I was recently asked what advice I would give to those who wanted to succeed and achieve their goals. I always take questions like this very seriously, because to be honest I think I’m still working to achieve the goals I have set for myself. However, I’ve been living by 7 principles since the day that my parents (mother and stepfather) moved us out of the trailer park.

Truth is I come from very humble beginnings and I remember them vividly. My father left my mother when I was very young. My mother had no formal education beyond high school, so she was required to work three jobs to support her two girls and even then those three jobs often didn’t make ends meet. We struggled and we learned what it was like to be poor. I was young, but I believe growing up in these circumstances and watching my mother do whatever it took instilled in me the drive that I have to succeed.  Since I can remember, I’ve lived by the following principles:

1. Principle 1: Never ever give up or count yourself out.
2. Principle 2: Strive to learn something new every day.
3. Principle 3: Keep the passion about what you do.
4. Principle 4: Be willing to share your knowledge.
5. Principle 5: Don’t rest on your laurels.
6. Principle 6: There is no job too small, there is opportunity everywhere – it’s your job to be aware of it.
7. Principle 7: Be willing to help others achieve their dreams.

Watching my mother struggle and do the best that she could I vowed that I’d always be able to take care of myself. I’ve done that. I always thought that I wanted to work in accounting, because it was secure and you didn’t hear of many layoffs when it came to number crunching. I wanted to take the stability route – but realized my passion was in something else… marketing.

The realization came from a gig that I truly started as a hobby in 1998 – it was a small Internet company, called The Mining Company. I agreed to write articles for $100 per month on how individuals and businesses could communicate using online technology – wow, who ever would have thought it would take me down the path it did. This opportunity, that I considered a hobby took my career path down a different road. I started to study consumers every day – what made them respond, what triggered the correct response and what did they want from companies that would make them buy. Over time I had learned more about the consumers mind than I ever would have had I graduated college with a marketing degree.

In 2003 I was accepted to write for the Marketing column for About.com, formerly known as The Mining Company and now owned by The New York Times. In 2009 I became a published author of Consumer Behavior for Dummies and all because I lived by the seven rules above.

The Facts: You can do what you put your mind to, if you are committed and you are driven there is nothing that can stop you; too many people give up too soon. I still write for About.com and now consult with businesses on using integrated marketing to reach potential customers and get them to respond by purchasing their products or services.

I even went as far as to write my own definition of marketing, because I felt the definitions that were used were too vague. My marketing definition:

“Marketing is the process of teaching consumers why they should choose your product or service over your competitors; if you are not doing that you are not marketing. It’s really that simple! The key is finding the right method and defining the right message to use to educate and influence your consumers.

Companies make the mistake of thinking that marketing is just “one” thing, but marketing is everything that the consumer encounters when it comes to your business, from advertising, to what they hear, to the customer service that they receive, to the follow-up care that you provide. It’s all marketing and creating the decision within the consumer whether or not to choose you initially or for repeat business.”

I’ve been blessed with so many opportunities from speaking, to being published by a top publishing company and under a recognized brand, to working with tremendous clients. My secret is that I strive to learn something new every day and I believe this makes me stand out in knowledge and from among my competition.

I have to admit I think I’m behind the times when it comes to implementing Google Apps for my domain. I decided this morning to make the move and so far — I’m loving it. I will not lie moving away from Microsoft Outlook took some work. I’ve been using Outlook for the last 10 years. I’m also the person that uses email as a file cabinet, meaning I don’t like to toss email. I’m always afraid that I’ll need an email the moment I delete it. Outlook would move at a snail’s pace on my computer and that could have something to do with working with 8 different applications at a time on a laptop. I also hated it when Outlook would crash; this always happened when I was mid way through a long instructional email that needed to be sent an hour ago.

How Did I Prepare for the Migration?

First, let me say don’t do it this way — I now have a Gmail account that houses much of my email that without a lot of sorting and deleting will clog up my Google App email, so for now I’ll need to do some toggling. I started by integrating my POP email accounts to see if I could get by without opening Microsoft Outlook for a month. Success! I’ve been contemplating the migration and after I made it a month I figured I could do it without too much pain.

