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Guess what Northwest Indiana? Beauty and Fashion Connection has teamed up with Pro Makeup Artist Kelli James of Kelli Kolors from Chicago to offer you a pro makeup artist workshop for $25 on Saturday, June 23, 2012 from 12-4pm.  It will be in Gary, IN at Rhema Banquet Facility 416 East Ridge Road.  Kelli Kolors is coming to Northwest Indiana to share her knowledge, her expertise, and her talent to prepare you for a career in makeup artistry.

This workshop is normally $375 so take advantage of the gift while it's here. Tickets must be purchased in advance due to limited seating. You may purchase them on my website at www.kellygirl.moonfruit.com or they may purchased through me. We will not be taking cash at the door!  

Pro MUA Kelli Kolors has been trained by Sam Fine and Danessa Myricks and has worked with such celebrities as Derrick Rose, Ledisi, and Slique. Her work has been highlighted in Ebony Magazine, Total Living Network, Brides Noir and other venues. Refreshments will be served and giveaways will be raffled such as a free makeup over at Kelli's makeup studio. Beauty and Fashion Connection has also partnered with Kelli Kolors to offer internships to some of our students. You may contact Kelly at 219-886-9198 for more information. See you there as we connect "You" to the beauty and fashion industry.

I hope you are having a blessed day today! When you are a busy mompreneur its hard to stop (trust me I know). There is so much you want to do, have to do, feel you need to do to build a legacy for your children. Whatever you do just know that on your path to greatness you are already great SO continue to shine like the stars that you are!


• What do you love about being a mompreneur? (join our conversation)


• For You: The BEST Thing to Help with Your Web Business this Year

• Surrender: Let Oprah Show you her Secret to True Success


• Get Focused: Discover the only 7 things You Need to Be Doing Online


• For Everyone: Fix My Follow Up Workshop
• 


LaShanda Henry, BBWO Founder and Full Time Mompreneur

p.s. I hope to see you at 
She Rocks the Web 2012! We are going to have a GREAT time bonding over business AND I've recently added a special sign up for mompreneurs, so be sure to take a look at that as well.

I remember when I first found out that I was pregnant the sheer fright of it all was overwhelming. I had so many things to consider but most importantly - my parents specifically my mother. I was raised by a God fearing, God loving, God everything mother. I was raised in the church and Sundays was reserved for church starting from Sunday School to Sunday morning service and then back for the evening service. The week nights had services as well which I also attended. I could not understand why I had to go to church all the time, I thought my mother was so mean. I was sent to the best schools that they could afford, graduating from an all girls high school. Next step - college. Well, not for me, with my new found independence, I became pregnant. I was so ashamed, I could not find the courage to tell my mother. I knew it would hurt her and after all that she invested in me, this is what I gave in return. I kept my mouth shut and let my pregnancy show for itself. My mother and I coexisted in silence, she was too numb to speak.

During my pregnancy, I had nightmares of having an alien for a baby. I wondered if I would die during the birthing process. I prayed and asked God to please let it be a girl but I just knew it would be a boy because I had no right to ask for a girl knowing that I had sinned. It was such a God fearing ten months, yes it felt as though I was carrying my baby for almost a year. However, after giving birth and hearing that it was a girl, I became overwhelmed. What kind of mother would I be? How would I take care of her?

On the other hand, I was excited that I had a healthy baby girl and I felt that perhaps God was not as disappointed in me as my mother. Somehow, I was able to get through motherhood by applying some of the values that my mother gave me and maturing into setting my own standards and values. I realized very early, while holding my newborn baby in my arms that I wanted the best for her. I wanted her to be smart, to have an exceptional relationship with God, be nice to others, go to college, have great friends and have an amazing life.

While making my detours through life, I completed college and excelled academically. I have accomplished quite a lot and my mother is proud. I am a mother and now a grandmother of girls and I am so thankful to God for giving me the best mother in the whole wide world! I could not have done it without her.

Oh NO,  My Mom Is On Facebook!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of my ‘mom’ readers!  As a mom, you know how hard it is to stay connected to your teen—especially if your teen has a busy online life in addition to all the activities and events they are participating in offline.  I encourage parents to be involved in the online communities of their teens—especially when it comes to Facebook.

“Friending” your child on Facebook is just the first step.  The next step is making sure you keep this “Friend” connection alive and well.  Here are some of my tips for having a great Facebook relationship with your teens:

Do not be an editor:  Opening yourself up to their online world means you will see the good, bad & ugly from your teen.  Do not feel the need to discuss each and every post with them in detail such as correcting their grammar or asking them why they had such a terrible time during that recent family reunion.  Only step in when absolutely necessary.

Watch what you post:  Think twice before posting on your teen’s Facebook page.  This really isn’t the place to reprimand Jimmy for not cleaning his room or for telling Sally what a sweet daughter she is for helping you with the laundry on a Saturday night. 

