Shonika Proctor, Version 1.0....

Where you can find me...

2011-12-08T18:18:00.019-05:00

I could not log in to update this site in forever because I couldn't remember the darn user login and today I was playing around with it and finally figured it out. Of course this is the page that is ranked first when people search by my name, probably because Google purchased Blogger. Anyway, most of this stuff on this site is a bit dated and I am wondering what on earth made me choose these colors and this design, regardless, I am not going to kill it. It's Shonika Version 1.0. My contact info is here if you need to find me:

Twitter: @TrepHunter (short for EnTREPreneur Hunter)

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/shonikaproctor

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shonika.proctor

Personal site: www.shonikaproctor.com

Company site: www.andesbeat.com

At any rate, I did raise my money for my kids in the south of Chile (thanks all you generous beings). I have to admit I was surprised how many people mailed me checks...haven't used one of those things in forever. Anywho, I made it to Chile (Sep 9, 2010) with 2 suitcases and a dream (as noted from my last post from more than 1 year ago). I was supposed to come here for 4-6 weeks and think I will likely stay forever and a day - love, love, love this place. Although my family and other half have not seen me in 14 months and counting and I totally miss them, did I mention, I love, love, love this place?!!?

Only 3% of the population speaks English and there are not that many foreigners here in relative terms. There are 7 million people living in the capital city and I think I have seen less than 10 people of color since I have been here (only 2 from the states and the others from Haiti or other LatAm countries) so alot of people stare at me (not in a mean or rude way). Coming from Washington, DC where there is tremendous diversity it was an adjustment for me at first, but now I am used to it. Regardless, I feel that I have been extremely well received and supported by the Chilenos on all socioeconomic levels. The Chilean people are so frickin' nice. It is really fun here, the natural beauty is spectacular and the weather is pretty awesome 10 months out of the year, so I totally dig it!

How did I get to Chile?:

I didn't choose Chile.

Chile chose me.

I came here because of a boy (Chilean)...that I met on Facebook, naturally a classic story of our time. But I am not sleeping with him and he is not independently wealthy (yet) so it can only be an entrepreneurship related story. :-P Anyway, it's a loooooong story - but if you care to know the highlights, I have been recording them on my dipity timeline from the first day I met him:

www.dipity.com/sproctor

Other than that, I gave up my wireless account (from my first life) and my Teen Entrepreneur Blog (second life) to one of my 17 year old teens from the UK and a 16 year old from United Arab Emirates. Both of the sites/companies I left at good points so they had a nice platform to build from. So they are rocking that out. And now I am working to stimulate the entrepreneurship and start up ecosystem in LatAm. Doing bilingual entrepreneurship coaching, marketing of their companies in English and supporting them with connecting with folks in the international marketplace.

Investor, Strategic Partner, Raving Fan, Mentor, or just a cool and random person looking to do some cool and random things in the name of entrepreneurship and innovation....then holla at me here:

Twitter: @TrepHunter

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/shonikaproctor

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/shonika.proctor

Personal site: www.shonikaproctor.com

Company Site: www.andesbeat.com

Saludos.

2010-08-31T07:39:00.001-04:00

I'm going to #Chile. I would be grateful if u can donate to my cause or share this w/ur network: http://ping.fm/Ub18l

2010-07-29T09:52:00.001-04:00

Entrepreneur Innovators Shonika Proctor and Felipe Gonzalez share their vision to Rebuild Chile thru youth http://bit.ly/9dM5iR

2010-06-09T06:43:00.001-04:00

I got a very cool Birthday video today from my friend Gabriel Valo in Singapore http://bit.ly/aSsqQS (great bloopers, lol). xoxo

2010-04-07T11:52:00.001-04:00

Here me live today at 12 noon EST on Passions and Possibilities sharing my 1 yr journey http://bit.ly/dicIea

2010-03-11T13:01:00.001-05:00

Sex and the Chocolate City: Anacostia DC Web Series Draws International Acclaim, Awards in Debut Season http://ping.fm/vCGyz

2010-03-03T17:30:00.001-05:00

Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs Program - grant money up to $50,000 for entrepreneurs ages 18-29? http://bit.ly/cpqf5m

2010-02-12T16:28:00.001-05:00

Cute beach cottage 4 rent in Annapolis/Edgewater MD. Accessible to DC/Balt. 2 BED/1 BA w/ water views http://bit.ly/dcQlcM

2010-02-09T10:05:00.001-05:00

Please support my Renegade Teens as they play Halo for 24 hours straight to raise $500+ for Child's Play Charity http://bit.ly/bWLHxj

2010-02-04T14:00:00.001-05:00

Eastern European Teen Entrepreneurs Heat Things Up Post Cold War http://twurl.nl/d1ndyd

2010-01-14T14:14:00.001-05:00

Apple iPhone apps approval inconsistent: Killing yourself at work is ok; Punching your boss is not. http://bit.ly/5qvFtH

2010-01-14T13:57:00.001-05:00

Young-Editor-in-Chief Rocky Reichman of @LiteraryMagic granted exclusive interview with McGraw-Hill Publicist http://bit.ly/8ulfd4

2009-12-28T21:30:00.001-05:00

Once Upon a Digital Time: Print on Demand Makes Publishing A Book Accessible For Teens http://ping.fm/uondd

2009-12-02T07:35:00.001-05:00

#DC tonight @ 7-9 pm, Lounge of III (U St) Iconic 'Soul' Album Cover Artist Tom Nikosey, Free Smirnoff http://bit.ly/1P9DaS

2009-11-12T01:00:00.001-05:00

My debut National TV Business Commentary (see last 3 min). I will be on show monthly. http://bit.ly/45gd6K

2009-11-07T20:57:00.001-05:00

Checking out a new creative crowdsourcing site for entrepreneurs called MycroBurst http://ping.fm/TYPvk

2009-10-08T09:06:00.001-04:00

A conscious alternative of Craigslist geared to heart centered ppl. http://bit.ly/2ycdeu

2009-09-23T14:55:00.001-04:00

24hr Tweetathon to Raise $50K by Oct 1 for 15 Y.O. @DanielleHerb to impact 1,000,000 ADD/ADHD & Autistic kids http://bit.ly/x1pnD

2009-09-18T07:30:00.001-04:00

New Press Release: Idaho Teen Completes Design of First Trick Yo-Yo and Launches Online Magazine for Serious Yo-Yo'ers: http://bit.ly/2tJueS

2009-08-21T15:17:00.001-04:00

See Teen CEO Ben 'Wizzity Weis' World Premiere Rap Video Featuring Lil' Flip http://bit.ly/TWyM4

2009-07-31T09:57:00.001-04:00

Renegade CEO's Launches, "Global Partners for Innovative Teen Entrepreneurs": http://bit.ly/17jUN3

2009-07-24T19:30:00.001-04:00

Toronto women aged 16-21, check out this empowerment workshop on July 28 http://bit.ly/10Chhj

2009-07-22T11:04:00.001-04:00

Here is video I made yesterday for my friend's golf putting device he designed: http://bit.ly/10xDQH

2009-06-12T17:09:00.001-04:00

Looking for someone to record our feature on CNN today at 5:15 pm est.

2009-06-10T20:34:00.001-04:00

Teen Entrepreneurs Needed for New TV Show http://bit.ly/19YwcI

2008-09-17T16:09:00.001-04:00

is about to go to an awards event & function re: World Leaders on Sustainability @ Natl Bldg Museum.

2008-09-17T10:07:00.001-04:00

DC Global Entrepreneurship Week Participants Conf Call 2day @11:30 am est: 1.712.580.1800, Code: 746297

2008-09-17T10:04:00.001-04:00

Self-Made Billionaire Don Peebles Hosting Event at PGCC in DC Metro Area, Sep 19th, http://twurl.nl/55qdr0

2008-09-17T09:43:00.001-04:00

Creating a joint R&D sponsorship pitch page for my teen ceo's and their various creative endeavors :)

2008-09-16T17:32:00.001-04:00

Mark Victor Hansen looking for teen entrepreneurs (new & existing) ages 13-19 for Young Entrep. Challenge: http://twurl.nl/kjaito

2008-09-16T10:41:00.001-04:00

is behind on her reading. Going to grab her FT and WSJ and will let you know what cool thing she comes across.

2008-09-15T22:47:00.001-04:00

rsvp'd for Understanding Govt's Banquet for Preventive Journalism- $50,000 Prize!

2008-09-15T18:21:00.001-04:00

is enjoying using ping to update my social networking sites "status" simultaneously: http://twurl.nl/5yw6bt

2008-09-15T13:36:00.001-04:00

reviewing my financials from year and doing some goal setting for 2009.

Thanks to Dawn at Barefoot Blog Designs....

2008-07-21T20:46:00.007-04:00

Many thanks to Dawn at Barefoot Blogs who is the super talented designer who created and set up this blog website for me. I looked all over the place and could not find a blogger designer who had equivalent expertise and creativity with such competitive prices. XOXO- love her much!

As I begin my rebranding process and get my content focused from rants to fulfilling my life purpose in my advocacy and entrepreneur coaching for youth and teen she has helped to start me on the right path with my vehicle to spread the word! So thanks again Dawn, you're fantabulous!

I Got a Nastygram Today...

2008-04-08T16:18:00.005-04:00

It was from my blog. It said that I was neglecting her/him. I am not sure. I suppose its gender neutral.

I have been really stressed out...good stress I would say (if it is a such thing). It is the kind of stress you want to have. Positive energy and fun projects abound and all around. Last week I traveled to NYC to see 2 of my Young Renegade CEO's get Global Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, presented by NFTE.

And another one of my Young Renegade CEO's received the Fannie Mae Foundation Youth Leader of the Year Award for 2008 presented by Leadership Greater Washington. Big thanks to President Tim Kime and Event Coordinator Tina Wells. They were so thoughtful and hospitable. Really grateful for the opportunity to meet them.

In other adventures, I met Dr. Farrah Gray. The whole weird kinda cool thing is the day before I met him I had purchased one of his books for my 11 year old nephew. So my nephew was reading this book aloud and then the next day we went to see a Business Plan Competition that Derron was a finalist in. And low and behold if Dr. Gray wasn't the featured speaker. And even cooler was that he could only take 3 questions from the audience and one of the questions he took was mine. So I made it good and I made a promise to make good on his request to network and pool resources with everyone around them. So in front of the entire room I nominated myself to take responsibility to connect everyone in the room. I met him on March 1, 2008 and 37 days later I had gathered testimonials from all the youth entrepreneurs there, got letters of support, donation for space to host workshops, met VP's of Fortune Companies, met some local City Council folks and the idea popped into my head to create a webisode series geared towards teens that talk about contemporary issues. And you know what I learned-

Soul Purpose: Living the dream is largerly based on your ability to move in sync with your own reality.

It's so simple that it's complex you know. Over the past 37 days I was working full time WITHOUT pay to pool resources, gather testimonials and such and respecting the forces of the universe. I said who knows, maybe this could be my calling so let's just see what happens. During that time period, I was contracted to do a large job over the course of one week equal to several months pay (already completed the job) and I got included in the bid proposal on 2 other substantial contracts. And to think- I wasn't even looking for work ;-) That is always how it works huh? The more you put out there, the more things come back to you. So try it...really try it. And it WILL happen for you too. I promise ;-)

Until Next Time.

Love and Laughter-
Shonika

A Special Message From Daniel & John, Lazer Bearings!

2008-02-26T15:01:00.002-05:00

Hey Shonika's friends!

The above video has all of the info, but basically, our company--Lazer Bearings--needs your votes! We're submitting our idea to Ideablob.com to win $10,000, and after we win WE'RE GOING TO COMPILE OUR STRATEGIES IN A VIDEO IN APRIL SO YOU CAN WIN IN THE COMING MONTHS! So vote for us at Ideablob when March hits!

Please forward this e-mail to anybody else who you think would want to support us!

Thanks for supporting Lazer!

-Daniel Uribe & John Brzezicki, Lazer Bearings

10 Million iphones not likely to be sold by the end of 2008

2008-02-25T13:09:00.003-05:00

An article in today's Wireless Week reports that it is not likely that Apple is going to sell 10 million iphones.

Surprise, Surprise...it was what I said from the beginning ;-)

http://www.wirelessweek.com/10Million-iPhones-Unlikely-To-Be-Sold.aspx

The only way they might sell something in the neighborhood is they would have to markdown the device again, perhaps for $249 and then offer a mail in rebate for $100 and hope the vast majority of people are incompetent in filling out the paperwork with the required documentation or simply don't do it. They will have to do something because the more time passes, the less hype and interest there is in the device. They should have been smarter at the release and produced only a short run. So not only would you have waited in line for 3 days to get one, they would have ran out and kept running out to build up more hype and demand. Less in supply means more in demand you know?

Marking it down may be the only way they can stay on target to hit numbers at this point, but the major downfall is that it will be difficult to sell the next model at a higher price unless it does something considerably more and different than the original one (Reference, See Razr Burn: Remember that utilitarian device)? One can only hope in the tradition of Apple and their success in their line of music players, is that it will.

But as for their fate in the world of cellular and wireless in the U.S. and subsidized phones...well that has yet to be determined.

Or has it?

dunh, dunh, dunh, dunh.

Glass 3 Opens!

2008-02-22T17:04:00.012-05:00

Glass 3 opened to much fanfare last night and it was very much deserving of it. I feel very proud as we had an extremely strong showing, not to mention one of my wonderful youth entrepreneurs from NFTE (National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship) designed the cake for the opening reception.

I am especially excited because I was personally involved in the project. I came on as a volunteer with the marketing team late in the process, apparently after a disappointing pre-media event showing. As you know how it can be in the world of non-profits, unfortunately the majority of the organizing group were spread so thin it was extremely difficult for them to stay on top of the outreach and marketing efforts along with the logistics, coordinating vendors, working with the City, dealing with the permitting process and all the rest of it. So I committed 6 days straight (minimum 5 hours a day) trying to relieve them of some of that overload and calling every darn body, lol. I was on a mission to personally follow up and speak to the recipients of the press releases that were sent weeks earlier. So I was calling all the media folks in radio, print, tv, wherever I could find them. And then I got soaked on a very rainy and windy day (umbrella broke) as I walked to all the area Kimpton Hotels (love them much) leaving promotional postcards with the concierge. And you know what they say, market and they will come and come they did!

After just one day being open to the public we even got a write up in the Washington Post and an Editors Pick! Not to mention this great write up in DC'ist. WHEW HEW! I am so jazzed.

There were so many great elements of the whole experience from those who worked with minimal or no pay yet put in countless hours in the months, weeks, days and minutes leading up to the event, to the whole collaboration and interaction between City of Washington, DC and City of Sunderland, England (our sister city in the UK) to our relationship with the Greater Toledo Arts Community (Home of the Studio Glass Movement in the U.S.). I also got to personally meet and hang out with the Cohesion Artists from Sunderland, UK. On the 2nd day they were in the U.S. they ALL came to my house for a traditional American brunch.

Cake Designed by: Teenpreneur and Confectionary Artist, Jerome Addison of Sweet Inventions. Jerome is a Senior at Suitland High School, in Suitland, MD. (side note: che does not have a website so contact me if you want a cake designed and need his contact info).

About Glass 3:

Glass 3, an international studio glass exhibit featuring EXTRAORDINARY glass artists from Toledo, OH (Home of the U.S. Studio Glass Movement), Washington, DC and Sunderland, UK (Washington, DC Sister City)

The event opened to the public on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at the Shops at Georgetown Mall (3222 M St, NW, Lower Level, Enter on Wisconsin Ave, NW Washington, DC) and runs through March 9, 2008.

The exhibit will feature vibrant glasswork, glass blown sculptures, as well as narrative glasswork through etching, writing, and video projection.

Admission to Glass 3 is free. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

You can find the official press release at http://www.artomatic.org/

The event is sponsored by: Artomatic, Inc. , Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID), Office of the Secretary for the District of Columbia, Shops at Georgetown Park, Sunderland UK Cohesion Artists, Toledo/Northwest Ohio/Arts Commission of Greater Toledo and the Washington Glass School.

Photo from exhibit entitled "Sushi Skateboard", how fun! It was done by a glass artist from Toledo, OH. Sorry but his name escapes me right now and my poor photography skills does not do his creation any justice anyway. So he is probably happy that I forgot his name ;-)

Happy Chinese New Year!

2008-02-07T14:10:00.001-05:00

The Year of the Rat has arrived....finally!

It's going to be an awesome year for me...starting today ;-)

Every day in every way...'cause that's how I roll.

And thanks to my friend Julia Lee who sent me a special Chinese Lucky Note for Year of the Rat.

Countdown to the Chinese New Year & Year of the Rat :)

2008-01-09T09:02:00.000-05:00

The Chinese New Year will arrive on February 7, 2008 and I am counting down as it is the Year of the Rat...and I am a rat...go figure!

Following you will read an excerpt about the Rat:
http://www.springsgreetingcards.com/catalogs/store.asp?pid=232024

Well it seems that my good fortune has already started.

First my favorite collegiate football team the WVU Mountaineers won the Fiesta Bowl. And last night at the Wizards Basketball Game the section that I was sitting in won Official Gilbert Arenas jerseys. Can you believe it? I have never won anything at a sporting event. Well as it turns out we lost, but we played against the Houston Rockets. Their uniforms were red and their center, Yao, is Chinese. So of course, they had all the Chinese luck on their side :)

Anyway, I am excited about 2008 for personally and professionally and am considering traveling to China on 8.8.8. It is the opening day of the Olympics (of course) and it is doubtful I will go, but 8's are lucky numbers in China so of course it would only make sense for a rat in the year of the rat to go to China on a lucky day...what are the chances? :)

So we will see. I am seeking advice from all my Chinese friends and also my friends who love Chinese culture of what to do on my travels in China. Subconsciously, I am already there ;-)

WVU Wins the Fiesta Bowl! Whew Hew!!!

2008-01-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

2 days in to the new year and 2008 is already starting out to be quite good. Dem WVU Mountaineers won the Fiesta Bowl last night. I was wondering how WVU would perform without their regular Head Coach (Rich, what's his toes? ...What a frickin' douchebag)- but the pride of Morgantown did us right.

#11 West Virginia University (WVU) kicked butt last night at the Fiesta Bowl over #3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners. They won 48-28...yes, I wasn't joking about kicking butt.

The WVU Mountaineers were winning 20-6 at halftime and definitely were pumped but I was thinking to myself that lead is not going to hold. The Sooners nearly proved me right as they came out charged up in the 3rd quarter and got to within 5 points, 20-15. But in the meantime and between time, Pat White was giving them a fit- is he a quarterback or a running back? You just never know :) He and the forces of Noel Devine coming in and picking up where injured Steve Slaton left off and WVU's 349 yards rushing just turned out to be a little too much for dem Sooners.

Let's Go Mountain---eers!

Is Your Cell Phone Company Evil?

2007-12-07T20:21:00.001-05:00

New cell phone ad campaign from Net 10.

http://www.no-evil.net/

14th Night of 100 Elvises

2007-12-03T16:13:00.000-05:00

The 14th Night of 100 Elvises brought media folks galore (Washington, DC included) I could absolutely not believe it. And most of the media folks attended the event both nights. Baltimore's biggest party of the year and best kept secret is out. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. It's nice to be recognized but that means next year it is going to be more packed than it usually is. This year was a little different than years past. Of course we had our regulars including The Graceliners, who are an all female tribute band that come down and perform every year from Ontario Canada. We had a couple of new 'young' Elvises this year and more diversity of performers doing Elvis Tributes. We had everything from a Little Elvis...he was so darn cute. He was 7 years old and was an absolute ham. Then we had our first African-American Tribute Artist which was an acapello group named Smooth Teaze. We had a Hispanic Elvis and we also had a group of teenagers "Extreme Kicks" doing a combination of martial arts, hip hop and breakdance type stuff. It was really cool and as always a fun time was had by all.

14th Night of 100 Elvises Slideshow, Courtesy of Washington Times (turn on your speakers).

Link to Charlene and Dick's Blog (there is a photo of me in there with a better view of my real life 60's retro dress).

Little Elvis...isn't he adorable? :)

P Diddy O' in his pride of Canada Elvis scarf and the Crazy Dutchman, at it again!

Halloween at Happy's

2007-12-03T15:50:00.000-05:00

This year I went to a party at my friend Happy's house. She is too much fun. She volunteers with me on the BIG Team Regatta sailing group. I tell you- she is one hard core racing sailor chic. Every weekend spring thru fall you will probably find her racing Albacores, followed by a trip to the local nautical watering hole...of course, lol. This year she was a fairy and P Diddy O' and I went as Harry Pothead and the Stoned Sorceress...in honor of the Harry Potter movie this year (and the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone) We are so unpolitically correct huh? :) It's all in good fun. Every year I make our costumes. The year that the movie came out we went as Harry Potter and the Hedwig. To make my costume I bought a white long sleeve shirt and tights and a bag of feathers from the craft store. It took me about a week to hot glue all the feathers on there. We won 1st place in the costume contest though. It was fun.

This year I cut out my pot leaves from green felt. I made 'Harry's wand' and P Diddy O' made his glasses from a coathanger. After spraying his glasses with black paint moments about a half an hour before we were supposed to walk out the door, he realized the paint needed 2-3 hours to dry. So we put them on a baking pan and baked them for 15 minutes....worked like a charm. We can't draw or paint worth anything, but I'll be darn if we aren't 2 resourceful and crafty bastards.

That's me making my cape...and of course my ever so trusty glue gun in the background.

That's Harry's Wand. We made the glasses with a coat hanger and the wand from the cardboard tube from the coat hanger and a brown paper grocery bag.

For the party (as I am always a good house guest) even though not required, I baked festive orange mini sweet something or other. As I forgot to take a picture, these are the choco choco brownie bites with funfetti that I made for Thanksgiving. I also made a sweet potato and fresh cranberrry casserole that was all the rave.

Punkin Chunkin in Delaware

2007-12-03T15:33:00.001-05:00

This year was my first time attending Punkin Chunkin. Neil and Gail said 'you have to go'. So go I did. It doesn't take much to persuade me to get on the road and go do something fun :)

Punkin Chunkin is this event in Delaware where people, companies whomever, create contraptions from catapults to trebuchets that throw pumpkins...as far as they can. They have human powered, human thrown and other categories as well. The deal is that your pumpkin has to be launched in one piece and it has to remain in one piece...until it obviously lands. If it explodes before it hits the ground it is called 'pie' and you are disqualified. This year, the farthest punkin was shot over 3,000 feet. Yes, three thousand!!!

Here are some of the punkin chunkin contraptions (all of them are 'homemade', lol)

Coming from the wireless industry, I thought this was interesting...being that I haven't sold pagers since 1998??? Well as it turns out we were in such a rural part of Delaware, it seems that pagers are still one of the most reliable forms of communication.

Turkish Festival

2007-12-03T15:13:00.000-05:00

Well even though Esen and Erdem forgot to send me a reminder about this summer's Turkish Festival, as it turns out, one beautiful Sunday afternoon while riding my bike to check out the museums for the day, I just so happened to hear Turkish music. I detoured and found the Turkish Festival in full swing. Of course I also saw Esen and Erdem working like crazy at the very busy ticket booth :)

So I hung out for a bit and enjoyed some Turkish beer and yummy food. I looked for my friend Yeta, but could not find her because it was so crowded. I saw her some weeks later where she said that she could only stop through for a short time because her friend was visiting from Florida so they did the sightseeing thing instead.

This fall I celebrated Thanksgiving with all my Turkish friends (never knew I had so many, lol)....more on that later.

Solar Decathalon, Washington, DC

2007-12-03T14:29:00.001-05:00

These photos are from this summer's Solar Decathalon in Washington, DC. The event is held on the Mall. A select group of universities from the U.S. and abroad are given a specific set of guidelines and must create a completely solar friendly house. The competition is based on lots of things, from cost of material, efficiency in building, aesthetics and transport costs.

Have a look at just a few of the concept houses featured in this year's event. Luckily we had great weather during the week of the event, so it was definitely a good opportunity to see everybody's house in full effect!

Vancouver, Victoria, Sooke and Whistler BC Canada

2007-12-03T13:22:00.000-05:00

This post is continued from an earlier one (October 2007). These are posts from my trip to Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). It definitely held up to its motto, Spectacular By Nature. And everybody there was so darn nice...love dem Canadiens :)

I spent nearly 2 weeks in Vancouver (more than enough time to play and relax a bit) via a house exchange and was able to truly enjoy the local's lifestyle. I ate at a great waterfront restaurant in Sooke called the Sooke Harbor House, on Whiffen Spit Beach. They prepare everything fresh daily and even have their own herb garden. They offer 4 course fix price meal (with a vegetarian option) for around $80/pp. I also had the best oysters ever at Rodney's Oyster House and some pretty good English Fish and Chips at the World Famous 'Barb's Place' at the Wharf in Victoria. I wouldn't say to go out of your way to go to Barb's Place because locals say that the fish and chips used to be far better, but you should definitely visit the Wharf if you have time and love nautical communities because of the really cool one of kind boathouses.

Just a few of the great boathouses in the Wharf Community of Victoria BC.

Grilligan's Restaurant "Where Buoy Meets Grill"...Cute concept huh? It is located at the Wharf in Victoria.

The Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC

Nique at Rodney's Oyster House in Vancouver, BC. I never thought that anyone could top Old Ebbitt in Washington, DC but after experiencing happy hour at Rodney's with the best ever Oyster Dipping Sauces...I was in Oyster Heaven.

My Way Too Intellectual Mastermind and Travel Partners in Crime...having fun and being corny...as usual :)

BIG Team Regatta DC, September 2007

2007-12-03T12:59:00.001-05:00

These photos are from the BIG Team Regatta 2007. I am on the Board for the BIG Team Regatta and the Host Committee. I do marketing and FUNdraising. The BIG Team Regatta is a national corporate sailing challenge to benefit inner city youth programs. Our group in Washington, DC is the Flagship Group. The other groups are based in San Francisco, CA, Chicago, IL and New York City, NY. As the marketing person I also manage their blog "Latitude Is Everything" There you can find out more information about the National Maritime Heritage Foundation and the BIG Team Regatta.

As Greg plays hookie from work to volunteer at the BIG Team Regatta, we always make sure we have proof for Greg's Wife that he really was working. Doesn't he look so stressed out?

Liz (standing at right) prepping her 'Kids Set Sail' babies for the races. This year 4 of the 16 sailboats that competed were kids boats. The kids ages 8-17 participated in the summer Kids Set Sail Training Program taught by Liz and her staff.

New this year to the Silent Auction was some great art from local DC Artists at Artomatic.

The BIG Team Regatta 2007 was a great success, raising over $50,000 for Youth Sailing Programs in Washington, DC. I am already counting down to the 2008 Regatta :)

A Little Downtime Before the Holidays...

2007-12-03T12:55:00.000-05:00

After a very busy summer and fall....traveling, volunteering, writing, playing etc. (yes, I was working too, sorty of ;-)) I finally got a little time this morning and afternoon to download and arrange all my photos from the past few months.

In today's posts I will share some of my recent adventures.

Love and Laughter,
Shonika

Washington Redskins Sean Taylor Died This Morning

2007-11-27T10:32:00.000-05:00

It is a truly sad day in Washington, DC, especially for us longtime Redskins fans. Sean Taylor, 24, passed this morning after a gunshot wound in the leg from an armed robbery in his Florida home. He will sincerely be missed on the field and off the field by his family, friends and fans. My prayers and uplifting thoughts go out to Taylor's family and loved ones. (photo courtesy of AOL fanhouse)

Soul Purpose: While no one will live forever on this Earth, it is so sad to die so young and in such a tragic way. Please say a prayer for Sean Taylor's family today and for all those who commit ignorant and reckless acts such as this one. You may also share your written condolences and sentiments on this Redskins Fan Blog.

Sean Taylor Tribute

Sprint and Clearwire Split...hmmm, makes my theory more interesting

2007-11-15T15:26:00.000-05:00

Well it was 2 posts ago on November 2nd 2007 that I was thinking Sprint was going to hook up with somebody else.

So now my scenario is getting more interesting. I have been following the Gphone and all that hoopla and it sounds good in theory and wouldn't it be cool if all the things they said could happen? But I don't care how many companies they put together and how much money they have to make a bells and whistle rooting tooting phone, there is one minor detail- Verizon's Blessings. The device has to be approved to be sold on the carrier's networks. They can create whatever they want, but bottom line it has to be approved. And building a consortium without Verizon or ATT (because they obviously didn't want the Bells involved) is going to piss them off more than anything. They aren't going to get mad, they are going to get even and you know this. So why even go there? They are going to waste all this money on research, development and promotion and in the end they still are going to have the device approved to be sold on the network. Ok, did I say that like 3 times? Maybe somebody will eventually get it. The carriers are going to have to agree to sell it. They have T-Mobile and their itty bitty share of the market and they have Sprint losing a gazillion customers a quarter, like either of those companies are going to be able to have any pull. Yes, they can sell it elsewhere other than the U.S. but being the technology they are deploying (which is actually not new or a new or original idea...more on that later) do you think they would give up potential opportunity for their market here?...hmm, I guess we'll have to wait and see, in the Fall of 2008.

In the meantime, what is that Clearwire up to? Sprint couldn't keep losing money and customers and customers and money so it was evident why they had to split off. But Clearwire can't sustain on their own. So who is going to pick them up? Merge with them? Acquire their network in the making?

Let me think on that. Who could benefit the most? I know it will be someone along the lines of media but it is MORE to it than that. Believe me. Who is making some product or service that they want to launch that would be kick butt on a WI-MAX network? I am going to do some super sleuthing and read back through some of my articles from 6 months, a year ago to see if I can connect the dots and make a guess.

Until next time... :)

Shonika
http://www.cell-phone-help-and-training.com/

Motorola Verizon Krazr Ringtone Resource

2007-11-15T15:22:00.000-05:00

I ran across this great page today (screenshots and all) for those who want to download their own music and ringtones on their Krazr.

http://aznuwee.googlepages.com/

Shonika

As Apple iPhone is to ATT, Google Phone is to Verizon Wireless....

2007-11-02T09:39:00.000-04:00

At least that's what I'm thinking, ;-)

Having spent the last 14 years in the celluar and wireless industry, I believe that Apple's trends show that they are diplomatically setting their own product up for failure, the thing is naive shareholders keep raising the value of their dumb stock making the general public think they are about to do something else 'radical'.

I am thinking that Google's 'Google Phone' concept is great in theory but is ultimately going to become to Verizon Wireless what Apple's iPhone has become to ATT Wireless (a concept high end phone running on a second generation network). Thus eliminating Google as a potentially dominant 'threat' in the 700 mHz auction, they have the money to fight Verizon's lawyers they just lack the indstry expertise and probably don't want to exhaust resources on that.

After this all flushes out within the next year no other independent players are going to try to play in the territorial cellular industry for a while. If so, it will be a struggling Sprint teamed with a Media Conglomerate (or Vonage) who is desperate to reclaim some marketshare. So we'll see.

Shonika
www.cell-phone-help-and-training.com

Darius Goes West...Slowing Down to the Speed of Life

2007-11-01T18:07:00.000-04:00

Darius Goes West...

What a wonderful and touching true story about a boy with a rare genetic disease that is a form of muscular dystrophy who leaves his hometown of Athens, Georgia and sees the mountains, the oceans and the world around him for the first time. The trip was funded by a group of guys who were friends with Darius' older brother who sadly passed from the same genetic disease. It will definitely make you teary eyed.

A young boy's road trip on wheels

Soul Purpose: Create your own reality. Give up your TV and take advantage of all that your community and the world has to offer. Can't afford to travel? Then stay local. Do road trips and explore natural parks and museums. Sometimes it takes small changes in your life, from saving a few dollars a week and giving up vices or unecessary 'stuff', to the type of car you drive to living in a more modest house or apartment. Instead of 'Disney World' or gambling in 'Macau' or 'Vegas' try going to another country where the cost of living is considerably less expensive and you can enjoy beautiful man made natural beauty and eat good food for a fraction of the cost of most resort areas. Kids are kids and they learn to adjust to their environment. Engage them and be supportive and they will soon learn to have as much fun in the real world as much as they can in a made up one.

Free My Phone, By Walt Mossberg

2007-10-24T08:47:00.000-04:00

What a fun article in this week's Wall Street Journal. It's an Opinon piece called 'Free My Phone' written by Digital Enthusiast, Walt Mossberg. In the article, Mossberg addresses that 'gray area' in the cell phone and wireless industry that I am always talking about and everybody else in the industry is always talking around. He does this brilliantly and uses a great analogy from the 'Soviet Era'.

Ma May I?
No you may not :-) All the while he doesn't mince words as he mentions the names of the Ma Bell operators and states how they have basically killed the innovation in the industry that they created. They essentially cannabalized their own industry. You must read 'Free My Phone' to understand what my colleagues and I have been arguing about since the early 90's when the same thing happened with the Ma Bells in the paging industry, the late 90's during the dot com bomb and now in present day with the municipal wi-fi. The million dollar question at this point is how do we stop it or better yet can we stop it?

In Theory, It Seems Like a Great Concept
At any rate, I want you to realize it is an 'Opinion' Piece, kind of like infotainment. Check out the video and you will understand what I mean. I totally agree with the perception and it's important that the awareness is out there but the reality is when you think about it, is it really ideal to have completely open access? I want more choices and I want the FCC and the carriers to make decisions for the best interest of the consumer and not based on their political agenda (I can always dream). But on the flip side I DO NOT want to be mobile spammed with advertisements, nor do I want my mobile browsing behaviors monitored and profiled by Google for financial benefit of their 'Mobile Advertisers'. And with the emergence of multimedia handhelds in the consumer market, I certainly do not want my phone to be OPEN to viruses, lack of security via mobile banking or worse yet, wireless fraud. Besides, customer care can barely solve problems on a basic level now, you want to bring other manufacturers with other platforms and other technology. Who is going to support it?

And for further info, read my blog post from a few months back where it also mentions this very subject. Google Has Won the Battle, But Verizon Will Win the War.

Sugar and Spice....Did You Do Something Nice?

2007-10-23T18:35:00.000-04:00

It's late October, so you know what that means? The true holiday season will be here before you know it. Beyond decorating and shopping for gifts don't forget to pick up that perfect one of a kind dress with matching shoes for your favorite little Princess...(boys are easy to shop for :-)).

Check Out Gurly Girl for the most adorable little girl dresses and lots of great tips on choosing the perfect dress and shoes.

See her complete line of dresses on her ebay store.

Beyond Sugar and Spice....have you done something nice? Regardless of your religious affiliate or demonination, 'tis always the season for caring and sharing- Gurly Girl wants to hear your good news or uplifting story. Visit her site and submit your motivational story.

Soul Purpose: Who did you make smile today? Every day brings a new opportunity to put your good energy out there in the universe. Don't think twice when the opportunity arises. If you read an article or a story and find it inspirational or if someone puts a smile on your face, express your sincerest thanks. Oh Happy Day :)

Dupont Circle High Heel Races aka Drag Queen Races Will Be Held Oct 30, 2007!

2007-10-23T14:29:00.000-04:00

The 2007 Dupont Circle High Heel Races aka Drag Queen Races will be held on Tuesday, October 30th, 2007, contrary to what is stated on some other websites. The High Heel Races are held on 17th St, NW between Church and Q Sts, NW and the race time starts at 9 pm. I confirmed the date of October 30th with the After Event Official Sponsor Bar, JR's Bar and Grill, Phone: 202-328-0090. They also have a recording on their voice mail that states it. Not to mention, I asked a few people from my old gayborhood who participate in the event and they confirmed that the event is on October 30th indeed. If it was today, they would have had some set up costumes :)

The race once again is on Tuesday October 30, 2007 and starts at 9 pm (and lasts all of about 12 minutes, lol) but is very well worth the trip and the wait especially if you have never been. Be advised spectators start arriving as early as 6 pm. Event is rain or shine. It is a very short walk from the Dupont Circle Metro on the Red Line. Exit on Q Street North Side. After you reach the top of the long escalator of the metro walk right with the traffic (it's a one way street) on Q St for approximately 4 blocks until you get to 17th & Q. At 17th & Q Sts look for a place to eat or grab a seat. Your best bet is to get there early and grab something to eat at one of the local restaurants or bars on the 17th Street strip. All are quite good, Trio's Fox and Hound, Hank's Oyster Bar, Annies, JR's Bar and Grill. Be sure to take a folding chair, a good book and a camera. The costumes there are fabulous from Vegas Showgirls to something completely made up :) They are all extremely creative to say the least and you are sure to find something that appeals to every personality from trailer trash to Princess Di. If you want to learn more about the history of the High Heel Races, you can watch a short little documentary here: Dupont Drag Queen Races.

Soul Purpose: I have lived in DC in the gayborhood for nearly 8 years. So for me, seeing them out in the mainstream world and doing their thing at work or play is no different than seeing any of my heterosexual friends. Of course, if I travel just outside of DC city center just a few miles it is like a culture shock and a completely different world. While the High Heel Races has somewhat lost its communal feeling, I am glad to see it keep getting bigger, because it helps to raise awareness for the gay community on a larger scale as well. We need to start donating to their event ;-) Remember that just the same as they are 'approachable' in costume, the next day at work or in the community they are still very much approachable. Say hello to them, good morning or what have you. And have respect and appreciation for them (as well as people of color, hey---can I get a shout out) as a human being first. Yes, I know for some it's so simple it's complex. That is why I made it your Soul Purpose Challenge. Part of feeling the ultimate happiness and satisfaction in life is being able to overcome ones insecurities and immaturies. So for crying out loud, just get over yourself. Ahhhh, now doesn't that feel better?

What? You're a Conservative. No worries. Everybody knows better than to 'Mess With Texas'....and their 5 gallon hats, lol.

learn. dream. share. evolve.

XOXO

Shonika

B-Lieve in Baltimore, Hon

2007-10-22T19:12:00.000-04:00

As I am NEVER home (and I am 100% cool with that), this past weekend's travels took me up north to Balt'more and the surrounding area.

Who can believe we are enjoying amazing 70 and 80 degree days here in DC and the surrounding metro area?

This weekend of course I had to take in some Cleveland Indians-Boston Redsox AL Baseball. So I watched a couple of innings with friends who are sports junkies and a few more innings in a Baltimore area watering hole and chatted with the locals so I wouldn't be too naive on the current event topics for this week :) I don't know all the details but I do know that the Boston Redsox and Colorado Rockies are going to the World Series, lol. Soul Purpose: While the Internet is a good source of real time at your disposal information, do not limit or narrow your information intake to one way information that is 'marketed' to you based on what words you punch in a search engine. Your best source of information AND inspiration usually comes from others around you. So get your butt out there and TALK and LIVE and PLAY and engage with everybody in the 'real world'. Also seek real 'hard information' from a variety of news sources such as printed newspapers, magazines, trade journals and good old fashioned face to face conversation.

I got to see Woody Lissauer one of my favorite local musicians. He was performing his last show of the season (before he heads to the recording studio) at the Fire Rock Grill in Columbia, MD, formerly The Last Chance Saloon. Woody plays the guitar and Natasha is from the former Soviet Union, she plays the violin and he also has a percussionist that plays the bongo. At the moment his name escapes me but anyway, I love them all the same. Woody sang a song in Russian and in French. I was extremely impressed. He is such a fun performer. It was his last performance of the season (hence why I had to go and support him) and now he is getting ready to go into the studio and record another CD.

While I was lucky to catch up with my high school friend Stephanie who lives in Baltimore, the main reason for going to Baltimore was to go to Cinema Sundays at the Charles Theater. How Cinema Sundays works is they show a film in the morning, you arrive a little before the film, socialize and have bagels and coffee. At around 10:30 am you watch an independent film, which actually the Charles Theater is known for, and then after the film a Special Guest who is familiar with the theme or premises of the movie moderates a 'lively & reflective' discussion and Q & A session for about half an hour or so. The movie was Lars and The Real Girl. After reading the previews I wasn't really feeling it. I was thinking that it was going to be a really hokie movie. As it turns out it was actually a sad story but presented in a light hearted way. There were just so many layers of themes and perspectives and angles (interpersonal relationships, personal and professional development, mental health, dysfunctional families, the element of play for adults, imaginary friends and many more). Essentially, I think that every one can relate to some part of the story in one way or another. As you may be able to imagine, it got written up in the Wall Street Journal AND mentioned on NPR (National Public Radio) weird huh? If it's featured on both ends of the spectrum of course you have to go see it and find out how you fit in the middle :)

The story of Lars and the Real Girl was written by a Canadian writer and produced by an Australian. Although the town is kind of generic in the film, I think the movie has to take place in 'Canada'. That concept and story would have so NOT worked anywhere in the U.S. It was a dark but very good story. And I am wondering why this underlying Canadian theme keeps surfacing in 'my world'? Over the last 6 weeks, I have made an unexpected but wonderful trip to Vancouver, attended the Digital Vidfest where I saw a great first of its kind next generation digital creative film created by a Canadian Media and Production Company, acquired a new wireless client where I am supporting a former Prime Minister of Canada and now I have just seen a movie by a Canadian Playwright. What is this message that is trying to come clearly to me, eh? I will keep my eyes and ears open.

Until next time, be sure to check out Lars and The Real Girl at a theater near you.

learn. dream. share. evolve.

Shonika

My Children, My Africa Extended Thru Nov 4, 2007

2007-10-22T18:45:00.000-04:00

Last week I saw the play My Children, My Africa, Playwright Athol Fugard, at the Studio Theater in Washington, DC. It was my first play I got to see this fall in DC.

Very heavy dialogue and fast paced but it was wonderfully written and what a great cast. You will laugh, you will cry and everything in between. It has been extended to November 4th.

The story takes place in the mid 80's and is about the apartheid movement in South Africa. An educated caucasian girl travels to the South African inner city school so to speak and participates in a debate about women's rights. She is both 'challenged' and intrigued by the African boys and the circumstances and ultimately befriends one of the African boys and his 'old school teacher'. The story evolves from there. About 1/3 of the way through I thought that I would be able to predict the flow and direction of the story but the story takes a much different twist than I thought. Such is life huh?

So if you are in DC or if the show makes it to your hometown be sure to check it out.

A great and more informative review can be found here.

Ironically and sadly a day after I saw the play, Lucky Dube, sometimes referred to as the Bob Marley of South Africa was killed during an attempted carjacking. On BBC radio they said that when the announcement was made they were receiving somewhere on average of around 30,000 text messages per minute. I think that the world was shocked and mourned his loss because of the many countries across the globe that are 'united' through the soccer community. And also South Africa just beat England in the world championship for Rugby. However, in the U.S. aside from a mention on Fox News there was little if anything stated about his death. He left behind a wife, seven children and 25 years of wonderful music.

Soul Purpose: The world's most precious natural resource is truly a rare find. As it changes by the second it is that of our time. -Shonika Proctor

Nobody's 'tomorrows' are guaranteed. Always have respect and appreciation for your time as well as others around you. We are always doing stuff, but what kind of stuff? Useless stuff that wastes time. Why work at a place you don't like? Or do things you don't like to do? Is what you are doing adding some value to the world or truly helping someone or even yourself? Think about it, are the things you do everyday helping you or hurting you? Because if you can't help yourself you can't help others ;-) and the longer you stay in that position the less hopeful and motivated you will become. What you are doing may sometimes feel uncomfortable, but there has got to come a point when it feels good or magical. Everyday you need to create and enjoy special moments with yourself and everyone around you. If you don't like your job, go get another one or go start your own company. If you are invited somewhere don't keep saying I have too much work to do, Just GO. You probably have too much work to do because you don't rest and play enough. After 5 hours of work, you lose productivity, you duplicate work and efforts, you make more mistakes and it takes you longer to do something. Our bodies are not built to go and go and go on cheap coffee and Red Bull and nor is it good for our mental health and well being. Our spirit and energy is not made for arguing and fussing and carrying on. Yes, I have a 'special person' in my life that used to cause me much drama and perhaps I caused a little drama myself :) but one day we started volunteering together and we not only saw others differently, we saw each other differently. Sometimes a little change in the 'scenery' can do a world of good. Now, everyday I laugh and smile so much because my time with him is always magical and who knows when or how our time together may end.

For more than a dozen years we both used to be workaholics which was extremely unhealthy. We worked 10, 12, 14 hour days. We never traveled together because we both could never arrange our schedules to vacation at the same time. So we started to make small changes in our lives and it took us about 3 years to get to a point where we have created 'mobile businesses'. We still don't really understand how it happened or how it works but it did. It is so weird, it's like we do less now but we make more. We both work about 5 hours a day (from wherever we are in the world) and then stop. He's conventional and I'm definitely not, so we have slightly different routines during the day but they both seem to work out ok. When I am not working I am reading, writing, volunteering, doing some kind of social activity, reflecting and the next morning I wake up energized and excited to be alive and get on with my day. So I jump on that to do list and do everything in the order that it is placed on the list . I won't go to the next thing until the thing before it is done. I start crossing things off one after the other and it feels oh so good see your productivity each day. No matter what I am in the middle of, I drop it when the 5th hour strikes and pick it up the next day. If I need help I ask for it whether it be via outsourcing or advice. Better spend a little money now and save a lot of time, than have a lot of wasted time & money along with a headache and no real progress later. And remember if your body or mind wants to go play, then let it. While you may think it is weird or uncomfortable for an adult to 'play' realize that being out in new and strange places sparks your curiosity because it is intriguing moreso than threatening. It's ok and with a good book you can always find peace even in the most 'lively' places. Trust me, it's good for the spirit and creative inspiration.

learn. dream. share. evolve.

Shonika

InPhonic Considering Bankruptcy???

2007-10-13T14:13:00.000-04:00

Well does that frickin' surprise you? If it does, it shouldn't. I worked 14 years in the industry, in 2004 selling cell phones was already out. So in early 2005, I was out. The market was getting ugly and it became increasingly difficult to compete with the local retailers, the national chains, online stores and the direct carriers. It's like we cannabolized our own market. Everybody focused so much on selling a phone a little cheaper, and then a little cheaper and then a little cheaper until they finally had to give them away for f.ree and guess what?

You Can't Run a 'Real' Business on fRee Phones
Even if you get paid commissions you can't run a business on fr.ee. First you have to pay your employees. Human capital is your greatest asset. You have to pay people and most importantly pay attention to people and then you wouldn't have to worry about $5 million accounting errors give or take a few hundred thousand dollars. If you pay someone 1/100th of your salary expect 1/100th of the competency. Second you are a lending institution for the carrier, so you pay in advance for your phones and hardware and you sit on it until it is activated (you get your commissions after the phones have been activated for 'x' months). Another issue is that new phones are constantly being released, prices are always dropping and every day you have to keep that inventory circulated and refreshed. It is certainly not a job that Hilary High School Student can do for a little over minimum wage. Given the volume of business they were doing they would need a good logistics company to spell it all out and a damn good inventory management and tracking software plus a knowledgeable person to keep it that way. Which brings me to my third point, he is a god bless-ed wireless company for crying out loud so he should have state of the art everything for a fraction of the cost :-). You know, that is the funny thing, from the smallest cell phone companies to the larger dealers that I have visited, I am just so tripped out (without even taking anything) at how nobody uses not even a few of the applications, technology or hardware available to us. I totally do not get that at all. From wireless mini pc's for mobile inventory management to RFID for tracking every darn thing in your office to biometrics scanners for entering certain secure areas. If the building is wired properly it costs next to nothing to set up these kinds of systems in regards to the amount of money, time, labor exhausted and revenues lost for just pure ineffieciency. So as Lazard is doing the restructure the first thing they should do is make sure that JOINT IS AUTOMATED, lol. Soul Purpose: Leverage technology and applications to automate otherwise time consuming tasks in your personal or professional life.

The Stock Will Raise From 50 cents a Share if it's Not a 'Bail Out'
Second, before Goldman Sachs drops any more money on them (they ARE they have 8% share and it is not going to be called debt refinancing or bail out. They have another politically correct term they use to help fledgling companies and ease consumer worry, it's called equity or cash infusion, lol) they need to think about the company, what they are selling and who their competition is. Ok don't think of this like a riddle or anything, let's just say, cell phone contracts are getting longer not shorter and eventually most people would have tried all the service providers only to discover none of them are really much better than the other. So they will be happy and just stay with what they got. And every day the market is getting more and more saturated making it more challenging to compete in that space. No cell phone companies are really offering anything different or exceptional, and you can't get much cheaper than fre.e.

Premium Customers Want Premium Services
Next issue, long gone are the days of the f.ree phone. Everybody got burned from Cellular One and Sprint on those back in the day. People actually put a lot more thought and research into phones and they pay for nice phones now...don't think so? Look at the iphone...and the BlackBerry, 'nuf said, moving on. So if the trend is now people are buying real phones for real money then common sense says the next trend will be they expect real service or premium services to go with their real phone. If InPhonic always gives phones away for f/ree or $50 then how can he grow into a premium market? It is a 'culture' and an adjustment you know? If InPhonics had to make that adjustment it's almost like they would have to build another company. That takes more $$$$ and time.

Gotta Root For the Home Team
Politics aside, love 'em or hate 'em (I know of the owner and sat next to him at a carrier event, no further comment) I have to root for the home team. If they don't make it nearly 1,000 people from this area could be put out of work and the holidays are approaching soon. The winter time is the worst time to look for employment. It would certainly be a terrible way to end the year. I hope they can hang on for a little longer.

Derron Scott, Jr. Takes a Bite Out of the Big Apple!

2007-10-10T15:54:00.000-04:00

At Left: My NFTE Student that I mentor, Derron Scott, Jr. of Rizon Esthetics, proudly wearing one of the shirts he designed and displaying his 1st Place Trophy from the 2007 Greater Washington Business Plan Competition.

Derron and I had an awesome summer! His company's revenues nearly doubled in size, we got his first profssional marketing piece designed (many thanks to Kebo Designs), I took him out for his first sushi experience (which he loved), he entered Largo High School as a Senior and our productive summer ended with a trip to the NFTE National Finals Hosted by Smith Barney at CUNY (City University of NY Graduate School) in New York City. While Derron didn't place in the Top 3 finalists, he was one of 32 finalists out of an initial pool of 20,000 youth entrepreneurs nationwide, so that is certainly something to be extremely proud of. We still have lots of projects to work on and things to do such as continue building his presence, expanding his distribution channel in local boutiques and retail stores, working on his website and further developing his upcoming marketing opportunities. He is about to release his screen print line and we are working on his Spring/Summer collection for his first limited edition release in early 2008. I will keep you posted so that you can get your advance orders submitted ;-) If you can offer any suggestions or help with any of the other aforementioned tasks please reach out to me as well. I am neither a 'proud' nor an 'omniscient' person. Even with all my enthusiasm and thousands of books I've read, I know that I still have a lot to learn.

Soul Purpose:
Have you been contemplating volunteering...like forever, lol? I am a big advocate of paying it forward. If you are a working professional, aspiring , existing or retired business owner, I would highly recommend volunteering with NFTE (an international organization). NFTE volunteers help youth entrepreneurs from economically challenged neighborhoods with a host of projects from developing business plans using a mini MBA program taken from their high school curriculum to marketing and public speaking. There are so many ways you can help and any amount of time you can give is greatly appreciated.

I especially love working with youth entrepreneurs because unlike many adult entrepreneurs they are open to everything. They have an amazing spirit, energy and drive. Give them one idea and a little perspective and they will run with it. I have tried to consult adult entrepreneurs and they are often skeptical, angry, egotistical or just self-defeating. My only success has come from working with baby boomers or older folks. I think most people call this wisdom and for many people in that age group (I am not trying to profile here) it seems they grew up with more traditional values and strong work habits. They are in a more reflective stage of their life and they more or less understand where their resources lie but are open to seeking education on how to leverage those resources. These dynamics and traits are great for entrepreneurs in the 21st century and the coming of the Creative Age. Hmmm, maybe I need to become a baby boomer small business coach ;-) But for now, I will continue working with my Youth Entrepreneurs, so that when I get up in age, I can have peace of mind that all the successful people in the world will have been mentored by me, lol. (above picture of the 2007 NFTE Finalists)

So as you reflect on that thought, in the meantime and in between time, please visit the NFTE website and locate your local NFTE Chapter to get involved today. Volunteering helps to make a big difference in someone elses life and also your own. Give to the universe and it will give back greater :-)

Love and Laughter,

Shonika

What's My House Number Again, lol?

2007-10-10T15:14:00.001-04:00

After a month of travel, I am finally back home (where I will not likely be for long before my next adventure, lol). My spirit has been rejuvenated and I am back just in time for the end of the hectic Federal Government Contracting Season :)

My September travels took me to Vancouver, British Columbia. They definitely lived up to their Motto 'Spectacular By Nature." Every place I went looked like a postcard backdrop. I visited Whistler (the big ski town), the town of Sooke, where I had a delicious 5 course meal at the Sooke Manor House Restaurant (overlooking the water) and what trip to BC would be complete without a visit to the Capital of Victoria? Photo: That's me sitting atop of the mountain in Victoria, BC after a long climb up. Of course I was complaining on the 25 minute walk uphill, but like anything in life, it's often worth it once you make it to the top.

I felt that this picture sort of captured the essence of our life purpose. There were other sayings with all of the elements: Soul Purpose: Like Earth Know Balance, Like Fire Be Alive, Like Water Be at Peace, Like Wind Fly Free. The community where this photo was taken was a houseboat community with literal 'house' boats. It was so cute, I have never seen anything like it. Once I have to sit down and go through my 4,682 pictures I will be sure to upload a few of them.

When I went to Toronto a couple of years ago (love that city) I sensed that Canadiens were into the arts and I totally dug the vibe, being a creative individual myself. But when I went to the west coast (of Canada) I sensed that creative economy even more. Everyone was very communal in the arts community and it feels great because everyone everywhere is so proud. In public venues they mention their pride about being from Canada, about things that were created in Canada and even in many of their local shops and music stores they have all the little flags that denote the things that were done by Canadian artists. So cool. At any arts event I attended while I was there I even noticed that people were proactive in making me feel engaged in what was going on. Random people would just walk up and be like 'So Whatcha Doin' or 'whatcha talkin aboat' :) It is totally how I like to be when I go to events and people don't look like they are having fun or just don't know where to begin, but I just wish there was just more of that in general. I saw a play in a cool theater in Vancouver called the Belfrey Theater. I saw the opening night of Homechild. I also got to check out digital video fest where I saw the premiere of 'Sanctuary'. It is the first high def movie that was created in CGI script converted from short webisodes into a full length made for movie, movie, lol. Got to meet the cast and the producers of the show, attended the reception and all the rest of it. Support them cause I can definitely see how they can revolutionize the movie industry and create an industry within an industry. This will give a lot of IT programming junkie types (who are losing their jobs to globalization) an opportunity to cross talents with smaller independent filmakers, good writers and other creative types and all help pioneer this new and upcoming field. The Creative Economy is evolving, you better believe it.

Apple said that they were going to sell 10,000,000 iphones

2007-09-06T15:50:00.001-04:00

but they didn't say how they were going to get there huh? :)

Yesterday, after Apple made a pseudo controversial move --- I say it is pseudo because it happens all the time when new cellular-wireless products come out and fail to continuously sell well at the first announced rate. I am not knocking Apple because they had an amazing initial run out of the gate, but you know originally the 'Motorola Razr' was advertised at $499. It quickly went to $299, $149, $99, $49 F.re.e within months....A $200 drop is a $200 drop whether it is $499 to $299 or $599 to $399. Did you see Motorola sending out any apologies or credits? Did you hear the media saying it was a controversial move? No, it was an ingenius move because it was a revolutionary LOOKING phone (with no compelling features) that surely everybody would buy. And buy they did, 50 million of them in just under 2 years and then they started losing all dem customers just like dat (oops, we won't go there).

So anyway, I have to give my hats off to Steve Jobs who very unlike ANY cellular or wireless hardware President, within 24 hours sent out a public apology and an intent to offer a 'make good alternative' for his loyal customers who felt that they were somehow not treated fairly. Although, if I've said it once, I have said it a thousand times, don't be the overly anxious tech gadget nut who is hard pressed to get the device as soon as it comes out if you are going to get mad and throw a fit when the price drops. Cellular and wireless is an extremely competitive industry and prices of hardware always go down. Anyway, in all of my years of wireless I can't say that I have ever seen where any other head of a major organization did a such thing. So kudos to you Mr. Jobs

In today's news, courtesy of CBS MarketWatch, Steve Jobs sent out an open letter to all the iphone hard core fans offering a $100 credit for iphone purchasees who essentially paid full retail price for the iphone and received no discounts, rebates, etc. The credit would be good for products purchased in a local Apple Store or Apple Store Online. They haven't released all the details yet but you can see the release and a brief overview here: http://tinyurl.com/2dbckk .

So indeed they are on a mission to sell 10,000,000 iphones, hopefully they don't have to do a Motorola Razr copycat marketing campaign and darn near give them all the way to get their subscriber count up (I guess you can tell I really love that dumb skinny phone with no compelling features--poor Motorola). Anyway, I think that Apple should have waited until post mid October to make the announcement to make it seem that it was to appeal to the Christmas crowd. But you know the funny and ironic thing--- September is the last month of the 3rd quarter AND Motorola has that newly launched Razr2 out and it retails for around $299. Which I don't think it will be very successful anyway, but they do have a 'semi-captive' audience of people who may want to upgrade so I suppose that poses a few more challenges than everyone else who is trying to team together to come up with something 'better' than the iphone. So it's like either you can pay $299 for a phone that looks just like the one they are offering for f.ree but with improved audio quality, lol, or pay $100 more for something that 'looks' different than everything else currently on the market (aside from a 'smart' screen I just cannot see how an iphone is soooo much greater than some of the other high end phones/pda's on the market). But if you had to choose between a Motorola Razr2 and an iPhone and the difference was only 100 bucks which would you choose? Exactly....the Razr 2 it appears will go.....quietly.

I wonder if the iphone price drop is actually aimed at balancing out Apple's 2nd quarter numbers so that it at least matches the number of iphones sold in the first week? Because you know that would look pretty bad if the number of iphone sales for 3 months were less than the number of sales for 1 week. Even with the price drop...I don't think it's going to help much. Don't believe the hype ok?

At this time product credits for accessories and such would be the easiest way to satisfy the masses without breaking the bank and royally screwing up their financial numbers because as you very well know accessories have an unbelievable markup and the credit will have an expiration date. Of course some users are not even going to redeem the $100 credit (although I think that number will be relatively small) and people who are buying the device at the $399 rate are less likely to wait to see if the price drops again because they may feel that there would be some kind of incentive if that was to happen. So very ingenious recovery there. Only from the minds of Apple-huh? Needless to say- I hope they 'make it' in the cellular space. I want to see other non traditional 'cellular-wireless' players thrive in that space so they can bring some truly innovative products and applications to the market.

Anyway, let's continue this little convo after 3rd quarter numbers and speculative news articles are released.

Until next time.

Shonika

New Nokia Services, Gadgets Aim at Apple...

2007-08-30T16:57:00.000-04:00

I beat them to the punch by 1 week...how about that?!

See my post dated 8/22/07, then read this article.

http://www.examiner.com/a-906526~New_Nokia_Services__Gadgets_Aim_at_Apple.html

Bye Golly, I just might be on to something here ;-)

Love and Laughter,

Shonika

Speaking in Native Tongue, 5 Ways to Help Confused Cell Phone Customers

2007-08-24T11:59:00.000-04:00

written by: Shonika Proctor

Want to educate cell phone consumers about the wireless industry? Then learn a new language…Theirs!

‘O wretched countrymen! What fury reigns? What more than madness has possess'd your brains? Like the poor unsuspecting Trojans as the Greek’s executed a surprise attack from the ‘Trojan Horse’, I sometimes feel in a stupor after reading just the first few paragraphs of an article from one of my respective industry publications that is trying to provide help for cell phone customers. Even after more than a dozen years in the wireless industry, it takes me a few minutes of reading the article to get my brain in gear and start translating acronyms and trying to connect thoughts, multi generations of cell phones, wireless services, incompatible cell phone provider networks….sigh, breathe deep…. emerging wireless technologies, concepts and realities. Scary enough most of these articles appear to be targeted towards the average cell phone consumer. I often wonder how complicated it must be for the cell phone end user to read through this techno babble and figure out how it applies to them and what they are trying to accomplish. It certainly gives new meaning to the term ‘creative interpretation.’

Soul Purpose: Too often we wireless and cell phone industry professionals spend too much time in ‘work mode’ and do not learn how to ‘disconnect’ ourselves. As a result every time we are in social and personal non- work related environments we start transitioning into tech talk. Initially we are using a few acronyms and referencing a few wireless products by name, then the next thing you know we’re moving at full blown speeds, talking cell phone carriers, the latest wireless gadgets and spectrum bidding. Our interpretation of describing an acronym is usually saying what it ‘spells out’ or describing the wireless product or service by using more technical terms like The Motorola Q is the name of the Blackberry like, Palm like, Pocket PC like, Razr phone like handheld with Bluetooth, a mini SD Card drive and 1.3 megapixel camera sold on the Verizon network. Yeah well, tell me something I don’t know and can’t easily find on a search engine, like how to set up and use the darn thing?

This wireless non sense tech babble infiltrates our mind, our personalities and ultimately our existence and then the next thing you know it is set up in our mental default language. The big problem is when we are speaking or educating others we have to remember that the wireless and cellular industry has not been nice to them as far as providing industry specific information in a sensible format. Log on to every major news and media publication and you will find wireless hiding somewhere under technology or maybe IT or maybe mobile computing. Surprisingly not even the wireless providers or vendors have worked to get wireless into its own ‘category’. Essentially, we are still an orphan in the public eye. I can understand from the days of the digital pager where we didn’t have much going on beyond a few major wireless vendors and a pretty similar product but over 8 years, wireless has emerged as its own beast and unfortunately we have little real documented history on the emergence on the wireless industry, aside from industry trend reports and articles written as subtle advertisements. So the consumer does not know where to begin when they are searching for wireless and how it works overall.

There are so many elements and niches upon niches of wireless that it is hard to know where it began or where it is going. Then there is the hype and talk about the convergence of developing and emerging future technologies which still have to be tested and approved before they are actually integrated into our current technologies. Yet, these technologies are promoted and advertised ‘as the next best thing’ leaving consumers confused and believing that they are behind the curve. So they go to their local retail store to learn that nobody has a darn clue what on Earth they are talking about, making the whole situation even more confusing and frustrating than it already was. So in order for the wireless industry to evolve and improve its communication and the way it disseminates information to the average consumer we need to consider the following:

1. Realize there are two types of wireless consumers: Technical and non-technical. We need to be able to provide the same information to both groups in their ‘respective language’.

2. Go beyond wireless: Write in terms that people can connect with, even if you have to go outside of the wireless industry to make an analogy.

3. Think of the way it was, the way it is and the way it is going. With so many generations of wireless technologies and so many idiosyncrasies specific to the industry, consumers need to have some reference for a starting point. If they cannot understand the way it was, then they cannot see how a specific wireless technology has improved or advanced or even its relevancy.

4. Solve a problem first. Address a common consumer problem or misnomer. Try writing or drawing pictures or coming up with practical everyday analogies to address the problem without using wireless tech babble.

5. If 1 through 4 don’t work, try writing for your audience and not yourself.

©2006, Group Interactive, Inc. Want to use this article on your blog or in your ezine? You can, as long as you include this unaltered blurb: Shonika Proctor is the New ‘IT’ Girl and a 14 wireless year veteran. Her company provides tips, tools and products that help confused and techo-phobic cellular users and administrators to overcome their most challenging wireless frustrations, http://www.cell-phone-account-help.com/

Verizon Wireless, Real Networks and MTV Collaborate to Rival iphone

2007-08-22T00:25:00.000-04:00

Well other than it is completely retarded to waste energy, time, money, human resources, all of the above, trying to make an iphone knockoff product here in the states when there are so many other entities within the wireless industry that could benefit from the financial resources, by the time they get the damn prototype done there will be like 93 other ones out. Then Google or AOL/Time Warner or whomever we are not expecting will come creeping up right behind them like a ninja and take everybody by surprise with some crazy Jackie Chan type stunts that will be considered the new 'greatest thing ever'. I mean if you got money to play with-for starters hire a company to simplify your frickin' billing statements for crying out loud.

I mean really, Apple obviously has the branding thing down not to mention the customer loyalty. When in the history of cell phones has any company ever introduced a product that built so much hype and people actually waited in line for it...all over the country...for days?!

Yeah, yeah, Motorola sold 50 million Razr phones in less than 2 years, but nobody waited in line and besides they lost all their customers because they soon realized they were carrying a 'dumb' skinny phone, in pink, lol, with NOOOOO compelling features. 50 million users from all over the world and no way to capture their information and solicit them for repeat business.. Vanished...just like that. They are geniuses, I tell you. More on that later....

Anyway, if anything, the only company that I can see capitalizing off an iphone 'knockoff' is Nokia...especially if they brand it and try to capture the European market. I mean HELL-O, they own Loud Eye, whom they acquired sometime in the Fall of 2006 if I recall correctly. That means they don't even have to do a joint venture to integrate the music player. All profit, f.r.e.e and clear. While LOUD was never really big in the states they had strong presence in Europe. And since Nokia obviously has a massively huge captive audience there, one would think that they could create and do really well with what would be the European iphone equivalent, duh. It just makes sense....common sense at that :)

So it's yet another thing to add to my it's so simple that it's complex list....

Nokia needs to create some kick butt slick be all end all phone-pda-music like whatchamajig integrated player with Loud for the European market and sell it for $1299 like they normally do their one-of-a-kind gizmos, know what I'm sayin' yo?

I mean c'mon now-- If Bo'quisha ;-) from Southern MD can sit here all day and think of a million and one marketing ideas tell me what do all the egos working in the Senior Management Level in these companies get paid for? Yeah....I couldn't think of anything either, lol.