I love the fact that I can use my personal domain on Google Apps for email, sharing information between users that I select and create collaborating groups that I see fit.

Why Gmail?

I have learned to love Gmail. It took me time to adjust from the Outlook system of Folders to the Gmail system of labels, but once I did it I loved it. It was as easy as creating filters and adding a couple of clicks to an email that arrived and now everything filters and files nicely. I also love the fact that Gmail is extremely accurate and easy to search; I’ll attribute this to the fact that it was built by the top search engine.

Staying Organized with Google Calendar

Google calendar is easy to use and it can be shared easily. It syncs well with my Palm Pre and I can access it from anywhere — that’s more than I can say for my Outlook calendar.

Documents Wherever I Go

I can’t say that I’ve completely migrated to the Google Document feature, but I’m working on it. I do love being able to gain access to documents from anywhere and the ability to share and collaborate with others. I’m still working on forgoing my Microsoft Office, just not quite there yet.

Managing My Contacts

Google also offers Google Contacts. Google Contacts syncs with my Palm Pre easily and Google will even suggest someone as a contact if I start to email them frequently. I’m loving this feature. It works seamlessly with Gmail and it isn’t the “resource hog” that Microsoft Outlook was.

My goal in 2010 was to create balance in my life and I have to be honest, I’m feeling much more organized with Google Apps. Success in marketing also requires a high level of organization, so I’m sold. The best part is it’s free for your personal domain and as long as you don’t go over 7 MB it doesn’t cost you a thing!

Yesterday at the fitness center I encountered the beautiful people. You know who I’m talking about, it’s the women that put on the makeup before they go to the gym, they wear the most trendy workout clothes and they stand around most the time talking to their friends — well wait, I may have seen them workout (walking on the treadmill for 5 minutes). I love the beautiful people and maybe one day I’ll join their pact, but for now I go to the gym for a purpose other than socialization, to get sweaty, mess up my hair and make painful looking faces while lifting a 25lb dumbbell.

My point is that every business has segments of people that visit them for different reasons. Are you marketing to them? For example at the gym I noticed three segments of consumers. We have:

People like me — we go there for no other reason than to workout and put that checkmark by that daily goal. (Group 1)
The beautiful people — I described them earlier in this post. (Group 2)
Elderly couples — I love to watch them, so sweet to see people growing older in age, but still taking care of their bodies. (Group 3)

Each of the groups above could be effectively reached using a specific marketing message.

Group 1 — Marketing message regarding variety of equipment and classes without the need for vanity.
Group 2 - Socialization, child care and group activities.
Group 3 — Programs for active seniors that want a community center that cares about their health needs.

When we segment we are able to reach our target more effectively and draw in consumers from different groups by showing them how we can meet their specific needs.

If you haven’t done market segmentation in your business, I suggest you give it a try; you’ll be please with the results.

This is the time of year that I reflect on the last twelve months and start to look forward to the year to come.

If there is one thing I’ve learned this year is it’s never predict what you think will happen in the upcoming year. Last year I wrote about an engagement and this year I must admit it ended abruptly.  I could truly focus on all of the negative that has transpired this year, but that’s not really why I write this — however let’s look at the challenges I did make it through:

• Moving 3 times in 1 year
• Finishing the Consumer Behavior for Dummies book in 90 days (yes all 384 pages)
• Ending a relationship and an engagement and still surviving (and yes I gave back the ring)
• My son turning 13
• Learning how to be happy without being in a relationship for 1 year
• Losing two very special grandparents within a few months of one another
• Being the victim in a car accident on the highway in which I was rear-ended by a car going 55 mph (I was able to walk away thankfully)
• Another redesign of LauraLake.com

Like most people I’m ready for 2009 to end. I’m ready for the start of a new year.  My outlook is optimistic and I know that this past year made me stronger and well prepared for the next decade. We never know why we go through what we go through, but I’m one who always believes there is a reason.  In the last year I’ve lost some friendship, but I gained stronger ones.  I’ve said goodbye to draining people and I have more energy today because of it.  I sit in my little townhouse and realize that while my life is still in transition, but I am at peace.