Do not embarrass your teen:  In addition to not posting embarrassing comments on their page, do not share embarrassing information about your teen with your own group of Facebook friends.  No teenager wants to find themselves tagged in a photo from their 2^nd birthday where they are wearing nothing but a diaper and cowboy hat.

Remember, their friends do not have to be your friends:   Do not make it your mission to be Facebook friends with all of their friends or to comment (either online or offline) about their friends’ activities and posts.

Pay attention to your own page:  Now that you can see your teen’s page, they can also see your page.  Do not post comments or pictures you would not want your kids to see—show them the appropriate way to use this great social networking tool.

I am also running a contest for a Kindle Fire. Like my page and you can enter. I have my whole website on my blog app. Have a look.

I would love to know what you think of my new pages and my new website.

Let’s protect our Teen’s, while they are texting and using social media site.

www.protectyourteen.com

www.securityfirstassociates.com

Reputation management online is a huge deal these days. It's so important to keep up with your brand, to know what's being said about you, how you are being perceived as a professional, as an entrepreneur, as a person.

Why? Because how others perceive you determines how they will interact with you. Your job is to eliminate any potential barriers that keep your message of service to the world from being shared.

But how do you do that? What does it take to monitor your brand online? The good news is - it doesn't require that you invest in some high cost tool (unless you are a larger company and you have lots of information to mine). If you are a smaller business, or a solopreneur there are some affordable and even free ways to create your own "listening board".



What is a listening board

A listening board is a dashboard of sorts. Its a way to keep track of what's being said, how often, and what sentiment - i.e. positive, negative, neutral is out there on specific topics, or even people.



How do you create one

Basically, you put together keywords and phrases (including your name, name of your company, common words you use in your content, etc) into a search system and let it email/text you with results when it finds something.

Here is one very straightforward, simple way you can start a listening board. There are others as well but this can be done literally in about 5 minutes.


1. 
List out keywords and phrases as I mentioned already that might be used to find you online

2. Go to Google Alerts:
http://www.google.com/alerts

3. Select what type of alert you want to monitor (i.e. videos, blog posts)

4. Determine how often you want to see it

5. Click Submit


Wa-la, you now have alerts coming to you so that you don't have to constantly search online to find out where you are being referenced. Now again, there are other much more savvy ways to get this done. In fact, my team even does it for some of my small business clients. But if you're looking for quick and free? This is one way to tackle it.



Hot tip:
if you're using a mail system that allows you to filter email, set up a folder or label to pull all your alerts to one place so you don't have to swim through your mailbox to view them.

Impacting the way the world sees you is far easier than you might expect. By taking specific actions, you can manage your online brand reputation and create a consistent brand and image that bridges both the online and offline world. Crafting your message and delivering it to the world online is just another component of marketing. It truly is one of the most important business strategies you can use.

WANT TO RE-POST THIS ARTICLE ON YOUR BLOG OR USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

About the Author: Tanya Smith is a creative business strategist and coach specializing in showing service based solo entrepreneurs how to simplify, save time & stand out with simple but transformational strategies that engage more quality leads and clients. Her company Be Promotable provides fresh actionable strategies and virtual resources to promote business owners as power players in their market. For instant access to your free 7 secrets to online time management report, visit us at: www.tanyasmithonline.com.

 http://yogawithtennebula.blogspot.com/

 http://enlightenmentandspiritualascension.blogspot.com/

 http://shamanismwithtennebula.blogspot.com/

 http://lightandlightworkers.blogspot.com/ 

 http://themayan2012wintersolstice.blogspot.com/

http://knowingyouregofearsandshadows.blogspot.com/

http://knowingyouregofearsandshadows.blogspot.com/

 http://crystalsareourfriends.blogspot.com/

 http://meditatingwithtennebula.blogspot.com/

 http://goddessmythsandlegends.blogspot.com/

Dreadlock Hair Care with Ten Nebula -

http://dreadlockswithtennebula.blogspot.com/

Learn about my creative arts - http://www.870208690950392718.weebly.com

http://whoistennebula.blogspot.com/ 

Cheryl Garrison

http://www.topleaderstraining.com/

http://www.mytopleaders.com

In honor of Mother’s Day on May 13, 2012, I would like to dedicate this post to my mother, Cheryl Garrison. In my interviews to business owners for PeopleWhoProsper.com, one of the questions I ask is, “Do you have a mentor? Who is it and why?” Commonly, the answer is the entrepreneur’s mother OR they will definitely mention their mother as an inspiration and/or help in their business; someone they can call on for advice.

