Of all the things I’ve been called in my life, this is a first! I am officially an Internet Bushwhacker - or at least - so says my friend Lisa!

On Friday, Lisa and I were having a conversation about online networking and how to build an online business. I was giving her the low-down on Yahoo Groups, Facebook, and Twitter, and telling her how I use these tools to build my business.  Lisa and I developed a plan that would help her maximize her online networking efforts and help her reach more people with her message.

At the end of our conversation, Lisa declared “You are the Internet Bushwhacker! Thank you for blazing the trail. Without your knowledge I would have turned around and headed back to camp!”

There definitely is a ton on the internet - and it can surely be overwhelming. I’ve been building my coaching business online since 2004. One thing that occurs to me is that, healing arts practitioners are not using this very large community to help them extend their reach.

You can reach many, many people with your work through the internet. And I know, at first glance it seems overwhelming, and it doesn’t seem possible to serve people outside of your local area. But you can.

You can develop products that reach, touch and help clients all over the world. You can use the power of the internet to extend your practice beyond the physical boundaries of your office.

Through online networking groups, social media, podcasts, and strategic partnerships, your practice can thrive. Here are some resources to get you started:

Thriving Healing Business Yahoo Group - a great place to connect with other healers from around the world.
Facebook - This is my profile. Set up your own and then add me as a friend!
Twitter - My new favorite social media!

Promoting your business online, and social networking are just two of the things we’ll be covering in the Mindful Marketing Group Coaching program. Check out more details on the program here - and remember - the early registration deadline is August 1 - that’s this Friday!

One of the things I love to do is build communities - unite like-minded people, connect and share. I love being involved in community because of the people it puts me in touch with, and the projects I’m able to get involved with.

There are lots of different types of communities you can get involved with - online and offline. Online, you can check out groups like Thriving Healing Business.

Offline, there is a lot you can get involved in. You can get involved in common interest groups like drum circles, or yoga classes. You can also look for networking communities in your area. In Southeastern PA, there are several Holistic networking organizations. For updates on their events, check out this page.

So what does community have to do with business? First and foremost - it eradicates that feeling of isolation in your business.

Running a practice can get lonely - even if your practice is in an office with other practitioners. Everyone is busy, and there isn’t a whole lot of time for connecting and relating.

Sometimes, you feel like an island in your business - particularly if you’re facing a challenge. Having a community gives you a rich support system to draw on when you need to bounce ideas off of someone, or you need to get through a challenging time.

Getting involved with a community also opens you and your practice up to new people. It gives you exposure to larger groups of people - particularly if you become an active participant in a community.

Being an active member means not just attending events, but seeing how you can assist, or what projects you can become involved in.

If you’re feeling isolated in your business, take a look at what communities you might get involved in. I invite you to share your favorite communities here - let’s expand our circle!

Alright - I know this is going to be shocking to some people… especially if you’ve heard me talk about how Twitter just isn’t right for me… If you’ve heard my thoughts on this, you know - I go into this whole schpeel about how we don’t have to be part of every single social network out there, we can do what’s right for our business - we don’t have to give into the peer pressure… I think I even throw in something about too much of this stuff can be distracting - and how it can be like chasing bright shiny new objects all over the internet - yadda yadda yadda.

Well, this week, I finally decided that it was time to try Twitter. I’ve heard enough about it, I’ve seen enough reviews, articles, and  information on it that I finally decided to join the club.

So what was it that finally pushed me over the edge? Well, someone in The Business Oasis said something about it being fun. What?!? Fun?!? I’m missing FUN?!? That was it - that was the last straw. I immediately went over, set up my account and started following people. God forbid I’m missing a party!!

So anyway - I’m still finding my way around Twitter - but if you’re so inclined, I’d love to follow you and have you follow me… even though as of right now I haven’t posted any updates… I know - I’m a little slow on the uptake with this thing!

I’ll share my experience with it, and let ya know how it’s going… heck, I may even share it on Twitter LOL!! If you want to follow me - @jenngivler

I’m so excited to be posting the very first installment of my new blog series - Answering Your Questions. If you have a question, please do feel free to e-mail it to me. I’ll answer it right here on the blog.

For this first installment, we are addressing a question about niching.

Sylvia Asks:
“My name is Sylvia Hill, and I am The Queen of Las Vegas at http://www.sylviaslasvegassecrets.com     I’m having some trouble focusing on a specific interest group or niche for my business.  Since Las Vegas is a huge subject to cover, am not sure what to present myself as and who to present to.”

Ahhhh the niche question - this remains one of the more challenging things for us to choose as we strive toward building a thriving business. Some people feel very resistant to choosing a niche because it feels like you might be excluding people - or putting up a barrier that says “Nope, sorry, I can’t help you” when really, you feel like you can help anyone.

