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Lori Bruton

Author | Writer | Lifestyle Blogger |Speaker

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Hi, I'm Lori.
Author, Speaker, Coach, Ghostwriter

Can I Bring Anything?

November 9, 2021 by Lori Leave a Comment

Can I Bring Anything?

 

Do you ever have holiday or social gatherings where each person or family is assigned to bring something? How does that work out?

One advantage is that the work is shared among everyone. Each person makes a contribution, which is helpful. Therefore, the work and expense doesn’t fall just on the host.

[Keep reading to discover 5 juicy solutions.]

What can be some downfalls?  The people who are chronically late offer to bring the appetizers. That is not helpful, because the meal is ready by the time they get there. No appetizers were served since you were waiting for them to arrive ahead of time so that everyone could enjoy hor d’oeuvres and mingle before the meal.

I had a family member who offered to bring appetizers and was always late. The lesson I learned was tell her no thank you and that she didn’t need to bring anything. That was the solution to politely decline her offer to bring a dish. I could have assigned her dessert, but I enjoy making the desserts.

When my mom served a meal, it was always on time. She didn’t penalize the ones who got there on time instead of rewarding those who were late. She wasn’t going let her hard work result in a ruined and cold meal by waiting for the latecomers. She was a wise woman.

Respect the host and be a good host.

What standards are you setting personally and professionally? Let’s say you are holding a webinar. What are your expectations? Once you have invited people and promoted your webinar, you expect people to show up on time, right? The attendees are investing their time and also expect you to show up on time as well. Yes, sometimes there are technical issues, but that aside, everyone needs to show up on time, especially the host.

Start. No matter who is on or not on the webinar, start on time. Those who are already there deserve to have their time honored. Anyone who jumps on late can tune in from wherever you are in your presentation. Maybe they can catch the replay for the part they missed. There are legitimate reasons why people could not jump in on time. That’s not the point. The point is that they will join when they can. It’s their responsibility to catch up. It’s our responsibility to start our webinars on time. It’s frustrating for those who are already there when you say, “We will wait a few more minutes for more people to join us.” Tick, tick, tick. Just start and honor your word.

Replays. Not everyone can tune in live. Thankfully, many people record and offer the replay. Different schedules and time zones make it challenging for everyone to tune in live every time. Important note:  When you promise a replay, be sure to deliver it. Keep your promises no matter how you think the quality turned out, people need that content.

What can you bring to your present and potential clients? Value.

I mentioned in my previous blog about your plate being too full. When you are juggling everything in your life, some of those plates will fall and break. That can result in breakdowns. Breakdown in communication, breakdown in completing and keeping up with all you have taken on, which may lead to personal breakdown and burnout. You don’t want to end up there.

Here are 5 recommendations:

  1. Value yourself and value your clients. Don’t let your overbooked schedule affect your clients. Look at what to keep doing and what is too much. That’s when you need to get help, have a backup, or remove some things to lighten your load.
  2. Be prepared. Are you taking time to be prepared for your meetings and webinars? We often forget to factor that in. We rush around and start a meeting without reviewing and preparing first. Our clients and prospects can tell.
  3. How can you be better prepared? If you are on Zoom, make sure your lighting and surroundings are good. Make sure all your equipment is plugged in and charged. Have water near you to drink as needed. Have all your notes and slides on hand and ready to share. Read through, review, and practice first so that it is fresh at your fingertips and fresh on your mind. Don’t try to run around and do errands or fit in something at the last minute that will cause you to be late to your own meeting. Make sure you take a bathroom break ahead of your meeting start time. Allow for connection time. Be in the Zoom Room a few minutes early, especially if you have it set up where you need to let people in the room.
  4. Hire a Holiday Helper. There are virtual assistants who can help you on a short-term basis, especially during the holiday season. That solution can turn into long-term assistance if you discover you need the continued help, which frees you up. Think about what tasks you can outsource. For example, maybe you need social media graphics and posts created or blogs and articles written. Do you need videos or audios repurposed? Do you need thank you notes written and sent out? Those suggestions should whet your appetite. Message me if you need a holiday helper as I provide VA services and know others who do as well.
  5. Hire a Holiday Shopper. Some things are nonnegotiable in your business and must be done by you. That may not leave you time to do personal things. For example, you want to give special gifts to your staff and colleagues, but you don’t have time or know what to get. Keep in mind that is a service I offer, contact me if you want to know more.

