year vision, we actually scheduled an entire day to plan out our 1-year goals in detail.

We rented an office for the day because we wanted a distraction-free zone, plus it was important that we got out of our usual environment.

It was such a great feeling to be able to dedicate an entire day to working on our business, and not in our business.

We enjoyed the process so much that next year, we’re going to devote one full day each quarter to revisit our goals, assess our progress, and course-correct if necessary.

I hope that by scheduling in these check-up days, we’ll able to hold ourselves accountable and really make our vision come true.

As the year goes on I’ll keep you posted on how this new strategy is working for us in my email newsletter, so if you’re not already subscribed, you should sign up!

You’ll get more great tips on how to run a successful local business, along with occasional special offers from me.

If you’re already on my blog, just fill out the form below.

Or if you’re watching this video elsewhere, go to www.carmensognonvi.com/newsletter and sign up there.

Thanks for watching.

What’s your favorite technique for setting goals for your business and your life?

I’d love to hear your tips, so leave a comment below!

Get free local business tips from Carmen

If you found this video useful, enter your email address below and click “Yes, Send Me Tips!” to get more great local business tips and occasional special offers from Carmen: