XD30 – Day 16 – Taking Back My Power

When I saw the second charge this morning, I decided that the buck stopped here! I was no longer just going to take it! I filed a complaint with an agency telling them that the bank made the mistake not me and that I spoke with the vendor to resolve this matter. It felt great because I knew that the bank would listen to the agency. Next when I learned that the mail which I was awaiting didn’t come, I called the bank to address my situation. Even though it had to do verification (why when it was taking money out of my account. People steal from those who have money NOT the other way around!). I managed to get my charges removed turning my balance back to positive. I was still happy that I filed because the person talked about the decision may not go my way. Huh? The bank took my money. Y’all better refund it. Pronto!

                On a much happier note, I made another sale. This meant that I would do another Periscope. I did one yesterday and immediately received a sale. I will keep doing it until every item sold. I also need to meet my weekly sales goals and keep me afloat in the meantime. I admit that at the start of this week, I would have never thought that I would be in this position. All I want is a smooth week without the craziness especially when I have NOT caused any of it. I am in disbelief that someone who is NOT an instigator of any kind is the one getting put through so much mess! 

XD30 – Day 15 – The More You Know

                In the midst of my financial struggle (I awoke to a negative charge after seeing a positive balance the day before), I used the cash in my pocket to priority mail my order, changed clothes and rolled to the contracting conference. I had to get out of my space and keep my mind off of that craziness. I also wanted to see the former mayor of Cleveland who now ran a women’s public policy think tank. The free conference was literally right down the street; and, the same place I worked a couple of months ago. Immediately when I walked into there I thought ‘maybe I should had signed up for this’. However, they fed us which was good enough. I learned so much especially all of the free resources that were available for me looking for federal government contracting opportunities. The only drawback was no charging stations. I had to walk home to recharge my cell phone. I returned to the ending reception where I ate pina colada cotton candy but I still missed 2 sessions because of no charging stations.

                Attending this conference afforded me another opportunity to talk about something besides eBay and project management on Periscope. Look I love making money via livestream hawking my wares but talking about the conference that I attended is a breath of fresh air. People get to see what else I can talk about. I will check into another conference to hobnob and learn more about making money and new topics in the very near future. 

eBay Adventure – Receiving my 14th Gold Star

                I have been under the weather for the previous two days. It has been wrenched. I am just happy to have loaded up my store, done my Periscope and built rapport with people. My two packages have been shipped. When I feel better, check my eBay profile and see my 14^th gold star. I am extremely grateful whenever I receive these gold stars because I am honored that they truly love my stuff (I am getting teary-eyed even typing this because I am very happy that I have a successful store. 4.5 months into this eBay adventure!). Seeing this rating reinvigorates my spirit to be better and restock my store.

Shop my eBay store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure - Holiday Promo Prep

                I registered for this Holiday webinar happening on Halloween for two reasons: 1) I knew that I would get something out of it from the teacher and 2) I had not had an eBay sale in 1 week. I needed to do something different to get a different result. It was first advertised as a lottery selection. If you reshared the coach’s Periscope and Facebook Live livestreaming content, you would enter a lottery to be picked for a free ticket. I never believed that pay thing because I was already enrolled so why would not I had been accepted. That was neither here nor there. I registered for the webinar. It was not like I was trick or treating (Sidebar : I did tell my father to go to the Heinen’s grocery store and pick more candy for the kids in the neighborhood). I might as well did some personal development plus this webinar could help my bottom line.

                I attended the webinar where I learned and laughed so much throughout. The coach gave us 30 ways to make money. I started taking notes because I knew that my eBay store would benefit from this. The light bulb came on : I would put several of my Kate Spade purses up for sale. Accessories were huge! Although women may not fit a size 12 shoe or dress, every woman wore a purse. That addition expanded my target market. That meant more money and I sorely needed that. Even though the webinar ended at 11pm, immediately I started photographing my items. I uploaded 2 Stuart Weitzman sandals and 5 Kate Spade purses. I was proud to had done that all before midnight. I knew that I was ready for tomorrow and more sales.

