TaVona Denise’s Blog

I decided to add this post for anyone considering coming to Atlanta for the 8th Annual Power Networking Conference. 3 things you want to make sure you have/do when you come for the conference:

1) Business cards. Everyone who’d serious about being in business has business cards, but how effective are they? To make sure yours stand out and are not put in the pile/shoebox with the rest of them, you must make sure that your cards have your logo and/or are colorful, have a powerful message, and a CALL TO ACTION. Your call to action could be something like, “Visit http://www.TaVonaBoggs.com for your free consultation” or “to find out how to get $100”

It’s usually a good idea to have your picture on the card so people remember you the person because we know that people do business with people, not business. You want to use both sides of the card, so I usually suggest your call to action go on the back. The person should want to keep you card out and go IMMEDIATELY to your site as soon as they get home.

This brings me to the next point. If you are SERIOUS about doing business today, you MUST have a website, and not just any website. I have heard consumers say that they have decided not to do business with a person because they a) did not have a website or b) had a website that was poorly done. People pay a lot of money for websites and in this world where people are impatient and don’t have time to read websites, your site must be interactive which can become VERY expensive, but important. It is like your representative and can almost be seen like a suit or resume when applying for a job. For affordable solutions to websites that increase profits, professionalism and exposure, visit http://www.MyContact.biz

2) A soundbite is a quick introduction whose objective is to peak the other person’s interest so they want to know more. A few things you should know about soundbites: they should be no more than 17 seconds long and should include 5 things (as applicable):
1. your name
2. where you are from
3. what you do
4. how you add value
5. a quantitative evaluation of your value

3) Read the book, Success Runs in Our Race by George Fraser

Quick tip for remembering names: When you meet a new person, make sure you look at them in the eyes when they introduce themselves as you listen for their name and make sure you repeat their name after they’ve said it. I will also try to associate them with something or someone that I already now, so there is less new information fro my brain to try to learn, especially when you are meeting several new people at one time.

Quick tip for collecting cards: as soon as you part ways, write on the card something that will allow you to remember them when you get home or to the office, something that stood out, what you talked about so you can reference it when you follow up. Make sure you follow up within 24 to 72 hours at the latest to make sure they remember meeting you.

Hope that helps and please feel free to add any tips that you have found to be successful.

Within the last month or so, 2 people within my extended network have lost their jobs and 1 is waiting for the ax to fall.  It saddens me that so many people are losing their jobs and are left scrambling to pick up the pieces.  My solution, become a business owner so you have control of your destiny.

When I started my Physical Therapy contracting company, people thought I was crazy.  What? Leave your administrative position, leave a stable paycheck and steady work for instability?  Thank GOD I didn’t listen to any of them!  I have doubled my income, have more control of my time and dictate when and where I work based on my goals.  In fact, last year when physical therapists were being laid off from some of the companies I had contracts with, they still called me in to work.

It’s all about how you look at things and the way I see it, as a business owner, you can dictate your income, your schedule and your circumstances.  You have the ability to see that business is not going so well and correct course, versus being blindsided by the news that they’re going to have to let people go because they’re not making budget.  Anyone who reads this and does not own a business, PLEASE consider the benefits to business ownership.  It’s better to make your own options now, BEFORE you are forced to.

You have an idea about what interests you, you know what you have experience in and what you are passionate about.  So how do you make money from it?  Make an information product.  Better yet, make an audio.  In the age of information where everyone is trying to get it, but no one has time to, nor wants to read, having an audio product for sale is one the quickest, easiest and cheapest ways make 10 x  profit with little to no upfront cost.

Everyone is an expert in something.  The subject of your single audio or audio series should be from the list you created from the “Doing what you love and getting paid for it” article.  If it’s not on the list you shouldn’t be talking about it.  To start, take the thing you are most comfortable talking about and create an outline.  This can be done in one of two ways: by acronym, or by content.  For example, if the topic was Goal-setting  I could create an outline like this:

G: Get clear about what you want.  Be very detailed in your descriptions of what the perfect life would look like for you.

O: Obtain pictures of everything that you want and place them on a poster board or in a dream book

A: Ask yourself, If I had all of the money and talent in the world and I knew there was no way I could fail, what would I do? and so on…

Or you could list the steps of goal setting and speak for 4-5 minutes on each one until you have a talk that’s about 50 minutes long.