Until next time...Love and Laughter

Helping Maryland Public Television and Elvis!

2007-08-13T18:16:00.001-04:00

Night of 100 Elvises Stage Manager, 'PT' and VIP Hostess, Shonika Proctor, stop for a moment to 'strike a pose' and pay tribute to The King, thank yah', thank yah' very much, lol

As August 16th 2007 marks the 30 Year Anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, Maryland Public Television aired a feature presentation and callers made pledges to receive an assortment of Elvis' CD, DVD's and other creative memorabilia. Soul Purpose: The phone bank was manned by (20) Night of 100 Elvis volunteers. We worked for approximately 4.5 hours taking pledges and entering orders and 'watching' the special as it was being aired live. Night of 100 Elvises also donated 20 pairs of tickets to be entered in a sweepstakes drawing for all callers who made pledges. Thank you to Victoria and the hospitable crew at Maryland Public Television who served us all The King's favorite foods and snacks and made the time pass quickly.

The 14th Night of 100 Elvises is:
Friday, November 30th & Saturday, December 1st 2007
Time: 7pm to 2am
Lithuanian Hall
851-3 Hollins Street
Baltimore , Maryland 21201

Hope to see you there....it's truly a lot of fun :)

Sprint's "Pivot"....OMG---It is soooo 2003 :)

2007-08-03T21:13:00.000-04:00

Hmmm, I think it was the summer of 2003 when I started following this little company called Calypso Wireless (CLYW.PK)...I started acquiring a crapload of their stock in the fall 2003 vowing that I would retire off it when cellular evolved to wi-max. But those poor little guys were just too far ahead of their time ;-) Everyone in the industry thought I was insane...especially those folks at the former Nextel Communications (now Sprint 'King of the Wi-Max' spectrum)...oh the irony right?!?

It was all the way back then (pre mainstream blogging, podcasting, you tube, et al) when I was talking to Sprint and T-Mobile employees about the first Calypso handset that could transmit seamlessly between cellular and wi-fi. What was over the top was the data download speed even during its infantile stage it was 200x faster than the fastest cellular data transmission speeds we had at that time. Jesus, Joseph and Mary, was that blazing fast or what? And not surprisingly the company sold and distributed handsets in Europe and Asia but had no distributors in the states even though they were based right here in the good ol' U.S. of A. Miami Lakes, FL to be exact. I know that back in 2003-2004 timeframe T-Mobile U.S.A. was testing them but who knows whatever became of that grand experiment. That was when I told dem dair wireless sales folks and managers that a revolution is a comin'. We gon' have cellular, internet, cable and wi-fi all managed and billed by one provider. Naaah, they said. That's some crazy talk.

No, no, I said. Crazy talk is Motorola's short range network. They have this system (that I was sure they would focus on after they had exhausted all of their money in the then defunct and raggedy 'Iridium' network), it's like this network that will be used in a campus type environment and perhaps in urban areas. Essentially what is going to happen is when you are at your office or in the city, you will not be roaming on a cellular network, you will be roaming on a short range wireless network, then when you go to outlying areas you will automatically switch over to the cellular network again. Yeah, yeah, exactly like you did with digital/analog. So how are we going to make money was the million dollar question?

Uhhh, well, good question, maybe Motorola will charge like a penny per usage or something? I was constantly coming up with these ideas with my then boss. So I essentially hadn't thought that far out.

So I wrote this article and published it last year September 2006 on the same concept as Pivot:
http://ezinearticles.com/?AOL-Mobile?-Can-AOL-Time-Warner-Become-the-Next-Major-Wireless-Carrier?&id=311502

If you don't know what Pivot is have a look at Sprint's Official Press Release:
http://www2.sprint.com/mr/news_dtl.do?id=15840

Let me tell you what is so twisted about this...That darn Sprint-Nextel really threw me for a loop. I already knew that Nextel was 'doomed' in 2000, so I had already began marketing my clients tri-band GSM handsets so that they wouldn't be 'landlocked' :) Yeah, remember after the i2000+ Nextel was done for the most part with their international phone? So after Sprint bought Nextel (merged, I don't know, whatever the politically correct term is) I told my friend at Nextel, I think that Time Warner is going to spin off AOL and AOL is going to acquire Sprint's constantly dwindling customer base. And what do you know? That fall Sprint started bidding on the spectrum and focusing on their Wi-Max and partnering with the cable providers. So I was like well lookie lookie.

So my friend was like, well I don't know about that, but what is going to happen to the IDEN network. I said, it is going to go back to what it originally was "A dedicated public sector national network". It will be for use only by the Federal Government. As it turns out GSA was looking to get a national provider to do all their wireless support and other government agencies were considering completely outsourcing everything, so I figured, they mine as well just get their own MVNO or dedicated network and it was likely that they could get the IDEN network for a sweet deal and work with a company like Twisted Pair in Canada to help them build out a complete smokin' interoperability network. And low and behold if in the summer of 2007 that darn General Dynamics didn't get awarded a $10B (...b for banging--you know, right?) contract to build a new network for DOJ or some sh%$. Insane in the membrane. Let's just hope it's compatible (forward and backwards...with something)...uhhh [no further comment].

FCC Open Access Ruling....Perhaps Google Has Won the Battle...

2007-08-01T21:38:00.000-04:00

But I think that Verizon will win the war.

Our preferences are different, we knew from the start
Yet we continue to fight for things dear to our heart
One gets what they want, the other leaves mad
But neither of us are satisfied and both a little sad
It brings out the worse and makes us lose our minds
The relationship will dissipate it’s just a matter of time

So the next time you both have your eye on the prize
Take one step back and try to compromise
After all, what’s the worse that could happen in the end?
Both of you lose and both of you win.

People call it a partial victory for Google, but it is a greater victory for Verizon (as in the aftermath of this battle they stand to gain yet another fully constructed 'state of the art' network for pennies on the dollar).

For lack of a better term, let's call the FCC ruling a 'political compromise'. It did not put the technology at hand nor the consumer's best interest first.

Essentially the rule will allow customers to use any phone and software they want on networks using about one-third of the spectrum auctioned.

Note: The FCC did NOT approve a provision that would have required the winner of the auction to sell access to its network on a wholesale basis to other companies.

Translation: Google and/or whomever can pay a crapload of money to buy their spectrum and build out their state of the art 'do all, be all' network and perhaps their products and services will have a short little run out the gate and become 'popular' in the beginning because its 'something new'. All the while everybody has free reign to use whatever device and software they want and ultimately that one-third of dedicated 'free range' spectrum gets filled up with fat hormone induced cows... just like that.

In the meantime, the ever so creative and forward thinking Google staff thinks of a million ways they can create even more products, services, concepts and the like to generate positive cash flow...however the issue becomes at some point they will either cap out the number of people they can optimally support on their one-third of the network at any given moment and/or that one-third of the spectrum means either really great coverage in one region of the U.S. i.e. Google Land or sort of intermittent coverage all over the place.

And for their customers to get the optimal browsing and coverage experience they would have to go to Verizon or one of the big 4 (who all have to go to Verizon anyway, lol) or whomever and ask can our customers 'roam' on your network and Verizon will either respond 'NO' or Yes but with these conditions and associated non-negotiable fees since you wanted to play hardball with us in the beginning, so *sorry* but you are basically screwed either way. Didn't we tell you mobile rookies to stay and play coach-pitch for another few years.

Then Google will say well we don't want to pay all those fees because there is no way we can make money with that model, so what's the point if our customer's can't utilize those specific types of services and it will consume alot of our resources to do that. Google goes back to the drawing board and every idea or solution they come up with is rejected or has to go to court. And over time they realize innovation will never win and thus they cannot move forward. So then their focus and resources is spent fighting court battles and not so much marketing and they are continually exhausting more resources and losing money. Finally they decide that it's really not worth it. So ultimately they have to get rid of the network that they have invested so much money in as they don't want to 'lose everything'. Realizing that the true value is in the infrastructure, Verizon conveniently and quietly acquires the network for mere pennies on the dollar. They of course intentionally fail to maintain it or upgrade it but all of the wireless customers continue to pay out of the nose until like 2012 when the next great wireless concept company comes along.... all i can say is if you want to battle it out with Verizon, history belongs to those who write it [so read between the lines--lol---see MobileComm in the paging industry of the very early 1990's, too many dotcom busts to name in the mid 1990's].

it's like damned if you do....damned if you don't. But I have to say- I really admire Google's chutzpah for putting themselves out there like that. You go Goo' :)

...and to think, everybody bought Google stock.

NIM'VW'BY!

Oh BABY!

2007-07-22T13:19:00.001-04:00

Tina's gal pal Dana made this watermelon carriage...she said it was easier than carving a pumpkin.

It was invasion of the Czech's this summer as I hosted Bara and Danuse for *several* weeks and Helena is having a baby Czech-homey next month, lol. And many, many thanks to my childhood friend Sherry and her boyfriend Troy, for hosting them for a couple of days while they were on travel in Miami, FL...appreciate it so very much :)

me and the mom to be...i'm sure you can guess who's who!

Tina aka T2, aunt to be, creative artiste and event planner extraordinaire did an excellent job planning the shower and I so loved the handmade invitations, they were very very cool. How did I ever get so lucky to have so many super creative friends?!?!?

Me and Tina, the hostess with the mostest...she's so sweet.

the gift table full of lots of cute bags and gift wrapped packages

Tina, in my only 'natural pose' picture I could capture for the evening, lol

Helena's dad and sister were visiting from the Czech Republic so it made the event extra special.

Helena, Reka, Helena's Lil' Sis and Helena's Dad after perhaps 4.5 straight hours of alternating between Jim Beam and shots of Absyneth (sp?)...that nasty green alchohol from Czech Republic that they use to make the Incredible Hulk drink...ewww disgusting.

Better Come A Knockin'....

2007-07-22T12:57:00.000-04:00

When you hear Eastport's A Rockin...

Eastport A Rockin' (which just celebrated its 11'th year) is the Annual Music Festival, founded by my friend James Borchelt 11 years ago....of course :) He wanted to combine his love of music, his community and a charitable interest. So he came up with Eastport A Rockin', which features 1 day of Annapolis' (MD) best local artists. To be exact, 27 bands on 3 stages (all playing pro bono) and all the money raised from the event goes to the Anne Arundel County Sexual Assault Crisis Center and The Eastport Maritime Museum.

Me, EAR Founder, James Borchelt and Karen Early Bird :)

The event is held at Back Creek on the Maritime Republic of Eastport. This small community lies on a peninsula and is about a 10 minute walk from historic downtown Annapolis, MD. I have been involved with the event for many years in some aspect, but it has only been within the last 5 or 6 years that it became 'formalized'. I am the volunteer coordinator and it takes approximately 125 volunteers (general and band assistance) to successfully run the one day event. I recruit, staff and manage the volunteers who work in the days leading up to the event and on the day of. The event is like a block party spanning 2 blocks of 2nd Street in Eastport Annapolis, MD but over the course of the day we end up catering to around 3,500 festival attendees.

J World Acoustic Stage (the only place at the event you can find a seat and hear yourself think)

This year we did a Spinal Tap theme....'This one goes to eleven'....to keep the interest on the up and up since last year we celebrated our historic and monumental 10th year. On the back of my volunteer t-shirts it read: Put it up to eleven. It was very cool. Anyway, if you live in DC Metro area put it on the calendar. It comes once a year, the last Saturday in June. And email me if you want to volunteer :) thesocialplanner(at) aol.com I keep a good volunteer list since I organize and participate in so many things all year around, so yes, I will remember to contact you next year.

It was late in the day...I don't know who that guy is...just said he really wanted to take a picture with me...and I agreed. Either I am a really good sport or we both had too much to drink at that point...or maybe both ;-)

Parrilla Wedding 2007

2007-07-22T12:37:00.000-04:00

In English y en espanol...very cool.

Terri, my black lawyer friend, lol, don't ask why I always have to describe her like that to everyone. I think that when I am talking about Terri (which I do quite a bit) everybody always thinks that I am talking about a 'he' or they are always like Terri who? Well I talk to so many people all the time, everyday, I am not sure who has actually met Terri vs. who I tell about Terri (which is quite a lot of people). Terri often comes up in conversation because she is a true adventure seeker and all around fun and interesting hip chic. She is on two extreme ends of the spectrum in everything she does and with everyone she comes in contact with, much like myself hence why I always end up using her name in conversation. Although I am not as hard core as her with bunji jumping, parachuting and all the other extreme adventures she has tried..but I am living life to the fullest no doubt!!! So everyone I have introduced her to always remembers her as my lawyer friend, which I have quite a few of those, so I just call her my black lawyer friend, because I don't have so many of those.

Anyway, Terri got married to Gabi, 2 r's in terri and gabi with 1 i and 1 b, I am learning...and Gabi is from Puerto Rico and his family came up from Puerto Rico for the wedding. Not all of them speak English so the ceremony was partly in Spanish. That was a first for me. It was an outdoor wedding at the Navy Yard, and even though it was the middle of July, it was a gorgeous day. We had a nice breeze, temps in the mid 80's and it wasn't too humid. It was so not like Washington in the summer but it was great. The food was really good and Gabi's best man gave an outstanding toast, followed by a slideshow compiled from assorted photos from when they were young to present day..it was very cute. I didn't know many people there but I did a little networking nevertheless. And being the busybody I am, I found a good job for me that helped me meet everyone a lot easier....I got the guestbook and walked it to every table and made sure everyone signed it. So then I got to meet everybody...just about :)

Biking in Berlin, MD

2007-07-22T12:18:00.000-04:00

a hand crafted lighthouse mailbox

Although I grew up in the state of Maryland it wasn't until recent years that I have actually had time to truly explore it. I think most everyone in MD has probably had the opportunity to go to 'Ocean City' for a family vacation or two, but probably few have had the opportunity to slow down and stop and enjoy the timeless beauty that the Eastern Shore has to offer. Note: I grew up in Southern MD and it is quite beautiful as well.

unpacking the Jamison Earth cruisers off the little Earth Cruiser :)

My most recent adventure took me and my Jamison Cruiser bicycle to Berlin, MD. I toured the small town and neighborhoods, checked out a photo exhibit and enjoyed a great lunch at the Globe Restaurant (a former theater house). It was waaay cool. I have also toured a bit of Delaware this summer as well, biking along the bay, in Lewes and Rehoboth....very picturesque once you get off the main roads and into some of the huge tree lined neighborhoods and waterfront communities. And the people are all so easy going and super nice. The fresh air, the serenity of being by the water and much free time to reflect...I love it!

downtown Berlin, MD...very cute!

Henderson Wedding 2007

2007-07-22T11:55:00.001-04:00

My cousin's event planning company, Rouge Events planned the wedding. It was an outdoor wedding and even though the weather had been crazy on days leading up to the big day, luckily the weather was good...It eventually rained later on that evening as we were leaving the reception. But everybody was probably too toasted at that point to know the difference ;-)

Jonathan did the flowers above and below....Jonathan is so cool.

Maria and Portia decorated the cake...and the cake table!

And they all worked on the overall theme and layout. Doesn't it look summery and edible :) ?

My sister was a bridesmaid, my brother a groomsman and my nephew had to run down the aisle with a bell saying the bride is coming, the bride is coming :)...talk about keeping it all in the family. It was a lot of fun. The groom, Reginald Henderson is our back in the day neighborhood friend and very close friend of my brother. The bride, Shoniya Williams (now Henderson) is my sisters best friend.

Trip to Los Angeles

2007-07-22T11:12:00.000-04:00

(Accomplished Musicians, Dave Delhomme and George Shelby pose with up and coming musician Kyle Arita during Sunday Brunch at i Cujini Restaurant in Santa Monica)

Our annual trip to LA and 'Orange County' brought the summer of Kyle :) Kyle is our friends eldest child and he is counting down his last year of high school. Kyle is so humble, extremely well mannered and down to earth...he is definitely one of my favorite teenagers, lol.

Kyle had lots to celebrate this summer as Patrick and I sponsored his trip to Japan. He went at the end of June for 2 weeks. Kyle's dad is half Japanese and half Hawaiian so the trip definitely provided a sentimental experience for Kyle. He is also the Vice President of his high school's Japanese club and a very talented saxaphonist. He plays a vintage 'Martin' Saxophone as he loves the sounds of Big Band and Be Bop from the 40's and 50's. This year he was selected to represent his school district for Boys State and he also got completed his Eagle Scout Certification. Additionally, he has taken karate since the age of 8....he is indeed a wonderful and very special young man.

In the upcoming year we are very excited to learn what lucky university will be able to claim him as one of their own ;-)

We also celebrated my 35th (yikes) birthday while in California. I was lucky to catch up with my friends and co-founders of Flipswap.com We spent the afternoon at Hermosa Beach, playing beach volleyball, beach bocci and just chilling and have fun in general.

