Actually Do Something... That's the BIG Secret!

There is a this weird internet-blogger-businesd-owner taboo surrounding being transparent and showing the traffic to your site.  But I am breaking that silly "rule" to make a point. Here is a snap shot of my visits, page views and audience size from this June to September.

CAN YOU GUESS WHICH MONTH I MADE IT A PRIORITY TO CREATE CONTENT?

Business owners constantly say that they "want new business" and "will do whatever it takes" and yet their websites, Instagram and Twitter feeds, and Facebook pages stay blank for days and days.  You want to know the big secret to getting people to hire or buy from you? Give them a reason to look at your site.  And do you know how to get people to look at your site? Give them something to look at. Pretty simple.

I am tired of people talking about how they want their business and brand to grow and yet they don't grind it out every day to give people a reason to show up. If you don't show up, why would your customer/reader?

A digital website isn't much different than an actual store front.  Think of your website as a storefront on a street lined with dozens of other stores, too.  Why is a customer going to stop at yours?  Is your storefront fresh and new and inviting? Or is it covered in cobwebs, featuring out of date graphics and dirty windows?  Are there signs pointing people to your store?  Now back to the digital world, do you have signs in the right places ... Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook?

Retail stores that do really well are the ones that have really good foot traffic.  Think of your website/blog the same way.  You want as many people to stumble in as possible so you can sell to them.

It's time to dust off the cobwebs and create content to give them a reason to stop and shop!

There is no big secret that succeeding business' aren't telling you.  The secret is simple and I am telling you now.  Give people a reason to stop by your site and they will!

1 Out Of 35,000

According to multiple sources on the Internet, the average amount of remotely conscious decisions an adult makes each day is about 35,000.

35,000 choices every single day!  That is a lot of freaking choices!  It's kind of hard to wrap your head around that number.  For example, this morning, I chose to shut my alarm off. I chose to sit up in bed. I chose to put my feet on the ground.  I chose to pick up June. I chose to say good morning to her.  I chose the amount of cream I put it my coffee.  I chose what music to listen to as I walked into work. And I will go on choosing things like that all day long...

35,000 choices is a lot to think about in one day, so I want to challenge you to just think about just one.

Just think about one choice that you will make today.  Think about the power that one choice can have.  Think about it's potential and awesomeness! Think about all the good you can do with that one choice.

Maybe that one choice is to smile at someone who looks like they are having a rough day.

Maybe it's buying the person behind you a cup of coffee.  

Maybe it's telling your husband or wife that you really love them or that they look beautiful or handsome.

Maybe that one choice is not post some disgruntled comment on Facebook or choosing not to argue with a friend.

Maybe that choice is to be silent and listen instead of always talking about everything.

Maybe that choice is to not look at porn.

Maybe that choice is to open the Bible and ask God to show Himself to you.

Maybe that choice is to eat a healthy lunch... instead of two Big Macs.

Maybe today is the day that you choose to listen to your parents the first time they ask you to do something, and not the 12th time.

Or maybe that choice is to tell your mom or dad that you love them.

Maybe it's to put your phone down while you have a conversation.

It's easy to be overwhelmed by 35,000 choices.  It's like looking at an entire forest and not being able to focus on a single tree.  But, if we ignore the forest for just a minute and study one tree, we will actually be able to see it.  We will see it's uniqueness, it's beauty and all it's intricate details.  will see where it starts and where it's headed.  We will see it's color, shape, size and texture.

Today will bring on a forest of choices. You can think about all the things you have to choose today and very easily decide to turn on auto-pilot and coast..  Instead, try to ignore the forest of choices and just look at one. Really think about what you can do with just one thoughtful choice.  Think about where it will start and where it could end.  Think about it's beauty and power. Think about all God can do with just one choice and then use it for His glory.  And maybe, just maybe, that will start you on a path to start thinking about more of your choices and what they can do.  Maybe today you just think about one, but tomorrow it's two and the next day three.  Maybe in a month you are thinking about 10 choices you make everyday.  This new way of choosing can start today by just thinking about just one.

Because, when you start to think about the choices you make, the better your choices will become. And the better they become, the you will start to see God do amazing things in your life and the lives of those around you. 

Today, use 1 of your 35,000 choices to do something awesome! One is all it will take to make a difference!

"Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold." - Proverbs 8:10


    9 Albums That I Love Right Now! // V. 2

    I love finding new music and sharing it with friends, family and followers!  I am the type of person that really enjoys listening to albums in order.  I feel like that is the way the artist wants them to be heard.  Enjoy my suggestions and let me know if you have any of your own.  If you want to see my previous suggestions you can do so here - 9 Albums That I Love Right Now!

    I Don't Feel Like Writing This Blog Post

    Ugghhhh! Do I have to write something that people will like?  It will never be as good as my three most popular posts.  It won't get me as many comments, followers, views, likes or whatever other metric I check daily, therefore, I don't want to write.

    I just don't want to do it.  If I were a kid I would be throwing an epic tantrum.  I don't want to do it! I don't want to do it! I don't want to do it!

    I started five different posts this morning and they are either half finished or I deleted them, because I really don't want to write anything.  I feel uninspired and tired.  I want to drink coffee and watch Friends all day.  I literally would pick doing almost anything else today instead of writing.

    BUT ... If I want to be a blogger, writer, speaker, author ... I have to write.

    If you want to be a photographer you have to go out and take pictures.

    If you want to be a carpenter you have to measure, cut, nail and do carpenter things.

    If you want to be a teacher you have to teach.

    If you want to be a pilot you have to fly.

    If you want to be a "fill in the blank", you need to "fill in the blank."

    Get the picture?  If you want to be the best, or among some of the best, at what you do you have to show up even when you don't feel like it.  Even though I am not enjoying writing this blog post, I am here.  I am at the plate.  I am on the field. I am giving it my best today.

    So often we base everything we do on how we feel.  But lots of times our feelings are stupid and we need to put them in their place.  Sometimes I feel like eating a carton of ice cream even though I am lactose intolerant.  Just because I feel like doing something doesn't mean I should, and just because I don't feel like doing something doesn't mean I shouldn't. For those of you who are in the same boat as me today and want to throw the kind of temper tantrums where you smash your Cheerios on the floor, throw you head back and shout "NO!!!", I am here to encourage you!  You can do things you don't feel like doing!  Surprisingly, I am already starting to feel a lot better that I stuck it out at my computer and just kept writing!

    Push through the feelings telling you not to do it and do it!  Make it happen! Give it your best effort.  I know this post might only be a broken bat single, ground out or strike out, but at least I stepped up to the plate.

    I'll share with you one of my favorite quotes about just showing up from our 26th President Theodore Roosevelt.

    "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt // April 23, 1910

    Here is an image to use as your iPhone wallpaper or post to Instagram to encourage you to show up!

    Hey Married People! Go On More Walks!

    Brooke and I go on 3-5 walks a week.  Depending on the day we will pick one of our loops which vary in distance and time.  Our longest loop is about five miles and our shortest is around a mile.  While walking my amazing wife and I will talk about EVERYTHING.

    We walk and talk, talk and walk.  I wasn't a big walker before I got married.  I never saw a point of going on a walk unless it was utilitarian in nature.  If I was walking to get a candy bar then it was TOTALLY worth it, but a walk to just walk - no thanks.

    Then Brooke and I started going on them and I realized that something was happening as we walked together.  First, I noticed that we were off our phones and away from screens so there weren't any distractions.  A distraction free environment with someone is becoming more and more difficult in our society.  Then, I noticed that our walks became about more than just chit chat.  Our walks became a safe place for us to vent about frustrations in our life, dream about things we never said out loud and open up about our struggles.  Our walks became precious to us and the more we go on them the more we open up and talk to each other.  And the more we talk to each other the stronger our marriage has become!

    I sometimes feel like marriages fall in the crapper because of the "schedule" they get stuck in.

    The schedule usually looks something like this - Get up, go to work, come home from work, eat dinner, work on something else, watch TV, go to bed.  Repeat 5 days a week.

    There are times in that schedule to talk, but they are either rushed or full of distractions.  I've found that a simple walk eliminates all of that and gives you the ability to be a little more open, a little more real and a little more honest.  The longer you spend distraction free with your spouse the more likely you are to get to a real issue, problem or idea.

