Barbara Loraine Marketing

Milton Hershey – Sweet Success

bloraine — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 13:51:58 +0000

When he was 10 years old, Milton Hershey’s Mennonite mother would not tolerate his father’s lack of ambition and work ethic. His father moved from the family home.

Ever a hard worker and lover of candy, Hershey left school at fourteen and got an apprenticeship with a confectioner. He started three separate candy-related ventures, and no matter how hard he worked, he watched all of them fail.

Hershey discovered how milk could be used to formulate a creamy caramel. He founded the Lancaster Caramel Company, and started seeing enormous results.

At the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, Hershey got an up-close look at the art of chocolate making. He was immediately hooked. While his caramel business boomed, Hershey started the Hershey Chocolate Company.

Hershey had a vision of a formula that would make milk chocolate available to the masses. To focus his efforts on his chocolate business, he sold his caramel enterprise – for an astounding $1,000,000!

He built a modern candy-making facility and, along with a world-wide distribution system, Hershey became one of the most well-known brands in the industry.

His winning ideas included his Hershey’s Kiss, which, once the foil wrapping was added, became one of the most popular confections of all time. Now, the Hershey brand also includes Almond Joy, Mounds, Cadbury, Reese’s, and Twizzlers.

From bitter failure, Hershey created sweet success and continues to delight his customers.

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How to Improve the ROI From Your Time

bloraine — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:30:58 +0000

In my last post, I shared what Arnold Schwarzenegger said about time, “Sleep just six hours a night.” And to those who complain that they need eight hours, he said, “Sleep faster!” That is funny. Very. Getting six hours of sleep worked for him. As I examine my life, I see that if I don’t get seven or eight hours, I suffer. But . . .

I do want to get more done, to get the important things done, so I put myself through an exercise that I often used with consulting clients who wanted to make more money by making more effective use of their time.

Before I share the exercise with you, know this: You say you don’t have enough time; it’s not about time, it’s about setting your priorities and making the most of the time you have for getting the most from your time.

Time Exercise:

Every 15 minutes, simply jot down what you’re doing. Make it a short note. Don’t explain. Don’t complain. Don’t judge. Don’t celebrate. Just jot down what you’re doing.

What you learn from this exercise can be quite eye opening.

Where You May Be Wasting Time

Hesitating to do the next task instead of just doing it
Sharing what happened on a call (or other task), instead of getting on with the next one
Complaining about doing the task, instead of doing it
Anguishing over challenges, instead of finding the work-around
Staring off into space
Doing easy but unimportant tasks first, do the most important first
Delusional thinking about which task should be done next
Trying to do tasks when your mind is not fresh is a waste of time – but by using sub-optimal time for mindless tasks means you can check those items off your list

What did you learn from how or when you don’t get a good return on investment from your time?

Where You Can Multi-Task, During Time Spent:

Driving can be used to listen to positive messages, to learn, or to record your thoughts. (I just finished writing a book from story I recorded in my phone while driving.)
Exercising can be used listening to inspiring messages or motivational music
Watching TV can be used to chop vegetables to use in a dish later
Doing mindless activities can be used to listen to educational or motivational messages

Where can you combine activities?

Turn Time Together Into Joy and Memories

Sing
Dance
Play
Blow Bubbles
Make jokes and laughter
Use whimsy
Plant flowers, vegetables, or micro-greens
Hang a bird feeder and a bird bath
Have meaningful conversations – Listen for understanding
Share a dish with a neighbor

Where have you missed opportunities to really connect with others?

—
Change your thinking about how you “spend” your time. Don’t “spend” time; “invest” it in creating your best life. When you examine what you do with your time, you are better prepared to make changes that matter.

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Want to Add 2 Hours to Your Day? Barbara Loraine, MA

bloraine — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 13:48:34 +0000

Are you like me, telling yourself you don’t have enough to do everything that you must?

Something’s gotta go, to make time for tasks that will make a difference. But, as I examined how I spend my time, there was nothing I could delete.

When he first came to America, Arnold Schwarzenegger faced the same problem.

With weight training, acting classes, and the rest, he had no time. Mr. Unstoppable wouldn’t let that stop him; he started sleeping just 6 hours a night. As he gives others this same advice, people argue with him. His suggestion to them, “Sleep faster!”

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MOST IMPORTANT STEP by Barbara Loraine, MA

bloraine — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 15:06:59 +0000

That does it, I saw this statement again, and had to speak up.

“The most difficult step is the first one. Take that first step and it all gets easier.”

Maybe for some people, getting started is the toughest. Fear enters: fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of not being good enough, and the rest. When fear has stopped you in your tracks? I get it; we can stop before we get started. But . . .

Let me make a comparison and ask, “Have you run a marathon?” Sure, you have to decide and take the first step. But, before you get to the starting line, you must train. When you are in training – for anything – you are tested all along the way. There are challenges.

You have to carve the time for it out of your already busy schedule.
You have to keep reminding yourself why this project is important.
You have to grow to increase your abilities.
You have to keep telling yourself “I’m worth it.”
You have to stick with it, even when you really don’t want to continue.

Now, it’s not just “training,” like for a marathon, that challenges us along the way It’s getting the education, the learning curve, the doing what it takes to overcome challenges of:

Time
Self-image
Technology difficulties (that’s the tough one I often face)
Lack of resources
Lack of know-how
_____________ Fill in the blank with what gets you

Then, there’s the marathon race itself. Starting is not the toughest part. Not even a little bit. Long distance runners are known to “hit the wall” around mile 18 or the 26 mile trek. This is a physical phenomenon. However, if you’ve watched a pro golf tournament, you’ve seen the players hit the mental wall around the 16^th hole.

It’s the same for any challenging endeavor. And let’s face it, anything we set as a goal will be challenging!

We are tested. Training and preparation are key to our success. But they aren’t the only elements.

That’s why Calvin Collidge said,
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. “

Is the first step the most important? The most important step is the one you take after you are challenged to give up. The Japanese proverb says it well, “Fall seven times, get up eight.”

So, be determined at the start. And prepare to persist with every step along the way, until you reach your goal.

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How Books Write Themselves & How to Get Paid for Your Marketing – Barbara Loraine, MA

bloraine — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 16:05:25 +0000

This is for all serious business people, not just for people like me who are in the children’s market.

As GiGi B, I write silly, fun, and educational story picture books for kids from 1-9.

Like, What Happens When You Leave the Door Open, Monsters in the Woods, and soon to be released, Where Do The Socks Go? That’ll be my fourth book published in 2019, and there’s a reason for that.

My mission is to invite and inspire kids to have fun while they stretch to learn. So, I include American Sign Language, Spanish, and a smattering of German, French, and Mandarin. They say that, “Kids learn to read by third grade; after third grade they read to learn.” Reading is fundamental – and crucial – so I am a part of that groundswell. But so is love of learning. And so is love of self. So GiGi B is constantly encouraging those additional aspects of early learning.

Now, no matter what our product is, (mine is learning, love of learning, and self-love), no matter how awesome our product is, marketing is still half the job. At least.

For me, to draw attention to my brand and my mission, I began 1 Positive Word a Day in Spanish. Each day, I post a word or short phrase on my website and Twitter. One of my advisors, Rock Christopher showed me how, in 10 minutes a day, I can also post those on Instagram, Facebook, and Tumbler. The words is great, fun learning for kids (and grown ups, including me) and great SEO. It’s fun for me now to give praise in Spanish. Do a good job around me and you’ll hear, “Buen Trabajo!” (which is “good job” in Spanish).

But it’s more than that.

How Books Write Themselves

My series of memes of 1 Positive Word a Day in Spanish – is soon to become a books series!

Since all my books promote all my other books and products – while building my GiGi B Club brand – it makes sense to take the posts I’m already creating for each day – and turn them into additional products.

My main business plan is with Videos – with songs, dances, stories, and more -all teaching, instilling love of learning, and self love. Yet I spend most of my time now on books. Why?

How To Get Paid For Your Marketing

The books are a great marketing tool for GiGi B Club. A marketing plan for which I get paid. Books that fulfill my mission and establish my brand.

But wait, there’s more. In addition to 1 Positive Word a Day in Spanish, I’m also doing “Lessons from Movies,” which is commentary on both kid’s movies and movies for grown ups. Those “lesson” articles will become another book series! And those books will promote all my other books and products.