When it comes to recording the audio program, there are several ways you can go about doing it.  If you have a digital recorder, the mp3 can be uploaded onto your computer, or you can use FreeConferenceCall.com, create an account and they have a feature that allows you to call in, record your session and download the mp3 of your talk onto your computer.  The beautiful thing about this is that once you have the mp3, you can sell it as is and have yohur customers download it for instant gratification and 100% profit on your part, or you can burn the file to a CD and make copies.  If you want a more professional look, there are several fulfillment companies that can take the file and make several copies with professional covers and cases for you stock and sell or they can stock and sell the CDs for you.

So when it comes to determining if you are ready to create your first product, the best thing to remember is that if the information is good, the people will forgive you for the quality, especially if you say that it’s version 1.0 or the uncut/unedited version.  

One of my classmates asked me to explain the “How-Tos” of creating the lifestyle you want.  So I decided I’d break it down, bit by bit as it has been taught to me by my mentors, all of which became millionaires before age 40, and how I have been able to successfully put it into practice.

The step to doing what you love and getting paid for it is to take the time to find out what you are
1) interested in
2) passionate about
3) have expertise in

Once you have done that, the next part is figuring out a way to make money doing it.  Good news is it’s much more simple than you think.

I often wonder if the reason why so many people are so unhappy in their careers is because they are living outside of their passion and trying to justify it by saying that they are “just paying the bills” or “trying to make ends meet.”  I submit to you that not only can you LOVE what you do, but you can make a business of it and GET PAID!

Case and point: My good friend Shan who temporarily abandoned her consulting business for another that she thought would be more lucrative, but didn’t inspire her.  Now she’s back, and better than ever, pulling in so many contracts that she’s had to commission a sales team to help her!  How much greater is life when we live passionately?

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is out light, not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small does not serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.  We are all meant t shine, as children do.  We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It is not just some of us; it is in everyone.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

– Marianne Williamson

I first heard this quote in the movie, Akeelah and the Bee.  Since then, it has resonated in my spirit.  How many times have I held back for fear of outshining others?  When I changed this way of thinking and I “did my thang” I saw so many people become encouraged, stick their chest out and start to make positive changes in their lives as well.  The charge for today:  if we want to be an encouragement to others, we must live our lives as an example and show them that ALL things are possible. Do your thang!

So I was thumbing through my books, and I came across a statement that I highlighted and put a star by in  If you think you can, you can: 13 laws that govern the performance of high achievers by TJ Hoisington.  It reads, whatever you have in your life right now, is a reflection of what you must have.  You may want more, but until it becomes a true standard and you demand more from yourself, it will not happen for you.  And I thought, how profound, because it is absolutely true.  How many times have people had problems with addictions or being overweight or being broke and they go from one level or one standard for themselves, to practically transforming into a “new person” almost overnight?

I myself am a prime example of this.  About 6 months ago I topped the scales at 224 pounds.  I was miserable, I was fat, my back, knees hurt my feet hurt.  I had low energy.  Oh yes, I was able to smile and have fun with my clients, but at the end of the day I knew that this is not where I wanted to be.  The trobule was, I was not mentally in a place where I was ready to do what I needed to do.  This goes back to our self-talk and it’s ability to create and control are self images, beliefs, and comfort zones determine our performance.  Honestly, it was not until I changed from the self-talk of ‘I’m overweight, my clothes don’t fit, and I have no energy, to excercising and eating right ARE NOT AN OPTION, did my situation change.  Before I even lost one pound.  I felt an uplift in my spirit, my mood and my attitude.  I begin to smile more to myself, and sing again.  What’s more is that others started to take noticed as well and I begin to attract people that would help me achieve a greater level of success, not only in my physical and well-being endeavors, but in business as well.  Can you imagine just the simple act of making a firm decision and acting on it in one area of your life leading to extreme success in other areas as well?  Today’s challenge: reflect upon an area or situation in your life that does not make you feel the way you want to feel.  Declare to yourself with 100% certainty that you WILL make the necessary changes to improve and DO IT! You might just amaze yourself…

One thing I found out some years ago is that you CANNOT share your dreams with everyone.  Recognize that the path you are taking can be very different from those around you and unfortunately, when people can’t see a possibility or an opportunity for themselves, they usually can’t see it for you.  At one time I was very concerned about what everyone thought about what I was doing.  I will never forget the time I told my aunt that I was going to retire by age 30 and she told me ‘what makes you think you are going to retire at that age, when I’ve been working for over 20 years?’  The thing I realized was that she wasn’t going to pay my bills.  Remember this: unless they are going to pay for the lifestyle you want, their opinion does not matter.

