Motivational Marketer's Journal | Online Marketing Muscle

Kicking and Screaming … I Can’t … You Can’t Make Me! Rantings of a Two Year Old, or Was That Me Resisting My Destiny as a Small Business Owner???

Andrea Mercado — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:37:36 +0000

“I can’t … I can’t do it!” That’s my two year old daughter’s latest thing. Anything I ask her to do, she says “I can’t”. So I tell her “You can! You can do anything!” Oh wait a minute… Do I believe that I can do anything? Sometimes not so much. So now I think it is time for me to start setting an example. How can I tell her she can do anything if I don’t think or operate like that myself? I have been guilty of the “I can’t” excuse a lot in the recent past. My most popular one was “I can’t leave my comfy job and my nice guaranteed paycheck!” (By the way, nothing in life is really guaranteed, is it? Oh yeah, that death and taxes thing right?) I secretly begged God that my husband would give up the idea of having our own small business and that he would just get a “regular” job. At the same time, I prayed that he was right and that we could really have the “dream lifestyle”. The dream lifestyle for us is to be at home more often than not so that we can raise our kids ourselves. We also wanted to be able to have work that we really enjoyed and that gave us the satisfaction of doing something that made a difference for others. I worked in New York City for 18 years; commuted on the train four hours a day. I was bored out of my mind and miserable. I was standing at the edge of a cliff, looking over and wanted so badly to take the leap, but I kept backing off (metaphorically speaking of course!). It was terrifying. What if we lost everything? What if we had no food and I couldn’t buy makeup? And I’d have to wear my glasses because I didn’t have the money to buy new contact lenses! Or worse, maybe we would have to move in with our parents? But seriously, it really was very scary.

Then I got pregnant with my daughter. Because of some complications I had she was born two months early. So while I was peering over that cliff, someone came up behind me and pushed me off! No warning, no time to prepare … I was out! I didn’t go back to my comfy cushy 9-5 job in New York City. I wouldn’t leave my baby with someone else only to see her for an hour a day if I was lucky enough to get home in time. Two years later, I now know that it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I could never go back to the life I had before, nor would I want to. Being pushed into that decision was like ripping off a band-aid that you know has had its last legs in one fell swoop. It stung for a bit, but then after a while it started to feel better and better. It’s not easy making those kinds of decisions. There is so much unknown in running a small business, but I knew that if we wanted something different for ourselves we had to do something different.

In the movie Steel Magnolias, Julia Roberts’ character has a line that goes “I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.” (Sorry guys for the “girl movie” reference). If you don’t take a chance or make some kind of move you will never know what you may have missed. Take a chance, make a leap! Take a small step towards something you have been thinking about for years. It doesn’t have to be an uncalculated or drastic move like picking up and leaving your job and starting a business. I wouldn’t recommend that to just anyone. But maybe you just start doing some research about what you might like to do. Or maybe you already have a small business and it’s getting out there and really promoting yourself the way you know you should be doing. Look, I’m taking another leap right here! This is my first official article and blog post for Online Marketing Muscle. It’s scary because I don’t know what people will think of it. Do I write well enough? Do I make sense? But I made the decision to just go for it.

Another great quote I always call to mind is “I’d rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven’t .” — Lucille Ball Sometimes you need that push off the cliff to get going. Maybe you need to hire a coach for your small business. (Hint, hint … Dean Mercado is an awesome marketing coach!) OK, that was a plug, but hey, it’s my article. I can do anything!

Pictures from LIASB June 16 Breakfast with the Board

Andrea Mercado — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 04:35:40 +0000

Here are some pictures from the most recent LIASB Breakfast with the Board meeting on June 16, 2010 where Dean Mercado presented a roundtable discussion on social media.

Social Media Mastermind II – SOLD OUT!

Andrea Mercado — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:08:42 +0000

Who Else Wants To Learn How To Leverage Social Media Such As Facebook, LinkedIn, And Twitter To Explode Their Business In Just 10 Minutes A Day!

Yes indeed social media is all the rage! And for good reason… if it’s done properly and strategically, it works! As a matter of fact, in business it’s no longer a nice-to-have marketing strategy for communicating with your target market… it’s a MUST HAVE! And as I always say, if you’re going to do it, do it great.

So here’s the scoop… The team at Online Marketing Muscle has assembled what we believe to be a one-of-a-kind, never-before-offered program geared to enable you to reap the many benefits that social media has to offer.

Using a carefully crafted combination of social media mentoring and peer masterminding, the hand-picked team of attendees will work together over 5 weeks to explode their visibility, credibility, and reach with their target market… literally for zero marketing dollars! And in today’s business world, this is critical if you want to not only survive but thrive!

And here’s how it works… Every Thursday evening starting July 1st a small handful of like-minded business professionals will meet via telephone conference at 7:30 p.m. E.S.T. for a 90 minute mentoring and masterminding conversation. Here under the guidance of Social Media expert Dean Mercado, we will work together as a team to learn and grow your respective businesses using social media.

