Across The Desk With Elizabeth Plouffe

We can all have some challenges when it comes to personal development. For example - if we don't think we need to work on it at all. If we think it's too touchy feely. Or girly. Or a waste of time. Or all of the above. To be honest - that's kind of where my mind usually goes. But in the spirit of going outside my comfort zone, I went with an author that I've grown to know and respect through watching her TED talks, chats with Oprah and Chase Jarvis and the general community consensus that she's awesome. Brene Brown is a Phd and researcher in to a lot of the touchy feely stuff that most touchy feely people won't even touch: shame, vulnerability and fear. Those are topics that don't inspire a lot of warm feelings but they are also the ones we need to deal with to get ahead in our business. I jumped in to The Gifts of Imperfection and really enjoyed it. Even had some aha moments that made me glad I got over myself and my narrow views of personal development. If you want to dip your toe in to the PD world, th

Winning is about negotiation versus capitulation. You may or may not agree with that but the truth of the matter is this: at the end of the day, what are you trying to accomplish? Part of setting up a win/win in business is having a clear idea of what your goal is going in to the negotiation. If you are wishy washy, it comes across. In your ask, your body language and your spoken language. Those are the times where knowing the sneaky shit of the win/win would save you aloooooot of trouble.

Today the focus was on obstacles to our goals and how we overcome them. We roundtabled and came up with quite a list of obstacles and avoidance techniques we all have used at one time or another while working on our business. 1. Cooking and domestic duties 2. Paralysis by analysis - overplanning and getting too caught up in detail to move forward. 3. Social media 4. Office chatter 5. Dabbling in a variety of goals vs picking a few goals and focusing 6. Busy brain 7. Excuses - shifting blame to outside interruptions (darn kids) 8. Fear of success / Imposter Syndrome 9. Negative influences. One of the chief ways we all agreed we overcome these obstacles is by recognizing them for what they are in the first place. If you are heading to a go-to stress reliever / time waster (such as FB ;) ) then seeing that for what it is helps to put boundaries around the time spent. That was another solution - scheduling time to plan. Scheduling time for office chatter. Scheduling time for social media. If you put it in your

Celebrities can create some interesting opportunities for themselves but it's not all easy peasy. They fall in to some traps where they might rely on their name to push a crappy product just for the sake of pushing a product. (Kardashian's anyone?)Or they aren't taken seriously even though the product IS worthwhile because they're a celebrity. That isn't fair either. Then there are the celebrities that fall in to the 3rd group where they decide to do things their way to promote a great product and won't go for the shameless exploitation. Paul Newman was that guy. A celebrity who happened to have a great idea for a high quality salad dressing but who initially refused to use his celebrity to make it happen. He believed enough in the product to try and make it on quality alone. Reality proved to be more of a challenge than movies and he eventually had to resort to a bit of shameless exploitation in order to get his product out. The game changer? He didn't do it for himself. He didn't do it to add to his ban

A little while ago I was searching for the hashtag #cancer on Instagram. It was that time of year and I wanted to see what conversations and images people were sharing. What came up? A lot of crap. A lot of unrelated, trivial, full on crap that should never have come up at all. And it made me angry. Why angry? Well, I take communications seriously. For many personal reasons, I take cancer seriously too. When I see someone abusing the tag purely to drive traffic to their pitiful content, my inner crankypants comes out in a big way. Why share this? Because if you are trying to drive engagement with your audience or get new followers, you might be tempted to try this nasty troll trick not realizing the damage you're doing. To your business, your reputation and your online profile. Or if you do realize it's a troll thing to do that and are doing it anyway, I'm here to tell you to stop. It sucks. It's rude. It's going to bite you in the butt. Here's a few tips and tricks for using tags the right way and some ch

Building your business is hard. Long days. Lots of grey hair. Maybe that's just me. But what I do know is what money I do earn with my business has been because of my hard work and hustle so when I go to spend it? I want to make sure I get the most bang for my buck. Take tradeshows. If you've never done one before then I'm here to tell you something: there is NOTHING worse than putting in the time, energy and effort for a tradeshow and having it suck. And by suck I mean the producer has done one step up from squat to promote the event and the attendance is everybody you've seen before. As I've said before, I don't have guests across the desk that I don't believe in. It's my rep on the line when I bring someone on and promote them. So it's not lightly that I sat down with James Burchill last week to discuss the upcoming SFN Tradeshow. Why this guy? Why this tradeshow? Why should you listen? Because if you're in the GTA and are trying to build your business, then I'm telling you, hand on heart, you need to l

Does your gut every give you a message? Run? Don't trust that person? Some signal that you sometimes ignore? Don't. Trust is something that requires honesty on both sides. Honesty for you listening to your gut and what it's telling you to do and honesty from the person trying to connect with you. If you live in a head space where being a schmuck is the only way to operate, you have a different take on trust. You use it as a means to get what you need. You build it to your advantage. You have no idea the damage that you are doing not only to yourself (in the long run) and to others in your industry. When you are a schmuck in a certain industry, you end up painting so many people with the schmuck brush that don't deserve it and they then pay the price. We focus today on the right way to build trust. Some things to look for when your gut is stamping it's foot and why you should listen. Don't be a trust schmuck!