Shop my eBay store: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – Sometimes You Have to Walk Away

                Feeling great about my current momentum, I took to Periscope showcasing my sales and my new merchandise. Also I loaded the replay into my HootSuite redistributing it across all of my social media platforms. That was the behind the scenes work that most sellers did not understand. You cannot simply open a store. You had to do marketing and business development. Maintaining this blog and doing my Periscopes (converting some of my best into YouTube videos) were part of my marketing campaign. I would had been remissed thinking that my two newer sales were a result of my sharing my photos online, blogging and Periscope.

                Later Thursday night I checked my eBay to get the store link for a blog post. I received an announcement saying that I had a bid. I saw that someone wanted $150 for a new $450 item and I flatly declined it saying that it was too low. No one was getting me on a new item for 1/3 the cost. That was highway robbery. I would had entertained something over $325 but come on, now no one would get a Gianvito Rossi shoe for $150! Sometimes you had to walk away from a sale which I did. There might be a very real possibility that I would have to relist my item; and, I am okay with that because I had retained my integrity and sales policy!

                Visit my store at http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

eBay Adventure – New Merchandise = New Sales

                Yesterday I added some new merchandise onto my eBay store. I felt that it needed an overhaul and new blood. I added three new Stuart Weitzman shoes including the Saxony sandals. I promoted it on social media (Periscope, Twitter, Blogger and Instagram). This morning out of nowhere, I receive a sale. It also comes from a new repeat customer. I am very happy about it. I will ship the item tomorrow (I have no boxes and it is currently a DC heat index of 115 degrees). The great thing is that PayPal will release my money in one week.

                I am also thinking about relisting my Stuart Weitzman and doing video to highlight my merchandise so that people can see it. I am upping my livestream video game because I think that this is paying off. There is still over $2000 worth of merchandise in my decluttering process. I will move them.

                This new sale has been a learning experience about strategically using social media to generate sales. In addition, I will keep promoting my eBay store on Periscope. I know that I am getting a lot of reach out of it. I am very happy that I am off to a great start to this 30-day cycle.

Visit my store here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/carljenkin_6

Gratitude List - Day 15

This is the halfway mark for my 30—day gratitude challenge. I must admit that I have received more job inquiries through gratitude. I have also conjured up a lot of negative thoughts because the Devil is busy. My federal complaint has popped up during this time. Dealing with the negativity head on eliminates it.

                I have received my finished ebook files and have successfully uploaded it to Amazon. I have also accelerated my pre-order date. I am happy because Tuesday is the traditional book release date. I get to be a part of this. May 17^th is my date and it finally official. Here is the gratitude list:

Gratitude List -Day 15

1. Someone is interested in me for a full-time position
2. I have finished my book
3. Amazon KDP has approved my final draft and accelerating my pre-order date
4. Add more info to the publishing company’s website.
5. Learn from the publishing company’s rep that I should not click on the Amazon box because it would override what’s in Amazon. This advice saves me time, money and agony. I would be in a tizzy if I mess this up.
6. Broadcast on Periscope (and remember to #save).
7. To have the technology and strong enough wi-fi connection to do my videos
8. That my mother is alive and healthy
9. I have the proper business formation to accept payments
10. To receive and activate my bank’s mobile widget application.
11. To learn more from others every single day.
12. To be able to afford the money for the publishing company’s IngramSpark submission guidelines.

I am happy that employers are interested in me and that I have something that the marketplace wants. I have kept up with my financial affirmation and below are the things that I have done every morning, afternoon and night. Here are the things that I have done to ensure that my $20,000/month have had.

Morning:

Reply to the recommended social media banner lady

Aced my phone interview

Afternoon:

Receiving my ebook file in multiple formats

Uploading my file to Amazon KDP

Email the publishing company for submission assistance

Add more information to IngramSpark

Get in contact with the publishing company’s president

Night:

Amazon KDP has approved my final draft and my accelerating my pre-order date from July 28^th to May 17^th.

Broadcast on Periscope and YouTube

Create a new PM.Expert blog article

Land my first radio

Conclusion: Yes, I admit that I have experienced a whole lot of progress as a businesswoman but I would still like a contract or some corp to corp. I am grateful that emotionally and am in a better place now because I have worked on my demons and the negativity associated with them. I don’t truly have demons but the Devil is busy bringing up old stuff. More importantly, I have stayed true towards working on my financial affirmation because I know that I am good enough to earn $20,000/month. Finally, I do see things turning around for the better. I envision this way before my May 17^th publication date because I am grateful for every opportunity and I have been working on myself.

