Linda Joseph

Linda Joseph has been fascinated by the art of photography since she was in second grade. Today, with more than 20 years of experience behind her, she’s a commercial photographer with the knowledge and skill to make your products and your brand stand out.

If you’re a small business owner, showcasing your brand requires more than a single, competent head shot, she says. She prepares the ground by asking clients for five to eight words that differentiate them from their competition. She’s after photos that encompass her clients’ personality and their life.

“If you’re a small business owner, you are your brand,” she says. “Which aspects of your personality, lifestyle and the brand called you do you want to shine through?” Maybe you play golf or tennis, perhaps you’re an avid geo-cacher or, possibly, you’re into shoes. “All of these things are aspects of your personality,” she says, and they should be captured in your marketing materials. For example, if you love golf, she might position a set of clubs in the background of your photo.

“Tell your story using professional photography,” says Joseph. That’s what Laguna Beach, Calif., physician Edward L. Smith has done. His office is in a unique building across the street from the Pacific Ocean. He brings his dog to work, and has a massage therapist/chiropractor who used to work for the Mighty Ducks hockey team. All of those elements are in the photos Joseph has taken to promote his business.

She advises against using generic stock photos on your website. “People want to work with people they know, like and trust,” she says. “Allow people to know you through head shots and photography.”

That means more than a single head shot. She recommends using different images on your website – one for the home page, one on the about page, and another for the contact page. And don’t forget your email signature, your social media sites and your business card. If you have employees, of course, include their photos, as well.

Her five reasons to get and use professional head shots?

1. An outdated photo says your attention to detail is lacking. Is your shot is more than two years old? Have you changed the color or length of your hair? Have you gained or lost weight. Or maybe styles have changed since you last had your head shot taken. If so, it’s time for a new one. You don’t want people wondering what else about your business aren’t you keeping up with?
2. Post different headshots and portraits on your website, blog, professional and social networking sites, like LinkedIn and Facebook, Yelp or Google+. That way, you infuse your personality into your sites so potential clients get to know you, connect and identify with you. And if you have more than one target market, you can appeal to all of them.
3. Add your head shot to your business card to become more memorable. People will remember who you are, and when and where they met you.
4. You want clients to know what you look like, so add a photo to your email signature.
5. Posting your photos can ease the tension when meeting new clients because they know whom they’re looking for.

FOUNDER’S NOTE: Got a favorite photographer – share his or her name here!

That’s the way it goes for most people. So we asked Medicare specialist Barbara Hogan for her tips on navigating the Medicare morass. Hogan, who gets recertified every year as a senior advisor, is the founder and CEO of Barbara Hogan Insurance Services, Inc. (Calif. License 0H444806).

Here are some basic facts about Medicare, as explained by Hogan:

Medicare Part A is for hospital benefits; typically you have already paid into the system through work, so you don’t have a premium for Part A. Medicare Part B has a premium; it covers outpatient services, i.e., doctor visits. If you take advantage of both A and B, you’re eligible for Part C, the Medicare Advantage plan, which gives you medical and drug coverage under the same umbrella. However, Medicare Advantage Plans require that all your doctors be in the same medical group, and that group has to accept the Advantage plan.  Also, if you’re anticipating a hospitalization or outpatient surgery or an MRI exam, you should hone in on what your co-pays (what you will be expected to pay out of pocket) will be under the plan, Hogan says.

If you want freedom of choice when it comes to doctors, etc., you’ll want to partner Medicare Part A and B with a supplemental/medigap plan – and add a drug plan.

The difficulty arises if you choose an HMO and later decide you want a supplemental plan. In that case, you will have to undergo health history underwriting, and you could be declined, according to Hogan.

If you are still in an employer health plan when you turn 65, you can opt for Part A (hospitalization) without Part B if your employer has 20 or more employees. If you decide later on that you want to enroll in Part B, there is a process for that special enrollment.  In addition, if you did not elect Part B when first eligible and you were not working, then you can ask during January through March to enroll – but it will not be effective until July, and you’ll pay a 10 percent penalty in perpetuity on top of your Part B premium for each year you were not enrolled.

As a corollary, if you go onto Part A without Part B, Medicare still wants you on a drug plan. Eventually, so the thinking goes, you’re going to need drugs. And if you miss the opportunity during your initial enrollment period, you are not eligible to enroll until Annual Enrollment (Oct. 15 – Dec.7), and you will realize a penalty of  1 percent per month based on the national average, which will be about 30 cents a month. You will carry that penalty in perpetuity.