Why Now Is the Time To Crush It is a question most entrepreneurs ask themselves in various ways. I think to both talk themselves in to the adventure and when they are having complete WTF moments about why they started in the first place. Crush It - Cash in on Your Passion is a book that I will be re-reading and soon. Not only did it provide solid advice for how to engage and grow your business but it also was very realistic about the level of hustle required to make it happen. If you've got rose colored glasses on about the fancy schmancy life that entrepreneurs lead, then being brought up to speed on reality is one of the many reasons you should read this book.

You know that feeling right before you stand up in a meeting? Or walk in to an event? Or have to go networking? Or do anything that is outside your comfort zone? Do you normally describe it as nervous or excited? Turns out it makes a difference. That important distinction was made for me 21 years ago on the day of my wedding. I had butterflies and felt nervous. Or so I thought. The more I thought it was nervousness, the worse I felt. How could I be nervous before marrying my main man? Then my hairdresser said something that changed my life: You're not nervous honey, you're excited. The honey might be me adlibbing but you get the gist. The relief I felt was overwhelming and I've carried that lesson to this day. Turns out there is now science to back up what my wise hairdresser knew all along. So the next time you're trying something new, meeting with a different crowd or stretching beyond what's normally comfortable for you, just remember this: you're not nervous honey, you're excited :)

This week was an eye opener for all the great members of Ballsy. Not in a shocking way but in a learning way. This was one of the reasons I decided to change the Ballsy Women in Business podcast theme to be Wonder Woman based. We are freaking awesome. The group of women coming out to Ballsy continue to impress and amaze me as to what we've accomplished and what we continue to build. We focused a lot last week on the impact of age on being an entrepreneur. The fire to succeed might be the same but is tempered by the many responsibilities that being a mature entrepreneur might include. Being a more mature entrepreneur (and by mature I mean older than 35 ;)), especially when you've tried it when younger, gives you a different perspective that I think will always be of value. We also talked about running in to obstacles in the form of ego centric men and wack job women. You are going to run in to both. You are going to have to stand in your confidence when dealing with both. And you will take the lessons learn

Something I've come to realize after reading 30 or more business books, is that everything new is old again. That the vast majority of the current day guru's are standing on the shoulders of giants like Dale Carnegie. With each advent of technology, someone devises a new way to improve organizations, develop leadership and support change. But they use ideas developed 70 years ago to do it. It's true. So that's why I've been revisiting the masters. After all, Dale Carnegie wrote this book in 1936 and 80 years later, we're still talking about it. His ideas and strategies are still being taught in courses around the world. His suggestions for authentic persuasion and building relationships are being use in corporations today. His notions of fairness and consideration are coming back in to vogue because we went so far the other way the pendulum just had to swing back. I, for one, welcome the times back when people showed appreciation with no other motive than kindness. A time where the mere idea of tricking

Have you ever had a friend that you can go years without talking to but when you pick up the phone it's like no time has passed? What if they asked you to help them move? Still feeling chatty? Me either. That's what can happen if you don't communicate with your customers on a regular basis. When you have something to sell or an event for them to come to and you send out that invite? Chances are, they'll treat your invite much like you might react to the moving request. The conversation will be over. But if you take control of your communications and offer helpful content, keep in touch, and share some laughs, then when it comes time to ask, they'll be listening. If communications hasn't been on the top 5 of your businesses to do list, it's time to get it on there. Use 2017 as your goal year to take steps to keeping the conversation going. How? That's what we're going to chat about today. A simple solution to start a 3 month comms plan with an added bonus tip for your website. Take a listen and build your p

Do you let your life or business happen to you? I used to. And for the most part I've been ok. But I've never been able to set goals and couldn't understand why. Now I know. Part of it was I didn't know what I wanted to do or achieve. I couldn't see a clear path. Since starting my business (which was also an accident), especially this year, now the path is clear. I'm sharing with you some of the tools I'm using to reflect, create and achieve the goals I'm setting for myself. Some are big, audacious, in your face goals. Some are smaller but equally kick ass goals. Some are short term. Some are long. But all of them are taking me down the path that I'M creating one goal at a time.

Have you ever seen an ad with a celebrity endorsement? Especially a celebrity who you admire and trust? Well, as much as you can trust someone you don't actually know. Has that influenced your decision about the product or service to buy or use and then it's turned out to be junk? Are you tired of all the questions? The reason for all the questions is to get you thinking about the social proof that the product or service has used to build trust (albeit second hand trust you didn't really have any way)and get you to buy. How's that head scratcher? Today's podcast focuses on the good and bad of legitimacy. It can be make or break for some businesses especially in this day and age of instant online reviews, commentary and condemnation. If you've decided to go the scam route (as so many do) and imply endorsement vs actually building your own legitimacy, well, you've been warned. We're here to get everybody to put their sneaky shit meter on high alert and out you!