It was my goal at New Year’s Day to write six books in 2019. Well, I’m already on my way to four completed so far since January. And, now I’ve got “books that are writing themselves,” I will exceed that goal, and my reach.

Want to learn how?

How can you get paid for your marketing? Can you do a “books that write themselves” series? Want to learn more? Watch for upcoming programs on using “Books That Write Themselves,” “How to Get Paid for Your Marketing,” and how to use “More Creativity than Cash.”

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Creating Your Success

bloraine — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 15:44:18 +0000

Creating Your Success - By Planning & Giving Value, Barbara Loraine MA

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “You are what you think about all day long.” If your thoughts become your reality, a great kind of thinking to do is working (or reworking) your plans.

I’m telling my story here, but think of how this applies to you – in every area of your life.

Two years ago, I wrote the business plan for GiGi B Club. It’s a great road map that I’ve been implementing ideas since then. However, I’ve added many creative, attention-getting, great-impression-making ideas. As I’m about to start approaching grantors and sponsors is imminent, I need my business plan to be up to date . . . to sizzle and to sell!

If your thoughts become your reality, a great kind of thinking to do is working (or reworking) on your plans.

Grantors and sponsors have a gazillion choices for who to “invest” with. And, make no mistake, they are looking to invest.

One of my advisors, Rock Christopher, suggested that I think even more like a businessperson and to showcase my business acumen. That’s why I started this blog: to share ideas with prospective grantors and sponsors who I am as a businessperson.

Now, I do use my business plan as a road map, but I hadn’t been making additions to the plan as I made changes in my operations. It was all in my head, but not ready to succinctly and compellingly share my ideas with stakeholders.

I’m fixing that.

BEING SEEN IS STILL 50% OF THE JOB

In a recent post, I shared the importance of being seen. I wrote that when I developed the idea of Lessons from Movies, where I share commentary on kids’ movies and adult movies (no not that kind of “adult movie”), relative to their inspiring moments and underlying themes. I shared it in my blog, but I hadn’t added it to my business plan.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

I started #FamilyTRAIN on Twitter. It is a community of people including: 1) parents, grandparents, and other family members, 2) family experts of various kinds, 3) authors, speakers, trainers, 4) and those who want to network with and market to those in the community.

Better yet, I’m building this community in strategic alliance with Rock Christopher, who has over a million followers and vast expertise with business, social media, and specifically with building online communities. He lends his clout and more to the project.

GIVE VALUE

Lessons from Movies provide insights, inspirations, and information for parents, adults, and the kids in their lives. These lessons provide commentaries by Barbara Loraine and (eventually) other parenting and performance experts.

1 Positive Word a Day in Spanish – I link each day to GiGiBclub.com, with a link from Twitter. I post on Instagram, Facebook, and (soon) to Tumbler. Why do I do this? I believe that kids (and adults) are way more capable than we give them credit for, so I include Spanish and other languages in my activity books. I believe that acknowledgement and affirmations are key to the self-image of any person. So, I do that, every day. It’s not just about learning words. It’s not “madre is mother.” It’s positive words and short phrases. I envision kids high fiving and saying to themselves (for example) “buen trabajo,” which is “good job” in Spanish.

I’ll add a weekly activity with the daily words:

How did you do a good job this week? How do you say that in Spanish?
When did you say, “I can” this week? How do you say that in Spanish?

These words and the follow-up activity gives reasons for people to visit GiGiBclub.com, to tell others about learning Spanish this way, and to interview me on radio, blogs, and more. And, in a month or two, it can be first in a series of books that wrote themselves. (I don’t know that I will write that book, but I could, at least as an ebook.)

NOTE: One of the ways GiGi B Club stories and materials is different than others is that I include not just academics in a fun way, but I also help kids learn “emotional intelligence.” Defined as the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically, emotional intelligence is called one of the key components of success.

BRAND BUILDING

Until we are known for our products and services, we can all be known for our values, our expertise, and our hearts. It’s not just “building a brand,” it’s “building a bond.”

—

Let me know what you’re thinking about and what you are building.

Post that on #FamilyTRAIN.

In the meantime, anyone can learn from

Lessons from Movies and

1 Positive Word a Day in Spanish.

—

PS: IT’S WORKING

My Twitter Community is supplying me with words for the day, more than I can even use each day. This response is a great sign of that it is engaging and giving value.

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Be Seen – Key to Making a Difference

bloraine — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 15:49:22 +0000

Be Seen – Key to Making a Difference

Barbara Loraine, MA

It’s not enough to have awesome solutions that solve people’s problems.

To make a difference, people simply must know that you exist, that your solutions are better than the rest.

Al Ries and Jack Trout might have explained the challenge best in their book, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. They say that people’s “mental shelf space” is full.

In today’s busier than ever world, we can’t see everything that’s in front of us. We can’t see those solutions that we need to see. So . . .

It’s not enough to offer great products and services. As a small businessperson, half of the job is with marketing, and attracting the attention of those who you intend to serve. That’s easier for big-budget big businesses. They can throw the necessary money at their marketing. And it’s not just that they have the budget for ads and the rest, they have the staff time to make it all happen, too.

Not so for the small businessperson. We don’t have money to throw anywhere that we’re not certain of a good return on investment.

What to do? What to do?

We know that “content is king.” Following, I’ll explain one of the reasons why. I’ll explain by sharing what I’m doing as the businessperson that I am to promote my GiGi B Club business, where “my other hat is a tiara!”

GiGi B offers books, learning materials, and edu-tainment that instill love of learning and inspire self-love, self-respect, self-confidence, and more – in children ages 2 to 9. Like all other businesses, we have to get the word out. We’ve got lots of plans for how to reach our markets and we’re building toward executing those plans.

Back to getting attention for the books GiGi B offers. Of course the books are on Amazon.com and soon to be on BarnesandNobel.com. They have enormous markets, but so what? Shoppers won’t find my books, unless I do something to attract them!

One of my advisors, Rock Christopher, of #SuccessTRAIN and SuccessCenter.com, has convinced me that, by highlighting my business acumen, I’ll get more attention from prospective sponsors and grantors for GiGi B. So, I’m writing blog posts and articles, like this one. But articles are not enough. Lots of people with business chops write articles. Again, even those articles can go unseen.

What’s a GiGi to do? After I fell of my unicorn, I realized that, if what it takes to stand out is being different, different I must create something different and “remarkable.” I’ll revisit the idea of being remarkable in another post.

As you continue reading, please know that, while I’ll share my strategy for being different, I’m not suggesting that you use my specific idea. No. (Please don’t!) The idea is for you to create your own unique content hook, one that makes you stand out from the crowd.

To entice my market to visit my website, I’m doing “GiGi B Lessons from Movies,” for kid’s movies and other inspirational movies that carry important life lessons. I knew I was onto something when sharing my idea with my Social Media Advisor, Jeanette Joy Fisher, she immediately said she wanted to interview me and that I should write a press release about the lessons.

Now, I realize that I could build these lessons out as products to sell. However, I think the Lessons provide a “remarkable” offer to rally traffic to my website. They give me yet another reason to contact schools, children’s centers, and other groups that are involved with kids.

“Brilliant,” if I say so myself.

Now, let’s talk about your market and your compelling content opportunities. Ask yourself a few questions:

In addition to your products and services,

What does your market value?
What do they show up for?
What do they buy?

For me, the answers to those questions pointed to the fact that kids and the adults in their lives love movies! Years ago, as a corporate trainer, we used the movie, Twelve O’Clock High, as an example of great leadership. So I know the power for film as a teaching tool. People responded well to that training program. I knew that parents and their kids would appreciate “GiGi B Lessons from Films. “

Back to your opportunities, the answers to the questions will provide clues and point you in the right direction.

Hey, maybe I’ll offer a webinar on this topic. Let me know about your opportunities and challenges. I’ll get back with you as soon as I get back from taking my Unicorn for a ride!

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How to Do Whatever It Takes

bloraine — Sat, 26 Jan 2019 17:19:25 +0000

Doing Whatever it Takes

Barbara Loraine, MA

One of my favorite inspirational movies is “October Sky.” Since Homer Hickam is a lousy football player, he sees getting a job in the space program as his ticket out of the coal mines. When he shares his idea with his teacher, Miss Riley, of beginning by building rockets and winning the science fair, she says, “Home, you’re just not good at math.” Homer replies without hesitation, “Oh, I’ll learn the math!”

What is it that you must do that you have to learn? There’s no way around it, for most of us, there are skills we must learn and use. No matter what. Or else . . .

