SF Bay Area only – 50-4-50 special

As a SF Bay Area folks only special, I’m offering a 50 minute career search, brainstorming or business development strategy session for only $50.

I bring fresh ideas, valuable new strategies, keen insights and loads of actionable advice in these sessions and would welcome the opportunity to help you plan for 2011. Maybe you just need to shake things up a bit and get an outside perspective or some new ideas about how to grow your biz or find a job you actually want? Below is what one happy client had to say:

“I recently received marketing & business consulting from Sandy at Bella Domain. Using her services for the first time, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I can truly say that I am very happy with the results of our meeting. I already have significant business experience and I am launching a new venture, but Sandy took me to places I would not have thought of. My time with Sandy was very well spent and I am in the process of working on her recommendations. She provided expert knowledge and great value. I am sure I will be working with Sandy again as my new business progresses. Thanks again Sandy.”
– Patrick

“I went to Sandy for consultation on career and business matters and got more great advice from her in two hours than most people could give in a month. Sandy is very savvy with knowing how to effectively network and use numerous digital and social media platforms to full advantage. She also gave me encouragement and suggestions in pursuing my passion for photography. I now have a beautiful website that features my photos as well as some great advice on how to market them.”
-Heather

The details: I’m offering 50 minutes of focused, brainstorming or one-on-one networking strategy coaching (for job search or biz lead gen) as well as connections/introductions on a personalized and via a CASH-only or pre-paid via PayPal basis.  Email me to set up a time for a CASH-only appointment or to book a time slot via credit card/PayPal, please PAY IN ADVANCE  (non-refundable if less than 24 hours notice of cancellation, otherwise, 50% refund) – by JUST CLICKING HERE.

Please contact me directly to schedule your session,
and be sure to include your name, email, cell phone number, and your top 3 Pacific time slot choices. After you’ve paid for a slot(s) via PayPal, I will be automatically notified, but you still need to send your desired time slots and contact info asap.

Note: If you’re in the downtown San Francisco area, sessions can be held at NextSpace SF. If you’d prefer, or are in the East Bay or Valley, then we’ll chat via phone or Skype. I’m looking forward to hearing from you! p.s. Non-SF Bay Area folks should still free to call me if they’re also in need, we’ll work something out! 🙂

To whom do I write the thank you card?

As tough as things have been for most of us these past few years (we’re definitely included in this), I feel that I have so much for which to be grateful this Thanksgiving and now just need to know to whom I write the thank you card?

Between finally getting out of dreary and “frosty” Seattle, thanks to Keith (my incredibly creative and talented husband) landing an amazing opportunity at what we’re pretty certain is his dream interactive agency in San Francisco, and a healthy and happy enough circle of family and friends, I thought I had been blessed enough. However, by seriously shaking things up in our lives and shifting the energy around this year, it appears the universe is now directing some of that famous California sunshine on the many seeds I’ve planted these past few years.

So, why do I want to share some of what I have to be grateful for today? Well, beside it being Thanksgiving, and simply wanting to share my excitement over recent events, I think it is worth explaining that the type of content creation, publicity and media exposure I share below demonstrates what I can also do for my clients. It took plenty of hard, smart and efficient work, and a little bit of good fortune, but it was mainly strategy, tactics and persistent follow-up that made most of what I share below happen.

Some of the most significant sprouting is around my writing and content creation in the form of  the little seedling that is my book, “I’m at a Networking Event–Now What???” I’d say this little sprout is well on its way to becoming a nice sturdy plant and I have my incredible network of friends, family, contacts, colleagues and fans for helping me get the word out and consistently supporting my efforts in promoting my networking manifesto.  Plus, doing a few 12 Rules of Effective Networking webinars for some non-profits has brought me more good karma than I ever could have imagined and has enabled me to reach way more people than the number of folks that have attended my PIF (pay it forward) Parties to date.  I’ve seen the direct correlation between those webinars and the opportunities that have recently come my way, as well as the new Facebook fans, Twitter followers, Bella Domain Networking group members on LinkedIn, email/blog subscribers and more.

Earlier this year, I was also fortunate enough to get selected as a columnist for WomenEntrepreneur.com where recently my third article for my Networking is Connecting column was recently picked up by FoxNews.com (of all places).  Then, within a few days of that happening, and thanks to a Google alert, I found out that my book was in the #1 spot on the Inc.com 2010 Holiday Gift Guide for business books! Whah?? Such a gift! And with any luck, I’ll soon get to break-even with my publisher, Mitchell Levy of Happy About!

(Soon after the above we noticed that my book was finally ranked less than 100K on Amazon again and was ranked #44,867! It had been in the coveted less-than-100K rank soon after it was released, about a year ago this month.)

Lastly, after spotting the Inc.com recognition, and a few days of jumping up and down with excitement, yesterday, I learned (thanks to another Google alert) that, most likely due to all the activity around these things, I was the featured columnist on the WomenEntrepreneur.com home page (see below)! Sweet!

Now, to whom do you think I should write the thank you card?? Kind of a hard call isn’t it? 😉 Happy Thanksgiving all and please let me know if there is anything I can help YOU be thankful for by next Turkey Day!

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Learning to Love LinkedIn Tip #9

If you’re a business owner (big or small), and didn’t know you could create a Company Profile on LinkedIn, I’m here to tell you you can and it’s time! You don’t have to be a Fortune 500 or even Inc. 500 company to have a profile there. They’ve made it easy for all businesses to do so as long as you have an email that corresponds to your business name (this is important for authentication). You can add a description of your business, headquarters location, website, Twitter name, specialties and more. Here’s the straight scoop from LinkedIn’s help section:

How do I add a Company Profile on LinkedIn?

Only current employees are eligible to create a company profile. In order to create a Company Profile, you would need to provide a registered, company-owned email domain. This unique domain name would appear in all company employee email addresses following the “@” symbol (e.g., tsmith@companyname.com). Common email domains such as yahoo.com, gmail.com, hotmail.com or others cannot be used in the creation process of a Company Profile because they are not unique to an individual company. The requirement of a unique domain name also supports an authentication process built into the feature that allows authenticated company employees to edit the Company Profile information in order to keep it current.

If you have a registered, company-owned email domain, you can add a Company Profile by taking the following steps:

1. Click on “Companies” found under “More” in the top navigation bar of your home page.
2. Click on the “Add a Company” link found in the upper right area of the page.
3. Type in your company’s official name and your email address at the company on the “Company Name and Email” page. If your email address is already tied to an email domain for an existing Company Profile, you will be prompted to click on the existing Company name to edit the Profile.
4. If your company email address is not a confirmed email address on your LinkedIn account, a confirmation email will be sent to the company email address. The email text will give you a link to log in to your LinkedIn account. Be sure to log in to LinkedIn with your current primary email address. This will confirm your email address and add the email address to your account.
5. If your email address is confirmed, you will be taken to the “Create a Company” page that will allow you to enter information about your company.
6. Click on “Create a Company” once you have completed the required fields.

If you do not have a registered company owned email address to create a Company Profile you may still create a group to promote your business.