Have you ever thought about your story? Would you know what to say? Until recently I didn't know. Ironic for a writer / communicator who is also a Gemini (Yes, I believe in astrology. Don't judge me. It's my story.) When you've had some challenges in your life, they can become your story. I've had a few. More than a few. As they happened so close together, they became more of my story than I realized. It took a good friend telling me that they should be a part of my story for me to realize that I didn't want that anymore. It wasn't who I was. SO! I went in search of my story. After two months of coaching and journalling and all that good stuff - I found it. Ever since I found it, my life has changed in so many ways. My story now? I'm a teacher. It's not only what I do, it's what drives me. In business. In life. In friendships. In my family. It's what I need to do to feel like I'm contributing to society. If you aren't sure what your story is, I encourage you to find out. I can guarantee you, it's worth th

What's the first thing you think of when it comes to sales? For me, it's every BAD sales person I've had to deal with. From car sales to timeshares to cell phone plans - I've dealt with some doozies. The problem when you are the one selling is that everybody you meet has had the same run-ins. Snakeoil techniques. Schmoozing. Telling you what you want to hear. Blech. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth just from remembering ... But it doesn't have to be that way. If you're in business you need to remember to learn everything you can about the right way so no one is thinking of you the way you think of those other guys. Your business depends on it. Today on Wise Word Wednesdays, I'm chatting up The Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer. This is actually the first book I've EVER read on sales and (pun intended), I'm sold. It's practical. Applicable. Easy to understand and even easier to use for your business. Give it a listen. I promise no snakes were harmed in the making of this podcast ;)

Say. Act. Do. It's that simple. Congruency is our topic today in the 6 Principles of Influence. What does that mean? In the simplest of terms and the easiest of explanations is that if you want to convey and build trust, you have to be consistent in everything you do. For example - if you make an appointment with someone, taking up their valuable time, to make a pitch and you show up late or don't show up at all - what do you think that says? It says that you don't actually value the time or person that you've arranged to meet. By showing up late, you are stating that you aren't to be trusted to deliver. By not showing up at all? Heck - I wouldn't leave my dog with you. We all understand that life happens and you could run late but once it becomes a pattern of behaviour, you are acting incongruent to what you are hoping to establish. Trust. It comes down to this: do what you say and say what you do. For example, if you are faking being involved in a conversation just to get a sale, your body language will

Has it been one of those years for you? Or couple of years? When you're an entrepreneur it can feel like you've survived a year vs celebrating the beginning of another. Especially at a time of year where reflection and goal setting is forced upon us. But as an entrepreneur maybe it's worth taking another look at the value of reflection. Maybe that needs to be a goal for the whole year. Why the girly title of this podcast? It's actually not as girly as I probably think but I'll clarify anyway. When you start a business, you have NO idea of the power of the up's and down's. NO idea how hard it will be some days (or months) to dig in and keep going. And for a woman, I can honestly say it's a bit harder. Despite progress, being a woman entrepreneur is still considered an oddity so we start with an extra handicap. Boobs have their bonuses but they can still be a hindrance to more than our golf swing ;) This week on Get to Know Me, I share the importance of finding a way to recognize and remember your achievement

If you're in business, you're going to need help. As much as we'd all like to be able to solve our problems ourselves, we can't do it all. And we shouldn't. The worst thing you can do for your business is labor under the delusion that you've got all the answers to all the questions. From me to you: get over yourself. You don't. Nobody does. Sounds ballsy right? Well this week during our Ballsy Women in Business meeting we covered so many great topics that I can't help but admire the women who joined us and asked the questions. Why? Because admitting you don't know something or need help can be hard. Believe me - I wrote the book on not asking for help. And it has the same ending as anyone else who writes a similar book. I got over myself and asked for help and lived happily ever after. Well, not quite. That would be why Ballsy exists. Because we all need times during our business' iteration to address the new situations, questions and problems that crop up. Take a listen and find out the topics we covered

When you are dealing with a mental health issue, trying to navigate the healthcare system can be stressful. Heck - it's stressful no matter what. Once you are in the system, one of the keys to success for your treatment is developing trust with your health care team. That can put you in a tricky position to provide honest feedback that is positive or negative. Imagine an app that can help you solve that problem. Well, it's here. Meet Dr. Gillian Mulvale who is working with her team at the DeGroote School of Business in the Health Leadership Academy to develop the MyExperience app. This app has been specifically designed to allow patients to provide feedback on their experience within the mental health field. Honest, constructive and valuable, this feedback will allow practitioners to develop and improve the services they are providing. Something they've wanted for a long time. Interested in learning more about this great breakthrough for the mental health community? I was too. Take a listen and you'll see w