For my GiGi B club project, it’s doing drawings for the companion workbooks for each book. What I draw has charm and is more cool because they are by GiGi B. So, I’ve got that going for me.

More difficult by far, is doing voices for my puppet characters – with quality. When it comes to the voices impressions, while my coach, Maria Parkinson, says I can “just practice while I’m doing other things,” that’s not my experience. My head is always filled with stories I’m writing, business, and other stuff. So I need to carve out time for the voices. And I am doing exactly that.

Is it fun to do the voices? Yes and no. It’s more fun for me to do work when I have a propensity for something. Maybe that’s just me. However, as I do the voice work, I am encouraged and motivated.

When I mentioned to Parkinson that getting on radio shows is important to GiGi B’s success, she was on me and convinced me that for my GiGi B project, doing great voices is the Number One ticket to getting radio (and other) exposure. I agree. That said, that it’s importance doesn’t make the task any easier. In fact I feel more pressure.

I had to think about which voices to learn. Since my audience is as young as three years old, the voices can’t be too scary. But for the adults (parents, grand parents, and those who support and are vendors for the kid’s market, (and radio show decision makers) – they must be entertaining, memorable, and worth sharing!

As I said, I feel more pressure. But that’s a good thing. The voices will make a ginormous difference for me, so I should feel pressured, otherwise known as “motivation.” So . . .

First, I chose which voices to use for my characters. This took hours of reviewing and considering various voices. These are the voice impressions I’m working on for monsters from my first book in my “Superheroes and Monsters Series,” “Monsters in the Woods – and the BackPack of Faith.”

Evie Envie – the obvious choice is Marilyn Monroe, and (fortunately) that’s an easy voice for me to do
Freddie Fear – I’ll use the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Gordon Greedy – I chose the voice of Mr. Burns from the Simpsons
Rachel Rivalry – I’m using Kathy Griffin

Here’s the good news for me – and for you, with tasks you must learn – it doesn’t take the 10,000 hours to get good at something that we’ve been convinced by Malcolm Gladwell, in his report on how to achieve mastery in any field.

In stark contrast to the idea of taking 10,000 hours, Josh Kaufman found that with 20 hours we can gain enough skill to do an excellent job! He proves this by testing how long it will take him to learn to play the ukulele and to perform in public! Check out his talk, “How to Learn Anything,” at http://barbaraloraine.net/biz-videos/

Here’s the good news: I do have 20 hours! And, so do you! Or we’d better make that time, huh? Of course, I have to ask myself, will it take me 20 hours per voice? If it does, so be it! I’ll keep you posted on my “whatever it takes” progress and path on this blog http://barbaraloraine.net/blog/

And you’ll see my progress at http://GiGiBclub.com

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Inspiration

bloraine — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 16:21:44 +0000

Real super powers for overcoming life's "monsters."

People ask me all the time how I come up with my ideas. I don’t think them up! Sometimes they just fall into my head. Other times, like with this, God works through a person who share ideas that I see as important for delivering my message, as GiGi B.

The Power of Words is HUGE! I’ll add this “Power of Words” to the BackPack of Faith with “Bubbles of Understanding!”

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Getting started . . .

bloraine — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 21:37:25 +0000

As a long-time business person, how did I decide to hang up my usual business hat, don a tiara, and become GiGi B, director of – and talent for – GiGi B Club?

KNOW THIS: While this blog will be primarily about my path, the principles of visioning, motivating, planning, researching, networking, collaborating, adapting, doing what it takes, persevering – and more – are fundamental to all small businesses. So do not think that, because I’m a persona, split between 1) the world of marketing and business and 2) as an educator, entertainer, and inspiration for kids – that every word of what I share is not for you.

Further, I am very busy as GiGi B, so I won’t write regularly or often.

In this blog, I’ll:
1) Share my current journey (leaving out the key elements of my secret-sauce-business-plan – I’m not going to give away the store).

2) Look back at some of the interests and skills I developed along the way – that now enrich the potential of GiGi B Club.

3) Talk from one of my books, “Claim Your Acres of Diamonds,” which is the exact process I used in making my decision to shift my attention to GiGiBclub.com.

4) Talk money. I’ll share with you a bit about my profit potential – and in the process, you’ll gain insight into how to monetize your dream.

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