And don’t worry… even though we believe you’d have to be nuts not to attend live as you’ll miss the mastermind dynamic; we do understand that we all have lives and things do come up from time to time. Therefore, we will record each call and make them available to you for listening at your leisure.

Additionally, you will be assigned an accountability partner(s) who will hold you accountable to your desired success and who will be held accountable by you.

Here is just a small sample of what we will cover…

What is social media and why you MUST care!
How to use social media to get traffic to your web site, blog, or other social media sites!
How to use social media to strengthen your personal brand!
How to position yourself as the only obvious choice to your prospects and clients!
How to use social media to attract and obtain new prospects and clients!
Numerous time saving and business building tips & tricks to make the most of your efforts!

And much more!

Essentially you will walk away from this program with your very own rock-solid social media strategy AND mastermind team that you can use going forward to explode your business! Of course you have to actually do this stuff in order for that possibility to become reality!

the cost:

“Social Media Mastermind” Group Coaching Program: $497

Let me be clear, this is a no BS event! It is for people serious about transforming themselves and their business immediately using Social Media!

Are you up for the challenge?

If so, call us at (631) 730-8285 to determine whether or not this program is a proper fit for you!
or click the link below:
http://bit.ly/ahTt4q

Dean Mercado to Speak at the Next Long Island Connects Meeting

Andrea Mercado — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:37:24 +0000

Dean Mercado of Online Marketing Muscle

Dean Mercado of Online Marketing Muscle will be speaking at the next Long Island Connects business networking meeting on Wednesday, June 23 at 12pm. Long Island Connects meets at the Hauppauge Palace Diner, 525 Smithtown Boulevard, in Hauppauge. For more information, call Dean Mercado at 631-730-8285 or visit the Long Island Connects website at www.liconnects.com.

Making Friends: LinkedIn vs. Facebook vs. Twitter [social media cartoon]

Dean Mercado — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:04:02 +0000

While this comic strip by Hubspot is funny, it does in a way give you an idea of how social media tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are being used… enjoy!

Dean Mercado to facilitate Social Media Workshop at LIASB

Andrea Mercado — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 03:44:42 +0000

Dean Mercado

This social media workshop will be held at Adelphi University, 55 Kennedy Blvd., Hauppauge, NY. The social media workshop as well as the entire event is open to all LIASB members and invited guests only. For more information, please visit: http://www.liasb.com/seminars.htm

Secrets of Master Networkers II – One More Time!

Andrea Mercado — Thu, 27 May 2010 02:28:48 +0000

We had yet another great evening hosted by The Long Island Way on Monday, May 24th at The Venetian Yacht Club in Babylon, NY. Dean Mercado once again presented Secrets of Master Networkers II. People from all over Long Island in different industries, Real Estate, Financial, Coaches, Jewelers, Cleaning Companies, and others were all there. If you missed it, you missed out on a great opportunity to network and meet some wonderful new contacts!

Here’s a few pics of the events:

Comedian/ Actress Betty White Rips Facebook on SNL

Dean Mercado — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:01:42 +0000

Hey check out Betty White’s monologue on SNL from this past weekend where she rips a bit into Facebook (and its users)… funny stuff. Word has it though that a Facebook fan campaign is what prompted her appearance on SNL in the first place… hmmm… interesting! You got to love the power of Social Media!

The Long Island Way Presents Secrets of Master Networkers II and Speed Networking

Andrea Mercado — Mon, 03 May 2010 00:32:26 +0000

In business it’s quite simple, networking makes the world go around! Dean would even dare to say that one’s ability to network effectively is in direct proportion to their success in business. In this seminar, attendees will learn 11 secrets that make the great networkers, truly great!

First we will provide an awesome seminar to sharpen the attendees’ networking skills and then second we will facilitate a speed networking event to give attendees a chance to use their new found networking skills.

Prepare your 1 minute elevator speech and bring plenty of business cards and we will do the rest!

Place: The Venetian Yacht Club, 494 Fire Island Avenue, Babylon, NY 11702

Time: 4:30pm registration, Network & Learn Lite Dinner5:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Cost: $37 (Members) and $52(Non-Members)

Space is limited. First-come, First-served as only One Person Per Profession is eligible to attend.

To Register: http://bit.ly/9SjUaV

We Did It Again! Secrets of Master Networkers Part II!

Andrea Mercado — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:10:53 +0000

We did it again! Secrets of Master Networkers Part II was a great success. The audience of The Long Island Way had a very informative and educational evening as well as a chance to try out their newly learned networking skills with a speed networking segment. Word is getting around about Dean and his motivational and inspiring seminars. Check out the following slide show of some pictures from the event:

If you happened to be one of the attendees, we’d love to hear your feedback!