    Last night Brooke read something online that really frustrated her and was feeling "swirly."  Feeling swirly is the worst.  It can really only be described by this emoji - 🌀.  So, I got June ready and we went on a walk.  As we walked she begin to express why what she read got to her and by the time we got home she was totally over it.  Surprisingly, on the walk I didn't do much talking about the issue and just tried to listen, which is really hard for me. I LOVE TALKING!  But, Brooke just needed to talk and if we stayed home she probably wouldn't have gotten to the truth of the issue that she needed to get to.  That would have lead to a whole night of swirliness and that is THE WORST!

    Sometimes we expect really profound things to change our marriages.  We look for the hail mary when working the ball slowly up the field will do.  A walk is just that.  It isn't glamorous but it works.  It provides a distraction free space to be open, honest and real.  Isn't that what we wanted when we got married?  Someone to be open, honest and real with?  Let's start giving ourselves the space to do that and let's start with a few more walks!

    June also loves walks!

    June also loves walks!

    You Don't Need An Intern, That's Just Your Ego.

    There is an trend sweeping across super small companies everywhere - unnecessary interns and hirings.  There seems to be a new one in my feed every single day.  

    "OMG! We are so excited to announce the coolest intern in the world. This chick is going to rock it in the studio." - Said in your typical white girl voice!

    And by we do you mean you? And by studio do you mean weird extra bedroom?

    Now I know that all businesses should try to appear and speak in a voice bigger than they are. So phrases like "we" instead of I, and "office" or "studio" instead of weird extra bedroom make sense. I get that. I've been there.

    But!!!!

    If you don't have enough business to make that small something your full time job, then you don't need an intern or to hire anyone else. You know what is a million times more impressive than having a high school student do a few things a week - HAVING A SUCCESSFUL, PROFITABLE BUSINESS SO YOU DONT HAVE TO WORK ANOTHER PART TIME JOB!

    So often I see these young bucks who say they will do whatever it takes to make their business successful - excccccccept the hard work that it actually takes.  They think saying things like they "have an intern" is all of a sudden going to knock their potential customers socks off and they will just throw money at them because....well....they have an intern!

    Brooke and I have had a few interns over the years, all for our photography company, and they were great. Really they were! But we ended up having to spend so much time with them that it distracted us from doing what we actually needed to do.  It's not like an intern shows up day one and is fully equipped to do every task set before them. Often, instead of pushing your business to the next step they actually take you back three steps, because you spend so much time teaching.

    At some point we might try internships again, this time at walk in love., but only when we are absolutely ready for them and feel they will actually help our company grow.  I suggest you do the same.  Do as much of the work by yourself as possible and only hire someone when you absolutely have to. Push yourself to work as hard as you can as long as you can, so that you can understand every in and out of your business before you bring someone on to do it.

    The second you add someone to your small company your job instantly splits into two.  You become responsible for everything you have to do and everything they have to do.  Be super smart and picky about adding anyone to your team and I would advise to wait until you absolutely have no choice.  Having a profitable business will always be more impressive than having 15 part-time employees or a slew of interns.

    Currently at walk in love. we have three people working, two full-time and one part time.  We've shipped over 9,000 orders this year alone and with only three people on staff!  How awesome is that?  We don't add people just to add people.  We add people because we HAVE to.  Right now we can handle the necessary output with a small staff and that works better for all of us.  We don't have people standing around on the clock waiting for a job.  We don't fill our staff's days with busy, non-important work.  We are efficient with our time and do all the things that matter and do them well. I've actually heard people say, who work for smaller companies, "That's definitely a more efficient way to do that.. but if I adopt that method, I'll cut my hours in half. And I'm only part time. So, I'm going to keep doing  it 'this way' so I can log more hours." How unfortunate is it that your employee, or summer intern, might actually be dragging out their work simply because they are part time and aren't given enough to do in the first place! Make sure you really, really need someone. And then when you do get to that point, get the right person.

    I'm sure we, at walk in love., could post an Instagram asking for intern applications and get hundreds of them. Which is so cool! But without a plan for those interns, we are really just stroking our egos so we can say, "Look at us! We have an intern!"

    So, again, wait on the intern as long as possible, hold off on the new hire until you absolutely need it.  Never forget that having a successful, profitable business will always be more impressive than having an intern. Even if they do bring you Starbucks.