Dear ,

True confessions! I have been getting a ton done in the quiet of the mountains this last week. I'm enjoying it for one more week before venturing back to the big city. I truly appreciate the peace and relaxation here and the lack of interruptions. Getting to work in blue jeans, zebra scuffs, and a red fleece shirt over any t-shirt is a bonus. It's all about Designing My Life!

Blog Changes! Right now, I've got three blogs, I know a bit much, but you know me, better too much, than not enough. You can check them out at www.todaybydesign.com, www.hollywoodbeginnings.com, and www.mylifeadventures.com. We are about to merge the last two and launch one with nothing but design and decorating tips and trends. You can use it as a template and inspiration to start your own! And I always have content that can be repurposed with credit.

International Adventure! My China adventure is just around the corner. I've crafted an image rich trend presentation and may even do a webinar on it once I return. Trends are great ways to involve your clients in new projects and improvements. Are you keeping up with design trends? Do you share them in your blogs, ezine, or on your website in articles? (Hmm, if not, get in touch, these are easy, cost effective, and proven ways to drive prospects and connect with clients.)

Prospering by Design, Are You?

Melissa Galt
The Six Figure Design Professional
Your Interior Design Business Systems Specialist
Devoted to Your Design Business Success

"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things
which escape those who dream only by night."

~ Edgar Allen Poe

Coming Up - Facebook!

How to Find Fortune and Friends on Facebook goes on next Tuesday evening at 8pm EST, details are here. Facebook has 200 million users and is adding 1 million users per month or more. It is the #5 search engine as ranked by Alexa (Google is #1). Can you really afford not to be on board? This is not about checking up on your kids, but it is about real time relationships, connections, and writing your own success story. Where else can you find groups of your target prospects? And if you want to advertise, you can do it for as little as $5/day and focus on your desired niche. I'll be covering Facebook the nuts and bolts in the webinar.

Sign up - Facebook Webinar

Sign up here and download your QUICK START ACTION GUIDE. The investment in your online learning is only $47 with full Money Back Guarantee! You'll get the REPLAY, MY NOTES, and F.R.E.E. access to a Q&A follow up call. Get the nuts and bolts plus much more with the new Facebook look!

Sign up - Facebook Webinar

Leveraging Your Brand

I was catching up on my industry reading the other day with Qualified Remodeler. Does that surprise you? You thought I only read design publications, not nearly. We are in The Lifestyle Industry and that means architects, designers, stagers, organizers, contractors, builders, developers, real estate professionals, and home furnishing retailers and suppliers. Stop operating in a vacuum and realize that you are part of the vital mechanism that delivers the American Dream of home ownership. It isn't house ownership for a reason. It takes all those professionals to turn it from a plot of land with a plan into a home.

What's my point? The article mentioned two competing contractors that had teamed up to effectively market themselves to a shrinking prospect base. They realize that they each had unique strengths and by leveraging these they'd go a lot farther than battling it out solo. It is working for them. So, how can you leverage your brand? Build a team of complementary professionals that work with the same target you do.

That means when you create meaningful relationships that are reciprocal with any of the aforementioned (okay replay, architects, contractors, designers, stagers, organizers, builders, home furnishings retailers and suppliers, and real estate professionals) you will be able to leverage your branding opportunities to a wider prospect audience. Want to see it work?

Read the Rest of the Article Here!

Solopreneur Success! Speed Hugs ...

I got an interesting Tweet the other day from a fellow solopreneur (that isn't to say we don't have a team of Virtual Assistants), who shared that Twitter was like her opportunity to hang out at the water cooler online. I realized how true that is. Often when you work in isolation, seeing only clients and connecting by events with colleagues, you can risk feeling out of touch and disconnected. Social media can be a wonderful solution to that.

Read the Rest of the Article Here!

Vonage

When you are ready to check it out and don't mind allowing me the perk of a couple of free months, go to www.vonage.com/friend and when asked for my number, type in 404-812-4613. If you prefer just go straight to Vonage for the same great service and rate without giving me anything! I share resources that I value and that work well for me.

If you haven't yet switched to VOIP (voice over internet protocol) you aren't reaping the benefits of significant savings. While I converted way too early and lived through the early buggy years, it has improved tenfold. I have a landline only for my teleseminars and webinars (sometimes VOIP isn't always compatible if you are the host, due to some of the larger services being VOIP based. Its how they keep their costs down!) I use Vonage for my business line. It saves me over 2/3 the cost of a commercial phone line and is equally efficient. In fact they offer some great services for pennies, like visual voicemail. That means that any message left is transcribed and sent to me by email. I love it! They also have a unique forwarding feature that I use often.

Melissa Galt, The Six Figure Interior Design Professional, specializes in interior design business systems for success. As a successful independent interior designer for over 15 years, Melissa knows the design business inside out. Now, she presents unique workshops providing design professionals, at every level of their career growth, with simple, proven systems for achievement.

Melissa shows designers, decorators, and home fashion experts how they can boost their business, put more profit in their pocket, and enjoy the life they design. Find total freedom in your business to embrace the lifestyle you want most. Get the tools and techniques, not just the strategies, for winning lead generation, masterful marketing, priceless PR, sales secrets to optimize every project, and fruitful follow up for a lifetime of raving fans.