Donnaism

If this ends up making sense, it was pure luck. Not planned whatsoever. That's what happens when you sit down with a Cinnamon Dolce Latte and start click-clackin'. The rest of the world calls it typing, but not my oldest sister. To her, I'm click-clackin'.

One of my faithful and supportive readers, The Numbers Whisperer, gets a kick out of my southern idioms. Although I'm not the first to have said, "Shut your mouth wide open!" or "It's hotter than fish grease!", she refers to them as Donna-isms. And being the twitter-addicted blogger I am, I've claimed the phrase appropriately by making it a hashtag.

The other day I tweeted this one:

don't force it. whatever IT is. #donnaism

(sidenote: I just wasted about 17 minutes of my life trying to figure out how to embed a tweet. I can't get those 17 minutes back. Ever.)

@MicheleDortch retweeted it and said she needed to hear that. You're welcome, Michele.

If you're still reading - thank you. I think I'm about to make a point.

I really could've forced out a themed topic relating to Christmas that probably would've made some sense. But I didn't want to. Instead, I waited to write. I'm allowing the words to just flow. However they're popping into my head is how they're being click-clacked.

As I continue to evolve, I'm making a conscience effort to not force it. Nothing that was ever forced felt good.

While people are resolving to not have resolutions and to be intentional without setting goals or whatever the popular thing is going into 2012, this is what I'm going to focus on. And my three words from last year of course.

If you don't do anything differently in the new year,

give yourself permission to just be.

Naturally. Whoever you are.

Don't feel obligated to meet anyone's expectations other than your own. But do yourself a favor in the process. Raise the bar.

I appreciate you putting up with me yet another year. Thank you for reading and sharing your feelings. I'm grateful for every single social media mention, comment, and most importantly for you telling someone about my blog and inviting them to the party.

I can't promise you anything other than to keep giving you the truth.

Honestly uncontrived.

That is how I choose to be.

Email Confession: I Want MORE

"Hello!

I found your blog quite by accident awhile back, and although I’m not a daily reader, I really appreciate what you’ve accomplished. I think I remember seeing one of your blogs some time ago that addressed how you submitted articles to magazines and what you went through. My question to you is – can you direct me to that blog again, or give a gal some help in that area? I want to submit an article to MORE Magazine – I’ve never been published before since I write primarily for myself, but I have a story I think would be so interesting to middle-age women needing a change, and MORE caters to women in my age group. Thanks! BSW"

*********************

Hey BSW!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate it. Yes, you did read where I shared my experiences with getting articles published.

Congratulations for taking the initiative to reach out to MORE. It may take a couple of tries before you get someone's attention, but don't give up. Be prepared to possibly having your content published online vs. in the print publication. I actually prefer digital because your stuff stays on the internet forever. When you send your pitch to the editor, be sure to tell them how their readers will benefit from your piece. What will they gain/learn? What void are you filling? If you have a compelling story, tell it, but be brief.

Here's their Media Kit - look over it. Let them know which audience(s) you're going to reach. I hope this helps. Wishing you much success and shoot me a link to your article once it's published.

Hugs & Handshakes,

Miss Donna

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE

• doesn't matter if you've visited one time or one-hundred, I'll do my best to answer your questions
• if there's someplace I can send you for more information, I'll share that too (here's a great post about the scary truth of getting media coverage)
• something on your mind?! let me know. send a note to info@donnaljohnson.com. let's keep the conversation going!

Paying The Price For Growth

Saturday night on the Suze Orman Show, the one-on-one guest was a graphic designer who needed Suze's help. In addition to her bills, the graphic designer had a total of $40,000 worth of work she'd performed but had never been paid for.

I know. I had the same dumb perplexed expression on my face too.

But get this. It wasn't because folks had skipped out on paying her. She - the business owner - hadn't bothered to bill the clients! She said on tv, in front of the Lord and everybody, that she would get so caught up in completing the work, she'd just move on to the next project without invoicing.

At the end of the show, Suze gave entrepreneurs two pieces of advice. One I agreed with. The other I didn't.

GOOD ADVICE

Hire someone to do the stuff you can't do. Or the stuff you're not good at. It makes sense and sounds doable on the surface, however I understand that not everyone is in a financial position to outsource.