And there is truth to that. Truly - any business CAN help anyone. But, as Sylvia has eluded to, there comes a time when you realize that trying to serve everyone is quite difficult. Trying to reach and connect with everyone makes your marketing more difficult, and really, as a human, you don’t have time or mental and emotional capacity to serve absolutely everyone.

This is where niche comes in.  A niche makes your marketing efforts easier because you can create targeted advertising, and you can use language in your ads that really helps connect you to the people you want to serve.

And niche is also good for helping you create a community-like feeling in your business. People really understand that they belong in your business because they can see that other people just like themselves are hanging out within the walls of your business.

Now, let’s talk about Sylvia’s specific question - how to choose a niche. I agree - in her business, Las Vegas has enormous potential as far as choosing a niche is concerned.

The first place to look is in you (you knew I was going to say that didn’t you?? ). Who is it that you absolutely LOVE to work with? Who are the people that just make your heart sing when you work with them? And what is it that you love helping people with? Sure, there’s a lot you can do in Vegas - but what is it that you just love to do for clients?

Next, look at your current client-base. Who are the majority of the people that are already attracted to your work? Can you see commonalities between your clients?

These questions will help get you started with the honing process. Once you’ve narrowed it down a bit, and have begun working with the people you love to serve, chances are good your niche will continue to evlove. My niche still evolves in my business to this day… I’m convinced I’ll never be done evolving…

Sylvia - if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me, or post your comments here at the blog. Also - if any of you savvy readers have anything to add - please do share!

I was having dinner with a few colleagues last night and we got to talking about different ideas on getting the word out about our businesses. We started talking about all the great events that are taking place here locally - like the Grower’s Market, Swinging Summer Thursdays, the Turk’s Head Music Festival and the Restaurant Festival.

We were getting excited because these are going to be such good opportunities for us to get out in the community and meet new people. As you can see, these events aren’t typical networking events. These are community events and they will put us right in front of our potential clients. And the best part is, we can enjoy the events and have a great time, while energizing our business!

Here are three things to help you leverage the event.

1. Don’t make it about getting clients, make it about meeting new people. If you go to events with the expectation that you want to walk away with clients, that can put a lot of undue pressure on you. That pressure can make you pushy and edgy. The chances that you’ll sign a new client the first time they meet you are slim. Make it about having fun and just meeting new people.

Once you’ve met some new people, chances are good some of them will be potential clients and they’ll be interested in joining your newsletter list. Once they’re on your list, they can get to know you and may become clients down the road.

2.  Have an escape plan. My friend Lisa told me this tip. Think about how you might end a conversation with someone. There are always so many people to meet and there’s always so much to do at these events, it can be hard to break away from some conversations. Here are a couple of conversation breakers: “It’s been great talking to you, I see someone that has a question.” Or “I’m so glad we met, feel free to stop back and tell me how you’re enjoying the event!” Of course, remember to be sincere. Having a few phrases like this can help you easily end a conversation without feeling awkward or rude.

3.  Don’t wait too long to follow-up. When you make a great connection at an event, make sure you follow-up within a couple of days. If you let it go too long, you may just forget all together. I always have a small notepad with me and I make a to-do list during the event. I jot down who I want to touch base with and what I want to chat about. That way, I can focus on the event, and not worry about forgetting any details.

Community events are great opportunities to get your business in front of new people. Check your local area and see what you can get involved in!

**There are still spots available for my Thriving Business 1 on 1 Intensive Coaching Program. If it’s taking you longer than you thought it would to build a steady client flow in your business, this program may be just what you need. Check it out here.

I am absolutely honored. I’ve been asked to be a guest on Katherine Reschke’s BlogTalk Radio Show tomorrow at Noon EST.

Katherine and I are going to be talking about mind-set traps. We’ll discuss what they are, how they effect you and how they may be sabotaging your efforts to build a thriving business.

Katherine is a phenominal person. She’s a coach who helps people figure out what their passion is. Then, she helps you build a business around it.

I know first-hand that her show is interactive, fun, and dynamic! Oh - and the best part is - you can CALL IN LIVE and speak with us. Ask us questions, offer a perspective - how cool is that? Do join us!

Hey everyone! I am privileged and honored to be the host of the March 29 edition of the Carnival of Healing. This will be my second time hosting and I’m really excited!

We are looking for submissions. Please feel free to submit your posts using the links below.

If you’ve never done a blog carnival, this is a great one to jump in with. Blog carnivals can help drive traffic to your blog - giving you exposure to 1,000’s of people. If you want more information about Blog Carnivals - if you’re not sure what it is or specifically how it can help your blog be seen, feel free to ask your questions in the comments section. I’m happy to help you out!

Check out the Carnival of Healing here:

Carnival of Healing Home Page
Carnival of Healing Archives
Carnival of Healing Submission Form
To volunteer to host future carnival

Listen to this post!

Monday, we started a discussion about online networking. I wanted to add to that discussion and talk a bit about the etiquette of online networking.