Beach Bocci...whoever thought it could be so competitive?

Everybody taking a break and enjoying the nice cool ocean breeze.

2 weddings, a baby shower, hosting guests from abroad...

2007-07-22T10:38:00.000-04:00

mentoring youth entrepreneurs (plural, lol), house being filmed for Designing Spaces TV, annual trip to Los Angeles, served as the volunteer coordinator once again for the 11th Annual Eastport A Rockin' Charitable Music Festival which btw had its most successful year ever, getting ready to volunteer again at Legg Mason Tennis Classic, followed by the BIG Regatta to Benefit Kids Set Sail, then volunteering on the acoustic stage for MD Seafood Festival. And can you believe I still managed to write, catch up on my reading, go to the beach several long weekends...and work?!

So how is your summer going? :)

I have done too many things over the last 6 weeks to include in one post so while I have a little *downtime* this afternoon, I am going to post them all today, but in separate entries...fair enough? :)

i phone insanity...i waited in line...

2007-07-03T19:35:00.000-04:00

(left, the ginormous iphone in the display window of the Apple Store.)

I waited in line for !!!!HOURS!!!....For $$$ PAY $$$...of course :) ...via request from one of my clients who was out of the country and was afraid that the local stores would be sold out by the time he returned a week later.

First off, I would not pay $599 for a newly introduced cell phone, smart phone or pda of any kind. Not even if it offered the 'real' internet...never mind browsing on circa 1997 dial up speeds. And secondly, I would certainly not wait in line 88 hours let alone 8 hours for a smartphone. Especially being that I have had my ipod for over 3 years and I have about a grand total of 55 songs in there and it is not even like I am paying for my songs. I have an itunes gift card I got with the thing with about a gazillion dollars still left on it. But for a very nice paycheck, like I am sure many of the people who waited in line for several days was receiving, the wait for an iphone was very well 'worth' it :)

I waited in line at a store just a few miles outside of Washington, DC which was nothing like the lines I saw that were at their flagship stores. Although they did tell us that the first people arrived there at 9 pm the night before the phone was was scheduled to go on sale. Can't say that the cellular phone industry has ever seen or experienced anything like this before with the launch of a new phone or PDA. In all of my years in cellular and wireless I can't remember anybody so anxious to buy a new product, for $499+ at that. I used to recall people who would walk into my store and asked if we had the blankety blank in stock (months before it was due to come out). I always thought they were paid by the PR company to come in to build pre-launch hype so that we would start promoting it and stocking it in advance.

I was lucky that I got there early and could see the beginning of the line from where I was.

I must say however, that the anticipation of the iphone (even the waiting in line portion) was much more exciting than the moments in the store after the doors had opened. I was standing in line next to some very nice and friendly people who were all 'truly waiting in line' for something for the first time in their lives. Throughout the line, there was the whole communal thing going on where people were sharing food/snacks, drinks, general conversation, books. The girl next to me in line started reading War and Peace, lol.

Every hour someone from Apple would come out and offer us bottles of 'smart water' and then the Starbucks people would give out frappucino shots and the red bull girls would give out ---red bull... of course. And then about 30 minutes prior to the launch about 10 or so Apple employees people came out and started getting everyone to form a real line, the media people started walking and filming and interviewing random people in the line and everybody was cheering and giving high fives. Then 30 seconds prior to the launch they were counting down and me and all the people in line around me were yelling Happy Iphone Day, lol.

As we were walking towards the store, I was thinking to myself they closed their store for 4 hours to prepare for the launch-- I wonder what they did inside. Will they have snacks and drinks with an apple theme or will they have feeds playing from all the other stores and will they be showing people around the states at iphone launch time and doing interviews on apple tv? Maybe they will make a surprise announcement and have Steve Jobs come on the 'big big iphone screen' and say thank you for waiting in line to purchase an iphone and say we are making history together or something corny like that and then they would announce that they are launching an Apple MVNO and that all the handhelds would be active on the Apple Network and you can do something really really super super cool that wasn't previously announced. But nope, none of that happened. We walked into the store in small groups of 15 people or so and when we went in there was the rope line like we were in a nightclub about to get frisked and our hand stamped. There were two sets of cash registers on either side of the store and some posters that had been hung. And most of the employees were there for crowd control and to yell that you can sign up for ipod workshops. yay. that was it. And no snacks...

left, my 'iphone line neighborhood' moments before our purchase! They were all super nice and chatting with them made the time go by fast.

But what I do like about the iphone that has cometh is that it definitely has ruffled the feathers of the manufacturers and the industry as a whole and I think we are really going to see some concept phones and collective thinking from industry thought leaders. I am not really anti- Apple or anti-anything for that matter, so I don't think they should try to do something to go against Apple. But I do think they should do something that encourages them to seek feedback from the people whose opinion matters most...which is their customers. When they stop focusing on growth based strictly on net activations is when the wireless industry can truly evolve. I have been saying that since the spring of 2003 and nobody listens to me in the industry and takes me seriously (but RIM) so such is life.

At any rate, in the end, even though Apple is so not going to sell 10 million iphones because everyone will have a copycat at half the price by that time, I certainly hope that everything works out amicably for everyone involved.

Derron Scott Jr., Rizon Esthetics, NFTE 2007 Business Plan Winner

2007-05-20T15:31:00.000-04:00

(left, Derron Scott, Jr. and his mentor/business coach/media consultant, lol, Shonika Proctor)

As a dedicated NFTE year round mentor and volunteer, I am proud to announce that I have mentored 2 out of the last 3 NFTE Youth Entrepreneur 1st Place Winners in the Business Plan Competition.

My 2006 business plan competition winner was Aaron Sacks, CEO of Your On Deck Cards. When I first met Aaron he was super shy, but he went on to win 1st place in the competition, followed by a feature on Fox Channel 5 morning news. Less than one year later (March 2007) he was featured in the Washington Post Metro section where he grossed over 10k in just one month of sales, selling customized decks of playing cards. And to think, he is still in high school!!! LOL.

Derron Scott, Jr. is my 2007 NFTE Business Plan Winner. This is a very personal and touching story that makes me especially proud because he lives in a county in the state of MD (where I grew up) that is often 'profiled' and portrayed very negatively in our local media. There is a bit of violence there and the school system struggles at time with recruiting teachers and the community struggles with opening new businesses but things are slowly improving. Thanks to positive role models like Derron. He is really doing it up and serving as an inspiration on a greater level, not only for himself and his family, but also for his fellow peers and his community. I am so happy with and for him.

Derron is a 16 year old CEO who has successfully run his own t-shirt design business for the past 4 years. His company is Rizon Esthetics, 'Where Everyone Wants What No One Has'. It has evolved to a clothing line and image consulting boutique. Derron hand designs aesthetically pleasing abstract art on apparel and sneakers. His apparel is all limited edition and is sold in select stores in the DC Metro area. He has been commissioned to do custom work at the corporate level, for Sure Click Promotions,named one of the fastest growing technology firms in North America by Deloitte & Touche. He has also been commissioned by members of an Argentian Soccer Team to custom design their club's shoes. He has some niche and forward marketing concepts as well sas his T-Shirt of the Month Club and his Fashion Social Networking Parties.

This year in our mentoring sessions we will continue to work on building his brand, getting his website up and running, making some media appearances and making sure he graduates from 12th grade in 2008 :) I am looking forward to an exciting year with him full of opportunity and will keep you updated on his progress. To see what he is up to in the future or if you have some projects that you want to collaborate on, be sure to reach out to me by signing up for my monthly blog updates (upper left hand corner of this blog) or email directly at sproctor(at) groupinteractive.net with the subject: "Rizon". Thanks in advance for your support.

Here is a link from the highlights of our * special day *:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=962030166111078284

The 6 Worst Domain Names EVER! (What were they thinking????)

2007-04-20T18:19:00.000-04:00

Choose your domain name carefully. Sometimes when you add two or more words together without spaces, you can unintentionally change the meaning and end up in a very embarrassing situation. Here are six real-life examples of good names gone bad…

"Who Represents?", a database of agencies for the rich and famous http://www.whorepresents.com

Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views http://www.expertsexchange.com

Pen Island, a pen retailer http://www.penisland.net

Therapist Finder, a directory of counselors http://www.therapistfinder.com

PowerGen Italia, a power utility company in Italy http://www.powergenitalia.com

The Mole Station Native Nursery, an Australian plant nursery http://www.molestationnursery.com/(Note that this now redirects to a better domain)

You’d think these companies would realize their mistake and change their domain names, right? WRONG! All of these web sites (except one, expertsexchange.com) are up and running today. There's a lesson here for web marketers... Make sure you read and re-read your domain name, and get a second opinion!

© Copyright Jamila White. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Jamila White, "The E-Commerce Diva™", helps small business owners attract new customers and sell more products on the Web. Get her free “Sell More Online” newsletter at http://www.ecommercediva.com/newsletter.html.

The 7 Traits of an Exceptional & Successful Entrepreneur

2007-04-10T15:16:00.000-04:00

How often have you either referred to or considered the expression, “Success is a journey and not a Destination?” Probably many times, yet often being in a hurry to get there, we forget that success is not an end unto itself, but is instead an ongoing process.

Though some people seem to have the Midas touch and easily turn everything to gold, most of us have to give our endeavors lots of time, effort and the sweat of our brow before seeing things come to fruition. The simple truth is that the majority of us are simply not born leaders, but become leaders by who we are and the actions we take. Consequently, whether or not you’re an established entrepreneur or just starting out on your journey, there are particular traits you’ll usually find operating within the exceptional entrepreneur. In fact there are 7 particular traits you’ll generally discover deeply embedded within the exceptional and successful businessperson.

If you’ve already taken the plunge as an entrepreneur, you know that it takes a great deal of planning, development and strategic marketing to succeed. At any given time, there are changes to be considered and new directions to examine. In which case, whether you’re the CEO, CFO, Chief Marketer or Chief Solutions Officer of your company, your journey to success is probably full of trials and tribulations.
To support you in your journey to success, be willing to open your mind and sense of reasoning as you consider whether these traits are part of your driving force. If they are not yet ingrained within you, I recommend that you give them some thought.

THE 7 TRAITS TO SUCCESS

1) Successful Entrepreneurs Gain the Respect of their Peers One of the first and most obvious characteristics you’ll see operating in an exceptional entrepreneur is an equitable and unbiased disposition . Plain and simple the successful entrepreneur recognizes that no one is above or below. With an attitude of respect for others, the successful entrepreneur gains the respect from everyone they encounter. Strategies, attitudes and methods filter down to each person and reflect on all actions and activities. A successful entrepreneur gives everyone the space to be great. No matter how effective or beneficial your expertise, becoming a successful entrepreneur requires building up of your character muscles, traits and habits, which correspondingly make your dreams a reality.

2) Successful Entrepreneurs Believe and Trust in Themselves
The savvy entrepreneur is good at trusting his or her own ideas and instincts. Starting out as an entrepreneur requires persistence, determination and a high level of self-discipline. Continuing as a successful entrepreneur requires even more persistence, determination and self-discipline. The wise and successful entrepreneur knows this and works hard atdeveloping their level of confidence. If you have a strong code of ethics and believe in yourself, then your ideas can work. Having the desire and passion are the first steps on your journey; getting there requires believing in yourself.

3) Successful Entrepreneurs Follow a Plan
The successful entrepreneur follows a plan. Haphazard or trial and error have no place for the triumphant entrepreneur, for no one gets to his or her destination without a map or a guide to follow. That doesn’t mean you won’t go off course if another road seems better, but it’s still more effective to have a plan in place. Most successful entrepreneurs start out by writing a basic business plan that acts as the impetus and guide for their endeavors. It doesn’t have to be fancy or lengthy but it should include marketing strategies, goals, intentions, ideas and why you can do better than your competition. A business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically for each new idea stirs and inspires other ideas.

4) Successful Entrepreneurs Think Creatively
Successful entrepreneurs are not afraid of thinking creatively. Whether a business idea has already been tried makes no difference to the exceptional entrepreneur. He or she sees better ways of doing things and knows that every idea can be expanded upon, made better, enhanced or broadened . The successful entrepreneur is willing to think outside or the proverbial box, which means using imagination, trying new things and expanding on a vision. The savvy entrepreneur pays careful attention as to whether a particular strategy is working. If after giving it his or her best shot the entrepreneur realizes the particular strategy isn’t working, they know there’s no point in continuing to invest energy, time and effort in the strategy. They move on to another approach and idea.

5)Successful Entrepreneurs Explore Their Exceptional Skills
Successful entrepreneurs realize that we each have our strengths and weaknesses as well as a multitude of skills and talents. Successful people ask themselves often what skills they have that no one shares in quite the same way. An exceptional and successful entrepreneur explores their particular skills until they find the ones that match most closely with their ideal. They don’t try to be and do everything. If the successful entrepreneur needs help, they’re willing to find someone who can do it better, and allows in the support. The successful entrepreneur stays open to change for they recognize that as they move forward, doors open in unexpected places that carry them to their next level of success.

6) Successful Entrepreneurs Envision Their Success
The successful entrepreneur gives time to envisioning how they want their business to look and how they want it to be. Intention is a powerful and dynamic tool. For those who are not inclined towards intention and visualization, talk to a successful athlete and you’ll discover that before each sporting event, the successful athlete envisions exactly how he or she wants things to turn out. Imagine what it will feel like when you’ve reached a particular set of goals. Get in touch with the feelings, you’d have as a successful entrepreneur. Practice and conceive of the sense of empowerment and the joy of having succeeded. The successful entrepreneur knows they have the power to live life the way they want, but to make it a reality, they know it has to be seen first.

7) Successful Entrepreneurs Never Give Up
Giving up is never in the vocabulary of the successful entrepreneur. Of course there may be days when a successful entrepreneur feels discouraged or disappointed, but giving up is not an option. Having faith, trust, confidence and determination are the qualities needed for the successful entrepreneur. To keep their focus on track, they seek out the support of those that know them, encourage them and bring out their natural enthusiasm. The smart and successful entrepreneur realizes that there will be good days and not so good days. Being a successful entrepreneur requires accepting the ebbs and flows of business for it is in fact what separates the exceptional and successful entrepreneur from the one who gives up far too soon.

Want to use this article in your blog, on your website or in your ezine? You can
as long as you include this complete blurb: Robert Moment is a small business
coach and author. Robert specializes in teaching entrepreneurs how to
successfully start and grow profitable small businesses. Visit
http://www.howtostartyoursmallbusiness.com:
and sign-up for the FREE small business coaching 7 day e-course titled, "Turn
Passion into Profit: Small Business Startup."

Article: How to Use the Web to Market Your Business

2007-03-13T17:12:00.000-04:00

There is no doubt that the single biggest change in business marketing over the last decade is the rise of the internet. The web has become an integral part of every successful business marketing effort; in fact, your business likely will not survive without some kind of web presence.

More than just a web site
A web site is the most important foundation component of your web marketing strategy. Everything you do on the web will somehow entice or encourage the customer to visit your web site to learn more about your products and services. Unless you are an accomplished web designer, it is well worth the investment of scarce dollars to hire professionals to design, host and maintain your web site. Register your web site with major search engines. Sometimes there is a small fee associated with this, but it is worth it to ensure your site shows up on appropriate searches.

Make your web site a place where customers and potential customers can find information that is interesting, useful, and relevant to their needs. Offer tips and suggestions for dealing with common business issues that relate to your products or services. Post articles you have written in online article directories where others can read them and then click back to your web site quickly and easily.

Other web marketing tools
Another increasingly popular web marketing tool is pay per click advertising. This is a tactic where you write a brief advertisement for your web site and then list it with a search engine along with specific key words of your choosing. Then when someone searches using those key words, your advertisement appears alongside the rest of the search results. Just one simple click brings that person to your web site, and the cost to you is based on the number of times people click on your ad.

Online forums are also great web marketing tools. You can participate in, moderate, or even host an online forum on a topic of interest to your target audience. When you post to an online forum, be sure to follow the forum’s rules regarding product promotion. Most will not allow you to post blatant advertising, but you can include a link to your web site as part of your online ID. Make a point of posting thoughtful, helpful comments so that other forum participants will recognize your expertise and be interested in clicking through to your web site.

By far the simplest web marketing tool, though, resides in your email. Create an email signature that includes a link to your web site so that every message you send includes that signature. You might be surprised at how many people click through to your site.

© Shonika Proctor, 2007

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you leave it unaltered and include this complete blurb with it: Shonika Proctor, Infopreneur, Speaker and online personality is the Author of ‘Sell Your Mind Not Your Time’, a marketing e-book that teaches you how to work to the 23rd power and not the 23rd hour. If you have a new business or are uncomfortable with marketing (online or offline) please visit her blog http://www.shonikaproctor.com/ to get great tips, how to articles and other free resources.