Having someone who can help you successfully navigate all the Medicare options is helpful. Hogan’s focus is to “remove confusion and concern, and replace it with peace of mind.”

As always – we’d love to hear your thoughts on this issue, so please add your comments or feedback below.

“It means to do the thing that absolutely scares the bejesus out of me,” says Belden-McGrath who, along with husband Eric McGrath, owns Driven for Life, a business consulting firm that teaches leadership and team building, and tunes cultures to help businesses grow.

“First and foremost,” Belden-McGrath explains, “you have to be aware of what you want. You have to be connected to your purpose in life.”

That purpose encompasses everything you are every day. “We have to create what we love to do.”

For those who don’t know what they want, Belden-McGrath suggests creating a dream board. “Get magazines, search the Web; any picture, word or whatever that jumps out at you, cut it out and add it to your dream board. Ask yourself, ‘If there was nothing stopping me, what would I want to do?’ ”

Belden-McGrath is convinced that our dream is inside us.

To make it real, we have three things to do:

1. We have to become aware of it
2. We must put ourselves in position to act on it.
3. We must surround ourselves with people who support us

Having a support structure makes you accountable. “It’s easy to break a commitment to ourselves,” Belden-McGrath says. But if other people are in on the commitment, “We don’t want to let the support structure down.”

Belden-McGrath says her brother provided the support structure she needed. “I was going through a tough time in my life, and he would ask me, ‘What do you want?’ I was one of those women who gave everything to my family,” she says. “I woke up one day and said, ‘What am I here for?’ She enrolled in an intensive leadership boot camp, “and the light went on,” she recalls. “I remembered who I was.”

Her brother put her feet to the fire. “He’d say, ‘I know you’re scared. What are you going to do about it?’ He questioned, encouraged and celebrated with me – but he never let me off the hook,” she says.

She took a leap of faith, landing a job with a leadership company in Arizona. “I was scared, but I had people who believed in me.” What’s more, she says, “It was fun.” By the time she moved back to California and started Driven for Life, Belden-McGrath knew what worked and what didn’t.

Playing big doesn’t come easily, Belden-McGrath admits. “When we play big, we’re our own worst enemy. We keep hearing that ‘little voice.’ It’s our own self-talk: We’re too old; we’re too young; we don’t have enough money. You can’t let those self-doubts stop you.”

“The money comes when you’re doing the right thing,” she says. In the case of Driven for Life, that meant a lot of pro bono work in the beginning. “I would say yes, yes, yes; how can I give back? How can I help?” And business blossomed.

The best part about her job is that it’s fun, Belden-McGrath says. One of Driven for Life’s core values is play. “We have to have fun in what we’re doing,” she says.

# # #

We’d love to hear how you nurtured and “bloomed” your business – post your comments below!

Jarrett Gucci

In our last blog, Jarrett Gucci of Dynasty Web Solutions discussed the first five items he believes are indispensable for a website. To recap, they included:

1. A clear description of who you are
2. A sensible web address
3. An easy-to-navigate menu
4. Easy-to-find contact information
5. Testimonials.

Here are the remaining five “must-haves”:

6. Call to action. What do you want visitors to do next? A properly displayed call to action will get results nine times out of 10, Gucci says.  Push them in the direction you want them to go. Do you want them to opt-in to your newsletter, read your blog post or attend an event? You can have a predominant call to action, and then a second one as well, such as “Take the tour.”  That way, you get a second chance to draw them in.  Make sure both options are visible without scrolling.
7. Set up a basic SEO foundation. You don’t have to be an SEO expert to do this. Make sure you include a description along with the title and URL of your website. That description provides an overview of what a page is about, and it shows up on the search engine listing. That way people can tell whether yours is a site they’re interested in, even before they click to open.
8. Fresh, unique and quality content. There are ways to keep your content fresh:
   1. Update your home page often. (There are ways to automate this, Gucci says.)
   2. Embed your social media on your website.
   3. Embed RSS feeds.RSS feeds aggregate stories.You can embed them on your website and automate some of your content.
   4. Blog, blog, blog. The best thing you can do to become an expert in your industry and drive traffic to your website.
9. Make sure you select a good host. Gucci runs wpfixit.com, http://wpfixit.com/a WordPress  fix-it service. He says a large majority of website problems occur because of the hosting platform. He recommends Siteground.com. “Hosting is important because if your website goes down, you’re losing money,” he says.
10. Design that matches what your audience is looking for. Your design must fit the type of visitors you’re trying to attract, and tie into your brand and business model. For example, if you’re an infant child-care company, your colors shouldn’t be black.

