FEATURED - Debra A. Matthews (Premier Resume Writer / Coach)

By: Stan Washington

Tiny Interview - Debra Ann Matthews  Founder / Career Coach, Resume Writer Mock Interview and Development Coach at Let Me Write It For You: Job-Winning Resumes and Career Services

Stan: Debra please tell me about yourself and your services.

Debra: I work with motivated job seekers and career changers who may need a variety of services ranging from coaching, job interview assistance, career research, cover letters, statements of qualifications, resumes, 30/60/90 day plans, LinkedIn profiles and updates on all career communications.

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Stan: What advice would you give business owners?

Debra: Set your professional goal for your practice; find 5 professionals to emulate and begin to shine in like manner.  Our senior colleagues don't mind helping you at all; once you can substantiate your professional raison d'etre (reason to be). Don't be shy about communicating the attributes that you bring to the profession and to your ideal clients.  Know how to verbalize your passion for your existence in this business.  


Debra can be reached at: 

www.letmewriteitforyou.org | www.facebook.com/letmewriteit4u | |www.linkedin.com/in/letmewriteit4u

931.269.WR1T(9718)

As seen in USAA Military, NBC Chicago, MSN Latino, Monster.com,

The Calgary Sun (Canada), Careerbuilder.co.uk

Career Affiliate, Career Thought Leaders, Nat'l Resume Writer's Assn, Career Director's Int'l

Small Businesses are Marketing Better Than Large Corporations!

By: Stan Washington

Date: January 08,  2014

2014 is going to be a great year for small business! I say that because large corporations are turning to tactics small businesses are already using, namely e-mail marketing.  In a recent Forbes article, even our competitors are developing a strategy to tailor marketing to smaller audiences to increase sales.  

Check out the Forbes Article. 

Here are a few things to do in 2014:

Plan on increasing your audience

As I have stated before, referral only business is too random and therefore you cannot plan for the revenue very well. Take time to identify your audience and nurture the relationship with some sort of Customer / Client relationship manager.  Be organized and know your audience.

Market through e-mail
E-mail is still the top when it comes to technology.  Yes we get waayy too much and adding to the noise seems counter-intuitive. Research shows, however, that one of the most effective modes of marketing is by contacting your audience directly.

Get out of your shell and market through e-mail. Have a compelling message and they will buy from you! Be confident about your product and service and tell people what you have to offer.  Is your product or service unique, superior or extremely useful? If so, then why don't people know what you do or better question, why aren't more people buying your product?

Market to you audience and explain what you do and why it benefits them!

Follow up

Make sure you follow up with potential clients!  One of the biggest complaints I hear from people about various companies is they do not follow up in a timely fashion.  Follow-up in 24 - 48 hours.  If you will be away, then tell the person when you will follow up and make the time acceptable to your potential client.

What comes up when you Google your company?

By: Stan Washington
Date: December 03, 2013

After Google-ing "Is Illinois..." I noticed a strange thing, the auto-complete gave me a list of suggestions asked about the state of Illinois.  Go to Bloomberg Businessweek to see what people are looking up about the state you live in. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-12-03/the-united-states-of-google-an-autofill-atlas#r=recent

After seeing what people are asking about states, I thought about small business owners who struggle to get their company recognized by the large search engines.  Their business barely shows up.  Have a friend type in the name of your business into Google and see if they can find you.  Of course you can find you, but will your customers?

Optimize your web page with SEO rich keywords
Search Engine Optimization is probably one of the most important things you can do to make people find you.  Most people only look at the first or second page of a search before giving up and changing to a new search. Use keywords on your page that will enable people to find you!

Get a Google+ Account
Yes, that's right I said it! Another social media tool you have to keep track of.  This one is emerging to be important though.  Google is positioning themselves to compete against Facebook and lifting your company's name to the front page of the search simply by having an account.  The more places you are, the more your name will show up in the search.




Use Social Media to mention your website
Place the name of your website in blogs, Facebook posts, tweets and any other communication vehicles you can. This becomes a referrer to your page and helps people find you!

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http:www.careercoachoffice.com helps people find you by giving you your own web presence page! Try it today!

Do your clients understand what you are saying?

By: Stan Washington
Date: December 02, 2013

Original Story and pictures
http://www.businessinsider.com/dialects-of-american-english-2013-12

If you would have told me there are more than 24 dialects in America before I read this article, I would have said you were crazy.  Four at the most, maybe five!  Business Insider quotes Robert Delaney who studied regional dialects in America. This map lists 24 or more dialects in America.  Read the article for more detail on each dialect.

How Can Dialects Affect Your Message?
If you are using regional references in your communication, you may be confusing potential clients and losing business.  In Chicago we say "Da Bears" which may not translate well if I'm speaking about "Da business!" Neutralize your regional references because you are facing a national or global client.

Does Your Humor Translate?
I have read many of your articles and some of the humor does not translate across regions very well.  Connect with your friends in other regions and ask their opinion of what you are writing.  This opinion can save you from sending out something offensive.

Look at Other Regions
Where are you getting your information from?  If you are getting local information, then maybe it's time for you to read news from other cities to get a fresh perspective. Check out what's going on in different countries, states or cities to round out your communication. Your clients will appreciate your broad perspective,

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Visit http://www.careercoachoffice.com and try out our client management tool. Your clients can log on and get the custom plan you built for them! 

Not Just for coaches!

Great for any small business! 

Career Coach Office Featured on Naperville News Channel 17 (Business Connection Show)

In a recent interview, Stan Washington (Founder and President of Career Coach Office) revealed the latest version of the software is now open to small businesses of all types. He also mentioned workshops and consulting for small businesses especially start-ups.

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Website - http://www.careercoachoffice.com