Article: Ding. Are You Going Up with Your Elevator Speech?

2007-03-07T12:49:00.000-05:00

So What Do You Do? How you answer that question is equally important to where and with whom you share the answer. Learn how to craft the perfect elevator pitch and the secret to choosing the best networking events.

So what do you do? For more than a year and a half, after having attended dozens of Business Chamber Mixers, professional workshops and social networking events and failing to get good quality leads, I finally figured out the problem…I was literally answering the question. Who knew that what they asked, what they implied and what they meant would result in three completely different answers intended for three entirely different people? And being that I am a dominant right-brained, artistic and visionary being, I really didn’t need that much room for “creative interpretation.” The question implied was “So what do you do…for your customers?” But what they meant was "what specific value-add do you provide for your specific target profile customer?"

Indeed, how you create your 30 second elevator speech is both a science and an art. It is a science in that you need to know the proper elements to formulate it so that it doesn’t blow up in your face, and it is an art as far as the when, where and how you present it. In order to create an effective elevator speech that quickly pre-qualifies your target customer, there are three things that you have to clearly define and incorporate:

1. What is your great idea and, more importantly, what specific problem does it solve?

People tend to talk a lot about the importance of benefits, saving time, money and doing business more efficiently and what have you. But how can you make that tie back to you without sounding like everybody in your industry? The answer is you have to think back to why you started your business. The reason that so many of us started a small business is because we worked for another company; and after doing things the same old boring way for year after year, one day we thought of a new and better or faster or creative way to do things. These niche concepts are essentially what build the backbone of America’s thriving small business community. So think back to why you started your business. Whether you sell a product or a service, what specific problem was your business created to solve?

2. What specific customer is your specific solution geared toward?

Sometimes you will hear this customer profile type referred to as your “target customer.” Yeah, exactly, what does that mean? Your target customer is a person or group of people that have to fit in a very narrowly defined profile. The target customer should be defined all the way down to their job title, geographic area, extracurricular interests, the kinds of publications they read and the kinds of places they most likely hang out. And why is this important? Because if you go to a general “small business” networking event where there are lots of other business professionals, networking can be like a shot in the dark. You may have to work a little harder to find a common thread and figure out how it is possible you can leverage each other’s pre-existing customer relationships. And, of course, everyone at the event is trying to do the same darn thing. After a few hours, you might get all disenchanted and weirded out because you are starting to feel like you are on a first date. The next thing you know, you are really reaching and getting creative to find that common thread. That is your right brain kicking in, LOL.

3. Seek out places where your specific target customer would most likely spend their time.

Use trade journals and industry specific websites to search their calendar of events. Think of places like conferences, trade shows, social networking events or workshops. I am not suggesting that you become a sponsor or try to get a booth, as both of those are not usually viable options especially for small businesses. But instead consider alternatives like being an event attendee, writing an article for the trade publication or organization that is hosting the function, offering to moderate a roundtable, host a workshop or be a speaker. Imagine if you defined your target customer as office managers at doctors’ offices that have 20 employees or less in blankety blank geographic area. I am sure you could probably easily think of three places right now where you could go and find those people. It would also be far less challenging than trying to decide which professional networking events you will go to in hopes of making those most promising contacts. Even if ultimately you may be attending a lot fewer events like medical conferences or seminars that have “sales people” there, your chances increase significantly of getting appointments because you would always be surrounded by tons of pre-qualified prospects. Also, people would get to know you because they would see your face over and over again at all the different events and would start to leverage you as an industry resource. People buy from people they know and trust. You have to get your face or name in front of people six or more times for them to remember who you are. So bottom line, you need to find places where your specific target customers congregate and tell them directly what you specifically do for them.

When building the perfect elevator speech to use with your target audience at your industry specific event, you would introduce your name and the name of your company. Then you would say who you help to do what. Here is a 30 second elevator speech example: My name is Mary Jones of Medical Moneysavers and I help office managers at small medical offices (like yours) to cut their manual billing process in half by automating their system.

Your elevator speech tells them the what. Your first appointment tells them the why. And after the contract is signed, you show them the how.

© Shonika Proctor, 2007

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you leave it unaltered and include this complete blurb with it: Shonika Proctor, Infopreneur, Speaker and online personality is the Author of ‘Sell Your Mind Not Your Time’, a marketing e-book that teaches you how to work to the 23rd power and not the 23rd hour. If you have a new business or are uncomfortable with marketing (online or offline) please visit her blog http://www.shonikaproctor.com/ to get great tips, how to articles and other free resources.

Ali's Blueprint-In-A-Box is Back...

2007-02-27T11:05:00.000-05:00

...but only for a limited time!

Do you know Alexandria Brown, a.k.a. "The Ezine Queen"? I subscribe to her Weekly Ezine "Straight Shooter Marketing" as well as own quite a few of her programs including her Award Winning Boost Your Biz With Your Own Ezine Program. It has done wonders for my monthly ezine and helping me to get my subscriber list up.

She's really shaking things up with the "big boys" of the
Internet marketing world. Why? Because she's so open and honest
about what WORKS (and what doesn't work) when it comes to using
email, the Internet, and information marketing to transform your
business.

Instead of dangling exciting "magic pill" solutions in front of
You, or selling "the next big thing", Ali tells it like it is.
Especially at her SOLD OUT Online Success Blueprint Workshops,
the most recent of which was just 2 months ago in Los Angeles.

The bad news is, you missed out! During the 3 full days, she
shared her step-by-step, internet-based plan for dramatically
increasing your business while working LESS.

The GOOD news is, after hours of editing, polishing, and
coddling, the brand new 2007 Version of her "Online Success
Blueprint-in-a-BOX" is finally READY!

It's the home version of the exact same program she taught LIVE a
few months ago. You can see everything you get right now.

This is Ali's 2nd year of honing this program to perfection, and
I can honestly and confidently tell you -- there is NOTHING else
out there like this! Her program is honestly changing lives.

But don't take my word (or even her word) that this stuff works.
Ali has *dozens and dozens of client success stories* that will
blow your mind! Real people like you and me making thousands or
tens of thousands more each month because of Ali's simple system.

Listen, you'll want to jump on this FAST, because Ali is only
releasing *147 copies* of this version of the program. You'll
have to see what I mean -- get the scoop, see all those success
stories, and reserve your copy NOW!

(And TURN UP YOUR SPEAKERS so you can hear Ali's personal message
to you.)

Don't Delay...Get Your Copy Today!

Shonika

PS - When Ali released last year's version of this program, it
sold out within WEEKS, so please don't delay - at least take a
look.

That Darn Neighbor: Tearin' Down the House

2007-02-26T19:55:00.000-05:00

"That darn neighbor of ours"...Beyond Award Winning in their 'respective industry'...they are also Award Winning in the Category of 'Creative White Collar Aggravation and Mental Sabotage'. I never know what to do about them.

They think they are above the law, better than thou 'personalities' and we are their paltry eccentric neighbors, LOL. We are the new kids on the block so we don't have much history with people on our street and our above the law neighbors are our 'unofficial spokespeople'. This is better than Grey's Anatomy huh? We own an eco centric car and use community car sharing; we do not live an extravagant lifestyle; we are extremely community and civic oriented (we volunteer 20-25 hours a month); we have not owned a TV since pre-1990; we are not fashionatas although I do have a personal tailor. Not to mention I have a Million Dollar Golden Rolodex to die for, LOL. I have to give myself credit for that. After all I am Gemini, the Communicator, I was born with that talent ;-). I don't think that I am a pushover or too nice, but I do think every problem can be worked out with non-violence and patience. I am super big on KARMA and positive energy. As for my other half, he is hyper but extremely well-read, sometimes too much for his own good, lol. He likes to rationlize and justify disagreement on logic and his extensive knowledge of politics, history, economics, life in 3A.D. you know, whatever. I personally think because of our 'eclectic and unique relationship' taunting us is some sick fetish of the neighbors because they want to see in what 'creative way' we will respond.

Anyway, it is a weird dicotomy for me because I do not like to see 'fighting' direct or implied, spoken or unspoken. And I do not like to have to call the police for stupid things that are not really emergencies, nor do I like for them to call the police. It always turns out to be a situation 'you can't prove' and in he said/she said. At the end of the year this is the kind of silly things we had to deal with that they did/said: Their rusty nail from their roof repair was tossed inconsiderately on our roof on our side of the party wall therefore that is considered trespassing; their bracket from their gas meter was on our side of the party wall and that is trespassing --so therefore, while they are on vacation abroad for Christmas Holiday and no contractors are there we are going to call the power company and request they move it and since the power company said it is common public property and chose not to move it, we are going to rip their meter off the wall, stomp on it and completely trash it, then we are going to get a permit asking to rebuild a wall 'on their side of our common public property' when in fact there was never a wall there and we are actually going to build a new wall and a 6' fence with sharp spikes on top of it (that at some places run parallel to the handrail and would be extremely dangerous if someone slip and fell) and then we are going to call the gas company and tell them we smell a leak so their gas can be shut off so they can deal with this first thing when they return from vacation. Yes, this is the kind of insane PRE MEDITATED psychopathic fetish stuff I am talking about. You don't get a wild hair and one day decide to do that. This requires month's in advance preparation. And not that I am insecure or immature, but I just feel it reflects poorly on everyone involved. The police who came out to address this situation had no idea what to do, they pulled out their little set of permits and argued that it was justified and they had tried to reach us to tell us they were going to do this (like we would have really approved). I hate being in this kind of situation. It is very uncomfortable for me. Also I sometimes feel that I am like the only African American (and named 'Shonika', Boquisha, whatever), LOL, living on the street and it brings uncalled and memorable attention to me as well. No, I am not trying to be vain, I am just keepin' it real.

The crazy thing about the whole situation is that we knew our neighbors before we moved there and our situation could have been resolved but it is just men and their egos which caused the situation to escalate. But a year later, I convinced my significant other that it was not worth it so he backed down and called it quits, but the energizer bunny next door just keeps going and going. So essentially every week there is some new 'Survivor Challenge' that we are presented.

So now that you have a taste of how far they will go.... let me tell you what I really mean by a Survivor Challenge'?

We had a structural steel and glass extension put on the back of our house. And every week the neighbor throws rocks at the glass extension when he feels that we are making too much noise (mind you we are doing a renovation that constantly gets delayed because of him calling the city and requesting permits be checked and so on and so forth). Well in this latest and most bizarre twist (about a month ago), his wife decides to take the lead on this. She emails the city, every single council member, the Mayor, the Permits office (calls them incompetent), people in our neighborhood, her clients??? and the Historical Board. But minor detail, the problem is with our house and she does not email us or any one on our design team. HELL-O? Nor does she mention anything prior before this over the top and what she refers to as an ESCALATED rant. Well it was short lived. It all boiled down to 'bickering between neighbors'. Just because we felt that we would never hear the end of it: #1 We brought out another structural engineer for a second opinion and he said that the structure was strong enough to hold 30 floors. Uh yeah, so for their peace of mind, #2 We reinforce the wall and it now it can hold 100 stories even though the height limit in DC is like 8 stories.

OH THE IRONY...Get this...

She writes this long drawn out lengthy email of why she feels qualified to write on this subject and states that she feels that our extension poses threat to her house and the other neighbors house and that she feels that it will collapse and bring down their illegally renovated house with it. Ok, so she didn't put 'illegally' in there. I personally think it was an oversight (just like the 'incompetent' permits office shows that they have only pulled one permit in the 6+ years they have lived there) although they have fully renovated every floor of their 3 story house. 'Fully' meaning it has been featured in major magazines and newspapers and such where she explicity states the cost of the renovation and details how she did it. But remember she is 'Award Winning' in her 'professional life' which apparently makes her 'above the law in her personal life' and in the eyes of most she certainly can do no wrong in comparison with her paltry eccentric neighbors. But here is the crazy thing. After she writes like a 6 page email (no sike), including all these pictures she included that took FOREVER to download (shows absolute lack of respect for others time) , at the end she closes that she is not a structural engineer and she can't be for sure that it actually poses a problem. Uh, yeah. An educated white collar professional would write a long email to MAJOR city officials with the subject line "potential collapse", marked urgent, start in an emotional rage and rant and end it with, ...how long must I wait for someone to respond and show a sense of urgency as each day the house continues to crumble and collapse and deteriorate... If anyone of her peers saw that letter I know she would be so embarassed.

To see this real life day to to day drama of neighbors played out would definitely blow Grey's Anatomy out of the water. Didn't I tell you? LOL ;-)

So say you were in this situation...how would you resolve this problem? Obviously we are beyond 'trying to talk and work it out'. They are not amicable in that respect. They always yell they can't be without their lawyer and then present the 'commercial truth' of the way the story happened.

Article: Marketing, Are You the Messenger or the Message?

2007-02-24T10:38:00.000-05:00

Oprah. Timberland. Starbucks. Phat Farm. Richard Branson. LiveStrong. Consciously or subconsciously it is estimated that people see over 5,000 marketing messages each day, this according to the “Father of Guerrilla Marketing”, Jay Conrad Levinson. These messages can range from a logo to a retail storefront. Regardless of your business type, marketing is by far one of the most critical skill sets that one must master in order to build a successful business. It is a powerful skill when used properly, but like a double edged sword, when it is not used properly or completely neglected it can be the deciding factor in the failure of your business. As a small business owner, if you are not consistently marketing your business and building your brand, you will not grow.

Conceptually it seems as if it would be one of the easiest skills to acquire. As mentioned above you see marketing everywhere. How difficult can it be to promote your business and share with the people you meet who you are and what you are about? But realistically marketing often is not taken seriously especially by owners of very small and home based businesses. When one does not have a retail storefront or office in a physical office space, it is especially important that one should not be sloppy or a minimalist in their presentation. Marketing is about the consistent advertising of oneself, one’s services and one’s products.
The main principle that guides a successful marketing program is ensuring your customer attains a familiarity with your business that breeds confidence in their perception to do business with you. This means the more your customer is exposed to your message the more likely they are to acknowledge your company and eventually purchase from you. You must be patient, persistent and professional in your presentation. A few minor things that you can do to help polish your presentation and your brand are as follows:

1. First Impressions: Make sure that your company logo is professionally designed and your business cards are printed by a reputable printer. While it may cost a little bit more money up front than a do it yourself job, it will be worth it especially if you will not be printing a company brochure.

2. Achieve Global Dominance ;-): The world is your audience so be sure to reserve a domain name (i.e. www.mycompany.com) for your company. If you do not have a preferred internet service provider I would recommend that you try a search for registration companies like 1and1 or godaddy. Your company website or blog is a great alternative to a paper brochure and almost a required necessity in business these days and affords you email with your company domain name. This gives you a more polished look as opposed to using an ‘AOL’ or ‘Yahoo’ email address. Additionally, you can reach a larger audience for significantly less money.

3. If You Can’t Be On Time, Be Early: Keep yourself organized with a Day Planner and a Rolodex to manage your business contacts (if you do not own a computer). If you do own a computer, use a customer relationship manager software such as Outlook or ACT! Always keep your to do list and customer information in a centralized place. Your clients are your business, so having a record to their contact information is crucial to success. They are your best and least inexpensive marketing resource when you want to launch a new product or when you are looking for new business through referrals.

4. Follow-Through and Follow Up: Your long term success greatly depends on it. Always be timely in your response and complete jobs and work on or before the promised date. The quality of your work should always meet or exceed your clients expectations. Remember to send your customer a thank you card, with another one of your business cards about ten to fourteen days after the transaction has been completed to confirm they are pleased with the work.

5. Be Yourself: People like to do business with people they like and trust. Regardless if your company is 1 person or 101 persons, do not focus on your size and what your limitations are, but instead focus on your core competencies. What value do you bring to the relationship and how can you help your customer resolve their issues? This is what wins customers over.

Implementing these best practices into your business will help you to succeed in another aspect of marketing, referrals! Word-of-mouth and direct referrals are the most inexpensive yet most priceless marketing vehicle you can use to obtain new business. In the meantime, keep marketing and searching for new business everyday even during your busiest times. Yesterday’s marketing efforts equals today’s appointments and tomorrow’s sales.

© Shonika Proctor, 2007

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you leave it unaltered and include this complete blurb with it: Shonika Proctor, Infopreneur, Speaker and online personality is the Author of ‘Sell Your Mind Not Your Time’, a marketing e-book that teaches you how to work to the 23rd power and not the 23rd hour. If you have a new business or are uncomfortable with marketing (online or offline) please visit her blog http://www.shonikaproctor.com/ to get great tips, how to articles and other free resources.