Now that we have reviewed the menu, what would you like to bring to the table? Remember you can assign some dishes to others. If you rather cook it all up yourself, I hope these tips were helpful.

Wishing you the Best and much Success,

Lori

Author, Copywriter, VA

Filed Under: MY BLOG Tagged With: appetizer, appointments, article, assignments, assistance, blog, business, clients, colleagues, content, contentcreation, copywriter, delegate, deliver, dessert, dishtopass, entrepreneur, expectations, gifts, help, holidaygatherings, holidayhelp, holidayideas, holidayshopper, ideas, investment, menu, offers, pie, prepare, promise, promotion, recommendations, recording, replay, repurpose, schedule, shoppingservices, socialmedia, solutions, standards, table, time, tips, VA, value, VAservices, virtualassistant, webinar, work

You Rather Not Write, Right?

November 2, 2020 by Lori Leave a Comment

What should I write?

Everyone has different likes and dislikes. I like to write, but not everyone does. Does writing provoke joy or stress for you? Maybe you just don’t have the time, or you don’t know what to say. If writing isn’t one of your strengths, then find someone who is gifted in that area.

Content creation can be mind boggling and time consuming. However, you need to get your message out there. Your services and products need to get visibility. What you have is what people need, but if no one knows about it then no one wins.

How can I help you fill in the blanks to get your thoughts flowing to write emails, blog posts, or social media posts? Would it be helpful if you had a template where you literally fill in the blanks to get your creative juices flowing? Or would you rather hand it off for someone else to do?

I know coaches, speakers, authors, and business owners want to spend their time doing what they do best. It helps lighten their load to delegate the tasks they don’t enjoy or don’t have time to do. The investment is well worth the return.

Creating the right atmosphere makes all the difference. For example, since I am a writer my favorite place to write is by the water. I created a tagline of Lori’s Stories by the Water. It’s all part of The LORI Factor.

Today, I want to talk about the “I” in The LORI Factor. “I” is for INVEST in yourself. Look at your goals and dreams. Decide if how you’re spending your time is serving you well. Is it giving you the freedom to present your greatness and gifts to the world? Or are you getting bogged down by the extra tasks that are draining you and eating up too much time?

Think about your Goals

I help people lighten the load. First and foremost, I am a writer and author. There are things I need to do behind the scenes to write books and blogs like choose a topic, research, edit, and proofread, for example.

Imagine re-purposing your speeches, audios, or videos into a guide, eBook, or workbook. That could add huge value to your audience. Your clients and customers will come back for more.

A key component is seeing the value in with whom you decide to co-create. Everyone wants to be valued and appreciated, but many still want “the blue light special” deal. I had a potential client who needed my services and I even asked about his budget. I gave him a proposal below his budget, and he said that was way more than he could afford. Really? Okay, no problem.

Sow into quality people. It will be worth it. Many people want others to buy into what they have but are not willing to purchase quality from others. Keep that in mind. Remember that U.S. based business owners are not able to offer third-world country rates. What’s it worth to you? Of course, it’s your choice. All I know is we reap what we sow.

I would be delighted to help you reap amazing results. Share your needs with me and let’s see if working together would be a good fit. Message me or text my text only number:  844-394-4798.

Here’s to your success and may all your dreams come true.

In Gratitude,

Lori

 

 

 

Filed Under: MY BLOG Tagged With: atmosphere, audience, audios, author, benefits, blog, books, clients, coach, content creation, customers, delegate, dreams, ebook, entrepreneur, flow, freedom, gifts, goals, ideas, investment, life coach, loribruton, lorisstories, lorisstoriesbythewater, message, products, reap and sow, repurpose, ROI, services, social media, speaker, stress, support, thoughts, time, value, videos, virtual assistant, visibility, worth, write, writer

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Hi, I'm Lori!

I'm a copywriter, blog writer, and ghostwriter, with a focus in the inspirational and travel niches. Need custom copy that motivates? Learn more about what I do!

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