And when it comes to being self-conscious about what others will think about what you are doing and what you want to do with you life, I want to leave you with Dr. Daniel’s Amen’s 18/40/60 rule: When you are 18, you worry about what others are thinking of you; when you are 40 you don’t give a darn what others think of you; when you are 60 you realize that nobody has been thinking of you at all. Go figure.

As always, I hope this reaches the people it’s meant for and much success in your endeavours.

Please forgive the lack of communication on my part for the past few days.  It’s so exciting to see dreams become reality!  My speaking career is taking off and it’s just a matter of time until I can fire my boss, who just happens to be me. LOL  Yes, I am my own boss, but I got caught in the cycle of trading my time/service/knowledge/skill for hours and whenever you do that, your income will forever be limited.  While I’m on this freedom kick, I want to tell you why I’m so passionate about it and helping others get it.

My grandmother (Mom’s side) just passed away this Christmas (2008).  I would say that the experience was surreal to say the least, because she’s been dead to me for about 7 years.  Now, I know that might sound strange or harsh, but my grandmother had severe Dementia which turned into Alzheimer’s.  She stopped knowing who I was years ago and we watched her become debilitated to the point where she longer cared to eat, walk or go to the bathroom by herself.

What does this have to do with dreams and freedom?  At any given point in time, you may hear me say, “a dream deferred is a dream wasted.”  I believe that with all of my heart because, you see, Grandma Gracie was so excited when she retired at age 70.  AGE 70!  She was going to hang out with her sisters, travel a bit, and so on.  She got to do none of that because of the illness.  Why do we wait for retirement and “the golden years” to do all of the things we want to do?  Tomorrow is not promised and ever if we make it to retirement, what about our youth and our health?  This is my plea to anyone who reads this to take the road less traveled; start living instead of just surviving and explore your world and your dreams BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!!!    I will be ranting about this idea of retirement, how it’s fundamentally flawed and how to enjoy many mini retirements throughout life on the next blog.  Stay tuned…

Oh, someone sent me this link on twitter and I thought is was pretty helpful for anyone else who has something to say and is looking for people willing to listen: (Sorry, you’ll have to cut and paste. I haven’t figured out how to add a hyperlink to this thing yet)

http://www.dailyonetrick.com/2009/04/follow-fail-the-top-10-reasons-i-will-not-follow-you-in-return-on-twitter.html

We often hear people say, that time is money, but is that really true.  Let us take a look at that.  If I lose $100, could I make it back, ABSOLUTELY!  And then some.  However, if I waste an hour of my day doing something that is meaningless, will I recover that wasted hour?  The answer is no, I will NEVER get that hour back, and I cannot make a new one.  Why then do we spend eight or more hours a day doing work we don’t want to do with people we don’t necessarily care to do it with?  I submit that the reason is because we may not know another way, or other circumstances, usually FEAR (false evidence appearing real) fear of the unknown, ear of failure, fear of success, etc. are keeping us in the very place we don’t want to be.  The good news is we always have a choice!  At the end of the day do I want to look back on my life and say that I spent it doing the things I wanted to with the people that I cared about or do I want to waste 80,000 hours of my life a cubicle?

I’ve just come home and information packed seminar, and as I sit here at my desk, I am choked up at the realization that life as I know it will never be the same.  Throughout my adult life I have been searching, searching for the one piece of the puzzle I always seemed to be missing tthat there have to be more to life than what I was currently experiencing.  I felt deep down inside that my life was to be much more than what it was.  don’t get me wrong.  I have done well for myself in my career as an employee and then as a business owner, but I have never experienced the joy, the passion, the gratitude that I feel right now, and that I experience on a daily basis.  For the first time in my life.  I can truly say that I am happy that I feel like I am living my purpose.  And no, it is not always easy, but I’d rather feel alive and in pursuit of my passions, than to have the life sucked out of me as I follow the path someone else laid out for me.  I wonder how many other people there are like me, living their purpose in pursuit of freedom?