Gratitude List : Day 9

                This raggedy rainy weather has been affecting my mood as of late. I am dreary because it has been raining for three straight days. I am fearful of the future which is unknown and it is cramping my gratitude challenge. However, I have pulled myself together and enrolled in a book webinar because I need to invest in myself. I am very happy that Amazon has accepted my pre-order because now I am officially an author. Here is my gratitude list:

Gratitude List - Day 9

1. Being alive and healthy. I have overcome my ear infection.
2. Grateful to be able to write. I love communicating and sharing my ideas with others. Interacting with others, inspire me.
3. Happy to have the money to enroll in a book webinar
4. Happy to end this month on a positive note by becoming an author
5. Happy to have the resources to make my personal and professional lives better
6. Grateful to have a place to rest my head and take an afternoon nap if I want to take one. 
7. Happy to have the money to submit my workbook to the US Copyright Office for registration to protect my intellectual property. 

I am grateful to be free this Saturday to return to my two blog sites and contribute. These past two weeks my book has been my singular focus. Now that it is on Amazon pre-order, I can shift my focus back to http://positivitychange.com/ and http://www.pm.expert/ . Furthermore, I have gotten more comfortable with Periscope. Periscope is a livestreaming mobile application. I have not been on them because I only broadcast when I have something valid to say. There is so much stupidity out there. I refuse to get on some video just to be dumb. Also I have written down outlines about what I want to discuss. Finally, I am thankful that I have watched my web designer’s Periscope because she has given me an idea. I link my book’s website to my personal website. Below is my additional gratitude list:

1.  Add my bio and select my new personalized Amazon Author page link
2. Have the money to link my http://expandyourpersonalbrand.com/ book site to my http://carlarjenkins.com/
3. Done a Periscope promoting my two new articles.

I am just grateful that I have ended my day way better than I have started it.

Lessons from Attending the First Periscope Community Summit

This week was the inaugural Periscope Community Summit. It was held in New York City. Periscope is a livestreaming application available on iPhone and Android. I managed to score a ticket and a room at the Yotel (the conference hotel) for this event. Below were the lessons learned that I culminated while attending. These 5 tips would help maximize your conference experience.

1.       Develop a personal marketing plan

I drafted mine while on the plan because I wanted to capitalize upon the opportunity of attending the first Periscope Community Summit; and this demands focus. My marketing plan contained the 4ps: product, place, price and promotion. These four constituted the marketing mix. Here was mine for the Periscope Summit:

·         Product: me

·         Place: Periscope Summit in New York City

·         Price: varies depending on product or service

·         Promotion: My Periscope feed and YouTube channel

Periscope is only available for 24 hours so many users either subscribe to Katch or upload their videos onto YouTube. The Katch website is katch.me. You could also upload your Periscope to YouTube. YouTube would increase your search engine optimization (SEO).

2.       Attend the meetups

I had the benefit of staying at the Summit’s conference hotel where there were many meetups occurring. These allowed me to network with other scopers (people who use Periscope). Sometimes these meetups were more important than the sponsored events because you saw people in their raw element without pretense. These unofficial group settings made networking easier.

3.       Practice your elevator pitch

Your elevator pitch was indispensable towards introducing yourself especially during a livestream event. The Periscope Summit was a livestream event with many broadcasters and someone could film you. You wanted to look professional just in case your video went viral. Be known for the right reason by staying prepared and practicing your elevator pitch!

4.       Have fun and explore

Take advantage of downtime to recharge yourself. Since the conference hotel was in Times Square, I explored the area. I also traveled to Midtown and Fashion Avenue. These excursions gave me a more well-rounded experience by merging the conference with the city.

5.       Have a post-conference action plan

Though it was nice that you’ve attended the conference, created your personal media plan, practiced your elevator pitch and networked all of the events, all of those things would be for naught without implementing a post-conference action plan. Creating one is essential because once the hype and enthusiasm wore off, you don’t want to be disappointed. Follow-up with thank you letters and emails mentioning the event you both attended and you’re interested in establishing a connection in the future. The recipient would remember that simple goodwill gesture. The letter would also establish your brand as one with integrity. The post-conference action plan enabled me to never squander a conference opportunity!

Check me out on Periscope at https://www.periscope.tv/missphenom

Check me out on YouTube at http://bit.ly/1OxtUqi