Don’t neglect your website. It’s a credibility tool that can generate more income for your business.

Jarrett Gucci

Before he became a web guru, Jarrett Gucci was a retailer, managing stores for chains such as Big Lots, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Linens-n-Things. That background gives him an advantage in his present job as a web designer, specializing in WordPress web development.

“I am a merchant,” Gucci says. “I know where to place items and how to place them so they sell.” That’s true whether it’s a website or a physical store, says Gucci, who’s been tinkering with website design since 1998. He formed Dynasty Web Solutions in 2007 and has built some 300 websites since then.

According to Gucci, every website must have 10 elements. We’ll list the first five in today’s blog.

1. A clear description of who you are. Your visitor must be able to determine what you do or what you are selling in three seconds or less.
2. A simple, sensible web address that represents your brand or business. Don’t opt for dot-net, dot-biz or anything except dot-com. If you only have a dot-net, be assured that the dot-com website with the same name is getting some of your traffic. The name must also be a clear indication of your brand – and be easy to spell. Add a descriptive word in front or in back of the domain name if the one you wanted is already taken. For example, if you wanted “PlumbingService.com, call it “BestPlumbingService.com” or “PlumbingServiceNow.com” Of course, once you secure the dot-com version, feel free to buy dot-net and dot-biz.
3. An easy-to-navigate menu. Your customers have to be able to find what they’re looking for. Navigation is critical because you want visitors to visit more than one page. Make sure your menu is “above the fold” so no one has to scroll down. Visitors are likely looking for something specific. Make it easy for them to find. “If it’s not easy to navigate, you’re going to lose them,” Gucci says.
4. Easy to find contact information. Have your phone number on your home page where visitors can see it immediately. “And that’s only half of the equation,” Gucci says. “It has to be clickable.” Add a clickable email address, as well.
5. Display testimonials from your clients. “At the end of the day, your website is nothing but a credibility tool for your business,” Gucci says. Having testimonials from real people about real experiences adds a lot of credibility. Display them in different types of media: Text–ideally with an image of the individual—and videos, as well. Prospects can see the passion in a video. “Every single time I send out a proposal, I include a link to the testimonial page, and I encourage people I’m pitching to take a look at what others have said about me.” Gucci also adds a link to the Facebook profiles of those who provide testimonials. That way, people know they’re authentic.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Jarrett Gucci’s “10 Things Your Website Must Have.“

Three of these are onsite events – the first one is accessible anywhere you have wi-fi

ALL of these are all excellent investments – so book your seat now!

WHERE: Anywhere you can access the internet

TIME: 1 pm PST/ 2 pm MST / 4 pm ETD

DETAILS & REGISTRATION: http://bit.ly/16u8IXN

If you feel frayed and can’t seem to get ahead of all your to-do’s – this webinar is for you! Vicki Childs will share 5 simple  - yet incredibly powerful strategies  - to STOP being busy and START being focused, relaxed and more productive than ever. Join us – it’s FREE!

WHEN: April 18, 2013

WHERE: Pines Manor, Edison, NJ

TIME: 8 am – 2:45 pm

DETAILS & REGISTRATION: http://bit.ly/XIyqDE

Meet & network with business owners, corporate and government purchasing representatives. Attend valuable workshops and roundtable discussions, moderated by experts.

Keynote speaker:  Frances Cole Jones, will share her insight & tips in her talk, Bring Your Best Self to Business & Life

WHERE: 265 West 37th Street (bet. 7th & 8th Avenue), 14th Floor, New York City

TIME: 2- 5 pm, followed by Wine and Cheese Reception

DETAILS & REGISTRATION INFO: http://bit.ly/YWaxMM

Ignite and energize your career or business! Join media personality Valerie Smaldone, social media guru Roni Jenkins, and women’s leadership expert, Leslie Grossman for a hands on-workshop. There will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions and participate throughout this afternoon event, hosted by The Three Tomatoes!

