Category Archives: Business

Teaching and Inspiring, No Matter What!

I want to honor my friend Amy in my blog today. She inspires me to no end and our friendship has been unwavering for more than 30 years. She has been fighting the fight of breast cancer for alot of years now.

What amazes me is her ability to accept things as they are, move ahead and enjoy life anyway. She has always had this ability but, it has never been more evident than it is today. 

She has been the one to take care of us, her friends, when news of her cancer has been disappointing. She has been the one more interested in our lives than her trials and tribulations. She has been the one to teach us that our troubles pale compared to someone elses. Amy is a natural born teacher. In her 25 year teaching career, she was awarded Vermont teacher of the year, not once but twice!

Cancer is a heavy cross to bear. To Amy and to all those others stricken with cancer, thank you for the lessons that you teach us and for the dignity with which you live your lives. You are “angels” in my book!

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Take Time Out

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“Sometimes it is the smallest decisions that can change  your life forever”      ~Keri Russell

I am usually one who eats lunch at my desk.  Keeping my nose to the grind and trying to get the most accomplished in a work day as possible.  On Thursday, it was a picture perfect Colorado day. I decided to take an hour out, wander down to the Yampa River Botanic Park and listen to the Steamboat Woodwind Trio. The mountain backdrop, the splendor in the gardens and the fabulous music left me renewed, refreshed and ready to get back to the business at hand.

We all get stuck in ruts, doing the same thing day after day.  By just making little changes throughout our daily lives, we see life through new eyes.  Next time, you go about business as usual, put a little “bent” into your day:

  • If it is usually orange juice in the am, try apple!
  • If you usually use a black pen, try red!
  • Leave a little early and take the scenic route!
  • Pick something off a menu that is outside of your usual choices!

We have all heard these words of advice time and time again. Nothing new is being revealed here, yet we all tend to fall back into our patterns of business as usual. Must be that is why we need to hear these words time and time again.

My most delightful lunch hour on Thursday was my reminder to take time out of my day and smell the roses. Actually, any kind of flower will do it for me!

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Joy in an Ordinary Day

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I  have had  careers in the hospitality/travel industry, as an insurance agent and branch manager, employment in the fine arts field, and now, as owner of an order fulfillment company specializing in e-Commerce. I have always enjoyed working. There is the good feeling of being productive, collaborating with co-workers and clients and the sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. No matter what type of work I have done, it has been satisfying. I guess it is all in the way that we look at things. And as they say, your outlook can determine your experience in life. I would much rather walk in the sun than in the clouds.

Some would say I am a stickler for details but, my feeling has always been the way I do my job is a reflection of my attitudes in life. I want to represent myself well!

Yesterday afternoon, I was a recipient of an email from C J Scarlett in North Carolina. She was writing  to tell me she had read my blog posts and I am “a  great writer.” Say what? For someone that just recently confessed to being a writer, it was pay back enough for the day’s work.  Maybe she was just spreading a dose of  kindness for the day. But, her comment was much appreciated and gave me JOY in an ordinary day!

See what you can do to spread a little kindness to someone each and every day!  See www.thekindnesscure.org.

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Early Warning!

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The name of this blog is a bit ominous sounding. There is nothing foreboding about this notification. I am writing to remind all writers, emerging and experienced, that the weekly radio show “Cover to Cover” with Frank Gromling is broadcast on Saturday mornings. Tune in to www.wnzf.com on line. The show is filled with information on getting started as a writer, marketing yourself as a writer, interviews with NY Times best selling authors and local writers exposing their new publications to the public.  It is educational, enlightening and fun to listen to. Broadcast times in the various parts of the country are :  

 11:30 am Eastern                                     10:30 am Central

9:30 am Mountain                                     8:30 am Pacific time

If you haven’t tuned in before, you are missing it!

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To Market,To Market, To Buy A…….

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A few years ago, my husband and I saw a show on the Travel Channel about teardrop travel trailers. They are the cutest little june bugs! These camper trailers came on the market after World War II and were made out of surplus materials. The exteriors were made from the wings of World War II Bombers. They are making a come back and every so often, you will see one being towed behind a car, if you are alert.