Article: 'Marketing Your Small Business on a Budget'

2007-02-20T21:48:00.000-05:00

The biggest challenge faced by most small business owners and solo-preneurs is effectively marketing their business. Traditional marketing tactics like print, TV, and radio advertising are prohibitively expensive and so far out of reach for most small businesses. The good news, though, is that this does not matter. It does not matter because the best and most effective marketing tactics in the modern business world use a combination of new technology and old-fashioned personal networking and courtesy.

Use technology to your advantage
Using technology to help market your business does not have to be expensive. In fact, it can be quite reasonable considering the number of customers and potential customers you can reach with relatively little effort.

Here are two of the best ways to market effectively using technology:

Use a Customer Relationship Management System (CRM) – There are many choices for CRM software, but the most popular and common are Microsoft Business Contact Manager and ACT!. These programs are affordable, easy to use, and allow you to automate many of your target marketing effort to reach specific customer niches.

Send a company EZine – This is an email newsletter that is sent to customers on a regular basis, usually monthly. EZines are not spam, because you only send them to people who have specifically given permission for you to send them email materials. In your EZine you can put articles, information, and expert advice on topics that are interesting and useful to your customers. This allows you to keep in touch with every customer in your CRM every month in a proactive but non-obtrusive way. A great resource for setting up a simple ezine (even if you lack computer expertise) is through a company such as Intellicontact. I have used them since early 2005 and absolutely love all the free features I get from them. And starting at just 10 bucks a month is a sweet deal!

And remember old-fashioned networking and courtesy
There are some things that technology can never replace, and good old-fashioned networking coupled with courtesy is two important ones. There is simply no substitute for making personal connections, face to face, with others who are potential customers or who might provide you with referrals to potential customers.

Here are two of the best ways to put these traditional activities to work for you:

Send a handwritten thank you card – This is one of the most effective and yet underused tools in the world. Every time you have an appointment, take on a new client, receive a business referral, or something similar, stop and write a brief thank you note. It does not have to be long or fancy, and it can be written in just a few minutes so it is not a huge burden on your time. This kind of personalized, sincere gesture from you will do much to create lasting customer satisfaction.

Make a simple telephone call – It is so very easy to get caught up in email and other modern communication technologies that many of us forget how nice it can be to just make a simple telephone call to share information or ideas. The next time you need to let a customer know about a delivery date, product description, or something similar, take a few moments to pick up the phone and talk with the customer rather than sending an impersonal email.

© Shonika Proctor, 2007

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you leave it unaltered and include this complete blurb with it: Shonika Proctor, Infopreneur, Speaker and online personality is the Author of ‘Sell Your Mind Not Your Time’, a marketing e-book that teaches you how to work to the 23rd power and not the 23rd hour. If you have a new business or are uncomfortable with marketing (online or offline) please visit her blog http://www.shonikaproctor.com/ to get great tips, how to articles and other free resources.

Sailebrate BIG Team Regatta DC

2007-02-14T17:57:00.000-05:00

Whooo Hooo. It is freezing cold out today. The wind is blowing like crazy and the roads are all snowy and icy but never mind that Kevin Traver, Executive Director of NMHF, has just emailed all his favorite and loyal volunteers to say that it's time to plan for The BIG Team Regatta 2007. The BIG Team Regatta is an annual sailing competion that raises money for disadvantaged youth sailing programs throughout the U.S. This event was founded by Jay Palace, CEO of Gel (corporate team building through sailing) and Jahn Tihansky, Founder of J World Sailing Schools.

Kevin Traver, Executive Director of National Maritime Heritage Foundation DC is the main organizer for the BIG Regatta in DC. The official charity of NMHF is Kids Set Sail. It is a sailing program for youth located in economically challenged neighborhoods who live east of the Anacostia River. The NMHF and Kids Set Sail provides maritime education for them through sailing and water related activities. This is my 2nd year involved with the group and this year I have decided to serve as the Committee Chairperson for their Sail'ebrity Social Networking Happy Hours and FUNdraisers. I am so excited :) I will let you know how it goes and if you are located in DC and love the water, working with youth and sailing culture, definitely consider getting involved. Here are a few pictures from the BIG Regatta 2006.

Some of the participating youth returning after a day of sailing in the regatta.

'Proof' for Greg's Wife, Jane, that he really was volunteering on his day off from work ;-)

Peter, on the other hand might have a wee bit of a difficult time convincing his company that he was 'social networking', LOL

That's me and Patrick, my volunteer partner in crime, representin'

That's my friend TJ waving. He was on his annual visit from the Netherlands. He helped crew the kids boat.

My European Holiday

2007-02-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

Bara, Nique and Pepa in front of St. Barbara Cathedral, Czech Republic.

Happy 'Belated' Birthday to Rembrandt and Mozart! Finally!!! I am getting around to uploading a few of the tons of photos that I took on my Christmas holiday in Europe. I spent the Christmas Holiday 2006 checking out buildings from the 12th Century; sipping on Gluvein; shopping at the Holiday Markets; and most importantly enjoying good food and good times with good friends. I was fortunate to be able to travel to Europe for a few weeks and spend time in Amsterdam, Prague and Vienna where I got to meet up with many of my friends who I have met over the years on their travels in the States.

It was the 250th Birthday of Mozart so I visited The Mozart House in Vienna and of course went to the orchestra and saw a show that featured the works of Mozart. It was also the 400th Birthday of Rembrandt, so while in the Netherlands I visited the Rijksmuseum and saw an extensive collection of Rembrandt Paintings including the famous painting of Catrina that was on loan from Wales for a short time.

In Prague, I spent a lot of time with my lovely hostess, Ms. Bara and her mom, Dana. It was my first Czech Christmas. I helped to choose the carpe from a tub of water and their local street vendor (insanity). Dana gutted it (ugggh made me so nauseaus) used the head to make fish soup (which was actually quite delicious) and fried up the rest of the fish and served it with potato salad and apple streudel for Christmas dinner. I even fasted the day of the big Christmas Feast. And to think, people can do that everyday for a month or longer. Talk about self-discipline...

Ok, so anyway I took millions of pictures but here are just a few :)

Bara and Nique in front of Cafe Central, Vienna, Austria.

Bara's 'little' Red Car from Poland....circa 1988 and can you believe 4 of us fit in there with luggage?

Bara's BIG Leonardo Da Vinci Book that Santa bought her....Isn't that cool?

The Czech Christmas Tree at Bara's....Isn't it too cute? :)

Nique with Jindrich in front of the Holiday Market @ The Rathskellar in Prague.

The Gracious Host and Hostess, TJ and Christina of the Netherlands.

Sell Your Mind Not Your Time!

2007-01-30T22:03:00.009-05:00

Are You a Solopreneur, Coach or Small Business Owner who is trying to learn some ways to stretch your marketing efforts on a shoestring budget and with minimal time?

Sell Your Mind Not Your Time (SYMNYT) is a marketing ebook for solopreneurs, coaches and small businesses. It provides 101 marketing ideas and a list of resources to help you get started (offline or online). The cost of the ebook is $5. Why is it only $5 you ask? Well because it is an ebook of "marketing ideas"- you still have to implement them. However, many of the ideas are free and others are low cost and require minimum resources on your part. The resources are actually ideal for a solopreneur or a small business of less than 5 employees who needs help better leveraging their time and also packaging their intellectual property to market and sell online.

SYMNYT was my first generation ebook that I created in 2005 and updated in 2006 & 2007. It includes many of the techniques that I used to differentiate myself and get my brand out there when I was a solopreneur working in the very competitive cellular and wireless industry. In 2003 I pioneered "Wireless Resource Management" which entailed centralizing and managing wireless hardware, software AND the people who use these tools everyday. I had about one month savings when I left my job of 11 years to start my company and by the end of my tenure in April 2008 I was billing out 4 figures per hour for consulting and training.

To make the cellular and wireless industry more approachable and myself more sought after I created a unique line of fun and eclectic user-friendly training products and classes such as Ebb & Flow on the Go How to Detox From Your Crackberry and The Dog Ate My Phone- How to Get Out Your Cell Phone Contract Early. They were fun, funny, simple and a low cost to produce. They were just a few of the numerous ways I figured out how to get on the radar and picked up by the media. After reading about my crazy ideas, a local newspaper hired me on as a freelance writer to create a weekly column for them. All of these ideas brought brand recognition, PR and passive residual (ongoing) income. As I transitioned over to Youth & Teen Entrepreneur Coaching (the 'latest' niche industry that I have pioneered) I have discovered that many of these same tools and techniques are still very much applicable.

In my ebook you'll discover how to:

Reserve your own domain name FREE for Life using Tip #67. And bonus, if you are in a hosting contract, the contractor will buy out your contract and move your files for you!!!

Attend the swankiest events and industry conferences and rub shoulders with all the big wigs and movers & shakers in your community. Best of all you will not have to pay for a ticket to get into the event; see Tip # 89.

Get Professional Design Services for all your marketing collateral for FREE. Find out how in Tip # 73.

Follow up with everybody you meet at your networking functions without ever having to cold-call again. Learn how in Tip # 2.

Expand your sales force without having to do any training, pay a salary, or rent office space. Check out the details in Tip # 20.

Market for your competitor(s) and you will sell to all their customers and yours, too! How is this possible? See how in Tip # 41.

Order this ebook today for only $5!

From pioneering several niche markets to creating my own personally branded products such as the Shonik'tionary (a personally branded dictionary of terms I made up for 'my industry' that I created), I am sure you will get lots of creative inspiration and have AHA moments that will help you start connecting some dots and begin implementing a few of your own creative ideas with minimal effort today!

From One Extreme to Another

2007-01-30T21:10:00.000-05:00

Warm Days, Cold Months...
Today is bloody frickin' cold and so darn windy, what is up with that? Just 2 weeks ago we had several days where the weather was close to 70 degrees. I must say this is a typical DC winter. It can go from one extreme to the other on any given day. I guess the whole irony is just like living here. This picture was taken at Rock Creek Park which is less than 1/2 mile from where I live (one of the most convenient places to live in the city). I picked up the trail from my apartment and rode my bike to 'here' to take a break and read a little. Washington, DC is 'interesting' in that way. It is an approachable city with 'short buildings', an international vibe, a small town feel, lots of trees everywhere and a big park right in the middle. So it's kind of like you can get lost without getting lost. I suppose that's the same way most people feel when they publish a blog.

Get a Life...
Although I have journaled for many years, I was never motivated to have a blog because I do not follow pop culture that much; I have not owned a TV since 1990; I don't have a myspace page; I volunteer more hours in a month than I actually work and I never really saw a purpose....* until * I got the infomarketing bug. I was reading or ordering something one day when I noticed something 'interesting'. Well I started to explore and some 6 months later I kind of put it all together...or so I think. Of course when you think you got it all figured out.... well you know how that goes. But at least I was happy to finally find the last page of Internet.

Hmmm, We'll See...
Anyway, one day I saw a blog where the blogger combined their articles along with some personal stories (but not too heavy) on their blog page. I liked that concept because I felt that I could better identify with them. So I subscribed to their ezine, eventually bought some of their programs and I figured if it worked for them maybe it might work for me. And now the ultimate test--- follow through! After putting this off for half a year I wonder if I can actually keep it current (unlike many of my friends and business associates). Alas our journey begins ;-)

Connect

2007-01-30T12:21:00.005-05:00

Button courtesy of Vincent Abry

My Space: http://www.myspace.com/renegadeceos

Facebook: www.facebook.com/people/Shonika-Proctor/1034757390

Company Site: (Teen) Renegade CEO's

Nika PI

2007-01-30T12:21:00.002-05:00

Believe

2007-01-30T12:20:00.006-05:00

You will because you can. The question is do you want to? Believing in yourself is the inspiration to confidently move forward without self-doubt regardless of whatever situation or environment (familiar or new) that you are in. You will only acquire this feeling after you have learned to identify, accept, and celebrate your unique talents, skills and gifts.

Thanks

2007-01-30T12:20:00.005-05:00

Thank you for your purchase of Sell Your Mind Not Your Time. I am grateful for your order of my ebook and hope that you will find it useful. Please use it in conjunction with this blog to learn how to effectively implement many of the things you will soon learn.

Your ebook will arrive via email within the next 2-4 hours. It will arrive in Adobe .pdf format. If you have any problems with downloading or opening your ebook please accept my sincere apologies. You may contact my Personal Assistant Udaiya via email and she will promptly help you resolve the issue you are having. Her email is udaiya@simplyshonika.com

With Much Gratitude,

Consume

2007-01-30T12:20:00.002-05:00

Speak

2007-01-30T12:20:00.000-05:00

Write

2007-01-30T12:19:00.005-05:00

History belongs to those who write it. So don't follow history...create it!

The most valuable assets that you have are your mind and your time. So no worries if you have no money. You begin leveraging both your mind and your time by writing. By documenting ideas, thoughts and resolutions to problems you may have been faced with in your personal and/or professional life, you have a foundation for creating a side business or a new revenue stream for an existing business.

YES! No matter how insignificant or stupid your problem may seem, if you are able to successfully solve it you could very well help somebody somewhere. Perhaps they are so stressed out and can't see any other way out of the situation or feel that they have to go to see a shrink which they cannot afford. You can take whatever you wrote down and package it in a format that answers a question or solves a problem and other people who are dealing with the same issue may be willing to buy it to help them avoid or work through their problem. What experience have you learned from and now know a lot about? How to start a business? How to plan an event on a shoestring budget? How to work through the divorce process without stressing out your kids/yourself? How to raise a big family on a tight budget? As crazy as it may seem, your day to day life experiences are worth something and could very well end up in the form of an ebook, a special report, a workshop or a local newspaper column. Journal your experiences and evolve from How Do I to How I Did...Indeed it's so simple that it's complex. Want to see more marketing ideas like this? Be sure to check out my ebook "Sell Your Mind Not Your Time". It's just one of a number of books I've penned!

Shonika Proctor, Author

Book (Oct 2008): Teen Entrepreneur Success Secrets: The Essential Guide to Starting and Growing a Business www.teenceobook.com
Book (December 2008): Double Click on This Preschoolers and Computers: How to Go Beyond Sit and Giggle (written 1995-1998)
Children's Book (January 2009): Chocolate Moose
Book (March 2009): And Zen Again!: 52 Thought Provoking Adult Affirmations in Rhyme
Ebook (2007): Sell Your Mind Not Your Time
Special Report (2006): Ebb & Flow on the Go: How to Detox From Your Crackberry
Special Report (2008): Escape Your Cell Phone Contract

Current Projects:

Branded Coloring Book: Marshall Purnell's Building Block of Wonder (I wrote the storyline). Release date (Spring 2009). Marshall Purnell is a prominent architect in Washington, DC.
Book: Leashing the Wireless Mutt: Why Every Private and Public Sector in America Needs to Rethink Their Wireless-IT Strategy
Training System: Wireless B.A.T.H.
Training System: Teen CEO Blueprint (Private Study Course)
Book: 365: Infinite Expedition, 365 Inspirational Stories from Teen CEO's + 12 High profile CEO's will share their stories of entrepreneurial journey's started in their teens. www.infiniteexpedition.com

Give

2007-01-30T12:19:00.004-05:00

From Hard Knocks...to Heart Knocks

Even during some of the seemingly worst times of my life...I have always given my time, expertise and money to support a variety of causes and interests. And it seems that great things always manifested as a result. I started volunteering when I was 12 years old. I learned about it through my elementary school. A representative came in from the ARC (Associated of Retarded Citizens) and asked us if we wanted to get a weekend 'job'. The job was babysitting and assisting parents with their special need child. So I signed up for a multi weekend course at the local community center, learned how to work with special needs children and also do CPR. The first family I worked with were the Covey's....super nice people. Eventually they moved out of the area. Then the second family I worked with in my teens were the Swieringas. The 'mother' was blind (since birth) and she had 8 foster care children plus her 1 natural child. It was unbelievable because her sense of awareness was so strong she knew everything that was going on and who was doing something that they weren't supposed to be. Sometimes I was thinking that she wasn't really blind. She held a PhD from Georgetown University Law School and later became a Pastor. I really enjoyed working with and for her and still keep in contact with her. In my early 20's during the summer months I coached kids tee-ball and girls 12 and under fastpitch softball. Fun stuff...those were the days!

Since my late 20's I have sat on several Board of Directors in the non-profit arena, some serious and seriously fun ones such as WAKA (World Adult Kickball Association). I was President of my division (400 people) back in the early 2000's. I have also chaired or co-chaired major fundraisers. I currently donate the majority of my time to youth related interests and supporting independent musicians & artists. In 2008 I did something volunteer related every week.