WHERE: The New York Times global headquarters, NYC

TIME: 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm

DETAILS & REGISTRATION INFO: http://bit.ly/12lhEBP

“Conversations with Men:  The Language of Leadership, Equality and Partnership”, will feature a distinguished panel of men — leaders and experts who are at the forefront of supporting women’s global leadership advancement and equality — and making it happen! Women attendees will meet other leadership advocates and activists, including Janet C. Salazar and Constance J. Peak, co-founders of IMPACT Leadership 21.

View each Member Profile below (click on the hyperlinked names for info on their skill sets, interests and objectives). Great business or job opportunities, new colleagues, mentors, strategic partners and friends await!!

And don’t forget to visit our main Directory page often - as new women post their Professional /work credentials & objectives every day.

See all our Listing Members – sorted by Area of Expertise visit our main Directory page.

• Stacey Blume, founder of cool apparel company, blumegirl.com, NY
  

  New WomenCentric Member, Catherine Storing, Style Coach

• Donna Skrypetz, a photographer from Canada – Profile in Progress (PIP)
• Jennifer Beardsley, intern at CW Highlights, Austin, TX – PIP
• Sarah Welt, PIP
• Thea Simone, Management Assistant, Boston, MA
• Tamika Turner-Graydon, a nature photographer based in MI
• Vena Jensen, Social Media Coach & Content Writer, WA – PIP
• Ellie Harris – PIP
• Meredith Haberfield, Life Coaching expert, Chicago, IL
• Victoria Geo, London, UK – PIP
• Catherine Storing, a terrific style and image coach for women, MA
• Amy Woodard – PIP
• Tanya Quirk, co-owner of a chocolate shop, NJ
• Susan Meshberg – graphic designer, NYC – PIP
• Heather McElrath – PIP
• Nathalie Chinje, founder, Upbeat Marketing, Johannesburg, South Africa

Seeking a new vendor or strategic partner?? Maybe you’re trying to figure out you next career move, or connect with a new expert or resource. Whatever career path you’re pursuing – you can discover lots of business networking opportunities, terrific talent, tips and inspiration from our Directory, our Blog, and our YouTube videos on WomenCentric!

We invite you to join us - post info on your business and career objectives on WomenCentric today!

NOTE: PIP means this Profile in is Progress. So pop back to the Directory often as new Profiles are published every day. Search by name, state, country or Area of expertise in our Search field located in the right sidebar of all our main pages – where you can view all the exceptional working women, including professionals, entrepreneurs, recent grads and job seekers in our awesome community!

So let’s address fact two: small business is driving most of the economic growth in many countries. Fact three – in order to grow (read hire new employees, buy new software and equipment, rent any or bigger office space, invest in R&D, pay for marketing initiatives, etc.) most entrepreneurs and small business owners need access to capital.

Let’s get cookin’ with capital –

Yes, social media is HUGE  as a brand awareness and engagement tool. But give me something tangible, show me you really get my pain and want my business, produce videos to show the positive impact your new policies are having – and  you’ve got something with longterm viral legs.  Here’s my simple idea on how BIG companies can engage and reach new clients, and small companies can get the capital they need to hire great talent, cover marketing and operational costs and thrive.

Divert 30% of your existing marketing funds from mass media ad buys and invest those same advertising funds directly with smaller companies, tech startups and new ventures who are your prime target markets.

A specific, innovative re-investment example

I run a small business, so I’m a prime customer for Staples. If Demos Parneros, President of Staples US was onboard with this new kind of  inbound or re-investment marketing, he’d  appoint someone in Boston to come up with a catchy program name, say “Project SMB EconDriver,” and create a team of Econ Drivers. These folks would identify a number of ways to directly support a range of new and growth-track companies, including tech startups, manufacturers, gourmet food purveyors, etc.

Here are some easy economic driver options:

• buy multi-month leader board advertising campaigns on small business websites and /or  e-newsletters (investment $500-%1000 dollars)
• become sponsoring Partner via 3-6 e-newsletter ad campaign (typical investment $1800 – $3600 dollars)
• sponsoring an Open House or small business workshop series given by one or several different companies ($2500-$5000)
• create an application process to sponsor (cover) the cost of one new laptop (this could easily be a joint effort with HP, Lenovo, Toshiba, etc.)
• cover the cost of paper or other standard office supplies for one year – max $1500 per firm.