Fortunately for myself, my mother is actually a business woman herself.  Therefore, I am able to confide in my mom on a personal and professional level. She is truly my inspiration, mentor and accountability partner to keep me on my toes. It is very rare that I make a business decision without consulting my mom.  I mean, why wouldn’t I? She has been in business for HERSELF for over 25 years JUST to take care of my siblings and me when we started school. I truly admire her for that. Even now, she continues to build successful businesses; mentoring women and helping people live a healthier life. I hope to make my child as proud of me as I am of my mom. She has made so many sacrifices in her life for her kids and sometimes we just need to recognize our mothers for that. That’s why I love Mother’s Day. It’s a chance to really thank your mother for all that she has done (whether living or in heaven). So, as we approach this day, I want to encourage you to continue to ask your mom for her advice and take it. Most times, it’s the best advice you will get!

"A  mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon   us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice   with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still   will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to   dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our   hearts."

~ Washington   Irving

Tamara Garrison-Thomas

 www.garrisonprosperitysolutions.com

 www.busy925.com

What a year! What a year!!! 

While having dinner with my husband in the city, he asked me - "What are your resolutions for the new year?" Well, my answer was simply "I have no resolutions." It's not that I do not believe in setting goals/resolutions, it's just that I have learned that I am on an assignment and each year comes with incredible moments. 

2011 was a year that like every year passed - good times, challenging times and moments of unexpected success. As the new year began, I knew that I wanted to get some things done. We had just completed a successful run of the Off Broadway play based on the audio book series The Day That Changed My Life and the plan was to begin working on the documentary, and the book as well as being open to any new assignments.

It was just one of those days while posting on Twitter, I wrote The Day That Changed My Life in my search box with the intention of copying and pasting it into my timeline to promote the audio books and the blog. I just did not want to write the whole thing over again. I figured copy, paste and move on, but to my amazement there was an audition being held with the same name and same premise of the Off Broadway Play and our upcoming documentary. I almost thought the post was a copy and paste of our previous auditions but nooooooo it was not, it was from a major production company that have several successful shows on various cable channels and had plans to air their show on Lifetime in the Fall of 2011. It was a moment that confirms that we all must follow our instincts which I refer to as my spirit guide. Who knew that a simple moment of just feeling like copying and pasting a quick post would have alerted me that someone was using our brand. Yes, I said it, our brand. When I first began the audio book series, I searched the name to make sure that I was not using something that someone else had done. As a precaution, when we decided to do the Off Broadway Play in New York, I searched for the name in the context of what we working on and nothing showed up so we moved right along purchasing domain names, created a blog and a website. We placed ads in every area (online and print media)for the auditions you could have easily found us on Google but for some reason, this major production company had no clue that we had even existed or at least that is what we are supposed to believe. This simple action of following my lazy instinct revealed that we had some work to do. Again following my spirit guide, I reached into my resources and called my husband and a friend who were both invaluable. We were able to get on it right away and pull the brakes on that one - whew!

Moving forward - another unexpected opportunity of a lifetime came via email with an offer from an online bath and body 
product line company - Smell Goods. Can you imagine?!!! A beautiful hand crafted lavender soap made specially to assist in my assignment to help those with cancer. You will find the banner prominently placed on this page and I encourage you to purchase your very own bar, also spread the word to everyone you know. I have used the soap and purchased them as Christmas gifts believe you will love it. You can never go wrong smelling good.

In reflecting on this year, I realized once again that my ability to continue to work on my goals without the pressure of a year's timeline while being open to new assignments - just seem to always fall into place. It transcends my own expectations. In 2011, I had every intention to finish my book the one I have been working on forever, but it's time had not yet come. However, in speaking with a friend whose book is being published and set to be released soon, she mentioned her publishing company and they may be interested in my book. Needless to say, it all fell into place where the publisher contacted me and my book proposal is now being reviewed. 

Reflecting on 2011

* The Day That Changed My Life is now in the final stages to be Trademarked 
* The Day That Changed My Life (Cancer an uncertain journey)book in review with publishing company
* Smell Good for the Cause Soap (handcrafted soap made to order)
* Meetings to begin filming documentary, securing interviewers and location for documentary
* Sudden deaths of friends that were my age, dying of pulmonary embolism, aneurysms and other health complications really puts it all in perspective. Appreciate life!
* Having all of my girls in college (priceless!)
* Deaths of my elderly family members
* Celebrating my husband's grandmother Bessie's 103rd birthday
* Year end with a major business meeting and ready to launch 

As I close, I must admit that I have plans to begin filming the documentary this year. The Off Broadway Play is returning in the late summer early fall of 2012. We will participate in the Revlon Run/Walk in New York City with our own team and possibly have a booth as well as perform selected acts from the play. Furthermore, I will begin working out with a personal boxing trainer (not to be a boxer but enough to be lean, toned and throw a mean punch if necessary), work out and run more often, increase my attendance in church, enjoy more family and personal trips and take more time out just for me :-) 2012 is here and I am excited and oh so ready for it - oh yes I am!