I’ve made it through the last year by being thankful for what I do have.  I have:

• A wonderful son who is now taller than me, but I can still fool him by wearing high heels.

• Great friends that stuck through some really tough times with me and tomorrow we’ll be the last ones standing ready to ring in the new year.

• A warm home that while I wish it were on the Kansas side is pretty damn cozy.

• A fantastic cat who makes sure I never sleep alone.

• A telephone, I have heat, I have food in the refrigerator and I have a car to drive.

I suppose if this year taught us anything we learned how to be thankful for what we have. We learned how to appreciate the small things and in all the negative we started to find the positive easily. It’s been a scary year for many. We’ve encountered tough economic times and we’ve seen many lose their jobs.  I for one had to walk away from a business that I loved because the dream could no longer be funded.

I’m thankful that throughout this year I learned how to be more “real” than I’ve ever been. I’ve learned how to end toxic relationships before it was too late and I’ve learned how to wake up in the morning and realize that through it all I’m still standing.

What does the new year bring?

It brings a fresh start, it brings aspiring hopes and dreams and above all it brings more quality time with my son and my dearest friends.

I have the common goals like most people eat healthier, go to the gym, save more and maybe cut back on the wine (or maybe not.)

Truth is my goals do not include mountain climbing, making a million dollars or writing another book (at least not this year) — my main goal is to find the balance that I lost 10 years ago; to enjoy every moment and to savor every good thing that comes my way.

This year is already off to a good start being chosen as one of 2010 KC Business Magazine’s Rising Stars — but throughout this year I will breathe and experience every moment without rushing into the next — will you?

Here is to another new year,

Laura Lake

http://www.lauralake.com
http://www.facebook.com/lauralake
http://twitter.com/laura_lake

Social media cliques exist.  Will you dare to be different?

I’m a huge proponent of social media and believe that it’s a fantastic way to not only create relationships with potential customers, but to also grow your personal relationship circle.

What I’ve noticed recently is the cliques that exist in social media. It’s almost as if we’ve entered high school again. The last few days I’ve taken some time to watch some of the most prominent “thought leaders” in social media — stalk them if you will.

There are a few that I watched that interact and engage with their followers and then there are others that seldom reply unless it benefits them. What’s even more interesting is watching the followers of these thought leaders. They often treat these thought leaders as celebrities, agreeing with everything that’s said, retweeting, praising, and almost doing a digital worship dance. If someone disagrees with a thought leader, they are nearly tackled in the digital stream, so very rarely do you see someone stand up and state their own thought or opinion due to the fear of being attacked personally.

What I think is missing is that we have so many people “trying” to be like established “thought leaders” that they in return are not being themselves. I hope in the upcoming year that more people will stand out with their own voice and worry less about being accepted and more about engagement and creating their own relationships as well as their own following.

I think it’s important to remember that the social media “thought leaders” ended up there because they took the time to engage and interact. They voiced opinions that may have not been popular and were willing to stand their ground when necessary. They’re informative and most of them have their own sense of humor that is reflected. A few of my favorites include Chris Brogan, Scott Stratten and of course Gary Vaynerchuk. They are “thought leaders” because they are not only willing to share information, but they are also willing to be authentic and real and put themselves out there. I think they will all agree that’s how they got started on the path that has lead them to where they are today.

I have a challenge for you when it comes to social media in 2010, be yourself. Don’t try to mimic the popular crowd but rather let your personality shine. That means that people may not always agree with you. It means that at first it might be a little scary to stand up for what you believe in, but in the long run it will be worth it. Be willing to step outside the cliques and conform less. You never know you just might be the next thought leader that thousands are following and listening to. Dare to stand out from the crowd.