I’ve been networking online since 1999 - I’ve seen lots of great “do’s” and lots of flaming “don’ts.”

Let’s start with a big huge DON’T. Do not join an online discussion group and only post an ad about your business. This is not only rude - it’s down-right offensive. It’s the equivalent of walking up to someone in the grocery store, and unexpectedly launching into a sales pitch - YUCK!

Lot’s of discussion group owners consider such behavior spamming - and it could get you kicked right out of the group. Not only that - but it’s going to be completely ineffective in building your business.

Don’t join groups with the sole intention of promoting your business. Yes, part of online networking is to, of course, meet people and ultimately grow your business. But - if you join groups just for the purpose of promoting yourself, you are tainting the energy with that awful fear/lack mentality - and no matter what action you take, it’s not going to do anything to help you grow your business.

Ok - enough of that… let’s talk about what to DO.

First, find groups that you really do want to be part of the synergy and energy of the group. Look for groups where your niche is hanging out, and that will be discussing things of interest to you - groups where you can truly contribute valuable information to the community.

Get to know the feel of the group. Peruse the group message archives and see what the recent discussions have been about. This will give you an idea of how many members are truly active in the group, what the group facilitator is like, and what the energy of the group is all about.

Introduce yourself within a few days of joining the group. Don’t be shy - they won’t bite People want to get to know you - that’s why they join groups like this. People want that connection, they want to meet new people, and share a connection. Introducing yourself is a great way to open the door.

Contribute to the conversations. When someone asks a question that you can answer - go ahead and answer it. Provide support and insight, and truly connect with people. Even start your own discussions! If you have a question, or want information about something - go ahead and speak up.

Use an e-mail signature. First - check the rules of the group to see if there are any special rules about using e-mail signatures. Then, create an e-mail signature that includes a link to your web site. This way, when you participate in conversations, people can get to know more about you if they feel a connection with you.

If ads are allowed definitely take the opportunity to promote your business - but - only after you’ve contributed regularly to the other conversations (see the first Don’t above for more info…).

And, the biggest DO of all - follow the group rules to the letter! The rules are usually clearly posted somewhere - or may even be sent to you when you join a group. Read them carefully and follow them when posting and participating in the group. The rules are there to keep everything running smoothly. As a group owner myself - I can attest to that!

If you want to get your feet wet in a really friendly online discussion group - come join us at the Thriving Healing Business Group! It’s a friendly group of like-minded healers, alternative therapists, spiritual teachers, and just down-right wonderful people!

What questions would you like answered about online discussion groups? Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of joining groups? Not sure where to begin?

Post your questions here! Lots of fantastic, supportive people hang out here and we’re all happy to help!

Have a tip for people just starting out with online discussion groups? We’d love to hear it!

You may have heard people talking about promoting their business online, or using the internet as a way to reach people. One really great way to do that is through online discussion groups.

An online discussion group is where like-minded people meet to discuss a topic of interest. It’s all done online, so you can check messages when it’s convenient, and you can participate in the conversation right from the comfort of your home.

It’s a fantastic way to meet new people from all over the world.

Here’s how it works:

When someone has a question, or would like to bring up a topic for discussion, they will “post” it to the group. This is either done directly on the web site, or you can submit responses via e-mail.

If someone wants to respond to you, they will reply to your message. You can either opt to receive responses via e-mail, or you can opt to view messages at the web site.

A really great way to build your business is to join discussion groups where your niche hangs out. For example, if you are a massage therapist who specializes in pre-natal massage, you might participate in discussion groups about pregnancy and birth.

You might be wondering how this can be good for your business if your services are only for those local to your business. One thing you can do, is begin offering a small e-book for sale on your web site. You can either write the book yourself, or offer to sell someone else’s (provided it’s related to your target market).

Marketing your business online then can become a way for you to generate revenue in addition to seeing clients.

If you’re new to all of this, but are curious if online discussion groups could be good for your business, I encourage you to join us at the Thriving Healing Business Yahoo Group.

 It’s official launch will be this Wednesday, February 20 – I’ve created it especially for healers, alternative therapists, spiritual teachers – anyone involved in transformational businesses:

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/healing_business/

In the next day or so, I’ll be posting more tips about online discussion groups and how they can benefit your business. For now - anyone that’s had experience in these areas, do chime in and tell us about it. Or, if you have questions, go ahead and ask - we’re happy to help!

I’ve just started a brand new discussion group just for Healing Businesses.

If you’re a healer, an alternative therapist, a coach, a spiritual teacher, or if you own a wellness business, or provide support services for any of these type of businesses, this group is for you!

The purpose of the group is to discuss building a thriving healing business. The group officially starts next Wednesday, February 20, 2008. We’re going to kick everything off with an all day online party.

For more information, and to join the group, go here:

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/healing_business/

See ya there!