If 1000 or more larger companies adopted this strategy, you’d have a lot of cash flowing into the small business sector. Cash that would allow smaller firms that may not have direct access to capital or traditional funding options, to hire, to make improvements, to grow. So the alliance helps give the SMB a vote of confidence / great PR benefits, and some needed capital, nice.  Oh – and as a result they become raving and very vocal fans of that larger business. Really nice.

How about it Staples, are you game to be the first major re-investment innovator, to use some of your marketing dollars to drive direct economic growth with the folks you want to become loyal Staples customers??

What are your economic growth ideas – we’d love to hear them!

First tip – Google points searches to the newest content.
Odds are one or more people are looking you or your business up online every day. In order to make sure they stumble upon exactly what you want them to find, be strategic and “plant” updated content about your skills, achievements, services, products, books, and/or goals, regularly.

Tip #2 – Get found faster.
While Google LOVES new content, it also gives weight to WHERE your info is listed. LinkedIn and WomenCentric (if you’re a woman) are both excellent business networking spaces to post your professional credentials. That’s because both sites have great “inbound pull” due to the kind and the amount of quality content that’s on each site, and because of their respective longevity online. If you have a website, make sure you are updating it frequently.

For entrepreneurs, authors, experts, job seekers and career track folks, look into posting your credentials on a few niche sites too, like your local Chamber of Commerce or an industry-specific site. For example, if you’re a virtual assistant, you’ll want to post a listing on IVAA; if you’re a professional organizer you should have profile on NAPO.

Water regularly
Update your professional profiles quarterly. And if you really want to get a jump on your competitors, get your voice heard in real time on multiple social networking spaces. That means sharing and opining on Twitter, Google+, and facebook on a regular basis. Employers are drawn to people who are working these, and other channels, strategically and powerfully. Don’t get confused about what I mean when I say “powerfully.” I’m not talking about being arrogant, bossy or annoying. Powerful people are using these tech tools by being valuable –  making thoughtful contributions on a variety of topics in a way that spotlights their unique skills and their personality.

The winners are crafting, updating and strategically nurturing their success via smart, keyword-rich data that spotlights their best assets. You can use your social and online assets to your advantage too!

So – get cookin’. Take a look at what comes up when you Google yourself and/or the name of your business. Plant & water as needed.

Instead of worrying about the changes, think about the opportunities they present. Says West, “Every moment you spend kvetching is a minute you’re not thinking strategically about the changes and how you can leverage them to work for your business.

“I call it Facebook in Technicolor,” West says of the pending changes.

1. More and larger visual content (if you mouse over an image, it gets larger)
2. When you check in at a location, facebook automatically adds a map, a big plus if you’re out of town trying to connect with friends.
3. Shared videos will be larger and more prominent
4. You can clear the clutter from your feed. You’ll be able to parse your newsfeed to receive the feeds you want – it could be photos only, music only, close friends only, even games only.
5. Housekeeping feeds will be on the left side, with content on the right.
6. If you share a story with friends, Facebook will pull in your profile and cover photo. And if someone likes you, he or she can add you right from your “share.”
7. Likewise, content from third-party apps such as Google Plus and Pinterest show up more legibly.
8. But what West considers the coolest change is the “most-shared” section. If you follow NPR public radio, for example, you’ll get the most shared stories from NPR.

The upshot, according to West, is that you’ll be able to check in and out on Facebook more quickly. West calls it “time chunking.” “If you know you only have 15 minutes, you’ll make it count,” she says. West has edited her newsfeed so she only gets stories from people she really likes.

West offers eight takeaways on the changes:

1. Rest easy: The edgerank sytem—that’s the Facebook algorithm that decides which stories appear in each user’s newsfeed—isn’t going to change.
2. Small businesses need to rethink their cover photo and make sure it’s branded. Under the new system, people will see your cover image every time you share something.
3. Use more images in your updates. Period. Fifty percent of newsfeed content is photo and images, West notes.
4. Share more content. You’ll get more visibility, and people will find you more easily.
5. “I’m a big believer in asking for what you want.” She suggests asking your connections to move you to the top of the lefthand column, where you’ll be more visible. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” West says.
6. Share more content via third-party apps such as Pinterest, Google Plus and Instagram. That way you can share more types of visual content.
7. Share content more frequently. That way, you’ll be at the top of the feed.
8. If you don’t have a personal page, create one—at least until Facebook rolls this out to business profile pages.