In this particular situation, it appears the graphic designer had the means to hire help. And we all know in the age of the ever-popular virtual assistant, recruiting a freelancer takes away the risk of hiring a permanent employee. And it's a helluva lot cheaper too.

YOUR BLOG AS A BUSINESS

A couple of weeks ago I participated in the #BlogTrends chat on twitter. The topic was expanding your blog. During the course of the chat, I made the comment that at some point, you have to hire help.

Well what did I do that for?! Folks got all upset telling me how they would never hire someone to write for them.

Ok. That's fine. Neither would I.

When you look at your blog as a business - instead of a hobby - you have a different perspective. Yes, you love to write, Yes, you love to share whatever it is you're sharing, but you don't lose sight of your blog being a source of income.

BAD ADVICE

Suze acknowledged there are quite a few people starting businesses as a result of the crappy job market. She went on to say if you can't afford to outsource your weaknesses, you probably shouldn't take the entrepreneur route.

Suze. I love you, but you're wrong.

HIRING FREE HELP

I've been really bummed out about not posting more videos on my blog. In case you didn't know, The Girl is my videographer. She enjoys going out with me to different places to shoot and then doing the editing.

While you may not have access to a tech-savvy teenager, I'm sure there's someone in your network who would love to give you a hand. You just have to ask and be willing to offer some assistance in return.

When I made the statement about hiring someone to help expand your blog, that's what I was talking about.

What do you need to take your blog up a notch?
Sidenote: You can remove the word 'blog' and insert business, quality of life, etc.

Where can you find the resources to help you get there?

I examined every penny I have looking for extra money to bring on a project-based videographer. That's just a fancy way of saying I was in desperate need of someone to follow me around town and hold my flip camera.

Low and behold, it turns out an employee of one of my coaching clients was willing to do it for free to get experience. She has a homebased business and wants to integrate video into her marketing.

Perfect. Problem solved. It's a win for both of us. It didn't cost me anything, but had it - I was willing to pay. What I could afford, of course.

If you're looking to grow in the upcoming year, it might help to think with the end in mind.

Don't look at yourself as a struggling blogger (if you google 'struggling blogger' and my picture comes up, please don't tell me!).

You know the popular blogger who boasts about making money and gets invitied to all the conferences and commands big bucks for her sponsored posts? At some point she realized she couldn't do it all on her own.

When you're ready to treat your blog like the thriving business it can be, you'll realize it too.

You've Got Mail: Eggplant & Glimmer

Back in October, I told you about my encounter with girdles and opportunities. That's when I ordered Avon from my online friend - Jan. I told you I would shoot a video so you could see what I bought.

Honestly, I forgot I had the stuff tucked away in my closet. Blame it on the devil.

A few weeks ago, Stesha shared some of her must-have beauty products and that's when I

remembered my box of unopened goods.

 I ABSUHLOOTELY love that bedazzled makeup bag!

I bought it as a gift for someone, but to tell you the truth - I don't think she's gettin' it.

The Girl has her eye on it too. She looked at it this morning and said, "If this sits here any longer, it might come up missing..." Oh yeah?! Touch it and you might come up missing!

Glimmer and Glow Bag                   $5.99

Big Color Eye Pencil (eggplant)       $3.06

SuperExtend Mascara (black steel)  $3.93

The above items were purchased from Avon's outlet. Equivalent to being on clearance I guess. I say that because those three items are no longer available. According to the representative, nothing came up when I gave her the product numbers so I can't even give you the regular price for each.

This is my all-time favorite thing from Avon:

If you want some of your own, you're in luck!

Moisture Effective Eye Makeup Remover Lotion (2oz)   $4.00

**Please don't send hate mail when I tell you I got mine for 99¢ per bottle.**

How much savings percentage is that?! Just what I figured. A whole helluva lot.

All of this, plus tax and shipping was only $19.44. The order shipped super fast - placed it on 10/14 and got it on 10/19.

I'm really happy right now. I've got stuff to make my eyes pretty and stuff to take it off with when I'm done and something snazzy to carry it all in too.

Damn. That's right. The bag isn't mine. My bad.