This weekend at Arts and the Parks, we saw this little turquoise teardrop travel trailer being used as part of a booth display. The exhibitors were selling a line of cosmetics, soaps, hand lotions designed and packaged for the “rodeo girl.”  The products being sold were not exactly art, but what was art was the entire brand identity this company had built. The packaging of the products had an outstanding southwestern “rodeo” theme,  all highest quality of packaging, the company owner was dressed in her rodeo wear(complete with cowboy hat) and even the teardrop trailer was decked out inside with towels appliqued with western motif  and the galley table in the trailer had tableware settings of western design. The entire booth “worked” to sell their unique line of products. I remarked to the company owners that I liked their booth very much. They told me they had won best booth awards about 6 or 7 times from various arts and crafts events they have participated in. I can see why!

How does this relate to independent publishing you may ask? Well- products don’t sell themselves. People sell products. With independent publishing, critical to selling products is the author’s involvement in the process. You will need to sell yourself  as an author and that, in turn, will sell your publication. Polish up your “shoes” and know what you are passionate about as a writer. Visit bookstores, libraries, and other venues. Convey that passion about your publication to your potential readers. If you can find something “gimmicky” that will set you or your genre of writing apart, great!

Independent publishing is not just about the writing process!

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Let’s be Frank

Owning a business that serves independent publishers, I am often asked my opinion about the Kindle reader and e-books.  I can see the convenience of both. But,  after sitting in front of a computer all day writing business prospecting letters, business proposals and now blogging, I can tell you the last thing I want to do is read a book on an electronic device.  When the day is done, I want to be as far away from an electronic screen as possible!

I like to curl up in a comfy chair, wrap myself up in a blanket, sit in front of a fire, enjoy a cup of tea  and hold an honest to goodness real book. I like feeling the weight of the book, the smell of the paper and seeing the print on the pages.

Curl up with an electronic reading device? I don’t think so!  But, that is only my point of view.

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Partners

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If you plan on hiring an outside company to handle order fulfillment of your independently published books and DVDs, it is always a good idea to begin your search for a fulfillment company well in advance.

Advanced research (and obtaining quotations) will help you in setting your price points for your products. You will want to make sure the shipping and handling fees you charge your customers will pay for a good part of having your publication shipped from the warehouse to your customer’s door.

A qualified fulfillment company knows and can discuss the mail order industry standards for shipping and handling fees. Make this a part of your discussion when searching for fulfillment companies. Sometimes, two heads are better than one when it comes to establishing appropriate shipping and handling fees.

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In my Book – The Winner Is!

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This weekend I went to Arts in the Park in Steamboat Springs, CO.  I love going to Arts and Crafts events in communities that have a real appreciation for the Arts. You never know what you are going to find.

There were artists of every medium displaying their wares – potters, painters, birdhouse builders, fiber artists, jewelers and more. Each one interesting, unique and serious about their craft. I enjoyed it all!

The artist that really inspired me the most was a photographer, pictured above, Kenny Tong. His magnificent photographs of China were anything but ordinary. He came all the way from Chino, California to share his photography with Steamboat Springs, CO.  His photography is better than a day at the Spa. The images were pure serenity and tranquility. They captured places and scenes in China that few of us have seen before in books or from other photographs of China. For more information on his art, please visit www.kennytong.com.  And by the way,  you have to see his images first hand to really appreciate what I am talking about.

Kenny, you won my prize for artist of the day! Thanks for sharing your work with Steamboat Springs, Colorado and come back again! I am glad to know your images can be ordered on-line at www.kennytong.com.  Any plans for a coffee table book with your magnificent images?

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 Enjoy the glorious summertime!

 

 

 

 

 

A New Day Rising!

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There is a group 1,600 filmmakers that have come together to produce “films that matter.” This group of filmmakers, Nomads Land Network www.NomadsLand.com partner with non-profits, ecotourism and volunteerism groups to produce social issue media and documentary films. I am so excited about this network of filmmakers. This is the stuff we at Cornerstone Fulfillment Service, LLC get all excited about and want to shout “Hurray!”

I told you there is alot of good stuff on the horizon in independent filmmaking!

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Angels and Such

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“Many hands make light work” ~ John Heywood

One of my favorite movies of all time is “Lilies of the Field” starring Sidney Poitier. The basic story line is that an unemployed construction worker ends up at a remote plot of land when his car breaks down, while traveling through. The land, located in the west, is being worked by some nuns with a vision to build a chapel and a school. The long and short of it is – Homer Smith (played by Poitier) ends up being the “angel” in the story, convincing the community to join hands. They labor together and contribute materials to build the beautiful, yet simple chapel.

The lessons of this film prevail as strongly today as they did back in 1963 when the film was produced. Anything can be accomplished in  strong communities with lots of willing hands to help.